Whither Puppets?

(image by Mr Joshua, found here)

The first Self Help Radio of 2026 is about puppets. & for the life of me I'm not sure why. I did meet a puppeteer in December, but it was certainly before that that I planned the show. I have a feeling it has something to do with a Serge Gainsbourg listening spree from back around Halloween that led me to become reacquainted with Mick Harvey's follow-up recordings, Intoxicated Woman. I had been obsessed with his Gainsbourg covers in the 1990s, Intoxicated Man & Pink Elephants, & had all but forgotten the third record. So I was listening to it, & to the Gainsbourg originals, & enjoyed "Puppet Of Wax, Puppet Of Song" a lot. It was probably why I decided to do a show about puppets.

But who knows? That was what, three months ago? In 2025-2026 time that's like fifty years! I can't be expected to remember that far back!

What I do know is that the Self Help Radio "puppet" show is happening tonight from midnight to 2am on 90.7fm KBOO in Portland, which is also available everywhere at kboo dot fm. It'll be songs about puppets. One day I'll do an entire show with all the songs sung by puppets. But that's not this show.

Preface To Puppets: I Never Had A Puppet

(found on Tumblr)

As a child, I had stuffed animals. I had dolls - insomuch as GI Joes & the like were dolls. I had Fisher-Price humanoids. & most of all I had Star Wars figures - which may as well include what followed from other series. But I never really had puppets.

Which is not to say I didn't love puppets. In talking about this show with someone recently, I mentioned that - besides Sesame Street - I was a fan of puppets on Sid & Marty Krofft series, on Gigglesnort Hotel, on The Great Space Coaster - which featured Gary Gnu - on The New Zoo Revue, & probably many others.

But one thing I didn't have was - okay well two things I didn't have were - a desire to have a puppet & a puppet - even one made from a sock - to manipulate & play with.

Even now I don't think I would enjoy that.

It doesn't mean it wouldn't make a decent radio show tho!

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: World Hypnotism Day

The first Dickenbock Report of 2026 involved World Hypnotism Day. What is hypnotism? Can Dick Dickenbock be hypnotized? Will Dick Dickenbock be hypnotized on air? How many musical reports entitled "Hypnotized" can there be? Almost all of these questions - or perhaps none of them - will be answered on the show.

Which airs Sunday, January 4, on XRAY FM - that's 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online everywhere at xray dot fm. Suggestible listeners should tune in.

This Week In Self Help (Last Year Tho) December 28 + 30

Look it's me walking all my beagles. I did that a lot last year. Though most of the year I only had two beagles. Anyway that was last year. This also was last year.

December 28 The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM.
It was Card Playing Day. I lost big. Listen to the show at XRAY FM. Listen to the show at Self Help Radio.

December 28 KBOO.
Someone couldn't make their Sunday night show so I stepped in & played lots of newish stuff. Listen at KBOO FM. Listen at Self Help Radio.

December 30 Self Help Radio on KBOO.
The 79th installment of the Indiepop A To Z series. Listen at KBOO FM. Listen at Self Help Radio.

December 30 Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO.

More music by artists we lost in July 2025. Listen at KBOO FM (after Self Help Radio). Listen at Self Help Radio.

Are you listening at Self Help Radio's website? The username is SHR & the password is selfhelp.

So glad 2025 is over & I don't have to write about it any more!

The Year In (My) Radio (Shows)

A couple of years ago - during the pandemic, probably, when I was doing more radio shows than usual - I started keeping track of the shows I do. & I just spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to count the shows I've done, to get the number of shows plus the amount of time I've wasted spent on the air.

There is a note here. I have two radio shows that air back-to-back - Self Help Radio & Corporate Standardized Programming. They are however two distinct shows - & the latter is prerecorded, so I don't even stick around after Self Help Radio to do the show. I therefore count them as separate shows - though if you don't, you can subtract that number from the total.

What is that total? Here it is:

52 episodes of Self Help Radio.
52 episodes of The Dickenbock Report.
49 episodes of Corporate Standardized Programming.
52 sub shows on KBOO, XRAY, & Freeform Portland*.

That makes 205 radio shows I was responsible for in 2025. I did 104 of them live, 101 of them were prerecorded. It's a total of 304.5 hours of radio in 2025. & this is probably approximate - I had to have missed something somewhere.

In addition, in between Self Help Radio & The Dickenbock Report, I explored 70 new, unique themes.

What to make of this? I dunno. I didn't have a goal in mind or anything. I just made radio shows when I could. & that's how it'll probably be in 2026 too. So, you know. Apologies in advance.

* This includes episodes of The Songcircle, though I am technically a member of the show's collective, & not a substitute deejay, but I started out the year substituting. I'll count it differently if I do this again next year.

Self Help Radio 123025: Indiepop A To Z # 79

(most if not all images from Discogs)

The last Self Help Radio of 2025 is not the last of the Indiepop A To Z series. I just went from Sissies to Slowpoke. I think I have a few more of these to get through just to get to the letter T!

Here's a reminder that almost all the previous episodes are available at the Self Help Radio website. That link should take you to the page that has all the links to the individual episodes. It's a lot. I'll understand if you'd rather listen to a murder podcast or something.

Meanwhile! This show! It's now at the KBOO website & at the Self Help Radio website. For the latter, please use the username SHR & password selfhelp if necessary. It was me talking & playing music so there's nothing else to do but show you the playlist which is below.

Happy new year to you! Thank you for listening in 2025!

Self Help Radio Indiepop A To Z # 79 Show

"Stand Up" Sissies _Look Back & Laugh_

"Daisy Putter" Sissy Bar _Songs For Peeps_

"Bookends" Sister Cities _Library Records 1998-2003_

"Burt Reynolds" Sister Rain _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 1_

"Two Of Us" Sister Vanilla _Little Pop Rock_

"Your Swimming Suit" Six Cents & Natalie _When Punk Fell To Earth_

"You You You You You (feat. Katharine Whalen)" The 6ths _Hyacinths & Thistles_

"The Oysterboat Man" Patrick Skelly & The Prescriptions _The Hedonism EP_

"Lucille" Skinner _Lucille_

"The Thrill Of Thirty Seconds" Skint & Demoralised _Love, & Other Catastrophes_

"Mountain Code 9" Skistar _This Is The Cafe Superstar Beat Vol. 1_

"Bicycle Boy" Skypark _Summer Days Are Forever_

"Movie Star" The Skywriters _The Skywriters_

"Phil Spector's Birthday Song" The Sleazy Beats _Pure Spun Sugar: An International Pop Compilation_

"Inbetweener" Sleeper _Smart_

"Vogelbird" Sleeping Policemen _Sleeping Policemen_

"You & Me Against The World" The Sleeping Years _You & Me Against The World EP_

"Change" Sleepy Township _Library Records 1998-2003_

"Play" Sleepyhead _Play_

"Hot On My Heels" The Slingbacks _Hot On My Heels_

"Baked Alaska" Slipslide _The World Can Wait_

"Typical Girls" Slits _Cut_

"Once & For All" Sloppy Joe _Waiting For The Night Begins_

"Show & Tell" Slow Hello _Audio Baby_

"Not That Hard" The Slow Summits _Every Intention_

"Machine Gun" Slowdive _Souvlaki_

"Half-Life" Slowpoke _Julep: Another Yoyo Studio Compilation_

Whither Indiepop A To Z # 79?

(probly playing something off this tonight - image from here)

Every four months I return to an absurd series that I started too many moons ago in which I play indiepop artists in alphabetical order. This would've ended some time ago but I wanted to be thorough. So, seventy-nine episodes in, I'm at the letter S. & almost certainly will still be on the letter S for some time.

So. If you like indiepop - the genre, not simply "independent pop" - &/or if you're a fan of alphabetization - &/or you like to hear music from lots of places, well then heck. Tonight might be the experience for you.

Self Help Radio airs midnight to 2am on 90.7fm in Portland town, & all over the universe (I'm told) at kboo dot fm. & oh yeah! It's the last show of the year!

Preface To Indiepop A To Z # 79: That Time Again

That's my beagle Pete. It's a pic I shared recently on Bluesky. I actually take a picture a day of him - our youngest hound - & our youngest cat. He's not our newest dog - that's a beagle we adopted about two months ago that we named Stuart. But Stuart is nine years old. Pete is not even yet three. He's still a bay-bee.

It's almost certain I've told this story before but once - before we were married - my girlfriend & I went to see a band - I'm sure it was this band - & they had decorated their tiny stage with all sorts of toys & animals. Afterwards she approached the band & told them they needed a beagle amongst their stuffed toys & one band member said, "It's true, the beagle is the most indiepop of dogs."

If indeed I have told this story before, did I tell it the same? Stories are weird like that. For many people they solidify into songs in their head, unchanged beyond whatever editing one might have done to keep oneself sane. But I suspect that I am constantly rewriting the stories in my head. To make them sound better, obviously, & depending on the intent, to either lessen or increase any humiliation I may have personally experienced. Luckily there was no humiliation in the indiepop beagle story!

Anyhoo. I do this every three months. Not tell stories that may be rewritten but play indiepop in alphabetical order on the radio. I am deep inside the letter S where I'll probably be this time next year too. I always say I don't imagine I will ever finish the series but I never thought I'd still be doing a radio show called Self Help Radio after a few years either. Hardly anything ever turns out like one might have planned. In a sense the older I get the less likely I am to make any plans. Maintaining schedule is understandable, but making plans? That just seems ridiculous.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Card Playing Day

(art by Elmo Hood, found here)

December 28 is Card Playing Day. If you play your cards right - or if you tune in when the program is on - you can hear a discussion about card playing as well as musical reports about card playing, playing cards, & other related issues. You might even get a chance to hear Dick Dickenbock tell the beloved story about the time he was on The Joker's Wild & was kidney-punched by Jack Berry for making a joke about Uno. Or you might not. Maybe Dick Dickenbock doesn't like telling that story.

The Dickenbock Report airs Sunday, December 28, from noon to 1pm on XRAY FM, available on the air in Portland on 91.1 & 107.1fm, & online everywhere at xray dot fm. We expect to hear you say, "Deal me in!"

This Week In Self Help: December 19 20 21 + 23

'Twas the week before Christmas & I was ruining things by being on the radio TOO MUCH.

On Friday the 19th - my monthly appearance on the Songcircle on KBOO - I invited my old radio pal Anni to program the show & have fun. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website or on the Self Help Radio website.

Early on Saturday the 20th I subbed a show on KBOO where I continued to play musicians who died in 2025 - this time getting through all of June I believe. KBOO doesn't archive its sub shows but you can see the playlist on the Spinitron website & listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website.

Sunday the 21st on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM I reported on National Flashlight Day. You can listen to that show on the XRAY website or on the Self Help Radio website.

Tuesday morning the 23rd on Self Help Radio on KBOO I played a selection of my favorite music from 2025. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website or on the Self Help Radio website.

Also Tuesday morning the 23rd on Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO I played more music by artists we lost in 2025, this time mainly from July. You can listen to that show on the KBOO website (after Self Help Radio) or on the Self Help Radio website.

Remember: on the Self Help Radio website, you may need a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) to listen.

& be grateful I am only on the radio a couple more times in 2025!

Self Help Radio 122325: Gary's Favorite Music 2025

Oh man. I have already remembered like two releases I should've included in this collection. Gah I need to keep better records. But anyway.

Here's a selection of some of my favorite releases of the year. I also ask for support for KBOO during our End Of The Year Drive. Support the station that lets me do this nonsense by clicking here.

You can listen to the show on the KBOO website. You can listen on the Self Help Radio website. If needed on the Self Help Radio website use "SHR" as a username & "selfhelp" as a password. Don't use those quotation marks. You understand.

What I played is below. I'll try to pay more attention in 2026.

Gary's Favorite Music 2025 Self Help Radio Show

"Three" Neon Kittens _21 Minutes Of Adventure_

"People Person" Mclusky _The World Is Still Here & So Are We_

"Special Different" Lambrini Girls _Who Let The Dogs Out_

"Portland Town" Heavenly _Portland Town_

"Have U Ever Been 2 Wales" The Bug Club _Have U Ever Been 2 Wales_

"Cologne" Allo Darlin' _Bright Nights_

"Jeanie's Up Again & Blaring Faith By The Cure" Tullycraft _Shoot The Point_

"Rather Not Stay" The Cords _The Cords_

"Mr Young Men" Momus _Acktor_

"Hearsay" Anika _Abyss_

"Celebrities In Cemeteries" The Burning Hell _Ghost Palace_

"Information Content" Horsegirl _Phonetics On & On_

"Saviours Are A Dangerous Thing" The Chameleons _Arctic Moon_

"Living Lo-Fi" Cheekface _Middle Spoon_

"Everyday" Acapulco Lips _Now_

"How Much?" The Slow Summits _Every Intention_

"In Your Town" Paper Jam _This & That_

"Tell Me" Alpaca Sports _Another Day_

"Zinger" Galore _Dirt_

"A Handful Of Tomorrow" The Apartments _That's What The Music Is For_

"God's A Different Sword" Folk Bitch Trio _Now Would Be A Good Time_

"Rocks In My Pocket" The Mountain Goats _Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan_

"Rainy Sunday Afternoon" The Divine Comedy _Rainy Sunday Afternoon_

"Tell It Back To Me" Robert Forster _Strawberries_

"Self Help Song" The Happy Somethings _A Kind Of Longing EP_

"The Heart Is A Foolish Little Thing" Edwyn Collins _Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation_

"The Catalogue" Chime Oblivion _Chime Oblivion_

"Chaplins" HighSchool _HighSchool_

"Boring" Cousines Like Shit _Permanent Earthquake_ 

"Proper" Autocamper _What Do You Do All Day?_

Whither Gary's Favorite Music Of 2025?

(original image here)

Oh you know. I'm gonna play a lot of the music I liked that was released this year. I don't pretend it's a best of. I also don't pretend it's anywhere near complete - it's mainly indie rock & indie pop, & I listen to a lot more music than that. I gathered way more than two hours' worth as well! The main criteria was that I listened to it a lot. That means to me I liked it.

Midnight to 2am, 90.7 fm in Portland, kboo dot fm everywhere.

Preface To Gary's Favorites 2025: The Old Old Argument

Here's a picture of my beagle Stuart - he's a new addition to the household, having adopted him less than two months ago. He's more fun to look at than to read this dumb story. A variation of which I've told a dozen times.

You see, I don't believe you can make a "best of" list. You can make a list of what you think is best for you, but insisting your opinion is somehow authoritative enough to qualify as "the best" is not only incredibly presumptuous but lacks any qualifiers - how are you the one who gets to decide what's "best"? Who does? With what criteria?

Recently - a couple months ago - I had an interaction with a stranger on Facebook. A friend posted a meme about Yoko Ono. It was hateful. It went something like, "Getting an extra day in 2025 is like getting bonus tracks on a Yoko Ono reissue."

Here is my response:

The Yoko Ono hate is so strangely strong to this day.

I personally was very happy to get the Secretly Canadian reissue of Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band from 2016 which had three bonus tracks plus a snippet of studio dialogue. Folks like to shit on her but her releases are far more adventurous (in my opinion) than most of the solo Beatles output of the 1970s (& certainly beyond) & this remains (I think) the only Beatle-adjacent release that includes Charlie Haden & Ornette frickin' Coleman.

I just kinda wish people would stop using her as punching bag for their idea of "bad music" when they have so so many more options out there, especially if they're never actually taken the time to listen to her music.

One of this person's friends responded:
In other words, her music is better than it sounds?

I responded:

Taste in music is subjective, & I happen to like quite a lot of Yoko Ono's music. Your mileage, as they say, may vary. If you have no background in avant-garde music, you probably won't enjoy Yoko Ono's music, but that doesn't make her music "good" or "bad" because that's entirely up to you, & your opinion is your own & has no effect on mine or anyone else's, unless they value your opinion in some way. I understand that you meant your comment as a joke, as was the meme posted, but it's in my nature to point out that sometimes things we think are funny are a little tired & hacky, & that sometimes the things we think are universal - "Yoko Ono's music sucks!" - aren't quite that. Her musical output has been greatly admired by more people than you think, & that's the reason her records get reissued - with bonus tracks. That some of us are very happy to buy.

This person continued:

No Gary, there are objective standards for what constitutes good music....talent being a prime requirement. I would have less of a problem if whatever Yoko did was classified as "performance art," but to describe it as music is an offense to actual musicians, singers and songwriters. Lennon's promotion of Yoko was his joke demonstrating the level of abysmal crap the public, and particularly music critics, were willing to accept as "art." Some people still haven't gotten the joke.

My response:

I don't believe there are "objective standards" for music. Love of music is entirely subjective. This is a much longer discussion than can fit in a Facebook comment, but I can assure you that just because you feel your opinion of Yoko Ono is "true," it doesn't make it true for me & for the many other people who have enjoyed Yoko Ono's music for decades. If you'd like to think I have been duped or haven't gotten the joke, that's fine. It just tells me that I probably wouldn't value your opinion of the music I like. It's not important to me that people share my opinion - I love what I love & I can talk at length about why I love what I love. I understand that's true for many other people too & never feel the need to dismiss or diminish their opinions for that very reason. In the case of this post, I just wanted to point out that the joke didn't work on me because - as I've said - I've bought reissues of Yoko Ono albums because of bonus tracks.

This person's final comment included the statement "I can assure you there are objective standards" - like I would take a stranger's word for it! - he tried to bait me by saying my thoughts were akin to Rush Limbaugh's! - & he ended with this delightful suggestion: "If you'd like to send me a link to what you regard as Yoko's best work we can discuss in detail."

After I had said that if he thought there were objective standards for music, he kindly offered to "listen" to what I liked & then tell me whether it was good or not. Isn't it astonishing that I didn't take him up on that offer?

Which is a very long way of me saying the same thing I always say around this time of year: this is no way anyone can say that their selection of music is a "best of." The most they can say is that it's their favorites. "Best" is not a term one can use to describe musical choice unless you define the parameters of how you make that determination. & even then someone will disagree with your parameters & therefore your choices cannot be "the best."

Sorry for the long post. Luckily very few people will read this!

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Flashlight Day

December 21 is National Flashlight Day. Is it because it's also the longest night of the year? When one might conceivably most need a flashlight? Actually, we don't know. We haven't started doing research for the show yet. We're going to start cramming tonight. After a few drinks. Don't tell Dick Dickenbock! We told him we'd have his copy ready by show time. & maybe we will.

The show is happening tomorrow - Sunday, December 21 - from noon to 1am on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online everywhere at xray dot fm. Here's hoping we have enough batteries for the entire show!

This Week In Self Help (December 14 + 16)

As the year winds down, as I take the time to reflect on all the radio shows I've done in 2025... Nope. Don't have time for that! I am doing two (2!) radio shows today! I gotta go work on them!

How did this week go? I'll tell you.

The Dickenbock Report. XRAY FM. It was Monkey Day.
Listen on the XRAY website. Listen on the Self Help Radio website.

Self Help Radio. KBOO. It was Howard Gently Year Four Concluded.

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

Corporate Standardized Programming. KBOO. More artists we lost in May 2025.

Listen on the KBOO website (after Self Help Radio). Listen on the Self Help Radio website.

Remember: for the Self Help Radio website, use username SHR + password selfhelp.

Now I have to go make some radio shows!

Self Help Radio 121625: Howard Gently Year Four Concluded

Thus concludes a year of Self Help Radio in which Howard Gently appeared on the vast majority of shows. These are his 115th to 126th appearances on the show, & I can't help be amazed at how funny & fresh he kept the character. The bit about towers had me rolling on the floor.

There's not much else to say except I hope this shows my gratitude & appreciation for my friend Russell giving so much of himself to my dumb show. If he had had the time & space to develop Howard Gently for some other medium, it would've made him famous.

Listen to the show either at the KBOO website or the Self Help Radio website. If you choose the latter, make sure you use the username SHR & password selfhelp. Everything that happened on the show except my airbreaks is listed below.

As Howard Gently might have said, "Yule."

Self Help Radio Howard Gently Year Four Concluded Show

"The World In Color" Russell Miles _The World In Color_ (Self-Released, 1986)

"Don't Eat Stuff Off The Sidewalk" The Cramps _Psychedelic Jungle_

Howard Gently on the theme "Sidewalks"

Howard Gently on the theme "Christmas 2017"

"A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" Gene McDaniels _The Very Best Of Gene McDaniels_

Howard Gently on the theme "A Hundred Things"

"Evenings Of Damask" Tyrannosaurus Rex _Unicorn_

Howard Gently on the theme "Evenings"

"Time To Evolve" Bill Hicks _Rant In E-Minor_

Howard Gently on the theme "It's Time To"

"Poisoned Rose" Elvis Costello _King Of America_

Howard Gently on the theme "Roses"

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

Howard Gently on the theme "Tower"

"Reaching Into In" Ken Nordine _How Are Things In Your Town?_

Howard Gently on the theme "Outreach"

"I'm Gonna Lock My Heart (& Throw Away The Key)" Billie Holiday _Lady Day: The Master Takes & Singles_

Howard Gently on the theme "Keys"

"Night Mail" Public Service Broadcasting _Inform - Educate - Entertain_

Howard Gently on the theme "Silent Retreat"

"The Hall Of Mirrors" Kraftwerk _Trans-Europe Express_

Howard Gently on the theme "Sixteenth Anniversary"

"The Unguarded Moment" The Church _Hindsight 1980-1987_

Howard Gently on the theme "Moments"

Whither Howard Gently Year Four Concluded?

The year 2017 had the most appearances of the Rev Dr Howard Gently of any year from 2014 to 2022 that he appeared on the show. So much so that it's taken four episode of Self Help Radio to play them all. We'll finish that year tonight.

Howard Gently was a creation of my late friend Russell, who improvised interviews with me to air on my show. This is a celebration of him. He was a dear friend & the funniest person I have ever known.

The show is happening tonight from midnight to 2am on KBOO - 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere. & letting Dr Gently have the last word, I hear him say: "Ahimsa."

Preface To Howard Gently Year Four Concluded: Sun Haze

This is a photo taken I think in Lexington Kentucky. I am not sure where. But I stumbled onto it recently.

This week I continue playing bits made for my show in 2017 & 2018 by my friend Russell who is no longer with us. I know he enjoyed making these improvised segments. I don't think he thought they might be enjoyed later. I want to prove him wrong.

He is a person I miss so very much.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Monkey Day

(I found this image on Tumblr somewhere I can't remember)

December 14 is Monkey Day. There are lots of musical reports about monkeys. We'll sift through the most informative. We'll also probably call lots of primates monkeys that are not, technically, monkeys. & Dick Dickenbock will get lots of angry letters. That would be terrible. Unless one likes letters.

The show is on Sunday from noon to 1pm on XRAY. That's on the air in Portland at 91.1+107.1fm & online everywhere at xray dot fm. You'll go ape for the show! (Time to start writing those angry letters!)

This Week In Self Help: December 7 9 + 11

Lots of radio was shoveled this week - I didn't even try to clean it up.

Sunday December 7 was National Letter Writing Day on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY.

Listen to the show on XRAY's website. Listen to the show on Self Help Radio's website.

Tuesday December 9 Self Help Radio had a show about shovels on KBOO.

Listen to the show on the KBOO website. Listen to the show on Self Help Radio's website.

Tuesday December 9 Corporate Standardized Programming continued to play musicians we lost in 2025.
Listen to the show on the KBOO website (after Self Help Radio). Listen to the show on Self Help Radio's website.

Thursday December 11 I made a fundraiser show which aired on & for Freeform Portland.

Listen to the show on Spinitron (for a couple of weeks). Listen to the show on Self Help Radio's website.

As always - you might need a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) to listen to shows on the Self Help Radio website.

Now if you'll excuse me - they're making me clean up my mess after all.

Self Help Radio 120925: Shovels

This show, it turns out, is shovel-ready.

You were expecting that, sorry.

Here's the show about shovels. I sometimes feel my shows are random but I heard from someone on Bluesky who's in Chicago that they're using their snow shovels a lot. & here in Portland where new builds are going up everywhere I see lots of shoveling. So it's somewhat appropriate. Although if it is, it's entirely by accident.

Please use your entrenching tools while you listen. The show is now at the KBOO website & at 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 below.

As Erica Boone would say: BYOS. Bring your own shovel!

Self Help Radio Shovels Show

"Pick & Shovel Blues" Bull City Red _(1935-1939) Complete Recordings In Chronological Order_

"Nine Foot Shovel" Josh White _Songs For Political Action - Folkmusic, Topical Songs, & The American Left 1926-1953_

"Never Hit Your Grandma With A Shovel" Spike Jones & His City Slickers _Strictly For Music Lovers_

introduction & definitions

"Got A Great Big Shovel" Sammy Davis Jr. _Mr Show-Business_

"The Days Of Sand & Shovels" The Winstons _Color Him Father_

"Dig It (Shovel)" The Intentions _Eccentric Soul: Minibus_

"The Broom, The Shovel, The Poker, & The Tongs" Dame Peggy Ashcroft _Poetry Readings_

"The Pick & The Maltshovel" Roger Watson _The Pick & The Malt Shovel_

interview with American Hart Shovel Company CEO Thaddeus Hart

"Don't Forget Your Shovel" Christy Moore _The Time Has Come_

"The Last Old Shovel" Phyllis Boyens _O Sister! (The Women's Bluegrass Collection)_

"One Woman & A Shovel" Carrie Newcomer _The Geography Of Light_

"At Midnight I Will Kill George Lucas With A Shovel" Patton Oswalt _Werewolves & Lollipops_

"Shovel" Aesop Rock _Labor Days_

interview with activist for Shovels For Peace Erica Boone

"Shovel" John Wesley Coleman III _Microwave Dreams_

"15 Shovels" Darrin Bradbury _Artvertisement_

"Said The Shovel" Osees _Protean Threat_

"Shovel Fighter" Matt Braunger _Shovel Fighter_

"Shovelheads" Shriekback _Why Anything? Why This?_

interview with self-help author Chaz James

"The Sir Tommy Shovell" Robyn Hitchcock _Shufflemania!_

"Shovels" Scarves _Delicate Creatures_

"Shovel" Megan Gailey _My Dad Paid for This_

"Shovel" Deep Sea Diver _Billboard Heart_

"Shovel Into Spade Kit" Lilys _Better Can't Make Your Life Better_

conclusion & goodbye

"Shovel" Feedtime _Shovel_

"The Shovel Of Love" Bless _Gums_

"The Shovel Song" Flax Sifter _Flax Sifter_

"Shovel" Danger Gens _Life Between Cigarettes_

"Hells Shovel" Cutthroat Shamrock _The Wake_

Whither Shovels?

(art by Michael Pederson found here)

Just a quick note: this is the last show of 2025 with a new, unique theme. The next three weeks are shows that have "repeated" themes. You can see what those upcoming theme are on the Self Help Radio website.

There'll be time to consider the year later but it's been a fun year for me (at least when I'm talking about the show). I can't believe I've now spent 23 years on this nonsense, but I also can't imagine what else I would be doing.

A show about shovels. Hm. Why did I think of that? I'm tempted to say it had something to do with a movie or television show I saw recently. I spent a lot of this year watching all six seasons of Downton Abbey & just watched the three movies. Maybe shovels play a part in some subplot? I don't know. Isn't that appropriate at the end of the year after months of different themes to just throw up one's hands & say "I don't know! I'm doing a show about shovels! Who cares why?!? It's a show about shovels!"

Anyway, it airs tonight on KBOO. Midnight to 2am. That's 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere.

Please insert your "shoveling manure" joke anywhere into the proceedings, I promise it will be apt.

Preface To Shovels: I Have Shoveled

At first glance at me, one would not have this thought: "That is a person who has shoveled."
For many this might be an insult.
But I have lived more than half a century as a mainly non-athletic type.
One could say I am pretty comfortable with who I am.
This is true:
One time a worker at our house asked my wife if I had an opinion about the work to be done.
She said, "Don't ask him. He's not handy."
The worker - a male - looked ashamed for me. I did not feel the slightest bit of shame.
So should someone stare at me & decide "That is not a person who has ever used a shover," it would not offend me. Indeed, I would understand.
But! I have used a shovel! & many times!
When we lived in Kentucky we had ridiculously long circular driveway.
& we had snows four or five times a year.
& when it snowed, I went out to shovel.
& the picture up there is proof. A snow in 2015.
Though I confess I was not the only one who shoveled that day.
It took quite a while & a couple of hands.
It was below freezing outside & at some point I realized I had become so warm in my winter gear that I had stripped down to a tee shirt.
You may ask, but if you don't care if people don't think you've shoveled, why mention this?
Of course the show this week is about shovels. It's something I think about in relation to shovels.
But also. It's always nice to subvert expectations.
For though one might look as though they cannot shovel, it turns out at least some of them can in fact shovel.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Letter Writing Day

December 7 is National Letter Writing Day, so that's what we'll be reporting on on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM. Musical report about letters - some that are letters - plus a Dickenbock Report Book Report &, if there's time, Dick Dickenbock answers your letters on air. (There won't be time for that.)

That's Sunday noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm here in Portland & online everywhere at xray dot fm. We've very sorry, Dick Dickenbock is making us say this, it'll be a show you'll write home about. Again, apologies for that.

This Week In Self Help: November 29 + 30 & December 1 + 2

It was the first year of the pandemic when I took that picture above. A little stand-alone garage in my hood probably abandoned or otherwise unoccupied, covered in graffiti. It's gone now, condos stand in its place, but maybe those new builds are haunted by the ghosts of all that graffiti.

It was a pretty busy week for me. Here's what I did:

On Saturday November 29 I subbed for three hours on KBOO playing soul music. I was not calling it a sub for the show that's usually there, An Evening Of Afrotainment, as I am woefully unqualified to host that show. But it's in the timeslot, so you can listen to it on the KBOO website. & also on the Self Help Radio website if you want.

On Sunday November 30 I was on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM for National Computer Security Day. Being an uncreative sort, I just played a lot of songs about passwords. You can listen to it on the XRAY website. & also on the Self Help Radio website if you want.

On Monday November 1 very early in the morning I played an hour of music from 2025 which I hadn't gotten around to playing yet on KBOO. It was in a timeslot where there's currently no show scheduled, but you can listen to in on the Self Help Radio website. (KBOO doesn't archive shows that are unscheduled.)

On Tuesday November 2 there was a Self Help Radio show on KBOO about graffiti. You can listen to it on the KBOO website. & also on the Self Help Radio website if you want.

Also on Tuesday November 2 on Corporate Standardized Programming I played music by artists we lost in April of this year. You can listen to it on the KBOO website (after Self Help Radio). & also on the Self Help Radio website if you want.

Remember - you might need the username SHR & password selfhelp to listen.

Anyway, I hopefully won't be so busy this next week. I'm gonna go paint a train.

Self Help Radio 120225: Graffiti

Ooo, almost got caught last night! Self Help Radio tags all over Portland! You can graffiti the town with the power of the airwaves!

Graffiti was sung about & discussed, although I didn't get a chance to read dirty graffiti from the walls of Pompeii or - apparently! - from English churches in the 16th century. I miss discovering graffiti in strange bathrooms on my college campus. I remember being in an unfamiliar building & discovering this gem: No matter how beautiful she is, someone somewhere is sick of her shit.

As someone who was never beautiful & who has shit most everyone is sick of, I present the graffiti Self Help Radio episode. Listen at the KBOO website & at the Self Help Radio website. Remember you might need a username & password for the latter. Everything that happened on the show is below.

Work on your tag. Be careful. Stay out of trouble.

Self Help Radio Graffiti Show

"Graffiti" Benny Hill _The Best Of Benny Hill_

"Graffiti Night Fever" Ivor Biggun & The Red-Nosed Burglars _The Winker's Album (Misprint)_

"Teenage Graffiti" The Pink Spiders _Hot Pink_

introduction & definitions

"The Sound Of Graffiti" Jack Raymond & Haskell Barkin _The Handwriting On The Wall (The Sounds Of Graffiti)_

"Graffiti Crimes" Mi-Sex _Graffiti Crimes_

"Chinese Graffiti" Blue Peter _Up To You_

"Graffiti Love" Violet Strange _Stray_

"Graffiti Bridge" Prince _Graffiti Bridge_

our favorite librarian Carole shares with us books about graffiti

"Sex" Jack Raymond & Haskell Barkin _The Handwriting On The Wall (The Sounds Of Graffiti)_

"Graffiti Limbo" Michelle Shocked _Short Sharp Shocked_

"Graffiti" Throwing Muses _The Real Ramona_

"Graffiti Women" Suede _Sci-Fi Lullabies_

"Graffiti Worth Reading" The Mighty Mighty Bosstones _Pin Points & Gin Joints_

interview with Officer Little of the PPD Graffiti Division

"Whimsy" Jack Raymond & Haskell Barkin _The Handwriting On The Wall (The Sounds Of Graffiti)_

"Small Town Graffiti" Lispector _Small Town Graffiti_

"Wet Graffiti" Sacred Paws _Strike A Match_

"Soft Graffiti" Takako Minekawa _Fun9_

"Graffiti" Atmosphere _Mi Vida Local_

interview with graffiti artist "Jarvis"

"Underneaths" Jack Raymond & Haskell Barkin _The Handwriting On The Wall (The Sounds Of Graffiti)_

"Graffiti Paint" Field Medic _Songs From The Sunroom_

"Graffiti Street" Rayland Baxter _If I Were A Butterfly_

"Graffiti" Maximo Park _A Certain Trigger_

"Delicate Graffiti" Helen Ganya _Polish The Machine_

conclusion & goodbye

"Graffiti Part One" Stereo MC's _Deep Down & Dirty_

"Never Like Graffiti" Emak Bakia _Acuarela Songs_

Whither Graffiti?

When people think of graffiti, they think of the intricate work of some artists - often commissioned, as I believe the art in the image above is - but of course graffiti can just be writing - sometimes names, like tags, or sometimes rude sentences (or not rude, sorry to impose my judgment on them). I was thinking a while back about how in two of the three college stations at which I deejayed, the bathrooms were marked up. Just really, really marked up. Here's a snap of the one at KVRX from around 1995:

& from about twenty years later, something pithy that always made me laugh found in the WRFL bathroom:

In fact it was in a fit of nostalgia that I came across that WRFL pic a few weeks ago & that's what made me think about doing a show about graffiti.

As a side comment: I do wish I had documented those magnificent restrooms more completely. Neither exists any more. The building in which the original KVRX studios lived was demolished around 1999 I think, & the WRFL bathroom was destroyed when the UK Student Center was remodeled around 2015 or 2016. Too bad.

Songs & interviews about graffiti tonight on KBOO. Midnight to 2am. That's 90.7fm here in town & online everywhere at kboo dot fm. Now. I'd better start working on my tag!

Preface To Graffiti: So Much Graffiti

There was so much graffiti all over Portland during the pandemic. This especially happened to businesses that had closed or had closed up for the duration, & to houses that had been abandoned. It must've been a great time to go around painting on things. I remember one morning, when I was doing a show early on XRAY, driving on I-5 going north, I saw three guys just standing on the highway shoulder spray-painting a wall or a pillar or whatever. I don't even know if the police would've stopped at that point.

The city is much more active now & the graffiti level has dropped. There are still some rudimentary tags here & there but hardly any sentences written on the sides of walls as in the picture I took above, dated February 26, 2022. Nearly four years ago, wow. Hard to believe what we've lived through.

Or didn't live through, as the case may be. There are people I don't talk to because of the pandemic. Their inability to understand the deadliness of the virus - coupled with their incredibly stupid fear of vaccines - made me decide I didn't need those people in my life. It was a really dumb time & it continues to be very dumb.

You don't need me to tell you that, tho.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Computer Security Day

(by Stephan Dybus)

November 30 is National Computer Security Day. Although Dick Dickenbock doesn't own a computer, & the use of his cell phone is tightly monitored, he does feel confident he can report about the best way to protect yourself in our dangerous cyber world. Probably something to do with passwords.

Find out Dick Dickenbock's passwords on XRAY FM tomorrow, Sunday, November 30, noon to 1pm. Listen in Portland at 91.1+107.1fm & online at xray dot fm. Spoiler alert! His password is "password."

This Week In Self Help: November 21 23 + 25

(I have no idear where I found this image originally, but it's here)

A busy week! How do I start? Way back a Friday ago.

Friday the 21st. The Songcircle on KBOO. New releases. Listen here at KBOO. Listen here at Self Help Radio.

Also Friday the 21st. Also on KBOO. I subbed Plugged In. I played lots of pretty electronica from this year. Listen here at KBOO. Listen here at Self Help Radio.

Sunday the 23rd. The Dickenbock Report on XRAY. It was Eat A Cranberry Day. Listen here at XRAY. Listen here at Self Help Radio.

Tuesday the 25th. Self Help Radio on KBOO. A birthday show for my wife with lots of songs about birthdays. Listen here at KBOO. Listen here at Self Help Radio.

Also Tuesday the 25th. Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO. More new releases. Listen here at KBOO (after Self Help Radio). Listen here at Self Help Radio.

At Self Help Radio you might need: username SHR, password selfhelp.

Hopefully not such a busy week ahead. Happy holiday weekend!

Self Help Radio 112525: Magda's Birthday Show 2025

Here it is, the annual birthday show I make for my wife. She said "Thank you for making a birthday show for me" drowsily as she drifted off to sleep. Marriage saved for one more year!

About a third of the songs on the show were from 2025. That includes older songs on new releases, like the Red Sleeping Beauty singles collection & the John & Yoko box set. Most of the rest were songs I just came across this year. I have a folder - this is true - full of birthday songs that I don't really like all that much. I always think one year I'll release a deliberately sub-standard birthday show, so that's why I keep them. But I continue to find birthday songs I like so - not yet!

Have a birthday party & listen to the show either on the KBOO web page or on the Self Help Radio web page. If you choose the latter, you might need the username SHR & the password selfhelp. In any event, bring your own hats & cake. I ate all the cake.

Happy birthday!

Self Help Radio Birthday Show 2025

"Happy Birthday" Mocca _Funfair_

"Happy Happy Birthday" Bitter Cherry Jam _Road To The Vegetablets_

"Happy Birthday" Red Sleeping Beauty _Pop Songs_

introduction & explanation

"Happy Birthday" Black Country, New Road _Forever Howlong_

"A Happy Birthday Song" John Tabacco _You Get Old - You Get Everything_

"Timmy's Birthday" The Firesign Theatre _Dope Humor Of The Seventies_

"Happy Birthday Yoko Ono (Jam)" John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory & Special Guests _Power To The People_

"Archie Stephens' Birthday Party" Shrug _Fresh Fish_

interview with Magda's 7th grade boyfriend Chad

"Birthday" Joni _Avalanches_

"I Don't Know Why Double Birthday" Saintseneca _Highwallow & Supermoon Songs_

"Happy Birthday Old Folk" Walter Brennan _Old Rivers_

"My 8th Birthday" Big Top Heartbreak _Deadbeat Ballads_

"Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday)" Cate Le Bon _Michelangelo Dying_

interview with Wojciech & Agnieszka, who were in the Polish community with Magda

"Happy Birthday Late" Starlings _Korda Komp 4_

"Song For Molly Parden (Happy Birthday Darling)" Johanna Samuels _Bystander_

"White Lady With A Birthday Party" Nicole Byer _Big Beautiful Weirdo_

"Happy Birthday" Tommy Crimes _Album_

"Picture Of The Birthday" Crawl Babies _Send My Badge! - Bluebadge Compilation Vol. 1_

interview with Oliver, who had been a grad student with Magda

"Bad Birthday Bash" The Vandals _When In Rome Do As The Vandals_

"Birthday" Snuff Redux _Birthday_

"Happy Birthday To A Bookworm" Ernie Kovacs _The Ernie Kovacs Album_

"Birthday" Warren Teagarden _Haiku Islands Volume Two_

"One More Trip Around The Sun" Cari Cari _One More Trip Around The Sun_

conclusion & goodbye

"Happy Birthday" Fats & His Cats _Die Singles 1962-1968_

"Birthday Bash" The Hants _Bible Belt Warbling_

"Pretend Birthday" Automatic Children _New Is Beautiful_

"Birthday Dream" Human Culture _Human Culture_

Whither Magda's Birthday Show 2025?

(image from here)

Nearly every year that Self Help Radio has been in existence - that's like 23 years now - I have dedicated a show to the love of my life - first when she was just my girlfriend, now as my wife - around the time of her birthday. Do I play songs that make me think about her? Do I share songs that we both love equally? Nope! I play songs about birthdays. She's still charmed by it tho.

What makes the show difficult for me is that I don't repeat recordings. Which is to say, I may play covers of famous birthday songs, but once I've played that recording of the song, I don't repeat it. So I need to find new birthday songs - either ones that have been released in the last twelve months or ones I have otherwise missed - on every birthday show. & that's a challenge!

You can find out how I do tonight on KBOO - 90.7fm in Portland, kboo dot fm everywhere - from midnight to 2am. Heck, it might even be your birthday!

Preface To Magda's Birthday Show 2025: I Got You A Card

Hope you like it.

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Eat A Cranberry Day

(image from here)

November 23 is Eat A Cranberry Day. We've stocked up on cranberries in all manners of food - sauce, juice, pie, & more - & Dick Dickenbock demands we eat cranberries while we report on the fruit tomorrow.

That's Sunday, from noon to 1pm, on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere. Why wait for Thanksgiving?

This Week In Self Help: November 16 + 18

Another week in which I only did the radio shows I'm supposed to do. Here's how that went:

The Dickenbock Report on XRAY FM reported on National Button Day.

Listen to that show: on the XRAY web page | on the Self Help Radio web page.

Self Help Radio on KBOO FM had a show about freedom.
(All the songs were in fact titled "Freedom.")

Listen to that show: on the KBOO web page | on the Self Help Radio web page.

Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO FM continued the freedom theme.

Listen to that show: on the KBOO web page (after Self Help Radio) | on the Self Help Radio web page.

Remember! You might need on the Self Help Radio web page
username: SHR password: selfhelp

This next week tho I'm going to be a little more busy I think.

Self Help Radio 111825: Freedom

A show about freedom. With all the songs called "Freedom." There were lots of songs called "Freedom." They spilled into the third hour, which is a show called Corporate Standardized Programming. But might as well be the third hour of Self Help Radio.

Also my silly guests tell me their favorite freedoms. It gets pretty ridiculous.

& when you're free, if ever you're free, you can listen for free. It's at the KBOO web site & at the Self Help Radio website. At the latter you may need to use the username SHR & pass the password selfhelp. All the songs are called "Freedom" but everything that happens on the show is below.

Tho I feel a little free dumb right now.

Self Help Radio Freedom Show

"Freedom" The Golden Gate Quartet _Freedom: The Golden Gate Quartet & Josh White At The Library Of Congress_

"Freedom" Tommy Blake _Koolit (The Sun Years, Plus)_

"Freedom" Charles Mingus _Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus_

introduction & definitions

"Freedom" The New Christy Minstrels _Chim Chim Cher-ee_

"Freedom" The Motions _Electric Baby_

"Freedom" Memphis Slim _The Legacy Of The Blues Vol. 7_

"Freedom" Richie Havens _Woodstock - Music From The Original Soundtrack & More_

interview with Blake who tells us his favorite freedom

"Freedom" Six Feet Under _In Retrospect 1969-70_

"Freedom" Sue & Sunny _Freedom_

"Freedom" Rocky Cabbage _Rainbow Rocking Chair (The Definitive Collection 1969-1971)_

"Freedom" Ellison _Ellison_

"Freedom" The Isley Brothers _The Essential Isley Brothers_

interview with Tony who tells us his favorite freedom

"Freedom" Art Bears _The World As It Is Today_

"Freedom" The Garlands _The Garlands EP_

"Freedom" The Housemartins _London 0 Hull 4_

"Freedom" Alan Vega/Alex Chilton/Ben Vaughn _Cubist Blues_

"Freedom" Quintron _Too Thirsty 4 Love_

interview with Didi & Vic who tell us their favorite freedom

"Freedom" Accra Quartet _Travelers_

"Freedom" David Walters, Vincent Segal, Ballaké Sissoko, & Roger Raspail _Nocturne_

"Freedom" Ibibio Sound Machine _Electricity_

"Freedom" Sampa The Great _The Return_

interview with Eric who tells us his favorite freedom
+ conclusion & goodbye

"Freedom" Ty Segall _Ty Segall_

"Freedom" Curtis Harding _Soul Power_ 

"Freedom" Chaka Khan _Moscow On The Hudson Original Motion Picture Soundtrack_

Whither Freedom?

(image from here)

Apologies for the goofy stock photo. It's public domain. In all the pictures I've taken over the last few years not a single one had the title "freedom." So there you go.

Last week on the show I joked, when announcing this theme, that I thought it might be a good idea to do a show about freedom while we still had some of it in this country. For a lot of my fellow residents, freedom is a precious commodity. I'm not sure that was what was in my mind when I first thought of the theme, but golly it seems a good reason to do the show at this point.

Listen to a show about freedom tonight, midnight to 3am, on 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere.

It's very strange to be aware that I now have less freedoms than when I was born, & even stranger to know there are people in this country - including members of my family - that aren't even aware of that.

Preface To Freedom: Why Isn't Your Show More Political

(image found here)

Something I am sometimes asked - more in the past, really, than in recent times - is "Why isn't your show more political?" It's a question that puzzles me. I suppose there are people on the right who listen to noncommercial radio, noncommercial music, but the right wingers in my family have never paid any attention to the music I like & have at their most charitable called it "weird." If it hasn't appeared on commercial radio, they wouldn't have heard it, let alone approved of it. & frankly I have very rarely met conservatives who volunteer or do radio shows at the stations I am at - & usually those do country shows.

Mostly I've hoped that people would think, oh he's on a left-leaning radio station, he must also feel that way, & that's certainly true, although I have disagreed with my stations in the past. But the company I keep should surely be a clue - yes, I might have silly improvised interviews about pigeons, but that doesn't mean I am not antifa.

Ultimately I end up saying something like, "I personally think noncommercial radio is an incredibly revolutionary thing." & I believe it. I volunteer at the stations at which I deejay, I ask for listener support on the air, I wear clothing that promotes them, & I support them financially. Because it may seem like oddballs in a little room playing their favorite music or sharing their opinions, but it's so dramatically unlike the current media landscape that we have ventured as far out as the Dadaists did at this point.

Noncommercial radio is my passion & I have given so much of the last thirty years of my life to it, & will continue to do so. That means every show on a station like KBOO or XRAY or Freeform Portland is inherently political. It's about freedom of expression. It's about challenging the status quo. It's David versus a Goliath as tall as a tower.

So perhaps if ever I am asked the question, "Why isn't your show more political?" I should just answer, "Honestly, I don't think it could get any more political!"