When I started this blog, I was a mere stripling. I am not sure what "stripling" mean, but I read that phrase somewhere. I was actually in my late thirties when I started this blog, & I imagine that doesn't really fit with the definition of "stripling." But what can I do? I was home-schooled.
Actually, I was public-educationed, but I was public-educationed in the 70s & 80s, when it was so much better than today, so much so that being a dick about it is kinda mean. Like, Newt Gingrich mean. What I'm trying to say is, it's no excuse. I shouldn't use phrases incorrectly. I'm not a nineteen-year-old girl who has just discovered there's something called "the dictionary."
Or am I?
I spend too much time making excuses, & although I am famously lazy, I was mostly out of town today (in Louisville, if you must know) (also in the rain) (although it hit 70 degrees Fahrenheit today) (it's not at all wintry here) & when I got home I entertained some friends with vegan burgers & fries & episode of "The Wire." I barely had time to work on my radio show (which is about the year 1977); I couldn't have gotten around to editing my previous radio show.
Oh, there is guilt felt aplenty. Never doubt that. The guilt of thirty-six years ago is as fresh as smelling salts under my nostrils. It's not related to this blog which, it must be noted, was not even something I could have imagined thirty-six years ago (I hadn't even begun to think about light sabers yet things called "blogs"). But guilt feels like guilt & if anyone knows a great psychologist who works relatively cheap in the Lexington area, I'd love to talk to him/her/it. Seriously.
In the meantime - comic book movies. You know what I mean?
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
1977
My show this week is my birthday show (although my show this week happens six days before my birthday but what the hell am I supposed to do celebrate my birthday after my birthday that's just crazy) & every year since the start of my show on my birthday I've celebrated music from the year of my birth onward & now I've reached 1977.
I turned nine in 1977. I was in third grade when I did, in Mrs. Carnes' class at Caldwell Elementary in Garland, Texas. I wasn't much of a person. I was noisy, obstreperous, prone to flights of fancy, & deeply selfish. My mother raised her boys to be selfish. Selfish but tied tight to her apron strings.
At some point in 1977, we moved away from the part of the world where I had lived for as long as I can remember. In Garland, there's a road called Kingsley Avenue that "starts" in the east at the intersection of Centerville & Broadway. It travels west until, for no apparent reason, it becomes Walnut Hill road somewhere in the first few blocks of Dallas.
Two roads that intersect Kingsley Avenue - Saturn Road & Garland Road - form the barrier of where I had lived up to that time. My mother, recently separated & then, in 1974, divorced, lived in shabby apartments along Kingsley Avenue after her marriage fell apart. In 1977, we lived on a road a block parallel from Kingsley, called Cranford Road, in apartments called Little Brook. There were actually six of us - my mother, my little brother, my sister Karin, & two older brothers. Oh, & me. Possibly the least of them all.
After the school year, we moved "across town" - it was at best five miles, probably less - to an apartment complex on Fifth Street called Villa Cordoba. (Interestingly, it still stands, some thirty-five years later, & it's called Garland Oaks now, which is slightly ironic, because at this point the people who live there are overwhelmingly Hispanic. Not in 1977! There were possibly fewer than six black families at the time - the rest were white.) My mother's fear of the world kept us from riding our bikes to school every day - instead, she made our older brothers - who had either moved to the same complex or were already there - take us to school. My fourth grade year, I remember, was full of absences, as my brothers were incredibly unreliable. It didn't affect me much, as I was a good student & could catch up, but it was bad for my little brother, who was never terribly good at school.
One day I should talk about fourth grade. Mrs. Harris was a horrible teacher. It wasn't a good year. But not here. I wasn't in fourth grade then.
I wish I knew about my mother's financial situation & the really desperate straits we lived in, but of course at nine I had no real idea about anything. I loved swimming in the apartment's pool, although I needed someone there for me & my siblings would hardly ever do something that nice for their annoying little brothers - my sister (& de facto babysitter) Karin was all of 15 & boy crazy, & my two older brothers were deep into drug culture.
One of the first friends I made at Villa Cordoba was a girl named Christi, with whom I played "dolls," that is, I used my GI Joes & she her Barbies to "play house." It was quite thrilling for me & I imagine she was the first girl for whom I ever "felt anything," whatever that might mean. The boys who lived in the apartment complex, my little brother included, were generally very crude to her, though I didn't really understand what any of it meant. She was a pretty blonde girl - I can't for the life of me remember what she looked like, although I can remember exactly what the front of her apartment looked like - & her mother, who seemed more a grandmother - was very protective.
As anyone who's lived in apartments knows, tenancy there is transient. She was gone within the year. We, on the other hand, stayed at the Villa Cordoba until I finished the eighth grade.
None of the music I will play on my show this week is anything I was listening to at age nine. I liked listening to the radio, to what would later be called "classic rock." Sometimes I taped it on a random cassette, but it wasn't important to me. I hadn't discovered the Beatles yet. I hadn't yet been so alienated from the world that I needed to find far-away voices who sounded like me to speak to me.
But holy shit if I were self-aware there was some awesome music in 1977. The fact that none of my older siblings noticed or brought it home is a fundamental reason why we were never friends, & don't really communicate with each other in our adult lives.
I turned nine in 1977. I was in third grade when I did, in Mrs. Carnes' class at Caldwell Elementary in Garland, Texas. I wasn't much of a person. I was noisy, obstreperous, prone to flights of fancy, & deeply selfish. My mother raised her boys to be selfish. Selfish but tied tight to her apron strings.
At some point in 1977, we moved away from the part of the world where I had lived for as long as I can remember. In Garland, there's a road called Kingsley Avenue that "starts" in the east at the intersection of Centerville & Broadway. It travels west until, for no apparent reason, it becomes Walnut Hill road somewhere in the first few blocks of Dallas.
Two roads that intersect Kingsley Avenue - Saturn Road & Garland Road - form the barrier of where I had lived up to that time. My mother, recently separated & then, in 1974, divorced, lived in shabby apartments along Kingsley Avenue after her marriage fell apart. In 1977, we lived on a road a block parallel from Kingsley, called Cranford Road, in apartments called Little Brook. There were actually six of us - my mother, my little brother, my sister Karin, & two older brothers. Oh, & me. Possibly the least of them all.
After the school year, we moved "across town" - it was at best five miles, probably less - to an apartment complex on Fifth Street called Villa Cordoba. (Interestingly, it still stands, some thirty-five years later, & it's called Garland Oaks now, which is slightly ironic, because at this point the people who live there are overwhelmingly Hispanic. Not in 1977! There were possibly fewer than six black families at the time - the rest were white.) My mother's fear of the world kept us from riding our bikes to school every day - instead, she made our older brothers - who had either moved to the same complex or were already there - take us to school. My fourth grade year, I remember, was full of absences, as my brothers were incredibly unreliable. It didn't affect me much, as I was a good student & could catch up, but it was bad for my little brother, who was never terribly good at school.
One day I should talk about fourth grade. Mrs. Harris was a horrible teacher. It wasn't a good year. But not here. I wasn't in fourth grade then.
I wish I knew about my mother's financial situation & the really desperate straits we lived in, but of course at nine I had no real idea about anything. I loved swimming in the apartment's pool, although I needed someone there for me & my siblings would hardly ever do something that nice for their annoying little brothers - my sister (& de facto babysitter) Karin was all of 15 & boy crazy, & my two older brothers were deep into drug culture.
One of the first friends I made at Villa Cordoba was a girl named Christi, with whom I played "dolls," that is, I used my GI Joes & she her Barbies to "play house." It was quite thrilling for me & I imagine she was the first girl for whom I ever "felt anything," whatever that might mean. The boys who lived in the apartment complex, my little brother included, were generally very crude to her, though I didn't really understand what any of it meant. She was a pretty blonde girl - I can't for the life of me remember what she looked like, although I can remember exactly what the front of her apartment looked like - & her mother, who seemed more a grandmother - was very protective.
As anyone who's lived in apartments knows, tenancy there is transient. She was gone within the year. We, on the other hand, stayed at the Villa Cordoba until I finished the eighth grade.
None of the music I will play on my show this week is anything I was listening to at age nine. I liked listening to the radio, to what would later be called "classic rock." Sometimes I taped it on a random cassette, but it wasn't important to me. I hadn't discovered the Beatles yet. I hadn't yet been so alienated from the world that I needed to find far-away voices who sounded like me to speak to me.
But holy shit if I were self-aware there was some awesome music in 1977. The fact that none of my older siblings noticed or brought it home is a fundamental reason why we were never friends, & don't really communicate with each other in our adult lives.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
This Overwhelming Lickspittle Rag
I know, I haven't posted this week's show, my tribute to my lovely dog, George, yet. There are perhaps many reasons.
1) I'm lazy.
Well, hell, just come right out & say it why don't you jeez.
2) I'm still a little sad from the loss.
Which is true, but it shouldn't keep me from posting a radio show.
3) Aliens drank all my beer!!!!
I'm sorry, I have no idea who I am any more.
4) I have been vaguely busy & haven't found the time.
Yeah, maybe you'll buy that one.
5) I'm waiting for another show because otherwise the website will be lonesome with two shows on it for 2013.
Is that really true or is it...
6) I have to move the front page to a 2012.html file & change all the other pages to reflect that & it's not a lot of work but wah wah wah see # 1 above.
Good grief.
1) I'm lazy.
Well, hell, just come right out & say it why don't you jeez.
2) I'm still a little sad from the loss.
Which is true, but it shouldn't keep me from posting a radio show.
3) Aliens drank all my beer!!!!
I'm sorry, I have no idea who I am any more.
4) I have been vaguely busy & haven't found the time.
Yeah, maybe you'll buy that one.
5) I'm waiting for another show because otherwise the website will be lonesome with two shows on it for 2013.
Is that really true or is it...
6) I have to move the front page to a 2012.html file & change all the other pages to reflect that & it's not a lot of work but wah wah wah see # 1 above.
Good grief.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Whither George's Show?
As I mentioned yesterday, I lost a great friend in my dog George nearly a month ago. This show is a tribute to him in the usual dumbass Self Help Radio way. He would have been very bored by it because it didn't involve treats.
George, we like to tell everyone, invented what was called the "pre-treat." Normally, we'd give the boys a treat after they do something good, like going outside to urinate or defecate instead of goofing around. But George later in his life had to be cajoled into actually going outside with a treat. So in effect, he got a treat before he did the thing that got him a treat. A pre-treat.
His name will go down in Beagle history.
It airs tomorrow from 7 to 9am on 88.1 fm WRFL Lexington, & online at wrfl dot fm. Later, it will appear at self help radio dot net. How much later I cannot rightly say.
I will probably cry on the air tomorrow. My apologies for being such a baby. But I really loved that dog.
George, we like to tell everyone, invented what was called the "pre-treat." Normally, we'd give the boys a treat after they do something good, like going outside to urinate or defecate instead of goofing around. But George later in his life had to be cajoled into actually going outside with a treat. So in effect, he got a treat before he did the thing that got him a treat. A pre-treat.
His name will go down in Beagle history.
It airs tomorrow from 7 to 9am on 88.1 fm WRFL Lexington, & online at wrfl dot fm. Later, it will appear at self help radio dot net. How much later I cannot rightly say.
I will probably cry on the air tomorrow. My apologies for being such a baby. But I really loved that dog.
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Preface To George's Show: Saying Goodbye To An Old Friend
We lost George, our eldest beagle, to cancer on December 10, 2012. The sadness & grief have not left me. I had never lost a dog before, & as much as I love cats, one's relationship to a dog is intrinsically more emotional. They have co-evolved with human for thousands of years, & they learn to read your emotions, they learn to be a comfort & they learn to protect you. I don't know if any animal "loves" the way humans do, but whatever it is that is "love" in a dog is often more profoundly real & deep than what any other human could ever offer.
I don't know if I can write as much about George as I did about Buster because I am still deep in my grief. He was my wife's dog first, he saved her life when she was broken & he was first & foremost her best friend. She adopted him from a hound rescue place in Austin, who rescued him from some rich twats in Austin who kept him chained to a tree outside for the first two years of him life. There's a bumper sticker we often see: "Who rescued whom?" George & Magda rescued each other, & his love for her - well, I don't know if I can ever love her as much as he loved her.
It was hard for me, as a cat person, to get used to George. George would climb between me & Magda in bed when she & I first met, so he saw me as much as a rival as I saw him. He had had some issues with men as well - perhaps his old twatty rich Austin owners had kicked him around - & I remember the first time I leaned over to pet George, he peed on me. I tried not to take it personally.
Of the two of us, Magda spent the most time with George. They would go on long walks, he'd go to school with her, he'd be next to her at night. He was a very loud dog, & he would cry & bark when we left & howled his happiness when we returned. He was a charmer, very handsome, & I admit with sadness I was always a little jealous of him in those early days. He was crafty, too - at the first Christmas I spent with Magda at my family's place, with no one watching him, he ate an entire cheese log in one triumphant gulp. It wasn't the first time he managed to steal food - as Magda has put it, "Gary never had a birthday cake that didn't have dog bites in it."
In 2004, we adopted another beagle, Ringo - I thought it was for Magda, & so did she - but it turns out, Ringo was a present for George. They became fast friends & partners in crime. (I wish Ringo could talk - it's hard to ascribe feelings to an animal - but I don't know how he's dealing with George's loss.) I didn't go on walks with Magda & the boys in those days - not much, anyway - but she'd take them off leash & the two of them would go wandering, having adventures we'll never know about. & always, always coming home.
It goes without saying that everyone adored George. He was prone to love others, too. When the band Bearsuit stayed at our place during SXSW in - gosh, I guess it was 2008 - I often found George sleeping on the futon with Iain. He had a twinkle in his eye & a spring in his step - he really did - I loved to watch him prance. He was a little big for a beagle - perhaps he was a mixed breed - so he had a deer-like quality to him.
I started feeding the dogs around the time Winston came along - that was in 2007. He was our third beagle & our problem child. He's a dwarf, & taking care of him because of his health issues became our focus (although to her credit, Magda would carry him on her daily walks, because he, too, wanted to be with George - & Ringo, naturally). Beagles, it might not surprise you to know, don't share well, no matter how good friends they are, & Magda was never able to discipline them. Dinnertime was a raucous mess. I took over just so there wouldn't be as much shouting. At that point, & when I began regularly giving them treats for going outside, it seems to have dawned on the dogs that I was the "alpha" in the household, & not just some guy who was around, & George started to pay more attention to me.
It wasn't until we moved to West Virginia, though, that he & I really became friends. I was home more, I went on walks with them, & we had the time to get to know one another. George was a senior citizen then, 11 or so, therefore less of a spazz, & I had the leisure to play with them. I finally understood what Magda had seen in him, & you can say we fell in love, because we did.
This is so hard to write. George hurt himself jumping off a porch sometime in the summer of 2010. He slowly recovered but even so he couldn't go on the super-long walks we do daily. We bought him a carriage to carry him around in, & surprisingly, he didn't much complain. He just loved to go on walks. He loved to be with us & with his brothers. He also loved that I gave him treats as we walked.
This past summer, it seemed as though the injury he received in Huntington had returned, & we took him to a specialist in Louisville - these guys, who come highly recommended by me - thinking he might need back surgery. They discovered a cancerous growth in his right front leg & it was amputated. The doctor thought he had "gotten it all." We hoped so too.
Three-legged George was still very Georgie. I told someone, "He's the bravest person I ever met." He didn't let his "disability" deter him - one night I dropped a tortilla (accidentally) on the floor, & he beat his two younger, healthier brothers to it. But though he made it through a rough couple of weeks of recuperation, it was only a few months until the cancer came back, like cancer does, because cancer is sick & deceitful & evil.
The saddest thing, to me, as the cancer spread, is that it took his sight. George had steadily grown more & more deaf, & I hated that he couldn't see for the last week of his life. He never stopped relying on his magical nose, & he never stopped loving to eat.
He died Monday night on December 10. He would have been fifteen in April. He was a remarkable dog, he was a remarkable person, he was more loving & caring & friendly & loyal & kind than most of anyone I've ever met or will meet. I understand why people want to believe in an afterlife - it's very hard to believe that I'll never see him again. It seems crueller than any torture imaginable.
I dream about him, I miss his touch & smell, I even miss his extraordinary lungs. He is another absence in my heart that I will never fill. I can only hope I grow used to the absence, & find a way to live with is, as I did with the space left by Blue Boy & Buster. But right now, that seems too difficult for the poor, poor likes of me.
I will try not to cry on the radio as I celebrate his life on Monday.
Friday, January 04, 2013
Puppy Play Time!
Thursday, January 03, 2013
A Preview Of Self Help Radio In 2013
A new year is the perfect time to revitalize one's radio show - it's an excuse to make much-needed changes & improvements! Self Help Radio, however, is never one to squander an opportunity, & can promise pretty much the same thing it's always done for the new year!
Among these things:
1) Same old website! Well, there will be one change: a new front page will have to be made, as each of the pages represents a year of playlists. Also, the current front page with become the "2012" page. It should take all of thirty minutes, & the webmaster (who's also me) will complain about it the entire time.
2) Different themes! Yes, the one constant in Self Help Radio is that themes will be explored in the exact same way, which means that (except for anniversary shows) no theme will ever be repeated, no matter how many glaringly obvious songs I miss!
3) Twitter! Facebook! Again this year I will continue to underuse social media tools. Mostly out of embarrassment. I mean, have you heard the radio show?
4) Still on Monday morning! Yes, Self Help Radio remains on Monday mornings (at least for the spring), making it another terrible thing that happens at the beginning of the work-week.
5) This blog is really dull! I can't do much about it, it's kind of a reflection of me & the show. I was toying with the idea of hiring a ghostwriter, but then I don't believe in ghosts. I mean, seriously - if there really were such things as ghosts, wouldn't you see them all the time?
6) Cheating on my taxes! Wait. I don't think you needed to know that. My backspace isn't working! Crap!
7) I'll do more "Indiepop A To Z" episodes but won't be anywhere near finished! But you expected that.
8) If you've heard it before, you'll hear it again! Oh, it's true, there's not a cornball joke or routine that I won't run straight for, time after time, during my interminable airbreaks. I wonder if there's a clinical name for this malady, & if so, is it Henny Youngman's disease?
I can't apologize more for the rut that I'm stuck in that's called Self Help Radio, mainly because I can't think of a synonym for "apologize." However, you should take a small amount of comfort in the fact that, as the world gets more horrible due to stupid politicians & climate change, one thing stays the same: the predictability of Self Help Radio!
Hoorah?
Monday, December 31, 2012
It's Indiepop A To Z # 39!
Self Help Radio 121231: Indiepop A To Z # 39
Yes yes yes. The alphabetizing continues! Hen to Hit today! The end is nowhere in sight.
I can't go on, I must go on. See? This is an existential radio show.
The show is now at the Self Help Radio website &/or you can access the files in an individual manner: here's part one & here's part two. What's in both parts is listed below.
The last show of 2012 is a list show.
As always, thanks for listening!
(part one)
"Get Yourself Together" Henry's Dress _Bust 'Em Green_
"Nobody Loves Me" The Hepburns _How The Fallen Are Mighty_
"Ultra-Crush" Her Tears _A Gift From Sing-Sing_
"Idlewild" Here's Johnny _Idlewild_
"No Milk Today" Herman's Hermits _There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)_
"Surfin' Vietnam" The Hermit Crabs _Let's Try Another Ideal Guest House_
"So Blue" The Hermit Crabs _Time Relentless EP_
"Slumber" Herostratos _EardrumsPop 100_
"Me & My Charms" Kristin Hersh _Hips & Makers_
"Two Mothers" Herzfeld _Two Mothers_
"Enclosed" Hewas _Invited To Dinner_
"Haystack" Kevin Hewick & New Order _From Brussels With Love_
"Belle & Julian" Hey Hey My My _Too Much Space EP_
"I Really Do Love Penelope" Hey Paulette _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 1_
(part two)
"Blue Hat For A Blue Day" Nick Heyward _North Of A Miracle_
"It Only Works Because You’re Here" MJ Hibbett _Indietracks 2009 - An Indiepop Compilation_
"Fee Fie" The Hidden Cameras _Awoo_
"Box Set Go" The High _Somewhere Soon_
"Addicted To A TV" The High Fidelity _Demonstration_
"Flowers Bloom" High Highs _High Highs_
"Giddy & Gay" The High Llamas _Gideon Gaye_
"Finding Clovers" The High Water Marks _Polar_
"There Is A Town" The Higher Elevations _Always The Same_
"Conspiracy" The Higsons _Conspiracy_
"Nowhere Train" Hill Bandits _Nowhere Train_
"Long Brown Eyes" Hip Young Things _The Noise & The Melodies - The Pearl-Compilation_
"Psycho" Hipslingers _Young Blood_
"Baby Fish Mouth" His Name Is Alive _Mouth By Mouth_
"You Didn't Love Me Then" The Hit Parade _CD86: 48 Tracks From The Birth Of Indie Pop_
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Whither Indiepop A To Z # 39?
We'll start with HEN or so. We may get as far as HOL. Interestingly, I was once called a Hen's Hole in high school. I shook the fellow who was insulting me's hand.
It's tomorrow morning on the very last day of 2012, from 7am to 9am. I don't know about you, but this was not an easy year for me. You can listen on the 88.1 fm frequency in Lexington, or and you can listen online at wrfl.fm. I am hoping that 2013 goes a little easier. I will try to get the show online at the Self Help Radio website but it probably won't happen until the new year. But perhaps I will be better about such things then.
Happy new year! I hope yours is fun & you'll be safe & stuff!
It's tomorrow morning on the very last day of 2012, from 7am to 9am. I don't know about you, but this was not an easy year for me. You can listen on the 88.1 fm frequency in Lexington, or and you can listen online at wrfl.fm. I am hoping that 2013 goes a little easier. I will try to get the show online at the Self Help Radio website but it probably won't happen until the new year. But perhaps I will be better about such things then.
Happy new year! I hope yours is fun & you'll be safe & stuff!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
Grammar Fascist
I like the AllMusic web site, I think it's a nice resource, but I have always felt - I have friends who think this, too - that it would benefit from having the sort of user comments that the Internet Movie Database has. I don't necessarily need to read what everyone thinks about my favorite records, but when you have only a small group of people review stuff, you're bound to have some reviews that slip by with little or no editing.
Case in point: this review of the George Harrison song "Think For Yourself":
I have screen-captured it, & circled the two things that annoy me, &, in my opinion, invalidate the review. One, the dude doesn't know the difference between "its" & "it's." Can you imagine someone with a real writing gig making that mistake? It's Grammar 101!
The second thing is that he misquotes the lyrics. Never once does George Harrison sing "you gotta think for yourself" in the song.
I guess you can think that the song is "dated" but I'm not going to pay attention to your opinions when you can't even properly quote the song. It's not like there aren't hundreds of lyrics sites out there.
If you were allowed to comment on this, you could call this dumbass out & perhaps encourage him to correct his errors.
Interestingly, the AllMusic Guide doesn't let you search for writers, so I can't see what other nonsense the reviewer - "Thomas Ward" - has written.
Some might think that I am making a big deal about nothing, but this little review is a microcosm of the biggest problem with the site. It has an insularity that makes it far from the important resource it could be. That's too bad.
Also, that's a pretty great George Harrison song.
Case in point: this review of the George Harrison song "Think For Yourself":
The second thing is that he misquotes the lyrics. Never once does George Harrison sing "you gotta think for yourself" in the song.
I guess you can think that the song is "dated" but I'm not going to pay attention to your opinions when you can't even properly quote the song. It's not like there aren't hundreds of lyrics sites out there.
If you were allowed to comment on this, you could call this dumbass out & perhaps encourage him to correct his errors.
Interestingly, the AllMusic Guide doesn't let you search for writers, so I can't see what other nonsense the reviewer - "Thomas Ward" - has written.
Some might think that I am making a big deal about nothing, but this little review is a microcosm of the biggest problem with the site. It has an insularity that makes it far from the important resource it could be. That's too bad.
Also, that's a pretty great George Harrison song.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Green Wing
Have you seen this? Dude, it's on Netflix! You know, the streaming part. Where you can watch it on your computer.
Not that I'm a paid employee of anyone, because I am'nt. I'm just watching every episode of Green Wing in order until my brain starts to swoon.
Should I be doing something else?
Not that I'm a paid employee of anyone, because I am'nt. I'm just watching every episode of Green Wing in order until my brain starts to swoon.
Should I be doing something else?
Monday, December 24, 2012
A Very Self Help Radio Christmas 2012!
Santa made me put this up before he started work tonight!
Two hours of Christmas music! I talk about Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Pancha Ganapati, & Boxing Day! & Captain Kangaroo seems to enjoy talking about burning Christmas trees & melting snowmen!
Listen to it now at the Self Help Radio web site. Listen to the two parts at one click: part one | part two. Unwrap the list below to see what's in each present!
Happy holidays everyone! Thanks for listening!
(part one)
"Season's Freaklings" Bunnygrunt _Blue Christmas_
"I Want An Alien For Christmas" Hillary & The Democrats _Christmastime, Approximately_
"Twimmin' De Cwis'mas Twee" Duncan Sisters _Twimmin' De Cwis'mas Twee_
"Here Comes Christmas" Remington Super 60 _Go System Go!_
"Santa Claus Is Skaing To Town" The Granville Williams Orchestra _Trojan Christmas Box Set_
"The Christmas Song" The Raveonettes _Heartbreak Stroll EP_
"Kung Fu Xmas" Pearly Gatecrashers _Spectacular_
"Santa Claus Is Sometimes Brown" El Vez _Merry MeX-mas_
"Santa Claus Is A Black Man" Akim & The Teddy Vann Production Company _A John Waters Christmas_
"I'm Not Really In The Christmas Mood This Year" Foxtails Brigade _Time Is Passed_
"A Feast" Lisa Germano _A Feast_
"I've Had A Very Merry Christmas" Jerry Lewis _Jerry Lewis: Capitol Collector's Series_
"Christmas" Red Sleeping Beauty _Pop Sounds_
"Gettin' Ready For Christmas Day" Rev. J.M. Gates With His Congregation _Goodbye, Babylon_
"Santa Je T'Aime" The Superions _Destination... Christmas!_
(part two)
"Last Christmas" Palast Orchester feat. Max Raabe _Party Time!_
"Disco Christmas" The Universal Robot Band _Disco Christmas_
"Do They Know It's Christmas" Richard Cheese _Silent Nightclub_
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" The Children Of The University Of Michigan Children's Psychiatric Hospital _Christmas At C.P.H._
"The Littlest Snowman" Captain Kangaroo _First Christmas Record For Children_
"Here Comes The Rhythm Band" The Peppermint Kandy Kids _Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer_
"Little Twinka-Den" Twinka-Den _Little Twinka-Den_
"The Twelve Days Of Christmas" Sharon, Lois & Bram _Candles, Snow & Mistletoe_
"I Won't Let You Lick My Candy Bar" Susan Kay _Christmas On The Moon With Tim Dinkins_
"Stone Soul Christmas" Binky Griptite _Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party_
"Christmas Love (feat. Rotary Connection)" Minnie Riperton _Her Chess Years_
"Goin' To Bethlehem" Countryside Unitarian Fellowship _Hey Jesus Christ Welcome To This World_
"Merry, Merry Christmas" Bill Elliott _Merry, Merry Christmas_
"Christmas Tyme" Yard Trauma _Fuzz, Acid & Mistletoe: Christmas In The Garage_
"Snowflakes!" The Happiest Guys In The World _The Tarquin Records All Star Holiday Extravaganza_
"Teenage Christmas" Jacobites _God Save Us Poor Sinners_
PS Last year's show is available for listening too if you're a glutton for punishment. Ho ho ho!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Whither A Very Self Help Radio Christmas 2012?
Tomorrow morning, 7 to 9am. 88.1 fm in Lexington. wrfl dot fm online. self help radio dot net later. Oh yeah. SANTA'S GOING DOWN.
(That was dumb, sorry.)
Also: this is post number 1500. I didn't want to make a big deal about it. But. Wow.
Happy holidays!
(That was dumb, sorry.)
Also: this is post number 1500. I didn't want to make a big deal about it. But. Wow.
Happy holidays!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Preface To A Very Self Help Radio Christmas 2012: Nipping At Your Nose
I have no idea why I like Christmas music so much. I don't celebrate the holiday (except on the radio). I was thinking the other day that I missed giving folks presents - though I never really got anyone anything they really wanted & I very rarely got anything I wanted. Even when I was specific.
One Christmas, back when my family "drew names," one of my brothers drew my name & asked what I wanted. I knew what I wanted. I wanted a Sisters of Mercy bootleg they had at a local record store in Garland. (It moved at some point - I wonder if it's still there. I can't remember its name!) The bootleg probably cost around twenty bucks, which might have been a little too much for my perennially-low-wage-earning brother, but hey, it was Christmas.
The night of Christmas - I was a poor college student then, you know, & didn't buy anything for anyone - I was looking forward to at least getting to go home that night & listen to a bootleg by a band that I loved whose entire recorded output at that time I was already quite familiar with. A bootleg might mean covers I've never heard! Or different lyrics! More passion! More subtlety!
(There was a great Sisters boot that I loved around that time - I wish I could remember its name - damn! it's too bad we don't live in a time when there might be some kind of computer resource listing all known Sisters Of Mercy bootlegs. Oh well.)
There was an album-sized package with my name on it that Christmas, but when I opened it, it was the album The Gift by the Andrew Eldritch side project "The Sisterhood."
My brother, you see, had "talked to" the fellow behind the counter at the store, who assured him that that record (which cost less ten dollars less than the bootleg, since it was just an EP, which might have been my brother's motivation) was a rarity. My brother did seem proud he had discovered it. But of course, I already owned it. The reason I had asked for the bootleg was, of course, what I said above: I had already heard all that was commercially available by the Sisters. I suppose I am lucky he didn't buy me a Mission UK album.
Was my brother really trying to one-up me, or was he just cheap? I smiled & said thank you. What else could I do? & I gave the duplicate EP to someone. I can't remember who.
That's a big reason why the wife & I don't try to surprise each other with gifts - we know each other well enough to know that we'd ask for anything we wanted if we wanted when we wanted.
I still love Christmas music, however.
One Christmas, back when my family "drew names," one of my brothers drew my name & asked what I wanted. I knew what I wanted. I wanted a Sisters of Mercy bootleg they had at a local record store in Garland. (It moved at some point - I wonder if it's still there. I can't remember its name!) The bootleg probably cost around twenty bucks, which might have been a little too much for my perennially-low-wage-earning brother, but hey, it was Christmas.
The night of Christmas - I was a poor college student then, you know, & didn't buy anything for anyone - I was looking forward to at least getting to go home that night & listen to a bootleg by a band that I loved whose entire recorded output at that time I was already quite familiar with. A bootleg might mean covers I've never heard! Or different lyrics! More passion! More subtlety!
(There was a great Sisters boot that I loved around that time - I wish I could remember its name - damn! it's too bad we don't live in a time when there might be some kind of computer resource listing all known Sisters Of Mercy bootlegs. Oh well.)
There was an album-sized package with my name on it that Christmas, but when I opened it, it was the album The Gift by the Andrew Eldritch side project "The Sisterhood."
My brother, you see, had "talked to" the fellow behind the counter at the store, who assured him that that record (which cost less ten dollars less than the bootleg, since it was just an EP, which might have been my brother's motivation) was a rarity. My brother did seem proud he had discovered it. But of course, I already owned it. The reason I had asked for the bootleg was, of course, what I said above: I had already heard all that was commercially available by the Sisters. I suppose I am lucky he didn't buy me a Mission UK album.
Was my brother really trying to one-up me, or was he just cheap? I smiled & said thank you. What else could I do? & I gave the duplicate EP to someone. I can't remember who.
That's a big reason why the wife & I don't try to surprise each other with gifts - we know each other well enough to know that we'd ask for anything we wanted if we wanted when we wanted.
I still love Christmas music, however.
Friday, December 21, 2012
The Curse Of The Curse Word Curator
This is weird - the great linguist Hugh Rawson doesn't have a Wikipedia entry. He does have a page on the Huffington Post but that seems too rinky-dink for the great writer of Wicked Words, which, sadly, is no longer in print.
Though the book is written more as a resource (when you absolutely, positively need to know why "codswallop" is a bad word) than a narrative non-fiction book, I have found I can - & have - read it cover to cover & it's just as enjoyable.
For example, here's what he says about "codswallop":
"Nonsense, British-style. Thus, when Sir Fred Hoyle, an astronomer, dared challenge the authenticity of a famous bird fossil, paleontologists rose up to defend their turf: '"It's rubbish," Dr. Cyril A. Walker, a paleontologist at the [British] museum, said of Sir Fred's contention. "Codswallop," echoed Dr. Alan J. Charig, a curator at the museum' (New York Times, 5/7/85). The word sounds as though it should be an old one, but the OED's earliest example comes only from 1963. The OED says 'Origin unknown,' but it seems significant that cod is an old word for the scrotum and that codswallop is used derisively in the same way as the exclamatory Balls!"
(To be fair, the Wiktionary has a different etymology, but it seems more speculative. I'd trust my friend Hugh here.)
(To be more fair, the folks at etymonline.com - another favorite site of mine! - split the difference.)
I gave money to Wikipedia this year & one of the things it asked when I shelled out the big bucks was something like "Would you like to learn how to edit a Wikipedia page?" I said no - I mean, someone gave me a Metafilter membership once & I almost never visit that site anymore - but now I wish I had said yes - so I could create a Hugh Rawson page!
I'd probably also create a Self Help Radio page, so it's best I don't know how.
Though the book is written more as a resource (when you absolutely, positively need to know why "codswallop" is a bad word) than a narrative non-fiction book, I have found I can - & have - read it cover to cover & it's just as enjoyable.
For example, here's what he says about "codswallop":
"Nonsense, British-style. Thus, when Sir Fred Hoyle, an astronomer, dared challenge the authenticity of a famous bird fossil, paleontologists rose up to defend their turf: '"It's rubbish," Dr. Cyril A. Walker, a paleontologist at the [British] museum, said of Sir Fred's contention. "Codswallop," echoed Dr. Alan J. Charig, a curator at the museum' (New York Times, 5/7/85). The word sounds as though it should be an old one, but the OED's earliest example comes only from 1963. The OED says 'Origin unknown,' but it seems significant that cod is an old word for the scrotum and that codswallop is used derisively in the same way as the exclamatory Balls!"
(To be fair, the Wiktionary has a different etymology, but it seems more speculative. I'd trust my friend Hugh here.)
(To be more fair, the folks at etymonline.com - another favorite site of mine! - split the difference.)
I gave money to Wikipedia this year & one of the things it asked when I shelled out the big bucks was something like "Would you like to learn how to edit a Wikipedia page?" I said no - I mean, someone gave me a Metafilter membership once & I almost never visit that site anymore - but now I wish I had said yes - so I could create a Hugh Rawson page!
I'd probably also create a Self Help Radio page, so it's best I don't know how.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
End Of The World!
Human beings have a terrible track record with predicting the end of the world. Take a look.
Is it wrong that I like the phrase "heat death of the universe"?
I remember having a discussion with some kids at KVRX many moons ago about the Mayan prophecies (which of course have passed without any apocalyptic event, except perhaps frightening children) & making the comment that you've doubtless heard a billion times by now, which is this: "Why should we trust the prophecies of a civilization that didn't seem to be able to predict their own destruction?"
Does it matter that the descendants of the Maya call horse hockey on the predictions?
It doesn't! People believe what they want to believe!
Is it wrong that I like the phrase "heat death of the universe"?
I remember having a discussion with some kids at KVRX many moons ago about the Mayan prophecies (which of course have passed without any apocalyptic event, except perhaps frightening children) & making the comment that you've doubtless heard a billion times by now, which is this: "Why should we trust the prophecies of a civilization that didn't seem to be able to predict their own destruction?"
Does it matter that the descendants of the Maya call horse hockey on the predictions?
It doesn't! People believe what they want to believe!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Almost 1500
A special blog post on a non-blog-posting day to say: hooray! I've almost reached 1500 posts on this silly blog!
If you'll recall, I have had a habit of trying to count my blog posts, & I've failed more or less miserably. Probably because I am a little dumb. Also! I didn't just take advantage of the fact that the Blogger Corporation (formerly Borders Books) allows me to select a page with one hundred posts on it, &, if I just go back to the first one, I can discover that:
I began on 9/12/06, & on 3/1/07, I had reached post # 100. (There's no sign that I knew it was my 100th post.)
My 200th post actually came on 8/8/07. My counting was off, & I celebrated my 200th post on my 204th post. It gets worse.
My 300th post was on 01/07/08. My 400th on 5/28/08.
My 500th was on 10/14/08 & I got it right! I celebrate writing five hundred meaningless things by telling my third grade teacher to suck it. Like one should.
I hit 600 on 3/25/09 (though I celebrate the day before). I hit 700 on 9/28/09 - & did the same. I hit 800 on 2/22/10, & was still celebrating the day before. I hit 900 on 7/24/10, & you know how I screwed it up.
The 1000th post - which should have been a big deal - was celebrated when it was really the 998th post. The 1000th post actually happened on 12/31/10 - which would have been something if I had really been paying attention.
Here's the ledger for the last four:
1100 - 5/23/11 (got it wrong)
1200 - 10/17/11 (sigh)
1300 - 3/5/12 (seriously, what is wrong with me)
1400 - 7/26/12 (celebrated on 7/21)
But this time I know I'm right! This is the one thousand four hundred ninety-sixth post. I am certain of it. I know it'll be the superduper 1500th post in just four days! I'm sure!
Somewhat sure. But. What if I've made another mistake?
If you'll recall, I have had a habit of trying to count my blog posts, & I've failed more or less miserably. Probably because I am a little dumb. Also! I didn't just take advantage of the fact that the Blogger Corporation (formerly Borders Books) allows me to select a page with one hundred posts on it, &, if I just go back to the first one, I can discover that:
I began on 9/12/06, & on 3/1/07, I had reached post # 100. (There's no sign that I knew it was my 100th post.)
My 200th post actually came on 8/8/07. My counting was off, & I celebrated my 200th post on my 204th post. It gets worse.
My 300th post was on 01/07/08. My 400th on 5/28/08.
My 500th was on 10/14/08 & I got it right! I celebrate writing five hundred meaningless things by telling my third grade teacher to suck it. Like one should.
I hit 600 on 3/25/09 (though I celebrate the day before). I hit 700 on 9/28/09 - & did the same. I hit 800 on 2/22/10, & was still celebrating the day before. I hit 900 on 7/24/10, & you know how I screwed it up.
The 1000th post - which should have been a big deal - was celebrated when it was really the 998th post. The 1000th post actually happened on 12/31/10 - which would have been something if I had really been paying attention.
Here's the ledger for the last four:
1100 - 5/23/11 (got it wrong)
1200 - 10/17/11 (sigh)
1300 - 3/5/12 (seriously, what is wrong with me)
1400 - 7/26/12 (celebrated on 7/21)
But this time I know I'm right! This is the one thousand four hundred ninety-sixth post. I am certain of it. I know it'll be the superduper 1500th post in just four days! I'm sure!
Somewhat sure. But. What if I've made another mistake?
Monday, December 17, 2012
Here's What's Favorites
Do I have to stress that this is not a "best of"? I'm apparently not in tune with the world of musical criticism, & as such don't know what the "best of" 2012 was. None of the songs I played are on this list. Nothing I played is on the Washington Post's 'best pop music of 2012'. Even the place I might be most likely to have some crossover - England - has only one artist that graces a huge list of critics' lists - the Magnetic Fields - at the Guardian's website.
KVRX had a slogan in the late 1990's - "We're not popular!" - & I feel pretty unpopular right now.
In any event, here's what I listened to & liked best this year. The show is at the Self Help Radio website. Or hey! Directly here: part one | part two. The track listing is below.
Let me know what you liked best this year! & thanks for listening!
(part one)
"Every Boy In NY" Woodpecker _Thanks Anyway_
"Tiffany Lou" Daughn Gibson _All Hell_
"The Right To Complain" Louis CK _Word: Live At Carnegie Hall_
"Psychotic Episode" Royal Headache _Royal Headache_
"Bo Diddley" Evans The Death _Evans The Death_
"The Perp Walk" Peace _The World Is Too Much With Us_
"The Girl From The DDR" The Wedding Present _Valentina_
"Computers" Eddie Izzard _Live At Madison Square Garden_
"Andrew In Drag" The Magnetic Fields _Love At The Bottom Of The Sea_
"Some Dandruff On Your Shoulder" Jens Lekman _I Know What Love Isn't_
"Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1" The Mountain Goats _Transcendental Youth_
"Bibliotek" Momus _Bibliotek_
"Capricornia" Allo Darlin' _Europe_
(part two)
"Typing, Texting" The Smittens _Believe Me_
"Friends Of Friends" Hospitality _Hospitality_
"So Easy" Lightning Love _Blonde Album_
"Allergies" The Lovely Eggs _Wildlife_
"Wack Writing" Hannibal Buress _Animal Furnace_
"Photographs Of Naked Ladies" Toy Love _Live At The Gluepot 1980_
"Spaghetti" The Wave Pictures _Long Black Cars_
"The Sun" Go-Kart Mozart _On The Hot Dog Streets_
"Heliopolis" Sunbutler _Sunbutler_
"The Trouble With Candyhands" Deerhoof _Breakup Song_
"Cover" Talk Normal _Sunshine_
"Alphabet" Martin Creed _Love To You_
"Let's Set Ourselves On Fire" Hospital Bombers _At Budokan_
"Hot Travel Tips" Todd Barry _Super Crazy_
"Bluebirds" The Barbaras _2006-2008_
"Slow Walkin'" The Babies _Our House On The Hill_
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Whither Gary's Favorite Music 2012
The year-end lists are starting! The end of the year is at hand!
Here's a list from the New York Times! None of these records will be played on my show tomorrow.
Here's a list of the highest rated records by Pitchfork this year. Nope, none of them made my top twenty-five.
(I won't do the show in top ten style. It's hard enough to pick the song I liked best from the record I listened to most.)
It's funny, I am completely baffled by what people consider great. I have probably shared my theory with you that people who review records for big publications end up reviewing stuff from major labels primarily because those labels can afford to send critics stuff for free. Imagine a music critic going out to buy a record! It's like a movie critic paying to see a movie!
I'm not a critic, I'm just a guy who knows what he likes. I play the stuff I like & the stuff that got played the most is obviously the stuff I liked the most & that's the stuff I'll highlight tomorrow.
Hey! You should listen! It's tomorrow morning from 7 to 9am on 88.1 fm WRFL in Lexington. Listen online simultaneously at wrfl.fm. Listen later at selfhelpradio.net.
Make your own best of! Make your own podcasts! Start your own radio station! Invite me on it!
Here's a list from the New York Times! None of these records will be played on my show tomorrow.
Here's a list of the highest rated records by Pitchfork this year. Nope, none of them made my top twenty-five.
(I won't do the show in top ten style. It's hard enough to pick the song I liked best from the record I listened to most.)
It's funny, I am completely baffled by what people consider great. I have probably shared my theory with you that people who review records for big publications end up reviewing stuff from major labels primarily because those labels can afford to send critics stuff for free. Imagine a music critic going out to buy a record! It's like a movie critic paying to see a movie!
I'm not a critic, I'm just a guy who knows what he likes. I play the stuff I like & the stuff that got played the most is obviously the stuff I liked the most & that's the stuff I'll highlight tomorrow.
Hey! You should listen! It's tomorrow morning from 7 to 9am on 88.1 fm WRFL in Lexington. Listen online simultaneously at wrfl.fm. Listen later at selfhelpradio.net.
Make your own best of! Make your own podcasts! Start your own radio station! Invite me on it!