Radio Free Hipster Ep. 10: Poor Parenting on My Part

This is an experiment. Not an experiment in sound, though, as that would be stepping on toes. Truthfully, this is an idea I’ve had since I tried to convince my boy to say something cute for the very first edition of Radio Free Hipster. It just seemed too easy; too valid a scheme to pass up.

Kids enjoy music, and I make it a point to let Little X. hear new and different tunes everyday. As a significant chunk of my free time is devoted to seeking out and examining music with a decidedly nerdy slant, it is only logical that a large portion of what he hears falls within such bounds. Still, there are a lot of things – valid musical entities – that he truly loves that I just couldn’t make fit into the format of RFH. For example, Slayer is (no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise) just not geeky enough to warrant inclusion.

Whereas the two previous episodes of the podcast were very focused, with a lot of attention paid to both the flow of the music and the pacing of the sets, this episode is a good bit more loose. Still, things came together much more seamlessly than I would have thought. The fact that the second song set focuses heavily on tracks about food and eating is a testament to that.

I’d like to thank X. for helping me out with this. I’m sure he’d have much rather been watching Little Einsteins or chasing the neighbors’ dog, but instead he took some time to help his old man. I really wanted him to help out with the spoken interludes as well, but he’s at that age where he only speaks when it suits him and I reckon it didn’t. Maybe I’ll do this again sometime. Or maybe I’ll let my wife or one of my other friends or family members have a crack at putting together an episode’s playlist.

It seems like a good idea to step back and let someone else drive once in a while in keeping with the community aspect of the blog and podcast. Plus I’m a lazy bastard, which adds an entirely different level of appeal to such proceedings.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 10: Poor Parenting on My Part Size 33.7 MB Running Time 36:51

Show Notes

Intro: Bill Cosby – “My Father Confused Me” / Glenn Case – “Baby Learns to Crawl”
Glenn basically covered Paul Westerberg’s Stereo in its entirety. It is excellent. You should check it out.

Z’s 1^st Interlude: “Pre-language”
The books and caregivers and experts keep telling me that X. is pre-language. Truthfully, he can say 50-60 words and phrases, ranging from the functional (“I eat that”) to the insightful (“no money”).

Track 1: Tom Rhodes – “Weed Ghost” / Beefy – “Whitesican”
Little X. is officially whitesican. Beefy said so.

Track 2: Optimus Rhyme – “Obey the Moderator”
“Train in Vain” would’ve made more since, but I just played that one a few episodes ago.

Track 3: Miss Frenchie – “Dirty Jump”
Frenchie spins a lot in London and Leicester, but she’s actually from Bordeaux. It’s good to know that, while undeniably whitesican, X. stills reps his frog roots! ;)

Track 4: MC Frontalot – “Gonna be Your Man”
Though he is physically incapable of doing so, my son really does try to sing this song. Mostly he just says the “man” part and bobs his head. And oh how he smiles!

Z’s 2^nd Interlude: “The Chicken Dance”
Apologies if the background music is a bit overpowering this ep. I always have a problem getting MIDI volume properly adjusted.

Track 5: Moose and Zee – “Scary Monsters clip” / Jonathan Richman “Abominable Snowman in the Market”
I love how Jon reaches out to the Abominable Snowman and offers emotional support. It’s beautiful.

Track 6: Wesley Willis – “Rock ‘N’ Roll McDonald’s”
I was lucky enough to meet Wesley a few years before his death. I got a signed CD. It’s not as good as a headbutt, but at least it’s something.

Track 7: CoqRoq – “Bob Your Head”
Little X. gets into metal: speed, thrash, maybe a little black, and the occasional corporate chicken metal.

Track 8: Bill Cosby – “My Boyscout Troupe”
I miss when Bill Cosby was animated and swore a lot. Those were simpler days!

Track 9: Sir Loin – “For the Shorties”
“Ya got canned goods just collectin' dust / Got meat, got fruit, got vegetables /
Only prerequisite’s that it’s edible / Get ya freak on at my freaky food festival”

Z’s Final Interlude: “A totally incompetent parent”
It occurs to me that I sometimes let my child listen to music concerning themes that are decidedly adult. And that’s not even factoring in the incessant swearing. It’s not too big a deal now, but what will I do when he tells his third grade teacher that he’s “sick of breathing; it’s fuckin’ boring / All the time [he’s] got the asthma and the snoring”?

Track 10: Me – “Peanut Butter Banquet”
As you already know, my name ends with neither Spellah, Synder, nor 49. I’m no kind of DJ or producer. This track incorporates elements of Bloc Party, Buckwheat Boys, and Shel Silverstein, and you are under no obligation to sit through it.

And that’s it, folks. Thanks for listening, and let me (us) know what you think. Doing the podcasts is generally a solitary effort, so it felt good to have a little support “in the booth.” Even if said support kept poking me in the eye.

Looking at the above, it’s impossible not to realize that Little X. likes danceable songs that are oft-times about food. That’s just weird. But what can you expect? Weirdness is, perhaps, a staggeringly genetic predisposition.