Self Help Radio 031418: It's A Reach

(Original image here.)

It's hard reaching out.  Especially if, for whatever reason, your arms are tired.  Even your metaphorical arms.  Plus, so much of what you want to reach for is basically out of reach.  Then you're fucked.

& that phrase, "it's a reach"!  "Why, Gary," I've heard too often, "that's a bit of a reach."  Of course!  Trying to understand is reaching!  So much is hard to grasp!  You sometimes need to reach to grasp!  I don't know why I'm getting so worked up!

Now I'm thinking I should've called the show "a bit of a reach."  Well.  Regrets & all that.

The show, such as it is, is over at the Self Help Radio web site.  Username/password info is there too.  It's in two parts, & what's in the two parts (each about sixty minutes long) is listed below, including the ridiculous interviews.  I hope you enjoy.

(part one)

"Reaching" Jeffrey Lewis _A Turn In The Dream Songs_
"Reach Out Lorraine" Wyatt _80, 90, 100 M.P.H._
"Way Out Of Reach" The Manhattan Love Suicides _Burnt Out Landscapes_

"She Reached For A Light" Robyn Hitchcock _Uncorrected Personality Traits_
"I Reach For The Light" The Raspberries _Fresh_
"Reaching Into In" Ken Nordine _How Are Things In Your Town?_
"I Can't Reach You" Petra Haden _Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out_
"Reach Me (Don't Forget)" The Girls At Dawn _Call The Doctor_

interview with the Rev Howard Gently

"Reaching Out" Jasmine Minks _Scratch The Surface_
"Reach For It" George Duke _In Yo' Face! The History Of Funk, Vol. 4_
"Reach Out (& Give Me Your Hand)" Tickled Pink _Texas Funk: Hard Texas Funk 1968-1975_
"Reach Out I'll Be There (Stereo Promo Version)" Diana Ross _The Complete Motown Singles, Vol 11A: 1971_

"Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)" Solomon Burke _The Very Best Of Solomon Burke_
"Outta Reach" She _Wants A Piece Of You_

(part two)

"Just Out Of Reach" The Zombies _The Zombies Collection_
"Out Of Reach" The Primitives _Out Of Reach_
"Just Out Of Reach" The Jesus & Mary Chain _Automatic_

interview with sci-fi/fantasy writer David Fruchter

"Reachin' Pete" Memphis Minnie _Queen Of The Country Blues: All The Published Sides 1929-1937_
"It's Like Reaching For The Moon (with Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra)" Billie Holiday _The Essential Brunswick Recordings_
"Reach Out For Me" Nancy Wilson _The Look Of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection_
"Reach For The Top" The Frantics _Frantic Times_
"Reach For The Sky" Fat Tulips _Take Me Back To Heaven EP_

interview with rapper MC Tsirhc

"To Reach Me" The Go-Betweens _Liberty Belle & The Black Diamond Express_
"Reaching For The Stars" Television Personalities _The Strangely Beautiful E.P._
"Wanna Reach You" Lunchbox _The Magic Of Sound_
"Reach For Your Gun" The Monochrome Set _Volume, Contrast, Brilliance... Singles & Sessions, Volume 1_

"Reaching Forward" Those Dancing Days _Daydreams & Nightmares_
"Reach Out, Yvonne" Easy _Never Seen A Star_

Whither It's A Reach?

(Image from this place.)

The story of this week's show's theme is one of intrigue & thrills, which will take us to three continents, involved the governments of at least twelve countries, & will require seven days to make the perfect amount of sense.

No, wait.  I was just listening to the record by She - this one - & digging the song "Outta Reach," & it reminded me of two songs with the same or similar names that I hadn't thought about in forever - one by the Jesus & Mary Chain, another by the Primitives - & I thought, "Can I do an entire show with the theme 'out of reach'?"

Songs were collected, but it became pretty apparent that I wasn't going to get away with that.  So I expanded the reach of the theme to include all kinds of reaching.  Once I reached a specific number of songs, I decided to do the show.  That'll happen tonight.

Tonight!  Omigosh!  From 9-11pm eastern on 93.9 fm WLXU in Lexington, or online everywhere.  You don't even need to reach out - the show will come to you!

Preface To It's A Reach: This Definition

According to the Wikipedia, a reach (geography) is "a length of a stream or river, usually suggesting a level, uninterrupted stretch.  The beginning & ending points may be selected for geographic, historical or other reasons – & may be based on landmarks such as gauging stations, river miles, natural features, & topography."

The same article mentions that there are "334 place names in the US with the characterization of a named 'reach,'" but only gives one example: Hanford Reach.

For some reason, I feel like I knew about this definition of the word "reach" before I first saw this definition although if you had asked me to define "reach" I wouldn't have necessarily given this particular one.  Which leads me to believe one of two things: a) my brain doesn't work & it's convinced about something that isn't true, or 2) in my life I have been somewhere that someone has described as a "reach."  If it's the second one, then I can't really remember where that might be.  Moreover, I'm not able to find any of the 333 other place names using the word "reach" in a simple manner.

What I have found is an acronym.  This is the case with REACH: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, & Restriction of Chemicals, the acronym of which would actually be REARC.

Now, REACH of Fort Worth doesn't actually appear to be an acronym, though its descriptive subtitle, "Resource Centers on Independent Living," feels like it wishes it were the expanded acronym.  But that might be ReCoIL.  Which I am cool with.

& there a United Nations initiative called REACH which seems to do good work that's pretty immune to my snark.

Wait!  I may have found something.  According to this website, which focuses on revitalization efforts pertaining to the San Antonio River called the San Antonio River Improvements Project, or (SARIP):

SARIP is comprised of four distinctive reaches: The Museum Reach, a four-mile segment of the river from Hildebrand Avenue south to Lexington Avenue; the Downtown Reach, a segment of the original River Walk from Lexington Avenue to Houston Street; the Eagleland, a one-mile segment from South Alamo to Lonestar Boulevard; & the Mission Reach, a eight-mile section of the river extending from Lonestar Boulevard south to Loop 410 South.

The thing is, I've only been in San Antonio like five times in my life.  Are there signs on the riverwalk that say "Downtown Reach"?  Because that's the sort of thing that would settle in the low-import puzzle section of my brain.

Or are there sections of the Colorado & Trinity called "reaches" that I can't seem to find just stumbling around online?

Not sure.  But this has gone on long enough, don't you think?

Good Lord What Is It With The Song "Take On Me"?

Every time I turn around, I find someone online making another, somewhat specialized version of the song "Take On Me."  Here are three I've found recently.

This is "fingerstyle guitar":



Here's a for lack of a better word "classical" version:



Oh shit, here's the song in twenty different styles!



What the fuck?  Is this song as truly beloved as all that?  Or just easy to play?

Do I really want to know?

Birdie

You can't write from a place of anger.
Can I write from a place of coffee?
A what?
A coffee shop.  A place of coffee.
No one calls a coffee shop "a place of coffee."
It was my understanding that most adjective-noun combinations could be effectively rendered as "noun of adjective" without much confusion.
Like "hall of pool"?  Or "bread of cheese"?
I'm sorry, English is not my second language.
Did you say "second language"?
Yes.  It's my first language.
Oh, I get it.  You therefore believe you are allowed to make rules about the language with impunity, then.
With who?
With whom.
Who is whom?
Close.  It's "who is who."
Who is who?
Very nice.  Now we're Abbott & Costello.
Not my intention.  Instead, I wanted to...
Hold on.
What?
Are you writing this down?
So?
How do you write so fast?
Shortcake.
Shorthand, you mean?
Yes, well, "cake" means "hand" in shortcake.
But why are you writing this down?
For Birdie.
Who's Birdie?
The one who reads these things.
Why does Birdie want to read you arguing with me?
Birdie is possessed of a rare & interesting desire for all things.
Sounds like a creep.
Yes, that too.
Why haven't I met Birdie?
We've all met Birdie.
What's he like?
Cool, acute.  Aloof, perceptive.  Knows how to read a room, knows how to finish a book.
Are ours the only conversations he enjoys?
I'm sure others record their conversations for his perusal.  I don't know many of his friends.
Are we his friends?
No.
...
Hello?
I am leery about saying more.  I wanted this to be among friends.
What were you saying earlier about anger?
You just seemed a little angry that you hadn't finished your short story.
Shirt story.
Excuse me?
I was writing a story about a shirt.  But it might have turned into a novella.
Yeah, Birdie can fucking have this.

Self Help Radio 030718: Health

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As I write this, I am surrounded by cats.  It's near breakfast time, you see.  Most of them are in good health, although each of them has their own issues.  One has asthma, another has diabetes, yet another has urinary tract issues, you know how it is.  My cats are a microcosm of the health problems of the average American family.

& yet, despite the massive amount of health coverage on this week's show, feline health was given short shrift.  You'd think, as the owner of four cats, I might be inclined to weigh in on the issues that affect the wellness of kittens, but let's be frank here: they could not care any less about my own health.  Not one of them ever says, "Hey, dad, maybe that's enough whiskey for tonight."  Or "Hey, papa, do you really need all ten of those cookies?"  Or, "Yo pops, I know we lie around all day & make it look good, but you could really use some exercise."  Nope.  Not a single damned word from them.  Until it's time to eat, like now.  Then they're all up in my grill.

In any event, there's so much more health covered on this week's show that you'll not miss any discussion or discursion about feline health or canine health or cephalopod health or whatever.  It also won't affect your healthcare plan, if you're lucky enough to have one.  You're covered, for this show at least.  Nothing out of pocket.  But I can't write scrips.  Sorry.

Listen now at Self Help Radio dot net.  You must use a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) to access the show.  These are available on the page as well.  The show is two hours long, & divided into two parts.  What songs are played in each part, plus what guests might be interviewed, are listed below.

If I were as cool as Stephen "Colbert Report" Colbert, I'd say, "I'll see you in health!"  But even he isn't that cool anymore.

(part one)

"Ich Bin Rund & Gesund" Illo Schieder _Ich Bin Rund & Gesund_
"Little Fine Healthy Thing" Billy "The Kid" Emerson _Red Hot: The Sun Years, Plus_
"National Health" The Kinks _Low Budget_

"As Long As You've Got Your Health (with The Merry Macs)" Ray Noble & His Orchestra _Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? Songs Of The Depression 1929–1937_
"Healthier Folk" Palehound _Dry Food_
"My Healthcare Plan" Hari Kondabolu _Waiting For 2042_
"Technicolor Health" Harlem Shakes _Technicolor Health_
"Health Place" Happy Supply _Happy Supply_

interview with alternative health provider Moggsy Boggs

"Happy Carrot Health Food Store" Sonny & The Sunsets _Talent Night At The Ashram_
"Case Study: Copeland's Down Home Health Stop" Superego _Superego Season 3, Episode 9_
"Healthclubs Hypocrisy" The Through Comers _Teeny Poppers_
"Health Food Nut" Bob Dorough & Dave Frishberg _Who's On First?_

"Swim For Health" Ballboy _Club Anthems_

(part two)

"Health Man No. 1" Congress Of Wonders _Sophomoric_
"Young & Healthy" Bing Crosby with Guy Lombardo & His Orchestra _The Crooner: The Columbia Years 1928-1934_
"Health & Happiness" Dalek I Love You _Dalek I Love You_

interview with "the healthiest man in America" David Fruchter

"Health Man No. 2" Congress Of Wonders _Sophomoric_
"Health & Knowledge & Wealth & Power" Shriekback _Oil & Gold_
"You're Not Very Well" The Charlatans _Some Friendly_
"Mental Health Hotline (CJ Bollands Mix)" Black Dog & Black Sifichi _Genetically Modified_

interview with medical student Bingham Killkid

"Health Man No. 3" Congress Of Wonders _Sophomoric_
"Picture Of Health" We Were Promised Jetpacks _In The Pit Of The Stomach_
"Its Health & My Own" Wild Moccasins _Skin Collision Past_
"Health Clubs" Lewis Black _Rules Of Enragement_

"Dancing For Mental Health" Will Powers _Dancing For Mental Health_

Whither Health?

(Original image here.)

Tonight's Self Help Radio is not a health class.  I'm sorry.  It's just a show about health.  & it won't help you feel more healthy or anything like that.

The inspiration for the show is the show that comes on before Self Help Radio every week, called Healthy Times.  I listen to it before my show, & eventually I thought, hey!  I should do a show about health!  & so I will.

It won't be nearly as fun as one of my favorite segments from the Colbert Report (a show I miss terribly), "Cheating Death with Dr. Stephen T. Colbert DFA."  I think this segment here is the first one they ever did, & he hadn't yet mastered his closing phrase, which always, always made me laugh: "I'll see you in health!"

But there will be some fun, so tune in tonight from 9-11pm eastern on 93.9 fm WLXU in Lexington & online at the Lexington Community Radio web page.  It counts as one of the two required doctor's visits you need to have this year.  Just let me know if you a prescription or something.

Preface To Health: Blood Counts

At some point in time, in my forties, I started going to the doctor every six months for a check-up.  It seemed like the right thing to do & it made me pay more attention to myself.  Two of my siblings & my mother had diabetes, the others were not terribly healthy, who the fuck knows what genetic bullshit was waiting to be unleashed on me?  So I went to the doctor, usually a nurse practitioner in Lexington, & they told me to lose weight & I made sure the stuff they could find out from my blood was within normal parameters.

What I discovered over the years is that I am a little anemic - it's one of the hazards of being vegan, although I eat a shit ton of beans & leafy vegetables.  It's cool, I can dig it.

Living in Kentucky, with its seasons, caused me to have a vitamin D deficiency.  I'm told this is on the rise.  Even though I'm outside walking my dogs for almost two hours a day, my body doesn't seem to want to absorb it.  I did grow considerably paler there.

So I take iron pills & vitamin D pills.  Plus others.  I think I double up on the vitamin Bs, since that's also a traditional vegan lack.  Plus my wife makes me take glucosamine, even though I'm not sure the science is in on that.  But I give it to my dogs, why shouldn't I take it too?  Though it'd be better in something like a tofu chew.  Mmm, tofu chew.

In case you're wondering if the guy about to do a show about health is in fact in good health.  I mean, it's not like I'm in bad health.  I could stand to lose a few pounds.  I could exercise more, bring up the good cholesterol.  I could cut back on the whiskey.

But I am paying attention!  I suspect I will need to do more & more of this as I age.

Never Punished For Procrastination

This is true.  I am a procrastinator of the highest order.  For example, I should have written this in the blog much earlier today.  I am actually right now working on tomorrow's Tuesday Morning Blend but am procrastinating by writing here.  It's a sickness, man.

The thing is, I was never really ever punished for my procrastination.  I always managed, with a little difficulty, to get things done at the very last minute.  I would cram for tests while walking to the classroom - & do just fine.  I would write papers in college - by hand - an hour before class.  I got decent grades.  & tonight, I should finish up & get a decent night's sleep because I have a radio show at seven a.m.  But will I?  Heck no!  I'm still listening to stuff I may play!  I'll get four hours tops!

This is my fiftieth year.  I am getting a little forgetful now.  Here are two words I couldn't immediately bring to mind recently: hypothetical &...  Well, I've now forgotten the other one.  It's on the tip of my tongue.  I can't remember it though.

But if you want to hear me recite the lyrics to "Tangled Up In Blue" - both the Blood On The Tracks & The Bootleg Series versions - & even compare & contrast - I can still do that.  Most of the time.

In fact, let's do that now!  I don't need to finish this blog for another three hours or so.  & then, even if it's Tuesday, I can just change the date.  It lets you do that!  Isn't that cool?  Early one mornin' the sun was shinin', I was lyin' in bed...

Oh man.  The punishment for procrastination is coming, I can feel it.  But.  I hope I can put it off a little longer.

The Night Before

This photo was just put up on the Self Help Radio Tumblr site, which has nothing to do really with the show but instead is a place where I put up random photos I take while I wander around my otherwise uninteresting life.  I know that's what Instagram is for, but after the Twitter account, I decided that I wasn't terribly interested in another social media site that I had to pay attention to.  (Don't even get me started on whatever Vero is.)

Anyway, I spoke about my dead departed boy Ringo on this blog before, but I only recently revisited the photos I took of him before he died.  The picture above has a story that is memorable to me.

The night before Ringo died, I stayed up late, I couldn't sleep, I worried about him, I knew his end was near, I was out of sorts.  It took all my power not to just lie on the floor with him & wake him up with my sobbing.  But at some point - probably around 3am - I knew I had to get to sleep, so I turned my computer off, made sure all the doors were locked & the lights were out, & I went to bed.

We have motion detector lights in our backyard & after I brushed my teeth I noticed they were on.  I panicked for a moment & thought I had left a dog outside.  Pauline, for example, would probably sleep outside if we let her, especially if other animals made their way into the yard to play with her or be chased by her.

When I glanced out the bedroom window, I saw this pair above foraging for pecans amid the leaves.  I had never seen raccoons in our yard before.  I snapped pictures & stared & at one point, one of them saw me, realized I was no threat, & went back to looking for something to eat.  Eventually they wandered off & the light went out & I didn't want to bother them so I got into bed.

Of course, I was still unable to sleep, so I tried to tire myself out by reading about raccoons.

Self Help Radio 022818: Towers

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Hoo boy.  Now we've gone & done it.  Tower purists everywhere are up in arms.  They're quoting the Wikipedia at me, saying, "Although not correctly called towers many modern skyscraper are often called towers (whereas they are classified as 'buildings')."  They point out that "towers are specifically distinguished from 'buildings' in that they are not built to be habitable but to serve other functions."

Why then, they ask, do you have songs about "high rise towers"?  You can't live in a tower! they scream.  & I can only plead ignorance.  It wasn't until I sat down & did some research on the show (i.e., when I read the same Wikipedia article they were quoting to me) that I realized that things I had called towers, like tall apartment buildings in big cities, weren't actually towers.  The World Trade Center, the "Twin Towers"?  Not towers at all!

Now I have to do forty-three hours of community service for tower purists which means standing outside large buildings which may be called towers & explaining to passers-by that they're not towers at all, just buildings, & also do you want to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?  You might not know this, but most tower purists are also Girl Scouts.

Luckily most of the towers on this week's show fit the definition & I won't have to spend too much time in the Girl Scout Tower, which is a kind of prison.  You can see the songs I played (plus the interviews I conducted) below, & you can listen to the show at Self Help Radio's website.  Two hours, two segments, use "SHR" as a username & "selfhelp" as a password & you'll be fine.

& check out the view!

(part one)

"Manhattan Tower Part 1: Magical Tower" Gordon Jenkins & His Orchestra & Chorus _New York, New York: A Vintage Portrait_
"You Don't Have To Be A Tower Of Strength" Gloria Lynne _Birth Of Soul, Volume 1_
"The Tower" Austin Lounge Lizards _The Drugs I Need_

"All Along The Watchtower" Bob Dylan _John Wesley Harding_
"Ivory Tower" The Rosaries _Forever_
"Broadcasting Waves" Math & Physics Club _Lived Here Before_
"High Rise Towers In Medium Size Towns" Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern _Pram Town_

interview with tower salesperson Lorenzo Schwab

"Ivory Tower" Otis Williams & The Charms _Doo Wop: The R&B Vocal Group Sound (1950-1960)_
"Alton Towers" The Fall _Imperial Wax Solvent_
"The Clock Tower" The Caribbean _Discontinued Perfume_
"Firestation Towers" The Close Lobsters _Forever, Until Victory! The Singles Collection_
"Towers Of London" XTC _Black Sea_

"Tower Of Song" Leonard Cohen _I'm Your Man_

(part two)

"The Clown On The Eiffel Tower" Les Baxter _Ultra-Lounge Volume Ten: A Bachelor In Paris_
"Sexy Eiffel Towers" Bow Wow Wow _Girl Bites Dog - Your Compact Disc Pet_
"Eiffel Tower High" Hüsker Dü _Candy Apple Grey_

interview with the Rev Dr Howard Gently

"New World Towers" Blur _The Magic Whip_
"Ghosts Of Princes In Towers" Rich Kids _No Thanks! The 1970s Punk Rebellion_
"Kilburn Towers" Another Sunny Day _Genetic Engineering_
"The Tower (Afternoon Delight)" Yak Brigade _What You've Missed So Far_

interview with anti-tower activist David Fruchter

"Tower Song" Townes Van Zandt _Anthology 1968-1979_
"Towers" Amy Millan _Masters Of The Burial_
"Tower Of Thought" Devon Williams _Euphoria_
"To The Tower" The Lemon Drops _Crystal Pure!_

"Tower Of Fools" The Anyways _Older Than Yesterday_
"Towers" Headlights _Some Racing, Some Stopping_

Whither Towers?

Yesterday I mentioned that I liked the new Math & Physics Club record a lot & wanted to play a song from it on the show, so I basically made a theme for the song.  That's today's theme.

Does that sort of thing happen a lot?  It does, sure.  Since every episode of Self Help Radio is based on a theme, I can't just play something I want to play just because I want to play it.  The arbitrary rules I've set for the show don't allow me to just play random stuff.  Every show needs a theme.  Every damn one.

Of course, there are other theme-based shows, & of course they give themselves freeform times.  One of my favorite radio shows in town, Night Skool, will often take a break between themes.  & a show on KOOP, Excavation Nation, was started as a chance to explore a different artist per show, but its host would often just play his collection of 45s, or just random music, when the spirit hit.  Like most instances, it's all me.  I am the one who said to myself, no, I will never "take a day off" from themes.  & it's been like sixteen years almost.  If I started to do it now, it would just be weird.

So, yeah, sometimes if I like a record, & especially if I like a song, I'll make a radio show from that tiny musical seed.  I found lots of great tunes about towers so I think you'll like tonight's episode.

It's on from 9-11pm eastern, 8-10pm central on 93.9 fm WLXU in Lexington & everywhere at LCR Online.

Yes, you can hear it even if you're nowhere near a radio tower.  No, I will not come down from my ivory tower tonight.

Preface To Towers: Broadcasting Waves

Normally I save this sort of this for tomorrow's blog post, where I discuss why I picked a particular theme (if there's in fact a reason).  But really, I was just digging the Math & Physics Club's new record, & liked this song in particular, which is about a radio tower:



You'll hear it tomorrow, too, & it's pretty much the reason why I did the show (which is a spoiler for what I'll write tomorrow, maybe).

Tumblr Blog I Like # 3

Is this a Tumblr blog?  Maybe not - but it's reblogged on Tumblr all the time.  It's called Toothpaste For Dinner & it's dark & funny.  & I like it.  Here's today's, by the way:

Right up my alley.

Finally, Thank Yous

(Image found here.)

Last week, seeing the Winter KNON Pledge Drive come to its end, I wanted to thank the nice folks who pledged movie to me on the air doing the Tuesday Morning Blend.  My first two Tuesday shows were Pledge Drive shows, & I feared the worst.  However, I did all right, thanks to the nice people who pledged, whose named I will list now:

Al, Allen, Andres, Annie, Audrey, Bobby, Bonnie, Connie, David, Janet, Jenny, Jerry, John, Josh, Kara, Leora, Margot, Paul, & my wife, who knows who she is.

Of the pledgers, I knew six personally - two were family members - & I swear I didn't beg them or anything!  It's nice to know that they cared enough to help support my very unprofitable hobby.  The rest were kind people who liked what I was playing &/or the gifts we had for donating.

My damaged self-esteem is well established, but I'm not so broken I can't feel a little happy that so many people - nineteen of them! - wanted to keep KNON on the air & showed it with their hard-earned cash.  I can't thank all of you enough.  You're my heroes.

Self Help Radio 022118: In One's Head

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This week you got to spend Self Help Radio in someone's head.  Was it in his head?  In her head?  In my head?  In your head?  Yes, yes, it was.

How could that be?  Was it a miracle of modern science?  Was it an aural hallucination?  Was it a trick of memory, a manipulation of senses?  Naw.  It was just a radio show with a bunch of songs about things "in my mind," "in your mind," etc.  But I think it went well!

You can listen to the show now & whenever at the Self Help Radio website*.  There is, you know, a username & password requirement, but those are not a secret, they're on the front page.  The show is in two approximately hour-long parts, & what's in those parts, including the interviews, is listed below.

Experience what it's like to be in another's head!  For once.

(part one)

"Too Many Stars In His Head" Pearly Gatecrashers _Spectacular!_
"Harmony In My Head" Buzzcocks _Operators Manual_
"In My Head" Skating Polly _Lost Wonderfuls_

"In My Head" Dum Dum Girls _Only In Dreams_
"Rockets In My Head" Astropuppees _You Win The Bride_
"Stuck In My Head" Tim & Adam _Tim & Adam_
"Heaven Is In My Head" Aquarian Blood _Last Nite In Paradise_

interview with Dennis Quaid

"Vacuum In My Head" Pere Ubu _Ray Gun Suitcase_
"In My Head" Asobi Seksu _Fluorescensce_
"Voice In My Head" Boys Forever _Boys Forever_
"Movies In My Head" The 6ths _Wasps' Nests_

"In My Head" The Psychedelic Furs _World Outside_
"I'm In My Head" toyGuitar _In This Mess_

(part two)

"Dead In Your Head" Bleached _Ride Your Heart_
"Your Words Are Still Stuck In My Head" The Garlands _The Garlands EP_
"In My Head" Holiday Ghosts _Holiday Ghosts_

interview with Dr. Karl Dolla

"Fire In My Head" The Nits _Ting_
"Music In My Head" Psychic Ills _Inner Journey Out_
"Sing In Your Head" Space Ghost _Yeah, Whatever..._
"Rocks In My Head" Mouse & The Boys _Just For Kicks, Vol. 1_
"All In My Head" Good Shoes _All In My Head_

interview with David Fruchter

"In My Head" The Ballet _Mattachine!_
"All In Your Head" Thomas Tantrum _Mad By Moonlight_
"In One's Head" Drug Boyfriend _In One's Head_
"In Your Head" Kendra Smith _Five Ways Of Disappearing_

"All In Your Head" Secret Shine _There Is Only Now_

* To go directly to the show, the link is this one.

Whither In One's Head?

(I found this image here.)

Back in the day, at KOOP in Austin, & I've probably told this story before, but maybe after all this time I'll have remembered different details or, worse yet, added some details in the telling, like you do, but I had one particular listener who really, really, really wanted me to do broad themes, like "cars" or "colors" or "birds."  Usually, it's because he had a lot of suggestions, but mainly because he was getting a little tired of some of my more - I don't know, shall we call them, conceptual? - themes.

The show that I think irked him somewhat, & set the precedent maybe for later shows that relied on phrases rather than nouns, was the one with the theme Here I/You/He/She/It/We/They Come.  In fact, when I wrote about it here on the blog eleven years ago, I think I was talking (in my head) directly to him:

Self Help Radio is not shackled nor trapped by the conventions of other radio shows that require their "themes" to be solid things, like the intestines or pellets or clubhouses or cheese. We attempt to expand the very idea of ideas. Everything can be a theme, especially those things that are least thematic. So we can have a phrase as a theme. Why not? It's not like there's a body out there that can tell me what I can & can't play on the radio.

Things would get much worse with the show's themes, of course, or perhaps it can't get much worse than "in one's head."  You know, songs in which what is in your head, in my head, in his head, in her head, etc. is discussed.  Is that a good theme?  We'll see, won't we?

The show is on tonight on 93.9 fm WLXU in Lexington & online on their website from 9-11pm eastern.  I just wanted to put that in your head.  Hope it stay in there!

Preface To In One's Head: Phrenology

(Image from here.)

Phrenology is/was (do people still believe it? I bet there are some) "a pseudomedicine primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, & that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules."  That's from the Wikipedia.  It's a testimony to how silly it is that I've never met anyone who believes it or has even shown an interest in it.

This is in sharp contrast to both tarot card reading & astrology, two things I came across casually in my adolescence that I found mildly interesting but discovered, in college, that people really, really believed in.  I happened upon a tarot deck in my first year away from home, memorized what the cards were supposed to mean, & would do readings for my roommates.  I wouldn't say I got good at it, but I did notice that they took my "predictions" very seriously, to the point that one of them got anxious because it seemed like something bad was going to happen to him.  I stopped doing it soon after that - I quickly saw that I was using the information I knew about them to craft their future.  I never believed I was harnessing some kind of mystical power.

Astrology has a stronger pull (that's an astrology pun) on people, especially a couple women I was very fond of in my post-college days in Austin.  One of them runs an astrology business these days I think, & would probably be offended that I am lumping it in (that's a phrenology pun) with phrenology.  I remain unconvinced by it, & never really took it all that seriously, & I am surprised that people are still into it, but I do appreciate that if you really, really get into astrology, you get to learn fascinating skill which betray its astronomical roots, like using precision measurements of planetary positions to make charts.

There's another observation I often make about astrology, which is that it seems to me especially attractive to women for some reason.  Whenever I've met a man who is really into it, a little prodding leads him to confess it was a woman he knew (often one he had a relationship with) who indoctrinated him.  I should look to see if my own experience is something that others have noted.

Anyway, I do wonder why no one I came across ever really, really got into phrenology.  I think it would have been fun, or perhaps just creepy, had I known about it, to be the guy at the party that put his hands all over people's heads & told them that the part of their head that controls, say, their mastery of language, had weird bumps that told me they'd be good at Romance languages.  In those impressionistic days of college, I'm sure I would've convinced some folks there was something to it, & I wouldn't have had to really memorize what a card did or what Jupiter being in a constellation meant.

& yeah, I know phrenology was about what was on one's head, not in one's head.  But it was in my head just now so I thought I'd write about it.

2800

This is the blog's 2800th post.  It's bound to disappoint.

Right now I need to hit the hay as I have to wake up tomorrow & do the Tuesday Morning Blend on KNON.  Then I have to rush home & work on this week's Self Help Radio.

It's not hard to believe I've gone through two thousand eight hundred posts on this blog when they're as gripping as this one.

Should there be cake?  That's a lot of candles!

Thanks To You

At this point in time, I'm not sure if the other radio show I do, the Tuesday Morning Blend, will this week be another Pledge Drive show, because as I write the station is so very near its goal, but whether I have to beg on the air one more week (I will certainly have to do it again in May), I have many people to thank for it being a successful one for me & the station, even though the first two shows I did as the Tuesday Morning Blend were Pledge Drive shows.

& thank people I shall, on the air & here on the blog, as soon as I have a list of people to thank.  Wait, I don't have a list?  Not right now.  Sorry.  That may seem lame, as I did thank them on the air during the show, but in the hustle & bustle of the paperwork at the end of each show, it didn't occur to me until too late to just write names down so I'd know whom to thank whenever.  That's my bad & I'm sorry.

Back in the day, the last time I did Pledge Drive, at KOOP in Austin -

I was going to say something else, but let me tell you a brief anecdote.  At a recent KNON benefit at which I was volunteering, someone asked me about my past radio experience in Austin, & I said that yes, I have volunteered before at K-O-O-P.  I spelled out the call letters as one might do for a legal ID, although most of us usually just said KOOP, like co-op.  The station was supposed to be cooperatively run.

But the person I was talking to said, "Ah, yes, of course, KOOP" - KOOP rhyming with "poop."

Old-timers at KOOP hated when people said KOOP like "coop."  In fact, they insisted that we put a period in between the two Os on all official documentation, including bumper stickers & the like.  It would read KO.OP 91.7 fm.

Some disagreed.  I was one of them.  I myself never said "KOOP" like coop because I know it was supposed to be co-op.  But people who never heard the station - because no one on the air ever said it like "coop" - well, they generally didn't know the nature of the name, as they never really heard the station, just saw the call letters & pronounced it like they heard it in their head.  That's how we knew we were talking to a listener or not.  It was handy.

Of course I corrected the guy I was talking to, but he had given himself away.  He may have heard of KOOP, but he never actually heard the station.  Which is cool, I didn't judge him or anything.

End of digression.

- the last time I did a Pledge Drive, at KOOP in Austin, I did terribly.  I don't know why, the time the show was on, the smaller listening audience, my own inexperience, no one actually liking my show, I can't be sure, but past experience made me feel like I was not going to do terribly well this time around.  & that didn't happen.  I did pretty well.  Certainly better than I thought.

& that's all thanks to you, the folks who pledged.  Whose names I will share.  When I get them.  Which I will.  Thank you.