Self Help Radio 010725: A Peculiar Show

(original image from Gooble Maps)

Let it be known I'm not terribly happy with my terrible Photoshop job above. It's just that I don't have the time to do any better. There is a town in Missouri called Peculiar & the sign was from Google Maps & I think I like the idea - next 2 hours instead of next 2 exits - but I wish I had the time - not to mention the skill - to do a better job. Sorry about that.

Apologies all around! It's 2025! Perhaps we'll have less energy to get anything done as the year wears on! Whee! Radio will be so fun!

Anyway. The show. You can listen at the KBOO website. You can listen at the Self Help Radio website. You need the username SHR & password selfhelp at the latter. Everything that happened on the show is mentioned below. Yeah, it's all pretty peculiar.

So it goes.

A Peculiar Self Help Radio Show

"Peculiar" Chewy Marble _Chewy Marble_

"Peculiar" Twerps _Twerps_

"Peculiar" The Slackers _Peculiar_

introduction & definitions - featuring the Definition-O-Tron 3000

"Life Is So Peculiar (with Louis Armstrong)" Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five _Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five_

"A Most Peculiar Man" Simon & Garfunkel _Sounds Of Silence_

"Ain't That Peculiar" Bettye Swann _Don't You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me?_

"How Lucky You Are (aka Miss Peculiar) (Demo)" David Bowie _Divine Symmetry_

"It's Not Peculiar" Hüsker Dü _Warehouse: Songs & Stories_

interview with Ron Wilson, winner of the Most Peculiar Person In Portland 2024 contest

"Peculiar Guy" Lee Hazlewood _Trouble Is A Lonesome Town_

"Most Peculiar Girl" Larry & Lynda _Most Peculiar Girl_

"Peculiar Girl" The Feelings _Darla 100_

"Friends Peculiar" April March _In Cinerama_

"Peculiar, Missouri" Willi Carlisle _Peculiar, Missouri_

interview with Carter James, runner-up for the Most Peculiar Person In Portland 2024 contest

"Funny Peculiar (feat. Cathy Davey)" The Divine Comedy _Foreverland_

"Funny Peculiar" The Hollow Men _Twisted_

"A Peculiar Noise Called 'Train Director'" The Olivia Tremor Control _Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume 1_ 

"My Own Peculiar Way" Timi Yuro _Today_

"Something Peculiar" Julianna Raye _Something Peculiar_

the etymology of peculiar

"Peculiar Situation" The Hollies _For Certain Because..._

"Peculiar Hole In The Sky" The Valentines _The Sound Of The Valentines_

"Two Peculiar People" Weather _Piccadilly Sunshine Volumes 1-10 (A Compendium Of Rare Pop Curios From The British Psychedelic Era)_

"I Never Thought It Peculiar" The Monkees _Changes_

"A Peculiar Hallelujah" Papercuts _You Can Have What You Want_

"Old Peculiar" Vomit Launch _Dogeared_

conclusion & goodbye

"Peculiar Man" The Gaylads _Understanding_

"Peculiar Number" The Abyssinians _Forward_

"(I Know My Baby Loves Me) In Her Own Peculiar Way" Leon McAuliffe _Take It Away Leon: 1946 Big Band Sides, 1947-48 Live & Majestic Recordings_

Whither A Peculiar Show?

(This seems mean. Image from here.)

From nearly the very beginning of Self Help Radio I have not been entirely content having shows about things. I liked also to have shows about words & phrases. This is one of them.

Why peculiar? Is that a word used to describe me at one time? Perhaps - but certainly not from many of the people growing up. Too many syllables. They were content with "weird."

Nothing peculiar led me to make a show with the theme being the word peculiar. I'm pretty sure it's because of a song I'll play tonight that I discovered & really loved. It made me go down a rabbit hole of songs featuring the word peculiar. That's usually how these themes come about. I wish I had a better story!

Tonight! Midnight to 2am on 90.7fm & kboo dot fm! The first Self Help Radio of 2025! Peculiar but in a way not peculiar!

Preface To Peculiar: Is This Show Peculiar?

The image above is the Peanuts strip from January 9, 1963. It was scanned by me from the Fantagraphics collection. I chose it because, well, it uses the word peculiar. & the word peculiar is the theme of this week's show.

Which is the first show of 2025. It's not an auspicious sign of the creativity of the program this year.

But the question is asked - is this show peculiar? Or - hold on - is it trying to be peculiar? After all, there are plenty of people who like to say "I'm so weird!" but they're not really weird. Maybe Self Help Radio really wants to be peculiar but really isn't. It may be painfully normal. Or just bland.

What do I think? I think I've been doing this show so long I have no idea what I'm doing. So I let it be the show is wants to be. Or what it is in spite of what it wants to be. Anyway. The comic above is awesome. That's the only reason to look at this.