The Deedle Deedle Dees Show

The flyer for the show is here (PDF). Feel free to print out dozens and distribute them to everyone you know, even if you live in another state or country.

Kidzapalooza Lineup

...is up. Kids' stuff:

School of Rock All Stars
Peter DiStefano & Perry Farrell
Hipwaders
Peter Himmelman
Sippy Cups
Wee Hairy Beasties
CandyBand
Q Brothers
Blisters
Rock for Kids Youth Jam Band
Alvin Ailey Dance Show
John Yost's Rhythm Revolution

We'll be there in one form or another, talking to bands backstage and so on.

Sweet.

Playlist for 6-2-07

Again I blow your mind by posting a show two days early.

Thanks to Mr. Richard for guest hosting! I think you'll agree that it's a terrific show. You can listen to the archive here.

They Might Be Giants - Fibber Island (No!)
Dan Zanes - Fine Friends Are Here (Catch That Train!)
Lunch Money - Tricycle (Silly Reflection)
Jack Johnson w/G.Love - Jungle Gym (Curious George)
Frente - Open Up Your Heart (Saturday Morning)
Ray Stevens - Harry the Hairy Ape (All-Time Hits)
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Memphis Exorcism (Hot)
--song ID; Cup & Top plug
Ben Kweller - How It Should Be (Sha Sha)
Terrible Twos - If You Ever See An Owl (If You Ever See An Owl...)
Ralph’s World - Belly Button (Happy Lemons)
Peter Alsop - Yeech! (Wha’ D’Ya Wanna Do?)
Mr. Richard - Bananas (Unreleased)
--song ID; self-interview
Are You Prepared To Rock...
Young Fresh Fellows - Picture Book (This One’s For the Ladies...)
Dead Milkmen - Guitar Song (Beelzebubba)
Dick Dale - Night Rider (King Of The Surf Guitar)
Jellydots - Race Cars Go (Hey You Kids)
Redd Kross - Bubblegum Factory (Third Eye)
Jack, Mary & Mel - Music Is The Best (Jack’s Big Music Show)
Fountains Of Wayne - Better Things (This Is Where I Belong)
--Song ID
--Show ID
Girls Gotta Rock...
Snark-A-Snoops - Rock Rock (Science Situation)
Liz Phair/Material Issue - Tra La La Song (Saturday Morning)
Shonen Knife - Flying Jelly Attack (Let’s Knife)
Go-Go’s - Head Over Heels (Talk Show)
Ellen & Matt - Juice Box Rock (Best Friends)
Song ID
Imagination Movers - What’s In The Fridge? (Calling All Movers)
Tom Lehrer - The Elements (The Remains of Tom Lehrer)
Henry Mancini - A Shot In The Dark (The Ultimate Pink Panther)
Tom Paxton - A Bull Named Bob (Your Shoes, My Shoes)
Simon & Garfunkel - 59th Street Bridge Song (Live In New York 1967)
Greg Brown - Flabbergabble (Bathtub Blues)
Spare The Rock - Mr Richard
--Song ID
Four From Florida...
Toxic Audio - Coconut (Word Of Mouth)
Mr. Richard - Sammy Snake (Might As Well Sing)
Jack Hartmann - Sticky Glue (Getting Better Getting Along)
Shana Banana - Troubles Are Like Bubbles (Song In My Pocket)
--Song ID; Cup & Top plug
Slim Gaillard - Chicken Ranch (Super-Size Me)
The Nightcrawlers - Little Black Egg (Nuggets Volume I)
Hot Peas N’ Butter - Deep Down (Mo Hotta Mo Butta)
The Dillards - Dooley (Appalachian Stomp)
--Song ID
They Might Be Giants - Experimental Film (The Spine)

New Column

...is up at Hilltown Families. Each time I read it, I remember other compilations that should have at least made it on the "also check out" list at the end -- Arts Against Autism, Saturday Morning Cartoons Greatest Hits, and so on. Oh well.

An Amazing Few Weeks Coming Up...

Check it out:

This Saturday (June 2), Mr. Richard is guest hosting and playing at Cup & Top Cafe. The guest hosting is a hoot.

The following Saturday (June 9), ScribbleJim is guest hosting with his ScribbleMom, and it's awesome and hilarious.

The week after that (on June 16), we've got a guest DJ set from Tito from the Hipwaders, some portion of the Deedle Deedle Dees live in-studio, Ulysses S. Dee playing live at Cup & Top, and the full band laying at Artifacts 20th Century in Florence.

And if anyone's going to be at the Animal Playground show at the Children's Museum in St. Paul, Minnesota, send me an e-mail (show AT sparetherock DOT com) and we can meet up.

Playlist for 5/26/07

Some computer errors, so there's a little burp around 90 minutes in, and no opening ID...gotta figure out why it keeps crashing.

Archive is here.

Legal ID (8:00)
They Might Be Giants - It's Spare the Rock
They Might Be Giants - James K. Polk (Factory Showroom)
Deedle Deedle Dees - Teddy Days (Freedom in a Box)
Deedle Deedle Dees - Nellie Bly (Freedom in a Box)
Randy Kaplan - Shampoo Me (live at Jalopy)
Omara Portuondo - Guantanamera (Latin Playground)
--song ID
Mr. Richard - Gimme Back My Toes (Tummy Talk)
Wee Hairy Beasties - Animal Crackers (Animal Playground)
Miles Davis - Godchild (Birth of the Cool)
Samuel L. Jackson - Knowa' the Cat (A World of Happiness)
Arts*Cetera - The Hide and Seek Crowd (Sing, Shout & Clap!)
Little Miss Ann - Dance with Your Daddy (Music for Tots)
--song ID (Aric second half of the show)
Mudhoney - I Like to Make Noise and Break Things (Play)
Bob Mould - Compositions for the Young and Old (Workbook)
Ralph's World - Playground (Amazing Adventures...)
John Carlin - Eliza (Live at Jalopy)
Monty Harper w/ Scribblemonster - Get a Clue (Get a Clue)
CandyBand - Eenie Meenie Song (Calling All Kids)
Jim Noir - Eanie Meanie (Fatboy Slim Remix)
--legal ID (9:02)
Scribblemonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
--song ID
Average White Band - Pick Up the Pieces
Frances England - Charlie Parker (Fascinating Creatures)
--Aric Beigenak in-studio
Officer Bob
Pizza Song
Sharp Cookies - Rathputin the Rattlethnake (Muddy Water Beaver Dam Band)
Steve Weeks - Rabbit Run (Alphabet Songs Vol. III)
Charity & the JAMband - Jump into the Middle (Rock Your Socks Off)
Lesley Gore - Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows
George Carver - Jungle Swingers (Down at the Zoo)
Quiet Ones - Polar Bear (Make Some Noise)
Ticklefish - Backyard Safari (Icky Sticky)
Dan Zanes - Wonder Wheel (Family Dance)
Elizabeth Mitchell - Three Little Birds (You Are My Little Bird)
Connie Kaldor - If You Love a Hippopotamus (Duck in NYC)
Justin Roberts - Maybe the Monster (Meltdown!)
--song ID
They Might Be Giants - Dr. Worm (Severe Tire Damage)

A Couple of Updates

On June 16, Ulysses S. Dee will be doing a morning singalong at Cup & Top (in addition to the 6:00 pm full band show at Artifacts). These are very different shows, so you should go to both.

Also, go check out Sienna's detailed pitch for the Uncle Rock show later this summer.

Both will rawk.

2007-05-19 Playlist

Thanks to Sienna for filling in so ably!

Archive is here.

They Might Be Giants - Where Do They Make Balloons?
Milkshake - Go Wild
Milkshake - We Got A Band
- song id
Uncle Rock - Rock & Roll Babysitter
Steve Weeks - Look, Look!
Bullseye - Mick Jagger's Birthday Bash
Sweet - Little Willy
Sweet - The Ballroom Blitz
Uncle Rock - Sugar Talkin'
- song id
AudraRox - All My Toys Are Broken
Ben Rudnick & Friends - Grace's Bell
The Candy Band - Spiderman
Super Heros Invasion - Spiderman
Snake Oil Medicine Show - Fish and Chips
Cake - Mahna Mahna
- song id
Laurie Berkner - Bumblebee
Miz "b" - I'm in Love
Billy Costello - I'm Popeye the Sailor-Man
Timmy Abell - Sailor's Hornpipe
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock
- song id
Buckwheat Zydeco - Zydeco Honky Tonk
Buckwheat Zydeco - On A Night Like This
David Weinstone - Big Boom Whacker
Dan Zanes - Wonderwheel
- song id
Dizzy Gillespie with Joe Carroll - The Umbrella Man
Taj Mahal - Brown Girl in the Ring
Justin Roberts - More Than Just a Minute
Justin Roberts - Meltdown
- song id
Michelle Shocked - See the Sea
Michelle Shocked - got No Strings
Malvina Reynolds - Little Boxes
The Nields - Anna, Kick A Hole in the Sky
Recess Monkey - Trading Squirrels
Randy Kaplan - Mosquito Song
David Weinstone - Race Ya to the Corner
One Riot One Ranger - Hinky Dinky Dee
Justin Roberts - It's Your Birthday
- song id
Elizabeth Mitchell - Little Liza Jane
Elizabeth Mitchell - What Goes On
Enzo Garcia - Jim Along Josie

The Shame of Daddy Begins

So I'm driving Liam home from preschool and we're listening to the Marty Beller guest DJ set from a few months back. Katrina & the Waves comes on and, as I believe I am legally and ethically obligated to do, I start singing along with the sorta brassy tune part -- "Bap! Badadadadada bop bop bop ba doo!" (rough transliteration there).

Liam, very politely from the back seat:

"Daddy, could you please not sing along?"

Ouch.

Deedle Deedle Details

June 16 - now 6 p.m. (not 5).

It'll be at Artifacts 20th Century, the very cool space in the old Ross Brothers building in Florence. Go here to see a picture of the space. Except now it's got photos from Punk Love, including some amazing pictures of Henry Rollins. It's gonna be cool.

$5 per person except for infants, proceeds to Flywheel and to stipends for public interest work by students at Western New England College School of Law. We'll have some snacky stuff there, but try to eat before you come.

Tell everyone you know. If you haven't seen the Dees before, you're required to come see them. If you have seen them before, you know you need to see them again.

Prepare to Get Your History On

Deedle Deedle Dees.

Live in Northampton.

June 16. Probably 5-7 pm. Probably a new and very very cool venue.

Benefit for Flywheel and (probably) for public interest law student stipends.

Details to come. Mark your calendar.

Oz Songs

(Wizard of Oz Oz, not HBO violent Oz.)

So today is L. Frank Baum's birthday.

Why aren't there more Wizard of Oz kids' songs? Or are there, and I just can't think of them? (I mean besides the ones on the soundtrack to the movie.)

2007-05-12 Playlist

My, how massively rawking that CandyBand guest DJ set was.

Archive is here.

-legal ID (8:00)
They Might Be Giants - It's Spare the Rock
They Might Be Giants - Stalk of Wheat
Elizabeth Mitchell - Little Bird Hops
Bill Harley - 50 Ways to Fool Your Mother (Play it Again)
Brady Rymer - Mama Hug (Every Day is a Birthday)
Little Nashville - Like Mommy and Daddy (Little Nahsville)
AudraRox - Moms & Dads (Park Slope Parents)
Ginger Hendrix - Mommy, She Loves Me (Live) (Macaroni Boy Eats at Chez Shooby Doo)
-song ID
-TMBG Interview
XTC - Season Cycle
Adam & the Ants - Antmusic
They Might Be Giants - XTC vs. Adam Ant (Factory Showroom)
RTTs - Turn It Up Mommy! (Turn It Up Mommy!)
Soccer Team - I'll Never Fear Ghosts Again (Play)
Lunch Money - Cookie as Big as My Head (Pizza Hummus Zucchini - Live at Flywheel)
Recess Monkey - The Rabbits (Aminal House)
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
-legal ID
-Candy Band Guest DJ Set:
Buzzcocks - Everybody's Happy Nowadays
CandyBand - Get Up Already
B52s - Roam
Hard Lessons - Alright
Frank Sinatra - Fly Me To the Moon
Gemini - Pizza Pie
CandyBand - Ken Lost His Head
CandyBand - Birthday
Wolfmother - Joker & Thief
-interview with Almond Joy
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
CandyBand - Rock Paper Scissors
-song ID
I'm From Barcelona - Treehouse
Baby Loves Jazz - Go Baby Go (Baby Loves Jazz)
Mocean Worker - Right Now
-song ID
They Might Be Giants - Spare the Rock
They Might Be Giants - Alphabet of Nations

AKL Lineup

(That's Austin Kiddie Limits, part of the Austin City Limits Festival.)

September in Austin can be brutally hot. But it's also going to include some great kids music -- Sippy Cups, Jelly Dots, Farmer Jason, Bummkinn Band, and others. And the grownup lineup has, well, several dozen great artists as well.

We might be down there.

Might.

Video, Video, Video

While you wait patiently for me to finish editing the Brooklyn show (right now I'm looking at 85+ exams to grade, so it may be a bit), you can enjoy some video.

The first batch is courtesy of Gwyneth:

AudraRox:


ScribbleJim:


John Carlin:


Rebecca Frezza:


Dan Schorr:


Randy Kaplan:


And now some from Sienna:

Princess Katie & Racer Steve:


Marty Beller (of TMBG) and members of AudraRox + Josh Levine:


Ernie & Neal:


And finally, one that's not from the Hootenanny at all but is still a bunch of fun - the new Putumayo video from Animal Playground, featuring Asheba (who we'll have in-studio in June, by the way):

A couple of links and a big ol' announcement

I've been remiss and didn't note two reports on our recent Princess Katie & Racer Steve performance at Cup & Top. Princess Katie herself posted about it, and Sienna also has a review and some great pictures.

And -- here I've been really lame in failing to announce it until now -- Uncle Rock is returning! HilltownFamilies.org and we are bringing him:

July 28th, 2007 @ 10 a.m.
at the Children's Art Museum in Shelburne Falls, MA.
Call to reserve your tickets!
413.296.0096.

(Unfortunately, we may be out of town that day. But you should all go.)

Also, save June 16 on your calendar. Not quite ready to officially announce what we will probably have that day, but you'll want to be there.

I'm Not Really Sure "Come Out and Play" is Kid-Friendly

Oh, it's Offsprung, not the Offspring.

And Stefan and Amy are both over there. Check 'em out!

Ever Wanted to Test TMBG's Knowledge of Historical Figures?

Well, Ella did, and so, along with the more traditional interview questions, the Johns get quizzed about people Ella read about recently.

You can hear the full interview here. Assuming I find time between now and Saturday, I'll edit it down some - this version is about 20 minutes! - but if you want to hear it in all its glory, enjoy. And again, pictures are here.

That Was Pretty Awesome.

Ella did a great job of interviewing the band. A few more pictures from our chat are here. We'll play the interview next week.

Both shows were excellent. As they suggested/threatened during the first show, the second show's set list was the first show's set list, reversed, all the way down to starting with the second encore, saying "Thanks! Good night!", then the first encore, then all the way to the first song. Strangely, it worked. Lots of new songs from the new album, which promises to be very good.

And I was lucky enough to hang out with the band for an hour or so afterwards, which was a lot of fun.

All in all: pretty awesome day.

Hooray!

The computer worked all the way through; today's show will be up soon.

Other good things:

(A) I just got back from a conference here, and it is just beautiful there.

(B) While at that conference, I got to meet Patricia Williams, one of my favorite columnists at one of my favorite magazines.

(C) We get to interview They Might Be Giants this afternoon! Here's what Ella looked like with Flansburgh quite a while ago:



(Click on the image for the full-size picture.)

(D) After the interview, I'll get to see TMBG. Twice!

(E) We have lovely visitors in town for the weekend.

(F) I am done teaching until August. (There's the pesky thing of 85 exams to grade, but I'm ignoring those for the day.)

Playlist for 5/5/07

Archive is here. Rock on!

Legal ID (7:59)
They Might Be Giants - It's Spare the Rock
They Might Be Giants - House at the Top of the Tree (No!)
Elizabeth Mitchell - Winter's Come and Gone (You Are My Little Bird)
Courtney Kaiser & Benjamin Cartel - The Season Song (Park Slope Parents)
Michael Jackson - Rockin' Robin
Hot Peas 'n' Butter - I'm So Glad I'm Here (Mo Hotta Mo Butta)
-song ID
Ska Cubano - Chispa Tren (Latin Playground)
Opus Ditty - I Think You're Lucky (Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child Live at Jalopy)
Seth Decker & the Missing Piece - Seasons Change (Intergalactic Tour)
Smart Cookies - Ella Gorilla (Muddy Water Beaver Dam Band)
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke (The Definitive Collection)
-song ID
Dick Dale - Miserlou
Marty Beller & AudraRox - D is for Drums (Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child Live at Jalopy)
Deedle Deedle Dees - Drum! (Freedom in a Box)
Sippy Cups - Springtime Fantastic (Electric Storyland)
Danny Adlerman - The Veggie Song (Listen Up!)
The Hold Steady - Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Belly - Feed the Tree (Star)
Muckafurgason - Dictionary
ScribbleMonster - Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
--legal ID (9:01)
White Stripes - We Are Going to be Friends (White Blood Cells)
School for the Dead - Ayla (The New You)
Enzo Garcia - Hold My Hand (LMNO Music)
Little Nashville - Turkey in the Straw
Asylum Street Spankers - Boogers (Mommy Says No!)
Hollow Trees - Forest Melody (Hollow Trees)
Hullabaloo - All of These Things (Sing Along with Sam)
Wee Hairy Beasties - Cyril the Karaoke Squirrel (Animal Crackers)
Steve Lee - Count 210 (What Did You Do Today Stephen Scott Lee?)
Young Fresh Fellows - Picnic (Play)
Hipwaders - I Like Summertime
-song ID
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - This Land is Your Land
Earth Wind & Fire - Shining Star
Replacements - Cruella de Ville
Polyphonic Spree - Reach for the Sun
Ralph's World - Hideaway (Green Gorilla, Monster & Me)
Fountains of Wayne - Peace and Love (Welcome Interstate Managers)
-song ID
They Might Be Giants - Spare the Rock
They Might Be Giants - The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)

Summertime, and the Writing of Columns Is, If Not Easy, Enjoyable

My new Little Rock Family column is up here, all about good summertime music. And my column about family music from artists of color is in the current Minnesota Parent.