Mid-Valley Mutations

UBradio Salon 945 – SquircUBe Chronicles: “Great, But Can It Dance?”… 22 Feb 2026 on DFM.nu

This time, Austin & univac are joined by Aurora Josephson & Mike Dringenberg, where efforts to rehearse for an impending – and very important – show, is just out of reach thanks to two of the Pod’s more insistent AI services.

This story is part of, “The SquircUBe Chronicles,” series of episodes on UB Radio Salon, written by univac and Austin Rich.

Enjoy!

The Future of When

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Inspired recently by watching the time-bending story in the early 90’s film, Orlando, I began thinking about the way the future was seen from the past. This led me to thinking about the work that the picsandportraits channel on YouTube has been doing, raiding archive.org for the ephemera of the past that reflected on the future in interesting ways.

Jettisoning the plans I had for this week, I hastily assembled a variety of sources, with the idea that I would instead explore The Future of When, a place where the past, present, and future all exist on the same wavelength for nearly three hours. Songs, samples, live Mini-Mutations and the like all combine to create a kaleidoscopic perspective from this curious point in mid-life.

Be Seeing You.

Dimestore Radio Theater: Our President’s Day Special!

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Another holiday means another round of episodes from the Lux Radio Theater and The CBS Radio Mastery Theater, to offer you two different ways to spend the day.

First, we hear a version of, Blossoms in the Dust, the “true” story of a Edna Gladney, who found homes for orphaned children, and campaigned to change Texas law to make life easier for children without legitimate parents. The veracity of the details of the story are certainly in question, but Edna’s dedication to the cause is the true element this story is based on.

After the ups and downs of that tale, we return to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, with a story called A Lady Never Loses Her Head. A combination of gaslighting and re-enactment efforts work to cause an American woman recently married to a well-to-do British man to consider that she might be haunted by headless ghosts from the past. But not even the truly creepy behavior of her husband seems to tip her off… at first…

Enjoy!

Another UFO: Supplemental (Document #MVM05)

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Time marches on, and the case files regarding Extra Terrestrial activity only get larger and more complicated. This time we try to get to a few different perspectives, all of which draw no conclusions that are any different than the ones you knew about before. Mr. X himself, Xeres of Xeron calls in, so we can both discuss our thoughts about what might be happening with regards to abductions, and later, das from Big City Orchestra calls in too, tossing his own brand of nonsense into the mix. We close up shop a little early, only to get to an afterparty. This time we offer a live performance from 9 years ago on this very day, when Derek M. Johnson came down to the show, and sat in for both a solo and a collaborative set with. It is odd to think that this individual show has almost a decade of history to it now. .

Be Seeing You.

Dimestore Radio Theater #155

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A simple effort to test his sikills, and renew his Private Eye License, causes Richard Diamond get involved in a murder case that happens at the police station, DURING a test.  Meanwhile, we spend a fair amount of time in Cairo’s Chinatown, where Rocky Jordan meets up with an old friend – Wong Lee – and accidentally becomes a part of a complicated (and confusing) muder, involving his friend, and much of Chinatown.

We continue our run on the Vaudville documentary during “Dimestore Revelations,” while Blackstone The Magic Detective finds himself and his trusty assistant, kidnapped, as part of a plot to sell stolen gasoline. Will they escape, unharmed? And in our final story this week, we listen to a group of con artist businessmen trick earthlings into volunteering for a repopulation mission, just as they own planet struggles with overpopulation. But it’s… funny?

It’s two hours of mid-century radio wonder, and it’s all for you, today!

Enjoy!

Stereogram #14: Frozen Star

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“Arvo Zylo returns to Mid-Valley Mutations with a set initially inspired by Joe Meek and his fateful connection to February 3rd. With that as a prompt, the program will spread infinitely outward into other parallel freeform territory. Zylo is head of NO PART OF IT label. In addition to various radio experience, he does noise music, occasional interviews or articles, and collage art.”

Enjoy!

Dimestore Radio Theater: Our Groundhog Day Special!

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Another holiday means another round of episodes from the Lux Radio Theater and The CBS Radio Mastery Theater, to offer you two different ways to spend the day.

First, we hear a version of, Mother Wore Tights, a romance set against the world of vaudeville performers. Betty Grable & Dan Dailey recreate their on-screen roles, in this radio romance told in flashbacks to a time when two-a-day performers were on the move, looking for work… and possibly more. .

Next, we dive back into the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, with a story called A Ghostly Game of Death. A particularly haunted house – with an adulterous and murderous past – can’t be demolished to make way for something safer, until the ghosts have been exorcised. Two paranormal investigators decide to spend the night in the house… to find they may have signed up for more than they bargained for.

Enjoy!

“One For The Cats” b/w “The Best of Chickenman”

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The best laid plans of both cats and chickens can often come back, the very next day, to roost and nap on the radio when you least expect it. In spite of my best laid plans to bring you more stories of UFOs, we take this detour through the archives, to offer, “One For The Cats,” mixing poetry and literature with music, to offer two hours of feline fancy, for the cat and or cat-lover in your life. We cap things off with a broadcast from 10 years ago to the day, where I edited together some clips of Chickenman with songs on a similar audio wavelength. Between all the cats and chickens in your life, hopefully this will offer you an outlet where all you have to do is listen, and dance.

Be Seeing You.

Dimestore Radio Theater #154

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Richard Diamond gets wrapped up in a case involving, “Joyce Wallace,” a well known actor with a death wish and a jealous husband.  Meanwhile, Rocky Jordan thinks everything is going just fine, until an old enemy who is unmistakably dead, starts to leave clues that perhaps they are more alive than once thought!

We get some more about the world of Vaudeville, and Blackstone The Magic Detective escapes a locked room using his wits, and a talking skull! We close with an X-Minus One story, “Early Model,” where a 72 pound “Protec” device has been given to explorers, that seals up against any outside threat. But what if the Protec itself is the only threat you really face?

It’s two hours of mid-century radio wonder, and it’s all for you, today!

Enjoy!

Word Jazz V w/ Ken Nordine (A “Cheek-In-Tongues,” “Fill-In-Shows,” Installment)

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More Nordine Nuggets, as we continue our chronological overview of “Word Jazz,” whenever we are asked to cover for Barno and “Cheek In Tongues.” We share a few “how did you find him?” comments in the Digital Salon, and we work through 60 minutes of vintage Nordine, as he cleverly offers improvised word salad in the best possible way.

Enjoy!