Welcome, Knitters

Yes, indeed, welcome visitors from Mason Dixon Knitting. It's always fun to see where links come from, but I had to note this one in particular, since Dena is working on felted boxes from the Mason Dixon Knitting book!

Books & Music

My newest Minnesota Parent column is now up, all about great books & music combinations. My favorite line from the original got edited out; it's the parenthetical here:

ScribbleMonster plays melodic poppy rock that would fit just fine on alt-rock radio, if only alt-rock radio played songs about monsters going “Rrraargh!” and imaginary friends. (Hey, it’d be better, and smarter, than any given Evanescence song.)

Enjoy. The January column will cover Liam's favorites from the Fids & Kamily poll, with Ella's in February.

Did I Mention This?

Man, December sneaked up on me. This Saturday is Frances England's guest DJ set! And it's pretty awesome, with some songs that might surprise you in the mix. We'll be talking with Frances live (she's calling in from California, which is, if my math is correct, 17.5 hours earlier than here) about her choices and other things.

Do you have questions for her? Post 'em in the comments.

Do you think they'll play any vinyl? And perhaps something from Sesame Street?

We'll be off in Arkansas on 12/30. Lucky for you, that means another show with ScribbleMonster guest hosting!

If you haven't checked out their prior session playing radio, you should. It's a hoot. Perhaps even two hoots.

That means, by the way, that we're rescheduling the Ginger Hendrix guest DJ set. It may be before the 30th. Stay tuned.

Yes, a Hog Drop

Trout Fishing in America will be playing at the First Night Fayetteville celebration in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on New Year's Eve (when else?). And we'll be visiting the Spare the Rock grandparents (one side, anyway), so we plan to go.

Any Arkansas listeners want to meet up? Send a note.

And yes, at midnight, the new year is celebrated with a Hog Drop.

No, Not The Goonies with Sloth

Have I mentioned that you should be listening to and reading Gooney Bird Kids? Based in Atlanta, they have a fun Live365 stream (linked to from their site, featuring a lot of the artists we play plus stories and poems) and regular updates with all sorts of good kids' music information -- tour dates, links around the web, and so on.

Plus, I met the Gooney Bird Kids themselves (and their mom). I'd been meaning to post the picture here, but you can just go check it out there.

Oops! Plus, a picture.

The earlier-uploaded archive MP3 was not quite complete. The corrected one is uploading now.

Here's us with Rebecca Frezza and her great kids Lucy and Matt:



Thanks to Bob for taking some pictures!

Bowling Green Sneaks Into New York

Hey, lookee there! It's the Lovely Mrs. Davis quoted in a NYT story!

The piece is a little bit odd in some way I can't quite identify, not due in any way to Amy's quote. But hey! It's Amy in the Times!

2006-11-25 Show

It was a delight to have the Frezza family visit the show this morning, and even more fun to watch the Florence parade and have a late morning snack at Cup & Top Cafe with them. I hope you enjoy the show.

The archive is here.

--Legal ID (8:01)
They Might Be Giants - Alphabet Lost & Found
Rebecca Frezza - Sweet Harmony (Tall and Small)
Frances England - Tricycle (Fascinating Creatures)
Luka Bloom - The Acoustic Motorbike (The Acoustic Motorbike)
Lunch Money - Tricycle (Silly Reflection)
--song ID
Steve Weeks - William (Alphabet Songs R-Z)
Milkshake - Superhero (Play!)
Lole-Lolay - Pa 'Piye Sou Do M' (Caribbean Playground)
John Carlin - Bein' A Dog (First Time for Everything)
--song ID
Jingle Punx - No Place Like Home for the Holidays (1225)
Thaddeus Rex - Oh Fiddlesticks (We Wanna Rock)
Rockosaurus Rex - Six Little Ducks (The Big Bang!)
Princess Katie & Racer Steve - It's Not Mine (Songs for the Coolest Kids)
Candy Band - Fashion Show (LolliPunk)
ScribbleMonster - Do the Bounce (Best of Friends)
Justin Roberts - D-O-G (Not Naptime)
Miz B - I'm in Love (Raise the Brain)
Dan Zanes - Catch That Train (Catch That Train!)
Andrew Sisters - Bugle Boy
Nickel Creek - The Fox
Wiggleworms - You Are My Sunshine
John Gorka - Branching Out
Rebecca Frezza - Music in My Heart (live in-studio)
Romantics - What I Like About You
Paul Simon - Loves Me Like a Rock
Yosi - Hole In the Ground
They Might Be Giants - Where Do They Make Balloons?
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Three Little Birds
Rebecca Frezza - Superman (live in-studio)
Goldfinger - Superman
Orlons - Cement Mixer
Rebecca Frezza - I Know I'm Going to Drive a Car (live in-studio)
They Might Be Giants - QU (Here Come the ABCs)

Flattery Will Get You Everywhere

...or at least a semi-incredulous post.

Just picked up the new Steve Weeks CD and was reading through the liner note. They include:

Very special thanks to . . . Bill and Ella Childs for rocking the airwaves and sparing the parent."

Cool!

Also: Just got a list of songs that Rebecca Frezza will be playing when she guest DJs -- in person! -- this Saturday. It's going to be a treat, as will, no doubt, her singing for us.

Hey, Know What We'll Play on Saturday?

New music from Steve Weeks, that's what. Cool!

Fids and Kamily Awards

Most of the winners have been informed, the essays are up, and you should check all of it out if you haven't already. It is a great bunch of music and an easy source for gift-buying, etc. (And for other, non-time-constrained, gift ideas, go here.

Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees!

Oh, How We Rocked

Pictures from the awesome show with Lunch Money and Uncle Rock at Flywheel are here. We had nearly 80 people there (i.e., almost sold out) and we had a ton of fun. If you were there, I hope you did too! Molly from Lunch Money reports: "We sure loved playing at Flywheel. That was the best show of the tour by far thanks to the very cool community you have going there."

And Uncle Rock put on not one but two shows at Cup & Top earlier in the day, both of which were well-attended and buckets of fun.

We recorded the Flywheel show and will play some bits from it, probably next week. Lunch Money played several new songs, too!

Trivia fact: Did you know that all three members of Lunch Money are 5'7" (even, or and a half, or and three-quarters)? They are!

Updated:

Here's a picture (thanks to Sienna Wildfield) of Uncle Rock at Cup & Top:

2006-11-18 Playlist

Archive is here. There may be a bit in the middle that's missing - turned out we'd plugged the computer into an outlet that wasn't live, so the battery ran out at some point.

Happy birthday (a day late) to Dena!

Sakes alive, go see Lunch Money & Uncle Rock at Flywheel tonight at 5!

What a big day. Let's get to it...

They Might Be Giants - Wakeup Call (No!)
Fids & Kamily finalists:
13. Ginger Hendrix - Stinky Trash (Macaroni Boy...)
12. Four Tet - Go Go Ninja Dinosaur (Colours are Brighter)
11. Uncle Rock - Shoe Bandit (Plays Well With Others)
10. Terri Hendrix - Yeah Yeah Yeah (Celebrate the Difference)
9. Mr. David - I'm a Fish (Great Adventures of Mr. David)
8. Charity and the JAMband - Jump Into the Middle (Rock Your Socks Off)
7. Jellydots - Bicycle (Hey You Kids!)
6. Sippy Cups - Springtime Fantastic (Electric Storyland)
5. Wee Hairy Beasties - Animal Crackers (Animal Crackers)
4. Frances England - Busy as a Bee (Fascinating Creatures)
3. Dan Zanes & Friends - Let's Shake (Catch That Train)
2. Elizabeth Mitchell - Little Liza Jane (You Are My Little Bird)
and the top family record of the year...
1. Justin Roberts - Meltdown! (Meltdown!)

Thunderlords - Old Man Olaf (Noisy Songs for Noisy Kids)
Quiet Ones - Polar Bear (Make Some Noise)
Terrible Twos - When I Get To Eleven (If You Ever See An Owl)
Deedle Deedle Dees - Ina Mina Dika (Let It Dee)
SteveSongs - Ducks Hatching (Marvelous Day)
ScribbleMonster - Rockin Robin (Live for VFR)
Ellen and Matt - Side by Side (Best Friends)
--song ID
--Uncle Rock in-studio
-Over the River
-Mr. Grinch
-My Favorite Things
-Rock 'n' Roll Babysitter
-Land of the Silver Birch (with Ella)
Brian Wilson - Vega-tables (Smile)
Music for Aardvarks - Carousel (Taxi)
Bullseye - Into the Exit (Duck Taped Shut)
Elizabeth Street - Plastic Spiders (Different)
--song ID
Songs for Dena:
Too Much Joy - In Perpetuity (Mutiny)
ScribbleMonster - Play With Your Food (Chocolate Milk)
Charity and the JAMband - Thank You
They Might Be Giants - No! (No!)

Also Coming Soon...

Be sure to check out the upcoming events over there on the right. In addition to the Moo Cow folks, we've also scheduled Ginger Hendrix's guest set (which has a surprising appearance by a 1980s hair band) for December 30 and Eric Herman's guest set for January 20.

Soon, we'll have a date for a Canadian-listener-programmed guest set featuring French and English kids' music, too!

Moocow! Moocow!

On December 16, we'll have in-studio the founders of The Moo Cow Fan Club magazine, "the children's magazine both funny and smart." We've been enjoying the weather-themed issue. We look forward to talking with Becky and Ryan about publishing the magazine and about the workshops they've been doing, helping kids create their own magazines. Should be fun.

Playlist for 11/11/2006

Morning.

John Sheldon was great in-studio, and even better at Cup & Top - the illustrations are terrific.

The archive is here. Enjoy!

They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul (Live) (Severe Tire Damage)
Andy Glockenspiel - Finally Got a Friend (Excuse Me?)
Mickey Farkas - BonBon (BonBon)
Dominique Dimey - Clic-Clac (French Playground)
John Sheldon - Roller-Skating Baby (Mighty Fine Hound)
--song ID
Frank Sinatra - On the Sunny Side of the Street (The Capitol Years)
Robbert Bobbert - I Love the Animals (forthcoming album)
Terri Hendrix - Car Car (Celebrate the Difference)
Ginger Hendrix - There Was Another Old Woman (Macaroni Boy Eats at Chez Shooby Doo)
The Nields - Going to the Zoo (All Together Singing in the Kitchen)
Semisonic - I've Been Working on the Railroad (Down by the Riverside)
Dan Zanes - Catch That Train! (Catch That Train!)
--song ID
Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper - Elvis Is Everywhere (Bo-Day-Shus!!!)
Laura Freeman - Red (Color Wheel Cartwheel)
Jellydots - Race Cars Go (Hey You Kids!)
Lucas Miller - Go Wild, Read! (I Was a Supa Dupa Pupa)
ScribbleMonster & His Pals - I Wish I Lived in Michigan (Curious Glimpse of Michigan)
XTC - Do What You Do
The Go! - Knock Knock Banana (Family Hootenanny)
Legal ID (9:02)
The Go! Team - Junior Kickstart (Thunder, Lightning, Strike)
School for the Dead - Beautiful Day in the Woods (Ayla) (The New You)
Deedle Deedle Dees - Teddy Days (forthcoming album)
--song ID
Lunch Money - Miniature Things (Silly Reflection)
Uncle Rock - It's a Mermaid! (Here We Go!)
PSA (Flywheel Lunch Money)
Elizabeth Mitchell - What Goes On (You Are My Little Bird)
--John Sheldon in-studio
-The Friend of Little Steve
-Mighty Fine Hound
-Because Because Because
Sippy Cups - Move Your Pants (Electric Storyland!)
Joel Caithaimer - Pancakes All Around (Activate!)
Frances England - Blueberry Pancakes (Fascinating Creatures)
--song ID
They Might Be Giants - The House at the Top of the Tree (No!)

Plays Well With Mrs. Davis

The Lovely Mrs. Davis has a nice interview with Uncle Rock, who will be on the show on November 18, and then will be playing at Cup & Top that morning and opening for Lunch Money that evening. Whoo!

This week...

Brand-new-just-mixed music from the Deedle Deedle Dees.

Brand-new music from Robbert Bobbert from his forthcoming V2 release -- so new it doesn't even have a name yet. (The album, that is. The songs have names.)

New music from Andy Glockenspiel.

John Sheldon live in the studio.

Some giveaways if we remember.

And then a week from Saturday, the announcements of the Fids & Kamily Awards.

I Voted.

I voted. Did you?

We'll have the results, giving the consensus picks through the Fids & Kamily poll, a week from Saturday.

Oh, were you thinking I was talking about some other voting?

Well, I did that vote too. And you should too.

Though I'm a little annoyed that they didn't give me a sticker.

This Week - John Sheldon

Local performer John Sheldon will be live in-studio this Saturday and playing at Cup & Top afterwards. His description:

"Well known local guitarist and songwriter John Sheldon(James Taylor, Van Morrison) has created a singing storybook using his wacky, charming songs like 'Possum in the Kitchen' and 'Mighty Fine Hound.' The show is illustrated by local children's artist Micha Archer, with the pictures projected on a screen while John performs. It adds up to a total experience for kids and parents that is sure to delight."

Should be fun!

Minnesota Parent Column Up

...it's here. Starting with this issue, I'll be in it every month.

Hi, Yummy Mummy People

Okay, I feel a little silly even typing the phrase "yummy mummy," but there it is. Thanks to Rebecca Brown of the very cool-looking Bunch for the link!

Take a look around, follow our links, listen to the tunes, etc.

Playlist for 11-4-2006

Archive is here. NOTE: It sounds terrible up until about 23 minutes in, which is when I realized I'd forgotten to switch back a setting on my laptop. You might want to skip up until then. The part with Josh Levine and Kenny Kozol in-studio sounds great, and their Cup & Top show was terrific.

They Might Be Giants - Got Getting Up So Down
Psapp - Everybody Wants to be a Cat
Buckwheat Zydeco - Skip to My Blues (New Orleans Playground)
Wee Hairy Beasties - Housefly Blues (Animal Crackers)
Jon Langford - Take This Hammer (Old Town School of Folk Music Vol I)
Joe McDermott - My Cat Can Fly (Great Big World)
Gustafer Yellowgold - Pterodactyl Tuxedo (Wide Wild World)
--song ID
AudraRox - Moms and Dads (Park Slope Compilation)
Billy Jonas - What Kind of Cat Are You? (What Kind of Cat Are You?)
--song ID
Old 97's - King of All of the World
Jellydots - Bicycle (Hey You Kids)
Jim Noir - Eanie Meanie
Mydols - Run Crazy Baby (Family Hootenanny)
Ernie & Neal - Every Day (Rock the House)
Elizabeth Street - Fair (Different)
Hipwaders - Twitchy (Hipwaders)
Flaming Lips - Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (At War with the Mystics)
Paul Westerberg - Love You in the Fall (Open Season)
--song & legal ID
Josh Levine & Kenny Kozol live in-studio
-Tiburon
-A Place in the Choir
-One Big Home
-MiCuerpo Hace Musica
Uncle Rock - Rock & Roll Babysitter (Plays Well With Others)
Lunch Money - Caboose (Silly Reflection)
Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al (Graceland)
Bill Harley - Dad Threw the TV Out the Window (Play It Again!)
Claudia Martinez - Nichim Vuil (World Playground 2)
Sippy Cups - Little House of Jello (Electric Storyland!)
Erin Flynn & the Coop Band - Looby Loo (Dreamers of Dreams)
Frances England - Busy as a Bee (Fascinating Creatures)
Astrograss - The Homework Machine (Astrograss for Kids)
Dog on Fleas - Give It Away (When I Get Little)
Ellen & Matt - Under Construction (Best Friends)
--song ID
They Might Be Giants - Dr. Worm (Severe Tire Damage)

The Howl Is Indeed Powerful

Check out the new promo for the Lunch Money/Uncle Rock show here (811K MP3). And, just 'cause it's so cool, behold the glory of the poster again:

Tomorrow's Guest

...is Josh Levine. We haven't played as much of Josh's disc as I would have liked to (and we'll remedy that, no doubt), but it's a sweet and fun CD. He'll have a percussionist with him, and we're very pleased that he's coming up from Brooklyn to be on the show and play at Cup & Top afterward.

Next week, John Sheldon, and then the next week -- Lunch Money and Uncle Rock!

A Happy Harper Halloween

Here's daughter-of-Monty-Harper and sometimes-guest-cohost Evalyn:

More Halloween Goodness

First up, Liam the book:



The small print at the bottom is a review from Stephen King: "I laughed! I cried! I maybe wet my pants!"

The back of the book has a bunch of reviews (and a mark of the beast bar code!):

"Loved it. Only thing that would have made it better: Purple crayon."- Harold of Crockett Johnson's Harold and The Purple Crayon

"It's no To Kill a Mockingbird but it does have skeletons!"- Harper Lee

“Way better than anything I’ve written, but how hard is that?”- Anne Rice

“Don’t bother voting. Just read The Walking Skeleton. Really. Just stay home. Please.”- Karl Rove

“An instant and timeless classic.I wish I had used walking skeletons in A Christmas Carol.”- Charles Dickens

And both kids ready to go:



Max and Annie, two of our listeners in SF:



Zoe, Benjamin, and Elliot from Quebec:





And Becca and Evee, kids of Eric Herman: