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.

Self Help Radio 090324: Sunglasses

On this cloudy day in Portland I give you a radio show about sunglasses. What's worse is - the show happened at night. Ah well. It's always sunny somewhere on this planet!

Despite some technical difficulties, I think we covered the subject well - with some cool guests too. I did not wear sunglasses while doing the show - I make enough mess with what's left of my regular eyesight. But the show wore sunglasses.

Listen to that show at either or both the KBOO website & the Self Help Radio website. If you choose the latter, remember the username SHR & the password selfhelp. Everything that happens on the show is below.

Two of the three most famous sunglasses songs are represented in some way on the show - the third I just find so awful I couldn't even consider adding even a small amount of it.

Self Help Radio Sunglasses Show

"Sun Glasses" The Shades _The Songs Of Pomus & Shuman_

"Dark Dark Sunglasses" The Kittens _Soda Pop Babies, Vol. 4_

"Sunglasses After Dark" Dwight Pullen _Rockin' Bones: 1950s Punk & Rockabilly_

introduction, definition, history

"Sunglasses" The Cloudwalkers _Wyld Sydes Volume 1 (American 60s Garage Bands)_

"Looking At The World Through Dark Shades" The Times _Pop Goes Art_

"Bury Me In My Shades" Shel Silverstein _Inside Folk Songs_

"Shades" Nancy Sinatra _Keep Walkin’: Singles, Demos, & Rarities 1965-1978_

"Sunglasses" The Fabulaires _Apocalypso EP_

interview with fashion consultant Maria Peterson

"Sunglasses" Tracey Ullman _Move Over Darling (The Complete Stiff Recordings)_

"Through His Sunglasses" The Claim _Armstrong's Revenge & Eleven Other Short Stories_

"Behind Your Sunglasses" Les Calamités _Les Calamités_

"Sunglasses" Space Ghost _Yeah, Whatever..._

"Sunglasses At Night" Jaymz Bee & The Royal Jelly Orchestra _Cocktail: Shakin' & Stirred_

interview with "the sunglasses guy" Mordecai Plant

"Autumn Sunglasses" Robyn Hitchcock _Robyn Hitchcock_

"Black Sunglasses" Mount Sims _Ultra Sex_

"Frost On Your Sunglasses" General Elektriks _Cliquety Kliqk_

"Golden Town With Sunglasses" Takagi Masakatsu _Wanna Buy A Craprak?_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by!

"Sunglasses" Flannery Brothers _Love Songs For Silly Things_

"Sunglasses" Recess Monkey _The Final Funktier_

"Sunglasses" The Fresh & Onlys _Early Years Anthology_

"Sunglasses, A Gun, & Distance" The Bran Flakes _Hey Won't Somebody Come & Play?_

"Dark Shades" The Splinters _Kick_

our resident anatomist Dr. Madeline Unicorn stops by!

"Sunglasses" Saturday Looks Good To Me _One Kiss Ends It All_

"Take Off Your Sunglasses" Ezra Furman & The Harpoons _Inside The Human Body_

"Catholic School Sunglasses" Mike Birbiglia _My Secret Public Journal Live_

"Cheap Shades" Chris Staples _Golden Age_

conclusion & goodbye

"Sunglasses" Black Country, New Road _For The First Time_

"Sunglasses At The Wedding" Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever _Sideways To New Italy_

Whither Sunglasses?

Yesterday in this space I confessed that I didn't wear sunglasses. I used to live in Texas! It may be why my eyesight is failing me now. In any event, you may ask, why is there going to be a radio show about sunglasses? This may be a longish answer:

On my computer I keep a folder where I place ideas for radio shows. I have many more ideas than I do radio shows, & sometimes the ideas are too specific or narrow & there just aren't enough songs. Sometimes the ideas are passing fancies. Most of the time they just linger there - I'll probably never get to most of them.

My friend Chuck - the show's resident cinephile - likes to appear on the show every three or four shows. After we talk, he asks me about shows coming up. He wants to watch more movies, damn it! Recently none the upcoming themes were inspiring him. So I looked into my computer folder of lingering show theme ideas & one that stood out for me was sunglasses. He liked it too. He'll be on the show tonight. That's how the theme came about.

Why did I think about a show about sunglasses in the first place? Absolutely no idea.

There was a person at KOOP in Austin who seemed angry at the arbitrariness of the show's themes. It would probably irk her that I'm doing a show about sunglasses at the end of summer! Luckily she's almost certainly forgotten the show existed.

Hopefully it will exist tonight on KBOO - 90.7fm in Portland & online at kboo dot fm - from midnight to 2am. Probably not the best time to wear sunglasses. But a pretty good time for a show about sunglasses maybe?

Preface To Sunglasses: I Don't Wear Them

Though I might if I could get Spider-Man sunglasses.

My wife loves sunglasses. If she's without them, she panics. I have never worn them. I suspect it's because my head's a little big & unless I could get some custom-made, they don't cover my eyes well & I for some reason look for the light at the corners. Which is a long-winded way of saying "I never learned how to wear sunglasses."

This is not the first time I've done a show about something I don't use, or don't like, or don't have much experience with. But if you can wait til tomorrow, I'll tell you why I'm doing a show about sunglasses.