Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child

Series produced by Bill Childs

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Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, is a weekly radio show for kids and their grownups, broadcasting from Austin, Texas. It's indie music for indie kids.


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"Spare the Rock doesn’t, and that’s why everybody loves it."
- John Flansburgh, They Might Be Giants

"Remember how kids used to wake up on Saturday morning excited to watch cartoons? My kids wake up Saturday morning excited for the first strains of TMBG singing 'It’s Spare The Rock…with Bill & Ella…and sometimes Liam! Since we started carrying the show, it has become a local cultural phenomenon. Plus, Bill Childs is a nerd. So are his kids. And nerd is the new cool. Do you think they are going to let crappy kids music hit the airwaves? I’ve heard everything from Rush to Dan Zanes, The Pixies to Brady Rymer. Pete Seeger to The f****** Muppets. Yeah, I said it in a thing about kids music. I f****** love this show."
- Monte Belmonte, Program Director, WRSI (93.9 The River) For seven years, Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child has been providing the soundtrack to thousands of childhoods in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts and southern Vermont. The show plays “indie music for indie kids,” including the best of music aimed at kids (like Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lunch Money, Caspar Babypants, and They Might Be Giants) right along side kid-friendly tracks from the likes of The Ramones, Mike Doughty, Ella Fitzgerald, Brian Eno, Pizzicato Five, Andrew Bird, Fishbone, and more. Throw in book reviews and exclusive in-studios from dozens of artists, including the likes of Jonathan Coulton, Asylum Street Spankers, Dan Zanes, Dog on Fleas, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Elizabeth Mitchell, They Might Be Giants, and many more, and you’ve got an idea of what the show is about. One thing it’s not is your typical kids’ programming. We’re radio nerds, and we want to raise another generation of radio nerds. That means a set that starts with Elvis Costello, switches to Brooklyn history-oriented family rock band the Deedle Deedle Dees, and then pivots to Guided By Voices, or one that starts with British folk punker Frank Turner, then family hip-hop artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (featuring Cactus from Granola Funk Express), and finishes up with Earth Wind & Fire. Check out some recent playlists (at http://sparetherock.com) and you’ll get the idea. It’s Kidz Bop- and condescension-free, and genuinely curated, not randomly generated by the RadioCompuBot 3000. It is good radio, period, not just good-for-kids. Now, Spare the Rock is broadcast from Austin, Texas, and is available in a one-hour format to any radio station that wishes to air it, commercial or non-commercial, anywhere in the world. Listen here on PRX.org, read more at our syndication page, or send me an email at show@sparetherock.com for details. Hide full description


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"Spare the Rock doesn’t, and that’s why everybody loves it."
- John Flansburgh, They Might Be Giants

"Remember how kids used to wake up on Saturday morning excited to watch cartoons? My kids wake up Saturday morning excited for the first strains of TMBG singing 'It’s Spare The Rock…with Bill & Ella…and sometimes Liam! Since we started carrying the show, it has become a local cultural phenomenon. Plus, Bill Childs is a nerd. So are his kids. And nerd is the new cool. Do you think they are going to let crappy kids music hit the airwaves? I’ve heard everything from Rush to Dan Zanes, The Pixies to Brady Rymer. Pete Seeger to The f****** Muppets. Yeah, I said it in a thing about kids music. I f****** love this show."
- Monte Belmonte, Program Director, WRSI (93.9 The River)For seven...

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544 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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We've got new music from Glen Hansard, Renee & Friends, and They Might Be Giants, plus an in-studio from Red Yarn & Friends!

  • Added: Aug 17, 2015
  • Length: 52:44
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With Austin Musician of the Year Gina Chavez in studio, plus new music from They Might Be Giants, The Doubleclicks, Ralph's World, Charlie Hope, Ro...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Aug 23, 2015
  • Length: 51:45
  • Purchases: 1
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With an exclusive in-studio song from The Hold Steady's Craig Finn, a world premiere song from Tim and the Space Cadets, new music from The Hipwade...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Aug 31, 2015
  • Length: 48:56
  • Purchases: 1
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Introducing Human Person, plus new music from Tim Kubart, Rolie Polie Guacamole, The Umoza Music Project, and the Doubleclicks!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Sep 07, 2015
  • Length: 53:37
  • Purchases: 1
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With new music from Caspar Babypants, Renee & Friends, Gustafer Yellowgold, and Sonia De La Santos...plus Roger Miller, Nina Simone, James Brown, a...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Sep 15, 2015
  • Length: 54:35
  • Purchases: 1
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Previewing Austin City Limits Music Festival, plus new music from Sonia De Los Santos and Tim Kubart!

  • Added: Sep 20, 2015
  • Length: 55:54
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New music from Frances England, Duke Otherwise, Andrew & Polly, Vered, They Might Be Giants, and Steve Weeks! More ACL Festival Previews! So much...

  • Added: Sep 29, 2015
  • Length: 54:37
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In-studio from the Telephone Company! New music from The Pop Ups, Jose-Luis Orozco, Sonia de los Santos, and Linda Perry & Sara Gilbert!

  • Added: Oct 05, 2015
  • Length: 50:27
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We've got Tim Kubart in the studio, plus new music from Danny Weinkauf, The Pop Ups, and Brian Beattie featuring Okkervil River's Will Sheff!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Oct 12, 2015
  • Length: 52:09
  • Purchases: 1
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It's Mister G live in the studio, plus the Fids & Kamily Music Awards!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Oct 21, 2015
  • Length: 50:36
  • Purchases: 1
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Marian Call visits! New Lisa Loeb! New Joe McDermott! The Pop Ups backstage at ACL! Good heavens, so many exclamation points!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Oct 27, 2015
  • Length: 49:35
  • Purchases: 1
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New music from Staci Gray, Joe McDermott, The I Don't Cares, and more! Plus a super fun dance set!

Bought by KPIP-LP and KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Nov 02, 2015
  • Length: 53:30
  • Purchases: 2
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New They Might Be Giants! New Lucky Diaz! New Best Coast! DISCO DANCE PARTY!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Nov 10, 2015
  • Length: 49:05
  • Purchases: 1
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New music from Sarah Aroeste and They Might Be Giants, plus a French/Paris set!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Nov 17, 2015
  • Length: 54:39
  • Purchases: 1
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Guest hosted by Austin radio legend Ray Seggern, it's a ton of fun this week!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Nov 24, 2015
  • Length: 56:42
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got a Small Things set, new Steve Weeks, new They Might Be Giants, and new Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings! Plus more, as always.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Dec 01, 2015
  • Length: 50:56
  • Purchases: 1
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New TMBG! New Joe McDermott! Chanukah disco! A song about Atari 2600s!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Dec 08, 2015
  • Length: 52:57
  • Purchases: 1
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It's our annual holiday show, with new music from Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, The Rockin' Rhinos, and more!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash. and KSRQ


  • Added: Dec 14, 2015
  • Length: 53:14
  • Purchases: 2
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On this week’s show, we’ve got Monte Belmonte and his family filling in for us. He’s got music from Annie, Wilco, the Muppets, and of course…KISS!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Dec 16, 2015
  • Length: 51:25
  • Purchases: 1
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It's our welcome to 2016 show, with a lovely visit from the African Children's Choir, plus music from Elizabeth Mitchell, Bruce Robision & Kelly Wi...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Dec 29, 2015
  • Length: 50:40
  • Purchases: 1