Whither Racing?

a racing flag

I used to have a friend, he came out to me in 1987, he was the first (semi-) openly gay person I knew (although not, it turned out, the first gay person I knew, since later a couple of people I knew in high school came out).  He has nothing to do with racing, which is the theme of thing week's Self Help Radio, but as I thought about racing just now, having to write this blog entry, I thought about racing flags, like the one pictured above, & I remembered how this friend once told me & my buddy Joe (who also knew he was gay), he told us this:

"I don't like the word flag.  I don't know why."

My friend Joe started laughing & said, "It's because it sounds like fag!  You don't like being called fag!"

My gay friend said thoughtfully bit his lower lip, "No, that's not it."

But try as he might, he couldn't put his finger on his aversion to that word.

People become friends because they have something in common, & I did have a lot in common with my friend, & one of those things - which, even though I haven't spoken to him in years, I would bet is true - is that we both never attended any sort of race.  Not any track & field-type competition, not a car race, not even a horse race.

What!?  I live in Lexington, Kentucky, & I haven't gone to a horse race?!?  It's true.  Something about the "sport" makes me uncomfortable.  Actually, a lot of things.  I've spoken with people who work in the field & they assure me that (they always say "in their experience") the horses are treated with respect & love, but then there are articles like this one: "The Ugly Truth About Horse Racing," which have a journalistic objectivity that those invested in the horse racing world can't really have.

It makes it hard for me to actually motivate to go see a race - even if I could probably walk to the nearest track from my house.  I became vegetarian because I didn't want animals to have to die for my survival; I'd hate to enjoy the brutal treatment of animals for entertainment.

Nevertheless - without celebrating or going into specifics - Self Help Radio tomorrow morning will be about racing in general.  It's on from 7 to 9am on the 88.1 fm frequency if you're in Lexington, & online at wrfl dot fm.  (& you don't have to race to a radio or computer to hear it if it's on too early - I'll put it up on my website later in the day, promise!

Preface To Racing: No, Not Songs About Race

It's not that hard to find songs about racing but it's also not hard to find songs about race, & I didn't want to do a show about race.

I read a recent tweet somewhere that said (paraphrase) "In ten years marijuana & gay marriage will be legal but people will still hate black folk."

One time I was sitting around the dinner table at my sister's & someone said, "I don't know why they want us to learn about the Civil War.  It was so long ago, what's it got to do with today?"

I got to bust out my historical knowledge & say, "Everything about the Civil War is still around in our culture today!"

Which is my way of saying, yeah, that tweet is probably right.  If we haven't mended centuries of racial oppression in a hundred & fifty years, it'll probably not be fixed in a decade.

I am pessimistic about a whole swath of things, so feel free to ignore me.

But the songs will be about vroom vroom racing & stuff this week, not races & racism & that sort of thing.

Here's another negative tweet I read recently, this one by Brandon Baskin: "You're about 500 years, 7 colonized continents, and countless atrocities too late for the whole 'we're all one race' stuff."

Again, not about race, but racing.  That's my point.  That's all I meant to say.

Something I Like (Maybe You Will Like Too)

I like this person, Sarah Andersen.  Well, I know next-to-nothing about her - but I like her comics, especially what she calls "Sarah's Scribbles."  Maybe I wouldn't really like her if I knew her but there's something about her comics that makes me think I'd like her.  I've been reading comics, comic books, comic strips, etc., for a long time.  I think the people whose work I like best are people I'd like.

I could be wrong.  I met Dave Sim once.  I don't think I liked him all that much.  (He didn't like me very much, either.)

In any event, you can look at Sarah Andersen's comics here: sarahcandersen.com.  I recommend them.  Maybe you will like them as much as I do.

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Five

Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport

I've just put the fifth episode of my blues show, Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, up on the Self Help Radio website.  This episode is a lot of early piano blues.  Boogie woogie starts here.

Here's what I played:

"Barrel House Man" Will Ezell _Will Ezell (1927-1931)_
"Honky Tonk Train Blue" Meade Lux Lewis _The Boogie Woogie Boys_
"Alabama Strut (Ivy Smith, vocals)" Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport _Before The Blues, Vol. 3: The Early American Black Music Scene_

"Pine Top's Boogie Woogie" Clarence "Pine Top" Smith _Jazz In The Charts, Vol. 8: Ain't Misbehavin' 1928-1929_
"Walking Blues" Raymond Barrow _Really The Blues? A Blues History, 1893-1959, Vol. 1_
"Raised In The Alley Blues" Freddie Brown _Rare Paramount Blues (1926-1929)_
"Weary Heart Blues" James Wiggins _Classic Blues Accompanists_
"Broke Down Engine" Lonnie Clark _Down in Black Bottom: Lowdown Barrelhouse Piano_

"44 Blues" Roosevelt Sykes _1929-1941_
"On The Wall" Louise Johnson _Charley Patton: Essential Blues Friends_
"The Right String, But The Wrong Yo-Yo" Speckled Red _Complete Recorded Works 1929-1938_
"Ashes In My Whiskey" Walter Davis _Please Remember Me: 1930-1947_
"If You Haven't Any Hay Get Down The Road" Skip James _Hard Time Killin' Floor_

"Fat Mama Blues" Jabo Williams _Boogie Woogie & Barrelhouse Piano, Vol. 1 (1928-1932)_
"Midnight Hour Blues" Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell _Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 4 (1932-1934)_
"61 Highway" The Sparks Brothers _The Sparks Brothers 1932-1935_

Self Help Radio 061314: Lazy

Whew, doing a lazy radio show sure tuckered me out.  I think after this I'm going to nap.

If you didn't hear today's show - lazypants - you missed tons of great music, an interview with Curt Lack of Lazybones Magazine, a report from Marge Most at the 2014 Laziest Person In Lexington Pageant, & a great conversation with my spiritual mentor the Rev. Dr. Howard Gently about how not to be lazy!

The show is now available at the Self Help Radio website, or, for those too lazy to click more than once, here are the direct links: part I + part II.  A litany of lazy tunes is listed below.

Yawn!

(part one)

"Lazy" Marilyn Monroe _The Voice, Songs & Films Of Marilyn Monroe_
"Lazy" The Nuns _The Nuns_
"Lazy" Moe Tucker _I Spent A Week There The Other Night_

"Lazy" Daniel Johnston _Songs Of Pain_
"Lazy" The Primitives _Lazy 1986 - 1988_
"Lazy" Love & Rockets _Earth Sun Moon_
"Lazy" It's A Musical _The Music Makes Me Sick_

"Lazybones" Louis Armstrong _The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935-46)_
"Too Lazy" T-Bone Walker _The Original Source_
"Lazy Boogaloo" George Guzman _Explosivos (Deep-Soul From The Latin Heart)_
"Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days Of Summer" Tex Williams _Those Lazy Hazy Days_

"Just Lazy" The Footprints _You Got A Ticket To A Mobile_
"I'm So Lazy" Let's Wrestle _Nursing Home_
"We're Selfish & Lazy & Greedy" Go-Kart Mozart _Instant Wigwam & Igloo Mixture_

(part two)

"Lazy Life (Of No Fixed Identity)" Super Furry Animals _Hometown Unicorn_
"Striving For The Lazy Perfection" The Orchids _Striving For The Lazy Perfection_
"Lazy Miss Daisy" The Bartlebees _What Is It All About?_

"Lazy Day" The Boo Radleys _Everything's Alright Forever_
"Lazy Day" Beach Fossils _Beach Fossils_
"Lazy Days" Cali Giraffes _All My Life 7"_
"Lazy May" Essex Green _The Long Goodbye_

"The Devil Ain't Lazy" Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys _San Antonio Rose_
"Lazy Man's Lament" Carroll County Ramblers _More Of The Carroll County Ramblers_
"Lazy Fat People" The Barron Knights _Lazy Fat People_
"Lazy Boys" Nuclear Regulatory Commission _Lazy Boys_

"Lazy Line Painter Jane" Belle & Sebastian _Lazy Line Painter Jane_
"Lazy Heart" Black Tambourine _Black Tambourine_

Whither Lazy?

"'Tis the voice of a sluggard -- I heard him complain:
'You have wak'd me too soon, I must slumber again.'"
(Isaac Watts, 1674 - 1748)

Oh man, I'm the sluggard in that quote!  I nap too much.  I have a list of things - easy things, simple tasks - that I try to get through every day, & I rarely finish that list.

For example, writing in this blog is on that list, & look - it's after 7pm as I write this.  The lazy show will air in roughly twelve hours!  How lame is that?

Anyway - you see - it's the lazy show on Self Help Radio tomorrow from 7 to 9am on 88.1 fm in  Lexington & online at wrfl dot fm.  If you're too lazy to wake up - I totally understand - I'll put it on my website around noon.

Unless I get a case of the lazies.

Peter Dinklage With A Mullet

high school is hard

Today is the birthday of awesome actor Peter Dinklage, whose amazing work in Game Of Thrones makes the nerd in me so incredibly happy, even if it appears his character is about to die.  (No spoilers!)

For the record, he's a year younger than I am.  So it's nice to have a slightly embarrassing high school picture to show for his birthday, knowing all the while he's always going to be more amazing than I am.

I never had a mullet in high school.  If he & I had gone to the same school, I'd be either one or two years ahead of him (summer birth children were often put in the class after their birth-months).  He looks like he was part of the decade he was in, the 1980s (latter half).  I looked then, as I look now, like a slovenly boy who'll never grow up who wears whatever someone left around for him to wear.  Like now, I would let my hair grow until it was too much to deal with & then get it cut off.  I have only been to barbers a few times in my life - lately, I get the wife to cut my hair, & in the old days, it was usually a friend.

My shabbiness extends to my facial hair.  Although I cut that myself.

In my high school, if you had a hint of stubble, some male authority figure - usually a vice-principal - would make you go to the nurse's office & shave, with just soap & a razor that had been there for years.  Ha ha, that'll teach us personal grooming!

That's one thing Peter Dinklage & I probably had in common in high school - we shaved every morning!

Happy birthday to him!

The Lute, Maligned

a lute

I don't know what it is about the lute that draws my derision.  If someone these days, for example, wants to sing the praises of Sting (the dude who used to be in the Police), I will usually say something snide about him in reference to his lute music.  "He can't be in the new Constantine television show," I might say, "because he has ten more albums of lute music to record."

So today I was reading about the lute & beginning to feel a little more sympathetic to it.  In particular, I was saddened by the late developments of lute which had as many as thirteen strings, making it difficult to play & hard to keep in tune.  I also felt sad that, as its popularity waned, some folks transformed their lutes into guitars.  Could there be anything more insulting to a musical instrument than someone making it into a different musical instrument?  It's like your partner loving you more after plastic surgery.  The decline of anything makes me feel sympathetic, since I myself was born in decline, & things continue to get worse.

But then, on the Wikipedia's page on the lute, I read this:

The player of a lute is called a lutenist, lutanist, "lewtist" or lutist.

Really?  Fuckin' REALLY?

Every other musical instrument player is happy to add an -ist suffix to their instrument & go to town.  Violinist.  Pianist.  Clarinetist.  Who the hell do lutists - the only name they should use, & certainly not "lewtists" - think they are to add a whole other syllable to their name to make themselves sound more important?  Lutenist?  Are you sure you don't mean Ludenist, one who makes Luden's lozenges?  For fuck's sake.

That clinches it for me.  Sympathy all gone.  Lutes suck.

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Four

Ishman Bracey

Here's the fourth episode of my blues show, Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, which airs the hour before Self Help Radio.  This episode focuses on the Delta blues originators.

It's available now on the Self Help Radio website.  The list of artists & songs I played is below.

"Low-Down Mississippi Bottom Man" Freddie Spruell _The Paramount Masters_
"Trouble Hearted Blues" Ishman Bracey _Legends Of Country Blues: The Complete Pre-War Recordings Of Ishman Bracey_
"Blue Harvest Blues" Mississippi John Hurt _Hard Times Come Again No More, Vol. 1_

"Canned Heat Blues" Tommy Johnson _Canned Heat (1928 - 1929)_
"Screamin' & Hollerin' The Blues" Charley Patton _Founder Of The Delta Blues (1929-1935)_
"Mississippi Bottom Blues" Kid Bailey _Pure Vintage Blues: Future Blues_
"Over To My House" Elvie Thomas & Geeshie Wiley _Going Away Blues_
"Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" Skip James _The Complete Early Recordings Of 1930_

"My Black Mama, Pt. 1 & 2" Son House _Blues Images Presents 1920's Blues Classics, Vol. 2_
"Future Blues" Willie Brown _The Greatest In Country Blues (1929-1956), Vol. 1_
"All Around Man" Bo Carter _Them Dirty Blues_
"Too Long" Charlie McCoy _Charlie McCoy (1928-1932)_

"My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon" King Solomon Hill _Mississippi Blues: Rare Cuts 19_
"Rambling On My Mind" Robert Johnson _The Complete Recordings_

Self Help Radio 060614: Needles

Agh!  I wish I had used a pin cushion!  Lots of pinpricks all over my fingers!  Ow!

Self Help Radio's show about needles (very pointy!) is available now for listening to at the show's website.  I think it's fun - in addition to an interview with Nick Ramirez of Needles, California, & a visit with my spiritual advisor, the Rev. Dr. Howard Gently, I get a phone call from Tania & her imaginary friend!  & they sing a song!!

Want to go directly to the show?  Here's part I & here's part II.  The songs I play are listed below.

Thanks for listening & be careful!

(part one)

"Needles In The Camel's Eye" Brian Eno _Here Come The Warm Jets_
"Silver Threads & Golden Needles" Everly Brothers _The Price Of Fame_
"One Iddy Biddy Needle (& A Little Bit Of Thread)" Freddie Scott _Mr Heartache: The Best Of Columbia Recordings_

"Needle Of Death" Bert Jansch _Bert Jansch_
"The Needle & The Damage Done" Henry Kaiser _The Bridge: A Tribute To Neil Young_
"Dirty Needles" Screeching Weasel _Short Music For Short People_
"Busy Needles" Bearsuit _Team Ping Pong_
"The Perfect Needle" Telescopes _Scared To Get Happy: The Story Of Indie Pop 1980-1989_

"Aunty Nanny Thread The Needle" Children Of Nevis & St. Kitts _Caribbean Voyage: Nevis & St. Kitts Tea Meetings_
"Needle Sing" Woody Guthrie _Songs To Grow On For Mother & Child_
"If I Had A Needle & Thread" Shirley Bassey _Burn My Candle: The Complete Early Years 1956-58_
"Hey, Bobba Needle" Chubby Checker _20 Twistin' Hits_
"Needle In A Haystack" The Velvelettes _Hitsville USA_

"Needles & Pins" Flat Duo Jets _Bonograph_
"Needle Time" Elvis Costello & The Imposters _The Delivery Man_

(part two)

"Thread The Needle" Al White & The Hi-Liters _Jerk! Shake! & Vibrate!_
"Needle In The Hay" Elliot Smith _The Royal Tenenbaums OST_

"Pins & Needles (In My Heart)" Ray Price & The Cherokee Cowboys _The Honky Tonk Years 1950-1966_
"Pins & Needles" The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir _The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir_
"Pins & Needles" Who's Gerald? _Young Blood_
"Needle & Thread" Richard Thompson _Sweet Warrior_

"Thread The Needle" Clarence & Calvin _The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973_
"Thread Your Needle" Dave Edmunds _Tracks On Wax 4_
"Needle Mythology" Duffy _Duffy_

"Needle's Eye" Heidi Berry _Pomegranate: An Anthology_
"Needle's Eye" Jean Ritchie _Field Trip_
"Thin As A Needle" Starflyer 59 _Ghosts Of The Past_

Whither Needles?

I don't know why I've decided to do a radio show about needles.  These things happen.  I am not & never have been an IV drug user.  In fact, when I am at a doctor's office, & I have to have my blood drawn, I tell the phlebotomist to let me lie down, look the other way, & not talk about what he or she is doing; otherwise I may faint.  My addiction to heroin would be doomed from the start.

As well, I don't sew.  Occasionally, I think about taking it up.  Recently, wanting to mend a hole in a pair of shorts, I looked up "how to sew" on the webs.  It turns out it's a little more complicated than threading a needle & looking at an online chart.  I pretty much decided at that point that I'd probably never really learn how to sew.

The only thing that comes close is a turntable needle - & I confess I don't use the old turntable as much as I used to.  I've probably mentioned this before: I miss vinyl.  I miss the size of records, the feel, the album art, the giant lyric sheets.  Aesthetically, they're the best.  The shitty CD booklet & the sterile little compact disc will never compare favorably.

It's just - it's complicated to play vinyl.  Digital music is so much more convenient.  I've digitized a lot of my vinyl - a time-intensive process that's not too much fun - & it's made it easier for me to "carry" it up to do radio shows.  (It's also tarnished me in the eyes of vinyl lovers - when I deejayed an outdoor thing at RFL a couple of years ago, one of the directors there said, "Deejaying from a laptop - yuck."  But the station doesn't own a deejay kit with CDs - it's either vinyl, or a laptop or iPod.)

The show will celebrate needles, but I'm not someone who thinks about needles in a celebratory way.  But hey!  When I think about doing a show about needles, I immediately think about the sample from "Pump Up The Volume" that goes, Put the needle on the record.  So maybe vinyl was the inspiration after all.

It's happening tomorrow morning from 7 to 9am on 88.1 fm WRFL in Lexington, & online at wrfl dot fm.  I hope I haven't been needling you too much with all this needle talk - but - it's appropriate.

Preface To Needles: Bad Weather

As I write this, there's a thunderstorm bearing down on us & a tornado warning & god knows what else(*).  Here's what the radar looks like:

I have to feed the animals in a second & I don't think a couple of the cats are going to even come out of hiding.  Of course, the gluttons in the house (the male cats) would eat if we were on a boat in stormy seas.

It's funny, the sky was ominous & goofy all day today but there were no storms - they went above us & below us.  Well, they're here now!

I have been listening to needle songs all day.  I have been arranging for a couple of interviews for the show on Friday.  I have not once did anything with any needles, not even a phonograph needle.  It was all digital.

I confess I'd like to do driving around in this bad weather - but the wife & hungry animals won't let me!

(*) According to the Weather Underground website, relaying info from National Weather Service, this is what else:

"Strong thunderstorms with dangerous lightning...torrential rain... and 40 mph winds...

Continuous cloud to ground lightning...torrential rain reducing visibilities...and gusty winds of around 35 to 40 mph...are expected with these storms.

Torrential rainfall is occurring. Expect ponding of water on local roadways. Drivers should slow down and turn on their headlights if encountering heavy rains."

All Kinds Of Needles

There are lots of kinds of needles.  The show this week is about needles.  I only thought of basically three kinds of needles: needles for sewing, needles for syringes, & of course phonograph needles.  I had no idea there were so many different kinds of needles for sewing.  The same can be said for the kind of needles that one uses with syringes.  Is the same thing true for phonograph needles?  Luckily someone has answered this questions for me.

The wife thinks I am squeamish & possibly thinks I have a fear of needles.  The fear of needles, according to the Wikipedia, is known variously as aichmophobia, belonephobia, or enetophobia.  If you read the Wikipedia article, you will learn that most of the ways they treat needle-fear is to find a different way to administer whatever medicine one needs other than through needle.  It makes me, a consummate Star Trek geek, think immediately of the hypospray.  In that article I just linked to, it links to this report: MIT Builds A Needle-Free Drug Injector.  For the sake of people who hate needles, I hope this assertion is true: "The future of medicine could be needle-free."

Unfortunately, Self Help Radio this week is not needle-free.  But the needles you will encounter will not break the skin.  In fact, all the needles will be conceptual, & ingredients of songs & talk.  There is nothing to fear, except maybe not liking the show.

Please enjoy this small collage of the three different kinds of needle discussed above:

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Three

Sippie Wallace

Once again, before Friday's Self Help Radio, I brought Lexington another hour of old scratchy blues on my show Woke Up Early One Morning Blues.  This week I played some singles released in 1927.

You can listen to the show now or whenever you'd like at Self Help Radio Dot Net, which is where I archive my shows.  The playlist is below.  Hope you like.

"Honey In The Rock" Blind Mamie Forehand _A Soul Chronology, Vol. 1: 1927-1951_
"James Alley Blues" Richard "Rabbit" Brown _Blues From The Western States 1927-1949_
"I'm A Mighty Tight Woman" Sippie Wallace _Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1925-1945)_

"John Henry" Henry Thomas _Texas Worried Blues (Complete Recorded Works 1927-29)_
"T.B. Blues" Victoria Spivey _Victoria Spivey Vol. 1 1926-1927_
"If You Don't Like It Like I Want It Done (I'll Get Somebody Else)" Laura Smith _Laura Smith Vol. 1 (1924-1927)_
"Ninety-Nine Year Blues" Julius Daniels _Prison Blues_
"Cow Cow Blues" Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport _Cow Cow Davenport Vol. 1 (1925-1929)_

"Dyin' Crap-Shooter's Blues" Martha Copeland _Martha Copeland Vol. 1 (1923-1927)_
"All That I Had Is Gone" James P. Johnson _Perry Bradford & The Blues Singers (1923-1927)
"Church Bells Blues" Luke Jordan _Raggin' The Blues: Essential East Coast Blues_
"Barbecue Blues" Barbecue Bob _Barbecue Bob Vol. 1 (1927 - 1928)_
"Southern Man Blues" Walter Beasley _Sylvester Weaver Vol. 2 (1927)_

"Mamlish Blues" Ed Bell _Complete Recorded Works (1927-1930)_
"Levee Blues" Lucille Bogan _Lucille Bogan Vol. 1 (1923-1930)_
"New Prison Blues" Peg Leg Howell _Atlanta Blues: Big City Blues From The Heartland_

Self Help Radio 053014: Afternoon

An afternoon show in the morning?!?  Who greenlights this nonsense?

Oh, I suppose, if you must listen to it, you can, now, at the Self Help Radio web presence.  If you can't bear to go there, you can access the show directly by clicking part I or part II.  In addition to the songs listed below, you'll get to hear a song sung over the phone by Tania Rivas, interviews with poet David Fruchter & spiritual guru Howard Gently, & a surprise visit by Werful, the WRFL monster.  It may take all afternoon to digest it all.

Have a great afternoon!

(part one)

"Afternoon" Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers _Rock 'n' Roll With The Modern Lovers_
"The Afternoon" The Apples In Stereo _The Discovery Of A World Inside The Moone_
"All Day Afternoon" The Judybats _Pain Makes You Beautiful_

"Good Afternoon" Honey Smugglers _Besides Which EP_
"In The Afternoon" Revolving Paint Dream _Creation Soup, Vol. 1_
"In The Late Afternoon" The American Revolution _The American Revolution_
"Sunny Afternoon" The Kinks _Face To Face_

"Sunday Afternoons" Cleaners From Venus _Golden Cleaners_
"Sunday Afternoon In Belgrave Square" Trevor Billmuss _Fading Yellow, Vol. 8_
"Any Day's A Sunday Afternoon" The Collage _The Collage_
"Lazy Sunday Afternoon" Toy Dolls _Cheerio & Toodlepip!_

"My Favourite Wet Wednesday Afternoon" The Siddeleys _Slum Clearance_

(part two)

"Afternoon In Bed" The Bats _Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres_
"Perfect Afternoon" The Softies _It's Love_
"The Opposite Of Afternoon" Unknown Mortal Orchestra _II_

"Gestern Nachmittag" Helen Shapiro _Immer Die Boys_
"Bugles In The Afternoon" Lee Hazlewood _The Very Special World Of Lee Hazlewood_
"Heaven In The Afternoon" Belle & Sebastian _The Third Eye Centre_
"Autumn Afternoon" Acid House Kings _Pop, Look & Listen!_

"Cloudy Summer Afternoon" Bill & Boyd _Cloudy Sunny Afternoon_
"Rainy Afternoon" Mrs. Kipling _Change_
"It Rained On Monday Afternoon" The Hit Parade _With Love From The Hit Parade_
"English Afternoon" Bob Lind _You Might Have Heard My Footsteps: The Best Of Bob Lind_

"Two In The Afternoon" Dino, Desi, & Billy _The Complete Singles_
"Afternoon Glare" The Storybook People _Do You Believe (1394)_
"Mid-Winter's Afternoon" Liberation News Service _A Deadly Dose Of Wylde Psych_

Whither Afternoon?

As I write this, the afternoon is four hours old, & it's been a warm, lovely day.  It rained a little as we drove to Louisville to visit the vet that looked at our little beagle, Winston, & the news was cautiously good.  We listened to the 500th episode of Marc Maron's WTF Podcast, & it's one of those things that the wife & I often stop at different points to talk about.  He certainly puts himself out there in a way that I can't ever imagine doing.

The clouds burnt away & it was sunny when we got home, but the wife & I decided to nap away the afternoon, since we had to wake up early & drive an hour away, but also because we're fans of naps.  Now I'm awake, &, since I live next-door to a daycare, I can hear children playing as well as the whirr of ceiling fans in the house, & around me the animals in my life are sleeping until they decide they need to go out, or bug me for food, or demand love from me.  Meanwhile, I'm wasting the afternoon putting my show together.

My wife is one the phone in the bedroom with a colleague, & I just heard her say, "In the afternoon…" in reference to a meeting.

Unfortunately, Self Help Radio's show about the afternoon will air in the morning, from 7 to 9am tomorrow (Friday) on 88.1 fm WRFL in Lexington.  (Or online if you click that link there.)  If you're not up until the afternoon, never fear!  I'll have it up sometime around noon - or the afternoon at the latest.

I couldn't do otherwise.

Preface To Afternoon: Mindset

I might have mentioned - I did mention - that I was going to visit my mother this weekend in Dallas, so I handed the show off to my pal Daryl who was going to show everyone how terrible I do my own radio show.  In fact, as I write this, I was supposed to be on the road, perhaps even arriving in Memphis, where we were going to have yummy Ethiopian food.  Instead, I am making dinner for the wife & trying to catch up on songs I usually would've spent the weekend listening to.

What happened is our little pooch, Winston, got ill.  We've been watching him very closely & will be taking him tomorrow to a specialist in Louisville.  I think he'll be fine - he's been getting progressively better - but there's a better-safe-that-sorry attitude that one should have with beings that can't ever tell you exactly what's ailing them, that encourages me to visit a vet who'll understand his signs much better than I ever will.

It has meant, however, that I haven't really had the proper mindset for working on a radio show.  Which can be puzzling - I knew we weren't leaving on Sunday.  & yet - I've been working on the show off & on since then & I still haven't gotten much done.  I'll probably be working on it into the evening on Thursday.

Which reminds me - how long have I been doing this?  It's twelve years this August!  It's the closest thing to a regular job I have - & I still don't have much of a process for it?  What the hell?

There are a lot of good "afternoon" songs, though.  I will have a tough time picking which ones to play.

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Two

Blind Willie Johnson

Last Friday, before Self Help Radio, I produced another hour of my country blues program, Woke Up Early One Morning Blues.  This hour focused on early gospel & religious-themed recordings.

The show is now available for your listening pleasure (scratchy, hissy, old bakelite vinyl-y) at the Self Help Radio website.  I hope you enjoy.  What I played is below.

"Woke Up This Morning With My Mind On Jesus" Blind Roosevelt Graves & Brother _The Rough Guide To Gospel Blues Legends_
"John The Revelator" Blind Willie Johhnson _Anthology Of American Folk Music_
"God Give Me A Light" Louisville Sanctified Singers _Gospel Classics_

"I'm Gonna Cross The River Of Jordan Some O' These Days" Jaybird Coleman _Ten Years Of Black Country Religion 1926-1936_
"God Don't Like It" Blind Willie & Kate McTell _Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 (1933-1935)_
"Shall We Gather At The River" Uncle Dave Macon & His Fruit Jar Drinkers _The Half Ain't Never Been Told, Vol. 1_
"Shout All Over God's Heaven" Fisk Jubilee Singers _Folk Song America: A 20th Century Revival_
"Paul & Silas In Jail" Washington Phillips _I Am Born To Preach The Gospel_

"I'll Lead A Christian Life" Golden P. Harris _Before The Blues, Vol. 2: The Early American Black Music Scene_
"Noah & The Flood" Norman Haskins _Deep River Of Song: Virginia & The Piedmont - Minstrelsy, Work Songs, & Blues (1934-1942)_
"Heaven Is My View" Bo Weavil Jackson _Backwoods Blues (1926-1935)_
"Sinner You'll Need King Jesus" William & Versey Smith _The Songster Tradition Complete Works (1927-1935)_
"River Of Jordan" The Carter Family _Wildwood Flower_

"Hard Times" Elder Curry & His Congregation _Hard Times Come Again No More, Vol. 1_
"Lamb's Blood Has Washed Me Clean" Arizona Dranes _Arizona Dranes (1926-1929)_
"Lover Of The Lord" Huggins & Phillips Sacred Harp Singers _Goodbye, Babylon_

Happy Memorial Day!

Remember when I said that I'd be off this week because I was going to visit the Mother in Dallas?

Well, plans change.  One of our hounds has been under the weather.

So - a new Self Help Radio & a new Woke Up Early One Morning Blues this Friday!

Now - back to snoozing.

Self Help Radio 052314: Walls

Walls went up today on Self Help Radio!  Walls were breached!  Walls were erected & walls came tumbling down!  It was a whole lot of work for some rightly pissed-off bricklayers.  I'm surprised I didn't get a mouthful of mortar!

You can now feel cooped up between four walls by listening to the show at Self Help Radio web central.  There are direct links, too, if you can't be bothered to click a couple more times: part I | part II.  The songs I played are below.

Have a happy Memorial Day weekend!

(part one)

"Walls" Flowers _Icehouse_
"Walls" Red Letter Day _Table & Chairs_
"Walls" Shout Out Louds _Work_

"At Home With The Walls" The Passmore Sisters _Violent Blue_
"Tear Down The Walls" Fred Neil & Vince Martin _Tear Down The Walls_
"Break Down The Walls" Mikey Dread _Beyond World War III_
"Green Walls" Toy Love _Cuts_

"Yellow Walls" Jackson C. Frank _Blues Run The Game_
"I'm In Love With My Walls" Birdland With Lester Bangs _Birdland With Lester Bangs_
"Ideas For Walls" Men Without Hats _Rhythm Of Youth_
"Round These Walls" The Tokey Tones (& Friends) _Stroke: Songs For Chris Knox_

"Hello Walls" Faron Young _Essential Hits_
"(Empty Walls) A Lonely Room" Bob Luman _Livin', Lovin' Sounds_

(part two)

"Four Walls" Jim Reeves _He'll Have To Go & Other Hits_
"Hello Walls # 2" Ben Colder _The Best Of Ben Colder_
"I'm Gonna Paper All My Walls With Your Love Letters" Dean Martin _The Capitol Years_

"Singing Rule Brittania (While The Walls Close In)" The Chameleons _What Does Anything Mean? Basically_
"Walls Come Tumbling Down!" The Style Council _Our Favourite Shop_
"Breakin' Down The Walls Of Heartache" The Bandwagon _The Northern Soul Story, Vol. 2_
"Poison In The Walls" The Go-Betweens _Bright Orange Bright Yellow_

"Walking Into Walls" Honeybunch _Time Trials: 1987-1995_
"Cathedral Walls" Big Red Bus _The Sound Of Leamington Spa, Vol. 1_
"White Walls, Quiet Halls" The Mabels _The Closest People_
"The Concrete & The Walls" Elf Power _Elf Power_

"TVs & Walls" Moped _The Horrible Truth About Moped_
"Tear Down These Walls" 1919 _The Complete Collection_

Whither Walls?

How many walls must I have about me, that I think to do a radio show about walls?  Walls from my awful adolescence, walls to protect & walls to defend, walls to obscure & walls to confuse.  What walls have been built that I haven't even been aware of, but exist nonetheless.  My therapist's children's children will go to college thanks to me!

Well, I'm not sure how we'll examine walls on tomorrow's show, just sure of there being fine music like you expect from Self Help Radio, plus wackiness mixed with tedium.  Equals same old thing.

What?  I'm not good at selling my show!  My therapist tells me it's a defense mechanism.

Tomorrow morning from 7 to 9am on 88.1 fm in Lexington, & online everywhere at wrfl dot fm.  I'll put the show online afterwards.

Oh, & remember!  A new episode of Woke Up Early One Morning Blues at 6am!

Preface To Walls: Ceilings & Floors

I googled this: "How is a wall different than a floor or a ceiling?"  All the responses involved doing similar things (like soundproofing) to all three parts, rather than even venturing a guess at the differences between the three.

This is intolerable.

Imagine, if you will, a world in which everything is turned on its side.  In such a world, two of our walls would become the floor & the ceiling, while the floor & the ceiling would unceremoniously become walls.

How would each part adjust to its new circumstance?  I can think of a few troubling scenarios.

First of all, doors, which are commonly found mostly in walls, would be a little useless if now on the floor (unless there's a basement).  Were doors to end up on the ceiling, well, it would make answering the door even more of a chore than it currently is.

Furthermore, cellar doors or trap doors, or even skylights, will probably make poor door choices for the new world which is on its side.

Here's another thing: plumbing.  I don't know much about plumbing but it does seem to me that the pipes that I assume are what people talk about when they talk about plumbing would not increase one's property value should they be sticking boldly out of the side of the house rather than into the ground where they (again, I am assuming this) connect in a fascinating way to the sewer.

& I bet you've thought of this one: in larger buildings, which is to say those with many floors, or "stories," the walls when the building is on its side will be much, much larger than the ceiling & floor.  This would cause places where building grew up instead of out because of space restrictions to become completely clogged, with no room for bike lanes or promenades or any of the things that make city life worth tackling.

I am no architect nor private detective so I can't begin to truly understand the severe differences between floors, ceilings, & walls, & it bothers me like bug bite that someone with more know-how hasn't tackled this issue before.

It's your time, young genius!  Do it quickly, though - one never knows when the world will be turned on its side!

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode One

Bessie Smith, Empress Of The Blues

As I keep mentioning because I don't really believe anyone listens to me (thanks Mom!), I am doing a show this summer called Woke Up Early One Morning Blues.  It's a pre-war blues show, focusing on the country blues but, because the genre hadn't really been defined yet, it's something of a free-for-all genre wise.  Or it can be.

This past week's show is available for listening if you're interested at SHR web central.  I hope it's nice to hear.  Here's what was heard to those who were there to hear:

"Crazy Blues" Mamie Smith _Mamie Smith Vol. 1 (1920-1921)_
"Arkansas Blues" Lucille Hegamin _Lucille Hegamin Vol. 1 (1920-1922)_
"Give Me That Old Slow Drag" Trixie Smith _Trixie Smith Vol. 1 (1922-1924)_

"'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" Bessie Smith _The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1_
"Bo-Weavil Blues" Ma Rainey _Mother Of The Blues_
"Shake That Thing" Papa Charlie Jackson _Papa Charlie Jackson Vol. 1 (1924 - 1926)_
"Black Snake Blues" Victoria Spivey _Fattenin' Frogs For Snakes: The Essential Recordings Of The Blues Ladies_
"Black Snake Moan" Blind Lemon Jefferson _The Rough Guide To Blind Lemon Jefferson_

"Singin' The Blues" Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra _Ken Burns Jazz_
"Georgia On My Mind" Mildred Bailey _The Early Years_
"Stack O'Lee" Mississippi John Hurt _Avalon Blues: The 1928 Sessions_
"I'm So Glad" Skip James _Complete Early Recordings Of 1930_
"Last Kind Words Blues" Geeshie Wiley _American Primitive: Pre-War Revenants 1897-1939, Vol. 2_

"Bull Cow Blues" Big Bill Broonzy _Essential Blues Friends_
"Milk Cow Blues" Kokomo Arnold _Milk Cow Blues_
"Strut That Thing" Cripple Clarence Lofton _Broke, Black & Blue, Vol. 3: Good Whiskey Blues

Sorry, Another Wasted Day

I don't know how I lose days like today.  Today was all about the pets - a sick pup & a sick kitten.  I didn't even shower today, that's how disgusting I am.

Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll try to be more on the ball.  Here's something I found on the internets to amuse you:

Self Help Radio 051614: Push

Don't push the panic button!  No one got hurt as Self Help Radio returned to RFL Mornings!  Or are you trying to push my buttons?  A show in which I interview not only the "push button king of the American Southwest" but also spiritual guru Howard Gently can't be all bad.  Plus, our old friend Pushy stops by!

You can listen now at Self Help Radio Web Site Place.  Or, should you not want to wait for the one graphic on that page to load (who has the time?), you can listen directly, I've made it easy for you: part one is here, part two is here.  What songs did I play?  They're listed below.

As always, thanks for listening!

(part one)

"The Push" Silhouettes _Complete Package_
"Push (live)" The Woggles _Flaming Burn Out! An Estrus Benefit Comp_
"Push" The Chills _Brave Words_
"Push" The Cure _The Head On The Door_

"Push" Liquid Liquid _Liquid Liquid_
"Push" Black Ice _I Judge The Funk_
"Push" One Way _Love Is... One Way_
"Push" Red Lorry Yellow Lorry _Talk About The Weather_

"Push De Button" Lena Horne _The Lady & Her Music: Live On Broadway_
"Push A Little Button" Ninette Hartley _Push A Little Button_
"Push Button Geoff" Miss Ludella Black & The Masonics _From This Witness Stand_
"Pushing Buttons" The Mendoza Line _I Like You When You're Not Around_

"Push Push" Austin Taylor _Teenage Crush, Vol. 5_

(part two)

"Push Push" Rumbles Ltd. _Push Push_
"Push Push" Lloyd & Devon _Studio One Disco Mix_
"Push Push" Brick _Waiting On You_

"Push It" Salt-N-Pepa _Hot, Cool & Vicious_
"Do The Push & Pull (Part 1)" Rufus Thomas _The Very Best Of Rufus Thomas_
"Keep On Pushing" The Impressions _The Very Best Of The Impressions_
"Pushin' Too Hard (Rehearsal)" Seeds _Travel With Your Mind_

"Push A Little Harder" The Avons _Push A Little Harder_
"You Gotta Push" Jody Gayles _Soul Diva Sessions_
"You Just Can't Push Me (demo)" The Cars _The Cars_
"Push & Shove" Cud _When In Rome Kill Me_

"Pushover" Bearsuit _Pushover_
"Pushover" Etta James _Queen Of Soul_

Whither Push?

I can't often trace the inception of a show idea - I create a folder on my desktop with a theme, & start sticking songs & ideas into it.  But I know where this show idea came from.

It happened a while back - when I was subbing a show on WRFL, probably last year.  Now, I know you're thinking, "Hey, didn't you say you knew where this show idea came from?  It was in the previous sentence!"

Well, all right, I know where it came from, just not when.  All right?  Sheesh.

So - where was I?  Oh yeah.  Late night sub.  Someone called.  They said, "Can you play 'Push It' by Salt-N-Pepa?"  I said what I always say - oh, & I mean it seriously - I say, "I'll play it if I can find it!"

I didn't find it.  Luckily, most people don't call back & yell at me when I can't find their requests.  But when I got home, I was looking through my CDs & there it was - not at the radio station - "Hot, Cool & Vicious."  So I said to myself, "Hey, I should do a show where I can plat 'Push It'!"

It languished, the idea, until I decided to return to RFL.  So, for my first show, I'll be fulfilling a request that was made over six months ago.

I hope the person who made the request is listening!  (Though I know he won't be.)

Tomorrow!  From 7 to 9 am on 88.1 fm on 88.1 fm WRFL in Lexington, & online at wrfl.fm.  (Plus, remember, the premiere of Woke Up One Early Morning Blues at 6am!)

Preface To Push: Self-Promotion Is Hard

I once mentioned to a fellow programmer at KOOP in Austin that I hated to have to "promote" my show.  She said, deadpan, "Is it because you believe you have an inferior product?"

Well, yeah, that too.

This is how I pitched my new show, "Woke Up One Early Morning Blues," to the Programming Director at WRFL:

"The show will explore the many facets of pre-war blues, from proto-blues like work songs, call & response, & shouts, to popular female blues vocalists of the 1920s, to country blues from Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, St. Louis, Kansas City, & Chicago (all over, really).  Included will be lots of crossover material, since proto-country music, ragtime, & early jazz intersected with early blues."

It's happening from six to seven am, right before Self Help Radio, this coming Friday.

I come by my love of this music mostly accidentally.  I wanted, many years ago, to "educate" myself in early jazz, & liked schmaltzy jazzy pop from the 1920s as well as Dixieland, & was totally schooled by the brilliance that is Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives & Sevens.  As I was digging around, though, I saw those early jazz performers not only called many of their numbers "blues," but they played with blues artists - most notably the female performers who were the face of the blues for most of the 1920s.  It didn't take much of a leap to find out that the fellow who's playing guitar on that Bessie Smith track also makes his own blues music, & suddenly I'm tumbling into the Delta by way of New Orleans & New York City.

I love an art form - a musical genre - finding itself.  It seemed like, in those days, anything was possible.  & that's what I hope to explore on the show.

But man, I'd hate to have to try to promote it.  I'll keep it quiet on Friday mornings for the time being.

New Intro Time Again Again!

Since the new season at WRFL has begun, I needed to make a new intro - & so I have.

I try to make a new intro every year - but it turns out I let one intro last for two years back in the day.

But!  My obsessive-compulsiveness overtakes me more & more as I get older.  So there'll be a new intro every year I'm doing this show.  & may I present:

The Self Help Radio 2014-2015 Intro!

This will debut on Friday's show!

If you would like to hear the intros I've previously made, here they are:

You can listen to the 2002 intro (my first!) here.

You can listen to the 2003 intro here.

You can listen to the 2005 intro here.

You can listen to the 2006 intro here.

You can listen to the 2007 intro here.

You can listen to the 2008 intro here.

You can listen to the 2009 intro here.

You can listen to the 2010 intro here.

You can listen to the 2011 intro here.

You can listen to the 2012 intro here.

& this is the newly retired intro from the past year.

What do you think of the new one?

Lost Day

I had so much planned for this blog today.  This week starts a new year for Self Help Radio, & that means a new intro!  But I am tired now.  So.  Wait till tomorrow.  If you can.

Okay, I know you can.

Self Help Radio 050814: Damage

Self Help Radio can inflict a lot of damage over a couple of hours.  Is there such a thing as "radio insurance"?  If so, look into it.

Here's the show: the show on the website.  Or here's the direct links: part one & part two.  The song list is below - it may or may not damage you to look at it.

Be safe & thanks for listening!

(part one)

"Damage" David Sylvian & Robert Fripp _Damage_
"The Damage" Ivy Green _The Damage_
"Damage" The Attractions _Mad About The Wrong Boy_

"Damage" Yo La Tengo _I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One_
"Damage" Handsome Furs _Sound Kapital_
"Damage (feat. GZA) (Radio Edit)" Ol' Dirty Bastard _Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version_

"The Needle & Damage Done" Neil Young _Neil Young Archives, Vol. 1: 1963-1972_
"The Damage Done" Sisters Of Mercy _Some Girls Wander By Mistake_
"Damage Is Done" One The Juggler _Nearly A Sin_
"The Damage Has Been Done" Ann Clark _Shake A Leg!_

"Damaged Goods" Gang Of Four _Entertainment!_
"Mr. Damage" Angels _Out Of The Blue_

(part two)

"Damaged" Primal Scream _Screamadelica_
"Damaged" Vivian Girls _Vivian Girls_
"For The Damaged" Blonde Redhead _Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons_

"Brain Damage" Austin Lounge Lizards _Lizard Vision_
"Brain Damage" Shakes _I Think We Should Stay Away From Each Other_
"Brain Damage" Bill Cosby _Himself_
"Doin' Damage" JVC F.O.R.C.E. _The Best Of B-Boy Records_

"The Voice Of America/Damage Is Done" Cabaret Voltaire _The Voice Of America_
"Where Damage Isn't Already Done" The Radio Dept. _Lesser Matters_
"Too Damaged" Subsonics _In The Black Spot_
"Damaged I" Black Flag _Damaged_

"Damage Done" Moderat _II_

Whither Damage?

The evolution of a thought to a radio show is a trivial one, fraught with too much conceit & of course not  bit of self-importance.  Its unimportance in the grand piano scheme of things is unrivaled in the history of human indulgence.  Yet here we are, at least I'm here, wondering aloud or in the corners of our minds, why do a radio show about such-&-such?  Oh!  To be a warrior in some oppressed land fighting for one's freedom rather than making a boring radio show!

Well.  Self Help Radio airs today from 10am to noon on WRFL - 88.1 in Lexington,  Maybe listen?  Who cares?

Preface To Damage: No One Is Safe

I am something of a comics nerd but I confess I hadn't heard of (or forgot about) this DC comics character

It makes sense why I might not know who he is - the son of the original Atom, Al Pratt - because even though I tried to keep up with Roy Thomas' obsessive desire to tie all the old comics together - a task of which I approve, as it's something I would try to do - reading both All-Star Squadron & Infinity, Inc., in the 1980s - I had all but given up reading comics in the 1990s, & this character was created in 1994, according to Wikipedia.  I've read a couple of the more recent JSA comics since then, but the character didn't stand out to me - or I just didn't remember him, which is sort of the same thing.

I do feel a little weird, though, because there was a time when I loved the fact that I knew pretty much every hero & villain & supporting character in the DC Universe.  I loved the idea of parallel worlds, & was one of those happy kids who waited for the JLA/JSA crossovers in the summer.  When Crisis On Infinite Earths happened, I was pretty bummed - I loved the fact that I was one of those loyal readers who knew that the Marvel Family lived on a different earth than the Freedom Fighters (whose world was conquered by Nazis!).

& I have no idea what's going on with the most recent "reboot."  I have an idea: don't restart, just tell the tales & let the characters die & others replace them.  Oh, I'm sorry, you couldn't hear me above the noise of all that money to be made.  My apologies.

Also, sorry to Damage - I'm sure you're a fine character.  Hey!  I knew your dad when he lived on Earth-2!

What I Hate: Stinkbugs

These guys:

They've infested our sun room.  This is a bad thing, says this page.  I am none too fond of bugs, even ones called "stinkbug," & I am especially not fond of bugs that emit an odor when smashed.

For the longest time, I just let them be.  Occasionally, one would fly at me in a particularly hateful way, but mostly we avoided each other's space.

No more.  I have started to kill them.

I am a vegan, & I get asked often about whether I eat honey or wear silk.  The answer is, not really, but I don't have the same attitude about bugs that other vegans do.  Silk is a no-brainer - it's not my style.  But if I'm going to eat honey, it'll be local honey, since I know those folks care about the bees.  Bees are important, & if there's going to be an insect I have to care about, it'll be bees, although they'll probably be extinct in my lifetime.

I grew up poor, in apartments that had cockroaches.  I killed them.  In the summer, flies would get in.  We had a fly swatter.  If I find something crawling on me, I may scream like a child, but I also will fling it off &, if I am not shivering too much, stomp on it until it's dead.

I'd be a terrible Jain, in other words.  Not as bad as someone who salivates when people talk about bacon or who'd wait in line for a KFC Double Down, but still not someone other Jains would hang around with.

Let this be a warning to the stinkbugs in my vicinity: I am no longer guardedly indifferent to you.  I am your enemy.

But please don't fly into my mouth when I'm asleep.

Mowing The Lawn: Seven Thoughts

1.

There used to be an old KVRX promo spot in which a bored teenager was being badgered by his mother to mow the lawn, & he says he doesn't want to, he'd rather listen to KVRX.  The humorous tag was, "KVRX - it's better than mowing the lawn."  Meanwhile, you could hear the lawnmower revving up in the background.

2.

I tried to find it in old recordings but had no luck.  Sorry!

3.

I didn't have a yard growing up.  We lived in apartments.  Occasionally, my sister would give me five bucks to mow their lawn.  It wasn't any fun.  She used to mow her own lawn but doesn't anymore.  She pays someone now.

4.

We have a lot of lawn where I now live.  When the wife was getting a fence put around the backyard - essential when you have beagles - the guy from whatever company suggested to her that she might want to install a larger gate for a riding mower to pass through.  She said no, she expected her husband to mow the lawn with a mower.

5.

Which is fine with me.  I think mowing the yawn should be a chore that feels like a chore.

6.

We have a large yard & an electric mower, which is quite heavy, because of its giant battery.  We had to buy an extra battery because of the length of time it takes to mow both the front & back of the house.  It stopped working last week so we borrowed the neighbor's gas mower to mow the lawn today.  Two observations:  a, the electric is quieter, & b, it cuts better.

7.

Oh yeah, I spent the day mowing the lawn.  That's why I'm going on about it.

Self Help Radio 050114: Disappear

I promise I didn't plan it this way, but it seems funny that the show in which Self Help Radio reappears on the Lexington airwaves is a show about disappearing.  Sometimes that's just how things happen.

The show disappeared yesterday but it's reappeared now at Self Help Radio on the web.  You can also take advantage of two links to listen to either hour of the show (or both, in succession, or out of order): part one + part two.  The songs I played are below.

Don't disappear any more!

(part one)

"Disappear" Gilbert _Real Life Permanent Dreams: Happydaystoytown_
"Disappear" Madness _Absolutely_
"Disappear?" The Church _Seance_

"Disappear" Cockeyed Ghost _Keep Yourself Amused_
"Disappear" Jumprope _Holiday In Brazil_
"Disappear" The Crayon Fields _All The Pleasures Of The World_
"Disappear" Eternal Summers _Correct Behavior_

"Disappearing" Peter Murphy _Cascade_
"Disappearer" Sonic Youth _Goo_
"Everything's Disappeared" Steinski _What Does It All Mean?_

"You Disappear From View" The Teardrop Explodes _Wilder_

(part two)

"I Disappear" The Faint _Wet From Birth_
"Everything Disappears When You Come Around" Of Montreal _Cherry Peel_
"I Can't Pay You To Disappear" Thee Oh Sees _Dog Poison_
"Watch Her Disappear" Tom Waits _Alice_

"Disappear Always" Wild Nothing _Nocturne_
"Disappearing Act" U2 _The Unforgettable Fire_
"Disappearing Lessons" Courtney Love _Highlights_
"Disappearing Act" Jonny Cola & The A Grades _The Yellow Mini_

"Disappearing Act" The Mantles _The Mantles_
"Never Disappear" Majestic 12 _Searching For The Elvis Knob_
"When Will Your Friends All Disappear" East River Pipe _Goodbye California_
"Love Will Always Disappear" Chemistry Set _Chemistry Set_
"Disappear WIthout A Trace" Scrawl _Velvet Hammer_

Whither Disappear?

It turns out that the Random House dictionary disagrees with my musings from yesterday about the difference between "disappear" & "vanish."  It says:

Disappear is used of whatever suddenly or gradually goes out of sight: vanish suggests complete, generally rapid, & often mysterious disappearance.

So - let me get this straight - vanish is complete & rapid, but disappear can be suddenly or gradually?

I guess "vanish" does have mysterious connotations.  I would be more spooked by a ghost vanishing than one simply disappearing.

I am writing this Thursday morning, as I am going to be doing my first Self Help Radio on WRFL in about five months.  I am a little nervous but I have prepared a fine show & I hope someone enjoys it who isn't my mother.

That reminds me - I need to call my mother.

It's on from 10 am to noon & it's available on the link above.  However, if you miss it, & people would think you had good taste if you did, I'll put it up tomorrow like every Friday this year.  & it won't disappear for a long, long time.

Preface To Disappear: Disappearing Act

You know how, when you're a kid, you're really dumb & you think things that happen on television & cartoons are real?  Do you remember the Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies or whatever cartoons in which someone - my brain is telling me it's a cartoon mouse - but I found a picture where it's Tom the cat - puts on "vanishing cream" & disappears?

Do you remember those?  OH MY GOD I wanted so badly to find some vanishing cream in the bathroom!  (My mother didn't use that stuff, though.)

It turns out that vanishing creams, as the internet tells me, "get their name from the fact that they seemed to disappear when spread onto the skin."  Here's a link all about them.  I initially thought they made wrinkles or unwanted facial blemishes "vanish," but that's not it.  The cream vanished.  It disappeared into the skin.

It didn't make you disappear.  How disappointing was that when I found out!  Worse than the truth about Santa, the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny.

By the way - online thesauruses don't seem to think that "vanish" & "disappear" are synonyms.  Is it because disappearing appears to be instantaneous & vanishing takes time?  What do you think?

Boone

I had a whole ridiculous thing written for today & was almost going to put it up but we needed to walk the dogs after dinner.  We walked close to the house because the radar keeps looking like this:

It wasn't our usual walk, & at one point a sweet little orange cat - a kitten, really - approached us, not really afraid of the three beagles.  We didn't want it to follow us, but during the walk - & knowing about the coming storm - we worried that it was not safe, so we went to find it when we got the dogs home.

He was nowhere to be found, & we walked up & down the street.  As we were about to leave, my wife Magda said, "Oh here he is."  He let us put him in the carrier without incident & didn't meow at all on the short ride home.

He's in our guest room.  He has a scabbed-over sore on his foot, & his ears look to be nicked a bit, & he's very small & scrawny & dirty.  He's had something to eat & now he's chilling out:

He's been no trouble at all - I don't even think he feels trapped or otherwise inconvenienced.  We'll see after the vet visit tomorrow!

I don't know if he's adopted us yet - but for now, I'm calling him Boone.

Big News! (Reprise)

For my entire life pretty much I pronounced the word "reprise" like this: re-prize.  The first time I heard it pronounced the proper way - which is ruh-preez - was in a live performance of Marc Bolan on a T Rex boxed set when he was promoting his new record, "Out on Warner-Reprise Records."

I just check & the Merriam-Webster dictionary online says both pronunciations are allowed, but probably because of people like me who mispronounced them their entire lives.

That's neither here nor there - I'm just writing to confirm (as much as I can confirm) that Self Help Radio will be on WRFL this Thursday & next (May 1 & 8) from 10am to noon, & then, the next week will begin its summer home on the station from 7 to 9am on Fridays.  It's pretty exciting.  Of course, once I go on the air, everyone leaves town for the summer.  Rats!

Also: since I have an extra hour (6-7am), I've asked not to resurrect my freeform show Sugar Substitute (which I will do again one day!) but instead I told them I'd like to do a country blues show, which I am calling Woke Up One Early Morning Blues, because why not make a radio show title long & unwieldy?  It'll let me play my favorite country blues all summer long.

So, hooray!  Listen to me this Thursday & next, & then, on Friday the 16th, start listening at that time all summer long!

Self Help Radio 042514: Indiepop A To Z # 44

Well, here it is, the forty-fourth installment of the never-ending series, my weird & slightly dumb attempt to catalog bands that are considered indiepop, that influenced indiepop, or that move in an orbit somewhere around what I consider "indiepop."  On the surface, it seems like a fool's errand, but the good news is, there are lots of nice tunes here!

You can listen to the whole show now at Self Help Radio's cubbyhole on the web.  Or you can simply click on these links to go directly to the show: part one &/or part two.  The alphabetical list of artists is below.

We finished the letter I!  We started the letter J!

(part one)

"Summer's Gone" Irene _Apple Bay_
"The Curious Thing About Leather" Irving _Cook Book CD: Libro De Cucina Y Musica_
"Against The Grain Of My Life" The Irregulars _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Vol. 3_

"Revolution Nr 12" Isar 12 _Casablanca: La Colección De Cludades - Módulo 2_
"Rough Gem" Islands _Return To The Sea_
"Dancing Away" The Isolation _The Isolation EP_
"Work Day" It Hugs Back _Inside Your Guitar_
"The Music Makes Me Sick" It's A Musical _The Music Makes Me Sick_

"Avenge" Ivy _Battery Point_
"I Get The Message" Ivy _Apartment Life_
"I Was Drunk In The Underworld" Jack _Wintercomesummer_

(part two)

"Cheap Tragedies" Jack Acid _Stars Kill Rock_
"Should've Told" Jack Drag _Jack Drag_
"Thought That I Was Over You" Jack Frost _Jack Frost_

"Foolish Boy" The Jack Rubies _Foolish Boy_
"You Make It So Hard" Jack The Bear _Bearfootin'_
"Real Cool Boy" Jackson _Verano Del 99_
"Steppin' Out" Joe Jackson _Night & Day_
"Country Girl" Jacobites _Hawks Get Religion_

"Love Is So Cool (That My Heart Goes Boom)" Jacqueline _Labrador 100: A Complete History of Popular Music_
"Not Seen, Not Heard" Jactars _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Vol. 6_
"Back Of My Hand (I've Got Your Number)" The Jags _D.I.Y.: Starry Eyes - UK Pop, Vol. 2_

Whither Indiepop A To Z # 44?

At this point, I don't think I have to explain anything to you.  I have done forty-three episodes of songs I consider indiepop (or which influenced indiepop or emulated some aspect of indiepop) & now I'm going to do a forty-fourth & what else is there to say?  I'm doing it for the same reason I've done the previous ones: I have a problem.  I can't help myself.  I've made a list of bands & even though I am just at the letter I, I continue.  "You'll never finish," you say, & probably not (although I have a separate list now of bands I forgot &/or are new, for an "appendix" version once I've completed the letter Z) but I have to see something through some time.  Sure, it may seem like it's a kind of achievement to have done a radio show for nearly twelve years that's been on three different radio stations in three different states (well, Kentucky & West Virginia are kind of similar, but they have different names), not to mention continuing it when it didn't have a radio station, & some romantic types may even note that I've been with the same woman for almost thirteen years, including four of them in a marriage.  & that's true, perhaps I should be proud of these things.  It's just that - I can imagine a day when I stop doing Self Help Radio.  (It may be sooner than I think!)  I can also imagine a day when my wife takes a good look at me & says, "What the fuck have I done?" & calls the divorce attorney which she has handily put on speed dial just in case.  These things are easily foreseeable - some might call them inevitable.  But I can't see this Indiepop A To Z thing ending.  Ever.  I do imagine I'll be done before it is.  & surely that is something of a problem, right?

But please, enjoy the show!

Preface To Indiepop A To Z # 44: Blah Blah Blah

I will finish the letter I!  I will begin the letter J!  It's exciting in an OCD way!

Here's something funny: after I was gathering the last few bands whose names begin with the letter I, something came over me that could best be described as a panic attack.  I suddenly couldn't remember which letter came after I, J or K.  I thought to myself, "What if I spend all this time gathering bands whose names begin with the wrong letter?  I'd be fucked!"

But I didn't consult a dictionary or ask Jeeves or anything like that.  No, I calmly recited my ABCs out loud until I was certain that the letter J followed the letter I.  Twice.  Just to be on the safe side.

Did I say "here's something funny"?  I meant to say, "Here's something I should be concerned about."

Big News!

I have big news, though the news is kind of unconfirmed.  It is about Self Help Radio, not me.  The last time I had big news about me, it was a very liberal use of the term "big."

This is the news: Self Help Radio is returning to WRFL.  What?  How?  Oh, none of that is important.  This is what I know:

I'll be doing two Self Help Radio shows on the first two Thursdays in May: the 1st & the 8th.  & then, when the new schedule starts…  Well, I hope I'm on the schedule!  I don't know yet.

So the "big news" might just be, "Self Help Radio will make a slight return to real radio the first two weeks of May!"  & then it's back to just me playing things for you from the comfort of my own head.

Or maybe the "big news" is, "I've applied to do a show again on WRFL!  But if I screw up the two before the new schedule begins, I might not be doing a show after that!"

I think I should have waited to share the big news until it was confirmed.

Rats.

1800

I have written 1800 blog entries for this blog.  The vast majority were things a roomful of monkeys would be ashamed to have written, but still, as someone who rarely gets anything done, it's quite an achievement.  You can't make me feel bad about it because I can do a fine job of such things myself.

I have "big news" in tomorrow's entry.  I put "big news" in quotes like that because it's really not big news.  I am using the quote marks correctly.  But it's something sort of new for Self Help Radio, which the subject of this blog (I think), so it deserves to be here.

Today, though, I'm all like: 1800 entries.  Wow.

Self Help Radio 041814: Cassettes

Today's show celebrates a piece of dying media that was very important to me for many years.  The cassette used to be a big part of nearly everyone's lives - & now has been relegated to the realm of aficionado & nostalgia.  The show, however, is more celebration, than elegy!

You can listen to it now now now at the Self Help Radio web site, where it might just fit on a ninety-minute cassette tape.  If so, here's side one & here's side two.  What would normally be written on the J-card is listed below.

As always, be kind - rewind!

(side one)

"Cassette Squeaking/Venetian Blind" Charlie & Todd _Party Fun With Recorders Volume 1_
"C30 C60 C90 Go!" Bow Wow Wow _Girl Bites Dog_
"Cassettes" R. Stevie Moore _Kaffeeklatsch_
"On Tape" Pooh Sticks _CD86: 48 Tracks From The Birth Of Indie Pop_

"Mix Tape" Michael Shelley _I Blame You_
"I Have Made You A Mix Tape" Daniel Ledwell _Two Over Seven_
"Compilation Cassette" Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern _Pram Town_
"Mix Tape" Stephanie D'Abruzzo & John Tartaglia _Avenue Q - The Musical_
"The Black Cassette" My Favorite _A Cult Of One_

"The Cassingle Revival" The Lucksmiths _Where Were We?_
"Cassette Revival" King Bear _Cassette Revival Therapy EP_
"Books On Tape & 45s" The Casino Ashtrays _Long After The Commercials Have Ended_

(side two)

"I Still Like Cassettes" Brother JT _The Svelteness Of Boogietude_
"Play Me A Tape" Miss Kittin _Batbox_

"Tape From California" Phil Ochs _Tape From California_
"Hiss On The Tape" John Martyn _Well Kept Secret_
"Tape Recorder Man" Momus _Folktronic_

"Tapehead" Francis International Airport _We Are Jealous We Are Glass_
"Veronica Made A Tape" Horowitz _Frosty Cat Songs_
"Cassette" Oh No _Dr. No's Oxperiment_

Whither Cassettes?

I am going to wax eloquent about cassettes on tomorrow's show, so I want to save something for that.  But here's a nice collection of musings about cassettes that may put you in the proper frame of mind for the show.

The weird thing is, putting the show together has made me feel like I miss cassettes more than I really do.  That's a little disturbing.

Okay.  Gotta go work on this week's Self Help Radio.  I think it'll be all right.

Preface To Cassettes: The Ultimate Fate Of Mix Tapes

I was a teenager during most of the 1980s (I turned 20 in 1988) so I believe I was at the prime age for the use of the cassette as a vehicle for romance & sharing: the mix tape.  Nowadays there are places online where you can gather songs; back then, you had to press record at the right time when you put the needle on the record.  I made hundreds of them, for several girls, & a lot for my male friends.

One great mix tape I got when I met a fellow who loved Tom Waits.  At the time, I had never heard anything by Tom Waits.  He offered to make me a tape of his favorite Tom Waits songs, but he asked, "What have you got?"  I was really into Nick Cave then, so I made him a Nick Cave tape.  Later on - it's sad I can't remember this guy's name - I asked how he liked it.  He loved it.  I loved the Tom Waits tape.  We couldn't agree who got the better bargain.  That was probably my best mix tape exchange.

There were bad experiences, too.  I was crazy about this chick named Amy, who shared a similar musical taste to me, & made her a mix tape in which there were, apparently, a lot of songs she already knew.  I expected it would convince her to be mine.  Instead, she said to me, "You're making me hate songs I used to love."  That relationship didn't go anywhere.

Mix CDs, though more convenient, & of course with much better sound quality, seem less personal.  I guess the whole process of sitting in front of your stereo, taking the records out of their sleeves, cleaning them, putting them on the turntable, turning the tape recorder on, playing the entire song, then making sure you pause before the next track on the LP starts - not to mention the process of scribbling in the tiny lines on the tape's cover - or whatever you call it - all of this took time & care.  & once it was done, you couldn't move the tracks around, like you can on a CD before you burn it.  You had to think about the tracklisting before you started.

& what has happened to all the mix tapes I've made?  Probably all thrown away, long ago.  Most of the women I made mix tapes for probably got rid of them after they got rid of me - & anyway, as the years went by, they also probably got rid of the cassette decks.  They used to be standard in cars; they aren't any more.  I know many people who've even gotten rid of their CDs, prefer to keep all their music on mp3s in an iPod &/or some kind of "cloud."

To be sure, I'd hate to have to sit down to make an actual mix tape again.  I miss vinyl much more than cassettes.  (& yes, I know, both are still around.  There are even cassette-only record labels.  I just don't collect anything in cassette or vinyl anymore.)  I hated the sound loss in cassettes, & of course I hated when the tape broke or got eaten by the player.  I have a couple of cassettes that I played too often, & have been demagnetized, & I keep them imagining I can play them again one day to save them - though I probably won't be able to.

But I think of the mix tapes I made with fondness, & would love to see some of them again.  I would also love to see some of the people I made them for again, too.  Probably, though, they, like the mix tapes I made them, are lost to me forever.

For Lack Of A Better World

Take this quiz, quickly.  No quibbles!  It's quality quizzing:

1) Do you or have you ever maybe even once?

a-No
b-Yeah
c-Oh
d-Dang

2) Did I ruin it for you or is that your thing?

a-Always
b-Sometimes
c-Never
d-Why

3) You had the chance, you took the chance - how do that make you feel?

a-I suppose
b-I thought so
c-I got it
d-I demure

4) The one you love loves you not.

a-Fury
b-Petulance
c-Assignation
d-Career

5) Hold your breath if you want to live.

a-Parentheses
b-Semicolon
c-Ellipsis
d-Starboard

6) Have you made it this far?

a-Superstar
b-Bombshell
c-Matinee Idol
d-Heartthrob

7) Your score indicates:

a-I have a pulse
b-I have to go
c-I have strange feelings that I can't explain
d-I must've been blind

8) You meet Leonard Cohen in early 1983.  You say:

a-I'm your man
b-Bob Dylan
c-That's no way to say hello
d-(Throat exercises)

9) A quiz should have at least ten questions, right?

a-That's a good question
b-Check out my website
c-Fundamentalist
d-Bob Dylan

SCORING! If you answered any of the questions correctly, give yourself five points.  If you answered any of the questions incorrectly, go ahead & give yourself more points so that you can feel better about yourself.

A score of 160 or more indicates you accidentally took a test by Cosmopolitan, but your relationship is all right.

A score of 20 or less indicates you probably shouldn't think what you think about the Greek God Dionysius, since he's real & knows what you're thinking.

A B+ or higher moves you quickly past second grade & into fourth grade.

A C or lower is average.  A D or higher is not.

Spoiler, A Lert

This is something my brain often does: it will separate the syllables of words that begin with sound "uh" as represented by the letter a, like alert, or again, or ahead, or askew.  It will assume that the letter a in the word is actually an article & will try to make sense of the word in that context.

For example, the phrase "Full speed ahead!" will seem, if I am exhausted or otherwise not paying attention, to be saying, "Full speed, a head!"  This will confuse me.

Or as the title of this blog piece seems to say: there's a lert named Spoiler.  But what's a lert?

I know from my readings in etymology that there's a linguistic term, called rebracketing (also called misdivision), in which words like "napron" & "nadder" become, because of how people decide to pronounce them, "an apron" & "an adder."  One word that goes the other way is "notch" - it used to be "an otch."  But it happens more often that the consonant is lost from the word, not that a consonant is gained.  (Not a gain! my brain says.)

But my brain is practicing a sort of rebracketing & the interesting thing is that most of the words - unlike alert - are words in their own right, like gain, head, & skew, with the a added as a prefix.  That might be the reason my head does that.

I remember when I was learning the days of the week, it helped me to learn to spell them to pronounce them, in my head, how they were spelled.  So Wednesday, which is normally pronounced Whensday, became, to me, Wed Nes Day in my brain.  My head still pronounces it that way.  I'm sure I sometimes will say it that way.

When I was young & my brain was limber, I could hold those words separate & know they were still the same word.  As I age, I think those mind-shortcuts are slowly unravelling up there, with consequences like this one: when someone says "the door is ajar," I have to rally myself to remember that that means it's partially open - not that someone has replaced my front door with the biggest mason jar I'll ever see.