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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It's our 12th birthday! We've got new music from Caspar Babypants, Froggins & Bug, Bazillions, and much more!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Aug 08, 2017
  • Length: 56:09
  • Purchases: 1
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On this week’s show, we've got new music from Señor Fancypants and Ralph’s World, plus a whole mess of music about ice cream, because it’s August! ...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Aug 01, 2017
  • Length: 52:49
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got new music from Mister G, Jess Penner, SaulPaul, Jazzy Ash, and Foxygen, plus Blackalicious, ScribbleMonster, and more!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Jul 25, 2017
  • Length: 57:30
  • Purchases: 1
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On this week’s show, we've got a brand new song from Austin’s own SaulPaul, plus new music from Like Father Like Son, Lucky Diaz, and more! It’s i...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Jul 16, 2017
  • Length: 53:43
  • Purchases: 1
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On this week’s show, we've got a world premiere from Danny Weinkauf, plus songs from Lunch Money, Baby Lucy, Timbuk3, and more! It’s indie music f...

  • Added: Jul 12, 2017
  • Length: 51:34
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On this week’s show, we've got new music from Walter Martin, Jess Penner, Emily Arrow, Caspar Babypants, and more! It’s indie music for indie kids.

Bought by KTRT RADIO INC and KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Jul 04, 2017
  • Length: 51:42
  • Purchases: 2
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New music from Jazzy Ash and DJ Khaled with Chance the Rapper, plus songs from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Curtis Mayfield, Secret Agent 23 Sk...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Jun 26, 2017
  • Length: 57:56
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got an early Sound on Sound preview, and new music from Caspar Babypants, Princess Backpack & Benjamin, Foxygen, Jazzy Ash, The National Park...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Jun 20, 2017
  • Length: 54:27
  • Purchases: 1
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It's a Father's Day show, plus new songs from Ella Jenkins, Diet Cig, Baby Lucy, Dana & the Petit Punks, and more! Plus songs about spinning!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Jun 09, 2017
  • Length: 55:36
  • Purchases: 1
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New music from Ella Jenkins, Ben Lee, The Binkees, Klebe & Davis, Froggins & Bug, and much more!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Jun 06, 2017
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 1
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It's our summer kick-off show -- all summer songs for the whole show!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: May 29, 2017
  • Length: 56:12
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got a world premiere from Lucky Diaz & the Family Jam Band, plus new songs from Guitar Party and Gorillaz -- plus tracks from Southern Cultur...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: May 16, 2017
  • Length: 52:00
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got new music from Mountainsides and Jonathan Coulton and Alastair Moock, plus songs from Father Goose, Marian Call, Sugar Free Allstars, Gus...

  • Added: May 14, 2017
  • Length: 47:24
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We've got new music from Joanie Leeds & the Nightlights, Tim Kubart, and Princess Backpack & Benjamin, plus songs from Stevie Wonder, Ben Folds Fiv...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: May 10, 2017
  • Length: 54:40
  • Purchases: 1
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On this week’s show, we've new music from The Binkees, Emily Arrow, and Michael and the Rockness Monsters, plus tracks from Tom Waits, Frances Engl...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Apr 30, 2017
  • Length: 55:55
  • Purchases: 1
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On this week’s show, we've got our tribute to Willie Nelson for his birthday, including the Barton Hills Choir with Ray Benson, plus tracks from Mi...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Apr 25, 2017
  • Length: 58:09
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got new music from Emily Arrow, The Spring Bees, and StevenSteven -- plus The Salamanders singing about the universal experience of being mag...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Apr 17, 2017
  • Length: 54:56
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got new music from Red Yarn, we've got Rodrigo y Gabriela, we've got Frank Black, we've got Justin Roberts, we've got The Not-Its!. What more...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Apr 11, 2017
  • Length: 53:23
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got new music from the Walkmen's Walter Martin, plus new tracks from Jim & Jayne, The Binkees, Katie Ha Ha Ha, and Mo Phillips, plus a Tumble...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Apr 05, 2017
  • Length: 49:26
  • Purchases: 1
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We've got the rest of our live show with Dan Zanes & Claudia Eliaza, plus new music from Walter Martin, the Moonlights, and the Spring Bees!

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash.


  • Added: Mar 27, 2017
  • Length: 51:38
  • Purchases: 1