Swirlie

This picture was taken (by me) six years ago.  In Dallas, Texas.  I called it "Swirlie."  I think it was taken right outside the KNON studios during their annual toy drive.  I probably took about ten shots on the crappy old digital camera I was using before I got this one, where you can see the ribbons & the center clearly.  That day the temperature dropped about thirty degrees in the afternoon, & I caught a cold.

That's all.

"The Selfies"!

(original image here)

A thought occurred to me: along with my list of favorite records, I should give out imaginary awards for other favorite things that happened during the year.  It could be about anything - things in Portland, movies or television shows, whatever.

But then another thought occurred to me - what would I call them?  They'd have to have a good name, like the Oscars or Emmys or Cable Ace Awards.  But what would I call these imaginary awards that are only important to me?

Then it hit me!  Self Help Radio would have as its award the Selfie!

In excitement, I told my wife, who said, "A selfie is a picture that someone takes of themselves to post on social media."

"Oh yeah," I said.  "I totally forgot."

& that was that for Self Help Radio awards.

Self Help Radio 121322: Gary's Favorite Music 2022

(images from Discogs & Bandcamp)

Here is my official "not best of" for the year 2022. Lots & lots of music I enjoyed in 2022.

But you know what?  Not all the music I enjoyed in 2022!  I left out a lot!  & now I am second-guessing everything!  Why o why is my radio show only three hours long?!?  Maybe I should do a "favorites" show twice a year!  Three times a year!  How will I ever keep up?!?

Ah well.  Gotta move on.  Listen to this show if you'd like at either the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website.  At the latter, you know, you'll need a username & password.  Try "SHR" & "selfhelp."  That should work.  All the songs I played are below.  & it was all music - except when I asked in vain for help during the station's End Of The Year Membership Drive.

It was a good year for music - for music I liked!  I hope you like too.

Self Help Radio's Favorites Of 2022
"Dean's 7th Dream" My Favorite _Tender Is The Nightshift: Part 1_

"RVW" Wombo _Fairy Rust_
"Safeword" Shriekback _Bowlahoola_
"I Feel Fine" Reptaliens _Multiverse_
"Bartleby" Momus _Smudger_
"Wet Dream" Wet Leg _Wet Leg_

"Bad Summer" Spector _Now Or Whenever_
"Strood McD F.C." Jetstream Pony _Under The Bridge_
"My Most Beautiful Mistake" Elvis Costello & The Impostors _The Boy Named If_
"Mirrors" Just Mustard _Heart Under_
"Never Seen You Dance" Monogamy _Never Seen You Dance_

"I'm Waiting For The Man (May 1965 Demo)" Lou Reed _Words & Music May 1965_
"Andy Warhol (In Concert: John Peel)" David Bowie _Divine Symmetry_
"Trocadero" Sophisticated Boom Boom _Sophisticated Boom Boom_
"Bad Dreams" Marine Research _Peel Session_
"Sea Madness" The Jazz Butcher _The Highest In The Land_

"Option 8" Horsegirl _Versions Of Modern Performance_
"Loaded" Courting _Guitar Music_
"The Rip" Porridge Radio _Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky_
"First Blood" The Mountain Goats _Bleed Out_
"Driver's Story" Dry Cleaning _Stumpwork_

"Garden Of Stars" Brian Eno _Foreverandevernomore_
"Golden Air" Sun's Signature _Sun's Signature EP_
"I Don't Mean To Stare" The Orchids _Dreaming Kind_
"The Fawn" Sound Of Ceres _Emerald Sea_
"Indiferencia" Combo Chimbita _Iré_

"The House On The Borderland" MJ Hibbett _The Unearthly Beauty Of MJ Hibbett_
"Teenager (feat. Chai & Pi Ja Ma)" Superorganism _World Wide Pop_
"Vegan Water" Cheekface _Too Much To Ask_
"Strange Mornings In The Garden" The Loyal Seas _Strange Mornings In The Garden_
"Pool Cue Vigilante" Northern Portrait _The Swiss Army_

"Over & Over" No Suits In Miami _Nothing Ever Happens_
"Boho In Soho" Cleaners From Venus _That London_
"Pomeranian Spinster" Alvvays _Blue Rev_
"Go Go Go" The Wedding Present _Go Go Go_
"Best Left" The Beths _Expert In A Dying Field_
"Really In The Wrong Town" The Monochrome Set _Allhallowtide_

Whither Gary's Favorite Music 2022?

(image from some random Tumblr site)

It's that time of year again!  Not a "best of" list - I don't believe there's a such thing as a "best" & anyway I didn't listen to every release in 2022, so how could I (or anyone) claim to say what is "best" then? - but simply some of my favorite musical releases from the year.

You probably can guess I listen to music all the time & so I will almost certainly have more than three hours worth of songs I could call my "favorites" of the year.  So I follow these rules:

1) The music had to be something I listened to quite a lot.  More than just once or twice.
2) The music to be released this year - yes, I'll have some reissues on the list.
3) The song I play tonight isn't necessarily my favorite from the record - maybe I already played my favorite before & I wanted to showcase another song.
4) This is not a comprehensive list - I will doubtless have forgotten something or not gotten around to listening to something yet - there are almost three more weeks left in 2022!

Perhaps you'll have fun listening to me playing lots of my favorite music of the year.  It'll happen from midnight to 3am Portland time on 90.7fm in town & online at kboo.fm.

You should totally make a list of your favorites too!  But if you call it a "best of" I'm probably just going to feel a little sorry for you & probably not going to pay much attention to it.

Preface To Gary's Favorite Music 2022: Repeating Myself

(image from here)

Every year around this time, I take a second to gripe about "best of" lists.  They sprout like weeds at the end of the year, & I am usually irked by the presumptuousness & the arrogance of anyone proclaiming what the 'best' is, even if it's done by committee.  Of all the major music places I know anything about (I don't really read music criticism these days, so I don't pay a lot of attention), only Allmusic says "favorites of 2022" in places, although they do have a "best of 2022" page too.

But you know what?  I'm not going to complain.  I feel like if you're the sort of person who desperately needs to believe that what you listen to is "the best" - even if there are people who don't like what you like, thereby invalidating the whole idea of "best" - then please by all means demonstrate that to us.  I'll know I can't really talk to you about music anyway.

Meanwhile, I'm just going to take some time this week to play stuff I listened to a lot this year.  I might not have played them on the radio much - my shows don't necessarily allow that as much as I wish - but I'm not always listening to music that I play on the radio.  Maybe there'll be something there you like.

It's not "the best of 2022" - & it's also not all my favorite stuff, since I only have three hours - but I hope to cover as much ground as possible!