Had Thought

When I was out & about in my old stomping grounds in Garland today, I took some pictures of places I used to live as they look now.  I figure I will share them in weeks to come.  Bonus!  Because my sister found my actual birth certificate, I know the house my family was living in when I was born.  I will share that too.

Basically I've spent the weekend driving.  So I wrote this on Facebook just now:

On my return to the metroplex I find myself constantly lost, constantly doubting the GPS, frustrated that any muscle memory I had about places is gone, gone, gone. & I can't believe I forgot that everyone in DFW drives like they're in that Harlan Ellison story "Along The Scenic Route," just competing in a mad race in which there can't really be any winners. Just turning your blinker on to signal a lane change triggers sudden acceleration from the car in the lane you need to move into. By contrast, the speediest car in Portland will slow down when they see your blinker. It's no wonder I saw three different accidents today. I really just didn't remember how much time I spent on the (truly quite dangerous) road here. I'm so glad that's not the case any longer.

Also, the fact that so many people aren't wearing masks in stores & what-not is shit-yourself terrifying.

Had Planned

Had planned to write something pithy about my return to Dallas (for the last time?) but haven't slept & couldn't really find very good food to eat so am very tired so am falling asleep so early - even early by Portland time! Maybe pith tomorrow? Hopeful.

Self Help Radio 051821: Stones

(Original image here*)

This week, Self Help Radio was stoned.  That doesn't sound right.  But it's not untrue.  An entire show about stones!  & nary a geologist - or should we say petrologist - in sight!

There were in fact way too many songs about stones - you might say they were as numerous as stones on a beach - or stones anywhere - there are lots of stones in the world - to fit into three hours, & almost certainly your favorite song about stones isn't on the show, but as a kind of soup stone, we flavored the show with interviews - with an expert in spiritual stones, a Hollywood stoner, & a therapist who uses a method called "sticks & stones" - so perhaps you wouldn't miss what we so obviously missed.

Listen to the show at either the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website.  It's the same show in two different places!  Someone should inform the authorities.  The list of songs played is below, as are brief mentions of things that happened in-between.

Three hours of stones might well leave you stoned.  What kind of stoned, well.  That's up to you.

Self Help Radio Stones Show

"Stones" Little Fevers _Field Trip_

"Broken Stones" Paul Weller _Stanley Road_

"Stone" New Young Pony Club _The Optimist_

introduction & definitions

"Blood Outta Stone" The Fall _A World Bewitched: Best Of 1990-2000_

"Blood From A Stone (Remix)" The Heart Throbs _Cleopatra Grip_

"The Stone Age" Eddie Izzard _Stripped_

"Two Stones In My Pocket" Neil Halstead _Sleeping On Roads_

"Gravestones" Monkey Swallows The Universe _The Casket Letters_

interview with the Rev Dr Howard Gently

"Sacred Stones" Shiela Chandra _Weaving My Ancestors' Voices_

"Stonehenge" Poison Girls _Statement_

"Stone Circles & You" Julian Cope _20 Mothers_

"Stones For Avalon" Tyrannosaurus Rex _Unicorn_

"Rosetta Stone" Throwing Muses _Red Heaven_

interview with Hollywood stoner Matthew

"Let's Go Get Stoned" Ray Charles _Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection_

"And It Stoned Me" Van Morrison _Moondance_

"I Got Stoned & I Missed It" Shel Silverstein _Freakin' At The Freakers Ball_

"Alone & Stoned" King Tuff _King Tuff_

"Stoned" Widowspeak _All Yours_

interview with therapist Dr. Caspar Klink

"Sticks & Stones" Wanda Jackson _Wanda Rocks_

"Sticks & Stones" The Rock Flowers _Naturally_

"Sticks & Stones" Cud _Showbiz_

"Sticks & Stones" The Divine Comedy _Absent Friends_

"Sticks & Stones" Catnaps _Why Don't You Whisper?_

another installment of Dramatic Readings Of Classic Rock Songs

"Heart Of Stone" Derrick & Naomi _Derrick Morgan: Moon Hop (Best Of The Early Years 1960-69)_

"Heart Of Stone" The Mekons _So Good It Hurts_

"Heart Of Stone" The Wolfgang Press _The Legendary Wolfgang Press & Other Tall Stories_

"This Heart's Not Made Of Stone" Television Personalities _Closer To God_

"This Heart Is A Stone" Acid House Kings _Sing Along With Acid House Kings_

"Heart Of Stone" The Raveonettes _In & Out Of Control_

idioms

"Rollin' Stone" Muddy Waters _Rollin' Stone: The Golden Anniversary Collection_

"Daddy Rollin' Stone" Otis Blackwell _1953 - 1955_

"Rollin' Stone" The Marigolds _Night Train To Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1970_

"Rockin' Rollin' Stone" Andy Starr _Classic Rockabilly_

"Like A Rolling Stone" Phil Flowers _Like A Rolling Stone_

"Papa Was A Rolling Stone" The Pioneers _Funky Kingston: Reggae Dancefloor Grooves 1968-74_

conclusion & goodbye

"Only The Stones Remain" The Soft Boys _Underwater Moonlight_

"Baby Stones" Robert Forster _Danger In The Past_

"Throwing Stones" George Carlin _When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops?_

"Elephant Stone" The Stone Roses _The Stone Roses_

"Old Stone Bridge" Emily _Irony EP_

"Sticks & Stones" Thee Headcoatees _Punk Girls_

*"Stones" by rkramer62 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Whither Stones?

(image from here.)

The idea for a show about stones came inadvertently from my wife.  While it's true that she's a stoner - I once mentioned that on the radio & some people were shocked I "outed" her in this way, not realizing that no one who knows her ever listens to me on the air - that's not the inspiration.  No, it's because of her garden envy.  Something I once wrote some haiku about on this very blog.

People in Portland take their gardens very seriously, & in turn my wife fumes with jealousy when someone's garden is growing things better or looks prettier than hers (so, always - a green thumb she has not).  Garden envy easily spills over into landscaping envy, & as Portlanders embrace the spring, so too they take the time to touch up their yards, gardens, their outside spaces.

This spring I have heard about nothing but stones.  Should we get paving stones for the pathway in the front yard?  We need to clean the stones in the front - can you help?  Our next door neighbor Molly is buying some stones - should I go in on it?  Can you move the car - we're having stones delivered!

It seems pretty obvious why I would have stones on my mind.

Sometimes people buy more stones than they need.  & they have a pile of stones in front of their house with a sign on it that says "free."  Sometimes we pass those on dogwalks.  The conversation after that is generally, should I go get some of those free stones?  Why it may seem there was a debate involved, especially given the amount of time deliberations happen, the answer is always, yes.  As I write this, there are buckets of stones in our car.

This is perhaps too much information but if you wanted to know why tonight, from midnight to 3am, on 90.7fm KBOO & online at kboo.fm, Self Help Radio is about stones, well, now you know.

Preface To Stones: Too Many Stones

The picture above is from this article which has, as its thesis statement, "people are stacking too many stones."  Apparently this is happening in national parks to some detriment, but I didn't read the article.  I've never stacked stones in my life.  I'm not sure what the pleasure might be in stacking stones.  But it is possible a plague of some kind?

The picture spoke to me however because the reason for doing this show, which I will get to tomorrow, didn't prepare me for the sheer number of songs about stones.  I have been listening to stone songs since last Tuesday & I don't feel I actually got a chance to listen to all of them.  At some point decisions have to be made to start work on the show.  So some stone songs got short shrift.

The thing is, I try to avoid this.  I try to avoid too-general songs because I simply don't have the time to listen to all the songs.  & I don't always just want to play songs I'm overly familiar with - I want the show to be about discovery for me - or re-discovery, often, of musicians or albums I liked enough to purchase but haven't spent the proper amount of time with.  That becomes very hard to do when there are over four hundred songs you've tagged that you want to listen to for possible inclusion in the show.

This week, I am being accused of stone stacking.  Stacking stone songs end to end all over the place.  It's a stony musical mess.  I am trying to clean it up, though, which is more than I can say for the stone-stackers at National Parks.  Stop stacking stones!

Benji & Odie

This is a picture I took seven year ago on this day, May 15, 2014.  The dogs are named Benji & Odie.  They lived a couple of blocks from us, & we passed them regularly on our daily dog walks.  I never knew their ages, but Odie seemed like an oldie, so perhaps he's no longer with us.  They were both very sweet.

Come to think of it, their owner might no longer be with us.  She lived alone in the house - which she said she grew up in - & was of an indeterminate age.  She wore giant wigs & was quite the neighborhood gossip.  I can't remember her name, alas.

It was during these dog walks in Kentucky I started sharing the treats I carried with me for my dogs with other dogs in the neighborhood.  Whenever possible, I ask permission.  I'd hate for the dogs to be allergic to something I'm giving them!  This has the result of dogs not barking at us but, like Benji & Odie above, waiting patiently for me.

Sometimes it doesn't work that way - a sweet Corgi named Brooks in our neighborhood just barks.  The only time he's not barking is when he's eating his treat.  But I don't give him treats any more.  Hopefully he will stop barking for them after some time.

Plans I Had

Do not believe the Venusians who assert that there were different plans for this blog from what you are seeing at this moment. After all, this is what their planet looks like:

According to NASA: "Pictured is the view from Venera 14, a robotic Soviet lander which parachuted & air-braked down through the thick Venusian atmosphere in March of 1982. The desolate landscape it saw included flat rocks, vast empty terrain, & a featureless sky above Phoebe Regio near Venus' equator. On the lower left is the spacecraft's penetrometer used to make scientific measurements, while the light piece on the right is part of an ejected lens-cap. Enduring temperatures near 450 degrees Celsius & pressures 75 times that on Earth, the hardened Venera spacecraft lasted only about an hour."

No, the plans for this blog for today almost certainly included a picture of Venus. It was to remind you that despite anything that might dismay you about dealing with human beings on this flawed planet, at some point we built something that landed on a hostile environment - which also happens to be a planet close to us - & it took pictures right before it died.  That is fucking extraordinary.

That was today's plan.  It wasn't, honestly, but it's fine.  It's totally fine.

Self Help Radio 051121: Mom

(Look! I lightly desecrated my mom & dad's wedding photo!)

This week's show was about moms - I talked a bit about mine, but it really was a celebration of all moms (I opted not to play songs about mothers - that would've added about a thousand more songs to choose from) inspired by my own.  She would've been quite flattered by that.  & then she would've forgotten to listen.

The show featured guests talking about their moms & one actual mom.  That I talked to.  I mean, some of the musicians I played might have been moms.  That wasn't a requirement.  The songs just had to mention moms or some aspect of momness.  But perhaps next time I should invite actuals moms on.  Darn, why didn't I think of that!

Listen to the show now in two different places howsoever you choose: at kboo.fm or at selfhelpradio.net.  Lots of things happened on the show, the songs & the interviews & stuff are listed below.

Say hi to you mom for me!

Self Help Radio Mom Show

"Mom" Earth, Wind & Fire _Last Days & Time_

"Mommy" The Suburbs _Credit In Heaven_

"Come To Mommy" The Lindas _8x9_

introduction

"My Mommie Sent Me To The Store" Fats Waller _1939-1940_

"Mom Talk" Conveyor _Conveyor_

"My Mom (Accent Not Included)" Hari Kondabolu _Mainstream American Comic_

"Momma" Jem _Beachwood Canyon_

"Going To Marry Mom" Mr. Rogers _Won't You Be My Neighbor?_

interview with my youngest friends Alyssa & Jason

"Everybody Loves My Mom" The Exbats _E Is 4 Exbats_

"Call You Mom" They Might Be Giants _Nanobots_

"Mom" Ed's Redeeming Qualities _At The Fish & Game Club_

"Social Media Mom" Anjelah Johnson _Mahalo & Goodnight_

"Can't Say Enough About Mom" Leroy Hutson _The Man!_

Carole the Librarian shares books about mom

"Stacy's Mom" Fountains Of Wayne _Stacy's Mom_

"Cool Mom" Childbirth _Women's Rights_

"Mom Always Liked You Best" The Smothers Brothers _Mom Always Liked You Best!_

"Hipster Mom" MC Lars _The Zombie Dinosaur LP_

"Hey Mommy" The Mighty Diamonds _Speak The Truth_

Hollywood reporter Denver Smith interviews Hollywood momIssa Ceniceros

"Momma Momma" Melanie _Born To Be_

"Your Mom Is Right" Haley Bonar _Impossible Dream_

"So Long, Mom" Tom Lehrer _The Remains Of Tom Lehrer_

"Stuff Momma Used To Say" Sandra St. Victor _Oya's Daughter_

"Your Mom's In My Business" K-Solo _Tell The World My Name_

interview with writer Florian Michaelangelo

"Mom & Dad's Waltz" Iris DeMent _My Life_

"Mommy Daddy You & I" Talking Heads _Naked_

"How Can I Tell My Mom & Dad" The Lovelites _With Love From The Lovelites_

"Quennel's Mom" The Frantics _Frantic Times_

"Mom & Dad" Cub _Box Of Hair_

"Mom & Dad" Theoretical Girls _Theoretical Girls_

the origin of maternal insults aka yo momma jokes

"Mom Or A Parking Lot" The Intelligence _Males_

"To Mom On Mother's Day" Monte Cazazza _To Mom On Mother's Day_

"When Mommy Kills You" Ty Segall & Freedom Band _Freedom's Goblin_

"My Mom's New Boyfriend" Barcelona _Zero One Infinity_

"Call Your Mom" Cheekface _Emphatically No._

"Mommy Is A Jilt" The Trend _Batman Live At Budokan_

conclusion & goodbye

"Mom & Dad" Frank Zappa _We're Only In It For The Money_

"My Mom, My Sister, & My Beliefs" Maria Bamford _Ask Me About My New God!_

"Your Mom" Thick _5 Years Behind_

"Tell Mommy You Want A Sip Of Beer" Head Like A Kite _Random Portraits Of The Home_

"2 Weird 4 My Mom" Occult Character _Metal Postcard 2020 - Lockdown Samples_

"Mom Dad & Monster" Capsule Giants _Hello Heroes_

"Mom's Friends" Tochigi _Tochigi_

Whither Mom?

(image from here)

Tonight's Self Help Radio - which has the theme "mom" - would seem to be a response to Mother's Day, which was yesterday.  & it's fine if you think that - but it's not the case.

My mother died in September, & the family is finally getting the chance to have a memorial for her.  I'm still pretty nervous about traveling - though I am vaccinated, I feel like far too many people aren't, & there are of course the politically-motivated & anti-vaxxers of all stripes who have their usually dumb reasons for opposing masks & vaccines - which leaves me anxious - but I am going back to Texas in just under two weeks to deliver the eulogy at my mother's memorial.

The thing is, I initially thought it was this weekend.  So, a month ago, I put it on the website.  I also thought, because I know there are way too many songs about "mothers," that I'd limit the show to songs about "moms."  I'd also include "mommies" & "mommas" (but not "mamas").  This is how I stop myself from way too much time finding & listening to songs.

Anyway, someone reminded me - probably my wife - that I was going next weekend & it seemed a better idea - especially since it had just been Mother's Day - to split the difference & leave the show on the day it was scheduled, even though that means I'll do a different show the week of the memorial.

But I think it'll be a fun show regardless!  There are guests galore & lots of good tunes.  Well, I like them.

Self Help Radio's Mom show airs tonight on KBOO from midnight to 3am.  You can listen on 90.7 fm or kboo.fm.  You can even listen with your mom, if she's up.  That's something I can no longer do.

Preface To Mom: Mother's Day

(this is from here)

A while ago I was having a conversation with my sister Pat, who died in 2015, about our father, who died in 1991.  I told her that I couldn't remember his voice.  I sometimes think I have a sense of it, but he wasn't around a lot when I was a kid, & we didn't really have a lot of conversations.  I imagine there are traces of it in my brothers who, because they have retained their southern accents, tend to be higher & more reedy than my own.  But I can't ever be sure.  I don't know if there are any recordings of it anywhere.

For the record, my sister told me that she remembered it like it was her own voice, & still heard it from time to time, even more than two decades later.

There's is no chance of the same problem with my mother's voice.  I spoke with her weekly for the last two decades of her life, & saw her many times - once a year when I lived out of state, much more frequently when I lived in Texas.  I even have recordings of her voice - she called in to my radio show more than once, & I have tapes of her leaving a message on my old answering machine, which used an actual cassette tape.  Fun fact!  I used that machine until probably 2002!

Listen, I even can remember her voice changing as she got older & got a little more senile - or perhaps more demented.  I remember ridiculous arguments I had with her while I was walking the dogs in Kentucky & I remember the last time I spoke to her, when she was in the nursing home last summer, confused & close to incoherent, not really sure she knew she was talking to me.

This is the first Mother's Day in years that I haven't called her.  I tended to call her nearer to the end of the day so she could regale me with all the visits she had, the calls she had, the gifts she received.  She really loved this day.  I guess the last Mother's Day I spent with her was in 2018 - two years ago I would've been on my way here, & last year I was here, & doubtless called her.  She was fading at that point.  It wasn't easy speaking to her.  & whereas we could easily fill an hour in conversation - she tended to talk at me, telling me about her life as well as filling me in with information about my siblings' lives - by the end we spoke for mere minutes.  Her world was closing in on her, & her words were started to fail her.

So I didn't call anyone today.  But when I grabbed that image above, I wasn't sad.  Because I suspect I'll go to my own death with my mother's voice in my head.  It seems inconceivable that I could ever forget it.

Utah

This is a photo I took on the high on the way to Moab, Utah, on this day two years ago.  The wife & I were in two cars, we were in the process of relocating to Portland from Fort Worth.  I actually wrote about the trip here on the blog, & you can read what I wrote about the drive from New Mexico to Utah right here.

That part of the world is so beautiful & I wish I could visit it more often.  In a couple of weeks I'm going back to Dallas for my mother's memorial & I am taking a plane but part of me toyed with the idea of driving - it takes four days.  I couldn't have done it without being incredibly exhausting but I am certainly glad I hadn't looked at pictures of Utah I took two days ago before I booked the flight - I might have chanced it just to see that lovely place in person again.

Blanketed By Film

(image from the IMDb)

This week's Self Help Radio was about blankets (you can listen here & here, if you are so inclined) & the show's resident cinephile stopped by in his regular segment Chuck's Happily Unsophisticated Cinema Korner to talk about films prominently featuring blankets.

Here is the list of the movies he made.
Here is the YouTube playlist featuring movies he talked about.
Here are the Letterboxd reviews of the films he watched.
& as always, you can check in with what Chuck's watching at his Twitter account, @robotmonkeycat.

If you enjoy film, you'll enjoy Chuck's recommendations!

Self Help Radio 050421: Blankets

(original image here.*)

What a comforting show that was.  No, really!  As one listener texted, "thanks for the very cozy show."  & shouldn't radio in the middle of the night be somewhat cozy?

Self Help Radio this week explored blankets both literal & figurative.  & almost everyone involved with the show - certainly the fellow making it, possibly the guests, & maybe the listener(s)(?) - were under blankets at the time.  Sometimes more than one blanket.  Seriously, how snug & warm was everyone during this show?  It was completely pleasant.  Zzzzzzzz.

Climb under the blankets of the show at either the KBOO website or the Self Help Radio website.  Lots of things happened on the show besides all the songs about blankets.  It's mentioned below.

Now, where was I?  Oh yeah.  Zzzzzzzz.

Self Help Radio Blankets Show

"How Many Blankets Are In The World?" Saintseneca _Such Things_

"Your Love Is My Blanket" Super 8 _Turn Around Or..._

"Blanket Of My Love" The Troyes _Rainbow Chaser: Complete Recordings (1966-1968)_

introduction & definitions (featuring the Definition-O-Tron 3000)

"Black Sky Blanket" Jennifer O'Connor _Surface Noise_

"Sushi" Films On Song _False Starts EP_

"Security Blanket" Tizzy _Pop American Style_

"Let's Cuddle Up In My Security Blanket" Napoleon XIV _They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!_

"The Blanket Of Night" Elbow _The Take Off & Landing Of Everything_

Self Help Radio librarian Carole recommends books about blankets

"Blanket (feat. Imogen Heap)" Urban Species _Blanket_

"Take My Blanket & Go" Joe Purdy _Take My Blanket & Go_

"Blanket" Gurf Morlix _Diamonds To Dust_

"I Need A Blanket" Horowitz _Frosty Cat Songs_

"Pillows & Blankets" Kid Auto Races At Venice _Summer Escape_

interview with Hollywood MyBlanket Guy Denver Smithell

"Blanket On The Ground" Billie Jo Spears _Blanket On The Ground_

"Whip The Blankets" Neko Case & Her Boyfriends _Furnace Room Lullaby_

"Blanket Show" The Gourds _Haymaker!_

"Green Blanket" Peter Case _Full Service, No Waiting_

"From A Buick 6" Bob Dylan _Highway 61 Revisited_

our resident cinephile Chuck recommends films about blankets

"Beach Blanket Bingo" Donna Loren _Hey, Beach Girls! (Female Surf 'N' Drag 1961-1966)_

"Blanket On The Beach" Bill Courtney _Teenagers Forever_

"On A Blanket On The Beach" Tommy Leonetti _The Early Side Of Tommy Leonetti_

"Blanket Of Weeds" Meat Puppets _Sewn Together_

"Blanket Over The Sky" The Verlaines _Way Out Where_

Self Help Radio has the Hard Answers to Hard Questions - featuring Ned Dry

"Blanket Roll Blues" Scott Walker _Climate Of Hunter_

"Old Woman Tossed Up In A Blanket" Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick, & Barry Dransfield _Morris On_

"Blanket" Ygdrassil _Pieces_

"Blanket For A Sail" Nilsson _Knnillssonn_

"Electric Blanket" Peter Rowan _Dust Bowl Children_

"Electric Blanket" Log Across The Washer _PDX Pop Now!_

idioms with the word "blanket"

"Wet Blanket" The Chills _Brave Words_

"Wet Blanket" Evans The Death _Evans The Death_

"Wet Blanket" Metz _Metz_

"Wet Blanket" Metric _Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?_

"Blankets" Sarah Silverman _Songs Of The Sarah Silverman Show_

"Isigqumza (My Blanket)" Xhosa: Mpondo _The Nguni Sound: South Africa & Swaziland 1955 '57 '58_

conclusion & goodbye

"Newspaper Blanket" The Cowsills _The Best Of The Cowsills_

"Found Under Blankets" Tompot Blenny _Found Under Blankets_

"Seven Blankets" A Weather _Everyday Balloons_

"Blankets" Craig Finn _I Need A New War_

"Waking Up On A Picnic Blanket" Lullatone _The Sounds Of Spring_

*"beautiful blankets" by mararie is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Whither Blankets?

(from the Sunday Peanuts strip, April 3, 1955.

taken from The Complete Peanuts Vol. 3)

This is something I reflect on a little too often: I now live in a place where it's cold most of the time.  You see, I grew up in the Dallas area, in Texas.  We have something like a winter there, it probably lasts three months or so, it gets pretty cold a few days but mostly it's just grey.  W don't have much of a spring or fall.  In March, it starts getting warm, & stays that way until maybe the end of October.  That's roughly two-thirds of the year where it's potentially very, very hot outside.  In the summers - this is true of Austin, too, of course, where I lived for over twenty years - it can be over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit for months.  No matter how much you crank your air conditioner, you don't ever really feel cold.

That changed when we moved to Appalachia.  They have a summer that lasts maybe three months, with usually only a week or two that they feel like is too hot - & even then, it's just in the 90s.  I guess I knew things were different when we were planning a benefit show for WRFL & it would happen at the end of September.  I suggested maybe doing it outside, & someone said, "Oh no, it'll be too cold by then."  The Austin City Limits festival happens in October, & it's still hot as fuck in Austin at that time!

We got to experience the misery of "hot most of the time" Texas when we returned in 2016.  During the summer we walked the dogs early in the morning because in the evening the concrete was just too hot for their poor paws & of course the day was too punishing.  Even that early, it would be 85 degrees out - yes, at 5:30am!

But here in Portland, the reverse is true.  Two mornings ago I went for a walk around 9am with the hounds & the way I dressed you would've thought it was a brisk Autumn day.  It's the middle of Spring!  It's 64 degrees as I write this, but 86 degrees in Fort Worth.  But wait!  The weather site I just glanced at assures me it "feels like 92 degrees."

Being back where it's cold most of the time has given me a renewed appreciation of blankets.  Thinking about blankets made me think about doing a show about blankets, & that's happening tonight at midnight on 90.7 KBOO Portland, simultaneously online at kboo.fm.  There's a good chance someone listening will be under their own blankets at the time!  That's a nice thing to think about.

Preface To Blankets: Blankets In My Childhood

(Here are some blankets.  I found them at this site.)

Thinking about blankets, I remember two blankets I had - not as a child, but maybe as a tween - but also into my teen years.  One of them was blue, the other was kinda orange.

My memory suggests that they were supposed to be blankets for me & my little brother.  Which is to say, one of them (I think the orange one) was supposed to be mine, & the other one (the blue one?) was supposed to be his.  My mother is no longer with us, but I wish I could ask her if she remembered the blankets.  It seems entirely like something she might remember.

For reasons too complicated to explain here, my little brother spent a great deal of his time while in high school living at my oldest sister's house.  This meant that his blanket - which might have been the blue one - was often on his bed - we shared a room - & left unattended.  I loved blankets, I loved being covered & smothered by blankets, it made perfect sense I would take his blanket & make it my own.

This is not something I am ready to talk too much about, but I did give the blankets names, & even though I was a teenager who shouldn't have invented fantasy scenarios before he fell asleep, I did involve my blankets in stories that I invented as I dozed off.  I will not share the names I gave these blankets nor their role in my imaginings.  Just please don't think they were incredible flights of fancy - at best, they were echoes of things I consumed in the comic books & sci-fi novels I was reading at the time.

What became of these blankets?  I do not know.  There is a very good chance I brought at least one of them with me to college.  But I have no proof.  What I do recall is that there were two pillows - my mother told me they "came from Germany," which might have meant they were gifts from my grandparents - which my brother & I slept on throughout our childhood.  Because my brother was never at our place, I took both of them to me to Austin in 1986 when I moved there.  I knew I was taking my little brother's pillow.  I don't know if he ever noticed.

The life trajectory of those pillows was kind of incredible.  They stayed with me for years & years.  At some point - I think this was in Kentucky, so somewhere between 2010 & 2016 - my wife told me that the pillows had degraded to the point they were a health hazard.  I had to say goodbye.  & I did.

The pillows had names, too, & no, I will not share that.

As for my blankets - I don't know when that orange & that blue blanket left me.  I'd hate to think it was an afterthought.  Almost certainly, if I brought them with me to Austin, they were rejected by the first woman with whom I shared a bed.  & that was that.

Oakland

When I began to carry a digital camera around with me to take pictures of stuff, I didn't know I was also creating a kind of diary for myself.  I took this picture four years ago, on May 1, 2017.  It's called "Oakland" because it was taken in Oakland.  We were in town to visit my wife's mother as well as to see the Magnetic Fields perform.  It was a lovely night & a lovely show & it was only ruined by returning to our rental car & finding the windows smashed in.  I learned that's a hazard in Oakland, San Francisco, & Berkeley.  We had to drive to the rental place to report it - the cops told us they wouldn't be able to come & get a statement for four hours* - & we got a car, which we turned in the next day because that's when we were leaving.

Hm, I thought I had written about this on the blog before but I guess I had not.  Anyway, that has turned out to be one of the nice things about taking pictures.  If you'd asked me this morning when I last visited California, or when I had gone to see the Magnetic Fields there, I couldn't have told you.  Now I know!

Not that I'll remember after this.

* Still no word if they've solved the crime.

Aren't These Lovely

That image above is from this website, which tells us:

Illustrations by Kawakami Shiro ( 川上四郎 絵) for the legendary illustrated magazine Kodomo no kuni ("Children's Land"), c1920s & 30s. "Together with Takeo Takei & Shigeru Hatsuyama, Kawakami is considered one of Japan’s pioneering illustrators for children’s books."

There are more at that link, which is officially http://50watts.com/Kawakami-Shiro.

Go have a look.  They are quite lovely.  I hope I can find some of those books one day, maybe even in translation?

Self Help Radio 042721: Indiepop A To Z # 65

(almost all images found at Discogs.)

As I said several times during this week's show, the Indiepop A To Z series was started many years ago - in 2005! - & a couple thousand miles away - in Austin, Texas.  I didn't imagine I would ever really finish it - I had no idea I'd be doing a show called Self Help Radio for as long as I have been.  I haven't been rushing to finish it because I think this is more about the journey than the destination: a chance to explore (albeit with the odd touch of alphabetization) lots of bands I might otherwise not play because the songs might not fit into a theme I might be covering.  At least two of the songs I played tonight are two of my most favorite songs in the world - & one of them I did play a lot on KVRX when it was released, but otherwise I haven't played it on the radio since 2005!

This remains one of the most fun things I do on Self Help Radio - for me.  One listener told me (through text) he took the show shopping with him as it aired.  That was a first!

Listen to the show now either at the KBOO website or at Self Help Radio's website.  It was almost all music, although I did spend some time talking - it being KBOO's Spring Membership Drive - about how you can support the station.  Anyway, what happened it below.  I hope you enjoy!

Self Help Radio Indiepop A To Z # 65

"Red Bus Goes Through Our Days" Pastelshot _Hush, Little Baby_

"I Believe It's Love" Pastis 51 _I Believe It's Love_

"Sydney" The Pastry Heros _Horn Rim Fury EP_

"The Message" Patric _The Message_

"Mi Vida Va Bien" Patrullero Mancuso _Bodegon Musical_

"Kyss Mig Igen" Pats _Nevadaflickan_

"Secrets" Andy Pawlak _Shoebox Full Of Secrets_

"Doo Wah Diddy" Peach Kelli Pop _Peach Kelli Pop_

"Can't Take You Anywhere" Pearl Harbor _Puro Instinct EP_

"Everybody Knows It's A Dream" The Pearlfishers _Ave Marina: Ten Years Of Marina Records_

"Fly" The Pearly Gatecrashers _New Fluffy Delicious_

"Earl Grey Tea" Peatmos _Earl Grey Tea_

"Turn Key One" Pee _I Win Me Over_

"Bathroom Floor" Pee Shy _Don't Get Too Comfortable_

"Smile" Pencil Tin _A Gentle Hand To Guide You Along_

"Zoom" Penelope Trip _Usted Morirá En Su Nave Espacial_

"Nail You Into My Heart" The Penelopes _6661: Beikoku-Ongaku # 13_

"Potboiler" Penelope's Web _Potboiler_

"Bicycle Thief" Penny Arcade _A Girl From Penny Arcade_

"Taj Mahal" Penny Candles _Taj Mahal_

"Time Flies" Peppelkade 14 _Time Flies EP_

"Whatever Happened To Pop Songs" Peppermint Parlour _Whatever Happened To Pop Songs_

"Will You Be Staying After Sunday" Peppermint Rainbow _Will You Be Staying After Sunday_

"Siempre Es Primavera" La Pequeña Suiza _Simpático_

"Desire" Perfect _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 5_

"Don't Let Me Down" The Perfect Circles _Suburban Overtones_

"Bluebell" The Perfect Disaster _Bluebell_

"Amelia" The Perfect Garden _A Place Not Far From Here_

"Blue Year" Perhapst _Perhapst_

"Sunday Matinee" Perils Of Pauline _LemonLime, Vol. 2_

"Sequin In Your Dress" Permafrost _In Harm's Way_

"Charlotte" Permer _Labrador 100: A Complete History Of Popular Music_

"It's All Good" El Perro Del Mar _El Perro Del Mar_

"Always All" Persian Rugs _Always All_

"Agony Aunt" Persil _Duotone_

"The Same Old Situation" Personal Column _The Same Old Situation_

"Her New Candy" The Persuaders _First Date 3P_

"Driving" Peru _Across Blue Skies_

"Tony Hadley" The Peruvian Hipsters _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 8_

"We Surely Become Happy (Demo Version)" Pervenche _6661: Beikoku-Ongaku # 13_

"Too Skinny" Pest 5000 _(In-ter/a-bang/)_

"My Name Is Moto X" Pet Squad _Nice To Beat Home_

"Peine Perdue" Peter Parker Experience _LP, EP's & Bonus_

Whither Indiepop A To Z # 65?

(The Perfect Disaster, one of the bands you'll hear tonight.
Image from here.)

My computer's still being rescued, I'm still stuck with a tiny laptop, so I'll keep this brief:

Tonight we're continuing the Indiepop A To Z series.  We started the letter P last time, we'll continue with the letter P this time.

The series gets visited every four months, it was time.  I am fortunate I was able to put the show together with only a crappy laptop!  I hope it sounds all right.

Tonight on KBOO, 90.7fm + kboo.fm from midnight to 3am.  I'm quite partial to the genre, so I think it'll sound great!

Preface To Indiepop A To Z # 65: This Is Taking Forever

There's a picture of my dog Winston, relaxing in the afternoon.  He had a lovely day.  I did not.  Holy hell in a hired hansom my day sucked.  Not in any way that matters or makes any sense outside of, you know, what most people experience.  I spent the day editing this week's Self Help Radio on a tiny little laptop.  I feel very grateful that I can actually record audio & I am grateful I have access to my external hard drives - one at a time, naturally - but my laptop has no USB port & my USB plug-in doesn't have enough power to support a CD drive.  So ripping CDs?  Forget it.

Mostly it's just the editing.  It's a slog.  It's not my favorite thing - & as I've said before, if it weren't for the pandemic, I could just go up & do a show & it wouldn't be a big deal.  But I can't.  & I don't have my wonderful desktop computer.  The one that has accompanied me from Kentucky to Texas to Oregon.  On the trip here - two years ago now - I would carry it out of the car every night & I would use it to write about the journey.  Now my fat fingers can barely pound out a sentence with few errors.  It sucks.

Wah wah.  Hopefully the show will get done.  But the future is uncertain.  If I can't get my computer back & have to buy a new one, it's weeks more of this.  & that would be horrible.

Sleep well, little Winnie.  How smart of you not to have dumb problems like mine.  For fuck's sake.