So there is this kids' cable access television show in DC called, "Pancake Mountain" that attracts some hilarious indie guest stars to perform their own take on the theme song or even better, a song of their own. We picked up a couple of DVDs online and they're pretty wacky... and funny. One of the videos we bought has Steel Pulse and Thievery Corp. My daughter likes them and sings the theme often. So now they have some video online that you can check out for yourself. Rufus the talking/lisping dog interviews the likes of the Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, the Fiery Furnaces and Juliette Lewis and then they all sing! With kids dancing all around! I'm linking the video page here but also, just check out the whole site and buy some DVDs, all at PancakeMountain.com.

The Pancake Mountain video series

Today, songs about elephants. Kind of. If I had to pick one song that has grabbed by daughter's preschool by their tiny little shoulders and caused them to move and groove it's the Toy Dolls, "Nellie the Elephant." The "whooooaaaaaAAAAAAA!" gets 'em every time. The whole class pogos in unison and it's earth-shakingly fabulous. "Baby Elephant Walk" is a classic, here by the Thai Elephant Orchestra. Seems appropriate, no? Then, Dan Zanes with "Water for the Elephants" from his hip-shaking CD, "Family Dance." And lastly, a song from Pilotdrift that's more for you lovers of what I like to call, theater rock. Lots of "chorus" in the Shakespeare sense, kind of descendants of Queen... maybe. Not exactly ideal for the kiddles, maybe more for you. Or not. You decide. It is about elephants. Kind of.


The Toy Dolls, "Nellie the Elephant"
The Thai Elephant Orchestra, "Baby Elephant Walk"
Dan Zanes, "Water for the Elephants"
Pilotdrift, "Elephant Island"


Dan Zanes and all his fabulousness can be found at DanZanes.com.
Pilotdrift have more songs on their MySpace page.

MC Honky's CD was released almost three years ago on SpinArt, but no matter. MC Honky is (most likely) E from the Eels. The song, "Sonnet 3" is a dance party favorite at our house and can get even grandma moving. The rest of the record is pretty hilarious, with some thrift store self-help records sampled (or someone parodying such). It's fun and funny. The Eels also have a track on the Shrek 2 soundtrack that's lovely, though not a dance number and not here today, but it's called "Need Some Sleep." Back to the dancing. The Bees (or Band of Bees if you live in England) have a great new dance song called, "Chicken Payback." Chicken-fried soul with a good beat and who can resist animal calls? The video for this one is chuckle inducing. Make sure you all sing along.

MC Honky, "Sonnet No. 3 (Like A Duck)
The Bees, "Chicken Payback"

Watch the cartoon video for Honky's Sonnet. And watch the Bees' video for "Chicken Payback." The band is on Astralwerks is you're looking for more, more, more.

Over on my other blog, yer little sister, I was offering up some French tunes. So I thought, why not do the same here? My daughter is crazy for the French band Air's song, "Radio No. 1." It's got a droning beat that you can dance to, it's repetitive so she could sing along from the first listen, always a plus. April March is not French. Heck, April March isn't even her real name (it's Elinor Blake). But her songs, often sung in French or at least in the 60s French style, are favorites with the kiddies. Perhaps it's her very high pitched sweet voice. Maybe the kids just intrinsically know that she's one of them at heart—she was a principal animator/writer on Ren & Stimpy. In true French fashion, some of the lyrics to her songs are not for the kiddie set, but most are fine. And this one is in French so who cares! Oh and that picture above, the record cover, I did not include anything from that. It's a great cover, awful music.

Air, "Radio No. 1"
April March, "Chick Habit"


Check out Air's site.
To purchase April March CDs and merch (and there is a lot) go to her site.

So many of folks in the Dan Zanes fandom camp may have heard of this band but I have to say, I truly adore them. Yes, they are making music for kids, but it's smart and adorable and not whiny or pandering or Nutrasweet®-ish. The singer, Molly Ledford is also in a (technically adult) band called the Verna Cannon (whose CD "Movie Star Faces" was on Headhunter Records, from here in SD). They however live in South Carolina, I think. My husband has pointed out that the Verna Cannon were on a comp with music blogger faves M. Ward, Shearwater and the Decemberists. You can check that out here. And there are some Verna Cannon tracks online on their site. Your kid might like 'em. My kid likes these. I actually can listen to some of these Lunch Money songs even when my daughter isn't in the car. They get to the core of what it's like to be a kid, the pure joy of it all. My favorite is "Tricycle" but they're all so very tasty.

Lunch Money, "Tricycle"
Lunch Money, "Rollercoaster"
Lunch Money, "Caboose"

To buy there CD or their cute stickers, go here.

Okay well here goes, my first official post. But first, I'd like to say a few words about why. (Besides the obvious "I like to hear myself talk - or write - because I'm so very self absorbed.") I have a kid, she's four, and she has genuine taste, mostly good, occasionally bad. She discerns whether she likes music on the same criteria as most of us: is it pleasing to her ear, can she sing along, can she bob her head in a rhythmic way. Sure, if all I put in front of her was the Wiggles, or Barney or geez, Disney Princess songs, she may just love them all. But if I give her options, real honest to goodness music that our whole family can enjoy, she (mostly) picks the good stuff. So here I was totally lurking around other mp3 blogs and sort of wanting in and then it hit me. This. I can offer up music that the whole family can enjoy. Kids music that adults can dig, adult music that kids can dig and voila, we've got family music. Now, that's the why. On with the music...

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