Saturday, April 15, 2023

Self Help Radio 041323: Options

(it's at least one of your options)

As usual, you had the option to listen to this week's show, which had the theme "options," when it aired at its regular timeslot, Thursdays noon to 2pm on Freeform Portland. Almost certainly you did not avail yourself of that option. As was your right.

But then you heard that in addition to the music, I talked to a psychologist about option paralysis! to a retired General who wrote a book called "Failure Is Not An Option"! to a fellow opening a club in town called Options! & to a game show host trying to sell a game show called Options! Maybe you thought, I might have enjoyed that. In case you did - & sure, you didn't, but in case you did - you now have the option of listening to the show any time you want.

It's at the Self Help Radio website. You'll need a username & password to listen - that's SHR & selfhelp respectively. Every song I played & the interviews are listed below, so you have the option to skip around to what you want to listen to.

Aren't options great?

Self Help Radio Options show
"I'll Take An Option On You" Peggy Healy, Roy Bargy, & Rhythm Boys _I'll Take An Option On You_
"Options" Gomez _Whatever's On Your Mind_
"Options" Woolen Men _Options EP_

introduction & definitions

"Options R" Wire _Pink Flag_
"Options" The Proletariat _This Is Boston Not L.A._
"Sabbatical With Options (feat. Aesop Rock)" Prefuse 73 _Surrounded By Silence_
"Options" Sa-Roc _The Sharecropper's Daughter (Deluxe Edition)_

interview with psychologist Dr. Sandy Stern

"C Is The Heavenly Option" Heavenly _Le Jardin De Heavenly_
"Heavenly Option" Cinnamon _The Courier_
"No Options" Lunatics On Pogosticks _Whatever Gets You Through_
"I Need Options" Freezepop _Secret Companion_

interview with self-help author Brigadier General Herman Masterson (Ret.)

"Modern Options" Steven James Adams _Old Magick_
"The Saturday Option" Lambchop _What Another Man Spills_
"At The Purchaser's Option" Rhiannon Giddens _Freedom Highway_
"Not An Option" The Wild Reeds _The World We Built_

interview with club owner Andrew

"Apple Option Fire" Hot Lava _Lavalogy_
"No Mundane Options" The Paddingtons _No Mundane Options_
"Keeping Options Open" Tuns _Duly Noted_
"Option 8" Horsegirl _Versions Of Modern Performance_

you can an option game show host Milton Graves interrupts!

"Death Is Optional" Negativland _Speech Free_
"Technicolor Option" Knifehandchop _Rockstopper_
"Option Paralysis" Githead _Profile_

conclusion & goodbye

"If War Was Not An Option" Suheir Hammad _Poems Not Fit For The White House_
"Vinoo Mankad Option" Muslimgauze _Tandoori Dog_

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Whither Options?

(image from here)

Can I tell you, people in Portland have it good. There are so many options for great non-commercial radio here! In most other places, you may have a college station, or a community station, & then the NPR station. Usually the NPR station doesn't compete with the college/community station for music, but in Dallas & Austin there's an NPR music station as well. A part of me doesn't really consider anything NPR does in the same category as college & community stations because they playlist. Most of their deejays are just voice talent like on commercial radio stations.

& I don't really count commercial radio stations, although of course they're an option. This is true: the only times in the last few years I have heard commercial radio stations is either coming from a car that is passing or from people working on our house. & the stations seem utterly unchanged from when I listened to them in the 1980s, over forty years ago.

But as I was saying - options! On the left side of the dial are the stations at which I deejay! Plus there's others including some low power stations on both sides of the Columbia! It's incredible. I had too many options when I came to Portland & I had to settle on three. But there are more!

Is that the reason why Self Help Radio is about options today? I don't think so. I can't remember, actually. But listen today from noon to 2pm Portland time on Freeform Portland - we're on 90.3+98.3fm in town & online at freeformportland.org. You have the option not to do so, of course, but I hope you don't take it.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Preface To Options: Option D


This is one of the few images on my computer with the name "option." It's named "option d," presumably by me, since among the options I've had I have no chosen becoming my father or joining the army. I might have once made conceptual art but I wasn't very good at it. I am almost certain to die if ever I am alone in the woods.

A reverse-gurple image search suggests to me that I found it on this blog. That does not tell me where the blog found it. It's popped up here & there without any attribution. If I were a better detective - or didn't have a radio show to put together - I'd try to find out where it is. It's very funny.

Anyway, I like what I've done with the show so far. Fingers crossed it stays okay for tomorrow!

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Sock It To Me Sakamoto

(image from Wikipedia)

Very early this morning, on the show Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO, I played three hours of music by the late, great Ryuichi Sakamoto. I'll put it up on the Self Help Radio website anon, but you can listen to it now should you be so inclined at the KBOO website.

It didn't occur to me at the time, but this is one of the reasons I wanted to do just a general format show - to be able to have the time & space to showcase a performer like Sakamoto. I am grateful I had the opportunity today.

Monday, April 10, 2023

Supermarket Movies

(image from the IMDb)

When Self Help Radio behaves itself, we are visited by our resident cinephile, Chuck, who talks to us about movies involving the week's theme. This week it was supermarkets!

You didn't hear the show? Shame on you! No double coupons this week! Go please to the Self Help Radio website & avail yourself of our fresh selection of supermarket tunes!

Now that you've done that:

Have a look at the IMDb keyword list that Chuck used to find supermarket movies.

There's also a list on Letterboxd.

If you'd like to see some of these movies for free, check out Chuck's Youtube playlist. There's also a list of films on the IMDb which you can stream elsewhere for free.

Have a look at some of Chuck's Letterboxd reviews.

& to find out what movies he's watching next - follow Chuck on Twitter!Z

Anyway, those are too many items for the Express Checkout Lane. What were you thinking?