Ach! Thirteen shows on KOOP radio left! That means it's roughly three months. I am sad. But I know what can cheer me up! Beatboxing!
One of the great things about Self Help Radio today is that NOT ONLY will you get to hear the great old & new beatboxers (DOug E Fresh to Rahzel), & NOT ONLY will you hear some songs that cleverly incorporate beatboxing, but AS AN ADDED BONUS AT NO COST TO YOU you'll get to hear my visit with MC Beat Daddy, where he teaches me the basics of beatboxing AND THAT'S NOT ALL I'll also be giving away beatboxing CD collections. Wow! Hey! Super! Freaky! Mommy!
So while it's sad for me to wind down my time on KOOP, it's glad for me to be able to have as much fun as I am planning to have for the next three months. Don't miss it! Today at 4:30 pm Texas time, live on the 91.7 frequency, & on the web at koop.org!
Friday, February 01, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Eh Speak Up Sonny
Were I the more dynamic of the Self Help Radio sisters, I'd be announcing something new every day on this blog. I already try to follow something like a formula (not a baby formula) which not only helps me think of dumb stuff to write here, but also helps me organize my brain & remind me what day it is. Do you know the formula? Or would you rather play a game where you have to name television theme songs?
The formula, then:
MONDAY: Remind everyone that my show from Friday is available to be downloaded on the Self Help Radio website.
TUESDAY: Write something ridiculous as a "preface" to my next post "explaining" my theme.
WEDNESDAY: "Explain" my theme of the week.
FRIDAY: Countdown the shows left until I leave KOOP.
THURSDAY has no real purpose. I can maybe mention something like adding a new mix to the Self Help Radio Extra page, or link to something, but in general, this is Thursday: me saying not much.
Why can't I be the more dynamic of the Self Help Radio sisters? All the boys like her better, too. & if she did a radio show - well, you'd like it more. & Thursday would be "how to please your man in bed" day. I bet she has more then 52 ways to please her man. I should say "her men." She's a slut!
Instead, all I can say is I met MC Beat Daddy from Plano, Texas, & he taught me to beatbox. Results on the show tomorrow. Also I ate bad hummus last night. Oh, & I got three Enrico Caruso CDs on a whim. It's so fucking Thursday in here.
The formula, then:
MONDAY: Remind everyone that my show from Friday is available to be downloaded on the Self Help Radio website.
TUESDAY: Write something ridiculous as a "preface" to my next post "explaining" my theme.
WEDNESDAY: "Explain" my theme of the week.
FRIDAY: Countdown the shows left until I leave KOOP.
THURSDAY has no real purpose. I can maybe mention something like adding a new mix to the Self Help Radio Extra page, or link to something, but in general, this is Thursday: me saying not much.
Why can't I be the more dynamic of the Self Help Radio sisters? All the boys like her better, too. & if she did a radio show - well, you'd like it more. & Thursday would be "how to please your man in bed" day. I bet she has more then 52 ways to please her man. I should say "her men." She's a slut!
Instead, all I can say is I met MC Beat Daddy from Plano, Texas, & he taught me to beatbox. Results on the show tomorrow. Also I ate bad hummus last night. Oh, & I got three Enrico Caruso CDs on a whim. It's so fucking Thursday in here.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Whither Beatboxing?
Beatboxing! How ridiculous is that?
Not so ridiculous, my friend. There's a webpage out there which has been, it says, "representing & promoting the worldwide beatbox community since 1998." Beatboxers make records & people who make neat noises with their mouths star in "Police Academy" movies, if they're still being made & WHY AREN'T THEY STILL BEING MADE? Shouldn't someone be monitoring the whereabouts of Michael Winslow? Christ! Do I have to do everything myself?
I know, beatboxing is at best a fringe element of the hiphop community & at worst an annoying novelty, but my fascination with it resurfaced at some point last year - maybe I heard some beatboxing on a cut, or I was simply transported back to a time of childlike wonder at things like a fellow making simultaneous sounds with his mouth. & by the way, I am totally not being sexist here - I have no come across any female beatboxers. There are of course jazz women (like Ella Fitzgerald) who can scat, & scat is an obvious precursor to beatboxing, but I'm not doing a show about scat. I have only ninety minutes! I can't go back that far!
In any event, I decided someone should be paying attention to beatboxing. So I began to delve into the beatboxing world. Someone had to do it, & I have discovered that, because you're so damn lazy, I have to do everything myself.
I am not necessarily going to have only songs with prominent beatboxing, but also some beatboxing-related musics. Initially, I thought I might have to cut corners & play songs like Big Audio Dynamite's "C'mon Every Beatbox," to fill up space (& I love that song), but I have more than enough beatboxing to fill two hours if I had to. You know it.
Beatboxing! How awesome is that?!
Not so ridiculous, my friend. There's a webpage out there which has been, it says, "representing & promoting the worldwide beatbox community since 1998." Beatboxers make records & people who make neat noises with their mouths star in "Police Academy" movies, if they're still being made & WHY AREN'T THEY STILL BEING MADE? Shouldn't someone be monitoring the whereabouts of Michael Winslow? Christ! Do I have to do everything myself?
I know, beatboxing is at best a fringe element of the hiphop community & at worst an annoying novelty, but my fascination with it resurfaced at some point last year - maybe I heard some beatboxing on a cut, or I was simply transported back to a time of childlike wonder at things like a fellow making simultaneous sounds with his mouth. & by the way, I am totally not being sexist here - I have no come across any female beatboxers. There are of course jazz women (like Ella Fitzgerald) who can scat, & scat is an obvious precursor to beatboxing, but I'm not doing a show about scat. I have only ninety minutes! I can't go back that far!
In any event, I decided someone should be paying attention to beatboxing. So I began to delve into the beatboxing world. Someone had to do it, & I have discovered that, because you're so damn lazy, I have to do everything myself.
I am not necessarily going to have only songs with prominent beatboxing, but also some beatboxing-related musics. Initially, I thought I might have to cut corners & play songs like Big Audio Dynamite's "C'mon Every Beatbox," to fill up space (& I love that song), but I have more than enough beatboxing to fill two hours if I had to. You know it.
Beatboxing! How awesome is that?!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Preface To Beatboxing: Hip Hop Dreams
I used to be more quick tongued than I currently am - I am older, obviously - much of my brain has been slowed by time & probably whiskey (mmm, whiskey) - but I remember when I was a teenager, as my little brother became an aficionado of the new "rap" scene (as he called it), I could make fun of MCs with dumb lyrics & even tried basic beatboxing. It was easy enough for me to "rap" stupid for enough time that my friend Russ told me I was a closet MC. That became my fake hiphop moniker: Closet MC.
I couldn't do it now. Tongue-twister lyrics that I sing to myself in the shower are hopelessly garbled. I find myself singing certain songs more slowly so I can wrap my teeth around them. I am a decrepit old bastard.
My little brother actually wanted to be an MC, though. To me, at the time, especially as I was starting to get into postpunk like Joy Division & the Smiths, hiphop seemed alien & dumb. All that bragging, all the overt sexuality, it was so unseemly, especially when Morrissey was being so humbly self-deprecating & the most songs I liked were about begging for a kiss you could never get, not dancing, sweating & having sex. What a naif I was!
I teased my brother about his ambitions, which is the nice way of saying I gave him a lot of shit. It didn't matter - we weren't very close by that point, & didn't want to be. He was out of high school & his posse was a bunch of neighborhood kids barely out of ninth grade. I once found a lyric sheet he had written - boy I wish I could remember his rap alias! - & it was boilerplate self-aggrandizement. I do wish he had recorded something. Maybe he did. But I never heard it.
I did record stuff, although it's mostly lost now, in a "band" which was my friend Russell on guitar (he'd add other instruments alone, later) & whomever we could shanghai into hanging out with us. All the lyrics I yelped were made up on the spot, usually to crack up Russell. He would sometimes suggest titles, & we'd go from there. One suggestion of his was a mocking bluesy tune called "Battering Ram" in which I, of course still a virgin, sang about my carnal prowess. If I remember the chorus right, it went something like:
I'm a battering ram,
I'm a battering ram,
I turn girls into spam,
Cause I'm a battering ram
I'm a battering ram,
I'm a battering ram,
I wonder who the hell I think I am
My favorite part was when, at the end, Russell interjected "His bedroom is an obstacle course," & I sang,
Watch it jump through the hoops
Do loop-de-loops
Battering, battering ram
In addition to a very insulting cover of "Sharp Dressed Man" & a shabby cover of "I Will Follow" (which I somehow made as creepy as possible by adding, "I'll follow you to your house - to your grandmother's house - I'll sneak in the bathroom"), we had songs with lovely titles like "Vandal With Me," "Officer Burrell Has Some Documents For You To Sign" & "Teenage Zombie."
None of this really has anything to do with hiphop of course. But what if I *had* pursued my hiphop dreams? Where were my friends who could beatbox? Alas, not in white Garland Texas in the mid-80s!
I couldn't do it now. Tongue-twister lyrics that I sing to myself in the shower are hopelessly garbled. I find myself singing certain songs more slowly so I can wrap my teeth around them. I am a decrepit old bastard.
My little brother actually wanted to be an MC, though. To me, at the time, especially as I was starting to get into postpunk like Joy Division & the Smiths, hiphop seemed alien & dumb. All that bragging, all the overt sexuality, it was so unseemly, especially when Morrissey was being so humbly self-deprecating & the most songs I liked were about begging for a kiss you could never get, not dancing, sweating & having sex. What a naif I was!
I teased my brother about his ambitions, which is the nice way of saying I gave him a lot of shit. It didn't matter - we weren't very close by that point, & didn't want to be. He was out of high school & his posse was a bunch of neighborhood kids barely out of ninth grade. I once found a lyric sheet he had written - boy I wish I could remember his rap alias! - & it was boilerplate self-aggrandizement. I do wish he had recorded something. Maybe he did. But I never heard it.
I did record stuff, although it's mostly lost now, in a "band" which was my friend Russell on guitar (he'd add other instruments alone, later) & whomever we could shanghai into hanging out with us. All the lyrics I yelped were made up on the spot, usually to crack up Russell. He would sometimes suggest titles, & we'd go from there. One suggestion of his was a mocking bluesy tune called "Battering Ram" in which I, of course still a virgin, sang about my carnal prowess. If I remember the chorus right, it went something like:
I'm a battering ram,
I'm a battering ram,
I turn girls into spam,
Cause I'm a battering ram
I'm a battering ram,
I'm a battering ram,
I wonder who the hell I think I am
My favorite part was when, at the end, Russell interjected "His bedroom is an obstacle course," & I sang,
Watch it jump through the hoops
Do loop-de-loops
Battering, battering ram
In addition to a very insulting cover of "Sharp Dressed Man" & a shabby cover of "I Will Follow" (which I somehow made as creepy as possible by adding, "I'll follow you to your house - to your grandmother's house - I'll sneak in the bathroom"), we had songs with lovely titles like "Vandal With Me," "Officer Burrell Has Some Documents For You To Sign" & "Teenage Zombie."
None of this really has anything to do with hiphop of course. But what if I *had* pursued my hiphop dreams? Where were my friends who could beatbox? Alas, not in white Garland Texas in the mid-80s!
Monday, January 28, 2008
The Arsonist Is Caught!
In case you haven't heard, a former KOOP volunteer & programmer has been caught & confessed to starting the fire. I must admit, I am surprised it was that particular person, although his name was tossed around as a suspect.
The penalty for destroying what was the work of dozens of dedicated volunteers - him among them! - may be as little as two years in prison. I suppose I am admitting I am a bad person, but I wish he'd get the maximum - twenty years. He knew what he was doing when he set fire to KOOP - he knew he was spitting in the face of the sweat & toil of people with whom he was friends & colleagues. He knew he was destroying work that *none of them* got paid for. It seems like that should be taken into account when they sentence him.
I also hope he is not a little angry that his work was for naught - KOOP is still here, & a stronger station without him.
Enough of this! There are three things you can do to enjoy Gary's KOOP! All are available as we speak at selfhelpradio.net.
1) Listen to my subbing of Justin's excellent show The House Call. I hope I did it justice.
2) Listen to my subbing of Ear Candy, featuring a special guest appearance by a spaz named Leah.
3) Listen to last week's Self Help Radio, which was all about my anger about the person who started the fire... & look how much that show accomplished!
That's four hours of Gary. Please consult with your physician before listening to more than one show at a time.
The penalty for destroying what was the work of dozens of dedicated volunteers - him among them! - may be as little as two years in prison. I suppose I am admitting I am a bad person, but I wish he'd get the maximum - twenty years. He knew what he was doing when he set fire to KOOP - he knew he was spitting in the face of the sweat & toil of people with whom he was friends & colleagues. He knew he was destroying work that *none of them* got paid for. It seems like that should be taken into account when they sentence him.
I also hope he is not a little angry that his work was for naught - KOOP is still here, & a stronger station without him.
Enough of this! There are three things you can do to enjoy Gary's KOOP! All are available as we speak at selfhelpradio.net.
1) Listen to my subbing of Justin's excellent show The House Call. I hope I did it justice.
2) Listen to my subbing of Ear Candy, featuring a special guest appearance by a spaz named Leah.
3) Listen to last week's Self Help Radio, which was all about my anger about the person who started the fire... & look how much that show accomplished!
That's four hours of Gary. Please consult with your physician before listening to more than one show at a time.
Friday, January 25, 2008
14 Shows To Go!
That's right - KOOP is back on the air! & with it, the Self Help Radio countdown continues. Only fourteen more shows! Gasp! I'd better tidy up a bit!
The "fourteen shows" thing is a bit disingenuous, because there may be only fourteen Self Help Radios on KOOP left, but Self Help Radio is like a rash that cannot be treated with anything resembling powders or pharmaceuticals. You can't get rid of it. So it shall continue, either as a podcast or as some radio show somewhere else. May God have mercy on our souls.
As well, there's no law that says I can't sit in on other folks' shows when they are otherwise unavailable. So, today, you'll hear my indie rock it up on Justin's excellent The House Call, & I always hope I do him justice. Justin justice. Then, tomorrow, I'll indie pop it up on Ear Candy. So what should have been just ninety minutes of Gary on the radio has suddenly, inexplicably, unconscionably turned into four long hours. Think I'll crack? Think someone will need an EMT? Then tune the fuck in, yo.
Remember to maintain the rage at asshole arsonists by tuning in today either live on the 91.7 fm frequency or live online at koop.org. KOOP has been through another trial by fire & emerged more powerful. & we do it for our community. That includes you!
The "fourteen shows" thing is a bit disingenuous, because there may be only fourteen Self Help Radios on KOOP left, but Self Help Radio is like a rash that cannot be treated with anything resembling powders or pharmaceuticals. You can't get rid of it. So it shall continue, either as a podcast or as some radio show somewhere else. May God have mercy on our souls.
As well, there's no law that says I can't sit in on other folks' shows when they are otherwise unavailable. So, today, you'll hear my indie rock it up on Justin's excellent The House Call, & I always hope I do him justice. Justin justice. Then, tomorrow, I'll indie pop it up on Ear Candy. So what should have been just ninety minutes of Gary on the radio has suddenly, inexplicably, unconscionably turned into four long hours. Think I'll crack? Think someone will need an EMT? Then tune the fuck in, yo.
Remember to maintain the rage at asshole arsonists by tuning in today either live on the 91.7 fm frequency or live online at koop.org. KOOP has been through another trial by fire & emerged more powerful. & we do it for our community. That includes you!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
KOOP comes back, baby!
That's right, tomorrow - January 25, 2007 - KOOP will return to the air. Oh yes. Just in time for you to hear the last Self Help Radios you'll hear on KOOP. I'm sure that's why they chose Friday!
Here's a nice article about how much KOOP loves KVRX & vice versa. Those kids did a damned good job. I'm so proud of them! Now if they'd just learn to clean up after themselves... Kids today I swear.
So you'll get to hear Self Help Radio - & maybe Gary on other places on the station over the weekend. I'll let you know.
Meanwhile, if you'd prefer to listen to music NOW rather than reading a dumbass blog or waiting for tomorrow, you can visit the Self Help Radio Extra page because my January Extra Mix is up. I do this for you. Please don't make me feel weird about it.
Tomorrow - KOOP - the Return!
Here's a nice article about how much KOOP loves KVRX & vice versa. Those kids did a damned good job. I'm so proud of them! Now if they'd just learn to clean up after themselves... Kids today I swear.
So you'll get to hear Self Help Radio - & maybe Gary on other places on the station over the weekend. I'll let you know.
Meanwhile, if you'd prefer to listen to music NOW rather than reading a dumbass blog or waiting for tomorrow, you can visit the Self Help Radio Extra page because my January Extra Mix is up. I do this for you. Please don't make me feel weird about it.
Tomorrow - KOOP - the Return!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Whither Anger?
It's a strange, crippling condition, is anger, & I have probably been angry a lot of my life, borne of the helplessness of basic existence in a complex world.. A friend once told me she saw me as a lone soldier fighting a fight against pretty much everything, & although the image is interesting, surely she must have known that I'd get shot by friendly fire right away - even if I were the only person in the company.
I've been angry the last few weeks because of the stupid fucking person - the selfish or hateful or deluded or fucked-up or spiteful or whatever the hell he/she/they was/were - who burned down my dear community radio station. I don't believe in nonsense like karma & I don't believe in a hell, so I naturally want them to get a taste of justice while we can all be around to enjoy it. I think that, once they're caught, the Austin Fire Department & the Police should leave the person or persons responsible in a room with every KOOP volunteer allowed a few seconds with them. I would emerge with bruised knuckles.
Fuckers! Of course I'm angry! So the show this week will be soul-searching - songs about anger, with me talking about my anger. It'll be one of those occasions where Self Help Radio gets to be Gary Therapy. Maybe it'll help you, too.
I've been angry the last few weeks because of the stupid fucking person - the selfish or hateful or deluded or fucked-up or spiteful or whatever the hell he/she/they was/were - who burned down my dear community radio station. I don't believe in nonsense like karma & I don't believe in a hell, so I naturally want them to get a taste of justice while we can all be around to enjoy it. I think that, once they're caught, the Austin Fire Department & the Police should leave the person or persons responsible in a room with every KOOP volunteer allowed a few seconds with them. I would emerge with bruised knuckles.
Fuckers! Of course I'm angry! So the show this week will be soul-searching - songs about anger, with me talking about my anger. It'll be one of those occasions where Self Help Radio gets to be Gary Therapy. Maybe it'll help you, too.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Preface To The Angry Show: Is There A Place For Emotion In Music?
Music is, of course, first & foremost a cerebral pursuit, as we have always acknowledged, from the first writings of Professor Elvis Presley to the most recent - &, some say, the most difficult, as he invented a whole new scholastic language to dealing with music criticism - works of Dr. Shawn Carter. But recently, as the fourth deconstruction of popular music resulted in the demise of three record labels & the mass suicide of the Harvard Music School faculty, some people have begun to ask: but what if we made music with our hearts rather than our minds?
It is terribly easy to dismiss this as some kind of science fiction nonsense, but a small group of younger students has begun suggesting that the way a singer sings & perhaps the sound of the music might actually echo & create emotions in the listener. Appearing in smaller journals & also in unofficial publications called "fanzines," these "punks" (as they call themselves) have turned off their minds & started dancing (!) & singing along (!!) to the music. Some have also asked that the music be performed live (!!!) by groups of people who stand in front of them.
It hasn't taken too long for this strange, nearly heretical thinking to find its way to the establishment. Some of the old guard - the songwriters whose music could never be accused of have emotion in it - like Sir Paul McCartney & Brian Wilson - have waved the stories away as fabrication. Others, however, seem intrigued -& have in fact found themselves in places called "clubs" where there are actual "bands" playing music on stages. A few of those have managed to stay through the entire "show" without needing medical assistance.
It may be too early to tell if this is in fact some strange derangement caused by the intense intellectual experience of music - there are those who rue the day music was allowed to be shared with everyone, when it was freed from the academies, churches & halls of power - or if this is truly some revolution in the way human beings interact with & enjoy music. Only time will tell.
It is terribly easy to dismiss this as some kind of science fiction nonsense, but a small group of younger students has begun suggesting that the way a singer sings & perhaps the sound of the music might actually echo & create emotions in the listener. Appearing in smaller journals & also in unofficial publications called "fanzines," these "punks" (as they call themselves) have turned off their minds & started dancing (!) & singing along (!!) to the music. Some have also asked that the music be performed live (!!!) by groups of people who stand in front of them.
It hasn't taken too long for this strange, nearly heretical thinking to find its way to the establishment. Some of the old guard - the songwriters whose music could never be accused of have emotion in it - like Sir Paul McCartney & Brian Wilson - have waved the stories away as fabrication. Others, however, seem intrigued -& have in fact found themselves in places called "clubs" where there are actual "bands" playing music on stages. A few of those have managed to stay through the entire "show" without needing medical assistance.
It may be too early to tell if this is in fact some strange derangement caused by the intense intellectual experience of music - there are those who rue the day music was allowed to be shared with everyone, when it was freed from the academies, churches & halls of power - or if this is truly some revolution in the way human beings interact with & enjoy music. Only time will tell.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Be My Guest
It's a nasty day in Austin - not cold, but rainy & icky. I hope this isn't a premonition about my fortieth year! I can make one prediction - there will be good news soon about KOOP's return to the airwaves. I will tell you as soon as I know something.
Meanwhile, I am sitting in my slightly cold house & daydreaming today that it's now 1997 & I have decided that I want YOU to sign my guestbook. It's a guestbook! Do you remember when everyone had a guestbook! It's over a decade later & now I have one! Oh boy!
Go leave a message about Self Help Radio. Or about something else. Here's the link. I expect your eloquence will knock me out.
Meanwhile, I am sitting in my slightly cold house & daydreaming today that it's now 1997 & I have decided that I want YOU to sign my guestbook. It's a guestbook! Do you remember when everyone had a guestbook! It's over a decade later & now I have one! Oh boy!
Go leave a message about Self Help Radio. Or about something else. Here's the link. I expect your eloquence will knock me out.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Podcast Greens!
Whatever kept me from uploading to my server last night is fixed now, so if you have been wondering what my favorite music from 1972 was, there's over two hours of it at selfhelpradio.net. Download & live in the past.
I titled my last post "Podcast Blues" but "Podcast Greens" doesn't seem the other side of that phrase. I suggests a green light to start going, but I demand a color that is the official opposite of the blues. Even if we have to make one up. If we do make a color up, I don't think we should insist it start with a q, x or z. People will just think we're referring to a new pharmaceutical if we do that.
Please enjoy well-meaning podcast. Please ignore shabby production values. Please wish me happy birthday. Thank you!
I titled my last post "Podcast Blues" but "Podcast Greens" doesn't seem the other side of that phrase. I suggests a green light to start going, but I demand a color that is the official opposite of the blues. Even if we have to make one up. If we do make a color up, I don't think we should insist it start with a q, x or z. People will just think we're referring to a new pharmaceutical if we do that.
Please enjoy well-meaning podcast. Please ignore shabby production values. Please wish me happy birthday. Thank you!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Podcast Blues
Hey! I finished the next podcast - but for some reason, I can't log on to the server that hosts them.
This morning I dropped my iPod in the rain & destroyed its screen. Now I have finished a two hour podcast (!) & can't share it.
Happy birthday to me!
I'll keep you updated when/if I get it up & running.
Sigh.
This morning I dropped my iPod in the rain & destroyed its screen. Now I have finished a two hour podcast (!) & can't share it.
Happy birthday to me!
I'll keep you updated when/if I get it up & running.
Sigh.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
How Naughty Do You Dream I Am?
I am nowhere near naughty as this. The Dutch, I swear.
But I am thinking about this podcast thing in comparison with the radio show in real time thing. I am not at all constrained by time - just by the amount of material. &, it turns out, I like a lot of music that was made in 1972. I have thirty (THIRTY) songs I want to play, which, if I include my regular chatter, would be more than two hours of show. What to do? I certainly want to have it ready for downloading tomorrow. In case you're chomping at the bit, too. Which I know you're not. But it's nice of you to say.
What I'll do is probably have a longer podcast. Why not? Can YOU stop me? You can't even take the time to write me & tell me you love me, & also apologize for that time in ninth grade. You know what I'm talking about. In Drama club. When we were rehearsing The Crucible. I so knew it was you. Then as now, I'm going to do what I want to do. Even if we never speak again.
I am still finding my voice, so perhaps I will make this podcast nearly voiceless. There's just SO MUCH MUSIC. I haven't decided. If I call you at 4am, I'll be wanting your opinion. Don't hang up! I'm not drunk! I'm just stressed!
Brr, it's cold. All right. Bundle up. I'm podcasting tomorrow!
But I am thinking about this podcast thing in comparison with the radio show in real time thing. I am not at all constrained by time - just by the amount of material. &, it turns out, I like a lot of music that was made in 1972. I have thirty (THIRTY) songs I want to play, which, if I include my regular chatter, would be more than two hours of show. What to do? I certainly want to have it ready for downloading tomorrow. In case you're chomping at the bit, too. Which I know you're not. But it's nice of you to say.
What I'll do is probably have a longer podcast. Why not? Can YOU stop me? You can't even take the time to write me & tell me you love me, & also apologize for that time in ninth grade. You know what I'm talking about. In Drama club. When we were rehearsing The Crucible. I so knew it was you. Then as now, I'm going to do what I want to do. Even if we never speak again.
I am still finding my voice, so perhaps I will make this podcast nearly voiceless. There's just SO MUCH MUSIC. I haven't decided. If I call you at 4am, I'll be wanting your opinion. Don't hang up! I'm not drunk! I'm just stressed!
Brr, it's cold. All right. Bundle up. I'm podcasting tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Whither 1972?
I was born in 1968. In January. That's FORTY YEARS AGO. Incredible. Anyway, a few years back, on this radio show I do, I thought, I'll celebrate my birthday by playing music that I like which happened to come out the year I was born. The next year, I moved up to the next year (1969), & so on. I've been doing this for four years now. I'm up to 1972. It's like some kind of regular feature. Unfortunately, it happens once a year, so, er, no one's really paying attention. Except for me.
I am still (meaning at this time) sorting through records from that year - there are a lot - here's a list of all the damn albums released in 1972 - I don't think that the list is very complete. But it gives you an idea of what I have to sift through.
Ah but! There's a lot of shit I don't like & won't play. That doesn't mean it's not any good, just that I don't like it all that much (which means I don't think it's any good - the critics - & you - can & will disagree). Also, it's important to note that the majority of the time I spent in 1972, I was four years old, & didn't really have a very good record collection at that point (I had most of the Beatles records, but didn't everyone by the age of four?) so these are records I hold in high esteem NOW, not that I held in high esteem then. Not necessarily.
It's a pain in the ass to organize, but I think I'll divide them into the following categories, &, since it'll be a podcast, I will allow myself to go long. Nyah.
1) Funnies.
2) Glam.
3) Krautrock.
4) Funkies.
5) Folky.
6) Rockin.
I wish I could include "jazzy," because there are some jazz records that came out that year that I dug, but I will draw the line then.
As for KOOP recovery news - I think there'll be very good news for you soon. Just be patient.
I am still (meaning at this time) sorting through records from that year - there are a lot - here's a list of all the damn albums released in 1972 - I don't think that the list is very complete. But it gives you an idea of what I have to sift through.
Ah but! There's a lot of shit I don't like & won't play. That doesn't mean it's not any good, just that I don't like it all that much (which means I don't think it's any good - the critics - & you - can & will disagree). Also, it's important to note that the majority of the time I spent in 1972, I was four years old, & didn't really have a very good record collection at that point (I had most of the Beatles records, but didn't everyone by the age of four?) so these are records I hold in high esteem NOW, not that I held in high esteem then. Not necessarily.
It's a pain in the ass to organize, but I think I'll divide them into the following categories, &, since it'll be a podcast, I will allow myself to go long. Nyah.
1) Funnies.
2) Glam.
3) Krautrock.
4) Funkies.
5) Folky.
6) Rockin.
I wish I could include "jazzy," because there are some jazz records that came out that year that I dug, but I will draw the line then.
As for KOOP recovery news - I think there'll be very good news for you soon. Just be patient.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Preface To 1972: They Had Elections Then?
I am diligently working on a podcast-flavored Self Help Radio for your screaming pleasure this Friday. It may take until Saturday, though, as I am turning 40 (forty!) on Sunday. I hear you slow down with age. I can't imagine getting any slower, actually. It's a wonder I move at all.
Here's a British article called 40 Things About Being Forty. I don't really agree with most of it, primarily because I have avoided the ultimate aging process, reproduction, but the penultimate two seem to me really strange & wise:
38 It's hardly ever quiet enough.
39 It can be too quiet.
Isn't that true when you're twenty, though? Right now, as I type this, I am sitting alone in a room that has a lot of computers in it. I had headphones on but took them off to answer the phone, & haven't got back to putting them on again (again, I move slowly) (there's no noise from the headphones because I pause music when I answer the phone - I don't want to miss anything). The hissy rumble of computers may seem like quiet, but it's a sad form of quiet, like the white noise of a busy highway in the distance. Real quiet, like you can experience in the country, is stunning. It's like gasping for air after being underwater for a little too long.
It looks like turning forty is a big enough deal to make it into a doman name. How important is it to me? Well, I'm doing a radio show about it. Sort of
Or at least a podcast.
Here's a British article called 40 Things About Being Forty. I don't really agree with most of it, primarily because I have avoided the ultimate aging process, reproduction, but the penultimate two seem to me really strange & wise:
38 It's hardly ever quiet enough.
39 It can be too quiet.
Isn't that true when you're twenty, though? Right now, as I type this, I am sitting alone in a room that has a lot of computers in it. I had headphones on but took them off to answer the phone, & haven't got back to putting them on again (again, I move slowly) (there's no noise from the headphones because I pause music when I answer the phone - I don't want to miss anything). The hissy rumble of computers may seem like quiet, but it's a sad form of quiet, like the white noise of a busy highway in the distance. Real quiet, like you can experience in the country, is stunning. It's like gasping for air after being underwater for a little too long.
It looks like turning forty is a big enough deal to make it into a doman name. How important is it to me? Well, I'm doing a radio show about it. Sort of
Or at least a podcast.
Monday, January 14, 2008
A New Use For Frogs!
Or maybe not. I do not have any frogs. I can only use them now for looking at & the occasional dissections.
I have no news about KOOP. I know some folks are coming here to look for new news about KOOP. For those of you who came here because you googled "a new use for frogs," KOOP is the radio station where I deejay. Someone (or someones) whose usefulness to the world they have chosen to demonstrate as "neglible" set a fire there on the first weekend of the year. There is an investigation underway & there is more information about that over at the KOOP home page. We're working to return to the air. I hope that the person or persons who attempted to destroy one of the last few democratic & utterly free voices in the world (& not just Austin) finds themselves some place where they are needing help &, instead of encountering a good soul, the sort of soul that I volunteer with at KOOP, they come across someone quite like them, who laughs & laughs at their pain.
I know there's very little justice in the world, but when someone has wounded something like KOOP - oh, & it's only a wound - this is one scrappy radio station, with lots of scars - & god I love that crazy little station, scars & all - when someone has hurt something I care for as much as KOOP, I like to indulge in little revenge fantasies. May they come true with a vengeance.
There are some recordings of old shows (including some Self Help Radio shows) streaming from koop.org, but in case you didn't hear, I did do a show all by my lonesome Friday, as a podcast, it's about teeth, & you can listen to it at selfhelpradio.net.
I shall continue podcasting while the station gets back on its feet. Stay tuned I say! Stay tuned!
I have no news about KOOP. I know some folks are coming here to look for new news about KOOP. For those of you who came here because you googled "a new use for frogs," KOOP is the radio station where I deejay. Someone (or someones) whose usefulness to the world they have chosen to demonstrate as "neglible" set a fire there on the first weekend of the year. There is an investigation underway & there is more information about that over at the KOOP home page. We're working to return to the air. I hope that the person or persons who attempted to destroy one of the last few democratic & utterly free voices in the world (& not just Austin) finds themselves some place where they are needing help &, instead of encountering a good soul, the sort of soul that I volunteer with at KOOP, they come across someone quite like them, who laughs & laughs at their pain.
I know there's very little justice in the world, but when someone has wounded something like KOOP - oh, & it's only a wound - this is one scrappy radio station, with lots of scars - & god I love that crazy little station, scars & all - when someone has hurt something I care for as much as KOOP, I like to indulge in little revenge fantasies. May they come true with a vengeance.
There are some recordings of old shows (including some Self Help Radio shows) streaming from koop.org, but in case you didn't hear, I did do a show all by my lonesome Friday, as a podcast, it's about teeth, & you can listen to it at selfhelpradio.net.
I shall continue podcasting while the station gets back on its feet. Stay tuned I say! Stay tuned!
Friday, January 11, 2008
First Podcast!
Wow, it's weird to be sitting here at home around the time when I'm usually on the air. I went ahead last night &, using truly subpar equipment & sounding a little uncomfortable, I did a podcast of the show I had been planning on airing this week. If you are missing Self Help Radio, you can listen to it at selfhelpradio dot net.
It's about teeth. Except for my crappy airbreaks, it's awesome. Musical guests include the Mekons, Austin's own The Telephone Company, Frank Zappa, Brak, & Muhammad Ali. Your gums will bleed, the music's so good. I repeat: it's at selfhelpradio.net.
I was questioned today by the Austin Fire Department, although I don't think it's because I am a suspect. I have a key to the studios. It was a weird process. I think they secretly got my fingerprints. I hope they're able to catch the motherfucker who did this. I would like to pelt that person with garbage.
Go listen to my first podcast & tell me what you think. It's easy to get to & download, over at this page I keep linking to. The only reason you might not listen to it is because you are afraid of dentists. But who isn't?
It's about teeth. Except for my crappy airbreaks, it's awesome. Musical guests include the Mekons, Austin's own The Telephone Company, Frank Zappa, Brak, & Muhammad Ali. Your gums will bleed, the music's so good. I repeat: it's at selfhelpradio.net.
I was questioned today by the Austin Fire Department, although I don't think it's because I am a suspect. I have a key to the studios. It was a weird process. I think they secretly got my fingerprints. I hope they're able to catch the motherfucker who did this. I would like to pelt that person with garbage.
Go listen to my first podcast & tell me what you think. It's easy to get to & download, over at this page I keep linking to. The only reason you might not listen to it is because you are afraid of dentists. But who isn't?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Fucking Arsonists!
My pal Erin, who does a show call "Visual Aid" at KOOP, titled a piece on myspace "Fucking Arsonists." She has reason to be very angry. She's one of KOOP's Tech Team, the people who put the station together. Let me emphasize this: they put the station together. They pulled wires, screwed screws, debugged machines, sawed wood, stood on ladders, crawled under floors, all that shit. I can't imagine how she feels - it's like someone destroyed a piece of art she had built.
The most up-to-date of information can always be found at koop.org. I just wish this were an episode of "CSI." For several reasons:
1) It'd be fictional.
2) It'd be solved within an hour.
3) I could be watching everything, all the clues, the interviews, all that, instead of being, like you, on the outside looking in.
4) There'd be a nearly unbeatable team going through the evidence. Have you seen those detectives? They're awesome!
5) In the end, that Gil Grissom guy would get a radio show on KOOP. "Forensic Radio." That'd be rad.
Alas, I, like you, am waiting. Unlike you - or maybe like you - I am preparing a podcast instead of waiting for the radio to come back to do my show. So tomorrow, I'll have an announcement - a Self Help Radio podcast. I hope. Who knows? It may suck.
Remember, if you want to help KOOP, you can donate money. We'll need it. Believe me.
The most up-to-date of information can always be found at koop.org. I just wish this were an episode of "CSI." For several reasons:
1) It'd be fictional.
2) It'd be solved within an hour.
3) I could be watching everything, all the clues, the interviews, all that, instead of being, like you, on the outside looking in.
4) There'd be a nearly unbeatable team going through the evidence. Have you seen those detectives? They're awesome!
5) In the end, that Gil Grissom guy would get a radio show on KOOP. "Forensic Radio." That'd be rad.
Alas, I, like you, am waiting. Unlike you - or maybe like you - I am preparing a podcast instead of waiting for the radio to come back to do my show. So tomorrow, I'll have an announcement - a Self Help Radio podcast. I hope. Who knows? It may suck.
Remember, if you want to help KOOP, you can donate money. We'll need it. Believe me.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Whither Teeth?
Before I talk about why am doing a show about teeth, two updates about the fire:
1) The fire WAS arson. Austin Fire Department confirmed it.
2) There's a reward of real $$$ if you know something. Visit the KOOP website for details.
Why a show about teeth? I had a dental appointment today & wanted to dedicate the show to my dentist. But I felt weird saying, "It'll just be a podcast." So I didn't tell him. Anyway, he yelled at me for brushing the wrong way, so screw him. Not really. I mean, he did yell at me. But he's awesome. I still dedicate the show to him.
I am nervous about the podcast aspect. I know no one'll listen, but that's not what's making me nervous. It'll just seem weird, doing a radio show in the privacy of my own home. I normally do them in the privacy of my own head. Maybe I'll do it while sipping whiskey. Who knows? In any event, I hope to have it up by Friday at my regular time. We'll see about that!
One last thing: this is my THREE HUNDREDTH post on this blog. Has anyone (you know, beside James Joyce) ever used some many letters of the alphabet to say so little? Why can't academics use my blog to support their careers? It just seems sad.
1) The fire WAS arson. Austin Fire Department confirmed it.
2) There's a reward of real $$$ if you know something. Visit the KOOP website for details.
Why a show about teeth? I had a dental appointment today & wanted to dedicate the show to my dentist. But I felt weird saying, "It'll just be a podcast." So I didn't tell him. Anyway, he yelled at me for brushing the wrong way, so screw him. Not really. I mean, he did yell at me. But he's awesome. I still dedicate the show to him.
I am nervous about the podcast aspect. I know no one'll listen, but that's not what's making me nervous. It'll just seem weird, doing a radio show in the privacy of my own home. I normally do them in the privacy of my own head. Maybe I'll do it while sipping whiskey. Who knows? In any event, I hope to have it up by Friday at my regular time. We'll see about that!
One last thing: this is my THREE HUNDREDTH post on this blog. Has anyone (you know, beside James Joyce) ever used some many letters of the alphabet to say so little? Why can't academics use my blog to support their careers? It just seems sad.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Preface To Teeth: No, Talk About The Fire!
I've been joking with other KOOPers that we should have slogans like:
KOOP - Highly Flammable Radio!
or KOOP - Incendiary Radio!
but I suppose I am tasteless like a Spencer's Gifts in the darkest corner of the mall.
The management of KOOP want us to not "spread rumors" or even "speculate" about the causes of the fire. Everyone I talk to wants me to tell them something, but I don't really know anything. The local news has started saying that "officials" are reporting it as arson. I can't tell you how satisfied I would be to see some awful person or persons led away in handcuffs at the end of this.
What I can say is that, as a station, our spirit is not broken & our determination is ever stronger. Listen: the boring & utterly bored folks you hear on nearly every other radio station in this city are told what to play, what to say, how to say it. They have corporations which determine what they broadcast at every second, from the fart jokes you hear on the "morning zoo" to the pre-fab pop, rock, "alternative," "new country," whatever the fuck is on commercial fm. Oh, & that especially includes the talk radio crap.
When tragedy happens to those stations - you know, like when they're not turning a sizeable enough profit - they sell them, they fire the people who work there, they change formats. KOOP is not about profit - we'd like enough cash to pay the rent & replace equipment, sure - everyone you hear on the air is NOT getting paid for their programming. Not a cent. Not even, as I used to tell training classes, money for smokes & booze.
We believe in KOOP. It's radio as we dream it could be everywhere. This most recent fire burned strong enough to take us off the air, to destroy things we had, to anger & confuse & sadden us, but it has not silenced us. How could it? Can you really burn away a dream?
Of course not. We're small fries, we broadcast a measly three thousand watts, we raise a fraction of the dough the local classical & NPR stations raise, but we are dedicated to this grand experiment in community radio.
So we're working to come back. & we will be back.
Want to help? Giving money would be an awesome gesture.
Stay tuned. & jesus, thank you KVRX! You kids sound great!
KOOP - Highly Flammable Radio!
or KOOP - Incendiary Radio!
but I suppose I am tasteless like a Spencer's Gifts in the darkest corner of the mall.
The management of KOOP want us to not "spread rumors" or even "speculate" about the causes of the fire. Everyone I talk to wants me to tell them something, but I don't really know anything. The local news has started saying that "officials" are reporting it as arson. I can't tell you how satisfied I would be to see some awful person or persons led away in handcuffs at the end of this.
What I can say is that, as a station, our spirit is not broken & our determination is ever stronger. Listen: the boring & utterly bored folks you hear on nearly every other radio station in this city are told what to play, what to say, how to say it. They have corporations which determine what they broadcast at every second, from the fart jokes you hear on the "morning zoo" to the pre-fab pop, rock, "alternative," "new country," whatever the fuck is on commercial fm. Oh, & that especially includes the talk radio crap.
When tragedy happens to those stations - you know, like when they're not turning a sizeable enough profit - they sell them, they fire the people who work there, they change formats. KOOP is not about profit - we'd like enough cash to pay the rent & replace equipment, sure - everyone you hear on the air is NOT getting paid for their programming. Not a cent. Not even, as I used to tell training classes, money for smokes & booze.
We believe in KOOP. It's radio as we dream it could be everywhere. This most recent fire burned strong enough to take us off the air, to destroy things we had, to anger & confuse & sadden us, but it has not silenced us. How could it? Can you really burn away a dream?
Of course not. We're small fries, we broadcast a measly three thousand watts, we raise a fraction of the dough the local classical & NPR stations raise, but we are dedicated to this grand experiment in community radio.
So we're working to come back. & we will be back.
Want to help? Giving money would be an awesome gesture.
Stay tuned. & jesus, thank you KVRX! You kids sound great!