Saturday, April 19, 2025

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Look Alike Day


That image above is from an image search for "lookalikes" which was subtitled "British celebrities & their animal lookalikes." The link is here. Sadly, the article doesn't appear to be at the link. But it's an amusing picture & it allows me to report that tomorrow, April 20, is Look Alike Day. Which is what we'll be reporting on on The Dickenbock Report on XRAY.

As a personal aside, when I lived in Austin, for several years people would approach me & tell me they enjoyed my band - often saying they saw me "last night" or otherwise recently. I was never in a band but I apparently had a lookalike out there. It happened so frequently I began to ask what instrument I played. It was a tie between the bass & the drums. I never met this lookalike but wish I had - I might have interviewed him for Look Alike day!

Tune in for talk about - & musical reports about - twins, doppelgängers, & lookalikes tomorrow, April 20, on The Dickenbock Report - 12-1pm 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere.

Friday, April 18, 2025

This Week In Self Help (April 13 15 + 17)

(Another old picture I found years ago that I can't remember from where.)

Jeepers a busy week. I've been wondering why I've felt so tired.

On Sunday April 13:
Oh yeah there was an episode of The Dickenbock Report on XRAY. It was Make Lunch Count Day so of course the show was about counting. I mean lunch.
Click here to listen to the show on the XRAY web site.
Click here to listen to the show on the Self Help Radio web site.

Later that day I subbed a show on KBOO. Just played a buncha music.
KBOO doesn't archive unscheduled shows but.
Click here to see the show's Spinitron page.
Click here to listen to the show on the Self Help Radio web site.

On Tuesday April 15:
Self Help Radio has a show with the theme "bomb."

Corporate Standardized Programming played lots of new releases.
You can listen to it in the last hour of Self Help Radio at the KBOO link above.

On Thursday April 17:
During XRAY's Spring Fund Drive I subbed an episode of Welcome To Your Good Day.

Maybe now I can get some sleep? Oh yeah! If you have a problem downloading from the Self Help Radio website, you might need a username & password. Those will be SHR & selfhelp.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Self Help Radio 041525: Bomb


This morning a caller asked about the book my first guest talked about. It always seems painfully obvious to me the calls are made up - after all, it's the same voices week after week - but occasionally I need to tell people it was just improv & we were trying to be funny. But the caller was not happy - he actually got a little angry - & said, "Well I didn't think it was funny."

Boom! A sad bomb dropped on the show with the theme "bomb."

Just a caveat - I was very sleepy & made a few mistakes. I am just glad it didn't blow up on me.

Listen now - at the KBOO web page - or at the Self Help Radio web page. Use the username SHR & password selfhelp if you need to. Everything that happened on the show is listed below.

I thought that ticking sound would go away after the show but now it's getting louder...

Self Help Radio Bomb show
"Bomb" Tom Verlaine _Flash Light_
"Car Bomb" Negativland _Escape From Noise_
"Bomb The Twist" The 5.6.7.8's _Bomb The Twist_

introduction & definitions

"Stop The Bombs" The Smittens _A Little Revolution_
"Cluster Bomb Boy" Candypants _Candypants_
"Suicide Bombers" George Carlin _When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops?_
"Bombs Away" The Police _Zenyatta Mondatta
"Bombers Bay" Echo & The Bunnymen _Echo & The Bunnymen_

interview with author Taylor Laughton

"Cherry Bomb" The Runaways _The Definitive Story Of CBGB (The Home Of U.S. Punk)_
"I Was A Human Bomb For The FBI" Zombina & The Skeletones _Monsters On 45_
"Bomb Water" Hannibal Buress _Animal Furnace_
"Spanish Bombs" The Clash _London Calling_
"5 Minutes (C-C-C Club Mix)" Bonzo Goes To Washington _5 Minutes_

interview with Chuck (not his real name)

"Bomb The Bourgeosie" Free Loan Investments _Youth Will Understand_
"Ticking Time Bomb" All Girl Summer Fun Band _2_
"Defusing A Bomb" Bob Newhart _Something Like This: The Bob Newhart Anthology_
"Bomb" The Steamkings _Boom!_
"You Always Want To Bomb The Middle East" Cheekface _Too Much To Ask_

idioms

"Love's Like A Bomb" Elk City _Status_
"Pretty Time Bomb" Sam Phillips _Push Any Button_
"Little Time Bomb" Billy Bragg _Workers Playtime_
"Bombers" David Bowie _Hunky Dory_
"Bombers" Tubeway Army _The Plan_

conclusion & goodbye

"Waiting For The Bomb" Terry Malts _Lost At The Party_
"Bone Bomb (vocals, Aylie Cooke)" Brian Eno _Another Day On Earth_
"Daisy Bomb" Robyn Hitchcock _A Star For Bram_
"Ciao Ciao Bomb" Twig _Ciao Ciao Bomb 7"_

Monday, April 14, 2025

Whither Bomb?

(image by Ai Weiwei found here)

It looks like lots of bombs up there but for some reason I wrote down "bomb" as the theme & so that's the theme.

This is another one of those themes that came from haunting news. Reading about bombings recently in Gaza & Ukraine made me unhappy & then made me look for songs about bombs. There are so many that I had to exclude songs about atomic, hydrogen, neutron, & nuclear bombs. That could be a whole other show. It was still hard to sift through the rest. & tho I won't really talk about current events on the show, I hope it's known how horrible & cowardly I find bombing. I don't believe in a hell but I would approve of an arrangement where those somehow involved in bombing had to spend some time before their final rest being bombed into oblivion over & over.

Oh yeah my radio show. The show is tonight midnight to 2am on 90.7fm in Portland & online at kboo dot fm. I promise, it won't be as heavy as I've been right now.

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Preface To Bomb: I Dunno

(found on the web in 2015 - not sure where)

Life is a bomb. Death is a bomb. Sleep is a bomb. Work is a bomb. Play is a bomb.

Merriam-Webster says a bomb is "an explosive device fused to detonate under specified conditions."

Holy shit everything is a bomb.

(Apologies it's been a long day.)

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Make Lunch Count Day

(photo by Robert Frank, 1948, found here)

April 13 is Make Lunch Count Day. The Dickenbock Report is on during lunchtime. It's the sort on synergy one never expects from a news program. But there you are. Have lunch while listening to musical reports about lunch.

It's also XRAY's Spring Fund Drive & you can support XRAY & the Dickenbock Report by going to the XRAY website & giving what you can. If you'd like to support The Dickenbock Report specifically, you can do so by clicking here. But of course the goal is to support XRAY!

The Dickenbock Report reporting on Make Lunch Count Day happens Sunday April 13 from noon to 1pm on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, & online everywhere at xray dot fm.

We'll split the check, right?

Friday, April 11, 2025

This Week In Self Help (April 4 6 8 + 10)

(Strip Club Humor, Fort Worth TX)

It was a busy week. Let me show you.

April 4. I subbed the Songcircle on KBOO. I played songs about presidents on the flimsiest of pretexts. Show on the KBOO website here. Show on the Self Help Radio website here.

April 6. The Dickenbock Report played lots of tomato songs on Fresh Tomato Day. Show on the XRAY website here. Show on the Self Help Radio website here.

April 8. Self Help Radio had the theme "gentlemen." Show on the KBOO website here. Show on the Self Help Radio website here.

Also April 8. Corporate Standardized Programming showcased lots of artists we lost in December 2024. It's the last hour of the Self Help Radio file above, but if you'd like to hear it as a single show, it's on the Self Help Radio website here.

Finally, April 10. I subbed Welcome To Your Good Day on XRAY. Tried to raise some money because it's the station's Spring Fund Drive. Did not raise any money. But. Show on the XRAY website here. Show on the Self Help Radio website here.

As it says on the Self Help Radio page - if you need a username try SHR, & if you need a password try selfhelp.

That's it. That was my hectic week.

Tuesday, April 08, 2025

Self Help Radio 040825: Gentlemen

(original image here)*

People keep telling me the above picture is of penguins. All I can see are three distinguished gentlemen. Very rude to refer to gentlemen as birds!

Speaking of rude - I'm pretty sure this is a radio show about gentlemen, not for gentlemen, as I imagine the average gentleman doesn't listen to the radio. I suspect the average gentleman believes the radio listens to him. Nevertheless, enjoy a radio peek into how the gentleman is perceived over decades of music.

You can listen now at the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website. If you choose the latter, please remember the username is SHR & the password is selfhelp. Almost everything that happened on the show is noted below. I didn't note, for example, when I dropped something during the first few seconds of my first airbreak. Why draw attention to that sort of amateurish behavior?

Seriously, penguins? Those gentlemen up there are dapper!

Self Help Radio Gentlemen Show
"Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love" Mary Martin _Echoes Of The 20s & 30s_
"Gentleman Friend" Sarah Vaughan _1947-1949_
"He's Such A Gentleman" Doris Day _It's Magic (1947-1950)_

introduction & definitions

"The Gentleman Is A Dope" Jo Stafford _Swingin' Down Broadway_
"Gentleman Friend" Blossom Dearie _My Gentleman Friend_
"Where Did The Gentleman Go" Julie London _Love On The Rocks_
"Le Gentleman De Cocody" Nancy Holloway _Portrait 1961-1974_
"Gentleman" Livingston Taylor _Liv_

interview with Jeff Clay, editor-in-chief of Kentucky Gentlemen magazine

"Tighten Up" Yellow Magic Orchestra _Kyoretsu Na Rhythm - Characters - The Best Of YMO_
"Gentlemen Take Polaroids" Japan _Gentlemen Take Polaroids_
"Gentlemen & Pettycoats" The Actor _Exploded View_
"Gentlemen On The Wrist" Attila The Stockbroker _Ranting At The Nation_
"The Gentleman Soldier" The Pogues _Rum Sodomy & The Lash_

interview with Miss Katerina, headmistress of the Gresham School For Young Gentlemen

"Gentleman" Eddy Current Suppression Ring _Rush To Relax_
"Gentleman" Black Lips _Sing In A World That's Falling Apart_
"Gentlemen Vs. Dudes" Aziz Ansari _Buried Alive_
"So As A Gentleman You Should Be More Polite" Cocosuma _Pointing Excitedly To The Sky_ 
"Gentlemen & Ladies" Josephine Foster _Domestic Sphere_

interview with Mr Cadbury of the Portland Gentlemen's Gentlemen School

"It Takes No Gentleman" The Servants _Reserved_
"Gentleman Caller" Hellfire Sermons _Hymns, Ancient & Modern_
"Gentlemen's Agreement" The Fall _Code: Selfish_
"Gentleman" Dorian Electra _My Agenda_
"A Genuine Gentleman (feat. Aceyalone)" RJD2 _The Fun Ones_

conclusion & goodbye

"Gentleman" Fela Kuti & Africa 70 _Gentleman_

* "Emperor Penguins" by Lin Padgham is licensed under the Attribution 2.0 Generic deed.
I have modified it by adding the Self Help Radio logo. Used by permission.

Monday, April 07, 2025

Whither Gentlemen?

(photo by Sylwia Mazurek from here)

Inspiration can be complicated & it can be simple. It can shine brilliantly like the classic lightbulb over the head or lightning strike in the comics or it can be a little dumb. Me, I take what I can get. This is a very simple story of how I came up with the idea of "gentlemen" being the theme of this week's show.

A long time ago I made a mix CD for my wife when she's driving. (We have a car so old it has a CD player in it.) It was an mp3 CD so has several hours of music on it. She requested a few songs but I mainly put stuff on it that I thought she'd like. While driving a few weeks back I wasn't finding anything on the radio I liked - this is a rarity in Portland - so I checked what was on the CD she keeps forever in the CD player in the car.

One of the songs that I had put on the CD - & which played - was the Yellow Magic Orchestra cover of "Tighten Up." I've always loved this version, especially when they say, "Japanese gentlemen, stand up please." It's repeated through the song. & somehow it stayed in my head - how many songs could there be about gentlemen? I remembered to make a note once I was home. & thus the show became a possibility in the future.

(Seriously resisting birth metaphors here.)

The gentlemen show will happen tonight on KBOO. Midnight to 3am. 90.7fm in town, kboo dot fm everywhere. It's about gentlemen, not necessarily for gentlemen.

Sunday, April 06, 2025

Preface To Gentlemen: Stooges


When I was a kid, from 7-8am on I think channel 11 in Dallas/Fort Worth, there was a show called Slam Bang Theater. It was a bona fide children's show with a real host from 1959 to 1972 (see its IMDb page for more details) but by the time I was watching it before school - probably from 1976 until maybe 1980 - it was just a show that showed old cartoons & at least two edited Three Stooges shorts a day. I can't tell you how many of those I watched but I can tell you that I am so familiar with these that when I decided to do a show with the theme gentlemen it made me think of a particular joke that happened a lot in those shorts. I'll let the guy with the Youtube collection from which I took the above screenshot explain that joke:

Somebody refers to the Stooges as gentlemen...
...& the Stooges respond by looking around...
...& asking "Who came in?"

So charmed was I by that it has stayed in my head those fifty or so years. & so charmed am I by the internet when I discovered someone collected those instances here:

Great 3 Stooges Running Gag: "Gentlemen! Who Came In?"

Might one or two of these end up on tomorrow's show? I wonder...

Saturday, April 05, 2025

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: Fresh Tomato Day


April 6 is Fresh Tomato Day. Also known as National Tomato Day. Separate from both Fresh Tomato Day (tomato pronounced ta-mah-to) & National Tomato Day (also in this case tomato pronounced ta-mah-to). We must also distance ourselves from British Tomato Fortnight (May 26 - June 8, most definitely pronounced ta-mah-to), but acknowledge it's happening during Fresh Florida Tomato Month (which is April) although I don't think there's any connection. Maybe we should research that.

In any event, we'll be reporting on - including musical reports - the tomato tomorrow on the Dickenbock Report. That's Sunday, April 6, from noon to 1pm, on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland, xray dot fm everywhere.

As well, it's XRAY's Spring Fund Drive, so please donate if you can!

Friday, April 04, 2025

This Week In Self Help (March 30 + April 1)

(image from the Wikipedia)

A reg'lar ol' week for me, with so many songs for Self Help Radio it expanded into Corporate Standardized Programming so it might as well have been just two shows. Anyway here they are:

The Dickenbock Report on XRAY was a show for National Pencil Day.
Listen on the XRAY website. Listen at Self Help Radio dot net.

Self Help Radio was an April Fools' Day show.
Listen on the KBOO website. Listen at Self Help Radio dot net.

Corporate Standardized Programming continued the April Foolery.

That's all. That's all I did this week.

Oh. Did I mention if you listen to a file at the Self Help Radio website you might need a username & password? If you do, use SHR & selfhelp.

Now that's all.

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

Self Help Radio 040125: April Fools' Day


Happy April Fools' Day!

If you'll note the playlist below - & if you read the previous blog posts where I complained about how many songs that feature the word "fool" just in their title there are - you may note my solution to the problem was to play an hour of songs about April Fools' Day & then an hour where all the songs (but one) have the title "Fool" or "The Fool." What a fool I surely am.

Listen to the show because it's April Fools' Day at either the KBOO website or the Self Help Radio website. You'd be a fool not to know to use the username SHR & password selfhelp to access the file at the Self Help Radio site. Lots of stuff happens on the show - most of it is listed below.

By the way I played another hour of songs just called "Fool" on the show after this one, which is part of the KBOO link above, & also on the Self Help Radio website. So there were actually three hours of April Fools' content.

Which almost feels like an April Fools' Day prank.

Self Help Radio April Fools' Day Show
"April, April Fool" The McGuire Sisters _Children's Holiday_
"April Fool" Audrey Morris _Bistro Ballads Sung By Audrey Morris_
"April Fool" Matt Monro _Love Is The Same Anywhere_

"April Fool's Day" Marty Robbins _Country 1960-1966_
"The April Fools" Dionne Warwick _The Dionne Warwick Collection: Her All-Time Greatest Hits_
"April Fool" Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane _Rough Mix_
"April's Fool" Kurt Wagner & Cortney Tidwell Present Kort _Invariable Heartache_
"April Fool" Readeez _Songeez_
"April Fool" Brave Combo _Holidays!_

Carla tells us about April Fools' Day at a retirement village

"April Fool" Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally _House & Garden_
"April Fool" Patti Smith _Banga_
"April Fools" The Fresh & Onlys _House Of Spirits_
"April Fool" Duncan Reid & The Big Heads _Little Big Head_
"April Fools (Live)" Al Madrigal _Live From D.C._
"April Fool's Day" Moonchild Sanelly _Phases_

Mr. Kershaw tells us about April Fools' Day among third graders

"Fool" Johnny Kendall & The Heralds _On The Move_
"Fool" The Stingrays Of Newburgh _Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol. 3: Stay Out Of My World_
"Fool" Blue Cheer _Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970_
"Fool" Trees _Anthems In Eden (An Anthology Of British & Irish Folk 1955-1978)_
"Occupation: Foole" George Carlin _Occupation: Foole_
"The Fool" Ludus _Pickpocket/Danger Came Smiling_

Cyrus tells us about an April Fools' Day prank

"Fool" All _Allroy's Revenge_
"Fool" The Bloody Marys _Sixteen Hail Marys: The Best Of The Bloody Marys 1985-2004_
"Fool" Blur _Leisure_
"The Fool" The Hit Parade _The Sound Of The Hit Parade_
"The Fool" Call & Response _Call & Response_
"Fool" Cat Power _You Are Free_

conclusion & goodbye

"The Fool" Richard Thompson _1000 Years Of Popular Music_
"The Fool" Ghost Society _The Back Of His Hands, Then The Palms_

Monday, March 31, 2025

Whither Fool?

(image from here)

Holy wow I think this is the first time in over 22 years that there's been an episode of Self Help Radio on April 1st! I've done radio shows on this day, but not Self Help Radio. What are the odds?

Also I have done a radio show with the theme "fool." It was in the show's first year. On April 2. So it didn't make a lot of sense.

It seemed the right idea to revisit the theme on this April 1 because I hadn't done a show for April Fool's Day in decades but as I mentioned yesterday I have hundreds of songs whose titles mention the word "fool." As a noun. Excluding verb & adjective uses. & there was no real way I could listen to all those songs & it would've felt weird to just pick out my favorites & ones I was very familiar with - which would've meant a lot from the 2003 show. So. I've divided the show in two. The first hour will feature songs about April Fool's Day. The second will feature songs with the title "Fool" or "The Fool." There are so many of those they'll doubtless bleed into the show Corporate Standardized Programming.

Three hours of fool-ishness. Midnight to 3am. Tonight (or tomorrow, which is April Fool's Day). On 90.7fm in Portland, & online at KBOO dot fm.

& you know this is not an April Fool because I am writing it on March 31st duh.

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Preface To Fools: Uh Oh

Image of course by the excellent Poorly Drawn Lines.

Listen. I just discovered I have over one hundred songs to listen to for this show.

That's a day's worth of songs.

Seems like I'm gonna be busy.

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Coming Up Tomorrow On The Dickenbock Report: National Pencil Day

(image by Proidemtes)

March 30 is National Pencil Day. Wow, it's been a while since I used a pencil. I probably should find a pencil to use for this show. Where in the world would there be a pencil in this house? Do I need to go buy a pencil? I should go buy a pencil. I'll have a pencil for the show. I have it behind my ear the entire time. I promise.

That's tomorrow, Sunday, March 30, from noon to 1pm, on 91.1+107.1fm in Portland & online at xray dot fm. Yeah, I'll need to go buy a pencil, I can't find any around here.

Friday, March 28, 2025

This Week In Self Help (March 21 23 + 25)


So I typed "silhouette" into my search window & this is one of the images it came up with. A creepy dark silhouette series of - what? The answer is - people gathered for a fireworks show in my Fort Worth neighborhood in 2017. It was dark, we could barely see anything, & my camera always sucks. My wife hated it so we didn't stick around but I did try to take some pictures - like the one above.

My week in radio starts a week ago. Do I need to remind you if you go to a link on the show's webpage, selfhelpradio dot net, you might need the username SHR & the password selfhelp? No? Just in case, it's there if you need it.

The Songcircle I subbed a week ago. Here it on the KBOO website. Here it is on the Self Help Radio website.

The Dickenbock Report reported on Near Miss Day. Here it is on the XRAY website. Here it is on the Self Help Radio website.

Self Help Radio had the theme "silhouettes." Here it is on the KBOO website. Here it is on the Self Help Radio website.

Corporate Standardized Programming played lots of new releases. It is part of the Self Help Radio link on KBOO above, but if you'd like to listen to it alone, here it is on the Self Help Radio website.

Finally, I helped a fellow deejay, DJ Shoeless Joe Jackson, make a special show for Freeform Portland during their fundraiser - click here to help. You can listen to the show on the Spinitron website for at least two weeks, or you can listen on the Self Help Radio website.

Seriously, though, I really am trying to not bother you so much on the radio. Really.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Self Help Radio 032525: Silhouettes


That silhouette up there - of the cat, not the Self Help Radio logo which has rudely attached itself to the other silhouette - is named Aubrey. Somewhere in the show is a story about her. I'm not going to tell you where. Because I am a little embarrassed about the stuff I create for the show & don't want to draw attention to it.

Also the show includes technical difficulties. This has happened on my last two KBOO programs. I keep forgetting to mention it to people at the station who might be able to fix it. But oh well. I don't know if it hurts the listening enjoyment, mainly because I'm not sure if anyone actually enjoys listening to my show.

The show! Oh yeah! You can listen to it at the KBOO website or at the Self Help Radio website. If you choose the latter, you might need the username SHR & the password selfhelp. Everything that happens on the show is below. Except the story about Aubrey The Silhouette. Although I'll tell you now. It's after the Call & Response song.

& now to the playlist.

Self Help Radio Silhouettes Show
"Silhouetted In The Moonlight (vocal, Martha Tilton)" Benny Goodman Trio _The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings_
"A Cigarette & A Silhouette (with Red Norvo & His Orchestra)" Mildred Bailey _The Complete Columbia Recordings Of Mildred Bailey_
"Miss Silhouette" The Volumes _The Golden Era Of Doowops: The Groups Of Chex Records_

introduction & definitions

"Dancing Silhouettes" Thurston Harris _Little Bitty Pretty One: Complete Early Recordings_
"Silhouette Of My Dream" Ricky Morvan & The Fens _The Story Of Ricky Morvan & The Fens_
"Silhouettes" Andy Griffith _The Wit & Wisdom Of Andy Griffith_
"Heartbreak In Silhouette" Jim Reeves _Chronological Classics 1962-1963_
"Silhouette" Marlo & Lutia Lauzon _Marlo & Lutia Lauzon_

interview with author Roderick Nelson

"Silhouette" Razorcuts _Storyteller_
"Silhouette Town" East River Pipe _Goodbye California_
"Silhouette" Call & Response _Winds Take No Shape_
"Silhouette" Nasmak _Silhouette_
"We Will Become Silhouettes" Postal Service _Give Up_

interview with director Matt Sherman

"The Moon Turns Branches To Silhouettes" Trembling Blue Stars _Little Darla Has A Treat For You Volume 25: Endless Summer 2007-08_
"Just A Silhouette" Exlovers _You Forget So Easily_
"Silhouette" Julia Holter _Have You In My Wilderness_
"Silhouette" Le Couleur _Concorde_
"Silhouette City (ft. Andreas Gregor)" Datafreq _Fun For The Whole Family_

silhouette making workshop Ned Dry & McCheese interrupt

"Moonlit Silhouette" Henry & The Bleeders _This Is Psychobilly (25 Years Of Rockin' & Wreckin')_
"Silhouette" Ceremony _Rocket Fire_
"Silhouettes" Viet Cong _Viet Cong_
"The Sea In Silhouette" Roselit Bone _Ofrenda_
"Silhouettes (feat. Veronique Vincent)" Aksak Maboul _Figures_

conclusion & goodbye

"Pseudo Silhouette" Placebo _England's Trance_

Monday, March 24, 2025

Whither Silhouettes?

(image from here)

Tonight's Self Help Radio has the theme "silhouettes." You probably know what a silhouette is. It's an image. What comes from the radio is sound. Sometimes that sound includes voices which talk about images. In that case you have to use your brain to create the images in your mind.

Nothing I am saying right now is new, of course. But I saw a series of silhouettes in someone's backyard a month or two ago & my brain started thinking about songs about silhouettes. It seemed like such an interesting thing to use words & music about a subject matter that was so specifically visual. In a sense, letting you hear a silhouette.

That led to tonight's show. Which is on midnight to 2am on 90.7fm here in Portland & online everywhere at kboo dot fm. If you're around. & wanna listen.

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Preface To Silhouettes: Silhouette Spring


That picture above was taken with a pretty cheap & terrible digital camera on April 9, 2015. Nearly ten years ago. How different my life was then! I mean, I was doing Self Help Radio, & I was married to the love of my life, & I was surrounded by wonderful animals I loved too much. But.

Ten years later, I've lost half of those animals. I have three left, & they're oldies now. I'm doing Self Help Radio but twenty-five hundred miles to the west. The only constant is the love of my life, & she's the reason I have all the animals - she helps me care for them - & why I no longer live where that picture was taken.

Sometimes I think the dumb pictures I take are a little like diary entries but that picture above brings back no memories - I have no idea where in Lexington, Kentucky, where I was living at the time, it was taken. Just that it was taken at a lovely time of year - spring. My favorite time in Lexington!

The tree is in silhouette, it's true, not the blossoming leaves tho. But the picture is not called "Silhouette Tree." It's called "Silhouette Spring." It's poetical. Or pretentious, anyway.