There's too much good food in Portland. It's true. I have gained weight since I got here.
Because of certain issues with my health, I like to see a doctor every six months, have my blood checked, if possible get a tune-up & my tires rotated. What issues? What business is that of yours? My gosh.
Where was I? Oh yeah. So I met the person who might be my regular doctor this past week, & she was great, but I did tell her I have gained weight since I got here, thanks in part to so much good food in this city. & I asked her if there were perhaps something she could do, as a medical professional, to somehow slightly decrease the deliciousness of Portland's food to facilitate the daunting task of me getting back into shape. She said no, she couldn't.
She didn't even offer me pills!
It's on my mind because I ate at this place tonight. The wife & I shared entrees, which doesn't seem uncommon. It's been a couple of hours since I ate & I'm still stuffed. & maybe gained even more weight.
When I should've been working on this week's show!
If it seems fatter than usual, you know why.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Friday, September 20, 2019
This Really Happened Today
Before I relate this anecdote, I want to make it perfectly clear that the events which transpired today at a community radio station in Portland had nothing to do with me. I was just there volunteering, answering phones. I was not on air at any point, it was not my show, I did not affect programming in any way. The person with whom I interacted did not know me, did not choose me, was directed to me because I was not answering a phone at the time. This is simply something that really happened which I am reporting, not in any way attempting to take credit or otherwise promote myself.
All right? Because when I mentioned this on Facebook, some people thought this was about me. I am simply telling you something I experienced as a bystander.
Portland has three community radio stations, & I volunteer at each one. KBOO is the oldest, it has the most wattage & can therefore reach more listeners, & arguably is the most respected. I like to help out there because I like the people & I like the vibe. I am not a fan of pledge drives, but they have a great set-up where volunteers don't have to be in the booth with the programmers, & they feed the volunteers besides. (I didn't partake, but I heard the hummus today was a bit garlicky.)
As I mentioned above, I was not currently taking a pledge when an older gentleman walked into the door. He said he wanted to make a pledge in person. This happens quite a bit, people just walk into KBOO all the time, it is in fact encouraged. The gentleman explained that he had been listening to the station for thirty years but had never pledged his support. He intended this walk-in pledge to remedy that. He carried in his hand a white envelope.
After talking to some people, he sat down next to me, & I began to take his information down. Most of the pledges we take over the phone & enter into data a computer, but with walk-ins, we write them on a physical sheet of paper. I asked his name, even calling him "sir." He told me not to do that, I said I do it because I hope I was raised right. That broke the ice, I called him by his name, & continued to write down his information.
When it came time for the pledge amount, I asked if I could open the envelope. I did, saw the check inside, saw the number on the check, & said to him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Why would I say such a thing? Because inside the envelope was a check for ten thousand dollars. That's $10,000. A one with four zeroes after it. I have probably never seen a check for that amount ever.
Other people were summoned to help me. I got what information I could. The generous donor had ideas about using it as a matching grant to encourage others to pledge. He looked over the premiums we had, & chose a tee shirt. KBOO will give tee shirts to those who pledge $75. I can't do the math but I do have a calculator on my computer & it tells me he could've taken home 133 tee shirts with his pledge. One staffer took him to get the tee shirt.
Oh my god I wanted to show everyone the check! I was amazed that more of us didn't pass out or shit a brick or whatever when I showed them. The staff at KBOO were mostly clear-headed, quite professional really, while I must've looked like I had just seen an alien turn the corner, wave at me, then scurry away before I could say, "Hey! You're like a UFO alien!"
The person to whose show the generous donor was pledging was the last to see the check. He was gobsmacked. But so humble. Oh god, my ego would be bursting, but the deejay said, "We all get lucky sometimes."
Yeah, no. Not ten thousand dollars lucky. Holy shit.
How I wish I had taken a picture of the check, just the numbers at least. They're kind of burned into my brain though.
My shift ended & I went home to my animals after that. But it's absolutely true, what I just wrote: this really fucking happened today!
All right? Because when I mentioned this on Facebook, some people thought this was about me. I am simply telling you something I experienced as a bystander.
Portland has three community radio stations, & I volunteer at each one. KBOO is the oldest, it has the most wattage & can therefore reach more listeners, & arguably is the most respected. I like to help out there because I like the people & I like the vibe. I am not a fan of pledge drives, but they have a great set-up where volunteers don't have to be in the booth with the programmers, & they feed the volunteers besides. (I didn't partake, but I heard the hummus today was a bit garlicky.)
As I mentioned above, I was not currently taking a pledge when an older gentleman walked into the door. He said he wanted to make a pledge in person. This happens quite a bit, people just walk into KBOO all the time, it is in fact encouraged. The gentleman explained that he had been listening to the station for thirty years but had never pledged his support. He intended this walk-in pledge to remedy that. He carried in his hand a white envelope.
After talking to some people, he sat down next to me, & I began to take his information down. Most of the pledges we take over the phone & enter into data a computer, but with walk-ins, we write them on a physical sheet of paper. I asked his name, even calling him "sir." He told me not to do that, I said I do it because I hope I was raised right. That broke the ice, I called him by his name, & continued to write down his information.
When it came time for the pledge amount, I asked if I could open the envelope. I did, saw the check inside, saw the number on the check, & said to him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Why would I say such a thing? Because inside the envelope was a check for ten thousand dollars. That's $10,000. A one with four zeroes after it. I have probably never seen a check for that amount ever.
Other people were summoned to help me. I got what information I could. The generous donor had ideas about using it as a matching grant to encourage others to pledge. He looked over the premiums we had, & chose a tee shirt. KBOO will give tee shirts to those who pledge $75. I can't do the math but I do have a calculator on my computer & it tells me he could've taken home 133 tee shirts with his pledge. One staffer took him to get the tee shirt.
Oh my god I wanted to show everyone the check! I was amazed that more of us didn't pass out or shit a brick or whatever when I showed them. The staff at KBOO were mostly clear-headed, quite professional really, while I must've looked like I had just seen an alien turn the corner, wave at me, then scurry away before I could say, "Hey! You're like a UFO alien!"
The person to whose show the generous donor was pledging was the last to see the check. He was gobsmacked. But so humble. Oh god, my ego would be bursting, but the deejay said, "We all get lucky sometimes."
Yeah, no. Not ten thousand dollars lucky. Holy shit.
How I wish I had taken a picture of the check, just the numbers at least. They're kind of burned into my brain though.
My shift ended & I went home to my animals after that. But it's absolutely true, what I just wrote: this really fucking happened today!
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Since You're Gone
The person who, on my show, portrays my spiritual mentor the Rev Dr Howard Gently is someone I've known since I was in middle school. He used to make comedic tapes with his older brother & I kinda wanted to get in on the action. I wasn't funny at all so I assumed the role of straight man. I would pretend to be a radio call-in host named Gary Franklin & my friend would call in doing different voices. It's been fun to note than we pretended to be on the radio over thirty years ago & seem to still be doing that now, only, you know, for real. For "real." But really on the radio.
One of my favorite calls he did was a fellow who is trapped in his house because a rock band is playing a concert on his front yard. That band is the Cars. My friend had taped the Cars playing on some late-night show - my mind tells me it was the Midnight Special but I dunno - it was around the time of "Shake It Up," as that was the song I could hear in the background. It was a memorable bit because the caller complained to Gary Franklin that he couldn't leave his house because of the people gathered & all his services were disrupted. He couldn't even call out, his phone lines were cut. "How are you calling me, then, sir?" Gary Franklin asked. There was a memorable pause & then the caller said, "I'm losin' my mind, Gary! You gotta help me!"
My friend & I still quote that to this day.
The Cars are a band that holds up. They are classic rock, but they're also new wave. Some of their success had to do with Elliot Easton's iconic guitar solos. Some of it had to do with Greg Hawkes' unbelievably successful incorporation of synth into the classic rock sound. But I believe the lion's share of their success had to do with the oddball cool that pervades Ric Ocasek's music, lyrics, & singing. This is the guy who wrote, "It's an orange-y sky," after all.
The truth is, after I discovered postpunk, I was a little embarrassed how much I liked the Cars. At some point, in my poor early college years, I got rid of their records to buy new or different records. (The place I would go for records, Waterloo in Austin, would buy back LPs at two bucks & sell used ones for four. I often bring in four records & leave with two.)
But sometime in the 90s, I stumbled across the double CD greatest hits collection Just What I Needed. It was like running into a best friend from high school with whom I'd lost touch. I remember going to a movie with some young KVRXers a couple nights later, & everyone talking about what CDs or records they'd just added to their collection, & I sheepishly said I bought the Cars greatest hits CD. They all said, "Holy shit, the Cars are awesome." & I agreed. Wholeheartedly.
But I noticed I don't play the Cars on the radio a lot - my records indicate the last time was 2017, although I did play a cover of "Shake It Up" on Freeform this summer - probably because I was raised to think the sort of radio I do is supposed to be an alternative to classic rock. Those lines are blurring & I will belatedly step up my radio worship of the rock genius of Ric Ocasek & crew. I watched some Youtube videos today - live stuff, mostly, not the videos that defined the band in the 1980s - & was impressed how cohesive they were.
Look, I don't know what kept me in love with music in the dark times where I only knew commercial FM radio & what we now call classic rock, but certainly the Cars helped out. I remember being quite in love with "You Might Think" when I was disenchanted with radio in late high school. & though I don't really know if I like the song "Magic" all that music, hearing Ric Ocasek say, "Summer, summer, summer, it turns me upside down" at the very beginning is as powerful to me as an incantation.
It's sad he's no longer with us. It's amazing what music he left us. Here they are performing the song that gives this post its name on some late-night television show in the 1980s:
One of my favorite calls he did was a fellow who is trapped in his house because a rock band is playing a concert on his front yard. That band is the Cars. My friend had taped the Cars playing on some late-night show - my mind tells me it was the Midnight Special but I dunno - it was around the time of "Shake It Up," as that was the song I could hear in the background. It was a memorable bit because the caller complained to Gary Franklin that he couldn't leave his house because of the people gathered & all his services were disrupted. He couldn't even call out, his phone lines were cut. "How are you calling me, then, sir?" Gary Franklin asked. There was a memorable pause & then the caller said, "I'm losin' my mind, Gary! You gotta help me!"
My friend & I still quote that to this day.
The Cars are a band that holds up. They are classic rock, but they're also new wave. Some of their success had to do with Elliot Easton's iconic guitar solos. Some of it had to do with Greg Hawkes' unbelievably successful incorporation of synth into the classic rock sound. But I believe the lion's share of their success had to do with the oddball cool that pervades Ric Ocasek's music, lyrics, & singing. This is the guy who wrote, "It's an orange-y sky," after all.
The truth is, after I discovered postpunk, I was a little embarrassed how much I liked the Cars. At some point, in my poor early college years, I got rid of their records to buy new or different records. (The place I would go for records, Waterloo in Austin, would buy back LPs at two bucks & sell used ones for four. I often bring in four records & leave with two.)
But sometime in the 90s, I stumbled across the double CD greatest hits collection Just What I Needed. It was like running into a best friend from high school with whom I'd lost touch. I remember going to a movie with some young KVRXers a couple nights later, & everyone talking about what CDs or records they'd just added to their collection, & I sheepishly said I bought the Cars greatest hits CD. They all said, "Holy shit, the Cars are awesome." & I agreed. Wholeheartedly.
But I noticed I don't play the Cars on the radio a lot - my records indicate the last time was 2017, although I did play a cover of "Shake It Up" on Freeform this summer - probably because I was raised to think the sort of radio I do is supposed to be an alternative to classic rock. Those lines are blurring & I will belatedly step up my radio worship of the rock genius of Ric Ocasek & crew. I watched some Youtube videos today - live stuff, mostly, not the videos that defined the band in the 1980s - & was impressed how cohesive they were.
Look, I don't know what kept me in love with music in the dark times where I only knew commercial FM radio & what we now call classic rock, but certainly the Cars helped out. I remember being quite in love with "You Might Think" when I was disenchanted with radio in late high school. & though I don't really know if I like the song "Magic" all that music, hearing Ric Ocasek say, "Summer, summer, summer, it turns me upside down" at the very beginning is as powerful to me as an incantation.
It's sad he's no longer with us. It's amazing what music he left us. Here they are performing the song that gives this post its name on some late-night television show in the 1980s:
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Hi, How Are You?
Unlike many of my musical heroes who die, I actually knew Daniel Johnston a little. In 1998, he was working with the Station Manager of KVRX, Mark Miller. Mark was making a music video for him, which you can see here. At least a couple of times he followed Mark up to the station, & I was at the station a lot - I was a Program Manager that summer.
To say that Daniel Johnston didn't like me would probably be too much - I just didn't really have much that interested him. He carried with him a two-liter of Coca-Cola & a carton of Kools, & since I was a smoker at the time, we would often be outside smoking. Daniel Johnston had a ton of energy & his mind worked double-overtime, obviously fueled by the nicotine & caffeine. We had a few conversations, we of course talked once about the Beatles, but if there were a woman outside, he was going to be focused on her instead.
The last time I saw him play was in 2000 I think when he came onstage at a Yo La Tengo show. Something about being around him made me worry about him. He lived with his parents who were getting on in years - what would happen to him once they had gone?
That level of anxiety I would feel would also come to me in his music, which I had heard before I met him. I came to Austin for college in 1986 & might have run into him at the McDonald's on the Drag where he worked or maybe I would've seen him handing out his tapes. I don't recall. I believe I first saw him live in a nicely-packed room at an early South By Southwest. I might not have heard his music before.
It was when I started volunteering at KVRX that he began to figure in my life. We had his cassettes & CDs. People played him all the time. & in 1994, Kathy McCarty released Dead Dog's Eyeball, which brought a whole new appreciation to the originals.
There's always a part of me that feels like I didn't appreciate him as much as I feel he deserved. I don't know if it has something to do with being around Daniel Johnston the Person instead of concentrating on Daniel Johnston the Artist. I do wish he had been more appreciated in his life. I also hope that whatever demons tormented him for his short time on this planet let him have moments of peace & beauty away from his music.
He'll always feel so much like Austin to me. One night, with my dear friend Mike, as we stumbled home after the bars closed, we were carless & drunk & a mile away from our apartment, Mike, shirtless in the heat of Austin in August at 2am, walking down Dean Keaton toward Red River, he began to sing as loud & passionately as possible:
Funeral home
Funeral home
Goin' to the funeral home
Got me a coffin
Shiny & black
I'm goin' to the funeral
& I'm never comin' back
Austin is more populated & busier now, but we had the streets all to ourselves. I don't remember getting home but I remember that song.
To say that Daniel Johnston didn't like me would probably be too much - I just didn't really have much that interested him. He carried with him a two-liter of Coca-Cola & a carton of Kools, & since I was a smoker at the time, we would often be outside smoking. Daniel Johnston had a ton of energy & his mind worked double-overtime, obviously fueled by the nicotine & caffeine. We had a few conversations, we of course talked once about the Beatles, but if there were a woman outside, he was going to be focused on her instead.
The last time I saw him play was in 2000 I think when he came onstage at a Yo La Tengo show. Something about being around him made me worry about him. He lived with his parents who were getting on in years - what would happen to him once they had gone?
That level of anxiety I would feel would also come to me in his music, which I had heard before I met him. I came to Austin for college in 1986 & might have run into him at the McDonald's on the Drag where he worked or maybe I would've seen him handing out his tapes. I don't recall. I believe I first saw him live in a nicely-packed room at an early South By Southwest. I might not have heard his music before.
It was when I started volunteering at KVRX that he began to figure in my life. We had his cassettes & CDs. People played him all the time. & in 1994, Kathy McCarty released Dead Dog's Eyeball, which brought a whole new appreciation to the originals.
There's always a part of me that feels like I didn't appreciate him as much as I feel he deserved. I don't know if it has something to do with being around Daniel Johnston the Person instead of concentrating on Daniel Johnston the Artist. I do wish he had been more appreciated in his life. I also hope that whatever demons tormented him for his short time on this planet let him have moments of peace & beauty away from his music.
He'll always feel so much like Austin to me. One night, with my dear friend Mike, as we stumbled home after the bars closed, we were carless & drunk & a mile away from our apartment, Mike, shirtless in the heat of Austin in August at 2am, walking down Dean Keaton toward Red River, he began to sing as loud & passionately as possible:
Funeral home
Funeral home
Goin' to the funeral home
Got me a coffin
Shiny & black
I'm goin' to the funeral
& I'm never comin' back
Austin is more populated & busier now, but we had the streets all to ourselves. I don't remember getting home but I remember that song.
Monday, September 16, 2019
Self Help Radio 091619: A Frank Show
(Most all these Frank, Franklin, & Frankie images from Wikipedia.)
At long last! Finally! Once & for all! The promised show about people named Frank.
Check this: in addition to twenty-nine (29!) songs about Franks - & Frankies & Franklins - there are interviews with four different Franks on this show! It is a veritable treasure trove of Frankness. A priceless hoard of Frankitude. Truly a bonanza of Frankality. A treasury of Franktion. There's frankly too much Frank, if you ask me. But you didn't ask me! You want to be drowned in as much Frank as possible!
& so it shall be done. You can listen to the Self Help Radio Frank show at the Self Help Radio website. You will need a username & a password - neither, alas, are "frank" - it's SHR & selfhelp. The parade of all things Frank is listed below!
What a good day to be a Frank!
Self Help Radio Frank Show
part one:
"Frank" Ween _The Pod_
"Blank Frank" Brian Eno _Here Come The Warm Jets_
"Frank" Yoni & Geti _Testarossa_
introduction & the origin of the name "Frank"
"Frankie & Johnny" Sam Cooke _The Man Who Invented Soul_
"Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)" Merle Haggard _Let Me Tell You About A Song_
"Frank's Wild Years" Tom Waits _Swordfishtrombones_
"Frank & Sandy" Pants Yell! _Received Pronunciation_
"Will Success Spoil Frank Summit?" The Times _This Is London_
interview with cousin Frank Schmidt
"Frankie Sinatra" The Avalanches _Wildflower_
"Like Frankie Lymon" The Weather Prophets _CD86: 48 Tracks From The Birth Of Indie Pop_
"Harlem Roulette" The Mountain Goats _Transcendental Youth_
"Blues For Frankie Valli" The Incredible Vickers Brothers _Gallimaufry_
interview with childhood friend
"Frank Mills" Phyllis Newman _Phyllis Newman's World Of Music_
"Gotta Have Something In The Bank Frank" Bob Jaxon _On A Rockin Beach Party_
part two:
"He's Frank" The Monochrome Set _The Independent Singles Collection_
"I'm Frank" The Fall _Extricate_
"Our Frank" Morrissey _Kill Uncle_
interview with Kentucky radio star Frank Yelsom
"The Ballad Of Frankie Lee & Judas Priest" Thea Gilmore _John Wesley Harding_
"Frankie T & Frankie C" Mick Harvey _Sketches From The Book Of The Dead_
"Frankie" Kanda _All The Good Meetings Are Taken_
"So Long Frank Lloyd Wright" Simon & Garfunkel _Bridge Over Troubled Water_
interview with Head Of Production Frank Biggle Magnum
"Frank Black Says" Boat _Dress Like Your Idols_
"Frank De Salvo" The Orchids _Unholy Soul_
"Franklin D. Roosevelt's Back Again" Oscar Brand _Presidential Campaign Songs_
"Franklin Pierce" The Two Man Gentlemen Band _¡Dos Amigos, Una Fiesta!_
conclusion & goodbye
"What About Frank Clement (A Mighty Man)" The Prisonaires _Just Walkin' In The Rain_
"Frankie's House" Johnny Lee Daniels _Teenagers Forever, Vol. 3_
"That's Frankie's Negative" The Moodists _Thirsty's Calling_
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Whither A Frank Show?
(It's not those kind of franks - never mind. Image from here.)
You may recall, way back in the good old days of August, when Self Help Radio was still without a radio station to call home, there was an announcement on the show's Facebook page & also on the show's website that the next installment of Self Help Radio would be a show about people named Frank. Not necessarily famous people named Frank! Just whatever Frank might have been sung about. Songs were gathered. People named Frank were hassled. Promised were made, money was loaned, hair was combed, shirts were tucked in. & then: I got sick.
Sick as a person named Frank has ever been sick before. In retrospect, it might have been amusing to try to make a show, especially with my voice a little croaky & the sniffles my only friend. But I chose to take lots of cold medicine, cover myself in blankets, & wait for the fever to break.
Then I rescheduled the show, which is happening oh my gosh tomorrow! At 6am! On Freeform Portland!
Tell all the Franks you know! Make sure to mention it as well to the Frankies, Franklins, & why the hell not the Francises (Franceses too). It may be very flattering to them. Or it may be a grave, grave insult.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Preface To A Frank Show: Can't Figure Out Time Around Here
When I say "time," I don't mean personal, day-to-day time. I've said this before, but I can't ever believe I was bored when I was a kid. I have way too much to do these days, I can't imagine lying around on my bed after dinner, homework finished, not tired, feeling too lazy to turn the lights on when the sun went down, just bored out of my fucking skull. But I know that happened a lot.
No, what I mean about time here is this: we moved to Portland in May, roughly four months ago. But if you'd ask me how long we've lived here, I think I might say, "A year? Two? Maybe three?"
Some weeks seem to go by fast, but sometimes I think, when I arrive at a radio station, I think, "Has it been a month since I've been here?" When it's often been just a couple of days.
A couple of things have contributed to this recently. I was pretty sick for three or four days, er, was it three weeks ago? (Or maybe last summer?) That screwed up time somewhat. The other is that one of our pups isn't well, & it's been a lot of stress.
This seems to suggest that illness has screwed up time, but it's not just that: both the wife & I have had expectations foiled & realized. It's strange to take stock, to ask oneself where one would have predicted to be in a month or two. I can't believe, for example, I've done shows on three different radio stations in the past few months. I've gone on about this before, but you have to understand: there were virtually no opportunities in Dallas for radio. This place is one opportunity after another.
& now the wife has gone away to visit her family in California for a week, & I am left to my own obviously screwed-up devices. You know how there are those clocks that are somewhat tuned to an atomic clock somewhere, so they don't lose a second but after a million years? If someone could set a clock to me, it would probably confuse the hell out of the clock connected to the atomic one.
It might not be Portland, I understand: it might just be me.
No, what I mean about time here is this: we moved to Portland in May, roughly four months ago. But if you'd ask me how long we've lived here, I think I might say, "A year? Two? Maybe three?"
Some weeks seem to go by fast, but sometimes I think, when I arrive at a radio station, I think, "Has it been a month since I've been here?" When it's often been just a couple of days.
A couple of things have contributed to this recently. I was pretty sick for three or four days, er, was it three weeks ago? (Or maybe last summer?) That screwed up time somewhat. The other is that one of our pups isn't well, & it's been a lot of stress.
This seems to suggest that illness has screwed up time, but it's not just that: both the wife & I have had expectations foiled & realized. It's strange to take stock, to ask oneself where one would have predicted to be in a month or two. I can't believe, for example, I've done shows on three different radio stations in the past few months. I've gone on about this before, but you have to understand: there were virtually no opportunities in Dallas for radio. This place is one opportunity after another.
& now the wife has gone away to visit her family in California for a week, & I am left to my own obviously screwed-up devices. You know how there are those clocks that are somewhat tuned to an atomic clock somewhere, so they don't lose a second but after a million years? If someone could set a clock to me, it would probably confuse the hell out of the clock connected to the atomic one.
It might not be Portland, I understand: it might just be me.
Friday, September 13, 2019
A Day Without Sleep
This is not true! There has been sleep today!
Let me tell you where there has been sleep today: where people slept. The World Sleep Meter registered sleep in normal proportions except - there was that place - it was in Portland - let's look at the records - was there someone who, in a twenty-four hour period, slept less than four hours?
Experts agree: this is unsustainable. Also, experts say: subject had delicious vegan Thai food for dinner? Holy shit - add the experts - that sounds amazing.
In the evening - after dinner, but before drinking - subject helped the neighbors chase an errant duckling around the neighborhood before catching it & letting the neighbors return it to where it belonged. Said the neighbor, "This is Portland!"
Against all advice, subject drank a couple of glasses of whiskey in the evening & watched YouTube videos. Experts predict the amount of sleep required to return subject to some kind of equilibrium may result in diminished REM times in nearby homes.
As there is only a finite amount of sleep.
Until.
All there is is sleep.
Let me tell you where there has been sleep today: where people slept. The World Sleep Meter registered sleep in normal proportions except - there was that place - it was in Portland - let's look at the records - was there someone who, in a twenty-four hour period, slept less than four hours?
Experts agree: this is unsustainable. Also, experts say: subject had delicious vegan Thai food for dinner? Holy shit - add the experts - that sounds amazing.
In the evening - after dinner, but before drinking - subject helped the neighbors chase an errant duckling around the neighborhood before catching it & letting the neighbors return it to where it belonged. Said the neighbor, "This is Portland!"
Against all advice, subject drank a couple of glasses of whiskey in the evening & watched YouTube videos. Experts predict the amount of sleep required to return subject to some kind of equilibrium may result in diminished REM times in nearby homes.
As there is only a finite amount of sleep.
Until.
All there is is sleep.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Where Was I Today?
Please don't think I've forgotten you! The next few days are going to be a little busy.
This is something strange to reflect on: when I lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, I not only didn't get to do Self Help Radio, I barely got to do any kind of radio at all. KNON's deejays loved doing their shows, & if they couldn't do it, they generally had a "crew" of folks who helped out who took care of their shows if they missed it. In general, I might sub the morning shows, but that was it.
The situation here is vastly different. This week, I turned down two shows on two different stations. In one case, I simply wouldn't have had the time to make a decent show - & in the other, I had to take a pup to the vet in the morning so couldn't have done the show anyway.
& tonight I am preparing to do four hours of Freeform Portland - from 2am to 6am, my favorite time to play on the radio.
So if you're feeling ignored, I'm sorry. I'm busy. Happily busy. As a friend told me today, it appears this is the right town for me to end up in.
This is something strange to reflect on: when I lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, I not only didn't get to do Self Help Radio, I barely got to do any kind of radio at all. KNON's deejays loved doing their shows, & if they couldn't do it, they generally had a "crew" of folks who helped out who took care of their shows if they missed it. In general, I might sub the morning shows, but that was it.
The situation here is vastly different. This week, I turned down two shows on two different stations. In one case, I simply wouldn't have had the time to make a decent show - & in the other, I had to take a pup to the vet in the morning so couldn't have done the show anyway.
& tonight I am preparing to do four hours of Freeform Portland - from 2am to 6am, my favorite time to play on the radio.
So if you're feeling ignored, I'm sorry. I'm busy. Happily busy. As a friend told me today, it appears this is the right town for me to end up in.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Self Help Radio 090919: Passion
(Original image here.)
A week ago I promised I would post my shows the same day I did them, but this week I was asked to sub a show on XRAY FM so I could not. However, I can to-day. I present to you the second Self Help Radio in Portland: a show about passion.
Most people wouldn't consider me a passionate fellow, although I think of myself as one. Passionate about the things I love, like music, radio, my pets, my wife, all kinds of creation. In that order? Oops. Too bad I am writing this on a computer & there's no way to correct that sentence in order to make my pets seem more important than radio. I just hope they don't read this & get upset.
The show is waiting for you at the Self Help Radio website, where it will require you to adopt a secret name (SHR) & use a secret word of love (selfhelp) to give you access to the passion. There will be no surprises, however - well, perhaps the intensity will surprose you - as you can see the songs played & the guests' appearances below.
Whew! That was a passionate show. I need a lie-down.
Self Help Radio Passion Show
part one:
"Passion" Watsie Lumbard And The East-Men featuring Hal Jaxon _Confidential Doo Wop, Vol. 3_
"Passion Or Patterns" Units _Digital Stimulation_
"Bulbs Of Passion" Dinosaur Jr _Dinosaur_
introduction & definitions
"Passion Is No Ordinary Word" Graham Parker & The Rumour _Squeezing Out Sparks_
"Pashernate Love" Morrissey _The HMV/Parlophone Singles 88-95_
"Passion For Water" Liechtenstein _Fast Forward_
"Passionate Kisses" Lucinda Williams _Passionate Kisses_
interview with motivational speaker Dirk Robbins
"Passionate Friend" The Teardrop Explodes _Wilder_
"The Passion" English Electric _Baby I'm Yours_
"Mad Passionate Love" Bernard Bresslaw _British Comedy Classics_
"Rak Tong Rorn (Love Passion)" Viparat Piengsuwan _Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 2 (Groovy 60's Sounds From The Land Of Smile!)_
introducing Ned Dry
"The Passion Of Lovers" Bauhaus _1979-1983_
"Passion Fall Down" The Wreckery _Past Imperfect_
part two:
"Passion Of Mine" Black & White Lovers _The Sound Of Leamington Spa, Vol. 8_
"Passion In The Afternoon" The Desert Wolves _Pontification_
"The Passion" Billy Bragg _Talking With The Taxman About Poetry_
interview with romance novelist Raymond Dunlap
"Plastic Passion" The Cure _Boys Don't Cry_
"Talk About The Passion" R.E.M. _Murmur_
"Scorpio: The Passionate Hero" The Zodiac _Cosmic Sounds_
"The Passionate Shepherd To His Love" P.D.Q. Bach _Liebeslieder Polkas_
"Passion Killer" One The Juggler _Nearly A Sin_
interview with Bingham Killkid
"Passion Of Love" The Pretty Things _Singles As & Bs_
"Passionate Love" The Goodtime Music Co. _The Sound Of Young Sacramento_
"Cool Passion" Data _Accumulator (1980-1985)_
"Passion Play" Papas Fritas _Papas Fritas_
conclusion & a passionate farewell
"This Passionate Breed" The Sun & The Moon _The Sun & The Moon_
"Nights Of Passion" The Radicals _The Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983_
Sunday, September 08, 2019
Whither Passion?
(Image from here.)
Of course, Self Help Radio has always been known as a passionate show. Perhaps too passionate. It's been called, by jealous critics, ardent, amorous, even concupiscent, which is a word that sounds way naughtier than it actually is. Actually, no, it's pretty naughty. Not as naughty as, say, lascivious, aroused, or prurient, which are to be clear not words anyone has used to describe Self Help Radio. They pretty much stop at passionate, if they start at all.
Which brings us to this week's show: can a passionate show like Self Help Radio get introspective & examine its own passion? Will that not make the show too passionate? Isn't it better to dispassionately examine oneself, to have a better understanding, unsullied by over-emotion? Perhaps. But what else can the show do? Hire an outside agency? Take unsolicited criticism? Never!
Self Help Radio, passionate show that it is, is passionate about passion, & therefore that's what we'll explore tomorrow morning, Monday the 9th, from 6 to 8 am on 90.3 + 98.3 fm Freeform Portland. If you yourself are a fan of passion, you'll want to wake up for it. Although it may be too passionate for a Monday morning.
You've been, I imagine, properly admonished.
Saturday, September 07, 2019
Preface To Passion: It Feels So Weird To Write This On A Saturday
Guess I'll have to get used to it!
Here's something I might or might not have said: I'll be doing two radio shows on Monday. That's right, in addition to Self Help Radio I'm going to be subbing a show on XRAY called What I Like. It's super fun & I will in no way be able to capture how good it is when DJ Flash Gordon Quarterback New York Jets is on, so I think I'm going to repurpose an old Self Help Radio.
Something I might also not have mentioned is that I spent all day Sunday working on the first Self Help Radio in Portland & got maybe three hours sleep. Part of that was bad planning. A lot of it is my anxiety keeping me awake. I haven't overslept for a show in years but my brains acts like I will
probably do it if I don't fret about it for hours before I stumble into a fitful, rem-less sleep.
Thinking of sleep, I have fond memories of falling asleep in class. In both high school & college, I feel like I had the most restful naps when, bored stiff, I'd pretend to be taking notes & cover my downcast face with my hand & just doze off. Inevitably the elbow of my right arm would give way & it would wake me. I'd be confused but oh so refreshed.
Now when I am busy listening to music or writing some fake ad or editing an interview, the urge to sleep is strong. I never knew how fucking lazy I was until I started putting more work into this show.
Speaking of: I know it's a Saturday night but I am going to go to sleep now so I can wake up early to work on two shows for Monday. Please don't envy me this rock star lifestyle - I put my pants on one leg at a time like you do. Although now you're making me feel that's the wrong way to do it. Should I be doing it two legs at a time? Three? Four?
See you in the a.m.
Here's something I might or might not have said: I'll be doing two radio shows on Monday. That's right, in addition to Self Help Radio I'm going to be subbing a show on XRAY called What I Like. It's super fun & I will in no way be able to capture how good it is when DJ Flash Gordon Quarterback New York Jets is on, so I think I'm going to repurpose an old Self Help Radio.
Something I might also not have mentioned is that I spent all day Sunday working on the first Self Help Radio in Portland & got maybe three hours sleep. Part of that was bad planning. A lot of it is my anxiety keeping me awake. I haven't overslept for a show in years but my brains acts like I will
probably do it if I don't fret about it for hours before I stumble into a fitful, rem-less sleep.
Thinking of sleep, I have fond memories of falling asleep in class. In both high school & college, I feel like I had the most restful naps when, bored stiff, I'd pretend to be taking notes & cover my downcast face with my hand & just doze off. Inevitably the elbow of my right arm would give way & it would wake me. I'd be confused but oh so refreshed.
Now when I am busy listening to music or writing some fake ad or editing an interview, the urge to sleep is strong. I never knew how fucking lazy I was until I started putting more work into this show.
Speaking of: I know it's a Saturday night but I am going to go to sleep now so I can wake up early to work on two shows for Monday. Please don't envy me this rock star lifestyle - I put my pants on one leg at a time like you do. Although now you're making me feel that's the wrong way to do it. Should I be doing it two legs at a time? Three? Four?
See you in the a.m.
Friday, September 06, 2019
Thursday, September 05, 2019
How'd It Go?
When Self Help Radio was on Fridays, I wrote something on this blog for five days of the week, starting on Mondays. Now Self Help Radio is on Mondays. To write five times a week I need to shift the week ahead, what? Three days? So the first day I write is - well, it's Sunday, but that would be equivalent to the fourth day. Sundays are the new Thursdays. Or has that phraseology passed from use?
In any event. I'll be writing here from Thursday to Monday. On Monday, I'll put the show up after it has aired onto the Self Help Radio website. Monday is the new Friday. At least around here.
But you asked how it went. It went swimmingly. I had a blast. True, it was Labor Day morning & when I drove home - at 8:30 - they were as quiet as they were at 5:30 - maybe just a tad busier - but I suspect this Monday it'll be a different story.
Really, I felt so good after Monday's show, & it got even better. When I returned home, the wife was awake & acting weird. She told me to sit down & wait then went somewhere. I knew it was important because she took the car. She'll drive across town on a bike rather than drive.
When she got back, she brought me from a vegan donut shop around here called Doe Donuts this:
It's six donuts plus one donut hole that spell out the frequency of Freeform Portland plus "SHR" for you-know-what.
Sometimes she makes me feel loved. The "S" up there was a peanut butter & jelly donut. I ate it first. I mentioned just today that I had a peanut butter & jelly donut & he said, "I never knew such a thing existed but now I want it."
It bugs her, but I keep telling my wife: "How're you going to top last week this Monday?"
It's good to be back on the air. I hope I never leave.
In any event. I'll be writing here from Thursday to Monday. On Monday, I'll put the show up after it has aired onto the Self Help Radio website. Monday is the new Friday. At least around here.
But you asked how it went. It went swimmingly. I had a blast. True, it was Labor Day morning & when I drove home - at 8:30 - they were as quiet as they were at 5:30 - maybe just a tad busier - but I suspect this Monday it'll be a different story.
Really, I felt so good after Monday's show, & it got even better. When I returned home, the wife was awake & acting weird. She told me to sit down & wait then went somewhere. I knew it was important because she took the car. She'll drive across town on a bike rather than drive.
When she got back, she brought me from a vegan donut shop around here called Doe Donuts this:
It's six donuts plus one donut hole that spell out the frequency of Freeform Portland plus "SHR" for you-know-what.
Sometimes she makes me feel loved. The "S" up there was a peanut butter & jelly donut. I ate it first. I mentioned just today that I had a peanut butter & jelly donut & he said, "I never knew such a thing existed but now I want it."
It bugs her, but I keep telling my wife: "How're you going to top last week this Monday?"
It's good to be back on the air. I hope I never leave.
Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Self Help Radio 090219: Start Again
(It's not a new start, it's start again - oh never mind. Image from here.)
Hey, that was fun! I was up late Sunday working on the show & had about three hours sleep, but there's always something wonderful about doing Self Help Radio live. The last time I did that was actually not in Lexington, as you might imagine, but when I did two episodes (they were basically live versions of prerecorded shows that aired on WLXU) on KVRX at the end of 2017. That was exhilarating, this felt even better.
How or why I can't explain. Freeform Portland just feels like home. The show as it aired is now at Self Help Radio dot net & you'll need to use a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) to listen. I've divided the show into two parts again, I don't exactly know why, maybe if it'd annoying you can tell me. I think it's because the second hour needs a legal ID & so it's like a natural partition. The troubles with starting all over.
What's on the show is listed below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!
Self Help Radio Starts Again
"Start Again" Artisans _Why Popstars Can't Dance_
"Start Again" Tri-State _We Did What We Could Do_
"Start Again (live)" Echo & The Bunnymen _Crystal Days: 1979-1999_
introduction & a little history
"Start Again" Starlings _Valid_
"Start Again" Sounds Like Sunset _Saturdays_
"Lifeboat" Monty Python _Another Monty Python Record_
"Start Again" Bleeding Rainbow _Interrupt_
"Start Again" Bishop Allen _Lights Out_
interview with podcaster Zach Hightower
"Begin Again" California Snow Story _Close To The Ocean_
"Begin Again" Rocket 3 _Burn_
"Begin Again" Citrus Clouds _Imagination_
"Begin Again" Larry & His Flask _This Remedy_
interview with artist Cornelius Magnusson
"Rip It Up" Orange Juice _The Very Best Of Orange Juice_
"Start All Over Again" Smokey Joe _Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock & Roll, Vol. 1_
"Starting The Hurt All Over Again" Brenda Holloway _The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 7: 1967_
"I'll Begin Again" Sammy Davis Jr. _Now_
lawyer Bobcat Slone interrupts!
"Can't We Start Again" Les Poissons Solubles _Untitled Split 7" With Snowbirds_
"A New Beginning" Red Letter Day _Red Letter Day_
"A New Beginning" The Sweetest Ache _Rolling Meadows: Songs About Our Past, Vol. 2_
"Brand New Start" The Crookes _Lucky Ones_
interview with the Rev Dr Howard Gently
"It Started All Over Again" Brenda Lee _I Got A Woman: Gems From The Decca Vaults USA 1960-1961_
"Start Again" Look See Proof _Between Here & There_
"New Day, Fresh Start" Kicker _Our Wild Mercury Years_
"Start Anew" Acid House Kings _Mondays Are Like Tuesdays & Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays_
conclusion & goodbye
"Starting All Over Again" Mel & Tim _Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977_
"Why Not Start All Over Again" The Counts _What's Up Front That Counts_
Sunday, September 01, 2019
Whither Start Again?
(Image from here.)
"Start again"? Wait a second! I have two important questions here!
Okay, fire away.
One: didn't you already do a show about starting?
Yes, that show happened in 2015, & you can see the playlist by clicking here.
I knew it! & two: doesn't it say on your website "a new start"? Isn't that supposed to be the theme?
It does. However, I had completely forgotten I had originally done a "start" show.
Of course you did.
So it seemed wise to avoid what I had originally played by changing the theme to "start again."
How is that different?
You'll see.
See?
You'll hear.
When can I hear it?
Glad you asked! Tomorrow morning from 6-8am!
Where can I hear it?
In Portland at 90.3 + 89.3 fm, & online everywhere at Freeform Portland dot org.
Why can I hear it?
Because you have ears?
6am tomorrow - hey! That's like a little over half a day away!
Don't remind me!
Friday, August 30, 2019
Self Help Radio 083019: Indiepop A To Z # 60
(Most, if not all, of the images came from Discogs.)
Here it is, the latest indiepop a to z installment (we're at the letter N now). It's also the last pre-recorded Self Help Radio for a time, as Self Help Radio goes live on the air on Monday at 6am on Freeform Portland. It's exciting!
This show is full of twee & jangle & is a delight from start to finish. I can say that, because I was there. You can listen now & whenever at the Self Help Radio web site. Use the username SHR & pass the password selfhelp to listen. It's a bit over two hours long & look at the songs I played below!
Enjoy!
Self Help Radio Indiepop A To Z # 60
"Head Over Heels" My Raining Stars _From St. Saviour To Quickwell_
"To Live & Die In The Airport Lounge" My Teenage Stride _Ears Like Golden Bats_
"Sure, Bert" Mystic Chords Of Memory _Mystic Chords Of Memory_
"20.000 Veces" Nadadora _Dinámico Y Estático_
"Heh Someone" Names For Pebbles _Something Cool_
"1000 Tears" Mark Narkowicz _Library Records 1998 - 2003: Disc One, The 7" Single Years, 1998 - 2000_
"Love House" Nautical William _The Sound Of Leamington Spa, Vol. 4_
"Ghost" Neats _Neats_
"Get Away Sometimes" Neighborhood Dilemma _Shreds, Vol. 2: American Underground '94_
"So Long" Neil Armstrong _You Thought It Was The End Of The World When The Rain Ruined Your Hair_
"Plastic Sky" Nelories _Mellow Yellow Fellow Nelories_
"Hanging On The Telephone" The Nerves _One Way Ticket_
"Touch Wood" Nervous Curve _You Can't Be Loved Forever, Vol. 3_
"Don't Look" Nervus Rex _Singles: The Great New York Singles Scene_
"Make Believe" Netorare Fan Club _Make Believe_
"Holland, 1945" Neutral Milk Hotel _In The Aeroplane Over The Sea_
"Coconut Shampoo" Neverever _Angelic Swells_
"Turnaround" Neverland _Sometimes_
"Josh Has A Crush On A Femme From Reed" New Bad Things _Freewheel!_
"Age Of Consent" New Order _Power, Corruption & Lies_
"Trash" New York Dolls _New York Dolls_
"ExpoFacto15" New York School Poets _This Is Stereophonic Sunshine_
"Come Back To Edinburgh" The Newcolours _Be Serious!_
"The Jangling Man" Martin Newell _The Greatest Living Englishman_
"Holding On My Hand" The Newpolitans _Holding On My Hand/Ducktown 7"_
"An Englishman" Newsflash _The Sound Of Leamington Spa, Vol. 2_
"Feeling So Real" Next Time Passions _You Make Me Smile_
"Did I Do Wrong?" Nice System _Impractical Guide To The Opposite Sex_
"Hold On" Nightblooms _24 Days At Catastrofe Café_
"Acid In Your Face" The Nightjars _Acid In Your Face_
"Eddie Lopez Lives In Slough" Nine Steps To Ugly _The Sound Of Leamington Spa, Vol. 5_
"Bring On The Dancing Horses" Ninety Nine _Pretty In Pop_
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Whither Indiepop A To Z # 60?
Wow, sixty? Really? & what letter are we on? Finishing M? Starting N?
It's actually really fortuitous that this is the last show before Self Help Radio debuts on Portland radio, because if I had started the show early, I would not be doing an indiepop a to z. I would not have made something like this series my first or second or third show. I would've waited until December.
It just occurred to me that the very last Self Help Radio I did in Texas was an indiepop a to z episode. So it's been four months since then. I've missed a few weeks here & there, haven't I? That will not be an option for me going forward!
Anyway, I do this every four months. Until I die. I suspect the letter N will not take as many shows as the letter M. Just from what I've gathered for tomorrow's show.
& then, omigosh! It's another Self Help Radio in three days!
PS This is the 3,200th post on this blog. I wonder if anyone even reads these? Like, what did I write here six years ago? Shall I look? It's here.
August 29, 2013, was a Thursday, the day before an episode of Self Help Radio, & I was going to be doing Indiepop A To Z # 41. I was moving to Friday nights at ten. I forget why. No one really listened then. I think I worked better in the mornings. & guess what? I'm going back there Monday!
It's actually really fortuitous that this is the last show before Self Help Radio debuts on Portland radio, because if I had started the show early, I would not be doing an indiepop a to z. I would not have made something like this series my first or second or third show. I would've waited until December.
It just occurred to me that the very last Self Help Radio I did in Texas was an indiepop a to z episode. So it's been four months since then. I've missed a few weeks here & there, haven't I? That will not be an option for me going forward!
Anyway, I do this every four months. Until I die. I suspect the letter N will not take as many shows as the letter M. Just from what I've gathered for tomorrow's show.
& then, omigosh! It's another Self Help Radio in three days!
PS This is the 3,200th post on this blog. I wonder if anyone even reads these? Like, what did I write here six years ago? Shall I look? It's here.
August 29, 2013, was a Thursday, the day before an episode of Self Help Radio, & I was going to be doing Indiepop A To Z # 41. I was moving to Friday nights at ten. I forget why. No one really listened then. I think I worked better in the mornings. & guess what? I'm going back there Monday!
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Preface To This Week's Show: The Power Of No
There's something about me that you may not know: I'm a coward.
It was probably instilled in me - if it isn't something deep in my DNA - by my mother, the architect of much of what I am. She made me afraid of being hurt, which probably led to my fear of confrontation (which often leads to physical violence), which resulted in me being basically afraid of, you know, anything that might lead me to being beaten up, attacked, whatever.
That's not necessarily a bad thing - who wants to be a punching bag? But of course we as a culture admire the person that stands up & fights back. That's really not me.
The thing is, I often encounter folks who assert things - & usually they're in positions of authority - which I know are wrong. I will say to these people, "I don't think that's true." They will double down on their assertions. Tonight I came across that. I asked if there were evidence of the assertion, which was this: "It's been my experience in every place this came up."
If it seems I'm being vague, just understand it has to do with noncommercial radio & be thankful you're not bored by the details.
This has happened to me a lot recently. I am so tentative in my slight incursions into the different radio environments here in Portland that I make a simple suggestion & I recoil when met with a definitive no. The thing is - I am giving the power to that no. Most people will confidently say things as if speaking for an entire without really knowing what that group thinks. & I keep coming across that, again & again.
Do you know, I first became involved in radio about twenty-five years ago this month? It's true! & for that entire time I wish I could've just been this guy who did a show, didn't get too involved, helped out when he could, was a team player. But it's not me. I wanted to somehow make it easier for more people to get involved, for the station itself to thrive, for everyone to have the same experience I did.
This led to some problems but I think it's been more positive than not.
The reason to mention this is that I was at a meeting tonight where I was confronted with more "no" than "yes." I have decided I won't let this stop me anymore. I'm going to carefully ignore the "no" & focus on the "yes."
Might it be too early to do so? Probably. Will it be difficult? Oh sure.
Is it absolutely necessary for me? Oh yes.
It was probably instilled in me - if it isn't something deep in my DNA - by my mother, the architect of much of what I am. She made me afraid of being hurt, which probably led to my fear of confrontation (which often leads to physical violence), which resulted in me being basically afraid of, you know, anything that might lead me to being beaten up, attacked, whatever.
That's not necessarily a bad thing - who wants to be a punching bag? But of course we as a culture admire the person that stands up & fights back. That's really not me.
The thing is, I often encounter folks who assert things - & usually they're in positions of authority - which I know are wrong. I will say to these people, "I don't think that's true." They will double down on their assertions. Tonight I came across that. I asked if there were evidence of the assertion, which was this: "It's been my experience in every place this came up."
If it seems I'm being vague, just understand it has to do with noncommercial radio & be thankful you're not bored by the details.
This has happened to me a lot recently. I am so tentative in my slight incursions into the different radio environments here in Portland that I make a simple suggestion & I recoil when met with a definitive no. The thing is - I am giving the power to that no. Most people will confidently say things as if speaking for an entire without really knowing what that group thinks. & I keep coming across that, again & again.
Do you know, I first became involved in radio about twenty-five years ago this month? It's true! & for that entire time I wish I could've just been this guy who did a show, didn't get too involved, helped out when he could, was a team player. But it's not me. I wanted to somehow make it easier for more people to get involved, for the station itself to thrive, for everyone to have the same experience I did.
This led to some problems but I think it's been more positive than not.
The reason to mention this is that I was at a meeting tonight where I was confronted with more "no" than "yes." I have decided I won't let this stop me anymore. I'm going to carefully ignore the "no" & focus on the "yes."
Might it be too early to do so? Probably. Will it be difficult? Oh sure.
Is it absolutely necessary for me? Oh yes.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Griefitti
The other day I saw some graffiti on a doorway while driving home. There's lots of graffiti here in Portland. Most of it is just tags, you know, as it says in the Urban Dictionary, "a personal signature, usually vandalism with spraypaint, but can be any graffiti." I don't have any real opinion about the legality of graffiti, perhaps because I don't really believe in personal property; or rather, I feel there's tremendous truth in the anarchist slogan "property is theft." I of course judge it according to whether I like it. From my point of view, as someone with mostly nothing, I find the ways people deal with graffiti fascinating, & of course I find beautiful graffiti stunning.
Anyway, I saw this tag which was simply someone's name, mostly recognizable, written over & over, like a child might do in a workbook learning cursive, only, you know, this was on a doorway. & the name was the same of the name of a friend, so I took a picture (I was waiting at a light, & wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been - the doorway was sunken into the wall of the side of a building) & sent it to him. I asked, "Is this your tag? It seems sad."
I continued, "Not sad in execution, sad in feeling it is meant to convey." I guess I didn't want to offend him.
He hadn't responded, so I just wrote, "Sad tagger."
& then, "Griefitti."
This friend usually hates puns, says they're the lowest form of humor, but he acknowledged it was a nice word I had (possibly?) coined.
Last night a friend from an old radio station wrote to me about how he wasn't dealing very well with David Berman's death. I wrote what powerless words of consolation I could. As we get older, we carry more & more death behind us.
I should've encouraged him to get some spraypaint & work on his tag. He's an artist of sorts, I'm sure he'd make a good one (if he hasn't already). Mine would be simple & pretty sad in execution. Also, I'd get caught right away, possibly because I'd do something dumb like tag someplace nearby & write my name in very simple script.
& it would be my own name. Recently, in getting involved at Freeform Portland, I was asked what my "deejay name" was. I've never had a deejay name. I've always been just Gary. Now, of course, I'm referred to as "DJ Gary" in emails.
This began somewhere & ended somewhere else. Such is my mind these days.
Anyway, I saw this tag which was simply someone's name, mostly recognizable, written over & over, like a child might do in a workbook learning cursive, only, you know, this was on a doorway. & the name was the same of the name of a friend, so I took a picture (I was waiting at a light, & wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been - the doorway was sunken into the wall of the side of a building) & sent it to him. I asked, "Is this your tag? It seems sad."
I continued, "Not sad in execution, sad in feeling it is meant to convey." I guess I didn't want to offend him.
He hadn't responded, so I just wrote, "Sad tagger."
& then, "Griefitti."
This friend usually hates puns, says they're the lowest form of humor, but he acknowledged it was a nice word I had (possibly?) coined.
Last night a friend from an old radio station wrote to me about how he wasn't dealing very well with David Berman's death. I wrote what powerless words of consolation I could. As we get older, we carry more & more death behind us.
I should've encouraged him to get some spraypaint & work on his tag. He's an artist of sorts, I'm sure he'd make a good one (if he hasn't already). Mine would be simple & pretty sad in execution. Also, I'd get caught right away, possibly because I'd do something dumb like tag someplace nearby & write my name in very simple script.
& it would be my own name. Recently, in getting involved at Freeform Portland, I was asked what my "deejay name" was. I've never had a deejay name. I've always been just Gary. Now, of course, I'm referred to as "DJ Gary" in emails.
This began somewhere & ended somewhere else. Such is my mind these days.