Self Help Radio 120925: Shovels

This show, it turns out, is shovel-ready.

You were expecting that, sorry.

Here's the show about shovels. I sometimes feel my shows are random but I heard from someone on Bluesky who's in Chicago that they're using their snow shovels a lot. & here in Portland where new builds are going up everywhere I see lots of shoveling. So it's somewhat appropriate. Although if it is, it's entirely by accident.

Please use your entrenching tools while you listen. The show is now at the KBOO website & at the Self Help Radio website. If you use the latter, please remember the username SHR & the password selfhelp. Most everything that happened on the show is below.

As Erica Boone would say: BYOS. Bring your own shovel!

Self Help Radio Shovels Show

"Pick & Shovel Blues" Bull City Red _(1935-1939) Complete Recordings In Chronological Order_

"Nine Foot Shovel" Josh White _Songs For Political Action - Folkmusic, Topical Songs, & The American Left 1926-1953_

"Never Hit Your Grandma With A Shovel" Spike Jones & His City Slickers _Strictly For Music Lovers_

introduction & definitions

"Got A Great Big Shovel" Sammy Davis Jr. _Mr Show-Business_

"The Days Of Sand & Shovels" The Winstons _Color Him Father_

"Dig It (Shovel)" The Intentions _Eccentric Soul: Minibus_

"The Broom, The Shovel, The Poker, & The Tongs" Dame Peggy Ashcroft _Poetry Readings_

"The Pick & The Maltshovel" Roger Watson _The Pick & The Malt Shovel_

interview with American Hart Shovel Company CEO Thaddeus Hart

"Don't Forget Your Shovel" Christy Moore _The Time Has Come_

"The Last Old Shovel" Phyllis Boyens _O Sister! (The Women's Bluegrass Collection)_

"One Woman & A Shovel" Carrie Newcomer _The Geography Of Light_

"At Midnight I Will Kill George Lucas With A Shovel" Patton Oswalt _Werewolves & Lollipops_

"Shovel" Aesop Rock _Labor Days_

interview with activist for Shovels For Peace Erica Boone

"Shovel" John Wesley Coleman III _Microwave Dreams_

"15 Shovels" Darrin Bradbury _Artvertisement_

"Said The Shovel" Osees _Protean Threat_

"Shovel Fighter" Matt Braunger _Shovel Fighter_

"Shovelheads" Shriekback _Why Anything? Why This?_

interview with self-help author Chaz James

"The Sir Tommy Shovell" Robyn Hitchcock _Shufflemania!_

"Shovels" Scarves _Delicate Creatures_

"Shovel" Megan Gailey _My Dad Paid for This_

"Shovel" Deep Sea Diver _Billboard Heart_

"Shovel Into Spade Kit" Lilys _Better Can't Make Your Life Better_

conclusion & goodbye

"Shovel" Feedtime _Shovel_

"The Shovel Of Love" Bless _Gums_

"The Shovel Song" Flax Sifter _Flax Sifter_

"Shovel" Danger Gens _Life Between Cigarettes_

"Hells Shovel" Cutthroat Shamrock _The Wake_

Whither Shovels?

(art by Michael Pederson found here)

Just a quick note: this is the last show of 2025 with a new, unique theme. The next three weeks are shows that have "repeated" themes. You can see what those upcoming theme are on the Self Help Radio website.

There'll be time to consider the year later but it's been a fun year for me (at least when I'm talking about the show). I can't believe I've now spent 23 years on this nonsense, but I also can't imagine what else I would be doing.

A show about shovels. Hm. Why did I think of that? I'm tempted to say it had something to do with a movie or television show I saw recently. I spent a lot of this year watching all six seasons of Downton Abbey & just watched the three movies. Maybe shovels play a part in some subplot? I don't know. Isn't that appropriate at the end of the year after months of different themes to just throw up one's hands & say "I don't know! I'm doing a show about shovels! Who cares why?!? It's a show about shovels!"

Anyway, it airs tonight on KBOO. Midnight to 2am. That's 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere.

Please insert your "shoveling manure" joke anywhere into the proceedings, I promise it will be apt.

Preface To Shovels: I Have Shoveled

At first glance at me, one would not have this thought: "That is a person who has shoveled."
For many this might be an insult.
But I have lived more than half a century as a mainly non-athletic type.
One could say I am pretty comfortable with who I am.
This is true:
One time a worker at our house asked my wife if I had an opinion about the work to be done.
She said, "Don't ask him. He's not handy."
The worker - a male - looked ashamed for me. I did not feel the slightest bit of shame.
So should someone stare at me & decide "That is not a person who has ever used a shover," it would not offend me. Indeed, I would understand.
But! I have used a shovel! & many times!
When we lived in Kentucky we had ridiculously long circular driveway.
& we had snows four or five times a year.
& when it snowed, I went out to shovel.
& the picture up there is proof. A snow in 2015.
Though I confess I was not the only one who shoveled that day.
It took quite a while & a couple of hands.
It was below freezing outside & at some point I realized I had become so warm in my winter gear that I had stripped down to a tee shirt.
You may ask, but if you don't care if people don't think you've shoveled, why mention this?
Of course the show this week is about shovels. It's something I think about in relation to shovels.
But also. It's always nice to subvert expectations.
For though one might look as though they cannot shovel, it turns out at least some of them can in fact shovel.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Letter Writing Day

December 7 is National Letter Writing Day, so that's what we'll be reporting on on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM. Musical report about letters - some that are letters - plus a Dickenbock Report Book Report &, if there's time, Dick Dickenbock answers your letters on air. (There won't be time for that.)

That's Sunday noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm here in Portland & online everywhere at xray dot fm. We've very sorry, Dick Dickenbock is making us say this, it'll be a show you'll write home about. Again, apologies for that.

This Week In Self Help: November 29 + 30 & December 1 + 2

It was the first year of the pandemic when I took that picture above. A little stand-alone garage in my hood probably abandoned or otherwise unoccupied, covered in graffiti. It's gone now, condos stand in its place, but maybe those new builds are haunted by the ghosts of all that graffiti.

It was a pretty busy week for me. Here's what I did:

On Saturday November 29 I subbed for three hours on KBOO playing soul music. I was not calling it a sub for the show that's usually there, An Evening Of Afrotainment, as I am woefully unqualified to host that show. But it's in the timeslot, so you can listen to it on the KBOO website. & also on the Self Help Radio website if you want.

On Sunday November 30 I was on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM for National Computer Security Day. Being an uncreative sort, I just played a lot of songs about passwords. You can listen to it on the XRAY website. & also on the Self Help Radio website if you want.

On Monday November 1 very early in the morning I played an hour of music from 2025 which I hadn't gotten around to playing yet on KBOO. It was in a timeslot where there's currently no show scheduled, but you can listen to in on the Self Help Radio website. (KBOO doesn't archive shows that are unscheduled.)

On Tuesday November 2 there was a Self Help Radio show on KBOO about graffiti. You can listen to it on the KBOO website. & also on the Self Help Radio website if you want.

Also on Tuesday November 2 on Corporate Standardized Programming I played music by artists we lost in April of this year. You can listen to it on the KBOO website (after Self Help Radio). & also on the Self Help Radio website if you want.

Remember - you might need the username SHR & password selfhelp to listen.

Anyway, I hopefully won't be so busy this next week. I'm gonna go paint a train.

Self Help Radio 120225: Graffiti

Ooo, almost got caught last night! Self Help Radio tags all over Portland! You can graffiti the town with the power of the airwaves!

Graffiti was sung about & discussed, although I didn't get a chance to read dirty graffiti from the walls of Pompeii or - apparently! - from English churches in the 16th century. I miss discovering graffiti in strange bathrooms on my college campus. I remember being in an unfamiliar building & discovering this gem: No matter how beautiful she is, someone somewhere is sick of her shit.

As someone who was never beautiful & who has shit most everyone is sick of, I present the graffiti Self Help Radio episode. Listen at the KBOO website & at the Self Help Radio website. Remember you might need a username & password for the latter. Everything that happened on the show is below.

Work on your tag. Be careful. Stay out of trouble.

Self Help Radio Graffiti Show

"Graffiti" Benny Hill _The Best Of Benny Hill_

"Graffiti Night Fever" Ivor Biggun & The Red-Nosed Burglars _The Winker's Album (Misprint)_

"Teenage Graffiti" The Pink Spiders _Hot Pink_

introduction & definitions

"The Sound Of Graffiti" Jack Raymond & Haskell Barkin _The Handwriting On The Wall (The Sounds Of Graffiti)_

"Graffiti Crimes" Mi-Sex _Graffiti Crimes_

"Chinese Graffiti" Blue Peter _Up To You_

"Graffiti Love" Violet Strange _Stray_

"Graffiti Bridge" Prince _Graffiti Bridge_

our favorite librarian Carole shares with us books about graffiti

"Sex" Jack Raymond & Haskell Barkin _The Handwriting On The Wall (The Sounds Of Graffiti)_

"Graffiti Limbo" Michelle Shocked _Short Sharp Shocked_

"Graffiti" Throwing Muses _The Real Ramona_

"Graffiti Women" Suede _Sci-Fi Lullabies_

"Graffiti Worth Reading" The Mighty Mighty Bosstones _Pin Points & Gin Joints_

interview with Officer Little of the PPD Graffiti Division

"Whimsy" Jack Raymond & Haskell Barkin _The Handwriting On The Wall (The Sounds Of Graffiti)_

"Small Town Graffiti" Lispector _Small Town Graffiti_

"Wet Graffiti" Sacred Paws _Strike A Match_

"Soft Graffiti" Takako Minekawa _Fun9_

"Graffiti" Atmosphere _Mi Vida Local_

interview with graffiti artist "Jarvis"

"Underneaths" Jack Raymond & Haskell Barkin _The Handwriting On The Wall (The Sounds Of Graffiti)_

"Graffiti Paint" Field Medic _Songs From The Sunroom_

"Graffiti Street" Rayland Baxter _If I Were A Butterfly_

"Graffiti" Maximo Park _A Certain Trigger_

"Delicate Graffiti" Helen Ganya _Polish The Machine_

conclusion & goodbye

"Graffiti Part One" Stereo MC's _Deep Down & Dirty_

"Never Like Graffiti" Emak Bakia _Acuarela Songs_

Whither Graffiti?

When people think of graffiti, they think of the intricate work of some artists - often commissioned, as I believe the art in the image above is - but of course graffiti can just be writing - sometimes names, like tags, or sometimes rude sentences (or not rude, sorry to impose my judgment on them). I was thinking a while back about how in two of the three college stations at which I deejayed, the bathrooms were marked up. Just really, really marked up. Here's a snap of the one at KVRX from around 1995:

& from about twenty years later, something pithy that always made me laugh found in the WRFL bathroom:

In fact it was in a fit of nostalgia that I came across that WRFL pic a few weeks ago & that's what made me think about doing a show about graffiti.

As a side comment: I do wish I had documented those magnificent restrooms more completely. Neither exists any more. The building in which the original KVRX studios lived was demolished around 1999 I think, & the WRFL bathroom was destroyed when the UK Student Center was remodeled around 2015 or 2016. Too bad.

Songs & interviews about graffiti tonight on KBOO. Midnight to 2am. That's 90.7fm here in town & online everywhere at kboo dot fm. Now. I'd better start working on my tag!

Preface To Graffiti: So Much Graffiti

There was so much graffiti all over Portland during the pandemic. This especially happened to businesses that had closed or had closed up for the duration, & to houses that had been abandoned. It must've been a great time to go around painting on things. I remember one morning, when I was doing a show early on XRAY, driving on I-5 going north, I saw three guys just standing on the highway shoulder spray-painting a wall or a pillar or whatever. I don't even know if the police would've stopped at that point.

The city is much more active now & the graffiti level has dropped. There are still some rudimentary tags here & there but hardly any sentences written on the sides of walls as in the picture I took above, dated February 26, 2022. Nearly four years ago, wow. Hard to believe what we've lived through.

Or didn't live through, as the case may be. There are people I don't talk to because of the pandemic. Their inability to understand the deadliness of the virus - coupled with their incredibly stupid fear of vaccines - made me decide I didn't need those people in my life. It was a really dumb time & it continues to be very dumb.

You don't need me to tell you that, tho.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Computer Security Day

(by Stephan Dybus)

November 30 is National Computer Security Day. Although Dick Dickenbock doesn't own a computer, & the use of his cell phone is tightly monitored, he does feel confident he can report about the best way to protect yourself in our dangerous cyber world. Probably something to do with passwords.

Find out Dick Dickenbock's passwords on XRAY FM tomorrow, Sunday, November 30, noon to 1pm. Listen in Portland at 91.1+107.1fm & online at xray dot fm. Spoiler alert! His password is "password."

This Week In Self Help: November 21 23 + 25

(I have no idear where I found this image originally, but it's here)

A busy week! How do I start? Way back a Friday ago.

Friday the 21st. The Songcircle on KBOO. New releases. Listen here at KBOO. Listen here at Self Help Radio.

Also Friday the 21st. Also on KBOO. I subbed Plugged In. I played lots of pretty electronica from this year. Listen here at KBOO. Listen here at Self Help Radio.

Sunday the 23rd. The Dickenbock Report on XRAY. It was Eat A Cranberry Day. Listen here at XRAY. Listen here at Self Help Radio.

Tuesday the 25th. Self Help Radio on KBOO. A birthday show for my wife with lots of songs about birthdays. Listen here at KBOO. Listen here at Self Help Radio.

Also Tuesday the 25th. Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO. More new releases. Listen here at KBOO (after Self Help Radio). Listen here at Self Help Radio.

At Self Help Radio you might need: username SHR, password selfhelp.

Hopefully not such a busy week ahead. Happy holiday weekend!

Self Help Radio 112525: Magda's Birthday Show 2025

Here it is, the annual birthday show I make for my wife. She said "Thank you for making a birthday show for me" drowsily as she drifted off to sleep. Marriage saved for one more year!

About a third of the songs on the show were from 2025. That includes older songs on new releases, like the Red Sleeping Beauty singles collection & the John & Yoko box set. Most of the rest were songs I just came across this year. I have a folder - this is true - full of birthday songs that I don't really like all that much. I always think one year I'll release a deliberately sub-standard birthday show, so that's why I keep them. But I continue to find birthday songs I like so - not yet!

Have a birthday party & listen to the show either on the KBOO web page or on the Self Help Radio web page. If you choose the latter, you might need the username SHR & the password selfhelp. In any event, bring your own hats & cake. I ate all the cake.

Happy birthday!

Self Help Radio Birthday Show 2025

"Happy Birthday" Mocca _Funfair_

"Happy Happy Birthday" Bitter Cherry Jam _Road To The Vegetablets_

"Happy Birthday" Red Sleeping Beauty _Pop Songs_

introduction & explanation

"Happy Birthday" Black Country, New Road _Forever Howlong_

"A Happy Birthday Song" John Tabacco _You Get Old - You Get Everything_

"Timmy's Birthday" The Firesign Theatre _Dope Humor Of The Seventies_

"Happy Birthday Yoko Ono (Jam)" John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory & Special Guests _Power To The People_

"Archie Stephens' Birthday Party" Shrug _Fresh Fish_

interview with Magda's 7th grade boyfriend Chad

"Birthday" Joni _Avalanches_

"I Don't Know Why Double Birthday" Saintseneca _Highwallow & Supermoon Songs_

"Happy Birthday Old Folk" Walter Brennan _Old Rivers_

"My 8th Birthday" Big Top Heartbreak _Deadbeat Ballads_

"Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday)" Cate Le Bon _Michelangelo Dying_

interview with Wojciech & Agnieszka, who were in the Polish community with Magda

"Happy Birthday Late" Starlings _Korda Komp 4_

"Song For Molly Parden (Happy Birthday Darling)" Johanna Samuels _Bystander_

"White Lady With A Birthday Party" Nicole Byer _Big Beautiful Weirdo_

"Happy Birthday" Tommy Crimes _Album_

"Picture Of The Birthday" Crawl Babies _Send My Badge! - Bluebadge Compilation Vol. 1_

interview with Oliver, who had been a grad student with Magda

"Bad Birthday Bash" The Vandals _When In Rome Do As The Vandals_

"Birthday" Snuff Redux _Birthday_

"Happy Birthday To A Bookworm" Ernie Kovacs _The Ernie Kovacs Album_

"Birthday" Warren Teagarden _Haiku Islands Volume Two_

"One More Trip Around The Sun" Cari Cari _One More Trip Around The Sun_

conclusion & goodbye

"Happy Birthday" Fats & His Cats _Die Singles 1962-1968_

"Birthday Bash" The Hants _Bible Belt Warbling_

"Pretend Birthday" Automatic Children _New Is Beautiful_

"Birthday Dream" Human Culture _Human Culture_

Whither Magda's Birthday Show 2025?

(image from here)

Nearly every year that Self Help Radio has been in existence - that's like 23 years now - I have dedicated a show to the love of my life - first when she was just my girlfriend, now as my wife - around the time of her birthday. Do I play songs that make me think about her? Do I share songs that we both love equally? Nope! I play songs about birthdays. She's still charmed by it tho.

What makes the show difficult for me is that I don't repeat recordings. Which is to say, I may play covers of famous birthday songs, but once I've played that recording of the song, I don't repeat it. So I need to find new birthday songs - either ones that have been released in the last twelve months or ones I have otherwise missed - on every birthday show. & that's a challenge!

You can find out how I do tonight on KBOO - 90.7fm in Portland, kboo dot fm everywhere - from midnight to 2am. Heck, it might even be your birthday!

Preface To Magda's Birthday Show 2025: I Got You A Card

Hope you like it.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Eat A Cranberry Day

(image from here)

November 23 is Eat A Cranberry Day. We've stocked up on cranberries in all manners of food - sauce, juice, pie, & more - & Dick Dickenbock demands we eat cranberries while we report on the fruit tomorrow.

That's Sunday, from noon to 1pm, on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere. Why wait for Thanksgiving?

This Week In Self Help: November 16 + 18

Another week in which I only did the radio shows I'm supposed to do. Here's how that went:

The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM reported on National Button Day.

Listen to that show: on the XRAY web page | on the Self Help Radio web page.

Self Help Radio on KBOO FM had a show about freedom.
(All the songs were in fact titled "Freedom.")

Listen to that show: on the KBOO web page | on the Self Help Radio web page.

Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO FM continued the freedom theme.

Listen to that show: on the KBOO web page (after Self Help Radio) | on the Self Help Radio web page.

Remember! You might need on the Self Help Radio web page
username: SHR password: selfhelp

This next week tho I'm going to be a little more busy I think.

Self Help Radio 111825: Freedom

A show about freedom. With all the songs called "Freedom." There were lots of songs called "Freedom." They spilled into the third hour, which is a show called Corporate Standardized Programming. But might as well be the third hour of Self Help Radio.

Also my silly guests tell me their favorite freedoms. It gets pretty ridiculous.

& when you're free, if ever you're free, you can listen for free. It's at the KBOO web site & at the Self Help Radio website. At the latter you may need to use the username SHR & pass the password selfhelp. All the songs are called "Freedom" but everything that happens on the show is below.

Tho I feel a little free dumb right now.

Self Help Radio Freedom Show

"Freedom" The Golden Gate Quartet _Freedom: The Golden Gate Quartet & Josh White At The Library Of Congress_

"Freedom" Tommy Blake _Koolit (The Sun Years, Plus)_

"Freedom" Charles Mingus _Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus_

introduction & definitions

"Freedom" The New Christy Minstrels _Chim Chim Cher-ee_

"Freedom" The Motions _Electric Baby_

"Freedom" Memphis Slim _The Legacy Of The Blues Vol. 7_

"Freedom" Richie Havens _Woodstock - Music From The Original Soundtrack & More_

interview with Blake who tells us his favorite freedom

"Freedom" Six Feet Under _In Retrospect 1969-70_

"Freedom" Sue & Sunny _Freedom_

"Freedom" Rocky Cabbage _Rainbow Rocking Chair (The Definitive Collection 1969-1971)_

"Freedom" Ellison _Ellison_

"Freedom" The Isley Brothers _The Essential Isley Brothers_

interview with Tony who tells us his favorite freedom

"Freedom" Art Bears _The World As It Is Today_

"Freedom" The Garlands _The Garlands EP_

"Freedom" The Housemartins _London 0 Hull 4_

"Freedom" Alan Vega/Alex Chilton/Ben Vaughn _Cubist Blues_

"Freedom" Quintron _Too Thirsty 4 Love_

interview with Didi & Vic who tell us their favorite freedom

"Freedom" Accra Quartet _Travelers_

"Freedom" David Walters, Vincent Segal, Ballaké Sissoko, & Roger Raspail _Nocturne_

"Freedom" Ibibio Sound Machine _Electricity_

"Freedom" Sampa The Great _The Return_

interview with Eric who tells us his favorite freedom
+ conclusion & goodbye

"Freedom" Ty Segall _Ty Segall_

"Freedom" Curtis Harding _Soul Power_ 

"Freedom" Chaka Khan _Moscow On The Hudson Original Motion Picture Soundtrack_

Whither Freedom?

(image from here)

Apologies for the goofy stock photo. It's public domain. In all the pictures I've taken over the last few years not a single one had the title "freedom." So there you go.

Last week on the show I joked, when announcing this theme, that I thought it might be a good idea to do a show about freedom while we still had some of it in this country. For a lot of my fellow residents, freedom is a precious commodity. I'm not sure that was what was in my mind when I first thought of the theme, but golly it seems a good reason to do the show at this point.

Listen to a show about freedom tonight, midnight to 3am, on 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere.

It's very strange to be aware that I now have less freedoms than when I was born, & even stranger to know there are people in this country - including members of my family - that aren't even aware of that.

Preface To Freedom: Why Isn't Your Show More Political

(image found here)

Something I am sometimes asked - more in the past, really, than in recent times - is "Why isn't your show more political?" It's a question that puzzles me. I suppose there are people on the right who listen to noncommercial radio, noncommercial music, but the right wingers in my family have never paid any attention to the music I like & have at their most charitable called it "weird." If it hasn't appeared on commercial radio, they wouldn't have heard it, let alone approved of it. & frankly I have very rarely met conservatives who volunteer or do radio shows at the stations I am at - & usually those do country shows.

Mostly I've hoped that people would think, oh he's on a left-leaning radio station, he must also feel that way, & that's certainly true, although I have disagreed with my stations in the past. But the company I keep should surely be a clue - yes, I might have silly improvised interviews about pigeons, but that doesn't mean I am not antifa.

Ultimately I end up saying something like, "I personally think noncommercial radio is an incredibly revolutionary thing." & I believe it. I volunteer at the stations at which I deejay, I ask for listener support on the air, I wear clothing that promotes them, & I support them financially. Because it may seem like oddballs in a little room playing their favorite music or sharing their opinions, but it's so dramatically unlike the current media landscape that we have ventured as far out as the Dadaists did at this point.

Noncommercial radio is my passion & I have given so much of the last thirty years of my life to it, & will continue to do so. That means every show on a station like KBOO or XRAY or Freeform Portland is inherently political. It's about freedom of expression. It's about challenging the status quo. It's David versus a Goliath as tall as a tower.

So perhaps if ever I am asked the question, "Why isn't your show more political?" I should just answer, "Honestly, I don't think it could get any more political!"

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Button Day

(image found here)

National Button Day is November 16. Because that is the day that most resembles a button. One assumes. People have been celebrating National Button Day for so long that its origins have disappeared into the mists of time. When you go to your annual National Button Day gathering, you don't ask such questions, you just have a good time. But maybe you'd like to know more about National Button Day? Then you're lucky that's what we're focusing on on The Dickenbock Report tomorrow!

Yes, Sunday. That's November 16. From noon to 1pm. On 91.1+107.1fm in Portland. xray dot fm everywhere. Prepare your buttons accordingly.

This Week In Self Help: November 9 + 11

Another week in which I kept my hands to myself & just made the shows I'm supposed to make.

The Dickenbock Report on XRAY on November 9 was about tongue twisters because it was International Tongue Twister Day. I had fun putting it together but got no feed about it. Seems I was the only one who enjoyed it. Let that be your warning if you wanna listen! It's at XRAY FM & also at the SHR web page.

Self Help Radio on KBOO on November 11 had the odd theme "surface" but I got some nice texts about it even tho it was on late at night. That was nice. I had fun putting it together too. It's at KBOO FM & also at the SHR web page.

Corporate Standardized Programming also on KBOO also on November 11 was just a buncha new releases which I like to play because I listen to all kindsa new stuff all the time. It's at KBOO FM (after Self Help Radio) & also on its own at the SHR web page.

If asked, the username is SHR & the password is selfhelp.

Is that all? Yes, that's all.

Self Help Radio 111125: Surface

Let it be known I tried to get deep about the subject of "surface." I tried to use all meanings of the word. I sought out silly but appropriate interviewees. I kept my hands on the surface of the console at all times in case anything went wrong. I did my best, damn it! But somehow it still feels a little shallow.

Nevertheless here's the show! It's over on the KBOO website but also on the Self Help Radio website. On the latter use the username SHR & password selfhelp to access. Most everything that happens on the show is listed below.

Time to leave the surface of the show!

Self Help Radio Surface Show

"Surface" Big Bliss _At Middle Distance_

"Surface" Burnt Palms _The Girl You Knew_

"The Surface" The Dodos _Grizzly Peak_

introduction & definitions

"Surface World" The Jades _Scream Loud!!! The Fenton Story_

"On The Surface" Pere Ubu _Dub Housing_

"Walking On The Surface Of The Moon" Wreckless Eric _The Wonderful World Of Wreckless Eric_

"Look Beneath The Surface" Maggie Nicols _Miniatures (A Sequence Of Fifty-One Tiny Masterpieces Edited By Morgan-Fisher)_

"Under The Surface" Bettie Serveert _Palomine_

interview with Col. Brock Eiger, who wants to land on the surface of the sun

"Scratch The Surface" Jasmine Minks _Scratch The Surface_

"From The Surface" Mecca Normal _Jarred Up_

"Surface Of Pluto" Human Eye _4: Into Unknown_

"Surface Envy" Sleater-Kinney _No Cities To Love_

"On The Surface" Bettye LaVette _I've Got My Own Hell To Raise_

interview with Jenny & Joey Gillespie, who grew up under the surface of the Earth

"Up To The Surface" Cloud Nothings _Life Without Sound_

"Perfect On The Surface" Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton _Choir Of The Mind_

"Breaking The Surface" Ane Brun _How Beauty Holds The Hand Of Sorrow_

"In The Surface Noise" Archers Of Loaf _Reason In Decline_

"Scratch The Surface" Sloan _Steady_

interview with Surface Level Living promoter Scott

"Under The Surface" Linda From Work _The Night Is Short_

"I Just Surfaced" The Macks _The Macks Are A Knife_

"Skimming The Surface" Fotoform _Grief Is A Garden (Forever In Bloom)_

"Surface Talk" Gretta Seabird _Cycling EP_

"On The Surface" Pale Blue Eyes _New Place_

conclusion & goodbye

"Surfacer" 14 Iced Bears _14 Iced Bears_

"Surface Operations" Grace Scheele _Landings_

"Scratching The Surface" Rabbit's Eye _The Damage Was Terrific_

Whither Surface?

In general, I can think of three main reasons one might pick a theme for a theme-based radio show. Off the top of my head, those are:

1) It's a holiday or famous day - like Halloween or a famous artist's birthday.
2) It's a day of special importance to the programmer - an anniversary perhaps.
3) It's arbitrary - for example, in the case of this particular theme-based radio show, the reason is often because of coincidence of repetition - I might hear many different songs in a short time that suggest the theme.

The reason for the theme of this week's Self Help Radio - which is "surface" - is the unofficial fourth way (which might seem to coincide with reason number 3):

4) For the life of me I can't remember why I picked that theme.

Here's what I know:

Sometime this year I thought "surface" would be a good theme for a show. Probably late at night. Perhaps whiskey was involved. I created a folder on my computer & put a file in it with some ideas. Later on it seemed to me I was ready to make that show - I had enough songs, I had some silly ideas for interviews, etc. & I put it on the schedule.

It never occurred to me to write down why that was the theme. & it is "surface." Not "surfaces." The word "surface."

& that's all I can say about that. But I will add the show airs tonight from midnight to 2am on 90.7fm here in Portland & online everywhere at kboo dot fm. I know, on the surface it doesn't seem like a good theme. But maybe there's something below the surface?

Preface To Surface: You Can Drive Forever

Something I might have mentioned before - I like taking pictures. I got my hands on a digital camera sometime in 2014 or so & I have been snapping shots when the spirit takes me since then.

But why not seek out opportunities to take pictures? I have done it a few times. The image above - from 2017 - is one of those times. On an afternoon with nothing to do, I went on a drive & took some pictures.

Oh how I hesitate to say that I keep a journal because it's really just an accounting of my day but I checked back to see what I might have been doing when I took this picture - it was on December 3, 2017 - & here's what I think was happening:

We bought some dog treats for our beagles which we discovered were too large for them. We offered to donate them to an animal rescue group. I drove there & had to wander through what I described then as a "shabby office park" to give them away. That all went successfully - I have the strangest feeling I returned there years later but will forgo that at the moment & just say I decided to take the long way home in order to take some pictures. Did I? I wrote this: "took a few but not many."

Not the makings of a bona fide photographer to be sure!

The surface of the road is obvious here tho. & truly there are roads like this everywhere. & even if they don't go on forever, they might as well - they certainly feel like they do.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: International Tongue Twister Day

(original image here)

It is common news that singing sailors sail the sea swiftly. After all, melodic murmurs make music meaningful. Which is why vocal virtuosos voice various volumes, harmony hums harmoniously, & ten tenors tenderly tune their tones. But what you might not know is that November 9 is International Tongue Twister Day. Which is what we'll be reporting on on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM.

Tune in Sunday, November 9, from noon to 1pm to listen to Dick Dickenbock expertly enunciate these tricky tongue twister & more! Only on XRAY - 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere.

This Week In Self Help: November 2 + 4

That is a picture of Stuart, who is a new addition to our household. I wrote about him here but since no one reads this blog I understand if you missed it. I am sharing it mainly because I have nothing related to this week's shows to share otherwise. You understand.

November 2: XRAY The Dickenbock Report.

It was Look For Circles Day. I found a few. Listen at XRAY. Listen at Self Help Radio.

November 4: KBOO Self Help Radio.
A show with the theme "next time." Listen at KBOO. Listen at Self Help Radio.

November 4: KBOO Corporate Standardized Programming.

A show featuring artists we lost in April 2025. Listen at KBOO (after Self Help Radio) Listen at Self Help Radio.

At Self Help Radio - username SHR password selfhelp.

Stuart is a sweet old fellow with issues related to years of neglect. We will make sure the last years of his life are happy ones. I am quite in love with him. He is handsome & affectionate. More later I am sure.

Self Help Radio 110425: Next Time

This is the first time I've done a show with the theme "next time." Next time I'll probably expand the theme so I won't have to play the same songs. But there may not be a next time! This may be the last time I'll explore the theme "next time." & I think I've already done a show with the theme "last time"! Enjoy this next time as like the show with the theme "last time" it won't be back a second time.

How can you enjoy it? You can listen to it on the KBOO web page (& presumably the app). You can download it & listen at the Self Help Radio web page. You may need the username SHR & password selfhelp. But it'll be where you left if if you want to listen to it again next time. Most everything that happens on the show is listed below.

See you next time!

Self Help Radio Next Time Show

"Next Time" Richard Berry _R&B Confidential No. 1: The Flair Label_

"Next Time" Johnnie Taylor _Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968_

"Next Time" Ann Margret _Ann Margret 1961-1966_

introduction & definitions

"Next Time" Builders _Pyx (1985-1988)_

"Next Time" Little Wings _Light Green Leaves_

"The Next Time" Momus _JoeMus_

"Next Time" Dirt Bike Annie _Show Us Your Demons_

"Next Time" Mudhoney _The Lucky Ones_

interview with developers of Nexttime, Dr. Gail Michaels & Ray Powell

"Next Time" Curtis Harding _Soul Power_

"Next Time" A Projection _Framework_

"Next Time" Bacchae _Next Time_

"Next Time" Warren Dunes _Aquamarine_

"Next Time" Laura Marling _Semper Femina_

interview with Better Luck Next Time! host Carson Pierce

"Better Luck Next Time" Jo Stafford _Yes Indeed!_

"Better Luck Next Time" Quasi _The Sword Of God_

"Better Luck Next Time" King Khan & The Shrines _Idle No More_

"Next Time Round" Elvis Costello & The Attractions _Blood & Chocolate_

"Next Time Around" Abacus Rings _Spout_

interview with life coach Richard Jester

"Until The Next Time" Dramarama _Vinyl_

"Next Time You Fall" Love As Laughter _The Greks Bring Gifts_

"Next Time It's Gonna Be Different" The Haywains _Desperately Seeking Something_

"Next Year, Next Time" The Staves _Good Woman_

"No More Next Time" Melys _Second Wind_

conclusion & goodbye

"Next Time (Maybe)" Tapeworms _Funtastic_

"What About Next Time?" Milburn _Well Well Well_

"The Next Time We Wed" The Fratellis _In Your Own Sweet Time_ 

"Where You Gonna Land (Next Time You Fall Off Of Your Mountain)?" Nova Mob _The Last Days Of Pompeii_

"No Next Time" The Walking Floors _Messthetics Greatest Hits_

Whither Next Time?

(original image found here)

This is one of those shows not about a thing but about a phrase. That phrase is "next time." Repeated in songs. In songs that I like. So really not much more to say about it than that.

Except! There won't be a next time for this show so listen this time!

Midnight to 2am on KBOO - 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere.

Because I miss you last time.

Preface To Next Time: Stuart

(This has nothing to do with this week's Self Help Radio.)

We are fostering-to-adopt the handsome hound pictured above. He is a nine-year-old beagle - who we've been told is purebred but who because of his girth has a basset-hound-ishness about him - whose previous owner could no longer take care of him. As I mentioned, he's a little large - we estimate sixty pounds. Our other two beagles together don't weight that much. He's quite friendly, & has a great disposition, but is somewhat out of shape - he pants on long walks - & he's not used to being loved on. & doubtless he is hungry all the time.

It has been a somewhat tough three days, us getting to know him & vice versa. His previous owner had health issues that may have led to some neglect. He was passed on to a non-family-member because no one else wanted him. That sweet person met us in Olympia on Thursday - it was halfway between his home & Portland - & cried when he gave him to us. We did not know Stuart would be so large, & we thought he was a tad younger. But - as you can see - he's a beautiful dog & like I said he's very easy to be around. Except when he's about to be fed. Then he yells at you with a hoarse, throaty bark.

The foster-to-adopt program gives us a chance to get to know him to see if he'll fit in with our household. He's got a beagley indifference to things that are not good smells or food that has made him get along with the other beagles (though our youngest wishes he would play with him - the truth is Stuart may never have ever played with another dog). He has shown very little interest in the cats, though they are very suspicious of him - since he has shown interest in their food. I can only speak for myself when I say I would like him to stay. But my wife wants to know his general health - he has a vet visit on Tuesday - before she commits. Already though I see her heart softening toward him. But I can't predict the future.

Stuart by the way is the name we have given him & he already answers to it. With a beagle you can teach most anything if there's a treat involved.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Look For Circles Day

Where can one look for circles tomorrow, November 2, on Look For Circles Day? Might I suggest The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM? We'll be reporting on Look For Circles Day & maybe explaining how one can look for circles by listening to the radio.

That's Sunday noon to 1pm on 91.1 & 107.1fm here in Portland, & online everywhere at xray dot fm. See you in the circle!

This Week In Self Help: October 26 + 28

(image from here)

Happy Halloween! I made a Halloween show this week - well, two, really, but the Dickenbock Report episode was sort of recycled from a 2019 Self Help Rado episode (don't tell anyone) although it had a new fake news report in it. Anyway since the main thing today is Halloween here first is this week's Self Help Radio! A show about wizards.

10/28 Self Help Radio Wizard Halloween: listen at KBOO | listen at Self Help Radio

The show I do after Self Help Radio - Corporate Standardized Programming - featured more wizard songs but was all instrumental.

10/28 Corporate Standardized Programming Wizard Halloween: listen at KBOO (after Self Help Radio) | listen at Self Help Radio

& to the recycled show - The Dickenbock Report reported on Frankenstein.

10/26 Dickenbock Report Frankenstein Halloween: listen at XRAY | listen at Self Help Radio

In you are so inclined I've archived most of my Halloween shows at the Self Help Radio Halloween page.

& remember - username SHR, password selfhelp. Just in case.

Self Help Radio 102825: Wizards! (Halloween 2025)

A public service announcement: Wizards! Don't leave you hats lying around! They are important for some spells! Many wizards keep creatures & other things in their hat! This hat could have been found by children - or witches!

Here is the 2025 Self Help Radio Halloween show - just in time for the holiday - all about wizards. In addition to lots of tunes about wizards, I speak to three wizards - & one witch. Plus! There are some spells discussed. & listening to show puts a hex on you. Not a bad hex - just one that makes you want to support community radio instead of buying Harry Potter merchandise.

You can experience the magic (so to speak) at either the KBOO web site or at the Self Help Radio web site. At the latter you may need the username SHR & password selfhelp to listen. Nearly everything that happens on the show is listed below.

Presto! A wizard's show!

Self Help Radio Halloween 2025 Wizards Show

"The Wizard" Jimmie Rodgers _The Best Of Jimmie Rodgers_

"Sorcerer's Apprentice" The Del-Vikings _Come Go With Me: The Best Of The Del-Vikings - The Dot/ABC Recordings_

"My Friend The Wizzard" The Others _Mindrocker_

introduction & definitions

"Sorcerella" Jefferson Lee _Poppies: Assorted Finery From The First Psychedelic Age_

"The Wizard" Cats Eyes _The Electric Asylum Volume 2 - British Psychedelic Freakrock Rarities_

"Wizard Of Gobsolod" Velvett Fogg _Velvett Fogg_

"Witches & Wizzards" Louise Huebner _Louise Huebner's Seduction Through Witchcraft_

"Wizard Shep" The Sun Also Rises _Dust On The Nettles (A Journey Through The British Underground Folk Scene 1967-1972)_

interview with wizard Barton Terellian

"Abracadabra" Bruce Haack _Listen Compute Rock Home (The Best Of Dimension 5)_

"Abracadabra Alakazam" Daddy Dewdrop _Daddy Dewdrop_

"The Wizard" Rowan Brothers _Rowan Brothers_

"Good Wizard Meets Naughty Wizard" Twink _Think Pink_

"Mr. Wizard" Stone The Crows _Teenage Licks_

interview with Cassandra The Witch & her wizard apprentice Junior

"We're Off To See The Wizard (The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz)" Meco _The Wizard Of Oz_

"The Wizard & The Lizard" Gorky's Zygotic Mynci _Barafundle_

"The Wizard" Bat For Lashes _Fur & Gold_

"It's Only Sorcery" Outrageous Cherry _The Book Of Spectral Projections_

"Sorcerer" The Mekons _The Curse Of The Mekons_

interview with wizard Limin The Eldritch

"Pinball Wizard" Binghamton Crosbys _Songs In The Key Of Nishole_

"Synth Wizard" Go-Kart Mozart _On The Hot Dog Streets_

"Dark Sorcerer" Frankie & The Witch Fingers _Zam_

"Sadie Sorceress" King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard _Omnium Gatherum_

"Clemency For The Wizard King" The Mountain Goats _In League With Dragons_

conclusion & goodbye

"The Wizard" T. Rex _T. Rex_

Whither Wizards? (Halloween 2025!)

(comic by Tom Gauld)

Halloween is a holiday I celebrate every year on the show. But I don't like to play the same Halloween songs every year so instead I select a single theme - an aspect of Halloween, or a monster, something like that, & let that be the focus od my Halloween show. & I have not repeated Halloween themes in my many years on Self Help Radio which means I must find a new theme each year. That means I can never again on Self Help Radio have Halloween shows about ghosts & vampires, about zombies & werewolves, about witches & mummies & monsters in general & Frankenstein in particular.  Scary places weren't neglected, either - there have been shows about haunted houses, graveyards, ghost towns, even hell.  Are you afraid or black cats or spiders or clowns or scarecrows or all kinds of horrible things attacking - becayse there have been Halloween shows about those terrible creatures too! Some terrifying concepts, too, have come under the show's scrutiny: voodoo & nightmares & death have been nervously explored.

(If you're like me & counted the themes & said "Hey those are only 20 themes! Hasn't the show been on from like 23 years?" The answer is I didn't do a Halloween show one year, & the first show was a general Halloween show, & this will be the Halloween episode of the show's 23rd year.)

All of these shows can be listened to by clicking the link above or simply visiting the Self Help Radio Halloween show page. It looks like I do need to add shows for the last two years though eep!

Do I despair of running out of Halloween themes? Oh indeed. But this year I fear the show might not be too scary - but I think it will capture some of the magic of Halloween. It's a show about wizards. In addition to songs about wizards, I'll be speaking to some wizards too - all night long!

That's at the Witching Hour - midnight to 2am tonight - on 90.7fm in Portland & online at kboo dot fm. I don't mind if you don't listen but some of the wizards I'll talk to might so - maybe listen or get turned into a frog?

Preface To Wizards (Halloween 2025): Portland Halloween

Portland loves Halloween. I'm tempted to say the city loves Halloween more than any other holiday but I don't really celebrate many other holidays - there are lots of Christmas decorations during Christmas but that doesn't charm me as much as displays of things that frighten you.

Although really I don't celebrate Halloween much either. I don't dress up & I don't decorate the house. As a result, very few children make it by the house - & they don't tend to like the vegan treats we serve. But I've always made Halloween shows - every Halloween since the beginning of the show. & while I feel like I am likely to run out of Halloween themes fairly soon, I've scraped by each year - this year with a theme that's not exactly scary but is a common Halloween costume - wizards.

Above is a picture of a yard in my neighborhood which shows some of the cleverness on display by the people who are really, really into Halloween. This particular yard makes my wife laugh every time we pass - it's on our dog walk route you see.

There is I suppose no real explanation for why the theme is what it is this week but I'll take a crack at it tomorrow anyway.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Frankenstein!

(found here)

Portland loves Halloween. Dick Dickenbock loves Halloween. Next Friday is Halloween. Tomorrow there will be a special report on Halloween. This year Dick Dickenbock wanted to explore one of his favorite monsters from his childhood - Frankenstein's monster!

That's tomorrow, Sunday, October 26, from noon to 1pm on XRAY FM, 107.1fm & xray dot fm. If we're lucky, we'll get to hear for four thousandth time Dick Dickenbock's Boris Karloff story. Yay,

This Week In Self Help: October 17 19 + 21

(statue by Iván Argote, image from here)

Another week, another radio. I know that doesn't make any sense but I do these recaps every week & I feel like I should say something new instead of "here's another week of dumb radio I made." But - anyway.

Friday October 17 on The Songcircle on KBOO I played lots of new releases.
Listen at KBOO dot fm | Listen at Self Help Radio dot net

Sunday October 19 on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY I celebrated Marjorie Tallchief's birthday by playing songs about ballet.

Listen at XRAY dot fm | Listen at Self Help Radio dot net

Tuesday October 21 on Self Help Radio I made a radio show about pigeons.

Listen at KBOO dot fm | Listen at Self Help Radio dot net

Tuesday October 21 on Corporate Standardized Programming I played a lot of new releases.

Listen at KBOO dot fm (after Self Help Radio) | Listen at Self Help Radio dot net

At Self Help Radio dot net you might need the username SHR & password selfhelp to access.

Another week, another radio post. Okay, that makes more sense. Except all I post about is my radio shows!

Self Help Radio 102125: Pigeons

A nice program about a nice bird that is generally unloved & misunderstood. Boo! to those who dislike the pigeon! They are stout & cute & make neat sounds & you know what? We domesticated them. They traveled along with us. They're our responsibility! So there! (Read more about that here.)

Anyway, enjoy all these songs about pigeons. Plus the silly interviews. The show can be listened to at the KBOO web page & at the Self Help Radio web page. For the latter, remember the username SHR & password selfhelp. Everything that happened on the show is below.

A group of pigeons is of course a flock. A group of pigeon songs is this week's show!

Self Help Radio Pigeon Show

"It Ain't No Fun To Be A Pigeon" Homer & Jethro _There's Nothing Like An Old Hippie_

"My Pigeon's Gone" Charles Calhoun _The R&B Years 1956, Vol. 1_

"Little Pigeon" Chuck Sims _That'll Flat Git It! Vol. 9: Rockabilly From The Vaults Of Decca Records_

"Homin' Pigeon" The Rhythmettes _Doo-Wop Delights, Vol. 6_

introduction & definitions

"Carrier Pigeon" The Kingston Trio _Sold Out_

"Pigeon In The Park" The Gaslight Singers _The Gaslight Singers_

"Poisoning Pigeons In The Park" Tom Lehrer _The Remains Of Tom Lehrer_

"Les Deux Pigeons" Charles Aznavour _Qui ?_

"Mi Palomita" Yma Sumac _Fuego Del Ande_

interview with Chad Mapplethorpe of Pigeon Friends

"Pigeons" Laurie Styvers _Gemini Girl: The Complete Hush Recordings_

"Passenger Pigeons" Handsome Family _Twilight_

"Eight Clay Pigeons" Ella Jenkins _Counting Games & Rhythms For The Little Ones_

"Pigeon" Cannibal Ox _The Cold Vein_

"Pigeonometry" Aesop Rock _Integrated Tech Solutions_

interview with poetry teacher Rod Farmer

"Stool Pigeon" Vic Godard & Subway Sect _What's The Matter Boy?_

"The Pigeon" Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts _Manhattan_

"Pigeon Named Crow" Nicki Jaine _Live_

"Pigeons" National Lampoon _Radio Dinner_

"Pigeons" Bill Callahan _Pigeons_

a conversation with two pigeons

"Clay Pigeons" John Prine _Fair & Square_

"Pigeons" Weird Al Yankovic & Wendy Carlos _Peter & The Wolf/Carnival Of The Animals - Part II_

"Pigeons" The Hundred In The Hands _The Hundred In The Hands_

"Inner City Pigeon" Marching Church _Telling It Like It Is_

"Carrier Pigeon" Surfer Blood _Snowdonia_

conclusion & goodbyean angry caller calls in
then conclusion & goodbye

"Stop That Pigeon" Reverend Horton Heat _Saturday Morning (Cartoons' Greatest Hits)_

"Pigeon In Your Tongue" The Mommyheads _Coming Into Beauty_

"Pigeon" Cloth _Secret Measure_