2006-12-30 Playlist

We're off to Arkansas, and, though we'll have internet access, I might not remember to get this posted. So here's this Saturday's playlist.

Archive is here.

They Might Be Giants - Why Does the Sun Shine? (Why Does the Sun Shine? EP)
The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun (Abbey Road)
ScribbleMonster & His Pals - Beautiful Day (Chocolate Milk)
Mission Orange - Sun and Moon (Kevin Kammeraad's The Tomato Collection)
The Smoking Popes - Midnight Moon (Born to Quit)
The Figgs - Hey! Mr. Moonman (Banda Macho)
Ernie, Bert & Herbert Birdsfoot - High, Middle, Low (Bert's Blockbusters)
Rocknoceros - Big Head (Rocknoceros)
Roger Day - Parachute Girl (Ready to Fly)
SteveSongs - Fast Monkey (Marvelous Day)
Gabriella & Troy - Breaking Free (High School Musical Soundtrack)
ScribbleMonster - World Premiere of Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
Fountains of Wayne - Survival Car (Fountains of Wayne)
James Kochalka Superstar & The Zambonis - Hockey Monkey (Hockey Monkey EP)
Night Ranger - (You Can Still) Rock in America (Midnight Madness)
Lunch Money - Yes, We Have Rhythm (Silly Reflection)
Bryan Adams - Kids Wanna Rock (Reckless)
Sesame Street Kids - Number 5 (Original Cast Record)
Anything People - Five People in My Family (Original Cast Record)
The Jackson Five - ABC (ABC)
Jim Croce - Rapid Roy (You Don't Mess Around With Jim)
The Partridge Family - Summer Days (Sound Magazine)
David Tomlinson, Dick Van Dyke & Cast - Let's Go Fly a Kite (Mary Poppins Soundtrack)
Jim Gill - I Took a Bath in a Washing Machine (Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes)
The Brian Waite Band - Bumbo (Musicmaker)
The Pretenders - Message of Love (Pretenders II)
Dave Rudolf - Rumplestiltskin (Not So Grimm Fairy Tales)
J. Geils Band - I Do (Houseparty: The J. Geils Band Anthology)
Monty Harper - Lisa Lee Elizabeth (Imagine That)
Ben Folds - Gracie (Songs for Silverman)
Rick Scott - I Speak Duck (Making Faces)
Sesame Street's Ernie & Bert - Clink, Clank (The Best of Bert)
They Might Be Giants - Man, It's So Loud In Here (Mink Car)

Are You a Procrastinator?

We realized this morning that Ella hadn't actually gotten anything for her mom. Oops! But it provided a chance to do something I've been wanting to do anyway (in addition to her quickly doing a pasta sculpture), and that's donate through The Heifer Project.

I remember my grandmother donating through the Heifer Project in honor of various grandchildren, I guess it must have been twenty years ago. (The group has been around for over sixty years.) The idea is simple but profound: give impoverished people animals, poultry, and the know-how to use them wisely, and to work towards an end for world hunger.

Plus, they've got a cool Dan Zanes video you can include in an e-card to whomever you're honoring. Ella, Liam and I gave honeybees in Dena's honor. It's also in part in memory of my grandmother Alma Hartrick and in honor of my grandfather Gordon Hartrick who, until a year ago or so (when he turned 90!) was still raising honeybees in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.

So, if you put things off, it's not too late. Check out all the options in their online gift catalog.

Are You Sneaky?

Sharp observers will have noticed that our archives have a consistent URL structure:

http://sparetherock.com/YYYYMMDD.mp3

If you're really, really sneaky (and can figure out the date for this coming Saturday) you might be able to hear ScribbleMonster filling in, and their world premiere before people listening over-the-air (or over-the-stream) do.

But don't tell anyone.

2006-12-23 Playlist

Holiday and best-of-the-year stuff!

Archive is here. Happy holidays, everyone!

P.S. Is there any song more satisfying than "Sir Duke"? I thought not. Nice suggestion, Dena!

P.P.S. The archive sounds terrible starting somewhere in the last half-hour or so. Not sure why; can't fix it. Sorry!

--legal ID (8:00)
They Might Be Giants - O Tannenbaum
Enzo Garcia - Hello (LMNO Music, the Pink Album)
Elizabeth Mitchell - What Goes On (You Are My Little Bird)
Asheba - Sapodilla (Children Are the Sunshine)
Trout Fishing in America - You Gotta Get Up (Merry Fishes to All)
Banu Gibson & The New Orleans Hot Jazz - I'll Be Home for Christmas (New Orleans Christmas)
--song ID
Jellydots - Mister Gloom (Hey You Kids!) (Bill's tied-for-favorite record of the year)
Ginger Hendrix - How the Days Go By (Macaroni Boy Eats at Chez Shooby Doo)
Gustafer Yellowgold - I'm From the Sun (Wide Wild World)
Dennis Caraher - Alfred Alligator (Live at VFR)
Monty Harper - Paws Claws Scales and Tales (Paws Claws Scales and Tales)
--song ID
Lunch Money - Tiny Dinosaurs (Pizza Hummus Zucchini: Live at Flywheel)
Dean Martin (remixed by Dan the Automator) - Jingle Bells
Jingle Punx - Need a Little Christmas (1225)
Sippy Cups - Springtime Fantastic (Electric Storyland!)
Rebecca Frezza - It Wasn't Me (Tall and Small)
ScribbleMonster - I Wish I Lived in Michigan (single) (Bill's single of the year)
Pencilhead & the Playground Punks - Ranch (Punk Salad)
CandyBand - Get Up Already (LolliPunk) (CandyBand is and always will be the winner for the kids' rock band that actually listens to rock music)
--legal ID (9:00)
Deedle Deedle Dees - Ina Mina Dika (Live at Flywheel)
--song ID
Frances England - Charlie Parker (Fascinating Creatures) (Bill's other favorite record) (Ella's favorite too!) (Ella's other favorite is AudraRox, the CD of which has gone missing)
Justin Roberts - Meltdown! (Meltdown!)
Elizabeth Street - Dragon for Dinner (Different)
Keith Munslow - Accidentally (Live at VFR)
SteveSongs - Opposite Day (Live at VFR)
Brady Rymer - Keep Up With You (Every Day is a Birthday)
Clifton Chenier - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie (New Orleans Playground)
--song ID
Dan Zanes - Catch That Train! (Catch That Train!)
Ellen and Matt - Under Construction (Best Friends)
Uncle Rock - Shoe Bandit (Plays Well With Others) ("Bandito Zapato" is the best line of the year.)
Terrible Twos - A Rake, A Broom, A Mop, A Shovel (If You Ever See An Owl)
The Slip - Children of December
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke (Definitive Collection)
Mary Kaye - Spin Your Web (Spin Your Web)
Wee Hairy Beasties - Animal Crackers (Animal Crackers)
Steve Weeks - I Can't Play the Violin (Alphabet Songs Vol. III)
--song ID
They Might Be Giants - Dr. Worm (Severe Tire Damage)

They Might Be Working On It

I got a note from John Flansburgh, paw-delivered by a naked mole rat,* last night with this title:

They Might Be Giants here-okay-as promised! it's time for your theme!

We don't actually have it yet - it was just letting us know that they've gotten to that spot on their songwriting list - but it got me all excited again.

And did I mention that you really have to listen to the show on the 30th, guest-hosted by ScribbleMonster? 'Cause you do.



*Okay, it was an e-mail. But don't you sort of want communications from TMBG to come in some weird delivery system like that?

Have Yourselves A Merry Little Whatever

My holiday music guest post is right here at The Lovely Mrs. Davis. Enjoy.

Another Yosi Interview; Plus a Cool Hold Steady Thing

This time, it's friends-of-the-show Gwyneth, Chloe, and Camille, and they have interesting answers. Enjoy.

Also, remember how I mentioned, mid-ramble, inviting The Hold Steady to be on the show, despite the fact that I don't think they have a single kid-appropriate song? I know, sort of silly. But still, I got a nice e-mail back from Tad their guitarist (formerly of Lifter Puller):

Just got this. This sounds amazing. I have a two year old that is fascinated with music.

Now that would be a fun guest DJ set, eh? Some pictures from the show (taken by someone else) are here.

Speaking of guest DJ sets, I listened to most of ScribbleMonster's guest set (coming up on the 30th) today, and it is, I dare say, even better than the last one.

Mystery New Music

And it'll be a mystery until Saturday until the show on the 30th (changed to the 30th for reasons that will become clear then), but here are a couple of hints:

- one excerpt from the lyrics: "Clean up that bedroom, don't let me catch you picking a fight, I suggest you not be late and you better clean your plate, or you're going to a concert tonight. You know how much I love you, don't make me buy you an electric guitar..."

- it's from a band we heart from Chicago.

- it cracks me up.

That "Santa Don't Forget Me" Song We Played...

...you can learn more about it here.

Why No Wiggles?

So there's this throwdown over at (sm)all ages about whether the Wiggles are Satan incarnate or something. Interesting discussion, and it made me think more about this Q&A in Yosi's interview with me and Ella:

5) (Bill) I champion quality indie artists over those produced by major music companies. Do you feel the same?

I certainly make an effort to find more indie artists, but wouldn't say that it's "over" major labels either. As you know, we start and end every show with TMBG, who is on Disney. I think the fact that we end up playing more indie stuff is more reflective of the fact that we tend to like indie stuff more -- it tends (on average, not universally) to be a bit quirkier and more interesting to me. So we play more indie music probably for the reason that I own more indie music -- I just, mostly, like it more.

I realize now that the answer is not complete. Briefly, I like playing indie stuff that doesn't have big marketing power behind it because I want Ella (and our listeners) to know that you can make awesome music by yourself. That's one of the reasons I'm so pleased about being a little part of getting attention to Frances England (as just one example!) and all the rest of the great independent kids' artists who are recording in home studios, working day jobs, and so on.

I don't have anything against the Wiggles. Honestly, I'm not sure I've ever heard them; I can't imagine when I would have. I'm sure they're talented and they're clearly good at marketing, and I've got nothing against good marketing. Barney makes me insane, and our kids never liked him. The Teletubbies I actually sort of like, and we owe them a lot for their hypnotic effects when Ella was in the hospital (dog bite at 18 months, ovarian tumor at 30 months, all better now!) and we needed her to sit still for IVs.

But part of what I think is the mission of our show (if we have a mission) is not just playing good music but also providing good artistic role models that include ways for kids to learn about the whole range of music out there -- from the hugely successful to the obscure stuff -- and for them to see that music from all over that range can be terrific. And I like supporting the artists on the more obscure end of that spectrum.

(And that's why, incidentally, I tried -- with no luck, no surprise there -- to get the Hold Steady to come on the show. Utterly inappropriate music for kids as a whole, but an excellent example of a band (and a guy, Craig Finn, in particular) who hasn't compromised his approach to music one whit, and is now starting to get commercial success to go along with the critical acclaim. One of the things that was utterly charming about the show is how genuinely and sincerely happy the band was, by the way. At the end of the show, Finn said something like, "There is so much joy in what we do up here, and we're just so happy that you're part of it." And he was absolutely not being sarcastic or cynical. He loves what he does.)

Okay, I'm on cold medicine and probably incoherent. Especially that last parenthetical. But there's my ramble.

Gotta go make supper. Comments?

2006-12-16 Playlist

Archive is here.

Thanks to Becky and Ryan from Moo Cow Fan Club! What fun.

--legal ID
They Might Be Giants - Alphabet Lost and Found (Here Come the ABCs)
Ben Rudnick - Hava Nagila
Brady Rymer - Turn the World Around (I Found It!)
Omara Portuondo - Guantanamera (Latin Playground)
Pointer Sisters - Pinball Number Count (Songs from the Street)
Green Means Go - 1, 2, 3-4-5 (A Day at the Seaside)
Biscuit Brothers - Six Little Ducks (Meet the Biscuits)
--song ID
Princess Katie & Racer Steve - Tell the Truth (Songs for the Coolest Kids)
Justin Roberts - Maybe the Monster (Meltdown!)
ScribbleMonster & His Pals - Winter Wonderland
--song ID
Pixies - La, La, Love You (Doolittle)
Terrible Twos - When I Get to Eleven (If You Ever See An Owl)
The Wedding Present - Stepping Into Christmas (A Lump of Coal)
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - I Waana Be Just Like You (Watchu' Want for Christmas?)
Mr. Richard - Loopy Doop (Tummy Talk)
The Quiet Ones - How Fast Can You Run? (Make Some Noise)
--legal ID (8:59)
ScribbleMonster - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Jingle Punx - Wonderful Christmastime (Coal)
--song ID
Sydney & Erica - Santa Don't Forget Me (single)
Tommy Gardner - Kangaroo Waffles (Kangaroo Waffles & Other Treasure)
Laurie Berkner - BOOTS (Victor Vito)
Dog on Fleas - The Moon Song (When I Get Little)
Ralph's World - Fly Me To The Moon (At the Bottom of the Sea)
Silly Bus - Earth and Sun (Silly Bus)
Gwendolyn & the Good Time Gang - Anatomy (s/t)
Lole-Lolay - Pa 'Piye Sou Do M' (Caribbean Soundtrack)
--interview with MooCow Fan Club editors
Steve Weeks - Rabbit Run (Alphabet Songs Vol III)
--more interview
Eric Ode - A Camel Met a Turtle (I Love My Shoes)
They Might Be Giants - How Does the Sun Shine? (Severe Tire Damage)

Wow

If you have the chance to see The Hold Steady, ever in your lifetime, do it. Even if you have to pay double - nay, triple! - the going rate for babysitting.

If I seem a little deaf and/or tired in the morning, that's why.

But it will be worth it.

Coming Up...

Tomorrow: Moo Cow Fan Club editors, new music from ScribbleMonster and Sydney & Erica (two kids who wrote and sang a fun holiday song).

12/30: ScribbleMonster guest DJs the whole show

1/6: Replay of Monty Harper guest DJing the whole show with Evalyn

1/13: We return triumphantly with Elizabeth Street live in-studio.

Also just announced - on 2/10, we'll have local kids' band the Pop Rockets (whose CD will hopefully have soon) live in-studio right before they play a show at Cup & Top.

There's other stuff too but I need to go get the kids to school. The schedule's over there on the right.

(Updated) What Are Your Traditions?

Note: We've given all of these away, but we'd love to hear more traditions!

We received a pile of the wonderful New Orleans Christmas CDs from Putumayo for listener giveaways. So, let's hear some holiday traditions! Send an e-mail (show AT sparetherock DOT com) and talk about you or your kids' favorite traditions during winter -- whether holiday-related or not -- and your mailing address.

Depending on how many responses we get, some or all respondents will get the CD, which is a really terrific compilation of music, with a portion of proceeds going to the New Orleans area Habitat for Humanity and its Musicians' Village project.

(And if you have someone who would fit in either a onesie or a size 4 t-shirt, mention that too, and you might get a Bloodshot Records shirt/onesie!)

(I'll be posting responses here, so sending the e-mail in is your consent to that.)

Update: Melinda of Ohio writes:

I have a 4 yr old son and an almost 1 year old daughter. Ever since my son became interested in trains we have enjoyed the many train gardens that pop up this time of year. Last Saturday we visited a wonderful one at our local Botanical Gardens and soon we will be going to Baltimore and will make sure to visit the one at an old shopping center. And this year for the first time, my son will get to set up a train with his grandfather. Sure to be a hit!

Thanks, Melinda!

Jeffrey of New York shares:

Ben, who turns six next month, didn't really see the purpose of sledding when he was 3. We had a light snowfall that winter, and he had to be secured on my lap (since my wife wasn't confident about holding onto a board and a
boy, but was fine with a camcorder). That changed in 2005, when Ben was 4 and we had plenty of snow. I would come home from work and my wife would say, "Ben wants to go sledding." Of course, it would be dark out and I'd have to tell him, "This weekend," and by the weekend the snow would be gone. Last year, we had a bumper crop and I left a shovel in our trunk so I could dig out a spot by the prime sledding zone (one side of the neighborhood park). Last week, we heard a weather report and my wife said ominously, "They said snow flurries." Ben immediately piped up: "I want to go sledding."

From Georgia, Gwyneth writes:

Camille and Chloe love to get out the Christmas decorations as soon as we get back from Thanksgiving. They enjoy being reunited with their old friends: books, music, ornaments. They love to drink eggnog while decorating the tree...and to drink hot chocolate while we work on our annual newsletter.

Camille loves being at the cabin and staying up all night for New Years' Eve.

Canadian listener Melanie (who notes that she's looking forward to the upcoming bilingual guest set):

We live north of the 49th parallel, so winter means snow—hooray! Since we’ve had kids, we’ve made a point of building a snowman/woman/boy/girl every year and taking a family snapshot with our creation. It’s kind of a fun way to make sure we at least get all the camera-shy and wiggly people in one photo at least once a year!

A new tradition this year that we’re all really excited about is this: I collected all the winter/Christmas/Channukah books in our house and checked some out of the library to bring the total up to 31… one for every day in December. I spent an evening wrapping them up and put them all in a basket. Everyday, we unwrap one book and read it aloud. It’s a great way to make sure our daily reading time doesn’t get missed in the middle of the holiday bustle (read: insanity).

Looking forward to hearing other people’s traditions!

Deb from SF makes me crave a doughnut:

We're all about the food. We get together with friends at our house and make latkes and jelly doughnuts (how much do you have to love a holiday where jelly doughnuts are the traditional food?!). This year, the kids are all big enough to help cook, so it's going to be pretty fun and rowdy. We light the candles, have a feast and actually do play dreidel for pennies. We try to keep gifts out of it for one night... not easy, but sometimes they have enough fun to forget!

Nancy has a younger holiday-lover:

My daughter loves watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year. Every night on the way home, we look for Christmas lights, and this year we have started making and decorating cookies together (how many bottles of sprinkles does it take to decorate one batch of cookies? as many as you have!). She has also taken a shine to Nutcrackers (loves to make them say MUNCHA MUNCHA). At not quite two and a half, she is still a bit young for helping decorate the tree, but we love talking about all the special ornaments on it. She also looks forward to Grandma and Grandpa coming for a visit right after Christmas Day.

Laurel in California likes reading:

My son has just turned two, and so our family holiday traditions are just getting underway. One of the ones he likes most right now is reading holiday books. I've bought a few that I remember from my childhood and my mother loves kids' books and each of the last two years has sent him a stack of them for Christmas. It's such fun to read them and acquaint him with the holiday through books. He's enchanted, and says "more, more, more" on favorite pages he wants re-read to him again and again.

I even have some squirreled away for next year that are a bit too advanced for him now, and before he was born, I bought Santa Mouse, one of my old favorites, because I was so excited to be able to read it to him one day.

Ginger from California (hey, we know you) has a brilliant newish tradition:

My boys and I go thrift shopping for our presents--this our second year (so it's now a tradition). It's terrific to be able to walk into a store with them and say, "Get whatever you want for your friends!" and walk out only about $7 later. I'm always thrilled with what they find. And the "cleaning the stuff up" and "wrapping stuff up" turns it into a full-blown CHRISTMAS PROJECT--especially when you add the delivery runs we make to our friends' houses the week before Christmas. It's all a hoot.

Fellow Massachusettsan (I have no idea what the right term is) Barbara has some historical features to their traditions:

We put up our Christmas decorations which tend to be at least 30 years old. We have a plastic Santa, that used to have a lightbulb in it, that my son insists on putting in his room. It was my favorite decoration as a kid,too. It's held together with black tape around the middle, where it cracked apart one year.It's at least 46 years old.

(Grown-Up) Record of the Year

We bought disappointingly few non-kids' CDs this year, for a variety of reasons. But we got some good ones -- leaping to mind are Flaming Lips, Gourds, School for the Dead, Replacements (best-of), Arcade Fire, Spoon, Prince, Asobi Seksu, The Go! Team, Neko Case, Mates of State, Beck, etc. All good or great.

But yesterday, in anticipation of seeing them play this Friday, I finally got The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America.

Record of the year.

So very much not for your kids, and so very much not like almost anything we play on the show.

But oh, my, it's just about perfect.

(Also, how cool is it that they played in a high school?)

Yosi Asks Questions. We Answer.

You can see the results here.

Ella wasn't feeling chatty. I, apparently, was.

Food, coziness, and a good cause.

Check out friend-of-Spare-the-Rock-Kelli-Ann's entry to learn how you can be entered in a raffle for a bunch of yummy and/or cozy prizes, plus help reduce world hunger. Doesn't this look good?

When We Were Young...

...we didn't have this new-fangled "good" "music" by "musicians" like you whippersnappers have today.

Nope. We* had -- god help me, I'm telling the truth -- Muhammed Ali encouraging us to have good dental hygeine.

You should be glad for what you have. (And yes, I am, in fact, wearing a cardigan and considering telling some hooligans to get out of my yard, whether or not they are in my yard.)



*I do not, technically speaking, include myself in the plural pronoun, since I have never heard this before today. I just had dye-wielding gum-jabbing evil sadists dental hygenists urging me to brush and floss.

So, Bill, Who'd You Vote For Anyway?

My top ten, as submitted to the Fids & Kamily Awards:

1 (tie)
Frances England - Fascinating Creatures
Jellydots - Hey You Kids

3 (tie)
Audrarox - Audrarox
Justin Roberts - Meltdown!

5
Ginger Hendrix - Macaroni Boy Eats at Chez Shooby Doo

6 (tie)
Sippy Cups - Electric Storyland
Rebecca Frezza - Tall and Small
Dan Zanes - Catch That Train!

9
Baby Loves Jazz Band - Go Baby Go

10
Uncle Rock - Plays Well With Others

Ask me on any other given day, you'd probably get a different answer. I really liked the records by Elizabeth Mitchell, Brady Rymer, Charity and the JAMband, Wee Hairy Beasties, Enzo Garcia, Elizabeth Street, Eric Herman, Mary Kaye, Hipwaders, Yosi, Trout Fishing in America, Princess Katie & Racer Steve, and most of them were on various iterations of the list. The order in particular would vary by mood - today I'd probably put Ginger Hendrix up higher, despite her Night Ranger love (and attempts to blame it on her child), and I'd probably put the Baby Loves Jazz up some more too.

But you could certainly do a lot worse than buying those ten CDs. (Hey, I bet The Pokey Pup has 'em.)

December 9, 2006

With co-host Liam! Archive is here.

They Might Be Giants - They Might Be Giants (Flood)
Peter Himmelman - Feet (My Green Kite)
Josh Levine - Tiburon (Live at VFR)
Muppets - Christmas is Coming (John Denver & Muppets Christmas)
Erin Lee & Marcie - Snowdance (Snowdance)
Tracey Eldridge - I'm My Own Best Friend (Never Mind the Rain)
Charity & The JAMband - Whatcha Gonna Bring (Rock Your Socks Off)
--song ID
Little Miss Ann- Sing a Rainbow (Music for Tots)
Laura Freeman - Purple (Color Wheel Cartwheel)
Ben Rudnick - I Need a Hand (Emily Songs)
Mr. Richard - Airplane Jane (Might As Well Sing)
--song ID
Fountains of Wayne - Alien for Christmas (Out-of-State Plates)
Jingle Punx - Christmas in Hollis (It's What I Got In My Sack)
They Might Be Giants - Santa Claus (Holidayland)
Mr. "S" - My Dog Sings the ABC Song (Songs for Family, Friends & Frogs)
ScribbleMonster - I Wish I Lived in Michigan (A Curious Glimpse of Michigan)
Guided by Voices - Teenage FBI (Do the Collapse)
Folk Implosion - I'm Just a Bill
Sippy Cups - Snail Song (Electric Storyland!)
--legal ID
Yosi - On Top of Spaghetti (What's Eatin' Yosi?)
Mr. Ray - The Number Song (Songs from the Kids' Lounge)
--song ID
Guest DJ set from Ginger Hendrix (Don't have the list of songs at the studio - will fill in artists, etc., later):
Dan Zanes - Thrift Shop
Johnny Cash - I've Been Everywhere
Earth Wind & Fire - Shining Star
Elizabeth Mitchell - This Little Light of Mine
James Taylor - How Sweet It Is
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Ginger Hendrix - Funny Word Dictionary
Ivan Alls - Hot-ah Chocolat-ah
Night Ranger - Sister Christian (and this is where I emphasize that these songs were chosen by Ginger, not us. This will forever prove that we have no part of the song selection for guest DJ sets.)
Daniel Lanois - Under the Stormy Sky
Mambo Italiano
Doris Day - It Had to Be You
Louis Armstrong - Our Love Is Here to Stay
Happy Trails
--song ID
Tom Waits - Bend Down the Branches (For the Kids)
Trout Fishing in America - Alien in My Nose (My Best Day)
Elizabeth Street - Dragon for Dinner (Different)
Telephone Company - I Don't Want to Shop (The King's Surprise?)
Justin Roberts - More Than Just a Minute (Hear & Gone in 60 Seconds)
--song ID
They Might Be Giants - D is for Drums (Here Come the ABCs)

And the Nominees Are...

Best Musical Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly music or song vs. spoken word.)

a.. Baby Einstein Meet The Orchestra
Various Artists
Ted Kryczko & Ed Mitchell, producers
[Walt Disney Records]

b.. Beethoven's Wig 3: Many More Sing Along Symphonies
Beethoven's Wig
[Rounder]

c.. Catch That Train!
Dan Zanes And Friends
[Festival Five Records]

d.. My Best Day
Trout Fishing In America
[Trout Records]

e.. The Sunny Side Of The Street
John Lithgow
[Razor & Tie]

National Public Kids' Music Radio

Whoo-ah! Go, Stefan! He's on NPR!

Listen, enjoy, repeat.

(And welcome to folks who came here from Stefan's kind link to us in his welcome post. Look around and listen to some archives. I've written about some of the bands they mention in Minnesota Parent - here's a link to my columns there thus far - and will write about more of them in the next two columns, which cover the Fids & Kamily Awards, which I helped Stefan and Amy Davis put together.)

Playlist for 12-2-2006

Happy December!

Archive is here.

They Might Be Giants - House at the Top of the Tree
Little Miss Ann - Dance with Your Daddy (Little Miss Ann)
Big Al Carson with Lars Edegran & his Santa Claus Revelers - Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (New Orleans Christmas)
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - This Land is Your Land (Naturally)
Ella Fitzgerald - April in Paris (At Newport)
Baby Loves Jazz Band - ABC (Baby Loves Jazz)
Henslee & Kenslee - Wiggly Biggly Toes (Wiggly Biggly Toes)
Mrs. Dorothy & Her Traveling Shaky Egg Band - The Wiggly Wobbly Flippity Floppity Loose Tooth (Bluegrass?)
--song ID
Leonardo - Tools (Makin' Lemonade)
Wee Hairy Beasties - Ragtime Duck (Animal Crackers)
Mary Kaye - B.B. Dickinson (Spin Your Web)
Ginger Hendrix - Riding My Pony (Macaroni Boy...)
--song ID
REM & Muppet Rocker - Shiny Happy People (Furry Happy Monsters) (Songs from the Street)
Deedle Deedle Dees - Tantrum (forthcoming album)
Music for Aardvarks - Big Boom Whacker (Taxi)
Terri Hendrix - Nerves (Celebrate the Difference)
ScribbleMonster & Pals - Superhealthy
Hipwaders - Twitchy (s/t)
--legal & song ID
--Frances England guest set:
They Might Be Giants - Alphabet of Nations (Here Come the ABCs)
M. Ward - Helicopter (Transfiguration of Vincent O'Brien)
Purple Stripes - What if I Told You
Monkees - Gonna Buy Me A Dog
Ramones - Spiderman
Talking Heads - Stay Up Late
REM - Stand
Libertines - What Katie Did
Lunch Money - Silly Reflection
Billy Bragg & Wilco - My Flying Saucer (Mermaid Ave. Vol. II)
Folksmen - Old Joe's Place
Bill Monroe - Y'all Come
Sleepy Jackson - Old Dirt Father
Elizabeth Mitchell - John the Rabbit
Cab Calloway - Everybody Eats When they Come to My House
Ralph's World - Coffee Song
Jack Johnson - The 3 Rs
Yo La Tengo - Speedy Motorcycle
Frances England - Fascinating Creatures
Death By Chocolate - If You Want to Sing Out
--break
--interview with Frances England
Jingle Punx - Chanakua
They Might Be Giants - Four of Two (No!)

Mysteries, Mysteries

I don't want to name names, but sometime in the next couple of months, we'll have a guest DJ set from someone who hits things in a percussive way in a band whose name rhymes with Bay Fight Me Clients. (Hopefully the song from the same band will arrive at some point too.)

Also soon: AudraRox in an excellent guest DJ set.

Tomorrow: Frances England. The next week: Ginger Hendrix. The following week: Moo Cow Fan Club. Then a holiday music week. Then ScribbleMonster guest hosting the whole show. A couple weeks later, Elizabeth Street live in-studio. Then Eric Herman guest DJing. And February 3, Gustafer Yellowgold live at Flywheel.

Wow.

If you can't make it to the Hog Drop...

There will be a terrific New Year's Eve show at the Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan, with Hayes Greenfield's Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz headlining and support from Gustafer Yellowgold and Talking Feet.

The party starts at noon and runs until 3 PM. Tickets are $20 at the door. It's part of the Bowery Kids series.