Radio Free Hipster Ep. 72: Where a Kid Can be a Kid

Themed episodes of Radio Free Hipster are becoming fewer and far between, but this one was a request, of sorts, so I took the plunge. Plus, it's always fun to have my son help put together the song lists. Even if now he is more interested in Phineas and Ferb than in recording with his old man.

Still, talking about youth and childhood is a double-edged sword, because it also opens the door to talking about aging and the long, rough road of maturity. I tried to hit on both this time around. I hope you're happy with the results.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 72: Where a Kid Can be a Kid [hosting provided by Antisoc] Size: 39 MB Running Time: 42:42

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah – "Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)"
This theme song keeps me young.

Track 1: Go Home Productions – "GHP Goes Bananas"
Looking back, those Sid and Marty Krofft shows were genuinely fucked up.

Z's 1st interlude: "I decided that today's ep. should be kinda chill."
Yes, since the next show will be a drunken podcast, I figured this time around I should keep shit low key.

Track 2: Chiptots – "ABC"
The only person who loves this cover more than Li'l X. is his dear old dad!

Track 3: Math the Band – "Homework Sucks"
Math has a new album out. You should buy it.

Track 4: Dave Chappelle dialog / Uncle Monsterface – "Baby Blip"
I long for the day when my own kids will make me macaroni jewelry.

Track 5: Jonathan Coulton – "Rock and Roll Boy"
"When I was born I was a young boy. / Now I'm grown, I am a old boy."

Track 6: Beefy – "Ball Pit"
This song makes me wistful. There's just something about the quality of Beefy's voice in this one that always gets me.

Track 7: Tenacious D – "Baby"
Sometimes it just feels good to follow a Beef Thompson joint with the D.

Track 8: McVaffe - "Yoshi's Lullaby"
Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to raise a young Mario and Luigi?!

Z's 2nd interlude: "I am ceaselessly amazed by the power of music to take me back to the days of my youth."
It is purported that smell is the most important sense trigger for memory recollection, but for me it's always been sound. When I hear a song, I can often immediately recall the very moment when I first encountered it.

Track 9: Lynn Ahrens – "A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing"
Originally played back in episode 18.

Track 10: My Parents' Favorite Music – "Sticks and Stones"
I think "Sticks and Stones" was the first track an artist ever let me feature on the site.

Track 11: Southside – "War Games"
It's really hard not to love a song that cribs its beat from the Fat Albert theme.

Track 12: Xoc – "Doors/Warp Zone/Rescue Jingle" / Shael Riley voicemail
Feel free to send me messages via my Google Voice widget. I'll even try and work them into future podcasts!

Track 13: Uncanny Valley – "Ladybugs' Picnic"
DJBC's Muppet Mashup album is really an amazing project. For those of us who grew up in the golden age of edutainment, it's the perfect nostalgia trip.

Track 14: Metaforce – "Intermission (feat. Onni)"
The theme music from Taxi still makes me misty-eyed.

Z's final interlude: "Maturity is not a process so much as a battle."
Seriously; adulthood lurks around every corner awaiting the perfect opportunity to strike. Sometimes it beats you down, but never give up the fight!

Track 15: Funny or Die – "The Ballad of G.I. Joe"
Just watch the video. It is well worth the time.

This show turned out a good bit different than I originally expected. It's shorter than usual, obviously, and it also took on more of a somber tone, but with good reason.

I think we as adults tend to think of childhood as being simple, when really it's anything but. Kids feel things differently than grownups: more intensely. Therefore, their victories are twice as sweet and their failures wholly crushing. That's not to say that the life of maturity is effortless, of course. Both are fraught with difficulties, but in totally different ways.

Having kids of your own really drives this home.

But in the end, the magic of childhood is that it is uniquely your own. And the power of memory allows you to rewrite that fucker any way you wish. Maybe that's why it's better that we don't get the chance to revisit all of the cherished touchstones of youth. They often age far less gracefully in real life than in our recollections.