Preface To Scarecrows: Halloween Theme Dilemma

Self Help Radio has been on the air for over 22 years now. Every Halloween (except one) there's been a Halloween show. It's not that I love Halloween - I'm not really the "dressing up" kind - but I know you love Halloween. & there are lots of songs that fit into the Halloween framework. But because this is Self Help Radio & I'm me, I can't just do a general Halloween show every year. It has to be about something specific. & after two decades, I am probably running out of ideas. Yes, I've complained about this before.

To recap:
The first Self Help Radio in 2002 was a general Halloween show. I wasn't sure how long I'd be doing the show at that point & it hadn't quite come together anyway.

The next six shows (2003-2009, excluding 2004) were pretty straightforward Halloween subjects: ghosts, vampires, monsters, zombies, witches, & werewolves.
What happened in 2004? I think there was a band in town & I wanted to play them instead of doing a Halloween show.

I had to get a little creative from then on out.

2010-2013 was haunted houses, graveyards, nightmares, & hell.

2014 was mummies. I kinda saved that theme until I had run out of ideas. But had I?

No!

2015-2018 was clowns, death, black cats, & voodoo.

2019 was an entire show about Frankenstein's monster there was some related content in the monsters show from 2006.

2020 was called "attack of the self help radio" & featured lots of creatures as from science fiction movies using the phrase "attack of the..."
2021 I had a show about pumpkins. Not very scary, but Halloween-ish.

2022 I revisited a theme that should've been a Halloween show but now was: spiders.

& last year I came up with ghost towns but also not very scary.

This year it's scarecrows. I think it's a good idea. But I thought that about ghost towns. So. We'll see.

The lesson is, it always feels like I'm running out of ideas, until such time as I actually will.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Black Cat Day

How maligned are our dear friends, the black cats? How they fear Halloween & the constant insults, affronts, & calumnies thrown their way! It turns out that these wonderful creatures have their own national day, & while that is a small stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of returning them to the god-like status they enjoyed in ancient Egypt, it's ain't nothing!

Tune in tomorrow to the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM for a celebration of the black cat. It'll also double as a Halloween show! 12-1pm on 91.1+107.1fm & online at xray dot fm.

If you feel at all like supporting the station that airs the Dickenbock Report while also showing your appreciation for hard-hitting news team, you can do so on this XRAY Pledge Drive Page!

This Week In Self Help (Oct 18 20 + 22)

It was a busy week. Let's see what happened.

Oh yeah. I subbed a show last Friday night. It's called Youth Randomonium & they let me even tho I am not a youth. Luckily I am random. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website. It's also available on the Self Help Radio website. You'll need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

The Dickenbock Report reported on International Chef Day. You can listen to that show on the XRAY website. It's also available on the Self Help Radio website. You'll need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

Self Help Radio this week was about kaleidoscopes. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website. It's also available on the Self Help Radio website. You'll need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

The last hour of the show was an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming. I played lots of new releases. It's included in the KBOO link above, but if you'd like to listen to the show on it's on, you can do so on the Self Help Radio website. One last time I tell you that you'll need a username (SHR) & password (selfhelp) to access.

& that was it? & it was too much? Oh dear.

Self Help Radio 10224: Kaleidoscopes

It's true, yesterday I bought a kaleidoscope. I bought if from here. It's a D-I-Y device, it has a little plastic end that's removable so you can put things there - glitter, pebbles, beads, etc. - to make your own kaleidoscopic images. Instead I just pointed it at things - like the Self Help Radio logo. Which is where the image above comes from.

The show was kaleidoscoptic though, man! Lots of tunes with a psychedelic edge. I also got to talk to some oddballs. But I did spend most of the show playing with my new kaleidoscope.

You can play too but listen along at the KBOO web page or at the Self Help Radio web page. If you use the latter, remember the username SHR + password selfhelp. Lots of songs played & lots of stuff happening during the show. Most of it is listed below.

Most of it? Yeah! Like a kaleidoscope this show has some surprises!

Self Help Radio Kaleidoscopes show

"Kaleidoscope" Kaleidoscope _Tangerine Dream_

"Kaleidoscope" Procol Harum _Procol Harum_

"Kaleidoscope" Factree _A Lethal Dose Of Hard Psych (Authentic Way Cool Sixties Artefacts)_

"Kaleidoscope" The Litter _$100 Fine_

introduction & definitions

"Kaleidoscoptic" Shiva's Headband _Take Me To The Mountains_

"Kaleidoscope" Glenn Yarbrough _Bend Down & Touch Me_

"Carousels, Calliopes, Kaleidoscopes, & Clowns" Him He & Me _Him He & Me_

"Kaleidoscope" The Marmalade _Reflections Of The Marmalade_

"Kaleidoscope" Simple Minds _Celebration_

interview with toymaker & innovator Yvan Goode

"Kaleidoscope" Rain Parade _Emergency Third Rail Power Trip_

"Kaleidoscope World" The Chills _Kaleidoscope World_

"Sad Kaleidoscope" Razorcuts _R Is For... Razorcuts_

"Kaleidoscope" Yellow Sunshine Explosion _Yellow Sunshine Explosion_

"Kaleidoscope" Ride _Nowhere_

interview with Officer Yale Gentle

"Kaleidoskop" Fliehende Stürme _Ziellose Wege (Singles & Samplerbeiträge 1989-1998)

"Kaleidoscope" Teenage Filmstars _Star_

"Kaleidoscope" Pink Noise Test _Plasticized_

"I Was A Kaleidoscope" Death Cab For Cutie _The Photo Album_

"Kaleidoscope" Ringo Deathstarr _Colour Trip_

interview with Kaleidoscope director Yvette Grayson

"Kaleidoscope Eyes" Fireflies _Goodnight Stars, Goodnight Moon_

"Kaleidoscope" Jill Cunniff _City Beach_

"Kaleidoscopes" Teenage Joans _The Rot That Grows Inside My Chest_

"Kaleidoscope" Sam Morton _Daffodils & Dirt_

"Kaleidoscope Eyes" Burnt Ones _Black Teeth & Golden Tongues_

conclusion & goodbye

"Kaleidoscope" The Boo Radleys _Learning To Walk_

"Kaleidoscope" Jellybeat _Don't Let Us Be Misunderstood_

"Kaleidoscopic Lovers" The Avalanches _Wildflower_

Whither Kaleidoscopes?

It seems like I used to have a few kaleidoscopes. In the 1990s, there was a toy store near campus, & at least three times someone gifted me a kaleidoscope. I found a kaleidoscope once in the halls of my high school. I just took it, I never told anyone. I kept it next to my stereo in my room. I seem to remember bringing it to college in 1986. But did I?

Like everyone else, I have several drawers in several places where stuff goes - stuff you thought you were storing, but you probably will never use again. There's one right next to me in my room. I'll bet there's a kaleidoscope in there. Maybe two. But it was a kaleidoscope I saw but didn't take home (I'm a better person now) at one of my radio stations that made me remember the kaleidoscopes I used to have. & it made me think, "Have a done a show about kaleidoscopes?" & also, "If I haven't, should I do a show about kaleidoscopes?"

That show happens tonight! From midnight to 2pm on 90.7fm in Portland & online at kboo dot fm. So many songs & some interviews involving kaleidoscopes. Like we do.

Preface To Kaleidoscopes: That Familiar Feeling

(This is a kaleidoscope? From here.)

It may seem like I keep detailed records for this show - this show that has been on for twenty-two years - & in fact I do keep a web page - this one here - where I list all the themes I've explored - on Self Help Radio & on the Dickenbock Report. I don't, but I do have some resources. Despite that, I sometimes plan & plan & plan for a theme & it turns out I've already explored it.

That brings us to kaleidoscopes. If you had asked me a year if I had done a Self Help Radio episode about kaleidoscopes, I would have said maybe? Or probably? Or I think so? With the question marks in the answers! But I can't find any record that I actually spent an entire show on kaleidoscopes. I have played the sixties bands Kaleidoscope & Kaleidoscope. I have played music from the Siouxsie & The Banshees record Kaleidoscope. & I have played (& will play on this show) the Chills' song "Kaleidoscope World." But none of my records suggest I have done a show with the theme "kaleidoscopes."

& yet I can't help feeling that I have. It's a weird thing. & no, I'm not going to compare it to a kaleidoscope, that's not what this is leading up to. Did you think I set this whole thing up to say something about "multiple reflections" or "fragments of thought being mixed up"? Shame on you! I wouldn't waste your time with such trite writing. I mean, isn't it obvious I put very little thought into these things I write?

Having said all that - I guess I have never done a show about kaleidoscopes. But I will! This Tuesday!

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: International Chef Day

(comic from warandpeas.com)

October 20 is International Chef Day. Tomorrow on the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM we'll talk about being a chef & play musical reports about chefs & cooking. We're also supposed to make Dick Dickenbock a seven-course meal but you don't need to know about that. It's pretty humiliating in fact.

Listen to the other stuff tho from noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online at xray dot fm. Seriously, don't mention that stuff about trained journalists having to cook for their boss. We'd appreciate it.

This Week In Self Help (Oct 13 + 15)

Hm. That doesn't look a panda.

Another busy week in radio! Let's see what happened.

Sunday was Paul Simon's 83rd birthday. On The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM I played lots of Paul Simon songs not by Paul Simon. Listen to it on the XRAY web page. Or listen to it on the Self Help Radio web page. Psst - SHR is the login, selfhelp the password.

This week's Self Help Radio was about pandas - the animals, not the weird black workbenches (I'm guessing that's what that is up there). Listen to it on the KBOO web page. Or listen to it on the Self Help Radio web page. Psst - SHR is the login, selfhelp the password.

The last hour of the show on the KBOO page is an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming. I played lots of music by artists we lost in July of this year. You can listen to it on the KBOO link above or you can listen to it all by itself on the Self Help Radio web page. Psst - SHR is the login, selfhelp the password.

Finally - I foolishly agreed to sub a show on Tuesday afternoon on XRAY - the program Beautiful Music. I was very tired. I have not uploaded it to the Self Help Radio website yet but you can listen to it now on the XRAY website. I will try to remember to update the links here once it's on the Self Help Radio website.

Is that all? What? I'm on the radio tonight too?!? Yeah I'll wait to report that next week.

Self Help Radio 101524: Pandas

Here it is! Your radio show about pandas. Probably would've been cuter if I were in any way cute.

Listen to the show at the KBOO web site. Or listen at the Self Help Radio web page. Each is okay by me but if you listen at the Self Help Radio website please know the username is SHR & the password is selfhelp. That information might come in handy.

Lots of stuff happened during the show & almost all of it is listed below.

Yay pandas!

Self Help Radio Pandas Show

"Panda Riot" Our Hour _Little Darla Has A Treat For You (Volume Twelve Summer 1999)_

"Pictures Of Pandas Painting" They Might Be Giants _Here Come The ABCs_

"Panda Song" Audrey Ryan _Dishes & Pills_

introduction & definitions

"Pandas" Corky & The Juice Pigs _Corky & The Juice Pigs_

"Panda Eyes" Sing-Sing _The Joy Of Sing-Sing_

"Sex & Pandas" Mike Birbiglia _Two Drink Mike_

"Panda Panda Panda" Deerhoof _Apple O'_

"Oso Panda" Papá Topo _Oso Panda_

interview with "the Panda King" Johnny Bizarre

"Warm Panda Cola" The Boy Least Likely To _The Best Party Ever_

"Panda In The Rain" The Green Pajamas _If You Knew What I Dreamed... The Green Pajamas Play The Jeff Kelly Songbook_

"Pander! Panda! Panzer! (Excerpt)" Mark E. Smith _The Fall Box Set 1976-2007_

"Little Panda Bear" Kimya Dawson _Alphabutt_

"Panda Brain" The Telephone Company _Panda Brain!_

interview with voice actor Jackie Bodman ("Prudence Panda")

"More Pandas" Hey Young Believer _Invisible By Day_

"Pandas Are Cute" Matt Griffo _Wait, I Forgot That I Don't Love You_

"Wild Pandas" Walter Schreifels _An Open Letter To The Scene_

"Panda Butler" Matt Braunger _Shovel Fighter_

"Pandas Are Dangerous" Boogers _Extractum Victoris_

interview with "the panda guy" Jeff Dayer

"The Panda Bear Song" Foxes! _Foxes!_

"Panda Bear (feat. Alena Simone)" The Twigs _Jump Right In_ 

"Panda Eyes" Cocktails _Adult Life_

"Panda" The Hush Now _Sparkle Drive_

the truth about red pandas!

"Panda In The Chandelier" Tom Rosenthal _Bolu_

"Panda" Parekh & Singh _Ocean_

"Panda" Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine _Licensed To Spill_

"The Baby Panda" AJJ _Disposable Everything_

"Law & Panda" Weaves _Wide Open_

conclusion & goodbye

"Hey Panda" High Llamas _Hey Panda_

"Amanda The Panda" Aaron Raitiere _Simple Chimpanzee_

"Return Of The Panda" Teriyakis _Haunted Hungarian Sauna_

Whither Pandas?

(Panda Chair by Fernando & Humberto Campana, photo by me
taken at the Dallas Museum Of Art 2015)

Why a radio show about pandas? One might well ask why not a radio show about pandas?

Alas, the inspiration for this show was not the Chinese zoo who painted dogs to look like pandas. I thought about doing a show about pandas a bit longer ago than that news item. Though I suspect it might find its way into tonight's show nonetheless.

No, whatever caused me to begin to collect panda songs for a show about pandas is lost in the stinky mists of time. I mean, I assume the mists of time are stinky. Most of the world is stinky. Time is almost certainly stinky too.

No matter! The show about pandas happen tonight on 90.7fm which is KBOO! That's midnight to 2am! Also online at kboo dot fm! Pandas sure are cute! The radio show will not have that crucial visual element!

Preference To Pandas: Panda On A Picnic Bench (A Poem)

Someone left a panda on a picnic bench
Was it a squire? was it a wench?
You see the ren fair was just in town
& you never know when they're here what kinds of shit will go down.

Someone left a panda on a picnic bench
If only they'd left something useful - like a wrench
I mean I can't repair anything with a toy panda

Around here people think it's just Chinese propaganda.

Someone left a panda on a picnic bench
What's worse the only language it speaks is French
& no one can make it what it's trying to say:
Quelqu'un peut-il aider ce pauvre panda s'il vous plaît ?

Someone left a panda on a picnic bench
I'd be a hero, but I can't stand the stench
Yes that's a line from an Elvis Costello song

So if you said "I think he's out of ideas now" well you wouldn't be wrong.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: A Birthday Celebration

(I wish I could remember where I found this.)

Sadly, no, it's not Dick Dickenbock's birthday, but it is the birthday of a famous American songwriter. Who could it be? How will we celebrate? That would be telling! But you can guess if, you know, you look for famous American songwriters born on October 13.

That's tomorrow 12-1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online everywhere at xray dot fm. Gosh I hope there'll be cake.

This Week In Self Help ( Oct 6 + 8 )

(It's a 1971 Cadillac Coupe Deville. Image from here.)

It was a quiet, normal, no-extra-shows-for-Gary week. & it went like this:

The Dickenbock Report reported on National Badger Day. They said it couldn't be done! "They" is my dogs. They don't like badgers. The show aired on XRAY & you can in fact listen to it on the XRAY website. You can also listen & download the show on the Self Help Radio website. You may be asked for a username & password - use SHR & selfhelp.

Self Help Radio celebrated its 22nd anniversary by revisiting a theme from 2007. That theme was my favorite music from 1971. I played none of the songs/artists I played back then & still feel like I could do another two hours. In any event, that show aired on KBOO, & you can listen to it on the KBOO website. You can also listen & download the show on the Self Help Radio website. You may be asked for a username & password - use SHR & selfhelp.

The show on the KBOO website is three hours long - that's because it contains an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming. On that show I finished playing music I loved from 1988 - something I did on two episodes of Self Help Radio this year! If you'd like to listen to that show on its own, you can do so on the Self Help Radio website. You may be asked for a username & password - use SHR & selfhelp.

Someone texted me pictures of things they owned from 1971 during Self Help Radio & I thought of using them for this blog post but didn't. After all, I didn't get permission.

Self Help Radio 100824: 1971 Revisited (The 22nd Anniversary Show)

(all images from Discogs)

& what an anniversary it was! I discovered that I missed a lot of music from 1971 I adore the first time around (altho to be fair to me I did only have 90 minutes back then) & I got lots of calls that kept me from talking about 1971. Not a bad way to turn 22.

Side note: if Self Help Radio makes it to 44, I will be 78 years old when that happens. I doubt either of us will make our respective age. I don't even know if radio will be around in two decades!

Celebrate 22 years of Self Help Radio by listening either at the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website. At the Self Help Radio website you'll need the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access. All the songs played & all the things that happened are below.

One quick note - there's a song from 1971 that I actually didn't really know about - but someone requested it & I found it & I played it. So it's not all my favorite music of 1971.

Please enjoy!

Self Help Radio 1971 Revisited 22nd Anniversary Show

"Poor Boy" Nick Drake _Bryter Layter_

"Alcohol" The Kinks _Muswell Hillbillies_

introduction, explanation, airbreak from 2007

"Are You Leaving For The Country" Karen Dalton _In My Own Time_

"Jesus Was A Cross Maker" Judee Sill _Judee Sill_

"It's Gonna Take A Miracle" Laura Nyro & Labelle _Gonna Take A Miracle_

"Me & Bobby McGee" Janis Joplin _Pearl_

some thoughts about 1971 Otto calls in!

"The Silver Tongued Devil & I" Kris Kristofferson _The Silver Tongued Devil & I_

"Huntsville" Merle Haggard & The Strangers _Someday We'll Look Back_

"The Architect" Monty Python _Another Monty Python Record_

"L'Hôtel Particulier" Serge Gainsbourg _Histoire De Melody Nelson_

some thoughts about 1971 Frank calls in!

"Lady Day & John Coltrane" Gil Scott-Heron _Pieces Of A Man_

"Tired Of Being Alone" Al Green _Al Green Gets Next To You_

"Gonna Keep On Tryin' Till I Win Your Love" The Temptations _Sky's The Limit_

"Country Living" The Stylistics _The Stylistics_

some thoughts about 1971 Oliver calls in!

"Wild Night" Van Morrison _Tupelo Honey_

"Sister Anne" MC5 _High Time_

"Baba O'Riley" The Who _Who's Next_

some thoughts about 1971 Tina calls in!

"Underground" Curtis Mayfield _Roots_

"Get Up & Get Down" The Dramatics _Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get_

"Love The One You're With" The Isley Brothers _Givin' It Back_

"Timothy" The Buoys _The Buoys_

conclusion & goodbye

"Why Don't You Eat Carrots" Faust _Faust_

Whither 1971 Revisisted (Twenty-Second Anniversary Show)?

(The twenty-sixth amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1971. Image from here.)

It's that time again! Another anniversary. Self Help Radio first aired on 91.7fm KOOP Austin on October 9, 2002. It was a Wednesday at 2pm. It's now (almost) twenty-two years later.

It has become the show's habit to revisit an old theme on its anniversary. This year I've chosen to return to a theme first explored in 2007 - my favorite music from the year 1971. My show at the time was 90 minutes long, but there are of course many more favorite songs from that year. I'll play more tonight. (If you want to see what I played way back then, the playlist for that show is here.)

Self Help Radio has aired on at least eight different stations in at least four different towns in I think four different states. Had you told me on that October afternoon in 2002 I'd still be doing this, I would've said, "Oh I don't think so." But I am not a person that looks forward. I probably didn't think I'd still be doing the show in 2003.

Nonetheless. We have an anniversary show. Tonight on KBOO, which is on 90.7fm here in Portland, & online at kboo dot fm. Midnight to 2am. Which is technically Tuesday. & as close to October 9 as I could get this year.

Preface To 1971 Revisited (The 22nd Anniversary Show!): Repeat

(This 1971 events montage courtesy of the Wikipedia.)

Self Help Radio began on October 9, 2002. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd still be doing this show twenty-two years later.

In 2008, around the time of the show's sixth anniversary, I conceived of the idea of revisiting an old theme on the show's anniversary. Doing the math, this will be the seventeenth anniversary show. (You gotta count 2008 or it doesn't make sense.) The theme I am choosing to revisit is a show from 2007 - it's basically just more of my favorite music from 1971. I won't play anything from the first show - nothing from here - except perhaps recordings of me from that show. I dunno. I haven't listened yet.

But I will share with you something from this blog from 2007 - the "preface" I wrote before the day-of-show piece. It's called: Preface to 1971: What The Hell?! It's Snowing In Austin?! 

The past few days have been weird.

I caught a cold in Cambridge, which existed as sniffles as we trained our way (from Cambridge to King's Cross, King's Cross to Gatwick) to our flight. But once in the air, the seventeen-day plane ride (or was it fourteen years?) provided fertile ground for my sniffles to blossom into utter misery. I am guessing it had something to do with the fact that a good percentage of the passengers had some form of cold, & also that the rude bastard next to me seemed completely unable to cover his mouth when he hacked, which he did roughly ten times a minute. (I guess he doesn't have to worry about carpal tunnel.) I developed a sinus headache at thirty thousand feet, with the entire top row of my back teeth feeling like they were rotten to the very nerves. Helpful waitresses - er, stewardesses - er, flight attendants - informed me that they couldn't dispense medication, which made the reruns of "I Love Lucy" I was watching without sound even more unbearable than the fortieth time I watched them, when I was eight. With sound.

We arrived safe & warm in Dallas, last Thursday, & Magda gave me Nyquil pills & immediately I felt better. Why couldn't the waitresses on the plane give me medication? If my heart had stopped (Magda's sister pointed out) they are allowed to defibrillate me. Ah well. I will always self-medicate before any flight I take from now on.

A key word up there (keyword?) is the word "warm." It was nearly 70 degrees (Fahrenheit - in Europe, it'd be an unimpressive 18 or 19 degrees "Celsius"). Our hotel room in England wasn't that warm. We got the car & Magda drove me, all runny nosed & delirious, to my mom's, where we spent the night. I can't be sure, but the moms might have had the air conditioner on at her place. For fuck's sake.

After a medicated night's sleep, we drove home & I did my show with an adenoidal accent, & then the weekend came. It rained like a motherfucker on Friday night. (& by the way, as an idiom, the phrase "like a motherfucker" is easily translatable & even more easily exportable. I gave it to my friends in Belgium & I hope they are using it most agreeably.) It was insane. Temperatures dropped. & it got worse.

It's fucking snowing outside. Actually, it's more like it's raining/sleeting/snowing. Like a motherfucker. It's absolutely bugfuck crazy. They closed the University (so I didn't have to work - so my vacation is extended - it's like the damned Energizer Bunny, this vacation) & I've been sitting at home listening to music & occasionally wandering outside to let little pellets of frozen water bounce off my head. They may even close the school tomorrow, as well. Probably because Texans can't drive in the ice. But mainly because IT'S CRAZY THAT IT'S SNOWING IN AUSTIN.

My show this week has something to do with the year 1971, before they invented snow. Before, I believe, they invented Austin. I'll have to write about why I'm doing a show about 1971 tomorrow. I have an uncontrollable urge right now to go swat icicles off my eaves. Excuse me.

But if you asked me if I remembered any of this - well, I remember being sick on the plane, & trying to buy medicine once we landed, & my girlfriend (now wife) driving me home - but I don't remember doing this show or the one before or the snow situation in Austin. I'm not even sure I remember where KOOP was located at this time. But none of that matters. I have an anniversary to celebrate!

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Badger Day

(image from here*)

October 6 is National Badger Day (as if you need to be told). We'll talk about the badger tomorrow on the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM. Information, musical reports, even the sound of the badger. To make your National Badger Day tomorrow as wonderful as all your previous National Badger Days have been.

That's Sunday, October 6, from noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online everywhere at xray dot fm.

* American badger photo by Heather Paul is licensed under the Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This Week In Self Help (Sept 29 +30 & Oct 1 + 3)

(image from here)

For some reason, altho I had a radio show about oysters, Otto The Outcast Oyster never came up. Like, at all. Maybe because he was lost in the many radio shows I did this week? Let's recap.

The Dickenbock Report was on the penultimate day of September, & featured coffee songs for National Coffee Day. The show is available to be enjoyed at the XRAY website & also at the Self Help Radio website. Pro tip: use the username SHR & password selfhelp to access the file at the Self Help Radio website.

On Monday night I spent a couple of hours on KBOO playing new experimental, jazz, & electronica music. Sadly, KBOO doesn't archive its sub shows, but you can listen if you want at the Self Help Radio website. Pro tip again: use the username SHR & password selfhelp to access the file at the Self Help Radio website.

Self Help Radio was, as I've said, about oysters this week. The show is available to be enjoyed at the KBOO website & also at the Self Help Radio website. The same pro tip: use the username SHR & password selfhelp to access the file at the Self Help Radio website.

The show after Self Help Radio, Corporate Standardized Programming, played lots & lots of new releases. It's the last hour of the show on the KBOO website linked above, but you can also listen at the Self Help Radio website. One last mention of the pro tip: use the username SHR & password selfhelp to access the file at the Self Help Radio website.

Finally, I sat in the XRAY show Welcome To Your Good Day on Thursday afternoon & played lots of new releases. I haven't put it on the Self Help Radio website but you can listen to it on the XRAY website.

What happens to Otto The Outcast Oyster you may ask? If you visit the link here, you can read the entire story!

Self Help Radio 100124: Oysters

(Original image from here*)

Hey that was fun! Fun to find songs about oysters, fun to talk about oysters. I'm very sure I wouldn't have fun eating oysters - even when I did eat dead animals, I didn't much like seafood - plus I watched a lot of Youtube videos about oysters & I don't think I could even touch such slimy things. They remind me of the slimy brussel sprouts they tried to make me eat as a kid (I'm from the South). But oysters are fascinating creatures & humans have eaten them for a long time & so they have found their way into art & song & this show I hope demonstrated a small hint of that.

Also you know there were silly interviews.

Listen to show when you want at either the KBOO website or the Self Help Radio website. For the latter please remember username SHR & password selfhelp. Lots of things happened on the show, they are listed below.

It starts with the poor oysters in the Lewis Carroll poem!

Self Help Radio Oysters Show

"The Walrus & The Carpenter" Donovan _HMS Donovan_

introduction & definitions - featuring the Encyclopedia-A-Tron 9000

"Oysters & Wine At 2 A.M." Old South Quartette _The Early Negro Vocal Quartets Vol. 1 (1902-1928)_

"You're Not The Only Oyster In The Stew" Fats Waller & His Rhythm _Fats Waller 1934-1935_

"What Noise Annoys An Oyster" Max Bygraves _The Decca Years 1957–1962_

"The Oyster & The Flying Fish" Kevin Ayers & The Whole World _Shooting At The Moon_

"Oyster Thins" Mayo Thompson _Corky's Debt To His Father_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by

"Oyster" The Shy Tots _Logical Steps_

"Oysters" Delay Tactics _Any Questions?_

"Oyster" Bel Canto _Birds Of Passage_

"Oyster" Jawbreaker _Dear You_

"(Do Not Feed The) Oyster" Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks _Pig Lib_

interview with humorist Olivia Majors

"Oyster" Rick Altizer _Surfonic Water Revival_

"Oyster" Sweet Apple Pie _Between The Lines_

"Oysters" Magic Trick _Other Man's Blues_

"Oysters In My Pocket" Royel Otis _Bar N Grill_

"Oysters" Meshell Ngedeocello _Weather_

interview with the Rev Oscar Mann

"Tale Of The Oyster" Amy Burton, Patrick Mason, & John Musto _Got A Little Rhythm_

"Oyster" D.D Dumbo _Utopia Defeated_

"Oyster Girl" Kim Lowings & The Greenwood _Wild & Wicked Youth_

"Oyster Cuts" Quivers _Oyster Cuts_

conclusion & goodbye

"The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum" King Crimson _The ConstruKction Of Light_

"Duck For The Oyster" Malcolm McLaren _Duck Rock_

* The original image is by Stephane Pouvreau, & it's licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International Deed.

Whither Oysters?

(Image from here)

Just to get it out of the way - I did a show about pearls a long time ago. In the fourth year of this show! The playlist is here. Pearls seem like a good theme, yes? Oysters not so much. But was that what attracted me to the idea of a radio show about oysters?

Dang I wish I could tell you. I myself don't eat seafood & back when I was forced to by my mother I never had an oyster. Until this show I believe most of what I knew about oysters was from cartoons. But at some point in the past I thought the theme of oysters might be a good idea. I created a folder on my computer which is how most ideas for shows start. & I began to fill it with songs about oysters. Suddenly there were enough for a show!

That's not very satisfying which is sad because some people think oysters are very important when it comes to a certain kind of satisfaction. My sister tells me she's allergic to seafood. I will assume by the transitive genetic property that that's true for me, too. So I guess I'll never know about the power of oysters.

Unless I do a radio show about them? Tune it tonight from midnight to 2am on 90.7fm in Portland & online everywhere at kboo dot fm to find out with me. Not in a creepy sexual way! That sounded like I was hitting on you I totally wasn't. Oh my gosh.

Preface To Oysters: Oyster Cartoon

From at Skeleton Claw dot com. Yes, this week's show is about oysters. Not necessarily pearls. More tomorrow.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Coffee Day

That photo was taken in Edinburgh, Scotland, in May 2016. Its sentiment is shared however the world over. Which is why tomorrow, September 29, we will report on National Coffee Day on the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM. Don't worry about the Scots! International Coffee Day is two days later.

That's noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, online everywhere at xray dot fm.

You can say, "I take my coffee like I take my radio - all the time!"

This Week In Self Help (Sep 22 24 + 26)

It was another busy week. When will these silly radio stations learn?

The Dickenbock Report had a show for Dear Diary Day. I even read from Dick Dickenbock's diary! If you would like, listen to the show on the XRAY website. If you would like, listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website. You may need a username + password - please use SHR + selfhelp.

Self Help Radio has a show about spirals, like the one pictured above. If you would like, listen to the show on the KBOO website. If you would like, listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website. You may need a username + password - please use SHR + selfhelp.

The last hour of the KBOO show above is an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming in which I played music from folks we've lost recently - including a friend of mine. If you would like to listen to that show by itself, you can do so on the Self Help Radio website. You may need a username + password - please use SHR + selfhelp.

On Thursday I subbed an XRAY show called Welcome To Your Good Day. I have not put that show up on the Self Help Radio website yet (I'll do that next Tuesday) but until I do you can listen to the show on the XRAY website. Or maybe not - I don't see that it was recorded. Hm. I'll update this when I put the show on the Self Help Radio website then.

Update! I have added the show to Self Help Radio website. You can listen here. You may need a username + password - please use SHR + selfhelp.

Oh no I'm spiraling into control! I better sign off now.

Self Help Radio 092424: Spirals

In a kind of a panic about finding pictures for this blog post, I told my wife, "Spirals are found everywhere in nature! Where can we find some to take pictures of?" She gave me this shell from a snail. I took a picture & then defaced it with the Self Help Radio logo. When I asked her what kind of snail it was, she sent me a video of a guy with snails crawling on his face. I'm a little afraid of such things so now I guess I'll never know.

We took a bunch of pictures of spirals in the natural world on a dogwalk (that's where yesterday's sunflower came from) but I liked the snail shell best of all. So it's the image for today's show.

All this done for a blog post about a radio show about spirals. Which you can listen to now or whenever either at the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website. If you choose the latter, make sure you know the login is SHR & the password is selfhelp. Everything that happens on the show is listed below.

& now I can't not see spirals everywhere in nature!

Self Help Radio Spirals Show

"Spiral Staircase" Antena _Camino Del Sol_

"Spiral Baby" The X-Men _Creation Soup Volume Two_

"Spiral" Elise Kermani _The Aerial # 4_

introduction & definitions

"Spiral" The Connells _Ring_

"Spiral Twist" Siouxsie & The Banshees _Downside Up_

"Spirals Of Paranoia" The Mekons _Retreat From Memphis_

"Spiral Staircase" Birdie _Spiral Staircase_

interview with artist Tom Cullen

"Spiral Transit" Crystal Stilts _Alight Of Night_

"Spiral Golden Town" Deerhoof _Green Cosmos_

"Spiral Stairs" Elf Power _In A Cave_

"The Spiral" Icky Blossoms _Mask_

interview with chemist & poet Dr. Thad Connors, author of The Beauty Of Spirals

"Triple Spiral" Bright Eyes _The People's Key_

"Spiral" Bully _Losing_

"Downward Spiral" The Helio Sequence _Negotiations_

"Spiral" Pylon Reenactment Society _Magnet Factory_

interview with Spiral Goddess creator, writer, & actor Teresa Collins

"Death Spiral" Horse Jumper Of Love _Disaster Trick_

"Spiral In Houston" Frances Chang _Psychedelic Anxiety_

"Spiral Girl" Klammer _You Have Been Processed_

"Spirals" Cold Beat _Into The Air_

interview with Teddy Caldwell of Spiraling Up

"Death Spiral" Brent Amaker Deathsquad _Hello_

"Sick Of Spiraling" Bachelor _Doomin' Sun_

"Spirals" Lebanon Hanover _Besides The Abyss_

"Spiralling Out" Softcult _Heaven_

conclusion & goodbye

"Spiral" Bombay Dub Orchestra _3 Cities_

Whither Spirals?

Sometime this summer. I was reading an article. About all the spirals in nature. Fibonacci came up a lot. & for a few days afterward I bugged my wife (who is a scientist) about showing me spirals in nature. She would for example point at sunflowers. The photo of the sunflower above I took to look at more closely later. It was only natural that at some point that all became a radio show. Because everything eventually becomes a radio show for me.

Listen to the Self Help Radio episode about spirals tonight! Monday night! on KBOO from midnight to 2am. It's on 90.7fm in town & online at kboo dot fm everywhere.

Let's hope I don't spiral out of control during the show.

Preface To Spirals: Not Related At All, Going To See Billy Bragg Tonight

(image from here)

This is where I'll be in a few hours. I bought my first Billy Bragg record in Austin the day before I went back to Garland after my first year of college, May 1987. It was Talking With The Taxman. I fell in love with it that summer. The next year I bought Workers Playtime the day I saw it at Sound Exchange. & later that year I saw Billy Bragg at Liberty Lunch, one of the best concerts I've ever seen in my life.

Later I got to see him at Austin City Limits, & later still in Covington, Kentucky, the first time I got to see him with my wife, who wasn't much of a fan before the show. She is now - she's going tonight!

This has nothing to do with this week's show. & I know these days it's not that weird. But while Billy Bragg celebrates the fortieth anniversary of his first American tour, I am amazed I've been a fan of his for almost that amount of time. & I marvel how music can live in you for so long.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Dear Diary Day

September 22 is Dear Diary Day. In his long career, Dick Dickenbock has kept a diary of all his fantastical news moments. We will report on that (sigh) & diary-keeping in general, including musical reports. Although we are a news magazine, not a news diary.

That's tomorrow from noon to 1pm on XRAY FM - 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online at xray dot fm.

This Week In Self Help (Sep 15 + 17)

(It's Aunt Melba. Find more here.)

Another busy week but lucky for Portland radio listeners just confined to two days.

The Dickenbock Report reported on Make A Hat Day. Listen to that nonsense on the XRAY website linked here. Or directly on the Self Help Radio website here. Note - username SHR & password selfhelp to download from the Self Help Radio website.

Self Help Radio continued to play Howard Gently bits in chronological order. My dear friend Russell improvised them on my show for year - we're listening to interviews from 2016. Listen to those funnies on the KBOO website here. Or directly on the Self Help Radio website here. Repeat note - username SHR & password selfhelp to download from the Self Help Radio website.

The last hour of the KBOO link above is this week's episode of Corporate Standardized Programming in which I played lots of new releases. You can listen on the KBOO website with the link above, but you can also listen to just that show directly on the Self Help Radio website here. Twice repeated note - username SHR & password selfhelp to download from the Self Help Radio website.

Finally, I returned to the 1969 Project for its second installment. It was a sub show & KBOO doesn't archive its sub shows, but you can listen to it if you want on the Self Help Radio website here. Do I have to repeat the note oh why not: username SHR & password selfhelp to download from the Self Help Radio website.

What is the 1969 Project? I guess I haven't written much about it but perhaps this old blog entry will help. The first entry is linked on the Self Help Radio website.

& that was the end of my intrusive radio appearances this week.

Self Help Radio 091724: Howard Gently Year Three, Continued

There's not a lot to add when it comes to series in multiple parts. This is another collections of improvised bits featuring my late friend Russell appearing as my spiritual mentor The Rev Dr Howard Gently that aired in Kentucky from June to September 2016. They represent the fifty-sixth through sixty-sixth appearances of Howard Gently on the show. I still grieve for my friend but feel so incredibly lucky that I have so many recordings of him being how I most remember him: creative & funny.

Listen to the show either on the KBOO website or on the Self Help Radio website. If you chose the latter, remember the username SHR & password selfhelp. I began the show with a song Russell himself wrote & performed. Since Russell improvised on the show's themes, I played a song from each show (one I knew he liked or I thought he might like) & then the Howard Gently segment. You can see how that works below.

As Howard Gently might say, "Blessed be, or whatever."

Self Help Radio Howard Gently Year Three Continued Show

"Travelogue" Russell Miles _Travelogue_

"The Morning Fog" Kate Bush _Hounds Of Love_

Howard Gently on the theme "Fog"

"Torture" The Psychedelic Furs _Midnight To Midnight_ (Columbia, 1987)

Howard Gently on the theme "Torture"

"Take It Easy Bay" The Animals _Animal Tracks_ (MGM, 1965)

Howard Gently on the theme "Take It Easy"

"Breakin' Bread" Fred & The New J.B.'s _Breakin' Bread_ (People, 1974)

Howard Gently on the theme "Bread"

"Hold On" John Lennon _Plastic Ono Band_ (Apple, 1970)

Howard Gently on the theme "Hold On"

"Fashion" David Bowie _Scary Monsters_ (RCA Victor, 1980)

Howard Gently on the theme "Fashion"

"Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" Leonard Cohen _Songs Of Leonard Cohen_ (Columbia, 1968)

Howard Gently on the theme "Goodbye"

"Lakeside View Apartments Suite" The Mountain Goats _Transcendental Youth_ (Merge, 2012)

Howard Gently on the theme "Lakes"

"Randall Knife" Guy Clark _Craftsman_ (Philo, 1995)

Howard Gently on the theme "Knives"

"Bend A Little My Way" Nat King Cole _The Beautiful Ballads_

Howard Gently on the theme "Bending"

"Nobody Knows" James Brown _The Singles, Volume 4: 1966-1967_

Howard Gently on the theme "Nobody Knows"

Whither Howard Gently Year Three, Continued?

That picture above was taken in Chicago in 2018. I probably sent it to Russell. It was always funny to see his name on signs & things like that. Nowadays I feel like I see his name more often - & can't send him the pictures I take anymore.

My friend Russell died last year. We had known each other since childhood. Or at least early adolescence. He improvised funny interviews on my show for many years. & to pay tribute to him, every few months I share some more of those interviews. I am playing them in alphabetical order. I will play bits from his third year appearing as my spiritual mentor The Rev Dr Howard Gently.

That's tonight, midnight to 2am, on 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere. As he might have said in excitement knowing I was devoting another radio show entirely to him, ji-ki-bo-sho-to!

Preface To Howard Gently Year Three, Continued: Sad Song On A Broken Guitar

This week's show continues sharing bits by my friend Russell who appeared on my show as the Rev Dr Howard Gently for many years. I knew him for almost my whole life. He died last year. Today is his birthday.

A few months back I took that picture of a broken guitar which I came across on a dog walk. When Russell & I were roommates, one of my favorite times was when he would get out his guitar & play along to music we were listening to. He hadn't done that with me in years - since the late 1990s we mainly lived in different cities far apart - but it's a memory I cherish. It's lots of memories I cherish.

Certainly I would rather he were alive & continuing to portray Howard Gently on my show. But boy am I glad I have those recordings. I am glad to share them with you tomorrow night.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Make A Hat Day

September 15 is Make A Hat Day. We'll report on that tomorrow, Sunday, September 15, on the Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM, by talking about hats & playing musical reports about hats for inspiration. We imagine at the end of the show so many hats will have been made nearly everyone in Portland will have a hat. Now that is a news program.

Sunday, September 15 on XRAY - that's 91.1+107.1fm in town & online at xray dot fm. Your poor unexposed head will thank you.

This Week In Self Help (Sep 8 10 + 12)

Oh dear lord I was on the radio some more this week. How ever can I apologize? Here is a list of my radio crimes these last seven days.

On Sunday the 8th I was on XRAY with an episode of The Dickenbock Report. It was a continuation of my exploration of music & news a hundred years ago - so, 1924 Part II. Here is the show on the XRAY website. You can also listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website. Important info: username SHR, password selfhelp.

Self Help Radio was a show about brooms. Like the one pictured above, hanging out with its friend, shovel. Here is the show on the KBOO website. You can also listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website. Important info: username SHR, password selfhelp.

Right after Self Help Radio I played music from a bunch of artists whom we have recently lost. It was an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming. It is included in the KBOO link above. But you can listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website if you just wanna listen to it alone. Important info: username SHR, password selfhelp.

Finally, yesterday, the 12th, I sat in on the XRAY show Welcome To Your Good Day & played a couple of hours of new releases. Here is the show on the XRAY website. I have not put in on the Self Help Radio website yet - I'll do that on Tuesday.

This is an actual text I got during yesterday's XRAY show: Goats eat noxious weeds.

Something to look forward to!

Self Help Radio 091024: Brooms

Many years from now (hopefully) as I find myself after death in some mysterious foggy circumstance, standing before a gate or door or maybe I don't know a giant hole, an imposing figure of impossible grandeur will appear, striking me with awe, & I will fall to my knees or, depending on my knees at that age, will sit slowly on a nearby outcropping but hopefully doing so in the most humble & respectful way possible (I really hope I am not just on the ground sitting Indian style as there's really no way to look humble & respectful like that), & I will not look at the figure & I will await my judgment or fate or whatever the hell is happening, which is a surprise to me because I frankly never believed in anything supernatural my entire life.

But the figure of impossible grandeur will say, in a booming voice best represented in a bold font but not worth all caps which is an annoying way to write, it will say, You are at the end of your sad mortal life. What did you do to better your world? What did you contribute? You come from a place of misery & woe - from omnipresent death & suffering - from sadness & hunger & pain & want. The next step in your journey depends upon your answer to this question: What is it you gave to your world that proves your life had meaning?

There will be no pause. There will be no hesitation. I will say proudly, "I made a radio show about brooms."

& the figure of impossible grandeur will let me pass.

You can listen to my singular contribution to the world (& my salvation too it may turn out) now or any time at the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website. If you choose the latter, remember the username SHR & the password selfhelp. The show was two hours of broom fun. Everything that happened on it is listed below.

Prepare to be swept away!

Self Help Radio Broom Show

"The Broom" The Af-Tabs _Jerk! Shake! & Vibrate!_

"Old Broom" Keith Hudson _The Hudson Affair: Keith Hudson & Friends_

"New Broom" Minisnap _Bounce Around_

introduction & definitions

"The Admiral's Broom" Peter Dawson _Songs Of The Sea_

"Get Yourself A New Broom (& Sweep The Blues Away) (vocals, Ivie Anderson)" Duke Ellington & His Orchestra _The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia, & Master Recordings Of Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra_

"I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" Robert Johnson _The Complete Recordings_

"Broomstick Buckaroo" Gene Autry _Always Your Pal, Gene Autry_

"New Broom Boogie" Al Dexter & His Troopers _Hillbilly Boogie_

interview with Constance & Xavier Broom, heirs to the Broom fortune

"The Bald Headed End Of The Broom" June Carter _The Essential Early Years 1949-1954_

"Straw Broom Boogie" Dick Spain _Rockabilly Shakedown_

"Let's Jump The Broomstick" Brenda Lee _Brenda Lee Rocks_

"Jump On Your Broomstick" Kenny Lynch _Don't Knock Upon My Door: Six Dozen Great British B-Sides_

"Broomstick Cowboy" Claudine Longet _We've Only Just Begun_

interview with Portland band The Brooms

"Gotta Get My Broom Out" The O'Jays _Super Bad_

"Broomstraw Philosophers & Scuppernong Wine" Larry Jon Wilson _New Beginnings_

"Jimmy The Broom" Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson _Seashores Of Old Mexico_

"I Am Not Your Broom" They Might Be Giants _No!_

interview with broom innovators Todd Ellis & Antonia Glass

"Lish Young Buy-A-Broom" Clannad _Fuaim_

"The Grocer's Broom" Richard Shindell _Somewhere Near Paterson_

"A Rake, A Broom, A Mop, A Shovel" The Terrible Twos _If You Ever See An Owl..._

"Broomstick Rhythm" XTC _Jules Verne's Sketchbook_

interview with my neighbor Dave who is always sweeping his porch with his broom

"Broom People" The Mountain Goats _The Sunset Tree_

"Sweepin' Broom" Caspar Babypants _Hot Dog!_

"Broomhorse" Tele Novella _Poet's Tooth_

"Lesser Broom" Grape Room _Heart Of Gum_

conclusion & goodbye

"Straw-Broom Two-Step" The Texettes _Country RnR_

"Magic Broom" Len Hansen _Hi - It's Bin A Long Time_

"Fat Brooms Brush The Number Bush" The Late Bronze Age _Col. Bruce Hampton: Strange Voices_

Whither Brooms?

There was a broom, I was told, in the little closet - it was the broom's closet, though there were other things in there, including the dustpan. Did I sweep up regularly? I did not. Did I count on the broom to be there when I inevitably broke a glass, or spilled some dried food, or otherwise made a mess? Yes, I did.

Where did the broom come from? I know I've never purchased a broom in my life. A broom just followed me around. The bristles always unhappily bent. Always discolored at their ends, never cleaned by me. Brought out when the mess became too much, then sent away, again.

It wasn't until later, when I married someone for whom cleaning is a passion, that I saw how powerful the broom could be. But by then my relationship with the broom was forever damaged. Even if I could see that it was more than just a simple tool, I wouldn't really change how I acted around it. & the broom would never trust me. It would have heard stories about me from previous brooms.

Perhaps it would appreciate a radio show about brooms? Might that begin to mend the rift caused by ignorance & neglect? Only time will tell. I will need to remember to put the radio in the broom closet.

A radio show about brooms. Tonight on Self Help Radio on KBOO Portland. 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere. If you've never been kind to your broom, you may want to share this show with it.

Preface To Brooms: Do Not Move The Broom

Many years ago - too long ago, it seems - but really a little more than five years - I lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It was the second time I lived there for a long period of time - the first time being when I was a kid, from ages zero to eighteen. When I left for college I did not imagine that I would live there ever again. But when my wife got a job in Fort Worth in 2016, we moved back to Texas.

Since I like to be on the radio, & since Dallas has but one community radio station, KNON, I found my way there. I remember thinking the competition for shows would be fierce. But the day I showed up & talked to one of the staff, I found out that I was the first person to show up & offer to volunteer for ages.

Eventually I got a show - it wasn't Self Help Radio - just a morning show. & I would drive from my home in Fort Worth on Tuesday mornings in increasingly dangerous rush hour traffic & park & go inside. & one of the days I showed up - March 5, 2019, to be exact - one of the last times I would do that show, since I would be moving to Portland in two months - I saw a broom holding a side door shut with the note held up by the broom. That's the picture you see there. I never found out what was in there. I just didn't remember to ask.

The playlist for that show, by the way, is <a href="https://www.selfhelpradio.net/2019.html#blend190305">here</a>.

It's funny that I am talking about it like it was in the deep, dark past. Though I wasn't doing it on the air in Dallas, I still made episodes of Self Help Radio regularly. Here is the blog entry for that day. I'm not sure why I didn't mention my KNON show on the blog. But you'll notice (if you read the post) I mention visiting Portland. I didn't tell anyone the real reasons why in case our plans fell through, but my wife had gotten a job here & we were visiting to find a place to rent. Which we did. Which is why I'm here now.

It's a long post for a dumb story about an amusing note on a door I probably never noticed before. Here's one last weird fact. That door doesn't exist anymore. Nor the building it was attached to. A tornado destroyed the station later that year. The building was torn down soon after.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: 1924 (Part II)

(This is how they listened to the radio in 1924. Photo from the Atlantic.)

Tomorrow on the Dickenbock Report we continue our special two-part look back at 100 years ago. A simpler time, perhaps, almost certainly more obviously racist, but worthy of one more look back. In addition to discussions about what was going on a century ago, we'll continue to listen to the music of the time.

That's noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online everywhere at xray dot fm. & maybe check out that link of above of photos from 1924. It'll prepare you for the show.

This Week In Self Help (September 1 2 + 3)

(from Poorly Drawn Lines)

It was a pretty busy week for me. How was it for you? Did you do anything on the radio? Here's what I was doing:

The Dickenbock Report aired September 1. I played music from & talked about the year 1924. You can listen to that show at the XRAY website. Also you can listen to that show at the Self Help Radio website*.

Monday night I spent two hours on KBOO playing interesting sounds in-between the shows A Different Nature & Self Help Radio. KBOO doesn't archive its sub shows, so if you'd like to listen, you'll have to do so at the Self Help Radio website*. The playlist for that show is right here.

Self Help Radio had a show about sunglasses. Despite some technical difficulties I think it went well. But what the hell do I know. You can listen to that show at the KBOO website. You can also listen to that show at the Self Help Radio website*.

After Self Help Radio, there was an episode of Corporate Standardized Programming wherein I played lots of new releases. It is appended to the KBOO link above as the third hour of the show. If you'd like to listen to it on its own, you can do so at the Self Help Radio website*.

Is that everything? I sure hope so!

* remember, username SHR, password selfhelp

Movie Sunglasses

(image from Letterboxd)

Our resident cinephile Chuck was on the show this week, which had the theme sunglasses, & talked at length about films tagged with loneliness on the IMDb. You can listen to that show at selfhelpradio dot net if you haven't already & once you've heard Chuck talk, please make use of these handy links (of which they are a lot!) to supplement his visit:

Sunglasses YouTube playlist of films and trailers:

Part 1 (1927-1977) | Part 2 (1978-1988) | Part 3 (1986-1996)

Part 4 (1997-2003) | Part 5 (2004-2011) | Part 6 (2012-2016) | Part 7 (2017-2024)

Here is Chuck's Letterboxd list. Here are his Letterboxd reviews.

(Chuck puts the links to available videos in the notes for the films plus where they are available to stream for free.)

Here is the IMDb keyword search list. Here is his IMDb list of films free to stream elsewhere.

Chuck has a Twitter account & a Bluesky account where he has posted about some of the films. If you like what you see, follow him! He usually follows you back.

But no matter how cool it looks, maybe don't watch the films involving sunglasses while wearing sunglasses.