Self Help Radio 062819: Doubt

(Original image here.)

Oh! The show's a little late today! I doubted I could have finished it on time, & I was right! That, by the way, is how you snatch victory from the jaws of doubt: doubt that you can accomplish something & then celebrate when you do in fact fail. It sustains me.

But the show is done, I think it's pretty good music-wise, but I have to give props to the funny people on the show today.  Their real names are Ryan, Russell, Allen, & Alyx, & they made me laugh so much while they were doing the fake interviews that I hope you'll laugh a lot too. Sometimes I feel stupid lucky these guys help me out with my dumb show.

Enough about all that. The show is doubtlessly over at Self Help Radio dot net at this very moment. You know there's a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) needed, right? Cool. Enjoy the show, see what's on it below, & don't doubt that I'll be back next week.

Self Help Radio Doubt Show

"Doubt" The 49 Americans _E Pluribus Unum_
"Doubt" The Cure _Faith_
"Doubt" Stereolab _Switched On_

introduction & definitions

"Reverberation (Doubt)" The 13th Floor Elevators _The Psychedelic World Of The 13th Floor Elevators_
"Shout Out Doubt" The Sponsors _Sponsors_
"Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe" The Byrds _Mr. Tambourine Man_
"Remove This Doubt" Elvis Costello _The Kojak Variety_
"Shadow Of A Doubt" Sonic Youth _Evol_

Interview with the Rev Dr Howard Gently
Phone call from the show's lawyer Bobcat Sloan

"Doubts Even Here" New Order _Movement_
"Your Doubting Heart" The Hobbes Fanclub _Up At Lagrange_
"Benefit Of The Doubt" Vi Velasco _The Vi Velasco Album_
"No Doubt About It" The Shirelles _The World's Greatest Girls Group_
"Chinook (Sing From The Valley Of Doubt)" Louise Burns _Mellow Drama_

Interview with the Rev Dr Howard Gently

"Crippling Self Doubt & A General Lack Of Self Confidence" Courtney Barnett _Tell Me How You Really Feel_
"Inside Doubt" Bonnie Hayes & The Wild Combo _Good Clean Fun + Brave New Girl_
"Clouds Of Doubt" Faces In The Crowd _Hipsville, Vol. 2_
"You Better Be Doubtful" The Housemartins _The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death_
"Darkness & Doubt" The Mekons _Fear & Whiskey_

Interview with Gölden Överthrøw vocalist Tony Too Tights

"No Doubt About It" The Other Half _Mr. Pharmacist_
"No Doubt" Penny Candles _Borobudur 12"_
"No Doubt" Mick Harvey _Two Of Diamonds_
"In Doubt" Peter Gabriel _Passion (Music For The Last Temptation Of Christ)_
"Sense Of Doubt" David Bowie _"Heroes"_

Fun in the Self Help Radio Lab
Another phone call from the show's lawyer Bobcat Sloan

"Doubtful" The Moonglows _Windy City Harmonizers: Rarities From Chess Vocal Groups_
"Without A Doubt" The Righteous Brothers _Back To Back_
"Who Could Ever Doubt My Love" The Supremes _The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 5: 1965_
"Without A Doubt" Major Lance _You Better Believe It! Vol. 1_
"Ain't No Doubt About It" Wilson Pickett _In Philadelphia_

conclusion & goodbyes

"In Love With The Doubt" Dolorean _You Can't Win_

Whither Doubt?

(This image is from a website with an article called How To Manage Doubt.)

In the fall of 1988 (I'm guessing) I took one of the several Shakespeare classes I would take (or have to take) at the University Of Texas At Austin.  Being a pretentious precocious kid, I had already read a few of Shakespeare's plays & had a favorite: Hamlet.

We read Hamlet in that class, & when it came time to write the inevitable paper, I told the instructor I wanted to write it about doubt.  As a centerpiece, I included the poem that Hamlet wrote to Ophelia, read by snoopy-ass Polonious to Hamlet's mom when the latter was worried about her boy's weird behavior:

Doubt thou the stars are fire;

Doubt that the sun doth move;

Doubt truth to be a liar;

But never doubt I love.

How many years has it been?  Thirty-one?  I no longer have that paper, & I don't recall what grade I got on it, though I did get an A in that class, so it wasn't like I bombed or anything.

Many years later I included that poem in an email to a girl I was playing at courting, & she didn't know it was from Hamlet, which was fine.  Not everyone could be as pretentious precocious as me.

Is Hamlet the reason for this show?  Is Hamlet the reason for anything, except maybe launching the careers of hundreds of actors?  Here are forty-five of them who have played the doomed Prince of Denmark.

Seriously, though, I doubt I was thinking about Hamlet when this theme popped into my head.  You should too.  You should doubt everything I say on this blog, on the show, in conversation with me.  It's a pretty wise thing to do.

But don't doubt that Self Help Radio will explore doubt tomorrow at noon at Self Help Radio dot net!

No, wait, doubt that, too.

Preface To Doubt: Book Recommendation

Since we moved to Portland, we've kept all our books in boxes.  We expect we're going to move again within the year (to a house we'll own) & didn't want to pack & unpack again so soon.  But, apropos this week's show, there's a book that I recommend, & it's called, of course, Doubt.

It's been a while since I read it - & it wasn't the inspiration for this week's show - & there's a part of me that wishes it were handy so I could perhaps read some extracts for the show - but I remember loving the book, & I am sad I won't be able to share anything in it.

If you're looking for an entertaining & informative history of humankind's tendency to question & how that's advanced our understanding of the world, it's here.

This may be the first book I've recommended on the blog!

What Happened To Today?

Friends from Dallas came to town, I spent the afternoon & evening with them.  I need to wake up early to run the board at a station so need to get to sleep like an hour ago.  So I will take this time to remind you that:

Self Help Radio has a Facebook page.  I often preview songs for the week's show there.  Like or follow or whatever it!

Self Help Radio has a Twitter page.  I announce stuff there (like on the Facebook page) as well as live-tweet shows I do live.  Follow or like or whatever it!

Self Help Radio has a Tumblr page.  I post dumb pictures I take there, you know, like what Instagram is for.  But Self Help Radio does not have an Instagram page.  If you like to look at amateurish photos of random stuff I come across, like or follow or whatever it!

All of these are linked at Self Help Radio's web site.  That's where you can listen to shows.

My work for the day is done.  Time for maybe six hours of sleep!

Involvement

Last night I wrote this on Facebook:

Every college/community radio station meeting is the exact same college/community radio station meeting.

I don't really think that's true, but I had just returned from the monthly meeting at another community station here in Portland, & it was very similar to pretty much any radio station meeting I have attended in the last 25 years.

Which officially makes it three radio stations I'm getting involved with here in Portland.  If that seems insane to you, well, same here!

Yesterday I ran the board for one station (let's call them station # 1), which is the station that it's been easiest to get involved with (I am going up there to help with their music library stuff).  I like this station a lot, they've been incredibly welcoming, but I don't know if I want Self Help Radio on this station (for some dumb reasons) but more importantly I don't think I have much of a chance getting a show on this station any time soon.

This Thursday I train at another station (let's call it station # 2) & I also think competition is tight for airtime.  They've been the most elusive station at which to get involved - it's been hard to not take it personally.  Anyway, I half-expect the session to get cancelled.  We'll see.

As for station # 3, whose monthly meeting I attended last night: they're opening up applications for the next schedule (starting in September) & even though I've not been trained, I'm being encouraged to apply.  I hope chat with the Program Manager sooner than later to find out more about the process, but there are some reasons why I don't necessarily want Self Help Radio on this station.  I may enumerate them later.

In any event: I sure am keeping busy!