Self Help Radio 090723: Invitations

(original image here)

Did many people accept the invitation to hear Self Help Radio's show about invitations? I dunno! I do radio in a little room with headphones on! But I did invite some guests to talk to - they showed up - & there was lots of music to keep me company. I will pretend it was the best-attended radio show about invitations of the season!

It turns out though that you're still invited to listen - because the show is now online. Listen whenever you feel like it at the show's website - your RSVP will be a username - SHR - & a password - selfhelp. The schedule of events is below. Welcome! I hope you have a lovely time.

Self Help Radio Invitations Show

"Invitation" Dinah Washington _A Night Out With Verve_

"The River's Invitation" Percy Mayfield _The Chronological Percy Mayfield 1951-1954_

"Invitation To The Blues" Ella Mae Morse _Barrelhouse, Boogie, & The Blues_

introduction & definitions

"(You're All Invited To) Henrietta's Wedding" Champ Butler _Down Yonder With Champ Butler_

"Invitation To A Wedding" Barbara Jackson _Girls Girls Girls Volume 12_

"Invite The Mall" Space Ghost _Yeah, Whatever..._

"Invitation" A Band Of Angels _British Soul Vol. 1 (Classic British Label Northern Soul Rarities)_

"Been Invited To A Party" Glenda Collins _Been Invited To A Party_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by!

"You're Invited To A Party" The Victorians _Girls Go Zonk!!_

"An Invitation To Cry" The Magicians _Nuggets (Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968)_

"Party Invitation" Todd Barry _Medium Energy_

"Don't Send Me An Invitation" Honey Cone _Love, Peace, & Soul_

"Invitation To The Blues" Tom Waits _Small Change_

interview with etiquette expert Teresa Connor

"Invitation Inn" Mates Of State _A House Full Of Friends_

"Let's Invite Them Over (with Iris DeMent)" John Prine _Live From Sessions At West 54th_

"Invitation" Frankie & The Heartstrings _The Days Run Away_

"Chant D'Invitation A La Danse" Maboudana & Badolo _Hot Women: Women Singers From The Torrid Regions Of The World_

interview with professional inviter Travis Corn

"Invitation" The Feelies _Time For A Witness_

"Invitation" Filthy Friends _Invitation_

"Invitation To The White House" Kinky Friedman & Little Jewford _Classic Snatches From Europe_

"Uninvited Dream" Peggy Lee _The Man I Love_

"Open Invitation" Grant McLennan _Horsebreaker Star_

interview with my friend Todd Campbell

"Invitation" Eden's Children _Sure Looks Real_

"Invitation Au Silence" Laetitia Sadier _Silencio_

"On Invite Only" Jimmy Pursey _Alien Orphan_

"Invitation Day" Low & Dirty Three _In The Fishtank 7_

conclusion & goodbye

"Invitation" The High Violets _To Where You Are_

"An Invitation" Fairmont _We Will Burn That Bridge When We Get To It_

Whither Invitations?

(a classic tweet from someone who no longer has an account on dying twitter)

The show this week is about invitations. I don't know if I've ever received a formal invitation. & I am unsure if I've sent one. Maybe a formal e-vite? Is that possible?

Luckily on the show we'll have a person who is knowledgeable about the etiquette of invitation. & someone who is a professional inviter. & much more. I hope it sounds inviting. Because you're invited!

That's today! Noon to 2pm on Freeform Portland. Which you can find on the air in Portland at 90.3+98.3fm & online at freeform portland dot org.

No need to RSVP! I'll assume everyone I invited - which is everyone - will come.

Preface To Invitations: By Invite Only?

(image from here)

Let me just quell a few fear that have almost certainly not been circulating about this week's show, the theme of which is "invitations." You do not need an invitation to listen to the show. Like any other radio show I do, it just goes out over the airwaves & through the vast tubes of the internet & you can choose to tune in or, like pretty much everyone, not.

But if you feel an invitation is needed for a show about invitations, let this be your invitation: you're invited! When you listen, you are a welcome invited guest of the show. It's all for you! So please enjoy.

Stairs To Nowhere

It's been a few years since I started taking pictures on dog walks & other adventures with an admittedly crappy digital camera. ("Why do you have that when you have a phone?" is a question I get asked a lot.) On days like today when I have nothing radio to talk about (as if I ever really have anything radio to talk about), I like to go back through the photos I've saved on this day & see if they spark any memories.

This one is from 2014 & I think it was taken in Lexington. We went to some festival & these were shots I took somewhere on the city's north side. It was a part of town I didn't much get to, & I wouldn't have thought about that day much at all if it weren't for these pictures. So hooray for a kind of diary they serve as for me!

Abandoned places fascinate me. I told the wife today that if I had a lot of money I'd just buy lots of houses in places where the property values are low. They'd be terrible investments as I wouldn't really want to develop them, just let them sit there & exist, but I'd still have to pay property taxes & also deal with angry neighbors, but there's a certain beauty to dilapidation & ruin.

First I'd give a lot of money to radio stations, of course. But if I had a lot left over, yeah, I'd own places where the stairs didn't go anywhere.

Now You Know

Nunavut, the largest, northernmost, & newest territory of Canada, is 6.6% larger than Mexico.

What you do with such information I can't say. But you now have it.

Image from here.

(& happy Labor Day!)

Self Help Radio 083123: Indiepop A To Z # 72

(all images from Discogs)

There have now been 72 installments of this series. What more can I say? I was thinking I'd tell you I met a sweet little mutt named Teeny today - she was about a year old - she's being fostered by a neighbor & it's a good thing I have a wife who tells me no or else we'd have a new dog now. Wow she was adorable. I hope someone adopts her soon.

Anyway, that's all. Lots of great indiepop on the program this week. As should be expected with this series. The show is where it's supposed to be: at the Self Help Radio website. Use the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access. Look at the bands I played in glorious alphabetical order below.

& next time we finish the letter R. I promise!

Self Help Radio Indiepop A To Z # 72

"Cinnamon Eyes" Riverside _One_

"Heaven Knows I Love You" Riviera _Heaven Knows I Love You_

"Right Side Of The Tracks" Rizzo _Phoning It In_

"How Many Friends" Roberta Junk _Untitled Flexi_

"Volunteers Conquering Fires" Mark Robinson _Tiger Banana_

"Elephants" Anthony Rochester _Music For Listening & Relaxation_

"Love Eyes" Rocket Or Chiritori _Love Eyes_

"Pink Cashmere" Rocket Punch _Blood On The Ukulele_

"I Love You Like The Way That I Used To Do" Rocketship _A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness_

"Mörder" Rockformation Diskokugel _Airpop: An Apricot Records Compilation_

"Drifting" The Rockingbirds _The Rockingbirds_

"Lenny & Jenny Had One Too Many" The Rocky Nest _The Rocky Nest_

"Nimby" Roguery _Living On The Edge_

"19th Nervous Breakdown" The Rolling Stones _Singles Collection - The London Years_

"Brand New Day" Roly Poly Rag Bear _Hana_

"20th Summer" Romeo Suspect _Another World_

"He's Outta Sight" The Rondelles _Fiction, Romance, Fast Machines_

"Small Town (Is A Strange Place)" Roof _Out Of The Blue_

"Things Have Learnt To Walk That Ought To Crawl" The Room _Indoor Fireworks_

"Blue Sunday" The Ropers _Why Popstars Can't Dance_

"Gabriel" Rorschach _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 8_

"Leaving" The Rosaries _Forever EP_

"Sorrow" Frankie Rose _Herein Wild_

"Freedom Riders" The Rose Mary's _Freedom Riders_

"Room In Your Heart" The Rosehips _The Rosehips_

"Sparkle" The Rosemarys _The Rosemarys_

"(Whatever Happened To) Alice?" Rosemary's Children _Southern Fields_

"A Good Café On George Street" The Rosie Taylor Project _This City Draws Maps_

"Smiling Sweetly" Malcolm Ross _Wrong Place, Wrong Time 1995-1999_

Whither Indiepop A To Z # 72?

(This is Pete. Beagles are the official dogs of indiepop.)

It was many years ago that I began this series, Indiepop A To Z. What is indiepop? Does it just mean "independent pop"? It certainly seems like that's what people think, but here's a good definition.

The idea for the series came from the band list at Twee Net. I was overly ambitious & irritatingly completist so I added bands that I felt that list weirdly excluded plus I thought it would be fun to also play bands that were influential to indiepop. This meant that over time the list got bigger & bigger. If I had stuck to the Twee Net list, I would be done now. But I would've also felt that I had neglected lots & lots of artists.

So here we are - the seventy-second installment & we're still at the letter R. Many of the previous installments are at the Self Help Radio web page. The best way to find them is to go to the "table of contents" & click on the letter I. Like this. One of these days I will put them all on a single page - I keep promising that! - but so far that has not happened. I kinda forget about the series except when I return to it roughly every four months.

Will I ever finish? I don't really know. The letter S will take some time. But for now, let's continue to enjoy the letter R from noon to 2pm today on Freeform Portland - 90.3+98.3fm in town & online everywhere at Freeform Portland dot Org. We'll travel all over the globe & hear some wonderful tunes. I promise.

Preface To Indiepop A To Z # 73: Here's A Picture Of My Cat Bluto

He's grown up a bit - I guess he's about eleven months old now. You'd see lots of pictures of him if we were friends on Facebook or if you followed my dumb old Tumblr blog.

Anyway, it's more of the Indiepop A To Z stuff this week. I do it every four months. You know.

Maybe more details tomorrow?

Three Years Ago

In the midst of a global pandemic, the wife & I decide to cross over into Washington state & walk the dogs along the Columbia. As usual, we didn't know exactly where we should go, so we found a more-or-less state-parky area & walked up & down the river's edge.

One thing I recall is that the Washingtonians had very different ideas about mask protocols than we did. They didn't wear any masks. They were happy to get into your space. It was like the pandemic had never happened in Vancouver, Washington. Of course all of those people are dead now.

Portland lives in the shadow of Mount Hood, but you can't always see it from where you are, so it's a little startling for folks like me who are like whoa there's a giant mountain over there. Look at how large it looms in that photo up there. It's awesome.

It was a fun day. Our walks are always fun. I miss the dog who was there that day who is not with us today but otherwise I am happy for that memory.

Are We STILL Talking About Neptune?

(Now that's what I can an infographic - it's from here.)

There were so many songs about Neptune that were instrumental, I really felt I should play them somewhere, so I will play them tonight on Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO. & I'll let you know when it's available if you wanna hear & it's not late at night.

So: tonight! Midnight to 3am! 90.7fm in town. KBOO dot fm everywhere!

Rocket leaves exactly at 12 sharp. Don't worry, it's a quick trip - just bring your phone & some snacks.

Self Help Radio 082423: Neptune

(original image here)

Yesterday I said there were more songs about the god Neptune than the planet Neptune. So after the shows was done - & not counting the music over which I spoke or the interstitial bits, which were all about the planet - I counted ten (10) about the planet, nine (9) about the god, & two (2) that could be about either. I really wish I could've done an entire show about the planet though. & I could've, if I'd played more instrumentals. But for whatever reason I don't want to do that on Self Help Radio.

The interviews though were skewed heavily in favor of the planet - 3 to 1. I do so adore the planet Neptune. I'm glad I've been alive when we got a chance to take a look at it. & I hope one day we discover that it truly does rain diamonds there.

Anyway, you'll have to settle for a radio show. It's at the Self Help Radio website right now. Use the username SHR & pass the password selfhelp to access. Listed below are all the songs I played & all the things that happened in-between. Hope you enjoy!

Self Help Radio Neptune Show

"Have You Heard The Latest News From Neptune" Sun Ra & His Arkestra _In The Orbit Of Ra_

introduction & definitions

"Gloire À Toi Neptune!" Tri Yann _Abysses_

"Neptune" Ian Brown _Golden Greats_

"Neptune" Glenn Tilbrook _Transatlantic Ping Pong_

"The Neptune Freeze (feat Fred Schneider)" Ursula 1000 _Esoterique_

interview with the god Neptune (!)

"Neptune" Barry McGuire _Barry McGuire & Featuring Members Of The New Christy Minstrels_

"Father Neptune" Anna & Elizabeth _Anna & Elizabeth_

"Neptune" Terrible Sons _Half Awake, Half Asleep_

"Neptune's World" Strapping Fieldhands _Gobs On The Midway: Singles 1991-1995_

interview with Paul Norton, who says he's visited Neptune

"Neptune Sun" The Ghost Ease _Raw_

"Neptune" Higher Authorities _Neptune_

"Diamonds On Neptune" Old 97's _Twelfth_

"Nervous On Neptune" The Aqua Velvets _Nomad_

interview with Queen Neptunia of Neptune (!!)

"Neptune's Daughter" The Divine Comedy _Promenade_

"Neptune's Daughter" Bert Jansch _Crimson Moon_

"Neptune's Daughter" Dennis Driscoll _Voices In The Fog_

"Neptune's Daughter" Luminescent Orchestrii _Neptune's Daughter_

interview with astronomer Peter Nance

"Kidnapped By Neptune" Scout Niblett _Kidnapped By Neptune_

"Neptune City" Nicole Atkins _Neptune City_

"Neptune Song" Ghost Camp _Great Lakes_

conclusion & goodbye

"Neptune" Motorbass _Pansoul_

"Peace On Neptune" UFOm _Aliens Are Real_

Whither Neptune?

(image from the Wikipedia)

Neptune is the eighth & last planet in our solar system (sorry Pluto!). Neptune is also the name of the Roman god of the seas. That Neptune gave the planet Neptune its name although the planet Neptune existed long before humans who invented Neptune. We have no idea what the planet Neptune was called before the god Neptune gave it his name. Maybe Poseidon?

Neptune was discovered in 1846 even though we're pretty sure it was there before that. I like the fact that they continued to give the planets Roman names even though I would've picked Neptune over Uranus when named Uranus. No one know who Uranus was! Plus, that's a Greek name, not a Roman one! Anyway. It's weird to think we've only known about Neptune for less than two hundred years. But it's even weirder that we never even saw close-up pictures of Neptune until Voyager 2 paid the planet a visit in 1989. That's in my lifetime!

Here's a confession: there are more songs about the god Neptune than the planet Neptune. So be ready for that. Also: there are more instrumental songs - in the jazz, rock, New Age, & electronica idioms - about Neptune than ones with vocals. We need to find a place for them!

Listen to Self Help Radio's show about Neptune (both the god & the planet) today on Freeform Portland from noon to 2pm. In Portland it's on 90.3+98.3fm & everywhere (maybe even on Neptune?) it's at freeform portland dot org. Something for the fans of the planet & fans of the god both!

Preface To Neptune: Intro Doc

If I did this right, embedded above is a video by Astrum about the planet Neptune, which is this week's theme. The direct link to the video is here. It's a very nice & delightfully succinct overview of a planet about which we knew very little until around 1989. It's true! I liked it so much I snatched samples of the vid to play throughout tomorrow's show.

Now, the show tomorrow will also be about the god Neptune, after whom the planet is named. But I'm an astronomy geek. I should probably look for a YouTube doc about the god Neptune. But I also probably won't.

Toys

This was a disappointing day, in ways that would seem dumb to you & so I won't bore you with the details. I spent a lot of it listening to music for this week's Self Help Radio - which is what I do most Tuesdays. As the day came to a close, I thought of the blog & that I had nothing really to say, & when I really have nothing to say, I go look at pictures I've taken on this day in the past few years. I started taking pictures when I realized I had a digital camera, & that was spring 2014. By August 22, 2016, we were living in Fort Worth.

It being summer, we needed to wake early to walk the dogs - it's sad to realize that of the four we had at the time, two of them are no longer with us. I had looked at maps & come up with what I hoped was a decent dogwalk to satisfy the wife. I did not. She found the route I had picked "dirty." So she suggested we walk under the highway to a neighborhood she liked, near an elementary school.

One of the homes near the school had two windows full of toys. I took a picture. I titled it "Toys." It looks more like stuffed animals, doesn't it? Oh well.

Let's hope tomorrow is a bit better than today. Today was disappointing.

The Charm Of Cinema

(image from the IMDb)

We had one charming show last week - why, you can still listen at the Self Help Radio website! - & in-between the songs, our resident cinephile Chuck talked about movies featuring a certain kind of charming - hypnosis! After you've listened, take advantage of what is almost certainly an untreated obsessive/compulsive condition & check out the following links:

Here is his YouTube playlist of films & trailers.

Here is his Letterboxd list.

Chuck's instructions: "Click on the 'read notes' icon - I have put links to the youtube videos, where the film may be streaming for free, & the occasional bit of other information."

Here are his Letterboxd reviews.

Here is the IMDb list of films available to stream for free.

Here is Chuck's IMDb keyword list.

& remember Chuck is on Twitter, on Bluesky, & on Substack.

Chuck will return in a few weeks!

Self Help Radio 081723: Charm

(original image here)

Can a radio show be charming? Of course! Can Self Help Radio be charming? Not on your life! But can Self Help Radio do a radio show about charm? It not only can - it did!

This week's show had oodles of charm songs as well as charming interviews with charming folk & our charming resident cinephile Chuck even talked in-between the songs about movies featuring a kind of charming - hypnotism! We find it all very charming & hope you're charmed by it too.

Listen to the show on the Self Help Radio website. Remember the username (SHR) & password (selfhelp)! Everything that happened on the show is listed below - except Chuck's movie recommendations - they happened in-between the songs.

Also, we didn't talk about the show Charmed. I'm sorry. Or am I?

Self Help Radio Charm Show

"Good Luck Charm" The Marvelettes _The Tamla Sound Of The Marvelettes_

"Hidden Charms" Howlin' Wolf _The Howlin' Wolf Anthology_

"Charms Of The Arms Of Love" Alice Clark _Alice Clark_

introduction & definitions

"Prince Charming" Adam & The Ants _Prince Charming_

"Pedigree Charm" Lora Logic _Pedigree Charm_

"This Charming Man" The Smiths _Hatful Of Hollow_

"Dangerous Charms" The Delmonas _Dangerous Charms_

interview with Sal Arp, who's suing the makers of Lucky Charms

"Lucky Charms" The Moldy Peaches _The Moldy Peaches_

"Lucky Charm" Helium _Ends With And_

"Lucky Charm" The Apples In Stereo _Fun Trick Noisemaker_

"My Lucky Charm" The Postmarks _Memoirs At The End Of The World_

interview with charm school dropout Seth Akins

"Charm School" Elvis Costello _Punch The Clock_

"Charm School" Would-Be-Goods _Spring Fever_

"Charm School For Damaged Boys" Shilpa Ray _Portrait Of A Lady_

"Charm" Shoulders _Trashman Shoes_

interview with charm school headmistress Sandy Astor

"The Charm Song" Momus _Hypnoprism_

"How Charming" Dollys _Low Year_

"Charmless Man" Blur _The Great Escape_

"Those Charming Men" Club 8 _Nouvelle_

interview with snake charmer Samuel Atwell

"Snake Charmer" The Frowning Clouds _Listen Closelier_

"Charmer & The Snake" The Velveteers _Nightmare Daydream_

"Your Charms" Cinerama _Cinerama Holiday_

"Charms Around Your Wrist" The Softies _It's Love_

conclusion & goodbye

"Charms & The Girl" The Dentists _Powdered Lobster Fiasco_

"Charm Bracelet" All Girl Summer Fun Band _Summer Of '98_

"Use Your Charms" The Magick Heads _Transvection_

"Clever, Charming" The Service Economy _Hey! Where'd The Summer Go?_

Whither Charm?

(I scanned this ages ago from an old comic book.)

Prince Charming told me his favorite song was "This Charming Man." When introduced to someone, he would say, "Charmed, I'm sure." He had tested out of charm school. Was his favorite cereal Lucky Charms? Oh I didn't ask.

Somewhere along the way I began to be charmed by lots of songs about charm, almost certainly beginning with the Smiths song, which I listened to a lot after Andy Rourke's death. It was just a matter of accumulating a lot of charm songs, like the charms above for jewelry, until I felt the moment was charmed enough to have a show about charm. & that moment is today!

Listen from noon to 2pm Portland time to Self Help Radio on Freeform Portland. It's on the air in town at 90.3+98.3 fm. & we're online everywhere at freeform portland dot org. You'll hear lots of music & lots of conversations - including one with a charm school dropout & one with a snake charmer!

Do tune in - I find you so charming!

Preface To Charm: Oodles Of Charm

From Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast Of Champions:

The show tomorrow is about charm, you see. I don't have oodles of charm, alas.

What The Hell Update For Corporate Standardized Programming Too

The other other show I do is called Corporate Standardized Programming & it airs on KBOO from midnight to 3am on Tuesday mornings/Monday nights. Because of an issue with my show change needing to be approved by a committee, the show is still called Self Help Radio on the website. But it's very much not Self Help Radio.

While looking at the site last night, I noticed that the show isn't being recorded & archived on the website. I don't know why that is. But since I record the show at home, I uploaded recent episodes (tho not last night's yet). In case you've been missing the show - & you didn't know you can listen to it at the Self Help Radio website.

It's a show I enjoy doing because it's focused on music. I don't talk much. & I can do things like pay tribute to artists who have recently passed. I also like to play long songs. Long songs in the middle of the night.

To sum up: Corporate Standardized Programming hasn't moved, but the web page on the KBOO website is mostly updated. That's all. That's my dumb update for this show.

Update For The Dickenbock Report

There is a program I do on XRAY called the Dickenbock Report. Like Self Help Radio, I've done this show on three stations in Portland - it started on KBOO, went to Freeform Portland, & is now on XRAY. It's very much like Self Help Radio in that it is theme-based, except it's done as though it's a newscast/news magazine. Mostly it's the same though.

The show has recently aired very early in the morning, 5-7am on Saturdays. It started in April & it soon became apparent that it was going to be a lot - meaning that I would have to go to sleep early on Fridays & wake early on Saturdays. I am not good at going to sleep early - I'm not really very good at going to sleep, to be honest. So as the months wore on, I was sleeping less & less. & waking earlier to work on the show.

Realizing I might not be able to keep up this pace, I suggested that the show might move when the new cycle started in August to a different time slot. & I said I would be glad to lose an hour - I am already doing two other shows, you know. & this has come to pass.

Starting next week, on Sunday August 20, the Dickenbock Report airs at 9am. Just for an hour. It should be fine. I might could do odder themes - I am very happy with last week's show about sewing machines, for example.

& so - the Dickenbock Report is on Sundays now on XRAY FM at 9am. Just thought you should know.