Listen any time at our page at WRSI.com!

Segment 1
TMBG – It’s Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG – Where Do They Make Balloons?
Lunch Money – It Only Takes One Night to Make a Balloon Your Friend
Courtney Kaiser & Benjamin Cartel – The Season Song
ID
Laura Doherty – Shining Like a Star
Frances England – Tugboat
ID

Segment 2
Gruff Rhys – Painting People Blue
Laura Veirs – Little Lap-Dog Lullaby
ID/prep to rock
TMBG – Don’t Spare the Rock!
Ramones – Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?
The Not-Its! – B.A.T.H.
Billy Bragg – The Beach Is Free
ID
Uncle Rock – Rock & Roll Babysitter

Segments 3-5
Guest DJ set from Todd McHatton:

Set 3
Poli High-Harry Nilsson
I Love To See You Smile-Randy Newman
Your Mother Should Know-The Beatles
Pure Imagination-Gene Wilder
Daybreak-Barry Manilow

Set 4
ScribbleMonster – Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
Morning Morgantown-Joni Mitchell
Lemonade School-David Tobocman
Big Wheel-The Pop Ups
Love Bubble-Mista Cookie Jar
Take Me Up-Pete

Set 5
I Think I’m a Bunny-Todd McHatton
Ramblin’ Guy-Steve Martin
If You Want To Sing Out-Cat Stevens
Lidsville Theme-Sid & Marty Krofft
Happy Together-The Turtles
The Puppy Song-Harry Nilsson
Smiling’s My Favorite-Todd McHatton
The Magic Store-The Muppets

Segment 6
ID
Deedle Deedle Dees – Ah, Ahisma (Strange Dees Indeed)
Byrds – Mr. Spaceman
David & Jad Fair – Full Sized Candy Bars
ID
Talking Heads – (Nothing But) Flowers
ID
They Might Be Giants – Four of Two
TMBG – Spare the Rock

First, I’m thrilled to announce that Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti has now raised over $35,000 for the Haitian People’s Support Project!  Wow!

Second, you have another chance to help out and get some great music for your family.  Todd McHatton is guest DJing this week on Spare the Rock and he’s offered to donate every penny he gets from digital sales of his new record this week to the Haitian People’s Support Project.  Go get it at his BandCamp page and buy it for any amount — and all of it will go help HPSP!  That’s awesome.

(And the CD is really good, too!)

Listen on demand at our page at WRSI.com!

Segment 1
TMBG – It’s Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG – Whistling in the Dark
Andrew Bird – Bein’ Green
The Plants – Wandering Free
ID
Natalie Merchant – Topsyturvey World

Segment 2
Keller Williams – Car Seat
John & Mark – The Elephant Leads the Way
ID/prep to rock
TMBG – Don’t Spare the Rock
Doc Dauer (feat. Liz Phair) – We’re All Big Fans of Glands
The Board of Education – 8 Is A Number
ID
Replacements – Cruella de Ville

Segment 3
Sippy Cups – Time Machine
XTC – Season Cycle
ID
Egg – I Like Fruit
Mike Park – Animal Park
Lunch Money – Come Over To My Dollhouse
ID

Segment 4
Scribblemonster – Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Deedle Deedle Dees – Marie Curie premiere
Gustafer Yellowgold – Penguin Day
ID
Van Morrison – Cleaning Windows
Papa Crow – That’s the Life For Me
ID

Segment 5
Nikolai Moderbacher – A Good Good Time
Fishbone – Everyday Sunshine
ID
Justin Roberts – Backyard Super Kid
Derek Miller – Music is the Medicine
ID
Mister Richard – 5 Second Rule

Segment 6
Bruce Hornsby & Ricky Scaggs – The Dreaded Spoon
Alastair Moock w/ Mark Erelli – Ladybugs’ Picnic
ID
Ambrosia Parsley – Everybody Came
Joe McDermott – Everybody Plays Air Guitar
Waco Brothers – The Fox
ID
TMBG – John Lee Supertaster
TMBG – Spare the Rock

My life is particularly complicated right now, but I didn’t want to let the release date of Dan Zanes’s new record, Little Nut Tree, go by without at least a quick mention.

When asked about what makes for great family music, my answer is often centered on genuineness — the sense, as I said last week,  that the artists “are doing the only thing that they could possibly be doing” in performing music for families.  That has always been the fundamental appeal of Zanes’s music.  It’s not gimmicky or particularly complex (though there’s more going on musically than might meet the ear), but it is simply real.  The guests don’t feel like they were chosen strategically, but instead because they were right for the song (or maybe the songs are picked as being right for the artists).  The production isn’t flashy, but instead gets out of the way of the songs and the musicians.  When he’s had missteps (76 Trombones, say) it’s not because the CDs are bad — they just don’t feel like they were organic.  But those missteps are rare; the vast bulk of his family discography simply feels right.  And real.  And sincere.

Little Nut Tree continues that tradition of genuineness.  It’s just plain terrific.

Listen on demand at our page at WRSI.com!

Segment 1
TMBG – It’s Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG – I Can Hear You
Caspar Babypants – Spider John
Harmonica Pocket – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
ID
Dean Jones – Baby In My pcoket
Lunch Money – You and Me and a Bottle of Bubbles
ID

Segment 2
Cat & a Bird – Cat & a Bird
Bob Marley – Three Little Birds
ID/prep to rock
TMBG – Don’t Spare the Rock!
Spoon – Underdog
Deedle Deedle Dees – Teddy Days
ID

Segment 3
Todd McHatton – Don’t Stop It Won’t Pop
Ozomatli – Can’t Stop
ID
Ethan Rossiter & the Hartwells – Jamberry
Rhythm Child – Bowl of Cherries
ID
Charity & the JAMband – Beach

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster – Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Frances England – Charlie Parker
John Coltrane – My Favorite Things
Baby Loves Jazz – The Scat Song
Miles Davis – Bye, Bye Blackbird
ID
CandyBand – Blackbird

Segment 5
Mister G in-studio

Segment 6
Alastair Moock (w/ Anand Nayak) – Born to Dance
Sly & the Family Stone – Dance to the Music
ID/Book Time With Ella (Howl’s Moving Castle)
Jonathan Coulton – Princess Who Saved Herself
Jimmies – Every Day’s a Holiday
ID
TMBG – The Sun is a Mass of Incadescent Gas (Live)
TMBG – Spare the Rock

Listen any time at our page at WRSI.com!

Segment 1
TMBG – It’s Spare the Rock
-Ella ID
TMBG – New York City
Kimya Dawson – Happy Home (Keep On Writing)
Nick Cope – Grow Grow Grow
ID
Ella Fitzgerald – Don’t Fence Me In
Sweet Honey In The Rock – Shoo Fly
ID
Alastair Moock – Three Like Me

Segment 2
Weezer & Hayley Williams – Rainbow Connection
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World
ID/prep to rock
TMBG – Don’t Spare the Rock
Frank Turner – I Still Believe
ScribbleMonster – Stop!
ID

Segment 3
Royal Order of Chords & Keys In-Studio repeat

Segment 4
ScribbleMonster – Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child
ID
Mike Doughty – 27 Jennifers
Chip Taylor & the Grandkids – I’m Just Thinkin’ About What I’m Thinkin’ About
ID
Troggs – Wild Thing
Frances England – I Scream, You Scream
Billy Kelly – It’s Close Enough
ID
Segment 5
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – Speak the Truth
ID
Dramarama – What Are We Gonna Do?
Dean Jones – Little By Little
ID
Yosi & the Superdads – Wake Up!
The Not-Its! – Freeze Tag
ID
Dressy Bessy – Electrified

Segment 6
Justin Roberts – She’s a Yellow Reflector
Dirty Dozen Brass Band – Feet Can’t Fail Me Now
ID
Bunny Clogs – Olive’s Olives
ID
TMBG – Sensurround
TMBG – Spare the Rock

Today (Saturday, September 17) at 1:00, it’s the Royal Order of Chords and Keys kicking off our yearly series at the Eric Carle Museum!  Tickets are just $6 at the door, and the show benefits the tremendous work of the Northampton Community Music Center.  Note that ticket purchase doesn’t include museum admission — but you can go to the concert without going to the museum too.

Here they are, rocking out on a warmer day in 2010:

We’ll present their in-studio from 2010 in an encore presentation on the radio this morning, too.