Saturday, June 12, 2021

Movies On The Moon

(image from the IMDb.)

This week's Self Help Radio was the first radio show on the moon (in case you missed such a monumental achievement, you can listen at the Self Help Radio website or at the KBOO Self Help Radio page, should you want to catch up) & on the show was another installment of our series Chuck's Happily Unsophisticated Cinema Korner.  This one featured films (& one television show) that happened on the moon.  Here are important links:


Chuck's Twitter feed - keep up with what he's watching here.
Here's his Youtube playlist of movies on the moon.
He also made a playlist of movies involving a full moon.*
Chuck also wrote reviews of the movies he watched on Letterboxd.
Finally, here are the IMDb lists of movies tagged with "moon" & with "full moon."

Chuck's insights & recommendations are always valuable to me.  I hope you find something you'll enjoy watching!

*You should listen to the segment to understand why Chuck made this!

Friday, June 11, 2021

Children's Books On The Moon

(These book covers are from (left to right) here, here, & here.)

If you missed this week's show - & I'm not sure why you would do such a thing - you missed a visit from our librarian friend Carole, who recommended three books about being on the moon.  Visit the Self Help Radio website or the KBOO Self Help Radio page to listen, & if you do, you'll hear her talk about these three books:

How To Be On The Moon by Viviane Schwartz.  More info here, although we strongly recommend if you want to purchase the book, you do so at an independent bookstore, & not a nameless corporation that has too much money as it is.

Love, Sophia On The Moon by Anica Mrose Rissi & Mika Song.  More info here.  Again, don't buy it from Amazon, please.  Hey look!  Here's a Youtube video of the author reading the book!

Field Trip To The Moon by John L. Hare.  More info here.  Carole's commentary on this was especially entertaining.  Go listen!

Support libraries & independent bookstores!  They're awesome!

Tuesday, June 08, 2021

Self Help Radio 060810: On The Moon plus Mommyheads Interview!

(Original image here.*)

That's right!  This morning's Self Help Radio was the first radio show on the moon!  No matter what Buzz Aldrin says!  At best he had the first podcast on the moon.  An achievement, sure, but not the same!

Before I went to the moon, however, I spoke with Adam Elk of The Mommyheads & in addition to being a fascinating conversationalist, he also played a few songs for us acoustically.  That was kind of him.

Anyway, you can listen to his interview by itself here & the "On The Moon" show in its entirety here (in both cases you'll need a username - SHR - & a password - selfhelp) but you can hear the whole three hours over at the KBOO Self Help Radio page (no password required).  The songs for all three hours + stuff that happened in-between are below.

Does anyone know how to get back from the moon?  Asking for a stranded deejay.

Self Help Radio Interview With Adam Elk Of The Mommyheads
songs played in-between interview airbreaks
"Between The Moon & The Sun" The Mommyheads _Acorn_
"I'm Not Real" The Mommyheads _Coming Into Beauty_
"Fast Enough For You" The Mommyheads _Bingham's Hole_
"Stupid Guy" The Mommyheads _You're Not A Dream_
"I Started Breathing" Adam Elk _Solo Acoustic_
"Like A Brick" Adam Elk _Solo Acoustic_
"Speaker Heart" Adam Elk _Solo Acoustic_
"Woke Up A Scientist" Adam Elk _Solo Acoustic_
"Monkey" The Mommyheads _The Mommyheads_
"Take Me As I Am" The Mommyheads _New Kings Of Pop_

Self Help Radio On The Moon
"Let's Go To The Moon" The Equals _Equals Strike Again_
"Get On The Moon Baby" Julian With Tasso & His Big Orchestra _Get On The Moon Baby_
"Walking On The Moon" Lucia Pamela _Into Outer Space With Lucia Pamela_

introduction & list of people who've walked on the moon

"Alan Bean" Hefner _Dead Media_
"Man On The Moon" The Jesus & Mary Chain _Munki_
"Whitey On The Moon" Gil Scott-Heron _Small Talk At 125th & Lenox_
"Walking On The Moon (Men Are Starving)" Rev. Jamel & Bob Johnson _The World's Rarest Funk 45s (Volume Two)_
"Walking On The Moon" The Police _Reggatta De Blanc_

interview with CEO Conrad Schnitzel, who wants to put things on the moon

"There's Honey On The Moon Tonight" Fats Waller _1937-1938_
"I Don't Want To Live On The Moon" Rose Melberg _September_
"Swingin' On The Moon" Mel Torme _Swingin' On The Moon_
"Monkey On The Moon" Gene Hall _UFO On Farm Road 318_
"Monkeys On The Moon" The Sopwith Camel _The Miraculous Hump Returns From The Moon_

visit with librarian Carole, recommending books about being on the moon

"Walking On The Surface Of The Moon" Wreckless Eric _Big Smash_
"Up On The Moon" Milky _Travels With A Donkey_
"Holiday On The Moon" Love & Rockets _Sorted! The Best Of Love & Rockets_
"Standing On The Moon" Molly Tuttle _Standing On The Moon_
"Rocking On The Moon To-Night" Big Charles Green With Lil Dusty Fletcher & His Front Page Clefs _Rocking On The Moon To-Night_

visit from cinephile Chuck, discussing movies that take place on the moon

"Space 1999" City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra _100 Greatest TV Themes_
"If You Stub Your Toe On The Moon" Frank Sinatra _The Voice: The Columbia Years 1943-1952_
"Cowboy On The Moon" Laura Cantrell _Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records: The Covers!_
"Land On The Moon" Brian Deady _Interview_
"Spy On The Moon" Momus _The Ultraconformist_

conclusion & goodbye

"Home On The Moon" The Mommyheads _Soundtrack To The World's End_
"Picnic On The Moon" Bel Canto _Birds Of Passage_
"First Boy On The Moon" Bill Nelson _Noise Candy (A Creamy Centre In Every Bite!)_

* "The Moon - Waxing Gibbous 98% of Full - at 21:26 UTC 26 August 2007 - Age of Moon: 14.081 days" by Rick Leche is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Monday, June 07, 2021

Whither On The Moon?

(Look at this absolutely gorgeous photo! It's from here.)

Truth be told, I can't remember why I'm doing a show about being on the moon.  But it led to something which will happen tonight which I couldn't have expected.

A few months ago I got a nice letter from Adam Elk of the band The Mommyheads.  Laboring as I do in almost complete obscurity, I was a bit flabbergasted he reached out, but he seemed so nice, that when I realized, as I was looking through songs about being on the moon that the Mommyheads had a nice one, I asked him in email if he might want to come on the show & chat a bit.

He did!  Not only that, he recorded four songs in his studio.  When we got to talking, I realized that I couldn't just stick him on the air for a few minutes - I needed to spare a longer chunk of time to showcase him, his band's music, & his solo performances.

Therefore, the first hour of the show tonight is an interview & performance with Adam Elk featuring lots of Mommyheads song.  We talked for almost an hour, I hope I got the best bits.

After that it's the regular Self Help Radio show, just two hours long, & it's on the moon.  It's not going to be as interesting as listening to a smart, observant, creative musician talk about his craft & his history, but it's the best I could do.

Tonight on 90.7 KBOO & kboo.fm from midnight to 3am.  It'll be the first time a human's been on the moon since 1972!

Sunday, June 06, 2021

Preface To On The Moon: Flags On The Moon


The picture above is from this article: What Happened To The American Flags On The Moon?  So far the moon is the only other part of the solar system humans have put flags on.  No flags on Mars or Venus.  No flags on that comet we landed on a while back.  Voyager didn't drop flags when it flew by Jupiter.

Which makes me think - those flags look kind of bulky.  What did they have to leave out of the lunar lander to make room for the flags?  Maybe the astronauts would have preferred more dehydrated ice cream.

But they kept bringing flags along!  American put six flags on the moon, & the article says that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken pictures of shadows of five of the six flags.  One of my favorite parts of the article: "While the flags are still there, it's doubtful whether the distinctive stars & stripes are still visible, said ASU professor Mark Robinson, the chief scientist for the cameras. 'I can only guess they are badly in need of replacement after 50-ish years of UV, hot-cold cycles, & micrometeorite bombardment,' he said."

The one Buzz & Neil left apparently was too close to the lander & was blown down in the exhaust of liftoff.  Stupid flag.

But I didn't really want to talk about flags on the moon today!  I wanted to tell you that there'll be only a two hour Self Help Radio tomorrow.  But I guess I can tell you in the next post.