Self Help Radio 122717: Indiepop A To Z # 55

(Almost all these covers came from Discogs.)

At this point, what is there to say about this series?  That it's delightfully alphabetical?  That it's quite poppy?  That it's a fool's errand which I'll never finish so really why bother?  Of course it's all those things & more.

It's the more that I adore.  You know what for.  Though there's a number up there, I don't keep score.  & I'm sincere to the core.  Like the band buttons you wore, you know what's in store.  Songs that soar till your heart is sore.  It's either/or not neither/nor.  Making it isn't a chore, so make it yours, your listening du jour.  I'm afraid I am beginning to bore, so before you start to snore or to show me the door, let me sit on the floor & just roar, roar, roar:

The show can be listened to now & any time at the Self Help Radio web site.  It's in two parts, each about an hour long; the songs in the two parts are listed below.  Oh!  If you've never listened, you'll need a username & a password - those are on the front page.  & previous editions of the Indiepop A To Z series can be found around here.  If you wanna listen.

Because I was climbing a tor with a boar & a centaur whom I was trying to ignore outdoors when one said, "Señor, I implore you to be my mentor!"  Etc.

(part one)

"My Cloud" Masters Of The Hemisphere _Seven Summers (International Pop Vol. 2)_
"Valerie Loves Me" Material Issue _Valerie Loves Me_
"Ha Ha" Mates Of State _Team Boo_

"Nothing Really Happened" Math & Physics Club _In This Together_
"My Record Collection" The Mathletes _#$@% You & Your Cool_
"I'm An Alcoholic" Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele _The Good Feeling Music Of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele_
"This & That" The Maybellines _You're Still Young At Heart_
"Montague Terrace (In Blue)" Mayfair Charm School _Bellissimo! Él Singles Part One_

"Dark House" The Mayfair Set _Young One_
"Deeper Than The Ocean" The Mayfields _Deeper Than The Ocean 7"_
"My Own Fellowship" Maylove _Sing Little Clam Sing 7"_
"Grey Rebel Suit Search" The McAllisters _Too Much Money Propaganda_
"Red Sleeping Beauty" McCarthy _Scared To Get Happy: A Story Of Indie Pop 1980-1989_

"Aware Of All" The McCluskey Brothers _Aware Of All_

(part two)

"Candleland" Ian McCulloch _Candleland_
"Lighting Fires" Grant McLennan _Fireboy_
"Jesse Rae" The McTells _What Happens Next_
"Me & My Paisley Shirt" Me & Dean Martin _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Vol. 3_

"Una Mañana" Me Enveneno De Azules _A Veces Quiero Estar Callado_
"Intestinal Bolognese" The Meanies _No Sleep 'Til Bedtime 7" EP_
"Don't Slip Up" Meat Whiplash _CD86_
"Smoke" Medalark Eleven _Smoke_
"Uncomfortable" Mega Emotion _Uncomfortable_

"Your Tears" Rose Melberg _Cast Away The Clouds_
"Final Flight" Melbourne Cans _Moonlight Malaise_
"Wildest Dream" Melodie Group _Seven Songs_
"Wait For A Decade" Melodika _The Sound Of Young Sweden, Vol. 2_
"Futuristic Lover" Melody Dog _Futuristic Lover_

"The Plea Before The Scream" The Melody Unit _Songs For The New American Century_

Whither Indiepop A To Z # 55

(Original image here.)

Fifty-five episodes?!?  I know, right?  Geez.

When we last listened to indiepop in alphabetical order, we were visiting the letter M.  (You can listen to that episode here.)  We had finished with Mascott.  Which means we'll probably continue with Ma for a while, probably getting to Mc, & with a little luck & some discrimination, we'll start with Me.  Suddenly it feels like I am talking about elements.  Well, the joke's on you.  There are no elements who have those abbreviations!  What about mercury? you may ask.  Nope!  That's Hg.  Magnesium?  Mg, dude.  Mendelevium???  Um, wow.  That's a deep cut.  Still, no!  That's Md.

Thinking about it, a radio series called "Elements A To Z" would have been fun, & also I'd be done by now.

Not so with the Indiepop A To Z!  We're probably not even in the middle!

But surely it's not about the destination, but instead the journey?  I hope so.  Come back to the caravan tonight from 9-11pm eastern on 93.9 fm WLXU in Lexington & online at lexingtoncommunityradio dot org!  If you like jangle & twee, it's the place to be!

Preface To Indiepop A To Z # 55: The Process Explained

Oh golly I just a very long blog post describing in terrible detail the process I use to record & submit my shows & I don't even know why.  Even if years later, long after I've stopped doing Self Help Radio, I wanted some reminder of the trouble I went through to prerecord the show while I was in Texas & the show was on in Kentucky, I'm not sure I would've wanted or needed the level of description I was giving it.  What the hell is wrong with me?

Here are some facts about tomorrow's show that I wanted to share:

1) Because the station is closed for the holidays, I had to prerecord & turn it in early.
2) I usually turn in my shows the day before.  For example, the Christmas show, which aired last Wednesday, was sent to the station's Program Manager on Tuesday.
3) Because the station closed this week, I turned this week's show in on Thursday.
4) I have almost no memory of making the show, which is a little freaky.
5) I hope it's good?

There are other things I mentioned as well, like:

6) I miss doing the show live.
7) Because I did a show this morning on KNON.  I subbed for Nil on the Tuesday Morning Blend.
8) In general, my sub shows don't make it to my website, but if you want to hear it, you can go here.  It'll be there for the next couple of weeks.
9) Another reason to miss doing the show live is that I am also doing one more night at KVRX down in Austin.
10) Instead of just a random show, & so as not to make more work for myself, I will be repeating two Self Help Radios from this year.
11) Except, unlike the shows which are on the website, these will be live.

Yeah, so I miss doing live radio.  That probably won't change until I can do Self Help Radio live.  Which probably won't happen in the near or even the medium far away future.

Anyway, that was the gist of the much, much longer post I deleted.  I wonder how this week's show will turn out...

Christmas Memories

Above is a picture of my mother & siblings (& my first niece) some time in the late 70s.  From left to right is my brother Ralph, me, my mother holding my little brother Chris, my brother Steve, my sister Pat holding my sister Karin, & my brother Eddie holding his daughter.

My guess is that it's Christmas 1978, which means I'm ten years old.  I have come to that conclusion because the toy in my hands is a Cylon Raider from the original Battlestar Galactica series which premiered that year & of which I was a big fan.  But it might be 1979.  I think I even had a Battlestar Galactica lunchbox.  How the show didn't survive with a fan like me is a mystery.

As I have mentioned, I don't celebrate Christmas, except with my show.  That was not always the case.  As a child, I loved Christmas, because, you know, presents.  & in general I think I got most of what I wanted.  (Well, except for that time I got a pet rock.)  That was no mean feat, as we were quite poor.  Maybe I should ask my mother how she did that, if my siblings contributed in any way.  How my mother made money in those days is something of a mystery.

One thing I disliked about our Christmas is that, because my mother's German, we would have Christmas - which meant of course opening presents - on Christmas Eve.  Which meant that we (my little brother & I) would be up all night playing with toys & be bored with them by the next day, which is when our friends woke & opened their presents, & be having fun while we'd be tired & bored.  Like the year we got an Atari.  Hours of Asteroids.  All night long.  Our friends got an Atari the next morning.  We played that all night long!  Wouldn't they rather go out & play?

During college & afterwards I would come home for Christmas, mainly at my mother's insistence, but I stopped doing that even before moving away gave me a good excuse not to attend.  (My oldest brother lives in Washington & uses that excuse.)  I just don't really enjoy it anymore - I have the means to get myself all the toys I want - & decided not to attend this year, although I would've had to stay away anyway thanks to my cold.

My brain holds almost no memories about that picture up there - I remember getting the Battlestar Galactica toys, which I probably used interchangeably with my Star Wars toys - I often created my own universes with my action figures, even giving them new names & personalities.  But I'm glad we look happy & healthy in that picture.  Whether we were, who knows?  It was four decades ago.

Horrify The Family On Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve, babe, & I'm not in a drunk tank, but I do have a cold.  It happened all of a sudden this morning & I've been sucking lozenges for my throat & cough, & popping Sudafed for my sneezes.  Strangely I am not sleepy, so I've been listening to music & wondering when I'll be well again.

Here's hoping you're faring better on this holiday eve!  I'm terrible at promotion (I mean, jeez, look at the product I'm promoting!) but I figured I could let you know that there are Self Help Radio Christmas shows (very Self Help Radio) on the web site if you're looking to annoy someone in the family tonight or tomorrow.

Here is this year's show, which aired last week.  Here's last year's show, which aired last year, appropriately.  Here's the Christmas show from two years ago, which aired two years ago (imagine that) on a different radio station than the one the show is on now.  & here's the show from 2014 which aired three years ago.

Jeez I didn't know I had saved so many of them, but here's the show from 2013, which, oh you know. & holy crud, look!  Here's the 2012 show.  Good grief, there's even the Christmas show from 2011!

There wasn't a show in 2010 as I was in Australia.  That's crazy but true.

Wow, I didn't know I went as far back as the 2009 Christmas show.  But it's there.  Thankfully no earlier ones!  I really need to clean up the website.

You'll (not yule) need a password & username - username SHR & password selfhelp.  If you want to listen.  It may make family members leave sooner!

Happy Santa night!