Self Help Radio 012524: Suitcases

Hooray! This week's Self Help Radio fit into one suitcase! I'll admit I had to force it a bit. It was not easy. & frankly I don't look forward to opening it. But I got it all in there!

Lots of suitcase tunes & talks with suitcase-related people. A show as pleasant as trying to find a place for your suitcase when you're one of the last people on a flight. Wait. That's not pleasant. I know! A show as pleasant as waiting for your suitcase to appear on the baggage carousel at the airport. Nope. That's not pleasant at all. Maybe: a show as pleasant as checking your baggage at the gate. Does that work? You don't have to pay for it, you see. The airline did not plan for all those suitcases!

Oh well. Listen to the show anyway at the Self Help Radio website. Use the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access the file. Everything that happened on the show is listed below.

It costs how much to check a suitcase these days?!?!

Self Help Radio Suitcase Show

"Heavy Suitcase Blues" Charley Taylor _Broke, Black, & Blue_

"Suitcase Susie" Fats Waller _The Essential Collection_

"You Can Pack Your Suitcase" Fats Domino _The Imperial Singles 1950-1962_

introduction & definitions

"Who's Got The Suitcase" Merv Griifin & Arthur Treacher _'Alf & 'Alf Songs Of The British Music Hall_

"Suitcase Blues" Sippie Wallace _American Folk Blues Festival '66_

"The Magic Suitcase" Joan Gerber _The Story Lady_

"Little Brown Suitcase" Tom T. Hall _Faster Horses_

"Me & This Old Suitcase" David Munyon _Code Name: Jumper_

interview with writer Powell Tate

"Carnival (Shelter In A Suitcase)" Simple Minds _Reel To Real Cacophony_

"Man In A Suitcase" The Police _Zenyatta Mondatta_

"A Skull, A Suitcase, & A Long Red Bottle Of Wine" Robyn Hitchcock _Black Snake Diamond Röle_

"The Boy Who Sold His Suitcase" The Chesterfields _Kettle_

interview with trendwatcher/interviewer Priscilla Timmons

"Man In A Suitcase" Adorable _Fake_

"Ray Gun Suitcase" Pere Ubu _Ray Gun Suitcase_

"Suitcase" Original Sinners _Original Sinners_

"I Gave My Suitcase Away" Andy Patridge _Fuzzy Warbles 8_

interview with suitcase inspector Prez Teague

"Suitcase In My Hand" Ry Cooder _My Name Is Buddy_

"Suitcase" Brent Amaker & The Rodeo _Year Of The Dragon_

"Man With A Suitcase" Steve Matanle _These Poems With Kerosene_

"Suitcase" Standard Fare _Out Of Sight, Out Of Town._

"Suitcase Jimmy" Evans The Death _Vanilla_

interview with suitcase innovator Paul Taggart

"Livin' Out A Suitcase" Robert Finley _Black Bayou_

"Blue Suitcase" Darren Hayman _I Can Travel Through Time_

"Suitcase & Gun" Tamar Berk _The Restless Dreams Of Youth_

"Blue Suitcase (Disco Wrist)" The Orielles _Silver Dollar Moment_

conclusion & goodbye

"Suitcase" Keb' Mo' _Suitcase_

"Suitcase Blues" Hersal Thomas _Roots N' Blues - The Retrospective (1925-1950)_

"Suitcase" Joe Purdy _Only Four Seasons_

Whither Suitcases?

Do you believe in magic? Because I don't. Not really. It has never however stopped me from attempting to cast spells. By spells I mean throwing out wild hope into the world. The main way that I know how is by doing it on the radio.

You see, I haven't traveled much since I moved to Oregon. Part of the reason for that, of course, was the pandemic. I have returned to Texas for a memorial & a funeral, but traveling to where one's family is is not really the kind of traveling I am wanting to do.

The wife & I had plans to visit Europe this year but they have been waylaid by our new puppy, who has separation anxiety that we need to deal with first. It may take a while.

A radio show about suitcases can be seen as an unbeliever's attempt to cast a spell into the decidedly unmagical world which would, if it worked, clear away all the barriers for travel from me. If one needs to believe that a spell will work for it to work, then it won't work. But there are so many things I don't really believe that I am fine pretending to believe. Sometimes it's fun. I'd love to think of my radio shows as a kind of book of incantations. Even if they're all utterly powerless.

It will be a long spell, two hours long, with lots of music & talk. I'll commence it at noon tomorrow on 90.3+98.3fm in Portland & online at Freeform Portland dot org. If you simply approach it as a radio show about suitcases with silly interviews & with lots of songs about suitcases, that's fine too.

Preface To Suitcases: Unwanted Luggage

A picture taken at D/FW Airport in 2018. The leftover suitcases huddling together for warmth. Are they lost luggage from a different flight? Did their owners not get on the plane after all? Are they dawdling in a bar somewhere - or have they been otherwise detained? Their sad suitcases don't know. They just wait patiently for them - & sometimes they wait forever.

I Just Adore A Courthouse View

A year ago today I was called to jury duty. Jury duty! It was a case of a family suing three corporations for the shit corporations do - a civil suit. I remember the plaintiff's lawyers telling the jury pool they should speak up because "people who don't talk get chosen for jury duty." & sure enough the folks who didn't say a word got chosen. Maybe they wanted to?

As for me, after sitting through one day & realizing that I could not nor did not want to sit & listen for two weeks I self-sabotaged, quoting my wife who told me the day before that they shouldn't chose me because "you hate corporations!" The defendant's lawyer repeated that line to me later. I still wasn't entirely sure I'd not be chosen. When they called the names of who had to stay, I froze as they passed my number.

My number! I was juror 79! I still remember that. How happy I was to not hear my number called.

My wife was called for jury duty just six months later & the morning of, they said they didn't need anyone. How fucking lucky is that?

Some Films From 1988

(image from the IMDb)

Last week on Self Help Radio I played some of my favorite music from 1988. During the show, our resident cinephile Chuck popped into recommend some movies he likes from that year. If you haven't listen, do so toot sweet! The show is at the Self Help Radio website. Chuck has kindly provided the following supplementary links for further information & edification.

Here is the Letterboxd list of movies. Here are Chuck's Letterboxd reviews.

Chuck made a couple of YouTube playlists of films & trailers. They are here:

Part 1 + Part 2
There is also a list of films available to stream for free elsewhere.

Here is Chuck's IMDb keyword list.

Follow Chuck on his social media sites: Twitter,  Bluesky, & Substack. You'll know in advance when he'll be back!