Clap Your Hands

I think all these songs can be fun ones for kids and the common thread is that they all include hand claps. What kid doesn't like a good hand clap? Now if you don't like your kid songs with a tiny bit of sexual innuendo, skip the Eels song, but otherwise, all are safe. Of course the king of all hand clap songs is, "Clap Your Hands," by They Might Be Giants. Hey, they have a song for everything. I would love to hear your suggestions for hand clap songs that are cool for the kiddles. Send 'em my way for Volume 2.

All Girl Summer Fun Band, "Grass Skirt"
Ben Lee, "Catch My Disease"
Esthero (with Sean Lennon), "Everyday is a Holiday"
The Eels, "Hey Man"
LCD Soundsystem, "Daft Punk is Playing at My House"
They Might Be Giants, "Clap Your Hands"
The Beatles, "I Am The Walrus" (m4a, sorry)

The Terrible Twos Aren't So Bad

I am really loving all the feedback—not just because it's joyful to know someone is reading these here words and listening to some of the tunes, but also because of the great suggestions I've been getting. My daughter is loving it too—new music daily! So Jeff P wrote me about The Terrible Twos. Thank you Jeff P. The Terrible Twos, in case you don't know (and I didn't), is the childish alter ego of the New Amsterdams, aka Matt Pryor, formerly of the Get Up Kids. Here is what I dig about this "kid" music: his delivery is (mostly) lacking that wink 'n' nod that most kid music, even indie kid music, has. It's just similar to what Matt is doing in his other band, but the content is totally relatable and approachable for the kiddles. So it is highly recc'd. Of course, there is no album... yet. But I'll keep you posted—it appears to be recorded and is now just looking for a home. Meanwhile, we can enjoy these two songs.

The Terrible Twos, "When I Get To Eleven"
The Terrible Twos, "Caroline"

The Terrible Twos website has owls to color. And their My Space page has four other songs to listen to (and they really need friends). To check out the New Amsterdams, go to their website. If you register, you can download TONS o' Tunes.

Guest List

Disney was a rocking good time. But I'm beat, so this is perfect timing. Chris from Brooklyn wrote me with the "No Nerds Allowed" mix crafted for both kids and adults to enjoy. It's a really, really good one. I haven't included links to all the songs, it'd just be too much. But I'll give you a headstart with a handful. Thank you Chris!

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, "I'm A Little Airplane"
Slim Harpo, "Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu"
Jens Lekman, "Boisa-bis-o-boisa"
Super Furry Animals, "Trade Winds"
The Carter Family, "Keep on the Sunny Side"
Bob Marley, "Three Little Birds"
Merle Haggard, "My Own Kind Of Hat"
Soul Coughing, "Circles"
They Might Be Giants, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"
Billy Bragg And Wilco, "California Stars"
Sly & The Family Stone, "Everyday People"
Bobby McFerrin, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, "Drive My Car"
Soul Coughing, "Super Bon Bon"
Gorillaz, "19-2000"
Meat Puppets, "Swimming Ground"
Merle Haggard, "The Bottle Let Me Down"
Nick Drake, "Pink Moon"
Cat Stevens, "The Wind"
Toots & The Maytals, "(Take Me Home) Country Roads"
White Stripes, "We're Going to Be Friends"
Wasis Diop, "My Son"
John Prine, "It's A Big Old Goofy World"
Thelonious Monk, "Bolivar Blues" (This one sounds a lot like the Cruellla DeVile theme, enough that you wonder if Disney stole it.)


Oh and that to the picture above is my daughter's best friend, Schmooza.

M-I-C, K-E-Y

No, I'm not gonna post Mickey Mouse Club trax or old Britney or Xtina or Justin. That would just be wrong, wrong I say. But I'm off to Disneyland for the next couple of days and I won't be posting. Now some of you may say, Disneyland? Isn't that just the biggest of all technicolor kid-hells, and you'd be right. Except that it was MY kid-hell and I remember it fondly and it makes my daughter smile so big and bright and so yes, I'm going and I'm going to hit the Enchanted Tiki Room first because that is my most favorite from when I was a kid (must have something to do with my love of pineapple, truthfully.) So here is a little Disney music that isn't exactly annoying, or maybe it is, but it's nostalgia and therefore forgiven for its sins. Good in between song "filler." Hand clap songs coming at you later in the week. I think.

"Welcome to the Enchanted Tiki Room"
"Tongaroa" (this one is silly short)
"In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room"
"You are now entering Fantasyland..."
They still have the Country Bear Jamboree in Disneyland Tokyo, check it:
"Country Bear Jamboree"
Michael Jackson, "Thriller" (Why? Captain Eo!)
And maybe not too thrilling for your kids, but perhaps you will enjoy:
Ben Gibbard, "Thriller"

Yikes! OK - Fixed!

No wait. I'm up and running. Check it out.

I got such a lovely mention from So Much Silence and all heck broke loose. Ez Archive shut me down. I'm fairly new to this whole thing, so if anyone has any advice, it would be muy appreciated. The links are back up and running smooth, for now. Thank you kindly. Now go party with your kids.

The Opposite of Veggie Tales

Songs about vegetables. Yeah, I feel like I'm stretching too. But still, three cool songs that your little one will dig, or reject vehemently, like that lone brussel sprout staring at them from their Hello Kitty plate. A bit of useless trivia that may or may not be true: the crunching noise heard on the Beach Boys song, "Vegetables" (or veget-a-bles, as Brian sings) is Sir Paul McCartney munching on a carrot in-studio. And it should be noted that most kids like the Beach Boys (and the Beatles for that matter. My daughter informed me a few days ago that the Beatles are better than Wilco because they're funnier and then she quoted some "Yellow Submarine" lines as proof.) Oh and this version of "Vegetables" is from the Smile re-issue— it's a bit less orchestrated but still gets wacky at the end. Another kid-favorite? Jonathan Richman. You can't go wrong with him and this ditty where he sings about yes, vegetables is no less than perfection. Finally Beck's tune isn't about vegetables at all, but he does intone the veggie man at some point, so I thought I would toss it in. It's a fun hip shaker.

The Beach Boys, "Vegetables"
Jonathan Richman, "Circle I"
Beck, "Que Onda Guero"

Pig Brother is Watching You!

I really wish I'd done a "love songs for children" entry but alas, that's what happens when your kid is sick. You miss entire whole days. So here I am with songs about animals. These songs are some of my daughter's favorites— seriously, you cannot go wrong with the Kinks. "Picture Book" is also a terrific one for the kiddles but hey, it doesn't have anything to do with animals so it ain't here. The Bees track, "Chicken Payback" is a doozy. Please, push back the couch, make tons of room and start dancing like a fool. Then when that one is done you can shimmy and shake to the Specials. Life is swell.

The Kinks, "Animal Farm"
The Bees, "Chicken Payback"
The Specials, "Monkey Man"

Extra special, The Bees "Chicken Payback" video. Giggle fest. You got to watch a commercial first, but it is worth it and totally suitable for the kids. In fact, it may inspire them.

Also, wanted to say THANKS to Shisho's Midge— she wrote me a letter via her Dad, who is not in the band as I suggested. You can see her letter in the comments section. She even shares her favorite bands of late. Go Midge! Go Shisho!

Kid rock, no relation to the guy with stringy hair

So I was writing about the White Stripes and kids yesterday and look at this picture. This is a kid band and by that I don’t mean, kid’s band, although sure, could be that too, but no, I mean they are kids in a band, with some adult, probably a parent, creating the music. They are called ShiSho. The song, Get Behind Me Santa, is cute and not in a too annoying way. I love the squeaky voice in the middle telling the "jokes." Other kid bands include the Trachtenburg Family Sideshow Players, but hey, the little girl in that band is not singing, she's playing drums. I’m very familiar with another kid band, Rock Jack, because the singer Ezra Lux, is my nephew. He's four. Years old. They got lots of press and he’s quite the superstar on his Mission neighborhood playground. Do you want to listen to this over and over? Probably not. Do you want to play it for someone because it’s kind of funny? Maybe. And hey, the kids might love it and get all inspired on your arse.

Shisho, “Get Behind Me Santa”
Trachtenburg Family Sideshow Players, “Eggs”
Rock Jack, “Toilet Master”

Shisho has a web page and a My Space page. The Trachtenburg Family have a site and a My Space page. Rock Jack has a My Space page too. Who doesn’t? Me, that’s who. Then again, I got two blogs and a buncha websites.

Wanna Be Friends?

So Jack Johnson has recorded a bunch of songs for the Curious George movie and they are out now. First, I have to say, I hear from people who know, that he’s a simply lovely person as cool and laidback as you’d expect. Of his music, well it bores me a bit and this stuff is no real exception. Will your kids like it? If they like floating down a slow river on a piece of driftwood, yeah. My kid is more a Pixie-sticker. In fact, she really loves the White Stripes a whole lot, and well I’ve come to find out, so do many children. I was listening to Bob Boilen’s end of the year wrap-up on All Songs Considered on NPR and he had on music writer Will Hermes who admitted his four year old daughter was a big fan (he even called her from the show and held his cell up, a fact he finds a little regrettable, but it’s still cute.) So what’s the White Stripes – Jack connection? Well Jack Johnson covers the White Stripes’ “We’re Gonna Be Friends” on this Curious George thing. And while the cover is perfectly pleasant, I’m putting money on the idea that your kids would rather hear the original. And you know that leads me to another point. Why do people feel the need to “cover” adult songs specifically for children and yeah, I am in part talking to the Kid Bopz but also to this horrid Devo redux. I mean, Devo is like the ultimate kids music—angular and peppy and easy to sing along to in a silly robotic voice while you make funny stiff Frankenstien moves with your arms. So back to the White Stripes. Because of course, the best song of theirs for the kids is “My Doorbell” and not just because the video stars a roomful of children. So, hit me!

Jack Johnson, “We’re Going To Be Friends”
The White Stripes, “We’re Going To Be Friends”
The White Stripes, “My Doorbell”

Buy the Curious George soundtrack at the Brushfire Records site. Buy the White Stripes everywhere, anywhere. And mom, dad, if you are a big Jack White fan, check out the Raconteurs a band he is also in and whose website currently features new song for download!

Shhh! Shhh!

The song, "It's Oh So Quiet," is not a kids' song. But wow, can it be. The quiet start, the collective "sshhh, shhhh"-ing and then the scream! It was Betty Hutton who made the song famous back in 1948. Hutton had been a movie star of minor proportions, having performed in the moving pictures Annie Get Your Gun, Let's Dance and the Miracle of Morgan's Creek, among others. She put out records, she was on Broadway, she was even offered her own sitcom from Desilu productions where she starred as "Goldie" an "energetic small town manicurist" who inherits a truckload of cash, but it went nowhere. Bjork does a lovely, and fairly faithful rendition, the main difference being her "screams" are a bit more un-restrained and well, crazy sounding. The Spike Jones-directed video saw Bjork dance for the first time. Both are great versions and both will have the little ones sssh-ing and screaming along.

Betty Hutton, "It's Oh So Quiet"
Bjork, "It's Oh So Quiet"

Watch Bjork's video for the song now.


Buy Bjork's CD Post. Or pick up Betty Huttton's Best of the RCA Years.

Wilco for Kids

My daughter's second concert was Wilco. (Her first was Dan Zanes.) She loved it! I think that a lot of Wilco's songs can be enjoyed by kids. My daughter loves a bunch of them, including "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" and "Hummingbird" from the last CD, A Ghost is Born. "I'm A Wheel" from that same CD is pretty great for the kiddles, too. But of course there are a handful of songs that were created kind of sort of with kids' in mind. The Mermaid Avenue CDs that took Woody Guthrie's lyrics and re-birthed them into something anew with the help of Billy Bragg aren't exactly for kids, but songs like "Hoodoo Voodoo" had to be sort of initially thought up all those years ago by Woody for a kid, or at least a kid at heart. My kid loves "A Magazine Called Sunset," which I think came off a web-only EP, so I included that here too. If you like these, don't overlook Wilco's song, "Just a Kid" from the Spongebob movie soundtrack. It's not their best song, but it is fun and definitely for the kids.

Wilco with Billy Bragg, "Hoodoo Voodoo"
Wilco, "A Magazine Called Sunset"

Ther Mermaid Avenue CDs can be bought most anywhere, here they are on Amazon. Buy single songs, or their Spongebob track on iTunes. And see/hear more Wilco at WilcoWorld.

We're Gonna Turn It On...

Holy moly. In just one week The Electric Company will be released for the first time on DVD, coming at you from Shout! Factory, the same greats who brought us the Dick Cavett DVDs a few weeks (months?) ago. People, remember Morgan Freeman? Remember Fargo North Decoder? Remember the Adventures of Letterman? It's so dated, like all the good Krofft shows, but who cares! It's still full of grammatical lessons galore and the kids may find the 70s duds hilariously cool. Or not. But you will.

Check out the trailer for it now!

Pre-order it through Shout! Factory.