Playlist for 2008-11-29

Stream it on-demand at WRSI.com!

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - Fibber Island (No!)
Fountains of Wayne - Valley Winter Song (Welcome Interstate Managers)
Kimya Dawson - Wiggle My Tooth (Alphabutt)
ID
Johnny Bregar - Dragonfly (Dragonfly)
Yellow Snow PSA from Wee Hairy Beasties
Elizabeth Mitchell & Lisa Loeb - Catch the Moon (For the Kids Too) (Liz 2/21 at NCMC)
ID

Segment 2
Baby Loves Salsa - Vamos a la Playa
Steve Weeks - Monkeys (Alphabet Songs Vol. 2)
ID/prep to rock
Deathray - I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh) (Open Season OST)
Stray Cats - Stray Cut Strut
Wee Hairy Beasties - Tidy Up! PSA
ID

Segment 3
Jellydots - Quite Naturally (Hey You Kids!)
Jingle Punx - There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays
ID
Frances England - Fast Train to Grandma's (Family Tree)
T. Rex - Telegram Sam (The Slider)
ID
Mr. Leebot - Robot Dance
Board of Education - Lunchtime (Tin Foil Robots) (Board of Education)
ID

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Lunch Money - Everybody's Coming to the Zoo (Dizzy)
Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI (Do the Collapse)
ID
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Sey Hey (I Love You)
Jimmies - What's that Sound? (Make Your Own Someday)
Recess Monkey - Helping Hands (Wonderstuff)

Segment 5
ID
Randy Kaplan - No Nothing (Loquat Rooftop) - playing a FREE show this Wednesday, December 3, at 4:00 pm at Cup & Top Cafe...
ID
Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon (Bolt OST)
Great Lake Swimmers - See You on the Moon (See You on the Moon)
ID/book time with Ella - Runaway Dolls

Segment 6
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
ID
Ellen and Matt - Under Construction (Best Friends)
Terrible Twos - Math Stomp (If You Ever See An Owl)
ID
TMBG - Mammal (Apollo 18)
TMBG - Spare the Rock

Randy Kaplan is a sneaky man.

Okay, no, he's not, but Randy Kaplan's free performance has sneaked up on me.

Next week -- next Wednesday, December 3, to be precise -- he'll be doing a free after-school show at Cup & Top Cafe in the center of Florence.

It will be a bucket of fun. Guaranteed.

Franti: Heavens.

So Dena and I saw Michael Franti & Spearhead last night. We also got to meet the band beforehand; pictures of that are up at IHEG's blog post here. (I'm standing next to Franti, looking short -- I am, for the record, about six feet tall. Michael is a tall, tall man. Incredibly nice, too.) Thanks a ton to WRSI and the IHEG folks for putting together that soundcheck meet and greet and for letting us come; that was terrific.

But for here, I want to say: bring your kids to see Spearhead. Sure, you'll have to explain some prominent odors, and they'll hear some language that no doubt they have never ever ever heard anywhere before, certainly not in your house, but it is an event of such pure joy and inspiration that you have to take them. We didn't, and I wish we had. (Well, at least 9-year-old Ella. Probably wouldn't have been good for 6-year-old Liam yet.)

There were some kids there, and Michael invited a few up on stage both during the Obama song, who danced around and sang some; a video of that song from another venue is here:



But then, for the end of the encore ("Say Hey (I Love You)," no surprise) a girl who was maybe 10 or 11 got on stage and just owned it. She sang a ton of it with Franti or with Cherine Anderson (a phenomenal singer who appears on All Rebel Rockers and opened the show, along with singing on several numbers), and this kid knew every word, danced with great energy, and was flat-out amazing.

So so good. If a video of it pops up, I'll post it.

Playlist for 2008-11-22

Hope to see lots of folks out at the Dog on Fleas show this afternoon! 2:00 at the Northampton Community Music Center, 139 South Street, Northampton.

You can listen to today's show on demand at WRSI.com.

Here's what we played today:

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - I Can Add (Here Come the 123s)
The Real Tuesday Weld - I Love the Rain
ID
Dog on Fleas w/ Liz Mitchell - Handsome Molly
Brady Rymer & the Little Band that Could - Well May the World Go (Here Comes...)
Michael Franti - Firefly (Songs from the Front Porch)
ID

Segment 2
Les Chauds Lapins - Swing Troubadour (Parlez-Moi D'Amour)
Peter Gabriel - Down to Earth (Wall-E OST)
ID/prep to rock
Prince - Starfish and Coffee (Sign O' The Times)
ID

Segment 3
Starfish - Joshua's Treehouse
ScribbleMonster - I'm a Utility Pole (Songs with No Character)
Bruce Springsteen - Pay Me My Money Down (Seeger Sessions)
Egg - Summer Today (Sunny Side Up)
ID/book time with Ella

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child (Songs with No Character)
ID
Justin Roberts - She Sits (Pop Fly)
Mighty Weaklings - Sunny When You Share (You Can't Rock Sittin' Down)
ID
Wee Hairy Beasties - Here Comes My Shadow (Holidays Gone Crazy)
Be Good Tanyas - Littlest Birds (Animal Playground)
ID

Segment 5
Sebadoh - Ocean (Harmacy)
ID
Dog on Fleas - Lima Beans (w/ Uncle Rock) (Beautiful World
Asylum Street Spankers - Sidekick (live at Iron Horse for Spare the Rock)
ID
Lunch Money - I Love My Library (Dizzy) (premiere!)

Segment 6
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Hoodoo Voodoo (Mermaid Ave.)
Aric Bieganek/Recess Rock - Car Seat Driver
Asheba - No More Monkeys (Animal Playground)
ID
Ralph's World - Gotta Be Good (Rhyming Circus)
Board of Education - 8 Is a Number
ID
TMBG - Figure 8 (Here Come the 123s)
TMBG - Spare the Rock

I'm so dizzy...(updated)

Did I mention that we're playing new Lunch Money on Saturday? 'Cause we are. And it's the only place you can hear it.

And now you can see the cover of their new CD Dizzy (that being the previously-mostly-not-known name of the record) at this site, along with some comments from the designer.

The art is great, and the CD is too. Go take a look. And, thanks to Molly for the permission, here's a sample:



Lots more over at that site, so visit!

Help a Canadian Out, Won't You?

From our friend and listener Kelli Ann:

Here in Sutton, QC, we celebrated in November the first anniversary of our Family Sundays:: on the first Sunday of each month, we have presented a cultural event or workshop for local families. We've featured rock music for kids, cinema, a circus workshop, a traditional French Guignol show, etc...:: The response has been nothing short of amazing, and the Salle is really eager to continue proposing 1 Sunday morning/month for the introduction of kids to creation and stage arts. Last July, we also had a week of summer programs for kids (Le Tour Des Enfants), which was also wildly successful.

Our events are also community-building, as we encourage donations for the food bank & give door prizes to those who bring in a can... a jar of baby food... a package of noodles...

Please keep in touch over this season with the team at the Salle, sending them any press information that you might have, as well as touring possibilities, where applicable (4-C Maple St, Sutton QC Canada J0E 2K0).

And if you think that you can spare some promotional material or unsaleable goods that we can use for our door prizes:: great! We can discuss some exchange to cover postal costs, if necessary.

Have a great season --Kelli Ann f., coordinator, family activities

You can contact Kelli Ann at KFerrigan AT Sympatico.CA. C'mon, all you bands and such, send her some promotional stuff for door prizes!

This week...

Oooh, it's gonna be a good weekend next weekend, friends (not that this one is bad).

Not only will there be Dog on Fleas live at NCMC on Saturday, Nov. 22 (2:00! $5 cheap!), but also...

Brand new music from Lunch Money.

(That's right, I pulled out the bold tag! That's how you can tell I'm excited.)

We've got Dizzy (their new CD, coming out in early 2009), and it's the only place in the world you'll hear it (except for a few tracks at their MySpace page).

And: It. Is. Excellent.

Worth the wait. (Though it'd be nice to have it be a little less than four years next time.)

My Top Ten...

Here's our (Ella-endorsed) top ten for the Fids & Kamily Awards:

1. They Might Be Giants - Here Come the 123s
2. Frances England - Family Tree
3. Justin Roberts - Pop Fly
4. The Nields - Rock All Day, Rock All Night
5. ScribbleMonster - Songs with No Character
6. Brady Rymer & the Little Band That Could
7. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Easy
8. Recess Monkey - Tabby Road
9. Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime
10. Egg - Sunny Side Up

Playlist for 2008-11-15: Fids & Kamily Awards!

Fun fun fun show! Thanks to Stefan and Amy for chatting, and congratulations to Justin Roberts for getting voted in first place for the second time in the Fids & Kamily Awards! (And thanks to Justin for calling in, too.)

Be sure to head over to the Fids & Kamily website to see capsule reviews of all of the winning CDs, and to see the honorable mention CDs too!

Go to our page at WRSI.com (and click on "Listen on-demand now") to hear the show if you missed it when it was live.

Oh, and by the way: I do know that Joan Aiken passed away. I was muddled when we were talking about The Serial Garden.

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - Boat of Car (They Might Be Giants)
Beatles - Ob La Di, Ob La Da
Perry Farrell & Deborah Harry - The Patience Bossa (A World of Happiness)
ID
Devotchka - Basso Profundo (A Mad and Faithful Telling)
Dan Zanes - Malti (Family Dance)
Deedle Deedle Dees - Vegetarian Tyrannosaurus Rex (Freedom in a Box!)
ID

Segment 2
Tom Lehrer - L-Y (Remains)
Wee Hairy Beasties - Belly Button Blues (Holidays Gone Crazy)
ID/prep to rock
Dog on Fleas - Dumpling (Beautiful World)
REM - Stand (Green)
Nields - Who Are You Not to Shine? (Rock All Day Rock All Night)
ID/book time with Ella

Segment 3
Walter "Wolfman" Washington and the Roadmasters - This Land is Your Land (Funky Kidz compilation)
Captain Bogg & Salty - Don't Drink Sea Water (Emphatical Piratical)
ID
Suzi Shelton - No Ordinary Day (No Ordinary Day)
XTC - Life Begins at the Hop
ID

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Peter Rundquist - Over in the Meadow (Bugfeathers)
ID/Fids & Kamily Awards intro:
Danielle Sansone - Too Much Coffee
ScribbleMonster - The Song of LIFE

Segment 5
Medeski Martin & Wood - Let's Go Everywhere
Recess Monkey - SL-E-E-P-Over
Barenaked Ladies - I Don't Like
Terrible Twos - Jump Jump Jump
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Gotta Be Me

Segment 6
TMBG - One Everything
Frances England - Free to Be Me
Talk w/ Stefan & Amy
Justin Roberts - Pop Fly
Justin Roberts interview
TMBG - 813 Mile Car Trip

Another way to get on the show

(Besides writing, recording, and sending a really good CD.)

The River's number is 413-586-7400. If you call during business offers, ask Sam (the nice woman who answers) for the Riverlution Feedback Line. Or if you call after hours, the first option it gives is the same line (or something like that). On the recording, you can have your kid say something for the show: it can be "Hi, my name is [name], and I'm from [your home town]...are you prepared to rock?" Or it can be a joke. Or something else.

Monte will periodically send them along to me and we'll use 'em over time.

Oh, and also: We now have an on-demand archive over there again. Enjoy!

Fids & Kamily: No Spoilers Here

No spoilers will be disclosed here. First place for you to hear the results is on this Saturday's show; if you're not local, you can stream the show at WRSI.com.

But I thought I'd at least include a list of CDs I gave consideration to getting a vote. I'll post my top ten sometime after the announcement. So here's the list, in alphabetical order:

Astrograss – Let Me Stay Up All Night
Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime
Brady Rymer - Little Band That Could
Central Services Board of Education – Central Services Presents…
Dan Zanes - Nueva York
Egg – Sunny Side Up
Father Goose – It’s a Bam Bam Diddly
Frances England Family Tree
Harmonica Pocket - Ladybug One
Justin Roberts - Pop Fly
Me 3 – The Thin King
Medeski Martin & Wood - Let's Go Everywhere
Nields - Rock All Day, Rock All Night
Peter Rundquist – Bug Feathers
Princess Katie & Racer Steve – Fast & Feisty
Ralph's World – Rhyming Circus
Randy Kaplan – Loquat Rooftop
Recess Monkey - Tabby Road
ScribbleMosnter Songs with No Character
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Easy
Terrible Twos - Jerzy the Giant
They Might Be Giants - Here Come the 123s
Trout Fishing in America – Big Round World
V/A – Funky Kidz

Note that I wasn't very methodical in tracking my thinking, so there may be CDs I thought about that didn't get onto this list. And there were tons of other very good CDs that just missed a spot even on this list. And as I think about it, I may add CDs onto this list if I remember that I considered them...

New page over at WRSI.com

Okay, so now I know how to edit the content over there, and we now have the on-demand stream back up on our new page over there. At some point, I'll learn how to add a second page and will have a separate page for the on-demand streams.

Gotta say, I think the new site looks very cool.

Ulysses S. Dee Would Like Your Advice

Ponder his question here. Essentially, he wonders: for the next CD ("Dee-Mocracy"), should he go the traditional CD Baby route, print CDs, and possibly never make back their money, or give them away for free to get them into more teachers' hands?

Me? I like CDs. But it's also not my money. And I can always burn the songs to a CD.

The Serial Garden

This week's show's Book Time with Ella will be about the late Joan Aiken's The Serial Garden. Just heard from a publicist pointing out this great review (down at the bottom).

We'd been hoping to get Joan's daughter Lizza on the show, but it doesn't sound like that'll happen due to logistical challenges. But still: get and read the book.

This week...

Be sure to listen this week, as it'll be the announcement of the 2008 Fids & Kamily Awards. Consensus top family records of the year.

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo!

We had 100+ people having a great time with Secret Agent 23 Skidoo this afternoon -- thanks to everyone who came!

Here's the last minute or two of the show:



And pictures are here.

Twittering

I am now on Twitter. It's an odd combination of things, kind of like I am: music, torts, politics, Northampton stuff, etc.

Playlist for 2008-11-08

Stream the show on demand at WRSI.com. Update: Whoops. The new website is up and I'm not sure where the stream page went. I'll find it. Eventually. For now (and this is only until the other page is working again), you can stream it here:



(If it sounds garbled, pause it, wait a little for it to load more, and start it again.)

More information about the Secret Agent 23 Skidoo show is here.

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - Sleepwalkers (No!)
Harmonica Pocket - Spiders in my Breakfast (Ladybug One)
Jayhawks - Smile
ID
Gustafer Yellowgold - Your Eel (Live at Spare the Rock)
ID

Segment 2
Frances England - Best Friends (Family Tree)
Milkshake - Dance on My Shoes (Happy Songs)
ID
I'm From Barcelona - Treehouse
Starfish - The Hoppity Song (Starfish Rocks)
ID

Segment 3
ScribbleMonster - All Ready to Go (Songs with No Character)
Captain Bogg & Salty - Emphatical Piratical (Emphatical Piratical)
ID
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Hey World (Remote Control Version) (All Rebel Rockers) (11/23 at the Calvin)
Recess Monkey - Aquarium (Aminal House)

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Hipwaders - Baby Brother (Educated Kid)
Earth Wind & Fire - Shining Star
Princess Katie & Racer Steve - Sneakers (Fast & Feisty)
IDBook time with Ella
Keith Munslow - Accidentally (Accidentally [On Purpose])
ID

Segment 5
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Luck (Easy)
ID
Egg w/ Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - I Like Fruit (exclusive)
The Go! Team - Junior Kickstart (Thunder, Lightning, Strike)
ID
Wee Hairy Beasties - Holidays Gone Crazy (Holidays Gone Crazy)
ID

Segment 6
ID (Northampton Community Music Center on Saturday, November 22
Dog on Fleas - Do You Wanna Know My New Dance Step?
Spoon - Underdog (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)
Rev. Horton Heat - Jonny Quest/Stop That Pigeon
ID
The Quiet Ones - Secret Tunnel (Make Some Noise)
ID
TMBG - Birdhouse in Your Soul (on The Tonight Show)
TMBG - Spare the Rock

New WRSI.com

The River has a fancy new website. Not sure yet where the page with our playlists and streams went, but I'll get it figured out.

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, plus a free Nields show, plus another thing

Remember Secret Agent 23 Skidoo on Sunday! It doesn't seem to have gotten into some of the calendars (Advocate, etc.), so if you don't mind, please tell your friends, e-mail lists, etc. The details again:

Sunday, Nov. 9, 4:00 pm - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo brings positive hip hop for kids to Northampton! SA23 is a project of Cactus from acclaimed adult hip-hop band Granola Funk Express. Zooglobble.com says that SA23's debut CD, "Easy," is at the top of the list of great hip hop CDs for kids, and this is a chance to find out why. We'll play a song or two from SA23 on the radio show this Saturday, so you can get a sense of what'll be happening then.

Lyman Hall, First Churches (enter across from the Iron Horse). $7 at the door.

http://secretagent23skidoo.com

Also: The Nields are playing a free show at the grand opening of Impish, a new store on the second floor of Thornes, and signing copies of their new double-CD set, "Rock All Day, Rock All Night," afterwards.

And: This is the fourth or fifth morning in a row that I've had ScribbleMonster's "All Ready to Go" stuck in my head. It is really good.

Yay for voting.

.

Playlist for 2008-11-01

Stream it at WRSI.com.

Thanks again to ScribbleJim and They Might Be Giants!

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - Seven (Here Come the 123s)
Bob Dylan - Forever Young
ID
Sippy Cups - Day After Halloween
Asylum Street Spankers - Don't Turn Out the Light (Mommy Says No!)
ID

Segment 2
Nields - Going to Boston (Rock all Day, Rock All Night)
Hullabaloo - Sullivan McMullivan (Hey, Everybody!)
Dr. John - Row Row Your Boat (New Orleans Playground)
ID/prep to rock
Mighty Weaklings - Rocket Ship (Keep It Weak)
AudraRox - I Can Do It By Myself (I Can Do It By Myself)
Mr. Richard - Zanyville (Might As Well Sing)
ID

Segment 3
Jonathan Richman - Roadrunner
ID
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - The Bluegrasshopper
ID
Big Bang Boom - Happy Town (Big Bang Boom)
David Tobocman - Home (I Count to Ten)
ID

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child (Songs With No Character)
Scratchy Record Set:
ScribbleMonster - Scratchy Records (Songs With No Character)
-- via digitally simulated vinyl
The Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday (Monkee Business)
-- via monophonic picture disc
Sesame Street - Five People in my Family (Original Cast Record)
-- via stereo 33 1/3 R.P.M. record
Elvis - Ready Teddy (Elvis)
-- via "New Orthophonic" high fidelity record
The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger
-- via 45 R.P.M. 7" single

Segment 5
Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky (Out of the Blue)
The Hard Lessons - See and Be Scene (B & G Sides, Volume 1)
The Aquabats - Look at Me (I'm a Winner)! (Charge!!)


Segment 6
TMBG interview
Wee Scary Beasties - Monster's Disco
Aric Bieganek/Recess Rock - Officer Bob
BNL - Here Come the Geese (Snacktime)
ID
TMBG - Doctor Worm (Severe Tire Damage)