One More Thing About "Woke Up Early One Morning Blues"

I guess this is sort of a public service announcement to folks to who listen to my pre-war blues show called "Woke Up Early One Morning Blues," which I have been doing all summer on WRFL.  I was fortunate enough to do the show this summer because I was given a three-hour timeslot, which was the result of a lot of programmers going away for the summer.  The understanding was that, when the (mainly student) horde returned, I would have the show trimmed to two hours, the time which most programmers have, & I don't want to lose a whole hour of Self Help Radio, which is the show I most enjoy doing.

The new schedule at WRFL begins August 25, which means I have only three episodes of WUEOMB left.  Ugh, that looks terrible.  There are times when an acronym is completely inappropriate.  My too-wordy-show-name is one of them.

I have only three episodes of Woke Up Early One Morning Blues left.  Is there anything you've been wanting to hear me explore?  Let me know!  & soon!

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Eleven

Peetie Wheatstraw

Episode number eleven of the blues show Woke Up Early One Morning Blues is now available for listening when & if you choose.  It features lots of early blues about that distilled alcoholic drink that George Bernard Shaw called "liquid sunshine": whiskey.

The show is available at Self Help Radio on the web.  The songs I played are below.  Please enjoy this show responsibly.

"Whiskey Man Blues" Scrapper Blackwell & Black Bottom McPhail _Virtuoso Guitar 1925-1934_

"Whiskey & Gin Blues" South Street Trio _Country Blues Outlaws_

"Whiskey Blues" Elzadie Robinson _Elzadie Robinson Vol. 1 1926-1928_

"Me & My Whiskey" Barbecue Bob _The Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order, Vol. 2_

"Whiskey Moan Blues" Clifford Gibson _Clifford Gibson (1929-1931)_

"Whiskey Drinkin' Blues" Tampa Red with Jenny Pope _Tampa Red Vol. 3 (1929-1930)_

"Whiskey Selling Women" Lucille Bogan _Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1923-1930)_

"If The River Was Whiskey" Charlie Poole _Old Time Songs 1926-1930, Vol. 2_

"Whiskeyhead Blues" JT "Funny Paper" Smith _Complete Recordings (1930-1931)_

"Try My Whiskey Blues" Roosevelt Sykes _Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 3 (1931-1933)_

"More Good Whiskey Blues" Peetie Wheatstraw _Peetie Wheatstraw, Vol. 2: 1934-1935_

"Bad Whiskey Blues" Black Boy Shine _Leroy Carr & Black Boy Shine (1934-1937)_

"Rye Whiskey" Tex Ritter _The History Of Country & Western Music Vol. 4 (1931-1934)_

"Whiskey Blues" Bo Carter _Bo Carter Vol. 4 (1936-1938)_

"Whiskey & Good Time Blues" Big Bill Broonzy _Big Bill Broonzy Vol. 8 1938-1939_

"Whiskey Fool" The Yas Yas Girl (Merline Johnson) _The Yas Yas Girl (Merline Johnson) Vol. 2 1938-1939_

Self Help Radio 080114: Sunrise

Just minutes after the sun rose, in Lexington, Kentucky, Self Help Radio played two hours of songs about the sunrise!  Not only that, but guests talked about the spiritual nature of the sunrise, about monetizing the sunrise, & about never having seen the sunrise!  It embarrassed the sunrise, but at that point it wasn't really the sunrise, so no one was unnecessarily concerned.

It can be listened to now or at your leisure at the Self Help Radio website.  Don't forget about the user/password combo!  The songs I played are listed below.

Please enjoy!

(part one)

"Sun Arise" Rolf Harris _The Best Of The Sixties_
"Sunrise" The Divine Comedy _Fin De Siècle_
"Sunrise" Pulp _We Love Life_

"Sunrise" Lambchop _No You C'mon_
"Sunrise" Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan _Hawk_
"Sunrise" Petra Haden _Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out_
"Sunrise" Tania & Juan _Sunrise_

"The House Of The Rising Sun" Nina Simone _The Blues_
"Sunrise, Sunset" Connie Francis _Sings Jewish Favorites_
"I Like The Sunrise" The Free Design _You Could Be Born Again_

"Watch The Sunrise (Single Version)" Big Star _Keep An Eye On The Sky_
"Sunrise (Turn On)" Chesterfield Kings _Psychedelic Sunrise_

(part two)

"Waiting For The Sunrise" Yoko Ono _Approximately Infinite Universe_
"The Sun Rising" The Beloved _Happiness_

"Sunrise Serenade" Connee Boswell _Heart & Soul_
"Blues Before Sunrise" Ray Charles _In The Beginning: 1949-1952_
"Sunrise Highway" Peter Anders _Sunrise Highway_
"Sunrise Highway" The Trout _The Trout_

"Where Does The Sun Rise" Dorothy Collins _Experiment Songs_
"Orchid Sunrise" The Harbour Pilots _Welcome To The Wetherbeat Scene 1988 - 1991_
"I Always See The Sun Rise" Little Name _How To Swim & Live_
"The Sun Also Rises" Fever Tree _Fever Tree_

"Please Sunrise Please" Barbara Acklin _Please Sunrise Please_
"Beyond The Sunrise" Belle & Sebastian _Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant_

Whither Sunrise?

I plan terribly.  At some point at the beginning of summer, I said to myself, "Hey!  By August I'll be doing my show & the sun will rise so I should be a show about the sunrise!"

I should have remembered that that sort of information - which you used to have to have an almanac handy to get to, you know, before the invention of the Internet - is freely available.  So - three months ago - I could've just checked, you know.  Sites like Time & Date dot com have handy sections for things like sunrise & sunset.  On August 1st - when my sunrise show is airing - that's tomorrow! - when do you imagine the sun will rise?

6:41 am.

That's 19 minutes before my show is on.

If I wanted to do my show when the sun was rising, I could've just waited three weeks.  After August 23rd, the sun will rise after seven & later.

But no.  The Self Help Radio sunrise show will air from 7 to 9 am tomorrow - well after sunrise - on 88.1 fm in Lexington, & online all over at wrfl dot fm - so at least some folks will get to listen as the sun rises, if they want.

Or you can wait until after I've put the show up at the Self Help Radio website, & listen to it on the next sunrise.

Sheesh.

Letting One's Hair Dry Naturally Vs. Using A Blow Dryer

What sort of hotel/motel doesn't furnish a hair dryer for its guests?  This is not a riddle with a funny answer.  It may not even be a question with an answer.  Is the answer "a no-tell motel"?  Is the answer "a place you found on Airbnb"?  I don't know.

Do I care about the answer?  Do I care about the argument of blow dry vs. natural dry?  I remember having shorter hair that took very little time to shampoo & also never was dried by blow.

At this point, I am feeling a bit awkward.  "Blow dry" is a real thing.  "Dry by blow" is not.  In fact, "dry by blow" sounds dirty.  I apologize.  It was not my intention.  I was attempting a kind of parallelism of the clauses in the last sentence but it's obvious now that I should have said "to shampoo & never to blow dry."  Much more parallel.  Still awkward.

But now I've said it, & I can't take it back.  That is one of life's vagaries.  Or do I mean vicissitudes?  Or  am I just thinking of pretty words that begin with the letter v?

Today I let my hair dry naturally.  I was too lazy to pull out the blow dryer.  But normally I blow dry my hair.  In two weeks, I'll be in another country far from here where it'll be quite humid & I wonder if the hotel/motel I am staying at will have a hair dryer.  Also, whether, with 100% humidity, it will really matter.

It occurs to me that I am writing this on a computer & I could simply delete the awkward sentences up there.  I could also xkc0[qd]P


]\
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Sorry about that!  A wasp just landed on my keyboard & I was trying to alternately avoid it & also kill it.  It got away.  I don't know how it got into the house.

My cat Boone has captured & eaten it.  He tells me, since when a cat captures & eats an insect it gains all its life experience, that wasps are frightened by blow dryers.  Since the wasp did not hear the blow dryer today, he assumed it was safe to come into the house.

I think he's fucking with me.

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Ten

Juanita "Arizona" Dranes

Sorry this is a day late!  Here's last week's episode of Woke Up Early One Morning Blues.  I spent an hour exploring blind early blues performers - since it's something of a blues cliché that you'd have "Blind" in front of your name.  They were a talented & surprisingly diverse bunch.

What I didn't explore is why it seems like there were so many visually-impaired blues musicians at the time.  I refer you to this inconclusive discussion on the Straight Dope messages boards if you wish to hypothesize some.

The show is now available for listening on the Self Help Radio website.  What I played is below.

"Early Morning Blues" Blind Blake _All The Published Sides_
"Banty Rooster" Blind Pete & Partner _Blues & Gospel: Miss. Field Recordings 1934_
"Cross & Evil Woman Blues" Blind Gary Davis _Country Southern Blues_

"I Believe I'll Go Back Home" Blind Willie Davis _American Primitive Vol. I: Raw Pre-War Gospel_
"Bye & Bye We're Going To See The King" Arizona Dranes _Arizona Dranes (1926-1929)_
"Honey In The Rock" Blind Mamie Forehand _Folk Music In America, Vol. 15: Religious Music: Solo & Performance_
"Black & Tan" Blind Boy Fuller _Mama Let Me Lay It On You (1926-1936)_
"Crazy 'Bout My Baby" Blind Roosevelt Graves _Complete Recorded Works (1929-1936)_

"Honey, Take A Whiff On Me" Blind Jessie Harris _Alabama: From Lullabies To Blues_
"Match Box Blues" Blind Lemon Jefferson _The Rough Guide To Blind Lemon Jefferson_
"Keep Your Lamp Trimmed & Burning" Blind Willie Johnson with Willie B. Harris _Dark Was The Night  (1927-1930)_
"Bell Street Blues" Blind Willie McTell _Complete Recorded Works, Vol.3 (1933-35)_
"How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times & Live" Blind Alfred Reed _Hard Times In The Country_

"Outside Woman Blues" Blind Willie Reynolds _The Rough Guide To Delta Blues_
"Been Listening All The Day" Blind Joe Taggart _Before The Blues, Vol. 2_
"Harmonica Blues" Sonny Terry _Complete Recorded Works 1938-1945_

Bluesy Ooops

I know you already think I'm a lazy dumbass, & that I don't really love you, but I did mean to put the most recent episode of "Woke Up Early One Morning Blues" on my website today.  Unfortunately, I got to doing other stuff, & have no time for the rest of the day.  My bad!  My word!  I'll do it tomorrow.

Really, it's not you, it's me.

Self Help Radio 072514: Backwards

After all those years of people telling me I am backwards sort, I did a backwards radio show.  Or, really, I played a lot of backwards songs.  Which is not to say the songs were backwards themselves, but were about backwards things.  At no point did anyone say, "mih ssim, mih ssim, daed si luaP," however.  Which is just as well.

Hey!  The show is now at Self Help Radio online.  Please remember username/password info, available on the page.  It's to protect the show from stupid people trying to take down the page.  The songs I played are below.

!yojnE

(part one)

"Sdrawkcab (Backwords)" Lothar & The Hand People _This Is It, Machines_
"Backwards & Forwards" December's Children _Backwards & Forwards_
"Headcoat On Backwards" Thee Headcoats _Bleached Earls_
"The Backwards Alphabet" Soupy Sales _Use Your Noggin'_

"Up The Hill Backwards" David Bowie _Scary Monsters (& Super Creeps)_
"Counting Backwards" Throwing Muses _The Real Ramona_
"Talking Backwards" Tender Trap _Language Lessons_
"My Son Spells Backwards" The Victorian English Gentlemens Club _The Victorian English Gentlemens Club_

"Backward Century" The Loud Family _Attractive Nuisance_
"Backwards Again" Ant Farmers _Yarn_
"Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" Tame Impala _Lonerism_
"You Got Your Head On Backwards" The Sonics _Introducing The Sonics_

"Driving Me Backwards" Brian Eno _Here Come The Warm Jets_
"Racing Backwards" Blank Dogs _Phrases EP_

(part two)

"Count Backwards (Rock & Roll Never Dies)" The Secret History _The World That Never Was_
"Backwards" Tania & Juan _Backwards_

"Backwards Town" Eugene Chadbourne _Country Protest Anew_
"Backwards" Smile Smile _Marry A Stranger_
"Talking Backwards" Real Estate _Atlas_

"Backward Bill" Shel Silverstein _A Light In The Attic_
"Bent Backwards" Mrs. Kipling _Sunny Sunday Smile_
"The World Backwards" Broadcast _Work & Non Work_
"Backward Town" Grapes Of Wrath _Treehouse_

"Bend Over Backwards" Archie Powell & The Exports _Great Ideas In Action_
"Cigarette In Backwards" The Suburbs _Ladies & Gentlemen, The Suburbs_

Whither Backwards?

I kinda spend all day Thursday working on my show for Friday.  This is because I am a magnificent procrastinator, & because, like all procrastinators, I believe I work well under pressure.  It's really only because I have been doing this for like twelve years (Self Help Radio, that is) & I've developed a system that I get anything done at all.

I don't really work all day on my show, though.  I do work in bits & pieces, & then, suddenly, it's 11pm, & I guess I'm done.  All right then.  Oh yeah.  Write in the blog.

I can't remember why I thought a backwards show would be fun.  Maybe that Eno song?  Or the Throwing Muses song?  Or the similarly-titled Secret History song?  Whatever.  I got enough stuff together for a two-hour-long backwards show.  Plus I'll talk to my ridiculous friends, who are pretending to be people they're not.  That's fun.

Tomorrow from 7 to 9 am on 88.1 fm in Lexington, online everywhere there's a long enough cord at wrfl dot fm.  I'll have it up by noon so you don't have to wake.  Anyway, you're just lying to me & saying you'll listen.  You never do.

Preface To Backwards: A Backwards Post

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I Forgot

I forgot I had a blog today.

I forgot for a moment that I did a dumb radio show in the middle of Kentucky that very few people listen to.  Not to be a jerk to the very few people who listen to the show (a small subset of which may actually enjoy the show).

I feel bad about it, because I really don't do very much else in my life.  I've thought about volunteering for causes I believe in, but you know how it is, you're busy playing a video game & then suddenly it's after five & their offices are closed & what're you gonna do?  I mean, the liquor store stays open till 10!  That's what I call convenient.

I'd like to apologize, but my "posting" to this "blog" is erratic, which guarantees that no one really comes here regularly.  So I apologize to me.  I'm sorry, me, you dumbass, I forgot to write in our stupid blog.  What were you doing?  Posting pictures no one will ever look at on the dumb Tumblr blog?  What a fucking moron.

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Nine

Ida Cox

This past week's episode of Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, which featured singles released in 1939 (although some of them were recorded in 1938) is now available for listening at the Self Help Radio website.  I thought I should do a show with less scratchy vinyl than usual, so I picked the year war started in Europe - when Americans were still distracting themselves with the boogie woogie.

Please remember that to listen you'll need a username & a password.  They are available on the website but I can confide in you that they're also here, SHR/selfhelp.

The songs I played are below.

"Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped The Devil)" Robert Johnson _The Complete Recordings_
"Frankie & Albert (Part 1)" Lead Belly _Sings & Plays_
"Roll 'Em Pete" Joe Turner _The Boss Of The Blues_

"Good Gravy" Sonny Boy Williamson _Black Name Blues_
"Floyd's Guitar Blues" Andy Kirk with Mary Lou Williams & The 12 Clouds of Joy _The Very Best Of Jazz_
"Booker T. Blues" Washboard Sam & His Washboard Band _Washboard Story_
"Preachin' The Blues" Big Bill Broonzy _Big Bill Broonzy, Vol. 8: 1938 - 1939_
"Melancholy" Meade Lux Lewis _Backwater Blues_

"Boogie Woogie Stomp" Albert Ammons & His Rhythm Kings _The Many Faces Of Boogie Woogie_
"Four Day Creep" Ida Cox _Ida Cox, Vol. 5: 1939-1940_
"My Daddy Rocks Me, No. 2" Trixie Smith _Trixie Smith, Vol. 2: 1925-1929_
"Everybody Oughta Make A Change" Sleepy John Estes _Working Man's Blues_
"Jivin' Woman Blues" Blind Boy Fuller _Sweet Honey Hole

"You Can Mistreat Me Here" Tommy McClennan _Big Joe Williams & The Stars Of Mississippi Blues_
"Better Not Let My Good Gal Catch You Here" Johnnie Temple _Johnnie Temple, Vol. 2: 1938-1940_
"The Fives" Jimmy Yancey _Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1: 1939-1940_

Self Help Radio 071814: Candles

An entire radio show made in defiance of electric light!  That's how it is.  The candle show flickered briefly & then was extinguished, but I have saved an impression in mp3 form.

The show was fun.  I spoke with a fellow who claimed to own the world's oldest candle, Tania called in & played a song, & a jet-lagged Dr. Howard Gently talked about the spiritual significance of candles - in addition to all the great music played!

You can listen now at the Self Help Radio website.  Please remember that the mp3s are now password protected, so if you want to listen, you'll need a username/password combo, which is on the site, or you can just remember SHR/selfhelp.  The songs I played are below.

Enjoy the scents & the beautiful flame!

(part one)

"Candle Song" Holly Golightly _Laugh It All Up!_
"Candle Mambo" Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band _Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)_
"Candle" Lydia Ainsworth _Right From Real, Pt. I_

"Don't Burn The Candle At Both Ends" Louis Jordan _Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five_
"Burn My Candle (At Both Ends)" Shirley Bassey _Burn My Candle: The Complete Early Years 1956-58_
"Burn That Candle" Bill Haley & His Comets _Live It Up!_
"Wax Candle" Harverson Apricot _Psychedelic Schlemiels: Lost Sounds From The Britpsych Scene 1966-1969_

"Candle" Sonic Youth _Daydream Nation_
"Candleland" Ian McCulloch _Candleland_
"Glass Candle Grenades" Cocteau Twins _Head Over Heels_
"Black Candle" Leo Graham _Lee Scratch Perry: Public Jestering_

"Brief Candles" The Zombies _Odessey & Oracle_
"Light A Candle" Neil Young _Fork In The Road_
"Can I Get There By Candlelight" David McWilliams _Reflections Of David McWilliams_

(part two)

"A Candle's Fire" Beirut _The Rip Tide_
"Light A Candle" Orange Cake Mix _Infinite Beauty_
"Six Hundred Candles" Tiny Town _No Place Like Rome_

"No One Can Hold A Candle To You" Morrissey _I Have Forgiven Jesus_
"The Candle Burned Out" The Shout Out Louds _Work_
"Candlesticks" The Cannanes _Caveat Emptor_

"Seven African Powers" Russell Miles _Six Tunes By "Russ"_
"Candlelight" The Gestures _The Big Hits Of Mid-America: The Soma Records Story 1963 - 1967_
"Black Candles" Blue Bus _Magic Cube_
"Light The Glass Candle" Glass Candle _30 Seconds Before The Galico Wall_

"Roman Candle" Bedhead _Beheaded_
"Roman Candles" Half Japanese _Greatest Hits_

Whither Candles?

When I first came to Austin, I was responsible for the very first time for buying all of my food for myself.  I had applied to the University of Texas too late to get into the dorms, so I didn't have a cafeteria or a meal plan.  Up until that point, I had survived on meals made by my mother or me at home (from foodstuffs in the house) or on fast food.  Luckily, there was a big supermarket within walking distance of my apartments, & visit there I did all the time those first two years I lived in apartments south of the river in the area known as the "Riverside Student Ghetto."

(I just tried to find the place on Google Maps, but the area is so developed now - it's been over twenty-five years, man - that there are shops in front of the supermarket, instead of the giant parking lot I knew.  The street in front, too, has been widened.)

I had of course been in supermarkets before, so it wasn't like this was a new experience, but in general, the grocery stores I'd visited in Garland were much smaller, & didn't have things like housewares or more than two aisles of frozen foods.  One of the aisles I came to enjoy, for no apparent reason, was the aisle that had the religious candles.  They were solid, sturdy things, with lots of colors, & weird things written on them that I hadn't encountered so far in my life, being surrounded mainly by protestants.  I mean, look at this assortment from the Wikipedia:

Astonishing, right?  I bought a couple, sheepishly, but didn't really light them.  I wouldn't have known what they were for.  In a way, my fascination was filled with mockery; but I can't deny that they held an attraction for me: the lovely, unfamiliar images (Jesus with his heart glowing out of his chest!) & the prayers on the back (concentrate on your petition!) were just outside my world enough to make me feel I was being somehow transgressive - even though I was never really a Christian.

I gave one of the candles to a friend in the early 1990s, & he did what I could never do - he wrote a song about it.  I will play that song tomorrow.

I've decided to have a look around to see if I can find these candles in Lexington, & if so, I'm going to buy them & keep them somewhere around the house.  They were, in a way, the inspiration for this show.

& it's happening tomorrow!  Seven to nine a.m. (7-9am) on 88.1 fm WRFL in Lexington, online at the same time at the WRFL web site.  & later, of course, before the candles burn at, at Self Help Radio's new secure location.

You May Have Noticed (You Haven't Noticed)

All mp3 files on the Self Help Radio home page are now password protected.  I know!  I complained about it yesterday & today it's like, wow!  The username & password are on the front page, in a sort-of but not obvious place.  It's this paragraph:

(You can click it to make it bigger.)

I didn't want to write USERNAME: + PASSWORD: but I didn't want it to be hard to find, either.

Why is this happening?  Well, a couple of weeks ago, someone created a kind of program which went through my site & downloaded all the files.  This is a problem because there are a lot of radio shows there, & my web provider got mad at me (although it wasn't my fault) & shut down my site.  I begged & pleaded & did a few things that were probably useless, & my site reappeared.

Then, last week, it happened again.  I did more begging & pleading & a lot of reasoning.  My site came back up but it seemed obvious I needed to do something else.

Here's the thing: very few people know about my radio show, & there a smaller subset of those folks who listen to it.  (A smaller number, I would say, like it enough to download whole episodes.)  So when there's suddenly someone downloading (in a small span of time) 73 episodes, it's probably someone causing mischief.  Password-protection can hinder most of these situations, although, as one technical support person mentioned to me, there are people out there who can write sophisticated programs, too.  I hope I'm not on those folks' radars.

I hope that this doesn't keep people from listening to or discovering my dumb little radio show, & in that spirit, I will mention that, if you can't find the username on the web site (for whatever reason), & you can't find it written somewhere on the Facebook page, then I can only perhaps suggest that if you had to have a username, it might as well be SHR, & if you had to have a password, it might as well be selfhelp.

At this point, it's the best I can do.

Now let's hope I can put all this drama behind me.

On Pins & Needles, Not On Candles At All

Didn't I do a needle show recently?  Oh yeah!

Remember last week around this time, when my site went down?  Well, I am in the process of trying to make the site slightly less susceptible to attacks by douchenozzles, but I am waiting for the folks from my hosting company to communicate with me about my changes.  If I don't hear from them today - a week after we've last spoke, I think - I'll contact them again.  Meanwhile, I'm waiting for the next attack - & the next flurry of phone calls in which I try to explain to every other person - I get a mean person & then a nice person, each time, over & over - that I am in fact doing everything I possibly can short of gutting my website & isn't there now a paper trail?

There appears to be (in my completely unscientific survey) in about half of the tech folks I talk to a lack of empathy & a weird desire to conform to whatever rules there are, no matter how much I explain.  To them, I am violating the terms of service & anything that has gone wrong is my fault.  They refer to files downloaded by an automated program as "malicious," as if they were asking to be used to disrupt online traffic.  The other half act like they're completely on my side, & they're the ones that actually help.  I hope they get more money than the meanies.

I went to the dentist today & while the dentist did the drilling, it appeared that the dental assistant did the filling.  That's unusual, isn't it?  Now the novocaine is wearing off.  It's a terrible feeling, like getting drunk at lunch & sobering up in the afternoon.  Ugh.  Ow.  I think I chewed up my lip while it was numb!

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Eight

Memphis Minnie

I woke up early Friday morning feeling a little lonesome so the music I played on the show reflected that.  Maybe listening to some lonesome blues will help you feel less lonesome.

The show can be enjoyed now at Self Help Radio on the web.  The lonesome songs I played are huddling together below.

"Lonesome Woman's Blues" Rosetta Crawford _Clarence Williams & The Blues Singers, Vol 1: 1923-1928_
"Lonesome Weary Blues" Bertha "Chippie" Hill _Louis Armstrong & The Blues Singers_
"The Lonesome Road" Gene Austin _The History Of Pop Radio (1920-1927)_

"Lonesome Lovesick Blues" Blanche Calloway _1925 - 1935_
"Lonesome & Sorry" Lillie Delk Christian _Hociel Thomas & Lillie Delk Christian: 1925-1928_
"Long Lonesome Blues" Blind Lemon Jefferson _The Best Of Blind Lemon Jefferson_
"That Lonesome Rave (Bertha Henderson, vocals)" Blind Blake _All The Published Sides_
"Lonesome Blues" Henry Williams & Eddie Anthony _Violin, Sing The Blues For Me_

"So Lonesome" Ramblin' Thomas _Roll & Tumble Blues_
"Lonesome Frisco Line" Tom Darby & Jimmie Tarlton _Roots 'N' Blues: The Retrospective_
"Lonesome Man Blues" Lee Green _Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1929-1930)_
"Lonesome Mind Blues" Speckled Red _Complete Recorded Works 1929-1938_
"Lonesome Day Blues" Blind Willie McTell _Complete Recorded Works, Vol.2 (1931-33)_

"Homesick & Lonesome Blues" Blind Boy Fuller _The Slide Guitar: Bottles, Knives & Steel_
"Look Down That Long Lonesome Road" Unknown Group _Deep River Of Song: South Carolina - Got The Keys To The Kingdom_
"Minnie's Lonesome Song" Memphis Minnie _Queen Of The Country Blues: All The Published Sides, 1929 - 1937_

Self Help Radio 071114: Ruby

Is my website still up?  For now?  Okay.

This morning I had a gem of a show - all about rubies, or Rubys, as the case may be.  Only one person called to tell me he didn't like anything I was playing!  It was a good day.

The show is here as long as the website is: Self Help Radio website.  It's also in two parts, here & here.  The beautiful deep red songs I played are below.

Please enjoy & thanks for listening!

(part one)

"Ruby" Merkin _Music From Merkin Manor_
"Ruby" Silver Apples _Contact_
"Ruby" Sneakers _Sneakers EP_

"Ruby" Ray Charles _Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection_
"Ruby" Boss Hog _Girl Positive EP_
"Ruby" Simon Bonney _Everyman_
"Ruby" The Apples In Stereo _Her Wallpaper Reverie_

"Ruby" Kristin Hersh _Sunny Border Blue_
"Ruby II" Amy Millan _Honey From The Tombs_
"Ruby" Kaiser Chiefs _Yours Truly Angry Mob_
"Ruby" Tania & Juan _Ruby_

"Ruby Tuesday" Melanie _Melanie_

(part two)

"Rubylove" Cat Stevens _Teaser & The Firecat_
"Little Ruby Rain" Markley _A Group_
"Ruby Dean" Bobby Womack _Understanding_

"Rock & Roll Ruby" Warren Smith _The Sun Records Collection_
"My Little Ruby" Chan Romero _The Del-Fi & Donna Records Story_
"Wicked Ruby" Danny Zella & His Zell Rocks _Wicked Ruby_
"Rock-Ola Ruby" Sonee West _Rock-A-Billy Dynamite_

"See Ruby Fall" Johnny Cash _Hello, I'm Johnny Cash_
"Ruby Ann" Marty Robbins _Marty Robbins Rocks_
"Ruby, Are You Mad At Your Man?" Cousin Emmy & Her Kinfolk _From The Vaults: Decca Country Classics 1934-1973_
"Ruby Dear" Talking Heads _Naked_

"Hey Ruby (Shut Your Mouth)" Ruby & The Party Gang _The Sound Of Philadelphia - Funk, Soul, & The Roots Of Disco 1965-73: Philadelphia Roots, Vol. 2_
"Ruby Horse" The Wonder Stuff _The Eight Legged Groove Machine_
"Rhubarb Ruby" The Spectors _Beat Is Murder: Cockfights & Cakefights 1992-1996_

Whither Ruby?

God, it's been an exhausting week.  Website attacks, dentists, lack of sleep - blergh.  I just need to stare at a picture of cute animals being sweet to one another:

Well, that helps a little.

Tomorrow, a show about people named "Ruby" & also lots of talk about the gemstone called a ruby.  It's happening from 7 to 9 am on the 88.1 fm frequency in Lexington & its surroundings, or online at wrfl dot fm.  I hope you can listen - there's lots of neat stuff happening then & there.

If I still have a website in the afternoon, though, I'll put the show up for you, if you're not up to hear it.

Site Down

While I was on vacation last week, I got an email from my web hosting service that said that my site had been suspended because too many files had been downloaded from the server in a short period of time.  In talking with a support person at the place, I discovered it looked like it came from a handful of very similar IP addresses.  We both agreed it seemed malicious, & although it violated the company's terms of agreement, it wasn't my fault (though of course it was my responsibility to deal with it).  They gave me several options, I picked the cheapest one (which was free but required I enter in the offending IP addresses & block them).  Then my site was restored.

The same thing happened today, but the person I just talked to, while trying to be a sensitive bro, told me I had to remove the offending files before my site could be restored.  That's basically every radio show on the site.

Do you know how many people download & listen to my shows?  Very few.  I've been with this hosting service since 2009.  Nothing like this has happened before this month.  & yet, for some reason, I'm being told the only two solutions are gutting the site (well, I could put the shows on Soundcloud or Youtube - this seems the equivalent of the folks at Wal-Mart telling me how to get food stamps) or paying more for a private server which would also be shut down the minute some asshat wrote a program that downloaded the entire site in an hour.

I am so exhausted by all this.  I no longer want to stay with this company, but I also have no time to research other companies to find something better or at the very least not worse (though the bar has been set rather low).  Until such a time, or in the small chance there's a simpler solution to the problem (they haven't yet responded to my last "ticket"), the site won't be there.

This is something they haven't said to me, but I'll say it to you: I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Tumbler

The front page of the Self Help Radio Tumblr site

You've heard me say this before: I'm terrible at promoting things.  I have a Twitter account (here) but I don't feel nearly clever enough to write something in it every day (I've been trying to put into words some wry observation I've wanted to make about realtors but can't seem to do it); I only got it because I felt like everyone was saying it was a good thing to use to connect with "fans," something I'm not sure I have.  & a while back, someone was talking about Tumblr.  So back then, sure, I started a Tumblr blog.

Wow, Tumblr has become something very different than I thought it would.  It's sort of true to say it's kind of an open-air Facebook, but also not.  Initially, I used the Self Help Radio Tumblr site (here) to post pictures I scanned or stole from the web with music videos.  It was something I did when I remembered it existed.

A couple of months ago, though, some of the Tumblr blogs I stumbled on had photographs - not reblogged photos, but photos taken by the owners of the blog.  They weren't spectacular, but there was a nice, personal feel to them.  & I said to myself, I have a digital camera, I should take pictures, &, if I like them, I can put them somewhere.

So I share them on my personal Facebook account, but also on my Tumblr site.  Above you can see the most recent two pictures I've taken.  I don't give any details on the blog (no one cares), but I will here: one of those was taken at an elementary school playground in Dallas, & another in downtown Lexington.

I know the pictures are mainly interesting to me.  But in case you didn't know they existed, I wanted to show them to you.  If you don't want to tell me what you think, that's cool.

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Seven

Sleepy John Estes

I have put up the most recent episode of my blues show, Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, on the Self Help Radio website.  You can listen now!

The show, which I hastily prepared after I returned from vacation, features songs I didn't have time to play on my previous six shows.  I don't think it sounds awful for all that - but what I played is below:

"The Old Folks Started It" Minnie Wallace _Memphis Jug Band: Associates & Alternate Takes (1927-30)_
"The Gallis Pole" Lead Belly _Country Blues Outlaws_
"Black Woman Swing" Champion Jack Dupree _Cabbage Greens_

"Louise Louise Blues" Johnny Temple _Essential Blues Friends Blues_
"Easin' Back To Tennessee" Sleepy John Estes _Working Man's Blues_
"The Meeting In The Air" Mr & Mrs F H Lacy _Black Religious Music (1930-1956)_
"Poor Lazarus" Vera Ward Hall _Deep River Of Song: Alabama From Lullabies To Blues (1934-1940)_
"Whiskey Head Woman" Tommy McClennan _Tommy McClennan, Vol. 1: Whiskey Head Woman_

"Pony Blues" Sonny Boy Nelson _Complete Recordings...1936_
"Mama, You Don't Mean Me No Good" Little Brother Montgomery _Complete Recorded Works (1930-1936)_
"Tampa Strut" Georgia Browns _Atlanta Blues: Big City Blues From The Heartland_
"Good Looking Girl Blues" Furry Lewis _The Complete Vintage Recordings Of Furry Lewis (1927-1929)_
"Sleepy Woman Blues" Robert Petway _Mississippi Blues (1935-1951)_

"Pinebluff, Arkansas" Bukka White _The Complete Bukka White_
"I'm Going To Write & Tell Mother" Robert Hill _Blues Cafe_
"The Devil's Dream" Sid Hemphill _Afro-American Folk Music From Tate & Panola Counties, Mississippi_

Self Help Radio 070414: Limes

Limes!  America's fruit!  I hope!  There seems to have been a miscalculation somewhere!  Keep smiling!

The lime-song shortage is greatly exaggerated.  There are loads here!  Listen at the Self Help Radio website or directly: part one is here & part two is here.  Lime songs below!

Happy birthday, limes of America!

(part one)

"The Lime Song" Leslies _Totally Brilliant_
"Lime Tree Arbour" Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds _The Boatman's Call_
"Limes" Tania & José _Limes_

"Lemon & Lime" Herman's Hermits _Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter_
"Lemon & Lime" Three Finger Cowboy _Kissed_
"Lemon & Lime" Jad Fair & R. Stevie Moore _FairMoore_
"Two Lemons, One Lime" The Wave Pictures _Beer In The Breakers_

"Coconut" The Muppets _Muppet Hits_
"The Lime-Juice Tub" A.L. Lloyd & Martyn Wyndham-Reade _The Great Australian Legend_
"The Lime Juice Ship" John Roberts & Tony Barrand _Across The Western Ocean_
"Out Of The Lime" New Mendicants _Into The Lime_
"Leaf & Lime" High Llamas _Beet, Maize, & Corn_

"A Little Splash Of Lime" Sportique _A Christmas Gift From Fortuna Pop! Volume 2_
"Nesbitt's Lime Soda Song" Negativland _Escape From Noise_

(part two)

"Fizzical Lime" Sheer Agony _A Fixture Records Sampler_
"Gin & Lime" Esbee Family _Peace Of Mind_

"Cherry In My Lemon & Lime" Three Riffs _Hot Harmony Groups 1932-1951: That's The Rhythm, Vol. 1_
"Cherry Lime" The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion _Extra Width_
"Lime Jelly Grass" Renaldo & The Loaf _Songs For Swinging Larvae_
"Limes & Skulls" Jonathan Fire*Eater _Jonathan Fire Eater_

"Lime-Lime" Subsonics _In The Black Spot_
"Lemons & Limes" Fuzzy Bunnies _Lemons & Limes_
"Lime House" Breeders _Pod_
"Lemon & Lime" Mark Morriss _Memory Muscle_
"Emerald & Lime" Brian Eno _Small Craft On A Milk Sea_

"Wrong Number" The Cure _Galore: The Singles 87 - 97_
"Lemon-Lime Face" The Octopus Project + Black Moth Super Rainbow _The House Of Apples & Eyeballs_

Whither Limes?

I think I just wanted to play the Leslies song called "The Lime Song."  I don't think the song mentions limes at all.  It should set the tone for the whole show.

I have it on good authority that the Reverend Doctor Howard Gently (whom you should follow on Twitter, duh) will call & I've arranged to interview the Lime King.  That should be fun!

It's happening tomorrow morning from 7 to 9 am on 88.1 fm in Lexington & online at WRFL on the web.

Yes, I know it's the Fourth of July & you'll be in bed, but I couldn't be bothered to do an America-themed show.  Anyway, there's a parade & stuff later.  You can go to that.

Limes!  What was I thinking?

Back On Track

I got back from vacation yesterday but I didn't write to tell you here because there was a problem: my website was down all day long.  I spent the evening on the phone with nice tech support people for my hosting company, who were cool & professional even though I was a bit impatient & stressed out.  It was a weird end to a nice vacation - to get an email in the morning in Memphis saying my website was down for reasons I didn't understand.  It turns out, it was attacked by a Chinese bot of some kind that basically downloaded the site, & because there are lots of mp3s of radio shows, it clogged up everything.  Maybe one day I'll tell the entire story.  But the upshot is, I'm home working on a show about limes, & my website is happily up.

I just found this picture on the Wikipedia in the section about the color lime.  I think we had this book when I was growing up.  I wish I had the whole series now!

I look forward to returning to the show, & I thank Daryl for subbing last week.  He was probably amazing - I shouldn't listen to the show or else I'll feel like just giving it to him.  Rats!

Preface To Melancholia: I'm On Vacation, Damn It!

Please remember that the wonderful Daryl Cookie will be hosting Self Help Radio this week instead of me.  I wish I could be there to listen to his show!  Instead, I'll be hanging out with a bunch of skunks.

You get to listen to it, though!  You're lucky!

Woke Up Early One Morning Blues, Episode Six

Jaybird Coleman

I won't be hosting Self Help Radio this week, as I'll be on the road tomorrow & in Dallas by Friday, but if you have the time & inclination, you can listen to last Friday's episode of my country blues show Woke Up Early One Morning Blues.  It's available for listening now at the Self Help Radio website.  This episode is all about harmonicas!  The artists I played are below.

Also: there won't be an episode of Woke Up Early One Morning Blues this week, but I'll be back on the Fourth of July!

"Whiskey & Gin Blues" South Street Trio _Bobby Leecan & Robert Cooksey: Complete Works in Chronological Order, Vol. 1 (1924-1927)_
"Police & High Sheriff Come Ridin' Down" Ollis Martin _Barrelhouse Blues_
"Man Trouble Blues" Jaybird Coleman _Blues Masters: Country Southern Blues_

"El Watson's Fox Chase" El Watson _The Great Harp Players (1927-1936)_
"Davidson County Blues" DeFord Bailey _When The Sun Goes Down, Vol. 1: Walk Right In_
"Touch Me Light Mama" George "Bullet" Williams _Alabama Harmonica Kings (1927-30)_
"Mean Low Blues" Blues Birdhead _American Primitive: Pre-War Revenants 1897-1939, Vol. 2_
"Sugar Pudding" Memphis Jug Band _Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1928-1929)_

"Wang Wang Harmonica Blues" The Carver Boys _Mountain Blues: Blues, Ballads & String Bands 1927-1938_
"Riding The Blinds" Eddie Mapp _Georgia Blues (1928-1933)_
"Medley Of Blues: All Out & Down, Old Time Blues, Hog In The Mountain" Freeman Stowers _Sinners & Saints (1926-1931)_
"Mr. Devil Blues" Jed Davenport _Broke, Black, & Blue, Vol. 2: Broke & Hungry Blues_
"Devil In The Wood Pile" Noah Lewis _Gus Cannon & Noah Lewis Vol. 2 (1929 - 1930)_

"The Spasm" Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah _Good For What Ails You: Music Of The Medicine Shows, 1926-1937_
"Lost John" Sonny Terry _Complete Recorded Works 1938-1945_
"Poor Boy Blues" Jazz Gillum (as Bill McKinley) _Roots 'N' Blues: The Retrospective_

This Week

I'll be visiting Dallas this week.  Going to see the Mom & also eat at the city's amazing vegetarian & vegan restaurants.  Have I mentioned that there are no vegan or vegetarian restaurants in Lexington?  A barbecue place just closed nearby & this sign was up for a while:

There's a chalkboard behind the front door that says, "New restaurant coming soon!"  I don't imagine it'll be too vegetarian/vegan friendly.

There's a nice website - happy cow dot net - which has a helpful list of vegetarian, vegan, & veg-friendly restaurants in various places.  I used it to find places to eat when we were in Puerto Rico last year, & will use it when we go to Vietnam in a couple of months.  I keep meaning to write more reviews for it, but I tend to get shy of my own opinions from time to time.

Who'll be doing Self Help Radio this week if not me?  My buddy Daryl will.  You can look at the sorts of things he plays on the playlist at wrfl dot fm.  He says he'll do a show about "melancholia."  I believe him!

& I know I usually put up my blues show on Mondays but I've been trying to gather things to listen to for the drive.  So I'll do it tomorrow.  I promise.

Self Help Radio 062014: Racing

I may not ever have won any sort of race, nor even seen a horse or automobile race live, but I know a thing or two about racing.  Like everything else I know, it's what I've absorbed from songs.  This show is the sum of my knowledge.

Also!  I interview Nick Ramirez, horseracing's biggest fan, & the Reverend David Fruchter of the Church of NASCAR, & Tania calls & sings a song for me.  & you, too!

You want to listen?  No?  If you change your mind, the show is over at the Self Help Radio website, or through direct links: part I & part II.  Vroom vroom!  The songs I played are below!

Buckle up for safety!

(part one)
"A Day At The Races" The Art Of Noise _In No Sense? Nonsense!_
"The Race" Christopher _Piccadilly Sunshine, Vol. 1: British Pop Psych & Other Flavours 1968-1970_
"It's A Race" The Enemy _Streets In The Sky_

"Hot Rod Race" Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan _Juke Box Boogie_
"Race With The Devil" Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps _Loud, Fast & Out Of Control: The Wild Sounds Of 50s Rock_
"Drag Race" Don Pearly _Drag Race_
"Cat Racing Track" Bob & Ray _1975_
"Hot Rod Lincoln" All _Allroy's Revenge_

"Camptown Races" Abner Jay _The Backbone Of America Is A Mule & Cotton_
"Race-Track Blues" Johnny Moore's Three Blazers _Charles Brown 1946_
"A Race Between A Ford & A Chevrolet" Oscar Ford _Folk Music In America, Vol. 10: Songs Of War & History_
"The Race Is On" George Jones _The Essential George Jones_
"Bicycle Race" Be Your Own Pet _Killer Queen: A Tribute To Queen_

"Arms Race" The Attractions _Mad About The Wrong Boy_
"Space Race" Mi-Sex Mi-Sex _'79 - '85_

(part two)

"Wild Goose Race" Brigadier Jerry _129 Beat Street: Ja-Man Special 1975-1978_
"Rat Race" The Specials _The Singles Colection_
"The Submarine Races" Jan & Dean _Ride The Wild Surf_

"Racing With The Moon" Vaughn Monroe _The Great Ones_
"Super Racearound II" Firesign Theatre _Boom Dot Bust_
"Formula One Racing Girls" Helen Love _Radio Hits 1_
"Speed Racer" Two Nice Girls _Like A Version_

"Boy Racers A Go Go" The Haywains _Get Happy With The Haywains_
"Boyracer" The Brunettes _Boyracer EP_
"The Boy Racer" Morrissey _Southpaw Grammar_
"Raceway" Comateens _Comateens_

"The Race Is Over" Phillip Boa & The Voodoo Club _Diamonds Fall_
"The Race Is On Again" Yo La Tengo _I Am Not Afraid Of You & I Will Beat Your Ass_

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_