Bags Of Leaves

Sometimes it's exactly as advertised.  A photo of bags of leaves.  Taken on this day six years ago in Lexington, Kentucky.

Were they my leaves?  I don't believe they were.  We lived on a street with a creek that ran down the middle of it.  I don't see the creek.  It's not my street.

Almost certainly it's a street we walked down daily during our dog walks.  I can't be sure which one.  But I could admire the neatness of the bagged leaves.  They're posed as though for a military inspection.

Fall was a big deal in Lexington, & the trees really let loose.  So this isn't overkill.  & I suspect it wasn't the only time there were bags of leaves in front of that house.

Socks Books

Our favorite librarian Carole came on the show this week to talk about books featuring socks & she highlighted three books (well, one is a series).  They were:

Odd Socks by Michelle Robinson with illustrations by Rebecca Ashdown.

The Sock Monkey series by Cece Bell.

& Sock by Kim Adrian.

These are the books Carole talked about on the show.  Listen to the show if you want to know her thoughts!  & you best believe she loves socks.  Holy smokes she loves socks!

Self Help Radio 11121: Socks

(Original image here.*)

Finally, a show about that most underappreciated garment, the sock.  We wear them, we often buy colorful ones we might never show to anyone, with sports logos or copyrighted characters, or we opt for cheap ones that wear out too soon but are tantalizingly inexpensive, or we are fancy & proud with our socks.  Or all of these.  & more!  It's about damn time someone had a radio show about socks.

It might as well be Self Help Radio, then.  Three hours of songs about socks as well as some surprisingly pertinent interviews with individuals well-acquainted with socks.  For those who love socks, it's a show that will - confusingly - knock your socks off.  We could also say the show "socks it to you," but the two uses of the word are not related.  So we won't say that.

You can listen to the show any time you like at either the KBOO website or at the show's website (or both, although it'll probably be mismatched like some socks are).  There is a username/password combo needed at the latter site, & those are SHR/selfhelp.  What happens on the show as well as the songs played.

Hop to it!  It's a show about socks!

Self Help Radio Sock Show

"Socks" King Missile _King Missile_

"Sox" Splodgenessabounds _Splodgenessabounds_

"Socks" Imagination Movers _10-4_

introduction & definitions

"My Socks" Nick Cope _My Socks_

"Knee Socks" Arctic Monkeys _AM_

"Odd Socks" Les Barker _Up The Creek Without A Poodle_

"Clean Socks" Sports _All Of Something_

"Pretty Plaid Skirt (& Long Black Sox)" The Night Riders _Sticks & Stones: The Sue Records Story_

our librarian friend Carole talks about her socks

"Your Socks Don't Match (wth Bing Crosby)" Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five _Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five_

"Knee Socks" April March _Chrominance Decoder_

"Herbs, Good Hygiene, & Socks" Lovage _Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By_

"Socks, Drugs, & Rock 'n' Roll" Buffalo Daughter _New Rock_

"Red Travelin' Socks" Malcolm Middleton _Waxing Gibbous_

our librarian friend Carole talks about books featuring socks

"White Socks" Brice _What Happens In Spacecamp Stays In Spacecamp_

"Pink Socks Rock" The Fairies Band _EP Three_

"Knee Socks" The Ideals _Come On Let's Go: The Pye International Story_

"Einstein Never Wore Socks" The Fugs _The Real Woodstock Festival_

"Magic In My Socks" Al Kooper _You Never Know Who Your Friends Are_

interview with former sock factory employee Chester Flange

"How The World Works" Bo Burnham _Inside (The Songs)_

"Socks & A Smile" Fighting Gravity _Shishskabob_

"Fox In Socks" Marvin Miller _Fox In Socks/Green Eggs & Ham_

"Socks On" MC Frontalot _Final Boss_

"Baby Doll Socks" The Centimeters _The Lifetime Achievement Awards_

interview with Ben Chamberlain of the Portland Sock Puppet Theater

"Knock My Socks Off" Lyres _A Promise Is A Promise_

"Mod Socks" The Grasshoppers _Winning Sides # 2 (17 Sixties Punkers From The USA!)_

"Socks" Ponce _Ponce_ 

"Socks" Liza Anne _Fine But Dying_

"Darn My Socks" Prince Rubin & Jimmy _Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society: Whispers From The Archive_

interview with listener Archie Delacourt, who doesn't like socks

"Bobby Sox Blues" Roosevelt Sykes _Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order, Volume 8_

"Little Miss Bobby Sox" Bonnie Lou _Friction Heat (1953-58)_

"White Bobby Socks" Wally Lewis _Chills & Fever: The Dot Records Story_

"Bobby Sox Rock" Babe Blountt _Burning Frets (The Rhythm, The Blues, The Hot Guitar)_

"Bobby Sox To Stockings" Frankie Avalon _The Fabulous Frankie Avalon_

"Bobby-Sox Baby" Slim Harpo _Rocks_

a brief introduction to sock hops

"Sock Hop" Carol Jarvis _East Coast Teen Party Volume 7_

"Sock Hop" The Gorman Sisters _Rock Baby Rock It! - Record Hop Rock 'N' Roll_

"Sock Hop" Sharptones _Over The Top Doo Wops Vol. 1: Let The Old Folks Talk_

"Rock-A-Sock-A-Hop" Jimmy Crain _Rock-A-Sock-A-Hop_

"The Sock" The Sharpees _The One-Derful! Collection: One-Derful! Records_

"Sock Hop" All-Time Quarterback _All-Time Quarterback_

conclusion & goodbye

"Socks" Satellite Skin _Maybe Next Weekend Will Be Better_

"Sockman" The Lipstick Killers _Do The Pop! Redux Part One_

"Put Your Socks On Mama" Brak _Space Ghost's Musical Bar-B-Que_

"Sock Drawer" Ari Roar _Calm Down_

"What The World Needs (Is A New Pair Of Socks)" Spectrum _Milesago_

* "Winter sock drawer" by thriftyknitter is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

Whither Socks (Again)?

(Image from here - read why they're wearing mismatched socks!)

One week ago in this very blog I promised you a show about socks.  Then a minor emergency with one of my elderly animals waylaid me.  I do not regret postponing the sock show - my animals are the most important thing in my life, & this includes my wife, who is an animal too you know - but I am glad it didn't go anywhere because tonight all those socks will come to life!

Before the show, I consulted a sock expert who told me she couldn't really think of one song about socks.  I have three hours' worth tonight!  Plus experts about socks, sock puppets, & sock manufacturing - & in fairness someone who doesn't care for socks.  Yes, we allow differing opinions on the show - we're not right wing media!

So please forgive last week's absence & tune in tonight from midnight to 3am on 90.7 fm KBOO Portland - online at kboo.fm - for a show about socks.  I'll sock it to ya!

Preface To Socks (Again): Sock Drawer

(image from here)

There might not be time for a poem by Sir Archibald Von Poesy on tomorrow's show. but he's asked me to share one he's written for the show anyway.  So here it is.

Do you know what I abhor?  A messy sock drawer.
If I've not said it heretofore, let me close that open door.
Not to cause an uproar - but an unkempt sock drawer?
Why not leave them on the floor, or hang them on a sycamore?

Your stockings you ignore, what else don't you care for?
You may think me a bore, a clumsy troubadour,
On a mission to restore some outdated esprit de corps.
But it's you I adore, in all your splendor!
For the sake of love I implore - I am begging on all fours! - 

Is it too much to ask for a tidy sock drawer?