2009-02-28 Playlist

You can listen any old time at WRSI.com.

Thanks so much to Liz, Daniel, Jean, and Storey for coming in! Such fun.

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - Mr. Me (Lincoln)
Jose Gonzalez y Banda Criolla - Bomba Te Traigo Yo (Caribbean Playground)
Father Goose - Panama (It's a Bam Bam Diddly)
ID
Mates of State - Jellyman Kelly
Frances England - The Books I Like to Read (Fascinating Creatures)

Segment 2
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Our House (Deja Vu)
Gustafer Yellowgold - Butter Pond Lake
ID/prep to rock
Kevin Kammeraad - Best Poem Ever (Tomato Collection)
Strange Kidz - Corren (Kidz Album)
ID

Segment 3
Robbert Bobbert - We R Super Heroes
Dream Warriors - My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style
Henry Mancini & His Orchestra - Pink Panther Theme
ID
Baby Loves Jazz Band - Drum Lesson # 2
Telephone Company - Mustache
ID


Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
Liz Mitchell in-studio
-Little Spring
-John the Rabbit
ID
Astrograss - Drunken Sailor

Segment 5
ID
Liz Mitchell in-studio part 2
Winter's Come & Gone
Korean Spring Song
ID/book time with Ella
Jonathan Richman - This Kind of Music

Segment 6
ID (dedicated to Liam for his 7th birthday)
Asylum Street Spankers - Be Like You
Lunch Money - Wake Up World (Dizzy)
Richard Julian - Spring is Just Around the Corner
ID
Steve Weeks - Zed and Zoey (Alphabet Songs Vol III)
ID
TMBG - Seven (Here Come the 123s)
TMBG - Spare the Rock

Welcome, folks from the Elizabeth Mitchell mailing list

Hi everyone who followed a link from Elizabeth Mitchell's e-mail list. (And if you're not on that list, you should sign up.)

We had a wonderful time welcoming Elizabeth, Daniel, and Jean to Northampton, and an especially great time with Storey here too. The yarn store mentioned is the local Webs, and it really is an amazing place. (I don't just say that because my wife works there.) We sure hope they'll all come back and visit again soon.

Just scroll down a bit to find the interview, or go here for pictures from the show and here for the interview.

And if you want to listen to the show, we have on-demand streams on WRSI.com, so you don't even have to be awake at 8 in the morning on Saturdays. But you can also stream us live at that time on Saturdays if you like, also at WRSI.com.

A couple of videos from the show are below. The sound isn't great, since they were taped on a fairly old camera at the back of the room (i.e., back where people were talking), but it gives you the idea...

This one, as of the time I'm posting, isn't yet live, but presumably will be soon:



And this one is live:

Mates of State at the Elizabeth Mitchell show...

They've posted a photo on their Babble.com blog.

Acrobats Tickets Given Away!

Congratulations to the winner at the Elizabeth Mitchell concert, Billy, and to the winner of the drawing today, Gaby. You still have a few more days to enter over at HilltownFamilies.org, and you can buy tickets at IHEG.com.

Thanks again to the Iron Horse folks. We'll see you at the show!

Our chat with Elizabeth Mitchell + friends, including new music!

We'll play the edited interview and the songs on Saturday's show, but if you can't wait:



There is one new song that will be on their next record, and a fair amount about that record, including the fact that it will include guest appearances by Dan Zanes and Levon Helm!

Man, that was fun

Elizabeth Mitchell (and Daniel Littleton and Jean Cook and Storey) put on a fantastic show today. 250+ people there had a great time and raised a ton of money for the Northampton Community Music Center.

Next Saturday, we'll play our talk with Liz et al. and their songs, including, yes, brand new music.

More pictures are here. (Most are not as blurry as the one above.

Video to come.

2009-02-21 Playlist

Note: To make sure we can fit everyone in, we've moved the Elizabeth Mitchell show to the WW II Club, 50 Conz St., Northampton. Still benefiting NCMC. Lots of parking, nice (renovated) space, etc.

Stream the show any time at WRSI.com!

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - The Other Father Song (Coraline soundtrack)
Kimya Dawson - Happy Home (Keep On Writing)
ID
Zachary Sanders - Electricity, Electricity
Beastie Boys - Electricity (The Mix Up)
Milkshake - Tall (Happy Songs)
ID

Segment 2
Spanglish Wrangler - Cucaracha
Mariana Iranzi - Caballito (Cup & Top afternoon of March 17, Meltdown March 28)
ID/prep to rock
New York Dolls - Dance Like a Monkey
Quiet Ones - Invisible Trousers (Make Some Noise)
Egg - Zoom! (Sunny Side Up)
ID

Segment 3
Ellen and Matt - Side by Side
The Not-Its - Helcopter
Hipwaders - Heffalumps
Los Lobos - Kiko & the Lavender Moon
ID
Alex the Seal - Big Bunny in My Backyard
ID

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Robert Earl Keen - Farm Fresh Onions
Bunny Clogs - Olive's Olives (More! More! More!)
Wee Hairy Beasties - Eat Your Greens PSA
Dog on Fleas - Ugly Fruit (live in-studio)
ID
Starfish - Starfish and Coffee

Segment 5
ID
Elizabeth Mitchell - Jubilee
Angelique Kidjo - Battu (African Playground)
Jambo - It's a Good Day (Lucy's Parade)
ID
Dan Zanes & Friends - Get On Board (Welcome Table)
Trout Fishing in America - Big Round World (Big Round World)
ID

Segment 6
Beatles - Yellow Submarine
Cake - Mahna Mahna (For the Kids)
Brady Rymer - Keep Up With You (Every Day is a Birthday)
ID
Baby Loves Jazz Band - I Like Blue Lemurs (Baby Loves Jazz Greatest Hits)
Michael Jackson - Rockin' Robin
ID
TMBG - Happy Doesn't Have to Have An Ending
TMBG - Spare the Rock

NEW VENUE -- Elizabeth Mitchell now at WW II Club!

To make sure we can fit everyone in, we've moved the Elizabeth Mitchell show to the WW II Club, 50 Conz St., Northampton. Still benefiting NCMC. Lots of parking, nice (renovated) space, etc.

Reminder: Elizabeth Mitchell this Saturday

Just a quick note to remind everyone -- this Saturday we are thrilled to welcome Elizabeth Mitchell to the Northampton Community Music Center Recital Hall for a concert at 2:00. It's just $5, with net proceeds benefiting NCMC's scholarship fund. NCMC is located at 139 South Street in Northampton.

UPDATE: The show is now going to take place at the World War II Club, 50 Conz St., Northampton. All the rest is still the same.

Elizabeth Mitchell (of the band Ida) is one of the preeminent voices in family music today, with her indie folk -- on legendary Smithsonian Folkways records -- providing the gentle but rollicking soundtrack for thousands of childhoods.

This will be a full band show -- with her husband and Ida bandmate Daniel Littleton, daughter Storey, and violinist Jean Cook. Though their band Ida has been to Northampton, sharing the stage with the likes of Erin McKeown, this is their first family show here.

New Timeslot!

Starting either this week or next (I think this week), we'll be on from 8 to 10 Saturday mornings on The River.

Our slot on VFR will, at least for now, remain 7 to 9.

As always, thanks to the Toy Box for sponsoring the show! If you're in Amherst, please stop by and check out the River Rack (and buy stuff from it!), and please tell her you appreciate the sponsorship.

Religious Music on Kids' Radio

I got an e-mail over the weekend from a local listener concerned about our playing the Dan Zanes & Friends song "Jesus on the Mainline" and the Sacred Shakers' "Taggin' Along With Jesus." The writer's main concern was a sense that we were proselytizing rather than just entertaining. My response is below:

One of the things I try to do in programming the show is to play songs from many different traditions (defined broadly), and also to show connections between different eras and styles of music. We've included songs from a variety of faith traditions over the years, though I'll admit there is a lot more out there in the marketplace from the Christian perspective than others. And, of course, we include a lot of traditional music that's not from a faith perspective at all but that comes from deep traditions of all sorts. I enjoy playing my kids music from lots of traditions and talking about lots of different faiths (and about those who don't believe) and, over the years, have tried to maintain that kind of diversity on the radio show.

The Dan Zanes song (as I think I noted on the show) is from a new CD benefiting the Sanctuary Movement, which, as you probably know, is a coalition of religious leaders from various faith groups helping immigrants in the United States. Zanes is a major voice in kids' music and I like the CD, not just for its music (though I do like that too, especially the Hammond organ), but for showing a connection between music and social justice work, even at the kids' music level. It includes mostly Christian-themed songs, though not exclusively.

I transitioned into the latter Sacred Shakers song as a way to musically tie it into a modern "adult" performer who's doing some similar music (and it's an artist that we play on the station regularly, which I like doing too). I can see in retrospect that having the songs both next to each other (even with an ad break between) was probably a little heavy, thematically, but it was in an attempt to make that connection. In that same show, I did a similar transition from the Gustafer Yellowgold song into Peaches & Herb, in that I think the kids' artist Gustafer has a lot of the energy of '70s disco.

So, I doubt this will convince you that it was a good idea. But I hope you understand that I do not play gospel-themed music (or music from any religious tradition) as an attempt to proselytize but as a way to include music from a major source of music in the U.S. I do think hard about how I program the show and appreciate the feedback. I hope you'll listen again.

Thoughts? Should we steer clear of any religious-themed music?

2009-02-14 Playlist

You can stream it on demand at WRSI.com.

If you're interested in entering for the drawing for Golden Acrobats show at the Calvin on March 1, go here.

To listen to the full chat about the KidsBestFest, stream here:



And to listen to the full chat about the YouthFilm Festival, stream here:



Information about both film festivals is available at the Northampton Arts Council website.

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - James K. Polk
Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon (Bolt)
Nields - Who Are You Not to Shine (Rock All Day Rock All Night)
Dennis Caraher - Walk Like a Dinosaur (I Miss the Mud)
ID
Dan Zanes & Friends - Jesus on the Mainline
ID
Sage - A Bird's Home

Segment 2
Skylar - Mystery is All Over
Sacred Shakers - Taggin' Along with Jesus
The New Standards - Snow Day (Candy Cane EP)
ID
Built to Spill - Big Dipper (There's Nothing Wrong With Love)
Frances England - Free to Be Me (Family Tree)
ID
Zoe - Swirls of Shells

Segment 3
Replacements - I Will Dare (Let It Be)
Daddy A-Go-Go - It's a Kids World (Come On Get Happy)
Lunch Money - I Love My Library (Dizzy)
ID/Book Time with Ella
Mighty Weaklings - Sunny When You Share (You Can't Rock Sittin' Down)
ID

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Gustafer Yellowgold - Melter Swelter (Mellow Fever)
Peaches & Herb - Shake Your Groove Thing
Aric Bieganek - Bright Lights, Big Kitty!
ID (back to learn about the KidsBestFest Film Festival)

Segment 5
KidsBestFest Interview
Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Jetta & the Jellybeans - I Wash My Hands (Tell Me What You Want To Be)
ID

Segment 6
YouthFilm Interview
Elizabeth Mitchell - Bo Diddley (You Are My Sunshine)
Astrograss - Airplane
ID
TMBG - Experimental Film
TMBG - Spare the Rock

Meltdown...

It's coming (March 28, 10-4, JFK Middle School). And we've got a super cool logo thanks to Jarrett:

This Week: A Visit From a Fellow From the Sun

Yep. New Gustafer Yellowgold on the show this week.

Hey, Want to Go See the Golden Dragon Acrobats for Free?

The nice folks at the Iron Horse Entertainment Group gave me two four-packs of tickets to the Golden Dragon Acrobats show at the Calvin (Sunday, March 1, 4:00 p.m.). We'll be there for Liam's birthday, and you can be at the show too.

Two ways to win:

1. One four-pack will go to a randomly-selected person who e-mails me (show AT sparetherock DOT com) with your name and why you think it would be cool to go see the acrobats. (You don't have to do the second part to be entered in the drawing.) You need not be present to win; I'll do the drawing on Sunday, February 22, and will notify you by e-mail. If you want, you can include a phone number too.

2. The second four-pack will be given away in a drawing at the Elizabeth Mitchell show on Saturday, February 21, at the Northampton Community Music Center. You have to be present at the show to enter and to win. As a reminder, the show is at 2:00 and is $5.

And, um, it's gonna be crazy cool:



Tickets are available for purchase at IHEG.com. Thanks to the Iron Horse Entertainment Group.

(Oh, and you can also enter to win tickets over at Hilltown Families.)

SXSW - Panel Details

I know I've mentioned that I'll be at SXSW (sans kids! Dena and are going just us!). In case you're going and want to see the kids' music panel I'm on, the details:

Panel: The Underdogs: Living Large On Kids Music
Day: Friday, March 20th
From 12:30 PM
to 1:45 PM
Room: 19A
Austin Convention Center

More details here.

The official kids' showcase has not yet been announced, so I'll wait on that...

Congratulations, TMBG!

They won a Grammy today for best kids' musical album.

Whoo-hoo! We've now had Grammy nominees and Grammy winners on the show!

Major congratulations to the whole band.

Oopsie...

Local listeners, I made a mistake on the computer and on Saturday, the River's broadcast included the first two segments from the week previous, with the third through sixth segments airing properly. And VFR's computer crashed, so there none of the show aired.

So: this week, the first two segments will be from last week's show (neither of which aired here, though they're both on the show over at WRSI.com, with the rest of it all brand new, including a chat about the upcoming KidsBestFest and YouthFilm screenings. Plus new music galore. And maybe some more disco. Did you like the disco? We did.

Got it? Good.

2009-02-07 Playlist

Listen online any time at WRSI.com.

Segment 1
TMBG - It's Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG - James K. Polk
Jenny Lewis - Barking at the Moon (Bolt)
Nields - Who Are You Not to Shine (Rock All Day Rock All Night)
Dennis Caraher - Walk Like a Dinosaur (I Miss the Mud)
ID
Dan Zanes & Friends - Jesus on the Mainline
ID
Sage - A Bird's Home

Segment 2
Skylar - Mystery is All Over
Sacred Shakers - Taggin' Along with Jesus
The New Standards - Snow Day (Candy Cane EP)
ID
Built to Spill - Big Dipper (There's Nothing Wrong With Love)
Frances England - Free to Be Me (Family Tree)
ID
Zoe - Swirls of Shells

Segment 3
Ramones - Rock 'n' Roll Radio
Ralph's World - Gotta Be Good
ScribbleMonster - I'm a Utility Pole
Little Miss Ann - Over in the Meadow (Clap for Love)
ID
Strange Kidz - Lil' Things (Kidz Album)
Dog on Fleas - Worms (Fairly Good Songs for Fairly Good Kids)

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Uncle Rock - Disco Nap (Plays Well With Others)
ID
Sister Sledge - We Are Family
Bunny Clogs - Shpilkas (More! More! More!)
KC and the Sunshine Band - Shake Your Booty
ID

Segment 5
Jimmies - What's that Sound? (Make Your Own Someday)
Medeski Martin & Wood - Where's the Music? (Let's Go Everywhere)
Stevie Wonder - Signed Sealed Delivered
Baby Loves Jazz Band - Duck Jam (Greatest Hits)
Apples in Stereo - The Rainbow
ID/book time with Ella

Segment 6
Weezer - Island in the Sun
Hipwaders - The Work Song
The Not-Its - My Favorite Person
Terrible Twos - Consonants
ID
TMBG - They Got Lost
TMBG - Spare the Rock

Arizonans, Do This

Phoenix folks, go to this. Even if 25-minute sets seem sorta short, well, go check out the museum between sets.

OK?