2025-08-24 playlist & stream

Aug 24

1st set

They Might Be Giants – It’s Spare the Rock

ID

They Might Be Giants – No!

Asylum Street Spankers – Mommy Says No!

Princess Backpack and Benjamin – No (new)

ID

Todd ’n’ Tina – I Am Strong! (new)

Marshall from Tumble – There Are Eight Planets in the Solar System (new)

ID

Vince Guaraldi – Motocross

[WJFF – The Boogers – Eat Your Vegetables

[KUTX – Michael Hearst – Flying Cathedral

[WFNU –

2nd set

Ella Jenkins – Head and Shoulder

ID/prep to rock 

They Might Be Giants – Don’t Spare the Rock

ID

Bug Friend – Letter B (new)

Rolie Polie Guacamole – Unplug the World (new)

Teacher Peter – Just Breathe (new)

Pears 4 Bears – Peanut Butter Sandwiches 

ID

3rd set

Pianosaurus – Back to School

Lucky Diaz – El Sol Teseg a

Divinity Roxx – Ready, Set, Go!

ID

The Dinosaur’s Skin – In My Dreams (You’re Not Extinct)

Mocean Worker – Yay Yay Yay (new)

Twinkle Time – A Superhero (new)

Tim & the Space Cadets – Superhero

ID 

They Might Be Giants – Science is Real

They Might Be Giants – Spare the Rock

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2025-08-17 playlist & stream

Aug 17

1st set

They Might Be Giants – It’s Spare the Rock

ID

They Might Be Giants – Apartment Four

Lunch Money – You Were a Basket of Flowers

ID

Frances England – Tricycle

Ella Fitzgerald – Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer

SaulPaul – Rise (live at Studio 1A)

Gustafer Yellowgold – Gravy Insane (in-studio)

ID

The Submarines – Swimming Pool (in-studio)

[WJFF – Jeremy Messersmith – We All Do Better When We All Do Better

2nd set

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World

ID/prep to rock 

They Might Be Giants – Don’t Spare the Rock

ID

The Fastbacks – One Of These Things

Fountains of Wayne – Laser Show

Folk Implosion – I’m Just a Bill

Deedle Deedle Dees – Little Red Airplane

ID

3rd set

Gentle Hen – Beautiful Day in the Wood

Quiet Company – At the First Sonogram

ID

Craig Finn – Forever Young (in-studio)

Jeffrey Lewis – Time Trades

Elizabeth Mitchell – I Wish You Well 

ID 

They Might Be Giants – One Everything

They Might Be Giants – Spare the Rock

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More birthday greetings

Aug 15

We received a lovely note from New England listeners:

Hi Bill,

Happy birthday and congratulations on 20 years of Spare the Rock!

My son and I started listening to your show in 2022. I was commuting 40 minutes to work each way and my son was in preschool on the campus where I worked. Spending 80 minutes in the car, five times a week with a 3-year-old was NOT one of my best thought-out plans, but it meant that in my desperate search for music to listen to on the drive, I found Spare the Rock, and it was the best thing to come out of that year of driving back and forth. 

He quickly latched on to “The World’s on Fire (and we still fall in love),” and it was amazing to hear him recognize when you’d say, “We’ve got some Parker Woodland coming up…” He’d go, “Parker Woodland! My favorite!” It’s still his all-time favorite, and at the top of his playlist. It’s been amazing to see him develop his own taste in music. He also loves Candy Band, Lunch Money, OKGo, and the album of David Bowie covers. His first live music experience was seeing Jazzy Ash at Wolf Trap, and he was big-time disappointed that she saved “Be Outside” for the last number– a learning moment about concerts, for sure!

I also love that your show is the musical equivalent of #weneeddiversebooks. Our local libraries are great at providing books that show kids of all cultures, skin tones, body shapes, and family configurations, and Spare the Rock helps me do that with the music he listens to, both in terms of topics/content as well as styles and genres of music. Although it did once get me into the situation of trying to explain the glass ceiling when he was only 4!

So my kid was happy and engaged in the car, which is a great win for me as a mom, but I have to say that Spare the Rock brought me back the joy of discovering new music and the serendipity of hearing old favorites. It’s just so wonderful to hear a song about dichotomous keys or chocolate milk alongside the likes of Soul Coughing or the Be Good Tanyas. Many times I’d start my work day by going to the website to investigate your playlists and track down a new artist or a song I recognized but never knew the name of. 

So thank you, thank you, thank you. Even though we’re relative newcomers to your 20-year run, there’s so much more I could say about what Spare the Rock has meant to our family. I hope it brings you as much joy as it gives us.

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2025-08-10 playlist & stream

Aug 10

1st set

They Might Be Giants – It’s Spare the Rock

ID

They Might Be Giants – Doctor Worm (feat. Other Thing Brass Band)

Laurie Berkner – Victor Vito

[Lovelace 20]

Josh Lovelace – Climb a Tree

ID

Milkshake – Happy Song

Kelly Hogan – Señor El Gato

ID

Joe McDermott – My Cat Can Fly

[WJFF – Jad Fair – Inky & Winky etc. (in-studio) 

[KUTX – Michael Hearst – Handcar 

[WFNU –

2nd set

Sweet Honey in the Rock – Shoo Fly – Don’t Bother Me

ID/prep to rock 

They Might Be Giants – Don’t Spare the Rock

ID

CandyBand – Get Up Already

Shonen Knife – Frogphobia

The Replacements – Buck Hill

Carl Kasell bumper

Skankin’ Pickle – Onyonghasayo

Suburbs – Cows

ID

3rd set

[Cactus 20]

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – I Gotta Be Me

Justin Roberts – In The Car

ID

Sara Hickman – Radiation Man

Alejandro Escovedo – Sad And Dreamy (the Big 1-0)

ID

[Liam 20]

They Might Be Giants – Particle Man (Other Thing Brass Band version)

They Might Be Giants – Spare the Rock

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2025-08-03 playlist & stream

Aug 03

1st set

They Might Be Giants – It’s Spare the Rock

ID

They Might Be Giants – I Can Add

[Brandi 20

[Joanie 20

Joanie Leeds & Joya – Curious (new)

ID

[Pierce 20

Pierce Freelon & Nnenna Freelon – ABC You a G feat. Stella

[Pop Ups 20

The Pop Ups – Outside Inside

ID

Dan & Claudia Zanes – Long Hot Summer Nights

[Zanes 20

[WJFF – Red Yarn ft. 123 Andres – I Hear America Singing

[KUTX – Lyle Lovett – Bears

[WFNU – The Deedle Deedle Dees – Zora

2nd set

[Terry HPSP 20

Elizabeth Mitchell – Bright Morning Star

ID/prep to rock 

They Might Be Giants – Don’t Spare the Rock

ID

CandyBand – Godzilla/Iron Man

[Parker Woodland 20

Parker Woodland – The World’s On Fire (And We Still Fall In Love)

[Gene Davis 20

The Que Pastas – Common Denominator

[Justin 20

Justin Roberts – Better Day Than Saturday (new)

ID

3rd set

Madness – Our House

Marshall from Tumble – Sometimes Butt (new)

ID

Brady Rymer – Sunny Side Up (new)

[Divinity Roxx 20

Divinity Roxx – LOL Laugh Out Loud

[Mega Ran 20 

Mega Ran – Good Morning (new)

ID

They Might Be Giants – Nonagon

They Might Be Giants – Spare the Rock

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A birthday greeting from Jeff Giles

Aug 01

Jeff Giles has been a friend of mine for a very long time now—as he notes below, it’s been a long time since he stopped away from doing anything related to family music, but the friendship has remained. He’s also the mind behind and coproducer of Keep Hoping Machine Running, a fantastic Woody Guthrie tribute record on my little label. And he’s a fantastic writer and you should all subscribe to his blog right now. Thanks to him for these kind words:

Like a lot of people, I largely stopped listening to the radio at some point in the ’90s, driven away by a combination of factors that included focus-grouped playlists, rampant consolidation across the dial, and the increased portability of my own music library. Much as it pains me to admit it to anyone reading this, I haven’t really missed it much; when presented with the choice between listening to whatever I choose or subjecting myself to an ad-supported concentric circle, there are usually perilously few reasons to opt for the latter.

That has everything to do with the current state of radio, however, and nothing at all to do with the magic of the medium. At its best, radio has always had a wonderful ability to connect us, and in the small pockets where program directors and DJs are still free to follow their muse, that still holds true — perhaps more than ever. There’s a reason that DSPs keep experimenting with “AI” “DJs,” and that reason is this: Even in the era of infinite streaming playlists, there’s still nothing like being guided to new musical frontiers by a friendly, knowledgeable voice.

“A friendly, knowledgeable voice” is as good a phrase as any to describe Bill Childs. The driving force behind Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, Bill is just as delightfully droll, kind, and curious in person as he is on the air. I can no longer recall how we met, but I’m pretty sure it happened when I was at the mast of a relatively short-lived kindie site. The fact that our friendship has persisted long after the site went bust tells you everything you need to know about Bill — chiefly, that he does what he does because he means it, not because it holds any transactional value.

This approach appears to be going the way of the dodo in our increasingly profit-driven media landscape, but it still pays dividends. Sometimes they’re financial — as with the thousands of dollars that Spare the Rock has raised for various charities with its series of non-profit compilations — and sometimes they’re worth more than money. Connecting with people; sharing ideas. Shining a light on independently made and released art. Conducting community outreach. These are all things that sound sort of quaint and/or vaguely aspirational to a lot of folks these days, but for a long time, they were part and parcel of what radio not only could be, but what it had a civic responsibility to do.

I can picture Bill bemusedly chuckling at all this highfalutin praise, and as usual, he probably has a point. After all, you don’t need to think about love over gold, late-stage capitalism, or radio in general in order to enjoy Spare the Rock; you just need a functioning ear or two, a little time, and a willingness to let yourself be taken on a journey by a host who’s got a wonderful knack for shepherding discovery. It’s kid-friendly, sure, but it isn’t for kids. That’s the key to the show’s success, and why it’s lasted through multiple moves, countless life changes, and Bill’s youthful cohosts aging out of their regular posts. Cheers to a great 20 years, and here’s to many more.

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2025-07-27 playlist & stream

Jul 27

1st set

They Might Be Giants – It’s Spare the Rock

ID

They Might Be Giants – My Name is Kingof socks

[Marty Beller 20]

AudraRox – Short Attention Span

ID

Asheba – No More Monkeys

Dan Zanes & Sharon Jones – In The Basement

ID

Elena Moon Park – Picking Flowers

[WJFF – Louis & Dan & the Invisible Band – I’ll Take Myself To Bed

[KUTX – Elizabeth Mitchell – Ladybug Picnic

[WFNU – Ella Jenkins – A Vivo A Vavo 

2nd set

Walter Martin – It’s a Dream

ID/prep to rock 

They Might Be Giants – Don’t Spare the Rock

ID

Ted Leo – Heroes

Jonathan Coulton – The Princess Who Saved Herself

Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats – Sounds of Summer

ID

3rd set

[Pierce 20]

Pierce Freelon feat. Rissi Palmer – My Body

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – You’re It 

ID

Go Banana Go! – I Found A Cool Rock

Josh Lovelace – Butterfly (feat. Frances England)

Gustafer Yellowgold – Brighter Side 

ID

They Might Be Giants – Doctor Worm

They Might Be Giants – Spare the Rock

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