Preface To Indiepop A To Z # 78: Cute Animals

One defining feature of me is that I am wholly incapable of successfully making any sort of mark on social media. It's not that I wouldn't like lots of people knowing about my show, it's that it's a kind of work - self-promotion - that I find inherently distasteful. I do sometimes wish I was better at it, not for my own sake, but if I were good at getting someone's attention, I might be able to help raise money for the radio stations at which I volunteer. It is a sadness that I can't contribute financial to them commensurate with my love for them.

Over on my otherwise barren Bluesky account, I post pictures of my youngest animals every day. I do this as much for me as for anyone else - it's nice to see how they grow & change over time & making it into a ritual benefits me in the long run. I wish I had many more pictures of all my animals. I am sad I don't. I know my memories of the time I spent with them will fade - my own brain may well betray me. If my heart doesn't give out on me first.

This week I'm playing more indiepop & cute animals are part & parcel of the substance of twee. I remember going to a show & my then-girlfriend trying to convince the band afterward that the beagle was the most indiepop of animals. They may well be. I don't really make pronouncements like that. Not when there are adorable chihuahuas in the world!

This was not meant to be me moaning about anything. Just showing pics of my animals. As I listen to indiepop for the next silly show.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Knife Day

August 24 is National Knife Day. We will be reporting on knives on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM. We have spent the whole week reminding the staff & crew about knife safety. We have reviewed first aid procedures. We have asked that no one bring knives from home. When last we reported on this day, there was a lot of blood. Stitches were required. One of our interns lost a finger. It is not one of the safer days to report on.

That's Sunday, August 24, 12-1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere. There was so much blood last time, though. So much blood.

This Week In Self Help August 15 17 19 + 21

Another busy week damn.

Friday the 15th: The Songcircle on KBOO.
All new releases.
Listen at KBOO. Listen at Self Help Radio.

Sunday the 17th: The Dickenbock Report on XRAY.
National I Love My Feet Day. Really.
Listen at XRAY. Listen at Self Help Radio.

Tuesday the 19th: Self Help Radio on KBOO.

The theme was eternity.

Listen at KBOO. Listen at Self Help Radio.

Tuesday the 19th: Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO.
Continuing Self Help Radio's theme, lots of instrumentals with "eternity" in their title.
Listen at Self Help Radio. (It's included in the KBOO file for Self Help Radio above.)

Thursday the 21st. Subbing Welcome To Your Good Day on XRAY.
Just playing music & talking about stuff.
Listen at XRAY.

The picture of the clouds above is supposed to be some attempt to show eternity.
I'm outta ideas here.
If you go to the Self Help Radio website, you might need the username SHR & password selfhelp.
I promise next week will be far less busy.

Self Help Radio 081925: Eternity

Driving to do the show last night, I reflected on how many late-night radio shows I've driven to, in all kinds of weather, in the darkest nights on the loneliest highways. Not to mention road trips driving through the middle of nowhere. My closest intimations of eternity have been in moments like those - alone in a moving vehicle, often listening to only the ambient noise caused by automobile & movement through space, seeing very little beyond what the headlights can show, or a light in the distance, or (if I'm lucky) the moon & some overachieving stars. Time, which was obviously moving forward as I was, still seemed to be slow, or even still, as you might yourself feel when you can't judge your own speed by another object nearby.

Maybe someone was driving down a similar highway listening to the show too. & maybe they had the same experience & it blew their minds.

Listen to a radio show about eternity in two places: the KBOO website & the Self Help Radio website. If you are asked for a username & password, maybe try SHR & selfhelp. All the things that happened on the show are listed below.

& don't worry - it's a show about eternity but it's only two hours long.

Self Help Radio Eternity Show

"Eternity" Peck's Male Quartet _The Rise & Fall Of Paramount Records, Volume 2 (1928-1932)_

"From Here To Eternity" Frank Sinatra _The Complete Capitol Singles Collection_

"Eternity" Ernest Kador _The Specialty Story_

introduction & definitions

"Three Day Eternity" Richie Havens _Mixed Bag_

"Eternity" Glenn Yarbrough _Let The World Go By_

"One Minute Past Eternity" Hank Locklin _Hank Locklin & Danny Davis & The Nashville Brass_

"Eternity" Buell Kazee _Buell Kazee Sings & Plays_

"Eternity In Between" Morgen _Morgen_

interview with mystic Madame Ruby

"From Here To Eternity" The Only Ones _Even Serpents Shine_

"Eternity Is Here" The Gun Club _The Life & Times Of Jeffrey Lee Pierce & The Gun Club_

"Eternity Road" Lowlife _From A Scream To A Whisper_

"From Here To Eternity" William S. Burroughs _The Best Of William Burroughs From Giorno Poetry Systems_

"From Her To Eternity" Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds _From Her To Eternity_

interview with the Rev Wesley Fish

"Eternity" Imperial Teen _Seasick_

"Promises Of Eternity" The Magnetic Fields _69 Love Songs_

"Eternity Changed Her Mind" Outrageous Cherry _Why Don't We Talk About Something Else EP_

"Eternity" Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith _Mummer Love_

"Into Eternity" Jens Lekman _Night Falls Over Kortedala_

coming to terms with eternity Eternity visits!

"Eternity" Marty Feldman _The Crazy World Of Marty Feldman_

"Eternity" Siddal _The Crossing_

"What Feels Like Eternity" Metric _Formentera_

"Baby, Eternity" Amber Arcades _European Heartbreak_

"Eternity" Paris Angels _Sundew_

conclusion & goodbye

"Eternity" Here Come The Mummies _Terrifying Funk From Beyond The Grave_

"Brief Eternity" Bobby McFerrin _Vocabularies_

Whither Eternity?

One day recently eternity was on my mind. Not in any supernatural sense - I don't have any supernatural beliefs - but in the sense of "can things go on forever"? I think I had been reading about planned robotic missions to Saturn's moons & I thought about humans putting themselves in spacecraft traveling to other stars & how long it would take & how it would feel like eternity to us but not to them. & when I think about eternity I think about the Thoreau line: "As if you could kill time without injuring eternity!"

Which is very clever but doesn't really mean anything, which may be why I appreciate it. I don't believe that wasting time - which what the idiom "kill time" means - has anything to do with one's soul (I don't believe humans have souls) so I don't think it impacts their lives after death (since I see no evidence that such a thing exists). I repeat though that I think it's clever & it would probably be a great line in a song.

The point is this - when I find myself pondering something - like the concept of eternity - sooner or later my brain, which is always in the process of working on radio shows, thinks, "Would this be a good idea for a radio show?" & once I feel like enough of the pieces are in place for the show, I schedule it. This show happens tonight.

& yes, like most of my shows, it will feel like an eternity but will only be a couple of hours. The jokes write themselves.

Tonight! Midnight to 2am. 90.7fm in Portland. kboo dot fm everywhere. & then out to eternity!

Preface To Eternity: My First Glimpse Of Eternity

That's it. That's Steve Ditko's drawing of Eternity from the Dr. Strange comic. I don't know if when I was a kid I had an idea of what "eternity" meant but I'm sure when I came to understand the concept I thought about this incredible drawing by Steve Ditko. Even now, after being familiar with it for most of my life, it continues to astonish me. Just amazing.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National I Love My Feet Day

August 17 is National I Love My Feet Day. To a person, none of the members of the Dickenbock Report staff - including Dick Dickenbock himself - loves their feet. We have an explicit "keep your shoes on" policy at the Report because frankly the feet we have are either difficult to look at or just smell awful. Maybe something about radio news lends itself to a total lack of healthy foot care. Perhaps what we reveal in our reporting will help us all out. Anyway, dog & cat feet are more awesome.

Get your feet ready for tomorrow at noon on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & xray dot fm everywhere. & no not take your shoes off before you enter the house. We'd rather you track dirt in then have to deal with whatever surprises your exposed feet will reveal.

This Week In Self Help August 8 10 12 + 14

Oh dear I was on the radio a lot this week. Eek!

Last Friday the 8th I subbed a show on XRAY. Listen to the show on the XRAY website. Listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website.

Sunday the 10th on the Dickenbock Report I played tunes for National Lazy Day. Listen to the show on the XRAY website. Listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website.

Later that day I played two hours of electronica on KBOO. KBOO doesn't archive its sub shows but you can listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website. & you can see the Spinitron playlist here.

Tuesday the 12th on Self Help Radio I played songs & talked about porches. Listen to the show on the KBOO website. Listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website.

After that show on Corporate Standardized Programming I played an hour of new releases. It's included on the KBOO website file above. Or you can listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website.

Finally yesterday Thursday the 14th I subbed another show on XRAY. I have not put it on the Self Help Radio website yet but you can listen to the show on the XRAY website.

As always, for the Self Help Radio website, you may need the username SHR & the password selfhelp to listen.

That was probably too much radio. Somebody should say something.

Self Help Radio 081225: Porches

It's no secret - since it's all I've been talking about here recently - I love porches. I take pictures of porches here in Portland. Look at those porches! Even the ones that can use some work are better than no porch at all. I would rather die falling through the rotting boards of a neglected old porch than live at a place with no porch! Okay, maybe not. But I wouldn't mind just falling & surviving & hanging out with the rats under the porch for a while.

Hey! Look at all these songs about porches! Plus I've added some silly fake interviews! & I talk at length about how KBOO should have a porch! It was a warm night in Lexington - I hope someone was listening from their porch.

Listen to the show now at the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website. If you choose the latter, remember the username SHR & the password selfhelp. Everything that happened on the show - well, all the songs I played, anyway - is mentioned below.

Now! I'm gonna sneak over to my neighbor's porch & take a nap!

Self Help Radio Porches Show

"Last Night On The Back Porch" The Andrews Sisters _The Andrews Sisters Sing The Dancing 20s_

"On The Front Porch" Burl Ives _Summer Magic_

"Sleep On The Porch" The Stewart Brothers _R&B Humdingers Volume 11_

introduction & definitions

"I'll Leave The Porch Light A-Burning" Billy Grammer _Old Foolish Me_

"Front Porch" John Hartford _'Gentle On My Mind' & Other Originals By John Hartford_

"Sitting On The Porch" Kate Wolf & The Wildwood Flower _Back Roads_

"On The Old Front Porch" Tiny Tim _God Bless Tiny Tim_

"Old Man Moses' Front Porch Rhythm Band" The Hardy Boys _Wheels_

interview with Ruth McAllister, who never leaves her porch

"I'm Gonna Sit On The Porch & Pick On My Guitar" Johnny Cash _Silver_

"The Front Porch Song" Robert Earl Keen _No Kinda Dancer_

"Sittin' On The Front Porch Swing" Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, & Tammy Wynette _Honky Tonk Angels_ 

"Porch Flambe" Scruffy The Cat _The Good Goodbye: Unreleased Recordings 1984-1990_

"Porch Song" Porchupines _Swirl_

interview with Clarence Holter, who does a podcast from his porch

"Old Southern Porches" Dale Ann Bradley _Old Southern Porches_

"Porch Song" Trailer Bride _Smelling Salts_

"Porchlight" Neko Case & Her Boyfriends _Furnace Room Lullaby_

"Stu's Porch" Toadmortons _The Toadmortons' Collection_

"Rock Upon A Porch With You" The Boy Least Likely To _The Best B Sides Ever_

interview with Jarvis Costello, who builds porches

"Flypaper Porch Light" Dirt Bike Annie _Hit The Rock!_

"Obscene Back Porch Floating" Experimental Dental School _Jane Doe Loves Me_

"Porch Swing" Emergency Bible Study _Birthday Girl_

"Sitting On The Porch At Night" Horse Jumper Of Love _Natural Part_

"Porchlight" The Antlers _Green To Gold_

conclusion & goodbye

"Porch Boogie" Rose City Band _Garden Party_

"Front Porch Rain" Jackson Scribner _Jackson Scribner_

Whither Porches?

Many moons ago I wrote a series of haikus* about my wife's envy of other people's gardens. It turns out I have porch envy. The difference between my envy & my wife's is that she has cultivated a garden. But I can't just make a porch out of thin air. I guess you could say we have something like a porch but it's really just a little raised square by our front door. No space for even a chair. & I have taken lots of pictures of other people's porches. Especially recently.

It occurred to me I should make a radio show about porches, not because I imagine it will somehow magically create the right circumstances for me to have the porch of my dreams, but because recently porches have been on my mind. Oh how I'd love a porch! I'll have to settle for a radio show about porches instead.

That show is happening tonight on KBOO from midnight to 2am. That's 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere. It's on late but it'll be a warm night so maybe listen on the porch. You lucky dog!

* I know haiku plural is haiku but it doesn't sound right to me so I add the plural s.

Preface To Porches: Porches I Have Known

It's not a secret, I love porches. I don't know if I've always loved porches, but in my adult life, certainly in the 21st century, I have admired porches - even envied them.

The picture above is the porch of my house in Lexington, Kentucky, which wasn't covered, & which wasn't much of a porch, though there were some times we stood there & surveyed the neighborhood. Probably the best porch I've ever had was in Austin, Texas, in a rental owned by a pretty odious dude, a porch on which my nephew & I drank all summer long, & I even sang with musical friends who played guitar. That was a good porch. It had a swing.

My current house doesn't have a porch. I've petitioned the wife with ideas of creating a porch but it has fallen on deaf ears. She hasn't spent time just reading on a porch. Or drinking gin & lemonade watching the day turn into night. Or maybe she's afraid if we had a porch - a front porch, mind - I'd never come inside. That's a real worry to be sure.

One thing I have to admit is that I've never lived in one of those places in the south that has a great bit wraparound porch with ceiling fans from the days before air conditioning. I lived in a room in a house that had a decent porch in that style, but the only time I was on it was drinking with my landlord who was hitting on my girlfriend. So not a fond memory.

Which is my way of saying - if you have a great porch, invite me over! I'll bring the gin & lemonade!

You lucky bastard.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Lazy Day

August 10 is National Lazy Day. In fact, it's supposed to be much hotter than normal in Portland on that day & heat makes everyone really lazy. The staff is already dozing. Maybe there'll be a show. Maybe not. Surely someone will rise to the occasion?

Tonight noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online at xray dot fm everywhere. It'll take almost no effort for you to listen, anyway.

This Week In Self Help Aug 1 3 + 5

That's another lame picture I've taken, this one of a ridged potato chip (not one of the more commercial brands) because Self Help Radio this week was about ridges. The funny thing is, as I wandered around the house looking for decent light to take the picture, my dogs followed me wondering what the hell I was doing with that food that should belong to them. I did not give it to them when I was finished.

Here's radio things I did on the radio this last week.

August 1 on KBOO on The Songcircle I played lots of songs about August because it was August first.
Listen on the KBOO website. Listen on the Self Help Radio website.

August 3 on XRAY on the Dickenbock Report I finished the two-part special on the year 1925.

Listen on the XRAY website. Listen on the Self Help Radio website.

August 5 on KBOO on Self Help Radio I had a show about ridges.

Listen on the KBOO website. Listen on the Self Help Radio website.

Also August 5 on KBOO on Corporate Standardized Programming I played songs by artists we lost in February of this year.
It's the last hour on this KBOO link, but you can also listen on the Self Help Radio website.

The next Self Help Radio is about porches. I'm sure there will be better images. I love taking pictures of porches!

Oh yeah - the Self Help Radio website might ask for a username & password - those are SHR + selfhelp respectively.

Self Help Radio 080525: Ridges

Look I know that's just a close-up of a rock & not an actual ridge there aren't any real ridges nearby in Portland & I didn't have the time or to be honest the wherewithal to drive to Rainier or Hood or St Helens just to snap a picture of a ridge so cut me some slack here please. Because I did an entire radio show about ridges & you know what if you can have ridges in your fingerprint there can be small ridges on rocks in your garden which you thought might fool somebody but it's obvious it's not.

Anyway, here's your radio show about ridges. I found lots & lots of songs about the Blue Ridge Mountains & lots & lots of songs in the bluegrass genre, but I tried to be evenhanded & sparing with both. It's still a lot folky tho. Not a lot of indiepoppers spending time on ridges.

Listen to the show now at the KBOO web site or at the Self Help Radio website. For the latter you might need the username SHR & the password selfhelp. Most of the things that happened on the show are listed below.

& if I get to a ridge I'll change out that lame picture!

Self Help Radio Ridges Show

"There's A Blue Ridge In My Heart, Virginia" Abe Lyman & His California Orchestra _Abe Lyman & His Californians Volume 2 (1926-30)_

"My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains" The Carter Family _Wildwood Flower_

"Blue Ridge Cabin Home" Flatt & Scruggs _1948-1959_

introduction & definitions

"Blue Ridge Mountain Blues" Bill Monroe _Bluegrass 1959-1969_

"Run The Ridges" The Kingston Trio _The Capitol Years_ 

"Rocky Ridges" The Castels _Rocky Ridges_

"Gladys Ridge" James Keelaghan _Small Rebellions_

"Ridge Rider" Judee Sill _Judee Sill_ 

interview with realtors Jack & Judy Foster

"Blue Ridge Mountains" Townes Van Zandt _High, Low, & In Between_

"Hicker Nut Ridge" New Coon Creek Girls _So I'll Ride_

"Up On The Ridge" Joe Ely _Twistin' In The Wind_

"Pine Ridge" Kid Dakota _The West Is The Future_

"Put The Oak Ridge Boys In The Slammer" Austin Lounge Lizards _Paint Me On Velvet_

interview with entrepreneur Tex Duncan

"I Sit On The Ridge At Dusk" Dirty Projectors _The Getty Address_

"Rigomortis (On The Ridge)" Danny Cohen _Shade Of Dorian Gray_

"Blue Ridge Mountains" Fleet Foxes _Fleet Foxes_

"Dandelion Ridge" The Shelters _The Shelters_

"Up On The Ridge" Sarah Louise _Deeper Woods_

interview with journalist Lucy Wayne

"Fire On The Ridge" Jenny Don't & The Spurs _Fire On The Ridge_

"Kelly Ridge" Eric Lindell _Revolution In Your Heart_

"Missionary Ridge" Shovels & Rope _Little Seeds_

"Ridge Rider" Makar _Fancy Hercules_

"The Ridge" Julian Taylor _The Ridge_

conclusion & goodbye

"The Ridge" Sarah Neufeld _The Ridge_

Whither Ridges?

(image from the Oregon Ridge Nature Center website)

Why a radio show about ridges? What the hell are ridges anyway? Like, thin lines of rock? What the what?

It's so boring that this always happens - I just recently found myself listening to a lot of songs that mention ridges. & the weird thing is, almost none of them were bluegrass songs & almost none of them mentioned the Blue Ridge Mountains. That is odd because a large amount of the songs that I found for the show were in the bluegrass genre & were about the Blue Ridge Mountains. Anyway, my brain says to me, "Are there enough songs about this for a show?" & I respond, "Let's look!" & then a show starts to take form around me & my brain.

That show happens tonight at midnight on 90.7fm in Portland (where I don't think we have many ridges) & online kboo dot fm everywhere (where many ridges abound).

Preface To Ridges: Ridgewood Shopping Center

When I think of the word "ridge" I think of a place in Garland, Texas, which still exists, which occupied a singular space in my life for many years. In addition to living for a short time on a street called Ridgewood - which I talked about here - I lived for a time next to a place called - as you can see in the sign there - the Ridgewood Shopping Center.

Here are some places I've written about it before - a specific set of memories about the part of the center nearest to the apartments where I lived here, & about the library I spent way too much time in here, & about the carnivals that might shop in the empty parking lots here. Here is an article about the Ridgewood Theater, with lots of info in the comments.

As I said, I lived next to this space for at least four years, from around 1977 to 1982. I can still walk around the space in my head. I was there when they opened a Minyard's - though I was not a paying customer, still they gave me a little plant which I never took care of & it died in my room. I shoplifted there, & at the local TG&Y, & at a little pharmacy called Drug Mart. There was a Sears store where I think people picked up things they ordered - it wasn't a giant Sears department store, just a little showroom or maybe an outlet store. Around the back, there would be giant boxes as for refrigerators & other appliances which we would take & make into big forts in the filthy parking lot behind the store. We would spend hours making them & probably disgruntled employees would break them down & throw them back into the trash the next day.

When video game spaces became a thing, someone opened an arcade on one of the side areas of the shopping center. My mother, who worked, would give me & my little brother money for dinner - imagine that! we fed ourselves sometimes when we were next even yet tweens - & we might buy a can of Spaghetti-o's & use the rest to put in arcade games we never got good at. That space closed & a Domino's Pizza opened - which I believe is still there.

In fact, the shopping center is still there. The area now being predominantly Latino, there's a Fiesta & another discount shopping center which seem to be the dominant businesses there. There's a Family Dollar where the Sears outlet store used to be. The theater stands unused for decades now - I think I last time I went in there was in the early 1980s, before high school. Indeed, the last time I did most anything in that shopping center was when I lived near it. The information I have about it now is by going briefly to Goober Maps to look around. My oldest sister, who lived quite near it till her death in 2015, had decided to go to other, farther shopping centers by the 21st century - tho I remember a time when she shopped at that Minyard's & new everyone there & introduced me as "my brother who's in college."

Wow I can actually still walk around that Minyard's in my head. The magazine rack - where the comics were too - were in a back corner of the store where the restrooms were. I'd hang out back there & read comics - especially the oversized tabloid editions which they did not get at the convenience store at which my mother worked - & then sneak back into the employee area where the restrooms were not to use the bathroom but to drink from the water fountain they had there.

My oldest sister would often keep, along with her son, our niece, the only two I think that were born at the time (my oldest brother's niece was around, too, but older & my sister never watched her), & I have a fond memories of pushing them through the aisles in a shopping cart & spinning it around. They of course loved it & my sister hated it - but I always wanted to give them the sort of fun I wanted as a kid.

Mostly now I think about walking home from the library to my apartment complex with an armful of books. Walking through the big parking lot which never held as many cars as it could - it's why they'd put traveling carnivals there! Sometimes in the heat, sometimes in winter gloom. I would narrate my life as if I were the only person left alive - always pretending, always in my head - & the books were how I would keep myself a part of humanity. What television show or book or movie or comic was I pretending to be in? It wasn't all that far off to how I really felt.

My relationship to Ridgewood Shopping Center, like I said, was situational. I hardly ever went back once I had left the area. Though I did I think in 2015 take some pictures there - one of which is above, the other of which - this is the theater's marquee - is here:

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: 1925 (Part II)

(image from here)

Last week on the Dickenbock Report we explored the year 1925, one hundred years ago, & played music from that year. We also played a snippet of Calvin Coolidge's Inaugural Address, which must've thrilled the Portland listening audience. So let's go back for one more show!

Tomorrow, Sunday, August 3, from noon to 1pm, the Dickenbock Report returns one more time to 1925. Listen in Portland at 91.1+107.1fm, & everywhere at xray dot fm. But not everywhen - no internet & no fm in 1925.

This Week In Self Help July 27 + 29

That's a picture of my favorite tree in Woodstock Park in the spring. I just have no other pictures to share with you about the theme of "at last." But at least I have a pretty picture to share.

On the radio two days this week I have this to report:

On Sunday the 27th on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM was the first part of a two-part special report about the year 1925. Listen to it: on the XRAY website | on the Self Help Radio website.

Later Sunday the 27th on KBOO I subbed a show in which I played music from recent reissues on the Guerssen label. KBOO doesn't archive sub shows, but you can see the playlist on Spinitron & you can listen to it on the Self Help Radio website.

Tuesday the 29th on Self Help Radio on KBOO I explored the theme "at last." Listen to it: on the KBOO website | on the Self Help Radio website.

Later Tuesday the 29th on Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO I played lots of new releases. Listen to it on the KBOO Self Help Radio file linked above or on the Self Help Radio website.

As always, I remind you that you might need a username & password on the Self Help Radio website. I say use SHR & selfhelp respectively if that is the case.

Self Help Radio 072925: At Last

At last! Your package of Self Help Radio has finally arrived! Too bad it's just the regular radio show with another goofy theme. This one is - at last!

In addition to all the songs I talk to my neighbor Chad, who has become president of our homeowners' association at last; & to my friend Jarvis, who has gotten his geography paper published at last. & though I did want to reveal the secret of KBOO at last - some guy name Curt called in. Plus there were lots of songs.

At last you can listen to the at last show - either on the KBOO website or on the Self Help Radio website. If you use the latter, please remember the username SHR & the password selfhelp. Most everything that happened on the show is listed below.

At last I can stop using the phrase at last!

Self Help Radio At Last Show

"At Last! At Last!" Bing Crosby _Through The Years Volume Three 1951-1952_

"Now At Last" Blossom Dearie _Blossom Dearie_

"At Last" Etta James _At Last!_

intro & definitions

"At Last You've Come Back" Eddie Quinteros _Quinteros Au Go-Go!_

"At Last (I Found A Love)" Marvin Gaye _The Complete Motown Singles | Vol. 7: 1967_

"Alone At Last" Ruthann Friedman _Hurried Life (Lost Recordings 1965-1971)_

"Weirdsong Of Breaking Through At Last" Principal Edwards Magic Theatre _Dust On The Nettles (A Journey Through The British Underground Folk Scene 1967-1972)_

"Gone At Last" Paul Simon _Still Crazy After All These Years_

interview with my neighbor Chad Mopes

"Peace At Last" The Contents Are _Through You_

"Love Is Gonna Come At Last" Badfinger _Airwaves_

"(It Seems Like) Summer's Here At Last" New Salem Witch Hunters _The New Salem Witch Hunters_

"Time Enough At Last" The Fall _Code: Selfish_

"Alone At Last" Steve Westfield _Hotel Massachusetts_

interview with my friend Jarvis

"Free At Last" Dock Reed & Vera Hall Ward _Goodbye, Babylon_

"Free At Last" Fontella Bass _Rescued: The Best Of Fontella Bass_

"Free At Last" Jackie Day _Change Is Gonna Come: The Voice Of Black America 1963-1973_

"Free At Last" Al Green _Livin' For You_

"At Last I Am Free" Elizabeth Fraser _Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before..._

the secret of KBOO revealed at last Curt calls in

"Waking Up At Last" Damien Youth _Happy_

"At Last" The Dø _A Mouthful_

"My Life At Last" Picture Center _Our True Intent Is All For Your Delight_

"Alive At Last" William The Conqueror _Maverick Thinker_

"Seeing The Real You At Last" Bettye LaVette _Things Have Changed_

conclusion & goodbye

"At Last, At Last" Xiu Xiu _Forget_

"At Last" Leslies _Leslies_

"At Last" Brown Recluse _Evening Tapestry_

"Happy Lovers At Last United" Morrissey _Bona Drag_

"Alone At Last" Ooberman _Running Girl_

Whither At Last?

(image from here)

Yes, it's another one of those shows. & while I've probably told this story before, I'll tell it again, & maybe I'll tell it differently from the last time, but the story is true.

Once upon a time I was on a mailing list, something social, but before Facebook. I think it sprang from a Usenet group. & I would send to this group tho no one listened to my show the weekend playlist & download link, much like I do on this blog. & because it was a mailing list, occasionally someone would respond.

Usually theme-based shows stick with nouns - people, places, & things - but I had started to do what I am doing now, having the theme be a phrase. Maybe once or twice no one noticed, but after a third time, one of the people on the mailing list - someone I didn't really know - responded by saying, "Do you think Gary has finally lost it?"

At least that's how I remember it. It isn't the first time someone thought it was about time I'd lost my mind. I only now wish I could find that old email & discover that they had written, "Has Gary gone mad at last?"

This show is happening because I heard a bunch of songs using the phrase "at last." That's all. A few of them were the song in the image above. But I'll probably play Etta James' version.

That's happening tonight, midnight to 2am, on 90.7 fm in Portland, at kboo dot fm everywhere. Maybe you will at last listen?

Preface To At Last: Super Villains

(image found here)

Yes, the theme of the show this week is "at last."

When I think about that phrase, I think about it with an exclamation point, maybe uttered by a super villain - like Dr. Doom above - "I have you at last!" or "I have claimed victory at last!" I blame Stan Lee for my love of such overdramatic writing.

But I have a confession to make - I altered the image above to end with "at last!" If you look close enough, you can see the sloppy photoshop job. I didn't have the time to search through many comics to find the one time Dr. Doom used the phrase "At last!" in a way that would suit me. But it doesn't seem that awkward, right? It fits perfectly with Stan Lee's turgid prose up there, yeah?

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: 1925 (Part I)

(image from here)

Tomorrow - Sunday, July 27 - is the first of two-part Dickenbock Report special report about the year 1925. We'll talk about the music & events of one hundred years ago. & no, it's not the year Dick Dickenbock was born! He's not that old. Not quite that old, anyway.

Sunday from 12-1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere. Hey! That's something that's changed - they only had radio in 1925, not web sites! But also not FM radio. That was a teaser for the show.

This Week In Self Help: July 18 20 +22

This was the previous week that was that week on the radio with me:

Friday the 18th of July I was on the Songcircle on KBOO & I played lots of new releases.
You can listen to it:
on the KBOO website | on the Self Help Radio website.

Sunday the 20th of July I was on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY on National Ice Cream.
& my friend Jennifer from Austin hung out with me!
You can listen to it:
on the XRAY website | on the Self Help Radio website.

Tuesday the 22nd of July I was on Self Help Radio on KBOO & the theme was jigsaw.
You can listen to it:
on the KBOO website | on the Self Help Radio website.

Also on Tuesday the 22nd of July I was on Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO.

I played music from artists who died in January & February of this year.

It's included with the Self Help Radio file on the KBOO website but you can also listen to it:

on the Self Help Radio website.

(Please note: to listen to files on the Self Help Radio website, you'll need a username & password, & those are SHR & selfhelp.)

Self Help Radio 072225: Jigsaw

(jigsaw outline found here)

It's no puzzle - the theme this week is jigsaw. & to be honest, it wasn't that hard to put together. Maybe if there had been ten thousand songs - & all the corner pieces looked the same.

Okay I'm done with the puns & stuff related to jigsaw. Look I even made a Self Help Radio jigsaw puzzle! Let's just say you can listen now & any time at the KBOO web page or at the Self Help Radio web page. If you find you need a username & password, try SHR & self help. Otherwise, everything you need to know is below.

Good luck solving this!

Self Help Radio Jigsaw Show

"My Heart Is A Jigsaw Puzzle" Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys _Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys_

"Jigsaw Puzzle Heart" Sonny Howard with The Rampart Street Boys _Jigsaw Puzzle Heart_

"Jigsaw Puzzle" The Chelmars _Tip Top Chicks At The Hop_

introduction & definitions feat. the Definition-O-Tron 3000

"Jigsaw Puzzle" C. L. Weldon & The Pictures _Teen Town U.S.A. Volume 9_

"Jigsaw" Norman Greenbaum _Spirit In The Sky: The Best Of Norman Greenbaum_

"Jigsaw Puzzle" The Rolling Stones _Beggars Banquet_

"Jigsaw" Pauline Filby _Show Me A Rainbow_

"Jigsaw Puzzle Of Life" Kate & Anna McGarrigle _Kate & Anna McGarrigle_

interview with puzzle maker Stella Owens

"Jigsaw Feeling" Siouxsie & The Banshees _The Scream_

"Jigsaw Youth" Bikini Kill _The C.D. Version Of The First Two Records_

"Jigsaw" Love Spit Love _Love Spit Love_

"Jigsaw Man" Clinic _Visitations_

"Jigsaw" Latimer House _Hey!_

interview with author Gordon Stockwell

"Girl In A Jigsaw Puzzle" Katydids _Katydids_

"Jigsaw Girl" Michael Shelley _Too Many Movies_

"Jigsaw Heart" Elliott Brood _Work & Love_

"Jigsaw" Rufus with Chaka Khan _Camouflage_

"Jigsaw" Ella Thompson _Ripple On The Wing_

interview with fighting robot controller Terry Wicks

"Jigsaw" Billy Kelly & The Blah Blah Blahs _Again!!!_

"Jigsaw" Sekiden _Junior Fiction_

"Jigsaw" Mates Of State _Re-Arrange Us_

"Jigsaw" Femme Fatale _Femme Fatale_

"The Boy With The Jigsaw Puzzle Fingers" Karl Hyde _Edgeland_

conclusion & goodbye

"Jigsaw Puzzle" Of Montreal _Jigsaw Puzzle_

"Jigsaw Baby" Elkie Brooks _Rich Man's Woman_

"Jigsaw Mind" Bronco Bullfrog _Seventhirtyeight_

"Jigsaw You" Deus _Worst Case Scenario_

Whither Jigsaw?

The theme of this week's show is "jigsaw" & there are far more songs about jigsaw puzzles than actual jigsaws. But I like just saying "jigsaw" to mean the puzzle so I went with the single word as the theme.

The idea for the show came from a listener, who said, "I have something I want to do for the show if you'll let me." So I said sure, found the songs, & scheduled the show. & then I never heard from that listener again. I thought the listener might contact me once I said, "I'll be doing a show with the theme 'jigsaw' next week," but nope! Which is fine. I'll do any theme you request - which I can find songs for - you don't have to prepare something for the show. But I admit I was curious!

Put the jigsaw show together with me tonight from midnight to 2am on 90.7 fm in Portland & online everywhere at kboo dot fm. Yeah, we'll start with the corners.

Preface To Jigsaw: Jigsaw Humor

A cartoon by John Atkinson. From pandemic times. Visit his website to read more funnies!

Yeah, the theme this week is "jigsaw." But it'll be more about the puzzles than the device that helps make the puzzles.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: A Special Guest

The Dickenbock Report is a well-researched, meticulously-planned, highly-disciplined radio news magazine. Not much is left to chance & we must conform to Dick Dickenbock's strong journalistic standards. That being said, Dick Dickenbock has invited a guest reporter on tomorrow's show & the staff have been told virtually nothing about it. It's probably an old drinking buddy of Dick Dickenbock's & the one thing is certain - it's not Dan Rather. Those two hate each other.

Tune in tomorrow from noon to 1pm on XRAY for a special mystery report on The Dickenbock Report.

That's Sunday afternoon on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online at xray dot fm.

This Week In Self Help: July 11 13 + 15

Another image of the marquee which just so happened to mention this week's Self Help Radio theme. Here's what I did this past week.

Friday the 11th - one week ago! - I subbed a show on KBOO & played lots of songs about Friday, since it was, you know, Friday. KBOO doesn't archive its sub shows but you can listen at the Self Help Radio web page. If you just wanna look at the playlist, here's the Spinitron page.

The Dickenbock Report played lots of songs about Delaware on National Delaware Day. Listen at the XRAY web page, or at the Self Help Radio web page.

Self Help Radio on KBOO had the theme "good enough." Listen at the KBOO web page, or at the Self Help Radio web page.

Finally - Corporate Standardized Programming this week featured an hour's worth of new releases. It's the last hour of the file at the KBOO web page link above, or you can listen to it alone at the Self Help Radio web page.

As always, when listening at the Self Help Radio web page, you might need a username & a password. Use SHR & selfhelp.

& really I do hope this was all good enough.

Self Help Radio 071525: Good Enough

That's a bar in my hood - I think its official name is the Old Gilbert Road Tavern - there's no indication at that anywhere on the bar, just this sign outside & a sign that says "BAR" - anyway on the marquee that should be for bands playing there, except bands don't play there (as far as I can tell), they put snarky things up - lots of times quotes from The Simpsons - & a couple weeks ago I saw this. I had already planned a show with the theme "good enough" when this magically appeared. I took the picture above yesterday!

It was a lonesome show - just me & lots of music. So there's not much else to say. I did try not to say this phrase over & over: "Self Help Radio is not usually a good radio show, but at least tonight it's good enough." But I wanted to!

Listen to a good enough episode of Self Help Radio at either the KBOO web site or at the Self Help Radio website. The latter may need a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp). It's mostly music so I can just share with you the playlist below. I hope that's good enough.

Self Help Radio Good Enough Show

"Good Enough" Bobby Guy _Gangster Of Love: The Apt Records Story 1958-1962_

"Good Enough" Bonnie Raitt _Home Plate_

"Good Enough" Mudhoney _Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge_

"Good Enough For Granddad" Squirrel Nut Zippers _The Inevitable_

"Our Love Is Good Enough" A House _The Way We Were: The Best Of A House 04.85-02.97_

"You're Good Enough For Me" Spyder Turner _Golden Classics_

"You're Good Enough For Me" The Versatiles _The Complete Soul City/Bell Singles 1966-1975_

"Good Enough" The Vines _Wicked Nature_

"Good Enough For You" The Bevis Frond _What Did For The Dinosaurs_

"Ain't No Good (But It's Good Enough For Me)" Sister Cookie _In The Blue Corner_

"Almost Was Good Enough" Songs: Ohia _The Magnolia Electric Co._

"Boris Good-Enough" Julian Cope _England Expectorates_

"Not Good Enough" Chain & The Gang _Music's Not For Everyone_

"Ain't My Stuff Good Enough" Martha Reeves & The Vandellas _Spellbound: Motown Lost & Found (1962-1972)_

"Ain't Good Enough For You" The Everymen _Givin' Up On Free Jazz_

"Good Enough" Fred Eaglesmith _Drive-in Movie_

"It's Not Good Enough" Barry Moore _Treaty Stone_

"My Best Was Never Good Enough" Bruce Springsteen _The Ghost Of Tom Joad_

"That'll Be Good Enough For Me" Mitty Collier _Shades Of Mitty Collier: The Chess Singles 1961-1968_

"Never Good Enough" Theoretical Girl _Divided_

"Good Enough For You" The Exbats _Kicks, Hits, & Fits_

"Good Enough" Peter Astor _Spilt Milk_

"Good Enough" Holly Golightly _Laugh It All Up!_

"Good Enough" Rocket 3 _Burn_

"I'm Good Enough" Thee Headcoats _In Tweed We Trust_

"Good Enough" Dodgy _Free Peace Sweet_

"Good Enough, Pt. 1" Noiseshaper _King Size Dub Special_

"It's Good Enough For Daddy" Clarence Reid _Running Water_

"Good Enough" Stone Jack Jones _Ancestor_

"Good Enough" Jim Lindberg _Songs From The Elkhorn Trail_

"Good Enough For Now" Weird Al Yankovic _Polka Party!_

"It Ain't Good Enough" Dow Jones & The Industrials _Hoosier Hysteria_

Whither Good Enough?

(graphic from - & explained - here)

When I first decided - it's been well over a decade now, maybe a decade & a half - to start a blog to explain why exactly I chose the themes I covered for the show - & believe me, some people really want an explanation as to why this is the theme right now - I honestly thought it would be more interesting than it has become. Because - sorry to bore you - but mostly the themes come at me randomly because of music I am listening to. Or so it seems.

Sometimes I pretend it's serendipity, or "the universe talking to me," but really it's kind of lazy. "Oh hey, several songs I've recently listened to mention the phrase good enough! I wonder if there's enough for a radio show!" One reason I think some people prefer The Dickenbock Report is because its themes are because there's a national day for it, or it's some artist's birthday, things like that. It makes sense sort of. It's not arbitrary. A Self Help Radio episode with the theme "good enough" is happening because - I thought it might be a good theme & I found enough songs. That's not exciting or interesting in any way.

How will it turn out? You will need to listen. Tonight! Midnight to 2am. On 90.7fm in Portland & online everywhere at kboo dot fm. Like most of my shows it might not be all that good, but for tonight at least it'll be good enough.

Preface To Good Enough: How Good Is Enough

(image from here)

In 1986, in my first year of college, I took an Introduction To Philosophy course. I thought I was supposed to be interested in philosophy, but found it hard to read the texts & - though I didn't want to admit it - realized my mind was mostly bored but otherwise confused by philosophy as it was taught. What I remember most about the class was sitting next to a cute woman with whom I talked about the Smiths - who were my obsession at the time - & who, after I made her a Smiths tape, offered to give me a book she had made - with her boyfriend - which consisted of a bunch of images from pornographic magazines - mainly close-ups of genitals - as a thank you. I'm not sure what sort of reaction she expected from me, but I was a bit horrified. I gave her the book back & said I wasn't interested in it.

How I wish I knew the name of the professor of that class so I could tell him - it was a man, an exhausted but smug man - that I remember nothing about his class except that strange interaction with a lovely punk rock girl. I should also tell you, she & her boyfriend made me a tape of American punk from the mid-1980s & I discovered I didn't enjoy that as much as British punk from the late 1970s.

This is just to say that early on in my life I wearied of questions like "Is this good enough?" or "Am I good enough?" Which is to say, questions one asks in philosophy classes. I know too many people who really, really, really, really want to finish sentences like, "Good is..." or "Enough is..." They would love to dispense wisdom in the same way they see/hear/read it dispensed in books, from religious texts to opinion pieces. As I get older - & I know this makes me absolutely irrelevant in our culture - I refuse to express my opinions as absolutes. I am certainly not a relativist but I find it tiring that everyone not only needs to have an opinion about everything but that they need that opinion to be right. Correct. True.

Here's an example from someone who doesn't talk to me anymore. I posted something on the Facebook by a current comedian. This former friend responded, "That person isn't as funny as he thinks he is."

Imagine the inflated ego of someone who would write that! Not - "I don't think that person is funny" - but reaching out to judge the humor of someone they really don't know.

Must I add that the person whose comedy I posted on Facebook is successful, does stand-up, has a podcast, is well-known, while my former friend is... someone you'll never hear anything from?

You might surmise I titled this post "How good is enough" as a reason to stumble through this clumsy explication of my lack of interest in being someone who speaks "truths." It's not. I titled it before I knew what I would write. I sometimes wish I could be the critic that writes snarky shit as if it were fact. That stuff amuses me greatly, even when - especially when - I disagree with it.

But I confess I feel sad for those folks who think they know the Truth. If you follow them long enough, read what they write, you realize they themselves find their own idea of Truth malleable. Not that they're hypocrites - just that they don't realize their opinions are just opinions. They want them to be facts so they act like they're facts. But they're not facts, so they end up as slightly puffed-up opinions.

Which is probably a disservice. The average opinion is just glad to be heard, it doesn't need to be turned into a Holy Fact.

Oh shit look what I did that. I turned my (obviously dumb) opinion into a fact. Fuck me. I want to tell you this has something to do with this week's show but - nope!

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Delaware Day

(image from here)

Wow, is that the state flag of Delaware? Growing up in Texas, whose flag is simple & dynamic & has no writing on it at all, I am struck by the inclusion of the date/year. Who puts dates on a flag?

It turns out ten other states do! Illinois, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, & Missouri all have some date or year on their flags - with the latter (Missouri) having the year in Roman numerals.

Yeah, yeah, I've lived in Oregon for six years & didn't know it had a year on it. I am just used to the elegant simplicity of the Texas flag. Although have you seen Alaska's flag? That's a beauty!

What is this post about? Oh yeah, tomorrow, Sunday, July 13, is National Delaware Day. We'll talk about & play musical reports about that state on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM. That's 12-1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, online at xray dot fm.

It will be difficult but we'll try not to disrespect their awful flag.

This Week In Self Help: July 6 8 + 9

(found here)

This was the week I had:

July 6 on The Dickenbock Report it was Build A Scarecrow Day.
Listen at XRAY. Listen at Self Help Radio.

July 8 on Self Help Radio it was a show about Emergency!
Listen at KBOO. Listen at Self Help Radio.

July 8 on Corporate Standardized Programming I played artists who died in January 2025.

Listen at KBOO (it's with Self Help Radio). Listen at Self Help Radio.

July 9 I subbed a show on KBOO playing interesting sounds late at night.

KBOO doesn't archive its sub show but. Listen at Self Help Radio.

Username is SHR & password is selfhelp if you need it.
I'll put the playlist for the sub show up on the website next week.

Self Help Radio 070825: Emergency!

Boy this episode was almost a real emergency! I came into the KBOO studios to find an unannounced mini-rave happening, & at some point there was a skipping song, & the whole thing felt fraught & unstable. There had also been issues before - a recording with a collaborator had such terrible sound quality I couldn't use it - that suggested that the theme might come to life & eat the show whole, & thankfully I'm not too superstitious or else I would decide never to do themes like this again!

Hopefully it doesn't sound too much like a disaster. We know at this point no one's coming to help, so it's best we be careful. I just don't remember things going this badly when I did the accident show!

You can listen now or when you feel safe at both the KBOO web page & the Self Help Radio web page. At the latter you might need a username & password, I would use SHR & selfhelp. Everything that happened is below. Be careful out there!

Self Help Radio Emergency Show

"Emergency!" Nelson Riddle _Television's Greatest Hits Volume 5: In Living Color_

"Emergency 999" The Alan Bown Set _Ain't Nothing But A House Party (60s & Early 70s Club Soul Classics)_

"Emergency" Ed Wahonka _Wahonka_

"The Emergency" Gileah & The Ghost Train _Gileah & The Ghost Train_

introduction & definitions

"Emergency" The Sweet Inspirations _Estelle, Myrna, & Sylvia_

"Civil Defense Spot: In Time Of Emergency (Basic Supplies)" Unknown _Atomic Platters: Cold War Music From The Golden Age Of Homeland Security_

"Emergency" 999 _999_

"State Of Emergency" Stiff Little Fingers _Inflammable Material_

"Emergency Cases" The Undertones _True Confessions (Singles=A's+B's)_

our favorite librarian Carole stops by

"Emergency" Shack _Zilch_ (Ghetto, 1988)

"Emergency" The Go-Betweens _G Stands For Go-Betweens: The Go-Betweens Anthology Volume 3_

"Emergency" The Pooh Sticks _Tonight - Single_

"Emergency" Edith Frost _It's A Game_

"Civil Defense Spot: In Time Of Emergency (Brilliant Nuclear Flash)" Unknown _Atomic Platters: Cold War Music From The Golden Age Of Homeland Security_

"Occident & Emergency" DJ DisOrientalist _Peace Not War_

interview with Emergency! Fan Club founder Todd Mantooth

"This Is Our Emergency" Pretty Girls Make Graves _The New Romance_

"Emergency" Summer Cannibals _No Makeup_

"Emergency & Me" Speedy Ortiz _Rabbit Rabbit_

"Emergency" Deep Sea Diver _Billboard Heart_

"Civil Defense Spot: In Time Of Emergency (Not Contagious)" Unknown _Atomic Platters: Cold War Music From The Golden Age Of Homeland Security_

"Accident & Emergency" Lucy Wainwright Roche _Lucy_

interview with ER worker Natalie Dunlap

"Emergency" Oblivians _Popular Favorites_

"Emergency" Dirt Bike Annie _Show Us Your Demons_

"This Is An Emergency" The Pigeon Detectives _Emergency_

"Civil Defense Spot: In Time Of Emergency (Take Notice Of Fallout Shelter Signs)" Unknown _Atomic Platters: Cold War Music From The Golden Age Of Homeland Security_

"Slow Emergency" Gold Motel _Gold Motel_

"Emergency Telephone" Billy Nomates _Emergency Telephone EP_

conclusion & goodbye

"Emergency Call" Judy Mowatt _Tighten Up! Trojan Reggae Classics 1968-1974_

"Emergency Exit" Tig Notaro _Boyish Girl Interrupted_

"The Emergency Exit Man" Spray _Ambiguous Poems About Death_

"The Emergency Kisses" Stereolab _Cobra & Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night_

Whither Emergency?

One might ask, why would one do a radio show at this time with the theme "emergency"? & one might respond to the one asking, "Are you perchance living outside of the United States Of America in the year 2025?" & probably the one asking would respond, "Why yes! How did you know?" & one would almost certainly say, "Because were you living in the United States Of America in the year 2025, you would say with all honesty, that every day feels like an emergency."

Although that might make one think that a show about emergency in the middle of an emergency could be seen as masochistic or just dully redundant. & the one making the radio show might say in response, "Oh. I didn't think about that." & it would be too late to think of something else.

Self Help Radio's show with the theme "Emergency" airs tonight on KBOO from midnight to 2am. That's on the air in Portland at 90.7fm & online everywhere at KBOO dot fm.

Preface To Emergency: That 1970s Television Show

(image from the IMDb)

Being a child of the 1970s, & growing up poor with a working mother, I watched a lot of television. I watched pretty much anything, although I preferred cartoon, sitcoms, sci-fi/fantasy shows, & cop shows. But I had a soft spot for the show Emergency!, which aired from 1972 - when I was four - till 1979, when I was eleven. Almost certainly I saw the bulk of it in reruns. I only just now discovered they made several television movies of the show, & will seek them out. But if you had to ask me my most indelible memory about the show - it was this one:

(screengrabbed from here)

It's not that I didn't love the character of John Gage - I totally did - but I really, really, really loved the name "Randolph Mantooth." I have forgotten most of the plot lines & most of the characters (except Julie London as Nurse Dixie McCall) but I will never not be fascinated by the name Randolph Mantooth. It sounds like an exclamation, like something Perry White should say instead of "Great Caesar's Ghost!"

It holds a special meaning for me now because it was the sort of name that would crack my friend Russell up. He'd tell me he saw a movie on television the other night, & I would say, with excitement, "Did it star Randolph Mantooth?" It would always make him laugh.

Dang I wish I had time to watch some of these shows before the Self Help Radio Emergency show. At least you know I'll play the theme.