(sm)all ages

Posi-mood inducing nightmares

2007-06-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

My daughter woke up before dawn calling out my name. It's been a long time since she's done that. Mostly she doesn't call out because she's getting older and doesn't need to anymore. But also it's because when she does need something these days, she calls out for her father. I view this with an alternate mix of wistful joy, exhausted relief and complete jealousy. Turns out this time she awoke because she'd had a nightmare that I was gone. I went in her room, hugged her tightly and she went back to sleep like that. And me, sadly I found some joy in her frightening dream. Her wide eyes that softened with relief when she saw me, and that tight-tight hug, well I've been in a great mood all day.

I haven't written here in so long. I can't believe people still come by, but I know they do. I get stats, I get emails. I wish I still had the push inside of me that made me want to reach out most days and write and post songs. I still have great songs, still hear new ones all the time that I think, "Oh, I should post that" but then I don't. So much going on, too much on my mind. Like for instance, my daughter's school, the one some of you probably read about on this very blog, that I agonized over whether to send her to, it abruptly and unexpectedly closed a few weeks ago. Weeks before school was officially over for the year. But that's a long and involved story and I suspect much good will come out of it in the end.

Or maybe I've just been lazy. But I'm thinking of posting a few mixes that I've shared with my friends over the last few years. So many of you are my friends, or pretty darn close, so I'm gonna share them with you too-- next week, maybe? They're mostly from the first few months of this here blog. But now onto my latest batch of random songs:

Got this from Heather's great blog I believe. You can't go wrong with the classics. Hold Steady are big baseball fans. I'm a big Hold Steady fan. Ergo...

">The Hold Steady,"Take Me Out To The Ballgame"

Get your dance groove on. It's just silly, mindless and totally dance-able. I don't have a ton of tolerance for too much of this stuff, but c'mon, this is fun for the kids. They can totally do air drumming and weird robot dancing to this. Little fishies in my ice cream?

Prinzhorn Dance School, "Up! Up! Up!"

Another classic. Got this from who killed the mixtape? They did a great mixtape that featured another one of my selections here, the last one. I had forgotten what a great tune this is for the kiddles. I didn't have it in mp3 form, only a 7 inch. I need to record some of my 7 inches. Whose doing this these days? How? Mine always sound so distant when I do it with Audio Hijack and cord connecting computer to receiver.

The Dixie Cups, "Iko Iko"

The latest Shrek soundtrack was a bit disappointing. But this song is great. The Eels never fail to bring the love to the ogre flicks. The level is a bit low on this, don't know why.

Eels, "Royal Pain"

We've played this CD over and over and over at our house since we got it on the day it came out. This is the song that stuck out to Tuesday. She sings along, pointing out that Jeff Tweedy switches it up in the chorus from what light to white light to one light. It's got a nice sentiment too, this song, about being yourself so I think it's glorious that she's taken a liking to this one. Sky Blue Sky is lovely and I know, I don't think Wilco can do anything wrong, but it's just fantastic for the impending lazy days.

Wilco, "What Light"

Whoo-eee. This is one of those songs that I can't get enough of. I played it when I DJ'd my husband and his partner's AIGA event and someone came up and frantically asked me what it was. They thought it was old. Nope, brand new.

Lucky Soul,"Get Outta Town"

I remember listening to this over and over on my pink Panasonic cassette deck with the mint green buttons. We heard it on one of the kid movies we've seen lately and then I saw it on blog. Tuesday immediately took to it. Of course she did. She's my daughter.

Katrina and the Waves, "Walking on Sunshine"

And then this: it's been everywhere but in case you haven't seen it, here it is again. Tuesday loves this video and our friend says his 3-year old daughter has watched it so many times that she can do all the dance moves along with Feist and her colorful accompanists. So much better than the Wiggles, no?

More info on Lucky Soul :: Wilco :: Eels :: Hold Steady :: Shrek the 3rd Soundtrack :: Prinzhorn Dance School

Wanna Count My Sprinkles?

2007-06-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

I don't often write about videos here. Mostly because the focus has always been music and also because we don't watch a lot of videos. Although we recently instituted Saturday Movie Night at our house complete with big-screen feature attraction and popcorn. So far the big hits have been the old Pink Panther movies. It's crazy how well the physical comedy of Peter Sellers translates to a 5 year old. And the sexy stuff goes right over her head.

But recently we have another hit — a little Scholastic video that isn't a movie at all. We have this favorite book in our house, it's called Arnie the Doughnut, by Laurie Keller. If you haven't read it you're missing out. She also wrote Scrambled States of America and the Open Wide book that is probably very dog-eared at your dentists' office. Her books are brilliant -- she illustrates them and fills the pictures with tons of hilariously wry little asides. They make Tuesday laugh out loud and frankly us too.

One of the hard working PR people that sends me tons of emails that I usually ignore sent me one telling me that they had turned Arnie, the story of a doughnut who doesn't want to be eaten, into one of those Scholastic Video Series DVDs. In case you're not familiar with them, they are fairly low-fi vids that take popular books and sort of animate them... sort of. I mean, this is not the kind of animation the kids today are used to, it's more in line with what we watched as kids. They move the eyes a bit, maybe make the mouth move along to the spoken words. And that's why I LOVE them. I mean, they are quaint. And this story is fantastic. Lenny or Squiggy narrates, I get them mixed up. Coupled with five other books that are sort of animated, it makes for about a 40 minute video (Tuesday's other favorite? "The New Animal.") Perfect for a Saturday Movie Night, low-fi style.

Pick it up here.

There are songs in here somewhere

2007-05-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah it's been forever and ever. In part it's due to being busy with so many other things but I have to say it's also because my daughter has been stuck on pretty much one CD.

We went to Kokua Fest on Oahu and in anticipation of seeing Jack Johnson that's all she wanted to hear and since seeing him, that's all she wants to hear. To say she loved it would be an understatement. She beamed, she rocked out, she shook her body, she pressed herself far beyond the limits of your average five year old and stayed up way, way too late but slept in the next day -- a first for us! Seriously, she doesn't understand the concept of going to bed late / sleeping in, but she finally got it on vacation this year.

And don't tell me that I dictate the taste of my five year old because I don't. I think the Jack is nice sure, pleasant yes, but what I listen to? Nope, never actually. Ditto for my husband. But hey, she can sing along, she understands a lot of the lyrics, they're mild and gentile, so hey, I cannot complain.

But with her not even willing to listen to new songs, it's hard to write a new post. So I've been focusing my limited blogging attentions to my Getting Over The Dork blog, which is a blog of break-up songs of all sorts, that I readied in anticipation of the February 2008 release of my tenth book, 30 Days To Getting Over the Dork You Used To Call Your Boyfriend (Delacorte). Not exactly the most compatible blog with this one, but still, fun and music-filled.

So a few things have happened since I wrote last that I should definitely mention:

Play, the compilation CD, is claiming to be the first cool CD of cool music for kids. Well, we know that isn't true, they aren't the first. But it is pretty darn cool, mostly. Featuring songs from bands like the Young Fresh Fellow, Supersuckers, Mudhoney, Mary Timony, Mirah and Visqueen (and other bands I wasn't familiar with like The Cassettes and Georgie Fame.) Some are covers or re-interpretations, some are originals. I'm especially fond of the song by the band Soccer Team, which turns out is two people who work at Dischord. Their song, "I'll Never Fear Ghosts Again" is my hands-down fave from the CD. Um, let's see other thoughts-- I don't think "Nellie the Elephant" should have been covered-- it's a weak version and the original is so darn awesome for kids and adults alike. I got Tuesday to listen to this CD once and she dug the Mudhoney song, "I Like To Make Noise" for it's plaintive sentiment. Overall, it is worth the price of admission and if you buy it from Pokey Pup they will donate some proceeds to Cal Robbins, the young son of J. Robbins who was in Jawbox and here on this CD in the band the Channels. Cal Robbins was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Good CD, good cause.

Buy it here from Pokey Pup!

Soccer Team, "I'll Never Fear Ghosts Again"

***
Because of my laziness and non-blogging I missed out telling you about the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls Online Auction which ends, um, today! But that doesn't mean I can't tell you that they are currently accepting apps for summer camp. It's happening in Brooklyn in August and here is their little PR spiel: The camp is a non-profit educational summer arts program serving girls ages 8-18 in New York City. At Rock Camp, girls learn to play musical instruments, form bands, write songs, rock out, and perform. Camp also offers a variety of workshops, from sound engineering and songwriting to self-defense and band art. Campers sign up for drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals, or DJ/turntables. No musical experience necessary. Instruments provided. All genres of music welcome. Sliding scale tuition.

Download an application here, at their website.

***

Putumayo Kids, the people who bring us world beat albums for our children, are spearheading an "Animal Playground" Tour and it starts in my hometown, at our world-famous zoo. The artist is a Trinidad gentleman who goes by Asheba and while I know nothing about him, we will check this out and see what's it's like. May 18th he's at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and May 19th he's at the SD Zoo. For more dates, hit Putumayo's website here.

***

They Might Be Giants are out and about touring and are making it to SD in a few weeks, but with their "adult" show (not to imply they have burlesque dancers or anything, but you know, they are playing bars, not all ages shows.) Got me thinking I really don't write about them too much considering how much we do listen to the TMBG machine. So here is one to hear, and don't forget them when you're purchasing music for your kids, your friends kids, etc. and etc. This one is educational and catchy.

They Might Be Giants, "Why Does The Sun Shine?"

***

The XM Kids Traveling Road Show has embarked. This has been going on for a week now and has a couple more weeks. Bus + radio show + live bands + Children's Miracle Network hospitals. Small Ages faves Lunch Money will participate May 12th in Charlotte, NC. It's a great idea, raising money, awareness and spirits at the kids' hospitals, although I would have preferred a different sponsor than Wal-Mart (not a fan) but hey, whatever works. Check out the dates and see if they are coming to your town.

***

Anything else? How about this song about the innocent joys of a bicycle (which by the by, the aformentioned Lunch Money has a great song about too!) This one is by the Jellydots, which are an Austin, Texas band who switch up their styles a bit from song to song (which is weird to me, but okay) and they make music for kids that isn't too kid-like (which is not weird to me and definitely okay.) Oh just see for yourself.

Jellydots, "Bicycle"

Contrast Podcast Does Kid Tunes

2007-03-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

Tim bugged me. He saved me a space. He reminded me. And yet, I failed to deliver. I'm talking about his Contrast Podcast #51 Cool Choones for Children. No matter, he didn't need my contribution-- it's wildly cool without me. There are few bands/tunes we've featured here, like the Innocence Mission, Dan Zanes, Medeski, Martin & Wood and The Real Tuesday Weld, but there are also some great suggestions that I've yet to mention or even, dare I say, think of! So head on over and check it out and grab your kiddles and pull 'em close to the computer and they can listen old-school to the "radio" with you.

Tim has listed the contents of the Podcast on his site, so you can search out the tunes you like, and the blogs they came from, afterward. Go and listen and leave him a comment that you heard it from me so he doesn't think I'm a total loser.

Contrast Podcast #51

The Sidewalk Soon Will Launch You

2007-03-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

When I yearn for a pretty voice, and sometimes I do, there is one in particular that always hits the right place for me: Karen Perris of the Innocence Mission. It has an other-worldly tinge to it that doesn't distract from the sheer beauty of it one bit. I suppose it's her accent, but no matter. I feel it in my gut somewhere, the ache in her voice translates to one in my body.

There is a new CD from the Innocence Mission, out this week, entitled We Walk in Song. I can't say I've heard much off of it, only two songs (haven't made it out to our local store yet this week) but what I have heard is more of the same glorious, gorgeous stuff that would make for the most ideal soothing lullaby for children of any age. This isn't a children's CD, like their 04 CD Now the Day is Over, but really, that just means the subject matter isn't all candy and slumber.

Here is one of the songs I've heard. It has the sound of early morning indeed. I love love love the background boy ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba's.

The Innocence Mission, "Into Brooklyn, Early in the Morning"

Buy the Innocence Mission CD :: Visit their site

A Bunch of Music

2007-02-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest round-up of what we're listening to. Course, my daughter's still obsessed with listening to "Walk Like An Egyptian," the theme to Mystic Force Power Rangers (over and over and over) and REM, particularly "We Walk." The Pipettes are still big in our house, as are the Beatles, but they should always be present, no? Now what's new to us?

Despite the adorable cover (at top) and the sweetums title, this new CD from Super Furry Animals' frontman Gruff Rhys, was not intended for the kiddles. And that's usually how I like my music. The tinkling sounds and weird little musical dippin dots make it especially fun for the kids (that, and he keeps repeating the word "candy.") I've heard a few off of this CD and I like 'em all.

Gruff Rhys, "Candylion"

My daughter thought this song only "okay." But she didn't yell for it to be removed from the playlist so who knows, perhaps it will grow on her. I still don't know anything about a Luscious Jackson kid record but bassist Jill Cuniff's latest solo project features this uplifting, girl-positive dance-a-thon. It's not innovative or brilliant, but it's fun and super for a slumber party shake-up.

Jill Cuniff, "Happy Warriors"

This is the latest song to take my daughter's ears by storm, courtesy of the band The Chalets. She loves the girl's voice and the catchy sing-along bits. And she loves the guitar. Oh and the beat. Seeing as it's called "Red High Heels" it may not be lyrically appropriate but I can't tell, I can't make out much more than "uh-oh, uh-oh." And neither can she.

The Chalets, "Red High Heels"

This song just keeps growing on me. From the Little Monster label, Gustafer Yellowgold is a whole multimedia thing, but you know, you can strip it of the visual hoopla and it's still delightful and lovely music. It's a nice summer's day, a picnic of a song. Their publicist would like me to tell you that the whole CD Wide Wild World, is coming out at the end of March. She's nice, and I like this tune, so I'm gonna.

Gustafer Yellowgold, "I'm from the Sun"

That's it for the new recordings, now on to some tracks from days gone by. Rainy Day, the album and I guess sort of "the band," came out back in 1984 on Rough Trade. I got the record a few years later and then a few years after that found the CD in a bargain bin for $4. They obviously didn't know what it was! Susannah Hoffs (the Bangles), Kendra Smith (Dream Syndicate; Opal), David Roback and Will Glenn (Rain Parade; Opal; Mazzy Star) and Michael Quercio (Three O'Clock; Game Theory), and a few others, got together and recorded this nine-song LP of covers - they do a beautiful version of "I'll Be Your Mirror." But it's this Dylan-penned song that I most yearn for -- it is gorgeous, just a beauty of a song and features Susannah on vocals. My daughter loves it, you can just see her posture melt into a pool of relaxation and comfort, she inevitably comes and hugs me -- and ain't that what the song is about? A must for any new-parent lullaby mix CDs you may make in the future.

Rainy Day, "I'll Keep It With Mine"

Fun from the Five By Five EP, circa 1994. All the Pizzicato 5 rings true in our house. It's just fun dance music and my daughter loves to pretend she can speak Japanese.

Pizzicato Five, "Twiggy vs. James Bond"

Lastly, I bring you a taste of exotica. I must have heard this on the Re/Search comp "Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 1." It's also on one of the Ultra Lounge comps, I think the Space Capades one. Someone referred to the shuffling toots in this recording as "synthesized farts." Kids love fart noises! A fun instrumental. Till next time...

Dean Elliot & His Big Band, "Lonesome Road"

I've Always Wanted To Taste a Cloud

2007-02-13T11:02:00.000-08:00

We've had a great week. Kindergarten went to the San Diego Symphony and saw a terrific program: the orchestra played soundtrack hits from Harry Potter, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars. They did this bit, too, where they invited a movie composer, whose name I have forgotten, on stage. He showed a clip from a Christian Slater film with no music on the big screen. And then the orchestra played two different pieces of music live to the film clip. The first was all upbeat and the second sort of sinister, the idea being that the music played can change how you feel about a character or the scene or whatever is happening on screen. I thought it'd be over their heads (they were the youngest in a crowd that went up to 5th grade) but when we got home, my daughter explained it to my husband pretty accurately, so hey. Very cool. Then this past weekend, my daughter tried skiing for the first time. And she did pretty well, or so I am told, I missed the whole damn thing.

"Star Warms Opening Theme"
"Star Warms Imperial Walk Theme"

I know many of you have really dug the Soft Lightes that we've played here. You should know, the new CD "Say No to Being Cool , Say Yes to Being Happy " will be released today, February 13th on Modular records. Buy it! It is gonna be fabulous for the whole family and they are nice people, too.

SoftLightes, "Heart Made of Sound"

And since I haven't posted in awhile, here are just some random yet magically delicious songs that you may like. The Billy Bragg / Wilco track is one of our most favorites from the Mermaid Avenue CD (the first one) of Woody Guthrie words. I found the Hanky and Panky on some Swedish blog, it's very weird, but silly. And Aretha needs no intro.

Aretha Franklin, "Mockingbird"
Hanky and Panky, "Ha Ha Ha Ha!"
Billy Bragg and Wilco, "Hoo Doo Voo Doo"

Hey Mister

2007-01-31T12:07:00.000-08:00

My daughter has been walking around going, "Hey Mister, you're fired" in this weird New Jersey accent. We're unsure of where both the accent and the phrase came from as we are fairly certain she hasn't been watching The Apprentice. Here are some Mister songs, many I have posted before, but still.

Optigonally Yours, "Mr. Wilson"
Such a good song for the kids, this is one of Rob Crow's previous bands.

Asylum Street Spankers, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"
A great cover of a great song, no matter the season. FYI, the Spankers are holding a contest, asking fans to create a video for their latest CD. Winner takes a $1000.

The Kinks, "Mr. Songbird"
One of my favorite bands, ever. Top 5 for sure. You can't beat this jolly upbeat 2 and a half minutes of sweetness.

The Mr. T Experience, "Spiderman"
Now is the time to take another look at this 80s era punk band since singer Frank Portman has written the best "young adult" book of 2006, King Dork. (Oh crap, one of my favorite books, young adult or not, I highly recommend!)

Styx, "Mr. Roboto"
Domo arigato. My heart is human, my blood is boiling, my brain IBM. Man they makes me giggle.

Walking like an Egyptian While Riding a Bike to the Zoo Where it's all About Poo

2007-01-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

Greetings.

My daughter has become obsessed with Egypt. We're not sure where it started, but I thought I would feed it so recently I taped hours upon hours of Travel Channel Egypt specials and she can't get enough of it. She actually said, "I could watch this all day" and if you know my daughter that's saying something-- she's not a big TV kid. Lounging in front of the TV for her - thankfully - is reserved for when you feel sick. But the Sphinx and King Tut and dead people, it's all just too fascinating. ("It's just so intsteresting" she says.) So what does an intelligent Mom do when faced with such an interest? Probably get her a good book. What I did, not being the most intelligent Mom on the block, is get her hooked on this cheesy song.

The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian"

I wrote about the band The Bicycles and posted one of their fabulous songs before. Here's another. Their CD, The Good, The Bad, And the Cuddly is fun stuff. This is adorable pop from Toronto. I read an article that compared them to comic bands of my youth (like Josie and the Pussycats or the Banana Splits) and I say hooray!

The Bicycles, "B-B-B-Bicycles"

Belle and Sebastian put together that collection of hipster bands doing kid songs at the end of last year called Colours Are Brighter complete with the Brit spelling of Colours, which I love. In fact, I like the spelling of Colours better than I like this song. But hey, it's not awful, it's just that I had higher expectations. The chorus is enjoyable, but the rest of it has a Saturday morning PBS pre-school gloss I could do without. But hey that's just me.

Belle and Sebastian, "The Monkeys Are Breaking Out Of the Zoo"

Finally, I know this is mildly inappropriate, but what kid doesn't like a good song about Poo? I had never ever watched Scrubs until, ironically, I was in the hospital getting that tomato taken out of my chest. It's in syndication rounds like mad and you can see it at any time of the day on any number of channels and there I sat in my hospital bed watching it and you know, I found it surprisingly funny. My husband thinks it was the juxtaposition of being in the grimy hospital myself while watching a surreal and sanitized version that made me laugh so and perhaps he was right but now, on occasion, when I find myself up at night, I watch it. And I laugh. So, we taped the "musical" episode and there it was: a song about poo. And here it is for you and yours.

Zach Braff & Donald Faison (from Scrubs), "Everything Comes Down to Poo"

Medeski, Martin & Wood

2007-01-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

Many of you have probably come across this Little Monster record label (a subsidiary of the rumored-to-be money-troubled V2) if you traverse Stefan's Zooglobble or Amy's Mrs. Davis sites. They have a roster that is already a handful of artists deep, including the weird and not entirely pleasing to me "house band" of sorts that did that Beatles cover record, albeit with some mighty fine guest stars (Bangles, Rachel Yamagata, Marshall Crenshaw, Grandaddy.) Anywho, they also have the upcoming children's CD from jazz modernists Medeski, Martin & Wood and what do you know, I dig the first song they've posted quite a bit, the second is alright. The first is just a stop-start instrumental with a kid wondering out loud where the music has gone. And the latter is a conventional kids tune, although it does have a slight Shel Silverstein-esque story about pirates to offer us. It's enjoyable enough, and it's download-able on their site and well, here, below.

Medeski, Martin & Wood, "Where's the Music?"
Medeski, Martin & Wood, "Pirates Don't Take Baths"

Also download-able on their site: two Robbert Bobbert songs (that's Robert Schnieder of Apples of in Stereo), a few of those Beatles covers (see for yourself, tell me what you think), a few soul covers by I assume the same house band (and it's regrettable if you ask me) and something by the mysterious Ralph & Ralph. I can only hope it's Ralph Stanley and well, Ralph Stanley. Wait, is he dead? Oh, lastly there is the loopy Gustafer Yellowson, which I believe is more a full-scale visual and aural assault when on tour, but the music ain't bad. I'm definitely curious enough...

Medeski, Martin & Wood CD is due in April, as is the Gustafer Y DVD.

Burn-Out

2007-01-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

I thought about giving it all up. Chalk it up to a heaping helping of burn out, mixed with a heavy dose of the holidays and a whole lotta actual real live and mostly paying work. I still cannot see myself posting here like I did last year, which was at least 4 days a week, if not more. But like beer, I just can't seem to give it up. Here are some things I've been doing or digging over the last few weeks:

* I heart Mark Ronson. It's true, he's often seen with trampy looking women or dressed in clothes that are probably more expensive that my mortgage payment yet look like they came from a thrift store, but... I... as of late last year, well I heart him. There was his cover of Radiohead's "Just" (featuring Alex Greenwald) and his remix of Lily Allen's Smile with the awesome song snippet from Bobby and Jimmy Purify's "I'm Your Puppet" (but that has some frank language, to put it nicely, right up front, so don't play that one for the kiddles) and now Ronson's getting ready to release an album of covers in April. You can go to his MySpace page and stream his lush and fantastically fun horn version of Coldplay's "God Put A Smile." And below, you can hear his take on Brit's "Toxic" which you may find questionable for the littlest ones seeing what the song is about but damn, I love it and it's certainly ok for the older kids who may have at some time or another, been Britney fans. Maybe if I get to it, I'll rip the Coldplay track and post that. And did you know his step dad is Mick Jones from Foreigner??!!

Mark Ronson, "Toxic"

* There are a couple of old songs that inexplicably cause me to cry. Many of my old friends find this hilarious and enjoy blindsiding me with one of these tunes. Yes, Barry Manilow's "Mandy" falls into this category. And so does Elton John's "Tiny Dancer." Now with my daughter dancing around sweetly (but dramatically) to it, it lends a whole 'nother dimension to the tears.

Elton John, "Tiny Dancer"

I pretty much think the Swedish band, I'm From Barcelona and their CD Let Me Introduce My Friends, is great listening for the whole family. There are a ton of handclaps (which is this year's new black.) But also some fun layered vocals, happy rhythms and such. That's their picture I put up at top of this here post. Check it,

I'm From Barcelona, "This Boy"

Our whole family digs Apples in Stereo. The new CD, New Magnetic Wonder comes out next month. Below, you'll find a track from it. If you haven't yet seen Robert Schnieder on the Colbert Report as part of the Decemberists Vs. Colbert Guitarmageddon, you should. His ode to Stephen is terrific and even my daughter giggled lots. And Schneider plays children's music under the name Robert Bobbert & The Bubble Machine. You can check out a couple of those tracks on "Bobbert's" My Space Page.

Apples In Stereo, "Same Old Drag"

* I even played my daughter some Joanna Newsom over the holidays. I thought, like most people's reactions to the high-pitched harp player's voice, she would either love it or hate. I was right, sort of. At first she thought it was so pretty and delicate and she began to dance around on her tippy toes and flutter her fingers. But after a minute of that she declared it "terrible." Ha ha. Moving on. Josh Ritter is on Letterman tonight, and the Islands are on Craig Ferguson. Looking forward to both of those. Heard Islands yet? This song is lovely, it has a little Built to Spill-ness to it with the "Lost in a Supermarket" melody running through it. Not intensely original perhaps, but enjoyable. My daughter doesn't ask for this one, but she doesn't object either when it comes on the stereo (and trust me, she objects to a whole lot a what comes on the stereo.)

Islands, "Rough Gem"

* I sold a new book, to Delacorte. It's called 30 Days To Getting Over the Dork You USED To Call a Boyfriend. It's for teens and is chock full of song references and posi activities masquerading as girly silliness. I've started a blog for it (I had to, didn't I?) that is featuring a break-up song of some sort every week day or so (you know me, I'm never consistent.) I've just started so there are only a couple handful of tunes up, but since the book doesn't come out for some time (we're editing now!) I've got time to post tons.

GettingOverTheDork.com

That's it for now and probably for a little while. But perhaps we coax back our other posters to joining in the fun. Here's to a swell and happy new year.

I feel so lame.

2006-12-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

You know after Jeff's really wonderful comments on the Terrible Two and the Wiggles earlier, I felt seriously stupid. I should be able to defend the subtitle of this here blog with such eloquence and thoughtfullness. I was mad at myself and frankly just felt lame. And it made me think of something that happened several days ago.

My daughter was invited to a party at a place at the mall entitled Glam Girls. Or maybe it's Girlz with a z. Ugh. Anyway, we went, we're pretty good friends with the parents and such. And don't think I didn't know it would be bad. But it was far worse than I had imagined. They initially tried to put her in an outfit that didn't even begin to cover her incredibly petite five year old body, to which she thankfully said, "Um, I can't wear this, my tummy shows" and then she chose a full length goth number. But it was downhill from there. Make-up ("Just sparkles please" I micromanaged), nails, hair-do's that were surely don'ts by anyone's standards and they included FALLS as in FAKE HAIR, lots of it. They paraded them through the mall like this (which is wrong on many levels.) Then they went to a room with a stage and a kareoke machine. The choices were all Disney tunes: Hannah Montana, High School Musical, the Princess Collection, the Duff girl, and so on. My daughter felt weird because she didn't know any of these songs. I felt weird because every other girl did. These were all five year olds. They knew this stuff. And here I point to Eric's comment about the commercialization of it: these CDs, every last one of them, were not put out because of talent or a love of music or anything resembling art. They were put out to sell t-shirts and make-up and fake hair and yes, toothbrushes. I was mad there too, and wanted to take her out of there. But I didn't want to be rude or offend any other parents and I know better than to make a big deal out of not liking something in front of my daughter. It would have hurt her at that point and caused some major backlash, surely.

Now, let me skip and hop over to another disheartening experience I have been having for some time now. One of my for a living jobs is a weekly advice column I write for a girl's website. I get mostly 9-12 year olds writing in with their problems, wishes and dreams. And this week's topic, although it's a constant theme really, revolved around "careers." These nine-year olds that are fed a constant diet of Disney marketing and beyond have one dream. It ain't to be a musician, or to be an actress like it was when I was younger. It's to be "famous." They just want the fame part, the empty part. They don't care about music or art. They'll take whatever gets tossed down their throats and gobble it up and want to be it but "it" isn't a musician or singer. It's just famous. And that is so freaking depressing.

I love what Jeff said about pursuing things made with passion, in all parts of his life, and that has been a constant in the hubby and mine's discourse about parenting. And as a side benefit I believe it diffuses the idol worship a little. That's why we started taking her to see shows when we could, that's why I cried when we saw Barabra Brousal with her guitar, with Dan Zanes and my then two year old daughter stood under her so close she could see up her skirt because Tuesday was so enamored with this real-life person in front of her playing wonderful music. That's why I started this blog, because when I spoke to some of my parent friends they were also looking for something that was real. Not just something, but somethings as in lotsa, as in a smorgasbord of different music that had passion and life and fun and emotion behind it. Played and performed by real musicians who did it because they loved it in a truly accesible way. She loves Pancake Mountain because it's inspiring, she feels like she could make that. And she's tried. She's gotten Dad to film her in crazy skits and she isn't the least bit disapointed when she watched them and their less than perfect. They're real and she's proud.

So, I still feel stupid. Jeff said it all way better than I could. And we still have the fake hair piece, hanging on a hook in her room. And she really liked the Glam Girlz experience unfortunately. But she didn't like the music and asked for one of her CDs in the car on the way home and I'm grateful for that much. She'll have to make her own way, but at least we're offering up options.

I'll try and put some music up later tonight. Thanks for listening to me rant on and on.

Merry Chanukah

2006-12-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

Hey, they're the premier Jew band of the season-- the LeeVees. They are Adam Gardner (Guster) and Dave Schneider (the Zambonis) and they put out an indie rock record last year called Hanukkah Rocks.

There is also an iTunes exclusive EP which I will not post for you here but you can go get for pennies.

On their website you can get ringtone and ringback tones of their mini-songs, "I Want an iPod (and By The Way, Happy Hanukkah") and "Little Jewish Friend."

There is an e-Card too. And live shows? Yep, they're even playing a temple in Connecticut. Here are the dates:

Dec 16th - Bridgeport, CT @ Temple B'nai Israel
Dec 17th - Chicago, IL @ Kinetic Playground - Dave and Adam acoustic
Dec 21st - Boston, MA @ TT The Bears - Dave and Adam acoustic
Dec 23rd - Brooklyn, NY @ Southpaw Jewltide w/ Corn Mo & Tim Fite

Hey, they're fun. And pretty damn funny, too.

The LeeVees, "Nun Gimmel"
The LeeVees, "Applesauce vs. Sour Cream"

Visit their site.

Who likes owls? Best of 06, Vol. 2

2006-12-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite CDs for the whole family this year was a release that until oh, this morning, wasn't available for sale. I'm talking of the Terrible Twos, "If You Ever See An Owl." The Cd has been complete for some time but the band was looking for a label to put it out. Now they've gone and put up a little impromptu eBay store and I like because this is a great holiday gift for your children and those children of people you like.

The Terrible Twos are led by Matt Pryor (formally of the Get-Up Kids and currently of The New Amsterdams) and the music is just good. The lyrics range from simple and silly to junior indie rock stuff. It's played so well and it doesn't sound like any other music made for kids really and yet it's wholly appropriate.

This from an interview with their local paper, in Lawrence Kansas (the gal quoted is Julia Peterson of the band The Breaks)

Matt: Well, we say 'songs for children.' The idea is to make music that kids would like as much as adults would like. Because Barney and The Wiggles and stuff like that is just incredibly annoying crap. So I'm just trying to write little folky pop songs but have them be about dinosaurs and bugs and stuff like that. We'll say 'kids record' - that's fine. I just kind of want to disassociate myself. I don't want to be a 'kids' artist.'

Julia: You don't wear a costume or anything when you play.

Matt: No, not at all. I mean, definitely you have to engage the kids. I'm figuring it out as I go along. It's different. There's the kind of rock-band way, like: 'Alright, how's everybody doing tonight!?' Kids just go 'eh.' So you gotta be like, 'Alright, who likes owls!?'

"Caroline" is about a girl whose birthday is just 3 days before Christmas and the upside to this apparent downer. Truly, this is my fave CD of the year for families and my daughter's hands-down fave too. No princesses, no Power Rangers, just mighty fine singing and songwriting.

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

You can now buy this CD. Fantastic. Go here and do just that, while you're there you can pick up a New Amsterdams t-shirt.

And here is their website: theterribletwos.net
And the New Amsterdams are good, too.

)))) (((((

*I don't know these people, I'm not plugging friends, we just like the goods. If you're looking for good baby / kid gifts, my husband's favorite online store is Little Ruler. It's pretty great, chock full of licensed skate designs. My daughter sports her "Skateboarding is not a crime shirt" proudly.

Food Fight!

2006-12-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

I know this has been on a zillion blogs already but c'mon, it's quite perfect for my admitedlly tiny audience: the goofiness of it all, the food throwing, the yeah yeahs. It's all so catchy! And the discussion questions you can circulate to the little ones afterward: would you be angered if someone threw food at you in the name of the fun, if it were something you didn't enjoy eating? Or would that make it worse, as in "they wasted a good plate of s'ghetti and meatballs!"?

Matt and Kim, "Yea Yeah" (Video)

And now, the song, for your files.

Matt and Kim, "Yea Yeah"

Check out more songs at their site.

And thanks Heather for the little blue arrow code!! Check it out people, you click de arrow and you can hear the song on. this. page. Yippee! How simple.

***

I'm in a pickle, of sorts. Not a big pickle, one of those teeny gherkins. And I know, all bloggers deal with this. Since I'm blogging about kids and music, I get a lot of kids' music these days. Sent free to my house. Which is swell, I mean, I love mail. But here's the rub: I don't like kids' music. I mean, I started this blog because I like playing my daughter music that ALL of us can enjoy together. Sure, occasionally that means some vague semblence of kids music (Lunch Money, Dan Zanes, The Terrible Twos) but far more often than not, it means music originally intended for bigger people. I know there has been much said about making kids too cool for school and I agree with the statement that I don't have to like all the music she likes. But it sure makes life more fun when I do because we listen to music in this house together. We also watch TV, when we do, together (and that means I've seen every ep of Power Rangers Mystic Force, mind you) but that's what we do. Will there come a time when she does these things on her own? Of course, sooner than later I'm sure. (And she does play alone and draw alone, fyi, I don't shadow her every move!) But music is often on and we really do listen as a family and most of what I get in the mail, 99% actually, while I know the musicians put their heart and soul into it and time and energy and money and all that jazz, I still don't wanna listen to it. I all too often find it seriously hokey, kind of un-clever and mostly poorly executed. Or boring. Was that too harsh? Yikes. So publicists, please, don't send me this stuff because I feel lousy about not liking it, I don't want to be a critic and frankly, I don't know what to do with these disks... can they be recycled? Case in point, and I don't wanna single anyone out, but geez this band has plenty of fans, my handful of readers hearing this ain't gonna be a blow to their sales (I hope!, truly) but I got the recent Milkshake CD. We saw them on the pretty horrible Disney tour that Dan Zanes was on and well we really wanted to see Dan so we went and they were pretty bad. But you know, my kid liked one of the songs live so when we got the CD, I gave it a fair shake and put it on for her. We listened. She dug a song and asked for it to be played again. I cringed but did it, thinking of Christopher Noxon's recent post. I didn't let on that I didn't enjoy it, I didn't. She asked for it again the next day, we put it on, she made it through two songs and said she didn't like it anymore. Amen. If you like kids' music or your kids like kids' music then you could get them this Milkshake CD or Hilary Duff or her sister or some other over-enounciated sunny plastic pop. Or I could send it to you. I've got a copy with no place to go.

New Grass From New York

2006-11-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Lovely Mrs. Amy Davis interviewed Dan Zanes last month and in that lovely give and take he mentioned his fellow Brooklynites, the band Astrograss, who played with him on his song "Jump Up!" on the Bright Spaces 2 comp. I felt the need to investigate.

Astrograss are pretty darn cute-- they have a young, fresh indie take on bluegrass and perform adult shows and kid shows, kind of like TMBG do. They have a kids' ep out, simply titled, Astrograss For Kids and self-titled CD from last year. On their website you will find a muncha buncha live covers available for download. I'm not gonna write much more, you can check 'em out below, and on their sites, one for adults, one for kids.

Astrograss, "Hungry Mungry" (words by Shel Silverstein!!!)

***

A couple of other things to note:

))) You know this whole lullaby covers of rock songs that's been happening like the Radiohead one? Well, I Guess I'm Floating has a track from the latest, Rockabye Baby! Does Nirvana. If you're into that sort of thing. What do you think? IGIF's Connor is a fan.

))) On Heather's Monday Music Round-Up she features a song by a guy I'd never heard of before, Benjy Ferree. I listened, I liked and then I thought, my kid would dig this song. I mean, "Happy hands are up in the air?" Yeah. Head on over to I Am Fuel, You Are Friends and listen for yourself. She's insitituted that lovely little arrow for your listening pleasure. I need to get me some of that. (Also if you go to today's post she mentioned a KEXP session with Rosewood Thieves who I love, love, love - thanks Heather.)

))) They Might Be Giants have sent out one of their many emails detailing ideal holiday purchases for you, from you, to you that will put money in their hands. I don't mind sending this info along or even this info because they are great.

))) Lunch Money has also sent out an email, but theirs doesn't speak of their wonderful CD from two years ago that if you don't have you should get, no theirs speaks of an upcoming show that despite not being anywhere near, I'm going to mention because wow, does it sound fun. This Saturday they are playing at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina where there is a current Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. It's free, there will be dancing and singing and art making. Wish we were there...

))) The Fids & Kamily Poll is all up complete with essays and reviews and the like. Checkity check it. My own Year's Best that were not featured in that exercise, will unfold on these pages over the next month. It began yesterday. Just look down.

Year's Best*, Part 1

2006-11-28T09:31:00.000-08:00

Music makes a great holiday gift for most anyone. I love making mix tapes, nee CDs, for people but I also like to spend some of that money I'm gonna spend anyway on buying my favorite CDs for others, thereby giving the musicians a little extra (double buying) which seems more than fair, neccesary almost. That was certainly one of the driving forces behind the Fids & Kamily Poll that Amy Davis, Stefan and Bill created. But as I've said before, they had restrictions. Damn restrictions. (But still, read my review of the Dan Zanes CD!) So over the next few weeks I'm gonna try and drop all the names of the bands and their CDs that were on my list, with a tune or two to inspire you. I've written about many of these bands before but perhaps you're new to this here blog or if not, you've long ago forgotten about the gloriousness that is the following.

*Wholly subjective, no restrictions, many of the CDs are not even from this year exactly, in no particular order. Oh well.

Saint Etienne – Up The Wooden Hills
This six-song EP was I think, originally supposed to be released on its own but as far as I can tell, it’s just been released as a double disc set with their 06 release “Tales from Turnpike House.” Any which way you can get it, I think you should— it’s one of my favorites (if not the favorite) CD that was released with the children’s market as it’s express goal. It’s danceable, hand-clappable, fantastical and just a damn fine good time. But I will tell you, my daughter didn’t come around to this quick-like. Upon initial plays she rejected it outright. But I tried again, like I did with non-nuggeted chicken and just like that, she found the love. Every song is gorgeous and fun at the same time thanks to Sarah Cracknell’s breathy voice. And the accompanying full length CD is a good late-night CD for you, your mate and a fine bottle of wine. It's like two for one, only that one is really expensive because it's an import. Sorry!

Saint Etienne, "Excitation"

Saint Etienne, "A Good Thing" (from the "adult" disc)

Now, you wanna buy that CD combo plate? Make sure you get the "Tales of the Turnpike" that comes with the EP, "Up The Wooden Hills." Buy it, here.
More about Saint Etienne.

Octopi? Octopus's? Oh bother.

2006-11-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

The holidays are coming, the fids & kamily awards have outlined a collective list of best buys in kids' CDs this year and there are fine choices among them, but you can never, ever go wrong with the Beatles. If you don't already have the White Album, Sgt. Peppers or any number of best of collections, pick one up for a gift. Also out-- the new collection entitled LOVE that is Sir George Martin (aka alleged fifth Beatles) and his son Giles' remix of classic Beatles hits. Sound awful?

It ain't.

They take demo bits, lost bits, un-used bits, used bits and bits from other songs and mash them up and the results are quite nice actually: full, orchestral, gorgeous, seamless, walls of sound. These "new" tunes have served as the backdrop to the thirty-seventh or fifty-eighth Cirque Du Soilel Vegas extravaganza too. Don't be oft-put by the soft, slow intro to Octopus' Garden-- it bubbles up soon enough.

The Beatles, "Sgt. Peppers" (Love version)
The Beatles, "Octopus' Garden" (Love version)

Buy it here. Stream more songs here.

I'll make a tourniquet out of my shirt, you needn't do much just sit there and flirt (and if it looks drizzly I'lll build us a yurt.)

2006-11-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

This is a touch diff from the usual pop we send your way, but if you're a fan of the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events, or your children are, then these songs should be a kick in the shorts. Stephen Merritt of the Magnetic Fields' and other "bands" that mostly consist of just him, originally did some music for the audio versions of the Unfortunate books. He and Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, are friends apparently. They've culled some of those songs and created a few new ones for this new Nonesuch release: The Tragic Treasury.

I love these books because they're over the top fun and they're written rather well. They really set the mind on fire, the imagination a whirl. I already loved Handler though, before these hit-- his first book, The Basic Eight, is one of my all-time favorite YA books.

And the songs? Gloomy goofs with hilarious lyrics a la Snicket. Think: super dark and scary carnival scenario where kids go in and don't come out. Does my kid wanna listen to them? No way. But if you've got a gloomy pre-teen looming round the house, these may get them a giggling, albeit when you're not looking.

The Gothic Archies, "Walking My Gargoyle"(from The Carnivorous Carnival)
The Gothic Archies, "Shipwrecked" (from The End)

Listen to more. Buy the The Gothic Archies CD.

Looks can be deceiving.

2006-11-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

This is a lesson I should have learned long ago, but alas, 'tis not so. I got this CD by a band calling themselves unfortunately Baby Loves Jazz. The CD is called Go Baby Go! Computer-generated animals with instruments on the front in the brightest colors imaginable prevented me from listening to it. That's it, to the right. I just don't feel it.

Then as I was making a pile of CDs to get rid of (I know, I told you) I noticed the tiny Verve logo. Verve? I looked inside to see what this was, thinking it was going to be a compilation of Verve artists doing songs that were vaguely childlike and that would have been okay. But I was still wrong.

Baby Loves Jazz is a band made up of stellar musicians: the bitchin' Sharon Jones of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings; John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood; Babi Floyd soul-swing singer and songwriter; Ben Perowsky, drummer with John Zorn; Lonnie Plaxico who has played bass with greats like Dexter Gordon, Art Blakely and Mr. Chet Baker and modern artists such as Cassandra Wilson; Briggan Krauss the sax player in Sex Mob and Good Kitty who has played with every NYC avant jazz artist around, he's even played in the Hal Wilner / Leonard Cohen project; and it's all led by Steven Bernstein, also of Sex Mob, and the Millennial Territory Orchestra. Pedigree people.

The songs are mostly of the nursery variety but yeah, they're elevated. Even my oft-jaded five year old was into their versions of "Old MacDonald" and "Working on the Railroad" (and from the get-go, no warm-up necessary) because they are lively, raucous with enough of a new spin to make them worthwhile and fun even for -- ugh! -- those jaded five year old ears. And there are a few new tunes here as well.

Baby Loves Jazz, "Ten Little Monkeys"

And because much of the Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings is ideal for kids, here is a song from her CD, I think from last year.

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, "This Land is Your Land" (mp4)

Buy the Baby Loves Jazz CD

***

I love the SoftLightes and not just because we're friends with tickle-Kristian. This is a band that has a unique playful sound that is so sweet and gooey and yet a touch subversive. I think the music is ideal for kids and adults alike. Can't recommend them enough. Here is their latest video, also good for the kids--

Greensleeves

2006-11-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

I love synchronicity! No, not the Police album (which I do love, but that's not the point)... Last week I was thinking about what I could post here when the new Linus of Hollywood CD, Triangle, arrived in the mail from NotLame, my go-to site for the best power pop CDs.

The very same day, during my son's history lesson (we homeschool) we studied music of the Renaissance, specifically the English folk song Greensleeves. We listened to versions by The Boston Pops, The King's Singers, and Loreena McKennitt.

So, I figured I could write a post about a modern-day pop craftsman from Los Angeles, or a 500-year-old traditional tune that may have been written by King Henry VIII.

First thing I did that evening was sit down at the computer to listen to Linus of Hollywood's 2001 CD, Let Yourself Be Happy, an amalgamation of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Harry Nilsson.

As the first track started playing, it took me about 30 seconds to think, "Oh wow, I've got Greensleeves on the brain." As the song progressed, I realized it wasn't my mind playing tricks. Linus used the Greensleeves melody in the song Building A Ship.

And that's why you're getting both songs today. First, my favorite version of Greensleeves, a traditional orchestral rendition by The Boston Pops, adapted by Ralph Vaughan Williams and conducted by John Williams:

The Boston Pops Orchestra - "Fantasia On Greensleeves"

And, from Linus of Hollywood, that Greensleeves-inspired song, plus a second track off a brilliant disc of sunshine pop that is good for all ages:

Linus of Hollywood - "Building A Ship"
Linus of Hollywood - "A Whole New Country"

- Phil

Buy The Boston Pops' Pops In Love CD here at Amazon.
Buy Linus of Hollywood's Let Yourself Be Happy CD here at Amazon.

A Spanking Good Time

2006-11-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

First up, I have mastered the powers of MidPhase and have a new server! Okay maybe mastered is not the right word, hobbling by is more like it, but hey, we have a new place to hold our music and for now it works, so a few hosannas and halelujahs are in order.

Onward.

Okay, I've been spanked. You see, I have voted in the Fids & Kamily Poll, but alas, the powers that be have rejected one (actually three!) of my picks, one of which is the new "kids" record from The Asylum Street Spankers entitled Mommy Says No! They say since it's currently available on the web-only and not due for official release till February it don't count. Fine, fine. That just means I can write about it here (I wasn't gonna talk up any of my picks till the whole poll was out and public.) I really like this CD. I obviously haven't had it long but from the moment I took it out of the case and plopped it in the CD player, it's been a hit with the family. This is, in many ways, classic Spankers with Christina and Wammo trading off most of the vocals and hence the styles—from old-timey rags to balls-out bar rock to just plain keep Austin weird style tunes.

It's probably no secret, from the song I picked here, that we like the Christina picks betta, BUT having said that, "You Only Love Me For My Lunchbox" (Baby) is about as fun as the recording gets. And it's a fun one. I like the Spankers previous adult incarnations, their politics are dished up with knee-slapping hilarity (see You Tube for their video "Slap A Yellow Ribbon On Your SUV" for proof.) And certainly the music-part was A-OK for the kids -- fun singalongs, catchy melodies, loud shout outs -- the only thing is, they are ferociously foul-mouthed. Capital F. Now if you've been here before, you know that doesn't get me too riled up, I can let double entendres fly by with the best of them, but at some point, you gots to draw the arbitrary line.

So this is a welcome addition to our CDs, it will see much play. And as a kicker, they cover a Harry Nilsson song ("Think About Your Troubles") and a Nirvana track ("Sliver," of course...Grandma take me home!)

As I said, it's only available on their website right now, aparently till February when this will be officially released. Oh and I believe Feb 07 is also when we will see truly my favorite kids' CD of the year gets it much overdue release: The Terrible Twos, If You Ever See an Owl. Can't wait, more on that later.

Asylum Street Spankers, "Be Like You" from Mommy Says No!
Asylum Street Spankers, "Cakewalk" from Hot Lunch

And because, seriously, hallelujahs are in order, I can post again...

Rufus Wainright, "Hallelujah" from Shrek soundtrack

**Buy Mommy Says No! (you can even get a lunchbox!)**

My new Band Crush

2006-11-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

I call these two songs a million times a day just to hear the sounds of their voices. I Google them and read all their MySpace comments. I’m willing to ignore the fact that I don’t really LOVE all the other songs by this band, and that they aren't all kid friendly. When my dad says this music is fluff and no good for me, I say he totally doesn’t understand and I slam my bedroom door and call them again. Cha. It IS deep and beautiful. And Heck! There’s a UKULELE!!! Like all the music that gets me bothered these days. I know we’re going to get married and have gorgeous musical children and live in a beautiful treble clef shaped house with topiaries shaped like instruments.

Or maybe tomorrow I’ll be listening to the Blow again.

But these songs are pretty stunning:

Bishop Allen - Butterfly Nets - From the EP May
Bishop Allen – Like Castanets - From the EP September

And WHY OH WHY I thought I was going to be the only person in the world that stupid new ezarchive thing was suddenly going to work for? I tried it and it seemed to work, but alas... New links that should work put in on Saturday PM.

Check out Bishop Allen and buy some.

--deb in sf

Crappy Halloween!

2006-10-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

So much Halloween music, so little time. The EZ Archive migration has been a bitch, and that coupled with the annoying fact that I came down with a flu-type bug (it's not even November you cruel and merciless gods of fate, I wasn't even done recouping from my surgery!) so after my massive self pity party I had little to no time and in fact no place to post said songs. Sucksville.

Still, it is Halloween and it would be downright sad if smallages didn't post on such a day. So, I give you a link or two below to round out your Halloween sounds playlist for tonight's festivities.

I'd already mentioned Scar Stuff and well, it is the best in my opinion for all the creepy crawly sounds and old school tunes. Monster Shindig is another, although he has quite a bit less than Scar Stuff.

Power Records uploads the old LPs of my youth put out by Power Records, these are story albums with Wonder Woman and Conan the Barbarian, GI Joe and Star Trek. So bad it's good. Not super Halloweenie, but could be good if you've got yourself a little Wonder Woman or Superman on this day.

You Ain't No Picasso has a CD's worth of very nice halloween-inspired tracks up. Kid stuff? Some, for sure. Some, for not.

I watched a lot of TV in the last couple of days, being sick and all (pity me), and Fine Living of all networks has a long mp3 to download of spooky sounds, go to "Scary Sounds Download". can't say I've listened to the whole thing, but it seems pretty decent. They also have video, and this kills me, of Rick Dees reading the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Rick Disco Duck Dees!

And my kid is gonna be a Power Ranger, not a genie, but I have no pictures of that yet.

Happy Halloween!

PS- Testing my new server now, let's see if it works: Tuesday talks.

A Really Useful Engine

2006-10-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

My son lived and breathed Thomas the Tank Engine from the age of 3 until around his 6th birthday when he suddenly became too sophisticated for talking trains. That hasn't stopped him from watching the show with his little sister (just to be polite, he explains).

The truth is that he loves Thomas. My daughter loves Thomas. Heck, even I love Thomas. Don't we all just want to be "really useful"?

Thomas made a movie six years ago. It featured clunky directing, awkward acting, and downright terrible writing. But my kids don't care. They love it. After 30 or 40 viewings, even I have to admit that the film has a few redeeming qualities. Alec Baldwin is fun to watch, and Diesel makes a good villain. But what I like the most is the music.

The soundtrack (which is now out-of-print) featured these sweet ballads and pop songs:

Ben Wright - "Summer Sunday"
Maren Ord - "Shining Time"
Joe Henry - "Some Things Never Leave You"
Atomic Kitten - "The Locomotion"
Dayna Manning - "I Know How The Moon Must Feel"

You can still buy the movie on DVD. It's really not that bad. Well, Mara Wilson and Peter Fonda are that bad, but the rest of it is fun.

- Phil

Fall Pickin'

2006-10-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

Two things put me in mind of this music today.

I am SO psyched about the release of the of The Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook: Vol. One, yesterday! Just reading the track list sends me into fits of singing, which sends my kids into fits of eye-rolling, already. And they’re little. I’m jumping out of my skin to buy a copy.

Then, this whole autumn harvesty mood thing. I want to make quick-breads and drink cider and take my kids apple picking with Clea and her daughter. Here in CA, it’s all Valley. The Central Valley, where they grow all the food. It’s an amazing place to be right now. You can see and smell where everything in the market comes from and it is truly a glorious place to be.

But there’s this other super cool thing in the Valley. This wonderous folk music gem. I took a beginning instrument course at university extension, down in Fresno a couple of autumns ago. The man giving this course, Evo Bluestein, was an inspiration. He’s part of this folk music family headed by his father, Gene in the 50’s and 60’s, continuing now with Evo (and maybe still one or more of his siblings) playing in a couple of bands and teaching kids about music and folk dance around the Valley and the Southwest.

But the kicker was this CD I bought from him for my kids. It’s called A Horse Named Bill. Evo and his brothers and sister made it with their dad in the 70’s. It’s got that great folk authenticity -- they were a real family band. I think you can hear how much they loved each other and the music, even with the occasional teen sass popping up here and there. The songs are traditional songs, Woody Guthrie songs, Carter Family songs and more.

Music for me is so much about community and love and heart. The Bluestein Family’s A Horse Named Bill sounds just like that. I wish I could buy every one of you a copy and send them to you as a gift. But, I can share a song or two and I can tell you where to get a copy of your very own and one to send to your friends and nieces and nephews…

The Bluestein Family - Jubilee
The Bluestein Family - Pike’s Peak

You MUST hear Chawin’ Chewin’ Gum, but I’ve gotta leave you a reason to buy, now, don’t I?

Buy A Horse Named Bill

--deb in sf

Spooky Music, Round Two

2006-10-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

First up, spooky sounds. I love interjecting the mixed CD with these hilarious bits o' drama, one after each "real" song. Some of these are super nostalgic for me, they're that old. And some are wav. format, but you can import them into iTunes no problem.

"She's Alive"
"Dracula's Been Expecting You"
"The Haunted Mansion" (a collection of classic sound effects)
"Thunderstorms"
"Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me"

Onward. Frankie Stein and His Ghouls was a concocted studio band in the 60s that made a muncha buncha records that were basically guitar driven dance music of the day, intermixed with some yelps and sound effects. They're classic and if you're old enough, you surely will have at least a faint memory of the covers or the sounds. The covers were very Rat Fink-esque, only with Halloween monsters instead of giant hot rodding rats. That's one of them up in the corner. I love how it says "The Ideal Party Record" on it! These are from vinyl records, complete with pops and cracks. They add to the ambience, no?

Frankie Stein and His Ghouls, "Be Careful, It's My Throat"
Frankie Stein and His Ghouls, "The Creep"
Frankie Stein and His Ghouls, "Weerdo The Wolf"
Frankie Stein and His Ghouls, "Knives & Lovers"

The following is just plain ol' fashion good spooky organ music, old and crackly.

"Spooky Organ Music"

And lastly, it's the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown! From the original album, so yep, it's also filled with pops. I love it because this is how we listened to this record back in the day. Such a fogey am I. I don't believe this is available on CD, but I could be wrong.

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Part One)
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Part Two)

All this fabulous music comes from Scar Stuff, a terrific blog about spooky music. There is so much more there, it's amazing and just a little overwhelming.

Part Three of my spooky series will not dip into Scar Stuff's deep pockets any more. I've got more recent stuff to share. Soon...

Oh and did you see, Ahmet Zappa is pairing up with the Henson children to produce a live action version of Fraggle Rock as a movie? Wha?

The Lennon Brothers

2006-10-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

Sean Lennon released his second album, Friendly Fire, last week. It's beautiful and haunting. You should buy it for yourself.

For over twenty years I've been a fan of John's other son, Julian. I think his debut album, Valotte, is a classic that still holds up well. Since that first album, Julian's releases have been hit and miss. His songs are all very serious, and I wish he'd lighten up a bit, but I completely understand where he's coming from...

You see, Julian and I both had fathers who left us to start new families. His dad and mine were both very distant even though they had the financial means to be a presence in our lives. My dad wasn't a famous rock singer, but he was extremely well-respected in his field. Julian once said about his father John: "The only thing he taught me was how not to be a father." I could've said that. In fact, I have.

Sean lost his dad too, so it's a tragedy for both sons, and I suspect that they could sit down and compare notes on the myriad of thoughts and feelings surrounding their father.

But the real question here is, what have these two sons of a legend done for the kids? Well, not much actually. Their songs are almost all quite emotional and introspective. However, I dug through my collection and found a couple of very nice tunes to share with the kids.

When Sean was nine years old he released his very first song, a fun little cover of one of his mom's tunes (the CD is now out-of-print):

Sean Lennon - "It's Alright"

And, from Julian's 1991 CD, Help Yourself, comes this gorgeous lament for the environment. The guitar solo is by none other than George Harrison:

Julian Lennon - "Saltwater"

The sons of John Lennon have done well following in their footsteps. I'm still waiting to hear something out of Dhani Harrison and James McCartney. The only other "Son of a Beatle" is Zak Starkey, who is currently touring with The Who before he officially joins Oasis as their new drummer next year.

- Phil

Spooky Music, Part One.

2006-10-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went apple picking with my daughter and her kindergarten class. Very fun stuff, the kind of stuff that tinges those dreams you get when you're holding a newborn and wondering what the future holds for you and her. Prior to leaving for the orchard, I got to sit in on their assembly (mind you, her school has about 60 kids total, for all grades K-8.) It was kickstarted with a wild dance to Sister Sledge's "We are Family." Like all 60 kids crazily dancing in this packed room to "We Are Family." My daughter sang along to every word, apparently they do this every Friday morning and I had no idea. Absolute hysteria. But actually not as funny as the night before-- she was in the bathtub and out of nowhere she just busted out with these words:

You've got to give a little,
take a little, and let your poor heart break a little.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love.

You've got to laugh a little,
cry a little, until the clouds roll by a little.
That's the story of, that's the glory of love.

Yep, Mr. Shane, her music teacher has taught the five year olds "Glory of Love." Damn cute.

Okay, some Halloween tunes to start off your own CD of Evil sounds. In the words of my five year old daughter, "prepare to meet your doom!" (She's obsessed with Power Rangers of late. I didn't even know they still showed that stuff, but apparently the franchise is alive and well and just as bad as ever!) This is part one of the Evil series. There is a part two and three yet to come.

The Cramps, "Big Black Witchcraft Rock"
Roky Erickson, "I Walked With A Zombie"
Adams Family Theme Song (.wav)
Rob Zombie, "The Munsters Theme"
Music for Zombies, "Carnival of Souls"
Violent Femmes, "The Werewolf"

** Warning ** Roky Erickson songs are scary. The Cramps are never PC and the V. Femmes song does mention ripping off the maid's clothes to a round of applause. Hey, it's Halloween. I know I mentioned I made a CD for my daughter's class and I didn't include the Cramps or Femmes on that one, but I did go for the Erickson track.

I don't mind the discussion continuing regarding the merits of blogging full songs vs. the detriments, but if you comment on this cause, please don't do it anonymously. It's just weird to have a dialogue with "anon." And we promise, we won't hunt you down and poke you.

Also, in case some of you have been following me or this for awhile, I used to have another blog called Yer Little Sister. Where'd it go? A few months back, I moved everything over to my superclea.com address. It is there that I just spew and write when I feel like it and post other thoughts and comments and yes, music. There are links to all my books there as well, and you know, the holidays are coming up!! You can also read a "free" short story there and soon I will re-post my "free book," (it was up last holiday season) which is a holiday extravaganza that you can download and print. See, as a a creative person who has to make money from my craft, I feel if you read a free story or download a free book and like it, you're far more likely to spend the money to buy my other books. Just like these music blogs and, oh, nevermind...

More about: The Cramps, Roky Erickson, Violent Femmes, Music for Zombies CD

The King's Singers

2006-10-19T00:50:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of The King's Singers since I was a kid, first seeing them on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where they made regular appearances during the 70's and 80's.

The vocal group was founded in 1965 by six choral scholars at King's College Cambridge. At first they called themselves Schola Cantorum Pro Musica Profana in Cantabridgiense. By 1968 they'd adopted the catchier name of The King's Singers. Over the past thirty years the lineup has changed, but the music they've made has remained strong. Well, except for a few pop-related mis-steps. But there's no better way to introduce your children to the joys of vocal music than through the vast catalog of The King's Singers...

They've sung German madrigals:
"Das G'läut Zu Speyer (The Bells of Speyer)"

British folksongs:
"Home Sweet Home"
"There's Nae Luck About the House"

Classical interpretations:
"Flight of the Bumblebee"

Gilbert & Sullivan:
"Patter Matter"

Popular tunes:
The Beatles' "Honey Pie"
Queen's "Seaside Rendezvous"

Gorgeous originals:
"You Are The New Day"

Buy King's Singers CDs here

- Phil, at A Family Runs Through It

Born to Country Dance

2006-10-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

Where does he come up with this stuff? I’d swear it was just a procrastination tactic, but it was too golden. I don’t make these things up, truly.

Max came in to me when I was working the other day asking for a music break from his homework. He wanted to hear a country song because “momma, I was born to country dance.” Excuse me? After I got up of the floor from laughing all my inappropriate body parts off, I told him to do two more lines of writing and then I’d play him a country song. My boy’s got some moves, all right. I don’t know if they’re country, but they’re all Max.

We are city people, but this is great and very danceable stuff. You probably already know these songs, but hey, it never hurts to hear them again, I don’t think.

Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire
Hank Williams – Move It On Over
Patsy Cline – Side By Side

I gotta say, now that Clea’s back, I feel a little shy. I don’t know jack about music except that I like what I like and I think sharing it is more fun than singing and dancing alone in my living room. So, in that spirit, I continue on and hope you enjoy some of my wacky, dork princess tastes. Thanks for letting me stay and play, Clea!

--deb in sf

Cavemen & Celebs Singing, Badly

2006-10-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my peripheral dancing around of songs that could potentially be used for your Halloween mix tape, I bring you the Neanderthals. They are led by guitarist Eddie Angel, owner of Spinout Music and awesome guitarist for Los Straitjackets, the kitschy surf-influenced men in Mexi wrestling masks (who, when they sing or talk, which isn't often, mostly do so in Spanish.) The Neanderthals play more garage rock and they do so in caveman outfits. The Neanderthals CD is really fun, push all the furniture to the walls dance music for kids and adults alike. Plus, they sing in caveman outfits. Lots of twisting songs, but of course the one that is a la perfect for Halloween? Their cover of "Purple People Eater." I've included an instrumental (save for the wolf-like moaning) from Eddie Angel's solo CD, Guitar Party, another good one for Hallow's Eve. And a fun taste of Los Straitjackets' slightly klezmer influenced surf fiestas.

The Neanderthals, "Purple People Eater"
The Neanderthals, "Twist To The Moon"
Eddie Angel, "The Panasonics Meet The Wolfman"
Los Straitjackets, "Tabouli"

Eddie also has a CD called Eddie Angel Meets the Beatles which is not him covering Beatles songs but rather Eddie covering songs that the Beatles covered early in their career. I like the twist. All are available on eMusic or via Eddie's label, Spinout.

**

Unexpected Dreams: Songs From the Stars came out earlier this year. It's bad. I mean, you'd expect, not unexpect and you'd be right with the first instinct. The concept in case you don't know is a bunch of stars, um, singing. I don't believe that's really Scarlett Johansson singing. I mean, I'm sure she walked up to that mic and opened her mouth, but the end result has been so tweaked and knobbed that I suspect it doesn't resemble the actual sounds that came out that day. Ewan McGregor sounds like Clay Aiken with a slightly diff accent, Jennifer Garner sounds like another American Idol second or third place winner, John Stamos is John Stamos and it makes me laugh because when I was a pre-teen and he was on General Hospital I thought there was no one else for me. Teri Hatrcher makes me wince and wince again. I will say, the John C. Reilly track is do-able, he's lovable and can sing in that I'm on Broadway and deserve to be here sort of way, but it's not like Great with a capital G. This CD is for a good cause, Music Matters, a music education program founded by the L.A. Philharmonic. Still, this is for lovers of American Idol (those who watch for the music and not the spectacle) and celeb gawkers of the most intense kind. The track list...

Scarlett Johansson – “Summertime”
Ewan McGregor – “The Sweetest Gift”
Taraji P. Henson – “In My Daughter’s Eyes”
Jennifer Garner – “My Heart Is So Full of You”
Jeremy Irons – “To Make You Feel My Love”
John Stamos – “Goodnight My Angel”
Lucy Lawless – “Little Child”
Marissa Jaret Winokur – “The Wish Song”
Eric McCormack – “The Greatest Discovery”
Victor Garber – “No One Is Alone”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “The Nightshift”
Nia Vardalos – “Golden Slumbers”
John C. Reilly – “Lullaby In Ragtime”
Teri Hatcher – “Goodnight”

But you're curious (and so was I) so here you go, the Ewan McGregor track:

Ewan McGregor, "The Sweetest Gift"

More info: Music Matters

A shower has never felt so good.

2006-10-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

You know, it felt even better than when I was camping for like a week with no plumbing in site and my dog peed on me on Day 1. I have taken my first (and second, equally as great) shower since my surgery. Absolute fabulousness.

Not as fabulous as the wonderful blogging friends who have been posting here at small ages for the last two and a half weeks. Zak, Deb and Phil rocked it. They entertained me, informed me and made my insides dance, if not my outsides. So much so, that I've asked them to stay on as regulars. I honestly think that this space is better served by divergent points of view. I inadvertantly chose three people who I think represent totally different musical backgrounds and desires and yet three people who complement each other excceptionally well. I wish I could say I did that on purpose, part of a bigger plan, but I didn't. I just chose people I like. Just lucky, I guess.

So, here I am today, but tomorrow it may be one of the small ages friends. I hope you all enjoy and appreciate and dig right into the positive change.

Now, I love Halloween. In the next couple of weeks I will try and bring you the best of my Halloween collection that way you can make party tapes for your little ones Hallow's Eve celebrations. My kid and I made a CD for the holiday and have made 12 copies, one for each of her classmates.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, because I'm not posting all that music today. Today I am starting with a children's CD made by Jad and David Fair of Half Japanese. In case you're unfamiliar with Jad, he and his brother play their instruments, um differently than most and are considered to play "primitive rock," i.e. with no schooled talent. Jad has played with Kramer, Daniel Johnston and Yo La Tengo and his music is sort of an acquired taste, I suspect. But he has flashes of true charm, for sure. And he's freaking prolific. It makes sense that the guy sat down to do a children's record, his own work definitely has a childlike flair.

This CD, 26 Monster Songs for Children A-Z, is exactly what it says it is. A song for each letter of the alphabet about a monster. You know the Abominable Snowman, Bigfoot, Creature, etc... A child's voice announces the monster of choice with a short explanation of who they are and then the song. This is real fun, I suggest this whole CD and it is available for download on eMusic. And of course, the songs are terrific for Halloween.

Jad and David Fair, "Dracula"
Jad and David Fair, "Headless Horseman"
Jad and David Fair, "Zombie"

More info on: Jad Fair, Jad on eMusic

FYI - Clea's Craft Corner! You can make your own CD case for your classes' CDs on the cheap. Take a brown lunch bag. Don't open it up. Cut about an inch and a half off the top. Slip the disc in, again, without opening the bag up to standing position and then fold over the top and tuck it into the fold that is the bottom of the bag. It will just magically stay put. Get your kid to decorate the front with drawings or stickers or paint and voila, you have a cheap little project and a cute gift. Hope that makes sense. I do write craft books for a living and yet, that explanation seems to be missing something. Perhaps I'll put up a picture with my next post.

Good to be back...

i miss clea

2006-10-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

The boys beat me on their sweetness, but I wrote this little post days ago. I just didn't put it up, because they are too darned speedy for me.

If you’re reading, wherever you are, girl –

I’m having a blast, but I hope you come back soon. In the tradition of your "I love them" posts...

Guggenheim Grotto – I Think I Love You
warning if this bugs – this song has the ‘h-e-double-toothpicks’ word in the chorus. Thanks to Heather at I am Fuel for this band, way back.

Iris DeMent – Hotter Than Mohave in My Heart
She's a country singer and has a very unique voice. Her music is so emotional. My littles like it, they do. Maybe think a little bit country Victoria Williams and listen with an open ear.

Some Trees Grow Bananas

2006-10-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

It's Zak from the two mirrors. So either I've been holding out on you, or you all have been holding out on me. You see there is some great kids music being made by Jon Allmett. He also makes music for adults but has one cd released that focuses on music for kids. Jon's work with children at summer camps such as Camp Sunshine and Camp Kudzu inspired him to write an entire album of songs written specifically for children (and their families). However you should be forewarned, Jon Allmet is the Wierd Al of kids music. You see he takes songs that we as adults know well and makes them into REALLY funny kids songs. He also has some very brillant originals too. Look at the track listing below and see what songs he spoofs.

1. Four Fingers and Your Thumb (Violent Femmes, Blister in the Sun)
2. Georgia Gold
3. Don't Ask Me Why
4. Love Is
5. Rocky Road
6. A Clown Named Earl (Jimmy Buffett, Brown Eyed Girl)
7. New ABC's
8. Favorite Crayons
9. Some Trees Grow Bananas (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sweet Home Alabama)
10. Seesawing (Tom Petty, Free Fallin)
11. Summer of 99' (Bryan Adams, Summer of 69)
12. Slippin' in my Socks
13. Rainbow Connection
14. Wonderbread (John Mayer, Wonderland)

So, Aiden and Anna have been loving this cd for about a year now, and it occured to me that I had not written about it yet. So back to my original statement, if you know about this guy and you haven't shared then you are just as bad as I am. Try these four songs...

Four Fingers and Your Thumb (Violent Femmes, Blister in the Sun)--Jon Allmet

New ABC's (original track)--Jon Allmet

Seesawing (Tom Petty, Free Fallin)--Jon Allmet MOST HIGHLY RECCOMENDED

Summer of 99 (Bryan Adams, Summer of 69)--Jon Allmet MOST HIGHLY RECCOMENDED

GO BUY HIS RECORD FOR ONLY $10 VIA PAYPAL (SHIPPING INCLUDED)

Clea, we can't wait for your return. Not because we are not having fun taking over your site, but we realize how superior you are. Hope all is well!

A Legend, Not A Star

2006-10-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Phil here, sneaking in one last post before Clea returns.

Paul Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter who, despite his legendary status down under, remains almost unknown in the rest of the world. His 30-year career has resulted in a stunning string of songs that combine poetic storytelling with melodic pop/folk/country hooks. David Fricke, of Rolling Stone magazine, called Kelly "one of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise."

I could compile several discs of his songs for my kids. His style is so accessible, and his lyrics so full of intelligence and beauty, we never tire of listening to him.

Here's just a taste of Paul Kelly:

"You Can't Take It With You" - from 1989's So Much Water, So Close To Home... Probably my favorite PK song.

"Madeleine" - from 1995's Deeper Water... Written for Paul's young daughter, this "acoustic" version is actually from an out-of-print Australian children's compilation.

"Dumb Things" - from 1987's Under The Sun... One of his biggest hits, it even showed up during the taxi chase in the John Travolta movie Look Who's Talking.

"From Little Things Big Things Grow" - from 1991's Comedy... The tale of aboriginal rights activist Vincent Lingiari and the Wave Hill Walk-Off.

"If I Could Start Today Again" - from 2001's Nothing But A Dream... Gorgeous song about second chances.

"Whistling Bird" - from 1999's Smoke, a collaboration with bluegrass band Uncle Bill.

"Melting" - from 1998's Words & Music... Beautiful duet with Monique Brumby. This song is summer to me.

"Love Letter" - from 1999's Professor Ratbaggy... An experiment with reggae, dub, and funk.

"Hey Boys" - a duet with Mark Seymour, from the 1992 film Garbo.

Paul Kelly is one of those singers who has almost immediate appeal. It doesn't take very much effort to dive in to his catalog. If you want to get one CD to start off with, I suggest trying his "Best Of" collection, Songs From The South. Amazon has new and used copies for under $10.

Thanks, Clea, for letting me guest-blog here. It was fun!

New Music For Old Bloggers

2006-10-05T23:50:00.000-07:00

Phil here again... When I'm making a song mix for my kids, I'm never at a loss to find some pop nugget from the past. Beatles, XTC, Split Enz, Squeeze, Aztec Camera... Those are the bands I grew up with and still follow. But I don't want to be some old fuddy-duddy who thinks that good music stopped around the time the Internet was invented. So I try to keep up with what's current, almost solely through music blogs. Through this medium, I've discovered the joys of Sufjan Stevens, Iron and Wine, Jenny Lewis, Keane, Lily Allen, and so many more.

Here are just a few other new artists that the kids and I really enjoy:

Amy Diamond
"That's Life"
"Go Kid Go"
Sweden is obviously genetically manipulating their population to create perfect pop singers. Amy is, unbelievably, only 14 years old, but shows a lot of talent for someone that age. For some reason, her CDs are only available as expensive imports.

Au Revoir Simone
"Hurricanes"
This band from Brooklyn, New York, consists of Erika Forster, Annie Hart, and Heather D'Angelo. Their debut CD, Verses of Comfort, Assurance, & Salvation is being re-released at the end of the month.

Scissor Sisters
"Paul McCartney"
When I was a kid, I had a t-shirt that read "Disco Sucks"... Well, something happened to me over the years, because I love this stuff. Maybe it's because the kids go crazy for it, dancing around the house with smiles on their faces. I'll call it "Dance Music" and not feel like a traitor to my t-shirt. Buy the new Scissor Sisters CD here.

Ether Hour
"Walk On"
"Magnesium"
This was the biggest surprise for me this past year. Ether Hour is from the small rural college town of Pullman, Washington. It's basically a couple of computer engineers who like to make music in their spare time. Shades of Elliott Smith, David Yazbek, and Michael Penn. Not exactly happy dance music for kids' playtime... This is intelligent music for adults, but children might appreciate it too. Their entire CD, which you can buy here, is amazing.

The Feeling
"Never Be Lonely"
This British band makes radio-friendly power pop, so how come they're not all over the radio? Get their debut CD here.

Lily Allen
"Alfie"
Okay, this one is NOT for the kids, but I'm including it because Lily Allen is my current music crush. Every single song I've heard by her is brilliant. However, I refrain from playing her for my kids because the lyrics are both extremely witty and extremely R-rated. I'm not quite ready for them to hear about crack whores and marijuana. Buy her debut CD here.

Cutis Eller’s American Circus

2006-10-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

I really dig Curtis Eller. He’s come out to the Bay Area to play a couple of times in the past couple of years. I happened upon his banjo playing, great singing voice, thoughtful songwriting and wild physicality at a club one night and was completely taken in. These aren’t jump around dance songs, but we love them and listen to them often.

One cool by-product is that his songs have started lots of very interesting discussions about Buster Keaton, Amelia Earhart, Coney Island, pigeon racing, Stephen Foster, Al Jolson, Elvis Presley, and other very interesting topics. We’ve learned all kinds of cool stuff.

Plus, he yodels.

Curtis Eller’s American Circus – Amelia Earhart
Curtis Eller’s American Circus – Stephen Foster
Curtis Eller’s American Circus – Red Red Robin

His live shows are totally not all ages, but if you live in NYC or the UK (or check his myspace page for other venues) you should definitely check him out. He’s super dynamic. A great fun show.

-deb in sf

The Boys From Swindon

2006-10-03T00:02:00.000-07:00

Phil here... In my last post I talked about my favorite band, The Beatles. It's not much of a leap to get to my second favorite band, XTC. The boys from Swindon, England, have been around for nearly thirty years and continue to make some of the most quirky, intelligent, lovable tunes around. I consider Andy Partridge to be one of the greatest songwriters ever, along with Neil Finn, Paul McCartney, and Elvis Costello.

XTC's catalog is packed with kid-friendly songs. It's difficult to know where to begin among their 20+ albums, so I'll just go with the songs that my kids love...

"Playground" - from 2000's brilliant Wasp Star ... Andy's daughter Holly sings back-up.

"Helicopter" - from 1979's Drums and Wires... If this doesn't get you up on your feet and spinning around the room with your kids, then I don't know what will.

"Mayor of Simpleton" - from 1989's Oranges and Lemons... Andy wrote this to his kids, professing that he doesn't have to be the smartest dad to know that he loves his children.

"Cherry In Your Tree" - from the 1994 soundtrack to the TV show Carmen Sandiego: Out Of This World... This is one of the first songs my son ever learned to sing.

"Do What You Do" - from their 1978 debut, White Music... Not to be played for the kids right before bedtime.

"Fruit Nut" - from their 1999 orchestral album, Apple Venus... Colin Moulding sings of his love for gardening.

"Bike Ride To The Moon" - recording as The Dukes of Stratosphear, this is from their 1987 psychedelic tribute, Chips From The Chocolate Fireball.

"Happy Families" - from the soundtrack to the 1988 film She's Having A Baby

That's just a taste of XTC. They truly are a band that kids could fall in love with... Catchy melodies, fun lyrics, quirky sound. Not to mention hundreds of songs to explore. And there's more to come... Andy and Colin should have a new CD out before the end of 2007 (they take their time). Andy's been writing songs with Robyn Hitchcock. Can't wait to hear the results of that meeting of the minds.

BONUS SONGS!

Back in the mid-90's, Andy was approached by Henry Selick and Tim Burton to write songs for their animated movie version of James and the Giant Peach. He recorded some great demos, but for one reason or another Disney decided to hire Randy Newman (who else?).

Here are a few of the songs that Andy wrote for the film. My kids like these much better than Newman's:

Andy Partridge - "Don't Let Us Bug Ya"
Andy Partridge - "Everything'll Be Alright"

He had better luck writing the theme to the wonderful TV series Wonderfalls, although the show itself got canceled after just a few airings. Hope Andy cashed his paycheck in time.

Andy Partridge - "I Wonder Why The Wonderfalls"

The Blow

2006-10-02T03:13:00.000-07:00

Hello, my friends, it's Zak from the Two Mirrors. I think you and your children should know about the The Blow. The Blow is Jona Bechtolt and Khaela Maricich and they have a record coming out on October 24^th on K Records. The Blow have a fantastic sound. Think Postal Service minus Ben Gibbard and the addition of a female vocalist, then go a little more upbeat and off kilter. You may even consider Luscious Jackson as an influence. At least the music portion. And thanks to Deb and Bill for reminding us all how fantastic Luscious is.

Below are two tracks from that upcoming record and my little Anna is just addicted to both of them. She just dances around with the look of sheer happiness in her eyes. Now Aiden, on the other hand, could care less because the songs provide him no desire now run around and scream (eg.. Cursive). But none of us can deny how a great pop song makes us feel and these tracks will exemplify that feeling. And how happy would it make Clea to hear that her theory about hand-clapping in songs is proven yet again with the track Pile of Gold. And don't be ashamed to dance like you were two years old again. It's worth it.

The Blow--Pile of Gold

The Blow--Parenthesis

Luscious Junior

2006-09-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

Bill at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child totally made my day today by posting that Luscious Jackson, one of my favorite bands from the 90's (the time when all my knowledge of cool music ends) is getting back together to make an album of kids music! Heck ya! And so to celebrate, I neglected to make my kids' lunches this morning and we did what we always do when we hear some kick tushie Luscious - we jumped on the bed and danced and were late for school. Hey, some things are important in life. Gotta have priorities.

My kids are just about to grow out of being able to listen to MY Luscious Jackson - pretty much completely inappropriate for kids, lyrically. Though, since Annie starts taking her clothes off as soon as she's strapped into her car seat after preschool, Naked Eye is her song. And I sing "hear me now, I'm an Alien Mother" instead of Alien Lover - even though that song's really no big deal, either.

Max, at six is now starting to want to know what every song means, so I'm psyched that we're going to be able to give him his own LJ record to listen to and we can still rock on and dance party - without having to explain Jolene On the Freeway (or is that Kostars? Whatev.). YipeeSkip.

Naked Eye
Alien Lover

And we get to go hang at the beautiful Park Chalet in Golden Gate Park here in San Francisco and hear Enzo and Charity Kahn this weekend with my family and friends and beverages. What could be funner? I am a very happy girl.

Have a great weekend, y'all! -
deb in sf

Beatlesque

2006-09-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

Phil here, with a post about my favorite band, The Beatles. They are also, thanks to me, my son's favorite band. It didn't take much effort on my part to convince him of the greatness of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

All I had to do was play a couple of songs. The best one to start with, of course, is Yellow Submarine. That's almost a no-brainer when it comes to children. Both my kids fell in love with that song the first time they heard it. Oh, and they love the movie too. I've made several Beatles mixes for my son, and he is happy to declare that "The Beatles are the greatest band in the history of the world!"

No, you are not going to hear any Beatles songs in this post. You've heard them all anyway. What you will find below are songs that are Beatlesque, or that which have a sound that is obviously inspired by The Beatles... Songs with strong melody, quirky or positive lyrics, orchestral flourishes and the like. I've sought these out to make mixes for the kids since they enjoy this style so much. It wasn't hard for me to find so many Beatlesque tunes... my collection is naturally full of them. The Beatles were the first rock band I ever started listening to, and now my kids can say the same.

First, a few songs from a disc called Two Lips by Dan Castellaneta. If that name sounds familiar, then you must watch The Simpsons. Dan is the voice of Homer, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble, and so many other characters. He's also a singer who loves The Beatles...

Dan Castellaneta - "Take A Little Time"
Dan Castellaneta - "Tulips"

Next, a group of studio musicians who got together to share their love of The Beatles. The Vinyl Kings recorded their "love letter" to the Fab Four in the form of A Little Trip and had so much fun (not to mention success) with it that they released a follow-up disc last year, Time Machine. These songs are from the former...

Vinyl Kings - "Here We Go Again"
Vinyl Kings - "Chocolate Cake"

Next we have Jon Brion, a singer who is becoming better known for his film scores and his producing skills, having worked with artists such as Aimee Mann, Dido, Evan Dando, and Rufus Wainwright. When he does step in front of the microphone, his songs always have a Beatlesque sensibility to them. These tracks are from his scores to the films I Heart Huckabees and Punch-Drunk Love...

Jon Brion - "Knock Yourself Out"
Jon Brion - "Overture to Punch-Drunk Love"

Last, Candy Butchers, a power pop band led by singer-songwriter Mike Viola. In a better world these guys would be superstars. All they've done is release three near-perfect albums of thoughtful, intelligent, and catchy songs, but they're always mentioned as "the guy who sang That Thing You Do in that movie." Here are tracks from their CDs Hang On Mike and Play With Your Head... I must warn you, the song "Sparkle!" is incredibly infectious...

Candy Butchers - "Sparkle!"
Candy Butchers - "Ruby's Got A Big Idea"

Oh, and here's that song that gave Mike his big payday. It was written by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne...

The Wonders (Mike Viola) - "That Thing You Do"

Moondog - from deb in sf

2006-09-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, caveat lector – I get most of my cool music from Clea these days, so … This isn’t pop, but I think it’s pretty rad. I think if you listen, you’ll like it anyway.

When Max was littler, he used to love to classify things. He was a little OCD about it. He’d tell us what kind of music we were listening to all the time. “Daddy, this is jazz” or “this is blues”. At first we thought his precociousness was cute. Then it got really annoying. Whatever, boy. Just listen and enjoy.

I don’t remember when I first heard Moondog’s music, but it feels like it fits into so many different categories, any of which my kids love. He did so many different things. Moondog (Louis Hardin) was born in Kansas in 1916 and spent much of his adult life making music on the streets of NYC. As you listen, you can hear some of the cool percussion instruments he invented. You can also hear the Native American influences of his youth on the Plains, street noises of the city, animal sounds, waves crashing…. He’s got a freedom that kids still have to use whatever is around and whatever sound appeals. Free lyrics when he uses them. He’s also very strict with the rules, though, like kids can be and like jazz and classical music are.

We love to listen to the words and try to hear all the animals in Enough About Human Rights!. It’s not always easy. We love to pick out the sounds in the others. And sometimes we like to just listen and enjoy.

These are off the newish compilation Moondog (The Viking of 6th Avenue) (2006).

Enough About Human Rights!
Rabbit Hop
Lament 1 'Bird's Lament'
Viking I
Chaconne in G Major

Learn more about Moondog

Sing It, Scooby!

2006-09-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

Hi! Another guest blogger here. I'm Phil, from A Family Runs Through It. First of all, a huge thanks to Clea for letting me share some of the songs that my kids and I enjoy. We love music in my family. My iPod's permanent place is in the kitchen, where it's constantly cranking out tunes from groups like The Beatles, XTC, Split Enz, Death Cab For Cutie, Iron & Wine, Ralph's World, and John Denver. Yes, we have eclectic taste in music.

My 8-year-old son has developed most of his musical tastes based on what I play for him. But there's one TV show that seems to have influenced him quite a bit... Scooby Doo. I never realized how much music was in those old Scooby Doo episodes until we started watching them together. He got hooked on the original series from 1969 when he was about 4 years old, and then recently fell in love with the new series, What's New Scooby Doo? which also features a surprising amount of cool music. There have also been new movies released every year for the past six or seven years, including a brand new one, Pirates Ahoy! In other words, you could spend a small fortune buying up all these Scooby Doo DVDs. I know, I've done it.

But on to the music from this classic cartoon... You all know the original theme:

"Scooby Doo, Where Are You?"

But do you remember Davy Jones singing "I Can Make You Happy" in the Mystery Mask Mix-Up episode?

Or Jerry Reed singing "Pretty Mary Sunlite" in the Don't Fool with a Phantom episode?

The music in those old episodes from the late 60's and early 70's were nothing compared to the tunes that have been accompanying the Mystery Gang lately. Here are songs from both the What's New Scooby Doo? TV show and the recent full-length movies. My son loves all of these and specifically asked me to buy them to make a mix CD for him.

Simple Plan - "What's New Scooby Doo? Theme Song"
Simple Plan - "I'd Do Anything"
The Young Dubliners - "Brown Dog"
Tegan and Sara - "Time Running"
Phish - "Back on the Train"
Less Than Jake - "The Ghosts of Me and You"
The Atomic Fireballs - "Man With the Hex"
The Ramones - "Rockaway Beach"
The Byrds - "Mr. Spaceman"

Someone does a great job of picking the songs for these cartoons, especially during the monster chase sequences. My son used to have me rewind those scenes just for the music, but now he has all of these tunes on one CD which I fully expect him to wear out.

The last song I'll leave you with is Matthew Sweet's cool version of the original theme from the Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits CD.

Hope you enjoyed my first guest-post!

The Two Mirrors in the house

2006-09-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, It's Zak from The Two Mirrors. I'm humble enough to realize that I am NOT Clea and this will only suffice as a guest post over here at (sm)all ages. As you all know I love this site and hope to help hold down the fort for Clea while she is away. There are more of us guest bloggers out here who will be stepping in. But I just wanted to share a little something that Aiden and Anna are into right now.

Cursive are an amazing band. You know this and I know this. Know why shouldn't our kids know this. I guess that is pretty much Clea's theme. Anyway. Cursive has a new record out called Happy Hollow and it is brilliant. Recently, Aiden, who is still in his rocking out phase discovered the track Opening the Hymnal/Babies. He absolutely loves it. And I think your kids will too. Providing they like to rock. Plus Tim Kasher gives the adults some brillant lyrics that just may give you chill bumps too. Below is a sample of the lyrics that I'm speaking of...

Baby, baby, baby
This world must seem
So immense compared to the womb,
And baby baby,
Your head must seem
So much smaller than you assumed
Your whole world
Seems to center around you
Be easy to make the mistake
That maybe you’re why the world was made,

Baby, baby, baby,
You learn so fast,
You seem to carry a special gift
Maybe you’ve been given
To this world to make a difference

Such delusions we all struggle with
But the beautiful truth of it is
This is all we are,
We simply exist
You’re not the chosen one
I’m not the chosen one
But we don’t need anyone
Let’s not choose anyone

Now take a listen:

MP3 Cursive--Opening the Hymnal/Babies

Now go buy the record.

That thing that Arnold says

2006-09-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

Just something of note: As I go on my "vacation" (yeah, um, sure) several guest bloggers are stepping in. They have been instructed to post whenever they get the urge. You'll see their names pop up over there to the right in the next couple of days. Say howdy. Comment and often and tell 'em what a great job they're doing.

I'll hopefully be back in a few weeks... Till then, I personally leave you with a few random tracks.

Louis Prima, "Yes, We Have No Bananas"
Joe Jackson, "(Do the) Instant Mash"
The Beatles, "I Me Mine"

And from Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter:

David Byrne, "Don' Fence Me In"

I absolutely can't wait to read what my friends and fellow posters put up. Thank you.

Disney Gone Mad

2006-09-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

So I told you I was gonna cover the Disney stuff, I threatened and here I am.

Disney Bossa Nova billed as Brazil's Legends of Bossa Nova Perform Disney Classics. I found this, and one other Disney covers CD in the used bins fairly recently. This is the better of the two and while it ain't great it does have a few truly delicious tracks, namely from Brazil's Joyce. Joyce has been playing guitar and singing primarily bossa nova since the late 60s. Some of her stuff was marshmallow fluff, but then again, she has put out much enjoyable music as well. Her tracks on this CD are all good. She has four total and frankly, the others on the CD are not worth your time. But her tunes are grand. Her cover of "Bibidi Bopidi Boo"from my daughter's favorite princess movie, Ciinderella, is just delightful and infinitely better than the original.

Joyce, "Bipidi Bopidi Boo"
Joyce, "When You Wish Upon A Star"

I also picked up Simply Mad About the Mouse. Now I knew this one was gonna be bad. No make that BAD. It's from 1991 and features En Vogue (Someday My Prince Will Come), Bobby McFerrin (Siamese Cat Song), Soul II Soul (Kiss the Girl) and yes, Michael Bolton (A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes.) Like I said, BAD. And yet still, I felt compelled to buy it (and it was only a buck!) I thought I'd check out the Gipsy Kings track, the Harry Connick Jr. track even the Ric Ocasek one. But um, yeah, no. The only one worth sharing is this and it's not that it's good. It's just, well, funny.

L.L. Cool J, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf"

The best Disney tribute record wasn't so much a tribute or cover, but rather an "interpretation." And that would be 1988's Stay Awake. I bought this on vinyl when it came out pre-motherhood (mostly because I was a huge Tom Waits fan.) And I got it again on CD several years back. Every song is weird and wonderful and probably not all that enjoyable for the kids because it has this dark Brechtian edge because it is a Hal Wilner Production. But you'll probably dig it. I highly recommend this CD, it's still in print and I'm just giving you a smattering here. Other artists included are Garth Hudson, Yma Sumac, NRBQ, Bonnie Raitt, Suzanne Vega, Syd Straw (remember her anyone?) Natalie Merchant with Michael Stipe, Los Lobos, Ringo Starr and the aforementioned Tom Waits.

The Replacements, "Cruella De Ville"
Sinead O'Conner, "Someday My Prince Will Come"
Sun Ra and his Arkestra (Pt. 1 - Pink Elephants) and Harry Nilsson (Pt. 2 - Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah), "Medley Five"

Finally, a little preview action of what Halloween can potentially offer us. These two tracks are direct from the Haunted Mansion, I think the one in Disneyland. I hear them and I'm right there in the sinking chamber...

Haunted Mansion, "Come Back"
Haunted Mansion, "Holiday Ballroom"

That's all for now. But the Disney arsenal is full. Send me handclap songs folks, I wanna go out with a CLAP!

A Handclap Hoedown

2006-09-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday and I have gone and embarassed ourselves once again, totally low-browing the Contrast Podcast with our gibberish and song. The theme? Hand-clapping, which I had once believed if included in a song, inherantly and instantly made said song kid-ready but alas, the Podcast has proven me wrong. I don't mean it's not great, it is great, but seriously, many a song not for kids. But you're not a kid, are you? So nab it, listen, enjoy, clap along.

The Contrast Podcast: Handclapping

One of my earliest posts, which I'm quite sure many of you missed, was on hand clap songs. There are so many, I swear, I could have a Handclap Blog, if there were in fact 8 or 9 days in a week and I could live on less than 8 hours sleep. So I'm gonna re-post my handclap songs from February of this year, sans my song for the Contrast Podcast. For that, you must go listen to the cast. There are so many more that come to mind that if I get a kick in the pants or a gush of wind round my back, perhaps I will post. If not, look for a Disney Gone Mad post next.

Esthero with Sean Lennon, "Everyday is a Holiday"
Ben Lee, "Catch My Disease"
LCD Soundsystem, "Daft Punk is Playing at My House"
Eels, "Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)"
All Girl Summer Fun Band, "Grass Skirt"

Hey, you know what? The Lovely Mrs. Davis did a little self promotion and she went and got me mentioned in the San Fran Chronicle's Babby Blog too. Bless her ever-loving heart. Check out her great site if you haven't already and of course, see the mention!

Oh Heather. Can I go one post without mentioning her? Apparently not. The Fuel / Friends blogger has got a Paul Westerberg song from the latest kids' movie, Open Season. Honestly, I downloaded it today, but haven't given it a spin. Let me know what you think. I think it is hilarious that Ben Folds and Paul W. and such are being asked to craft songs for kids' movies. We're all growing up and holding jobs of importance in the music and movie biz. Well not me per se. Just us, as a generation. Me? I'm writing books that don't get enough promotion but geez, they're swell.

Got me an email from a reader named Bryan who has opened up a little web store selling kids' CDs and DVDs that are in line with much of what we cover here. The store is cute for sure. It's called Pokey Pup.

Sorry for my abscence. I am just trying to get you all used to the idea that I won't be here much for awhile. Keep checking back though, I think we may have some lovely guest posters and maybe a few surprises. Or, maybe not.

Oh and feel free to let us know in the comments what your favorite handclap song is and maybe we can do a reader-suggested handclap post instead of that crazy Disney one.

Ketchup Tuesday

2006-09-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

I have a lot today. I couldn't post yesterday... I just didn't have anything profound to say and thought Heather at Fuel did a lovely job. I will say this: Five years ago yesterday, I had a one month old. I was whacked out from no sleep and a nice bout of post-pardum and I watched it all unfold on TV real time with her perched on my lap because even though I was on the West Coast, I had been up watching yet another string of Saved by the Bell re-runs and then, we were interupted with the news. And in my haze all I could think about was hate. I hated myself and cursed myself because I thought I had done the unthinkable: brought a helpless child into this f-ed up world.

I think the state of the world is worse even, and I still have freak outs about the future, but my child brings me infinite amounts of comfort and joy. This is so freaking cheezy, but so very true. Because with her, in her, I have regained my hope. It's fledgling but ever-present. I think you have to with the little ones around.

Now on to funnier things:

Morrissey. On a kids' show. Circa '85. No, make that two TV shows.

This first one is Morrissey and Johnny Marr (with Sandie Shaw!) on the UK kids' show, Charlie's Bus.

And the second is another UK kids' show called Datarunners. This one is pretty surreal, the kids interview Morriseey and Johnny Marr and then sing a couple of words from "This Charming Man."

I don't know about the Smiths for Kids... what do you think? I mean, any good music can be enjoyed by children, I think, but the droning, the lack of energy, the schtick, I just don't know.

I do however like the Dream Academy's instrumental version of "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" from yes, the Ferris Bueller soundtrack. Why it's so dreamy. So here you go:

Dream Academy, "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want"

But wait, there's more:

There was Radiodread, the Easy Star All-Stars reggae versions of Radiohead's OK Computer. And now there is the lullaby versions of Radiohead. I wasn't gonna write about the Rockabye Baby stuff because, as you may know, I don't dig on the infantizing (is that a word? infantalizing? infantasizing?) of today's modern rock for the little ones. But you could argue this is a slight bit diff. I mean, it ain't KidzBop. But still, I'd rather listen to the original (although I readily admit the original is probably scary for the kids.) And well, I Guess I'm Floating went and posted on it and now I feel I sort of should. But yeah, I'd rather listen to the original, best of all, the stripped original by the original. But what about the O' Riley piano version?

Rockabye Baby, "Karma Police"
Radiohead, "Karma Police" (acoustic; 'o3)
Christopher O'Riley, "Karma Police"

Hey, IGIF has another Rockabye Baby track, if you dug this, go there.
And Some Velvet Blog has many more acoustic Radiohead tracks; that's where I got this one. Go now, hurry.

FYI - There will also be a crunk tribute to Radiohead forthcoming. Yeah, okay. And another reggae dub tribute. And the originator of radiohead covers: Christopher O'Riley. Sure his songs aren't lullabies (they get a bit intense) but I think those could work nicely for the kids, actually, maybe. And on a side note, do your kids use the word "actually" a lot? Man, my daughter loves that word and she mostly uses it correctly.

Guest Post: Zak's Kids (of Two Mirrors) August Picks

2006-09-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hello (sm)all ages readers. It’s your old (by old I mean I’m old—keep reading and it will make sense) friend Zak from The Two Mirrors. And once again Clea was kind enough to let me donate my kiddies favorite tunes from August.

I once read an interview with Cameron Crowe and the interviewer asked him if he kept a diary. His response was no, but that he made a mix tape (remember those?) every month to remind him of what was going on in his life for that month. I always thought it was an extremely cool way to tell the story of your life—through music. And interestingly enough, these five songs kinda tell the story of August for my family. Hope you enjoy.

Ben Folds—Still Fighting It
So I turned 30 on August 5th. Yeah it was tough for me, but here I am thirty years old. Anyways, about four days before my birthday, Aiden was walking around singing this song. And I just figured he and my wife, Amy, had been listening while I was at work. Anyway, August 5th arrives, and my lovely wife, she is so good to me, had made me a DVD of all these pictures from my life. You know one of those tear jerkers you have to watch in front of all your friends. Good Stuff. And she had the pics set to this song. So little Aiden and Anna have watched the DVD tons of times and they walk around singing this track.

Voxtrot—Rise up in the dirt
So a few days later, Anna and my wife, were cleaning out my car. Did I mention how good they are to me? And I came outside to see what was going on and there they were in the driver’s seat both rocking out to this song. It is a mental image I hope to never loose. It was so special to see them enjoying this song by themselves. Good stuff.

Broken Social Scene—7/4 Shoreline
And my little Aiden is still in his rocking out stage. I have tried to curb his appetite to enjoy the more subtle side of music and this song is about as close as I can get. It’s an amazing track and I am so excited that Aiden’s taste in music is what it is.

Arizona—Splintering
So I’m slipping one of my favorites in here too. My little ones are really getting into this song though. You guys should really be listening to Arizona. They are making some of the most creative and exciting music I have heard in a long time. Aiden just loves when this song starts to really rock at the end. He just runs around and dances and shakes his little head.

The Lovely Feathers—The Only Appalachian
We all went to the local museum of modern art for a community art project last weekend. They had this enormous picture of Marilyn Monroe (in Andy Warhol style) that they had the whole community paint. The picture above is Aiden and I doing our best to not mess up the whole project. Anyway, Aiden LOVED it. He still talks about it. And on the way home we rocked out this, one of his new favorite, track. It is a wild song—really fun though. Take a listen.

More information: Ben Folds, Voxtrot, Broken Social Scene, Arizona, The Lovely Feathers

**

Another stellar list from Zak's kids. Thanks so much, I didn't know those last two songs at all till Zak sent them over red rover. My kid is gonna love the Lovely Feathers song: I mean energetic counting and a chorus that frantically says, among other things, "We'll take off our pants, kiss the corn and dance..."

And, geez you're old. -- Clea

FYI - New post over at superclea.com.

Random Goodness (And Badness)

2006-09-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Some random songs, truly random, for this welcome Thursday.

There are many REM songs that are good. And most of those are good for the whole family. This one has been featured on a children's comp or two. My daughter's favorite REM song though, is "Superman."

James Kochalka Superstar is a childlike recording artist whose songs you would think would be ideal for kids except most of them have at least a little profanity. This one, I don't think (but I don't promise) doesn't. He's from Vermont, he's a cartoonist and painter too and he's kind of funny in that totaly dorky fourth grade way.

Maya Angelou is famous for many good reasons. This 1956 album cut isn't one of them. Not that it's bad, it's just a little novelty bit that is catchy and throwaway. But I like it and the kids will have fun singing the word "Barbados" in a funny accent. Maya's own fake Caribbean accent was apparently put on for the tropical band she sang with in San Francisco when she was very young.

What can I say about LL Cool J? He's cool, still, and he can't live without his radio.

This Loretta Lynn track is so catchy, so sing-song singalong. From the Jack White produced Van Lear Rose CD. I saw it on somebody else's "family" music tape and thought, "Oh yeah."

REM, "We Walk"
James Kochalka Superstar, "Peanut Butter & Jellyfish"
Maya Angelou, "Mambo Africa"
LL Cool J, "I Can't Live Without My Radio"
Loretta Lynn, "High On A Mountaintop"

More about: REM, James Kochlaka Superstar, Maya Angelou, LL Cool J, Loretta Lynn

Now The Day Is Over

2006-09-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

The voice is Karen Perls and it's pretty for sure, but for some inexplicable reason, it has something more. More. There is radiance and awe and a little fireflies worth of magic. Wistfulness and a soft ache. Even something a little exotic. And I'm not normally taken with music this delicate. There is such beauty in these simple songs, songs you and I already know, that if and when i'm in need of a musical glow these songs totally fulfill. Her husband Don is the guitarist. We can't know such things, but you get the sense there's is a peaceful home. And if these sorts of things matter to you, Sufjan is a fan. So is Joni Mitchell.

The Innocence Mission, "Over the Rainbow"
The Innocence Mission, "Once Upon a Summertime"

One of their "adult" songs of their own creation (loverly lyrics):

The Innocence Mission, "Tomorrow on the Runway" (from Befriended)

It all sounds like this, calming and soothing and gorgeous. The whole CD is available on eMusic, so you can go download it now, as your free 25 tracks if you are so inclined. And Daddy's, you got to hear the song "Bye-Lo."

More about: The Innocence Mission

**

And greetings new readers! I am SITE of the Week over at Much More Than A Mom. Thank you Nicole for the kind words and allowing me to say a few words about my favorite subject: me!

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

2006-09-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

'Tis the first day of kindergarten. My heart is still skipping beats.

Taj Mahal, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"
Chuck Berry, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"
Lighting Hopkins, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"
Mississippi Fred McDowell, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"

Mekka-lekka-hi, mekka hiney ho

2006-09-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

Pee Wee's Playhouse inspired me from the moment I laid eyes on it. I loved it, and not just for its wacky what are they on? schtick, but for the how did they get this on? chutzpah and ever more simply, for the zany love of it all. What a total kid's pleasuredome, it truly made me feel like a goofy child, in a good way. A few years later, when I co-owned this store called Wonderama in downtown San Diego (before gentrification set in) we made purty pennies selling Pee Wee toys. Seriously, they were our most popular items (the Archie McPhee boxing nuns were oddly a close second.) A few years after that, I actually got face to face meetings with MTV and Nickelodeon and pitched a Playhouse meets "2 Hip 4 TV" (remember that?!) type TV show. They were right not to give it to me. (Not that I would have starred, jeez, I freeze up when anyone looks at me twice. ) Still, it was a fabulous idea, but I don't know that I had the real guts to pull it off. But I think of that period of my life as Pee Wee time. (Either that or Ahmet time.) Now they're out on DVD and re-running on Cartoon Network and I'm still wondering, how the hell did they get this on the air?

EW ran a 20th anniversary article and I love how show writer John Paragon who was Jambi the Genie thinks he got his catch phrase from listening to so much Zappa. And besides, as he says, "heiney is just a funny word."

The theme song was Mark Mothersbaugh-penned with Cyndi Lauper singing.

Cyndi Lauper, "Pee Wee's Playhouse Theme"
Pee Wee Herman, "Surfin' Bird"

Back to this now. Does anyone remember 2 Hip 4 TV? Seriously. Red Hot Chili Peppers played in a bowling alley. El Vez. The Del Rubio Triplets. A pre-teen Ahmet Zappa? Pre-Remote Control Colin Quinn. Saturday morning variety show aimed at teens (although what teens were listening to the Del Rubio Triplets?) Like 1988, I believe. Freaking genius show. I can find pretty much next to nothing on this show. I can find no one who has actually seen it. I still dream of it... if it weren't for a brief Wikipedia entry, I'd think I did dream it.

Don't Take My Man

2006-08-31T17:35:00.000-07:00

Three gals from Portland. I like their name. The Jolenes. One of the girls is named Candy.

This song is full of double entendre but who cares. Your kids don't know any better. To them it's an ode to their favorite summertime snack and on this one of the last days of summer (if you have kids, that is) that seems apropos.

The Jolenes also cover Stevie Nicks' tune "Leather and Lace" on their Get It To Go CD. It sounds just like the new Liz Phair (as opposed to the admittedly better old one) covering it. For what that's worth.

The Jolenes, "Ice Cream"

Bonus girly-song:

Dressy Bessy, "Princess"*

*They are talking about a girl being a bitch, but hey, the kids will latch on to the innocuous chorus. I guess today's theme at small ages is inappropriate tunes for your tots.

More about: The Jolenes, Dressy Bessy

I'm Not Drunk.

2006-08-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

I only have about a million new posts / songs in my head, but alas I've been too swamped here at home to commit them to computer. But I can find a moment to post this news that was effortlessly delivered to my inbox this morning. From Bloodshot Records, a new compilation of various artists covering classic folk songs entitled, Old Town School of Folk Music, Songbook: Volume One. The idea being that they are out to teach the world, kids included, about classic folks song traditions, just like the school namechecked in the title (located in Chicago, FYI.) The CD will have a history of the genre and each song (!) included, so even if you download your favorites on the superhighway, you'll wanna pick the disk up.

The musicians include the Mekons' Jon Langford (because this is Bloodshot afterall— and I know I've been remiss in posting about his latest CD with the Wee Hairy Beastees, but that will come soon), plus Janice Bean (of Freakwater), Danny Barnes (Bad Livers), Dan Zanes (he does "Drunken Sailor"! Father Goose is here and so is Barbara Brousal!), Robbie Fulks and John Stirrat (Wilco bass player!) Plus, a bunch of the instructors from the school. The date is October 10th, and folks, that ain't that far away. What I've heard is all well done and really lovely kicking it on a porch kind of music.

John Stirrat, "Wayfaring Stranger"
Dan Zanes, "Drunken Sailor"

More about: Bloodshot Records

** short new post on superclea.com **

Who Da Chicken Wing?

2006-08-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

I know many of you (many of you) don't enjoy the kids doing the music. You want your music more refined or maybe less exploitative. But I have to tell you, while I don't want to listen to these tracks over 'n' over, I do enjoy their value and so does my kid. They inspire her, like "Oh I can do that." And in fact, today she did bust out a bitchin' number that went back to the chorus at least 8 different times, had a few silent breaks where she rapped and then switchbacked into a Modest Mouse-esque patois. The song was about "telling your mama" stuff.

So it had been a long, long time since I hit up WFMU for any of their weird and wonderful finds. I'd missed much, including these tracks of kids making hip hop and electronica. I've picked out the "best" (hey, it's subjective) but if you wanna hear it all, a trip over to the WFMU blog will be worth your while.

This WFMU post actually covers several different and unique kid hip hop projects, but the two that spawned the best songs for me were these:

1) Da Hip Hop Rascalz. David Soldier, a noted professor and musician (who taped the original Thai Elephant Orchestra) assembled a bunch of East Harlem school kids. they're all between the ages of 5 and 10. They put together "groups," named them (the best part really, I mean Tuff Kidz, The Boys and Girls Club of the Night, 911 rock and Roll Coyotes) and then recorded some tracks they wrote.

2) The Rappers Delight Club. This is literally a club, put together by a high school teacher and his students who do this daycare "club" for kids 5-12. And he gets 'em rapping. Same sort of thing as above, really, although it appears he makes several appearances himself (or is that the high schoolers?) And it's a bit more polished, but hey, that's a relative term.

I find them funny, what can I say. I promise, no kid-rock tomorrow.

Sweetness, "Do the Lollipop"
Looneytunes, "Chicken Wing"

Rapper's Delight Club, "Hum"
Rapper's Delight Club, "Tick Tock"

There is a short new post at superclea.com

** I never link to songs on someone else's server, but I did here. If you are from WFMU and object, I will change it, I'm just really tired and while I love my daughter, she's exhausting me on this, the last week of summer. But really, I'll change it if you want me to. **

Guest Post: Deb in SF

2006-08-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hey kids. One of my most favorite new blog friends is Deb in SF. She has kindly chosen three songs that I think represent. They are delightful and all new to me and they make my heart sing. Those are her cute kids to the right. Now, here you go:

I had to bust Max for some misbehavior or other the a few days ago. I can't remember what the specific offense was. Something not terribly awful, but worthy of the "stern voice" that doesn’t come out very often and some serious tears from both him and his little sister. After all was said and done, I ended up reassuring him that no matter what, I love him. Even when I don’t like his behavior. Even when I have to use the stern voice. So he says to me, "Mommy, I know one reason why you don’t love me." – My little drama boy – "There can’t possibly be a reason, Max."

"Yeah, because I stink at accordion."

Enzo Garcia – May We Go Round – A San Francisco musician. This is off of his beautiful, self-titled record. It's such a sweet, lovely song. It always warms me and my kids love it, too. It touches me on a million levels. It's this little, light song. But then it’s kinda silly, with the bird chirping and the playfulness. It's also got this cheeky, double entendre thing going on that the kids don't pick up on (maybe that’s just my late 30's hormones?) and even that's back around to really sweet and lovely. My kid's just like the doot-doot, grown man on the playground goofiness and singing along. Plus, he plays the flippin' saw!

Uni and Her Ukelele – My Favorite Letter is U – Another SF local. She's got a rad voice and puts on a great show. She sings about everything in the world, but in this song she sings about rainbows and unicorns. And, she dresses real pretty and she's sparkly, which always appeals to the littles. Her songs are really heartfelt and genuine. She's a beautiful woman, inside and out. Max loves her songs and whenever we see her, he gets really happy. He drew her a picture once of a unicorn in a rainstorm and he loves listening to her music. He wants to know what all the lyrics mean. Doesn’t even dance to it, just listens, even though it's pop at its finest!

The Honey Brothers – O Dear – Ok, These guys are not at all from San Francisco. I don't even know where they're from. New York? All I know is that this is a poppy fun song that we sing and makes me think of how much I love my littles and we listen to it in the car on these too sunny San Francisco summer days with the wind blowing through our hair. We all sing along. Uni recommended the cd to me. It's cheap, too! I don’t even really know what the lyric is. I just know the chorus. O dear, o dear, I think my heart is showing here…

And I don't even care how well you play the accordion.

Thank you, Clea, for letting me come play at your blog house. You have the best place, ever! If this is your first time here, wander, roam, check-it. Clea's my friend and she shares. And she's got rockin' great taste.

More information on: Enzo Garcia, Uni and Her Ukelele, The Honey Brothers

**
No, thank you Deb. Seriously, all new songs to me and all new super favorites. And is that the guy from Entourage in the Honey Brothers?? Lastly, fyi, I am going to try and post on my superclea.com site a few times a week, starting again today. No kids' stuff over there just musings on music, books and life... -superclea

Their zoo is so much cooler than my zoo.

2006-08-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

So I know I posted about Tally Hall before, but last month they opened for Puffy AmiYumi! How rad is that?

Tomorrow (and I realize, it's in Chicago and it's tomorrow and it's sold out and apparently it's been raining pets there but still) is Lincoln Park's Jammin at the Zoo. Man o man, why doesn't my super giant zoo do stuff like this? The line-up is Tally Hall, the Bad Examples (aka Ralph of Ralph's World and friends) and They Might be Giants. So not fair.

Tally Hall, "Greener"
They Might Be Giants, "HotelDetectiveInTheFuture"

And my daughter covering TMBG's "Alphabet of Nations"

Tally Hall's video for "Bananaman"

And They Might Be Giants' video for "Dr. Worm"

I was so thinking of the birds and the bees back then.

2006-08-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

The VW Rabbit was the car of choice for the popular girls in my high school. Yep, I'm old.

So the release of the new one and its subsequent commercials caught mine and the hubby's eye. The song featured is "The Birds and The Bees" by Patrick and Eugene (no, this is not The Commerical Music Blog you're reading, although this would be apropos there as well). The song has got the lovely diddley dee quality of a Real Tuesday Weld song, but not so much, by that I mean, it's just a bit subtler. So let's recap what little I know of them: they are English. Patrick (Dawes), the percussionist, has played with Groove Armada (and apparently Richie Havens, too.) Don't know what Eugene's (Bazodis) background is, although I love the name Eugene as it reminds me of my very first crush, circa 2nd grade. (Second crush was named Norman, I apparently had a thing for dorkily named boys.) The song was first used in a UK ad for Gordon's Gin so the VW people are in fact stealing and aren't as hip and inventive as you perhaps thought. You can get their whole CD "Postcard from Summerisle" (Tummy Touch, 2004) on eMusic and I have to say, it is kids' music to the umpteenth degree. All that twiddling horns and tongue in cheek drumming and their punny (not puny) vocals, it all makes for delightful light fare. They cover Kylie Minogue's "Cant Get You Out of My Head" on the CD, although the Flaming Lips version is better. Still, it's fun. I'm gonna post the VW / Gordon's Gin song and their sugar pop version of a sugar pop classic: "Feeling Groovy." Enjoy.

Patrick and Eugene, "The Birds and The Bees"
Patrick and Eugene, "Feeling Groovy"

Purchase Patrick and Eugene songs on eMusic.

Is this cheating?

2006-08-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Another band with a kid-friendly name.

I ask if this is cheating because I actually only heard these songs a few days ago, via a post from Taylor at Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good. But man, they're so catchy and truly awesome for the younger set too, making them the ideal band to post about here on smALL AGES. I'd seen them on other blogs before and just never taken a second look.

So, here is what I know of this Bicycle band: Lots of handclaps, the occasional horn section, boy-pop-tart vocals, um, they're Canadian, they name check Harry Nilsson and the Monkees and it's obvious why, they like to choreograph their high-fives on stage, and the name of the CD is "The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly."

The Bicycles, "B-B-Bicycles"
The Bicycles, "Paris is Mine"

Also on their website, a song called "Gotta Get Out" and it's g-g-good. Go get it. I ordered the CD. If you and yours enjoy these pop ditties, you should to.

By the way, if you check out MFKWCRG (wow) go deeper than last Friday and you'll find a hilarious post that includes the theme song to Saved by the Bell. Oh yeah.

More about: The Bicycles

Teddybears are Cute!

2006-08-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Their name just screams kid-friendly right?

Teddybears Sthlm (Stockholm) are from the land of Ikea and they make dance punk, an admittedly niche genre my kid loves. I believe they have dropped the Sthlm in the States.

For all I know this Mad Cobra tune has some nasty contents but I can't tell and I suspect your kids can't either. And the chorus is so dang digable. And the punk rocker song with straight-facing Iggy on vocals? Man, it don't get any mo better than that for a driving dancerific head banging tune. These are just fun. "Cobrastyle" is from last year (I think) and was used in a mess of commericals. Joakim Åhlund, guitarist of this band, is also guitarist in the Caesars, another commerical (as in television commercial) friendly band. Maybe I need to write about them on The Commerical Music Blog... hmmm.

Teddybears Sthlm with Mad Cobra, "Cobrastyle"
Teddybears Sthlm with Iggy Pop, "I'm A Punk Rocker"

Bonus Track:

The Caesars, "Jerk It Out"

Check out the shiny suits!

More about: Teddybears Sthlm

* * * *

And you probably saw this as it was on the front page of Yahoo this morning. It's good for a lark, but I do not recommend this album, just a quick viewing of one or two of the videos is all one needs if you ask me. Animated faux-U2 sings "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes."

Random Songs iTunes Picked for Y'all

2006-08-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

Just some random goodness that my iTunes pulled up in the last few days. No rhyme or reason to it, other than I thought, "Oh, that's a good one I haven't heard in awhile" and "I don't think I've ever posted that one."

Quick unrelated story: went to the art museum with my daughter this last Friday and had the most wonderful time. She actually picked out a painting she saw from a distance and asked if it was a Mary Cassatt! And it was! She has a book from the series titled "Getting to Know The World's Greatest Artists" by Mike Venezia on her and she recognized the style, not the actual painting which isn't in her book, but the style. T'was an awesome Mom moment. I highly recommend the books from Venezia's series-- we also have the Frida Kahlo one and she has announced she's going to be her for Halloween (or Kiki, from Kiki's Delivery Service.) Side note: The docent from the museum came over to say hello and asked my daughter what her name was. The docent didn't scrunch up her face with disbelief like so many (older) people do. No, she announced that was her very own daughter's name too! And then went on to tell us she has two more daughters: Friday and Sunday. Yep, they were all named for the day she gave birth. Wow.

Call and Response, "Rollerskate"
Mocean Worker, "Chick A Boom Boom Boom"
The Ditty Bops, "Bye Bye Love"

The Ditty Bops cover of the Everly Brothers' tune is just sweet and purty, nothing revolutionary but purty nonetheless. The Mocean Worker tune is just a fun kick up your heels groove. Oh, but that Rollerskate song, how I love thee. A favorite, it encapsulates a mood that I know and adore and wish I could return to more often. They have a couple more MP3s on their website. The gal, Simone Rubi, is now making music under The Rubies. Unfortunately, the music on that site ain't working. Poop.

More about: Call & Response; Mocean Worker; The Ditty Bops

Supermodel Tuesday Taylor

2006-08-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

When people meet my daughter Tuesday they ask if she was born on a Tuesday. She wasn't.

A handful of people think she was named for Tuesday Weld, the actress. While I am thankful for Tuesday Weld as it gives some legitimacy to my own daughter's name (see, it is a name!) that isn't where we got the name either. My husband had a friend who had a daughter that he named Tuesday and it just stuck with him, as a name he really liked, in the back of his mind. For me, it was her:

I'm so a child of the 1970s.

It would be way too meta or postmodern if someone asked me if she was named for The Real Tuesday Weld, the band that is really Stephen Coates. I put the little goof of a song "Diddley Dee" on a CD for my daughter at least a year or two ago and she dug it. "I Love the Rain" has the lovely old-fashioned 30s feel with the modern beat thing that TRTW does so well. And my favorite (pretty much everyone's favorite) Real Tuesday Weld song is "Ugly to the Beautiful." So I'm posting it here too, even if it isn't exactly perfect for the kids.

The Real Tuesday Weld, "Diddley Dee"
The Real Tuesday Weld, "I Love the Rain"
The Real Tuesday Weld, "Ugly to the Beautiful"

More about: The Real Tuesday Weld

Powerpuff/Shonen Knife & PuffyAmi/Teen Titans

2006-08-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Just a few songs. Don't have any time today to write a 'real' post, but I can throw up the tunes 'o the day. They're fun, fer sure. Not much else really to say.

Shonen Knife, "Buttercup (I'm a Supergirl)"
Puffy Ami Yumi, "Teen Titan Theme"

Bonus: Speed Racer Theme Song

**
P.S. - A few days back, Tim of Contrast Podcast and The Face of Today posted Meco's Star Wars theme. Go get that. I mean, go get that. And check out all his musical goodness while you're there.

Happy Birthday Tuesday

2006-08-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

She's five today. Wow.

Jingle Cats, "Happy Birthday"
Freedy Johnston, "Happy Birthday"
Kermit Ruffins, "Happy Birthday"
Pete Seeger, "Spanish Folk Song (Happy Birthday)"
Pizzicato Five, "Happy Birthday" (not the traditional song, fyi)

And even though it's bloody awful...

Strawberry Shortcake, "A Berry Happy Birthday"

Harry and the Potters

2006-08-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

So this songs may not be appropriate for kids the age of mine, but for a little older kid I think these songs are hilarious. This band, really two brothers who dress up in Potter garb, call themselves Harry and the Potters and sing exclusively about the JK Rowling series. It's freaking funny. And just freaky. And one of my favorite things about them is they are on a library tour, the "reading and rocking tour" with Draco and the Malfoys. That kills me.

The songs I've posted here are from the wonderful site, Daytrotter.com. The song-clip "This Book is So Awesome" from their website is my favorite. But alas, I don't have the full tune.

Harry and the Potters, "Platform Nine and Three Quarters"
Harry and the Potters, "The Human Horsepipe"
Harry and the Potters, "The Hogwarts Tonsil Hockey Team"

Their official website is here: http://www.eskimolabs.com/hp/
Their My Space page is here.
The Daytrotter Sessions with them can be found here.

***

Did you watch the World Cup? Remember the most awesome commercial from the games? Yes, I'm talking about the Adidas one with the two kids picking their dream teams. Well, I posted about it on the team-fueled Commerical Music Blog this weekend. It's actually a good song for the kids so head on over and check it out.

**

Heather at Fuel-Friends posted on the "Scratch" movie from a few years back. A couple of the songs she put up are awesome for the kids, especially the Shirley Ellis tune, "The Clapping Song." A favorite in our home. Go nab it and say "howdy."

I HEART Guest Posts: The Two Mirrors (or, one of them)

2006-08-04T09:04:00.001-07:00

Without furter adieu—

So Aiden is going through a little rock phase. And by little I mean the kid just wants to rock and roll. And I’m good with that. And my little Anna just wants to dance. What I have compiled below for you (sm)all ages readers is a list of the top five songs (plus bonus sixth) that the children of the two mirrors (www.thetwomirrors.blogspot.com) (well actually only one of the mirrors) have been enjoying in the month of July.

The Go Team—Ladyflash. My little Anna loves this song. She puts her hands in the air and just dances around. It’ll make your heart melt. I think the Go Team would smile too.

The Arcade Fire—Neighborhood #3 (Power Out). Aiden has loved the Arcade Fire for some time now. It was only recently that we rediscovered out one of the best records of this decade, Funeral. Aiden has really been into this track and Wake Up, both for the rocking nature.

Mates of State—Fraud in the 80’s. I mentioned last month that the Mates are a favorite in this house. And Anna has just fallen in love with this song. Now she is only 16 months old. But whenever music is on you can just tell she is waiting for the opening notes of this song. It’s just a fun little song to dance to.

The Subways— Oh Yeah. The Subways first found their way to Aiden’s ears (and eventually his heart) via Pancake Mountain. They perform two songs on the most recent DVD release. He would watch them over and over again. If you remember the first band you ever loved, you can see that feeling in his little eyes right now. He is all about the Subways.

The Subways— Rock and Roll Queen. Anyway, now for a little description of their sound. The Subways are a pop punk trio, with a hint of the 80’s in their music. You know what they sound like. While there is not much that is extremely original about the music, it is extremely likeable, especially when your son is addicted to them. I was in Orlando this past weekend and visited a great independent record store who was giving away a free poster with the purchase of The Subways new record. As you can imagine it’s hanging on Aiden’s wall right now. Thumbtacks and all.

Bonus! Metric—Empty. While I was trying to get Aiden to listen to something other than rock (namely Voxtrot) he kept saying, “no daddy, I don’t like this song. Not this one, I want my favorite.” So I tried all the regulars (The Subways, Arcade Fire, and Ben Folds). He kept saying, “no daddy, not that song. The one where you say patience.” You see, three weeks or so ago, Aiden was into this Metric song called "Empty." And it starts off real mellow and we had to be patient until the rockin starts. He remembered that from way back and I so moved that we listened and waited for the rock. Rock on Aiden, Rock on.

Once again I want to thank Clea for having me over here and we hope to continue this little monthly feature. It’s a lot of fun for me throughout the month to talk to Aiden and Anna about what songs they want me to tell you about. Enjoy August.

My College Years

2006-08-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of tunes from the days of giant super big gulps, oversized clothes and sleeping in. Camper Van Beethoven had a bunch of tunes that are ripe for the little ones. I've chosen just two today, off of "Telephone Free Landslide Victory," because that's where the hits were, kids. And then, the "Cheesecake Truck" used to just kill me, from King Missle. It's off the same LP as their "hit": "Jesus Was Way Cool." Regarding the latter, an arguement could be made that it's a pro-religious song, just putting the love for Jesus into terms the youngin's can relate to. Of course there is that whole thing about turning wheat into marijuana or sugar into cocaine. So, yeah, that's probably not for your kids, unless you're really REALLY open with that sort of thing. So I've just posted it here for your listening pleasure. Use at your discretion.

Camper Van Beethoven, "Take the Skinheads Bowling"
Camper Van Beethoven, "The Day That Lassie Went to the Moon"
King Missle, "Cheesecake Truck"
King Missle, "Jesus Was Way Cool"

Also, I wanted to mention I got a CD from the guys known as The Hipwaders. They're awfully nice blokes, out of the Bay Area (hey, if anyone is thinking of doing some sort of Lollapalooza for the kids in SF, I think you got the bands to do it.) The CD is family music, aimed squarely at entertaining the kids. Ideal tunes for summer Sunday afternoon BBQs in the back yard with friends and family, i.e. it's sugar coco pop. I'm throwing a tune up here for you to hear, or check out their website.

The Hipwaders, "Twitchy"

My Neighbor Totoro

2006-08-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I read a quick blurb about a Japanese movie by famous writer/director Hayao Miyazaki called Tonari no Totoro aka My Neighbor Totoro. It sounded like something that would be appropriate for my daughter, who like most 5 year olds is a big princess fan, but fortunately cannot stand to watch the movies because she (and I) find them too scary. So I ordered this non-princess DVD on the internet, dubbed into English since she can't quite read subtitles, and a most serious love affair was born.

In case you don't know it, the movie is about two young girls living in the Japanese countryside with their Dad because Mom is in the hospital. And I know, that sounds "bad" and sadder than anything the wolves might do to Belle in the woods, but really, it's handled so well. The younger sib Mei discovers a Totoro, a lovely mythical creature. There are a couple of emotionally scary bits, not physically scary bits, but all in all, I thought really appropriate for my (almost) 5 year old. And even she knew the emotionally scary bits weren't gonna turn sour. It's gorgeous, subtle, lovely and dreamy. I cried at the end. No really I did, a good sort of cry. We've now seen it, no joke, about 16 times (I still cry.) And she loves to sing the theme song so, I had to track it down. Only thing of it is, I found it in Japanese. Yep, the original. So my kid sings along, in a cross between phonetic Japanese and her memory of the (butchered) English lyrics.

The dubbed version of the film (with Dakota Fanning) was released by Disney, but there is nothing Disney about these movies. And of course, I haven't seen (or heard) the original, but from where I sit, the dub ain't bad.

Miyazaki also made Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Castles in the Sky, and others, but they're not good for this age group. However, his film Kiki's Delivery Service totally is. There is no violence. No scary parts. All plot turmoil is based on the main character's internal struggle to be true to herself and find her purpose. We've also seen this at least 16 times as it's tied for my daughter's favorite movie ever. I just don't have the soundtrack to that one yet. I like Totoro a tad bit better, because it's just so whimsical... I'd say its the best movie for kid's I've ever seen. Kiki is a close second.

The following tunes are from Totoro and if you haven't seen the film, they might sound a bit too Sushi-bar-video. But if you have seen it, they're awesome. I've given them random names since I don't read Japanese.

Totoro Theme
When They Bounce
The March

More about: My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service

Fascinating Creatures

2006-07-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

Bill over at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child sent me the Frances England song "Charlie Parker" a long time ago. He loves this album and I understand why. Now. See, I didn't love the Parker song and so I dismissed it as a rare fluke where Bill and I don't see eye to eye. Then Frances herself wrote me and offered up the CD. I took it, kind of hoping that maybe I just didn't like the one song and the rest would be delightful. And that's pretty much what happened.

Frances England comes to us by way of San Francisco and this CD is meant for children with its tunes about bicycles and trains and pancakes and kid books. And you know, I'm not a lover of the genre "kids music." But this one is sweet and a little sassy and purty and smart. And I do applaud musicians who like connecting with children and families who are trying to do something other than what is expected (i.e., either cartoonish, sappy-gross or Kidz Bop-esque.) And I think when my daughter gets off her rock kick (perhaps the same one Aiden, son of Zak, my guest poster later on the week is on) she is going to really like this gal's voice and this CD. But I can't tell you what she thinks of it currently, because she just wants to listen to Blur and the rocking-est Ben Folds songs right now. I still don't feel the love for the Charlie Parker song. Sorry! But the Daddy song is tops as are the lover-ly two I have posted here today. So, end result is that if you actually have children, even young children, and aren't just here for curiosity sake, I recommend this one to you as a cool down, back porch, rainy day kind of CD. She got a lovely write up too, in the hipster parenting magazine, Cookie. That was nice to see, I hope it spikes her CD sales, I think she deserves it.

Unrelated side note: When I was in the hospital, my hubby brought over my iPod. I couldn't listen to it. I tried once, but it was too much. When you're raw like that music can be wonderful and soothing or help you express feelings that you aren't otherwise able, but for me, it just made the floodgates open and I was not ready for that. So I put it, and my music, away. Until this past weekend.

We got the Golden Smog CD, Another Fine Day on Friday. If you read this with any regularity, you know, I kind of think Jeff Tweedy is a genius. And Golden Smog does claim as a member Jeff Tweedy. And he's great here, for sure. But the combination of Gary Louris (another one of my most favorite voices, ever) and Kraig Jarrett Johnson and Dan Murphy and Tweedy singing is just well, it really does I think physically, warm my heart. I think this CD is just phenomenal, fun exuberance in musical form. I highly recommend it. My favorite two tracks right now are "Corvette," a retro rocker that is to me, unexpected and the title track, which I present to you here because, it's how I feel most of the time these days. At once completely lost and oddly thankful. I love how Gary (lead) and Tweedy (back-up) seem to almost be singing the chorus through gritted teeth (or maybe that's just how I'm singing along.) And the drums, well those are provided by Jody Stephens (Big Star!) A gem from the swirl of the start to the bombastic chorus to the fuzzed out end.

Frances England, "Sometimes"
Frances England, "Where Do They Go?"

Bonus Not-Exactly-For-The-Kids Song:
Golden Smog, "Another Fine Day"

Just a friendly reminder: If you like these songs, purchase the CDs.

More about: Frances England, Golden Smog

Colours Are Brighter

2006-07-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

While I was out, Heather of Fuel sent me a link to the NME article about the children's CD Belle & Sebastian are curating. Comes out in October and is called "The Colours Are Brighter" with proceeds of the disc going to Save The Children.

Here is the tracklisting:

* Four Tet featuring Princess Watermelon - ‘Go Go Ninja Dinosaur’
* Rasputina - ‘A Skeleton Bang’
* Franz Ferdinand - ‘Jackie Jackson’
* Snow Patrol - ‘I Am An Astronaut’
* The Divine Comedy- ‘Three Cheers For Pooh, Cottleston Pie, Piglet Ho’
* The Kooks - ‘The King & I’
* Half Man Half Biscuit - ‘David Wainwright’s Feet’
* The Barcelona Pavilion- ‘Tidy Up Tidy Up’
* Jonathan Richman - ‘Out Dog Is Getting Older Now’
* Ivor Cutler Trio - ‘Mud’
* The Flaming Lips - ‘The Big Ol’ Bug Is The New Baby Now’
* Belle & Sebastian - ‘The Monkeys are Breaking Out Of The Zoo’
* Kathryn Williams - ‘Night Baking’

Looks intriguing, no?

The Franz Ferdinand song, "Jackie Jackson" has made its way on to a few blogs and so I bring it to you. It's a novelty for sure, but darn it's catchy and fun. Dare I say, I love it (for what it is.)

Here's a hilarious bit of it: Snow Patrol (or, rather I think Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol) is covering a song by Ricky Wilde who is brother to Kim, who wrote "Kids in America", who recorded this bit of goofy crack in 1972 when he was a wee lad in the UK and here it is in all its glory. No, not the Snow Patrol / Gary Lightbody version. I have the original. Better? Or worse? Um, yeah.

Threw in Belle & Sebastian "We Are the Sleepyheads" from last CD, The Life Pursuit. No, this isn't the track they will have on the children's CD, that will be a new one. But this one is dandy.

Franz Ferdinand, "Jackie Jackson"
Ricky Wilde, "I Am An Astronaut"
Belle & Sebastian, "We Are the Sleepyheads"

More about: Franz Ferdinand, Ricky Wilde, Belle & Sebastian

I'll be back on Monday with some of the new CDs I've been getting while I was out. Thanks for all your lovely thoughts and messages. It all makes my heart pitter patter.

If I had a dollar for every post...

2006-07-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

I'd have a hundred dollars.

Where have I been, you may be wondering. If you don't care and just want music, skip down to the bottom.

Here's the quick version: As I had mentioned, I had been sick. I landed in the hospital two weekends ago. Fast forward two + weeks, several days in the hospital, 4 catscans and one biopsy and I have been diagnosed with a weird rare "disease" wherein the thing that creates your immune system when you're a fetus is supposed to disapear by your teens but instead, well, mine grew. And now it's a tumor like mass in my chest. And it has to come out. Bummer. Please don't send me any freaky or weird or horror stories about such things. I can't take any more.

But I'm actually in good spirits because it could have been so freaking much worse, so let's all say a big halleluah and a few hossanas and move on. I'm back, for now. I will be out for a long time again, so if anyone wants to do guest posts (if anyone is still even checking in on this blog) then email me. I'd love to have some posts when I'm out of sorts.

So I'm gonna ease back in with just a couple of tunes. The first is an old NRBQ song that PBS Kids has set to their old promo from a few years ago. Originally, the promo was set to Des'ree's (whoa, that's a lot of apostrophe's) song "You Gotta Be." It's so interesting how a song can change the mood of the visuals so drastically. Anyway, the new version is played against NRBQ's tune "Only You."

Also included here is Michael Brook's "RockPaperScissors." It's a bit new age-y for my tastes and yet the chorus is sort of cool. Brook did the soundtrack to Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth." And I think to the "Who Killed the Electric Car?" movie that I wanna see, too. This song sounds like a soundtrack to something. Anyway, that's Paul Buchanan on vocals.

Lastly, Phil over at A Family Runs Through It sent me a dance tune from Oh No! Oh My! that his kids like. I like it too.

NRBQ, "Only You"
Michael Brook, "Rockpaperscissors"
Oh No! Oh My!, "I Love You All The Time"

More info: NRBQ, Michael Brook, Oh No! Oh My!

** PS - To all you wonderful bands and musicians who have sent me CDs recently, I will be covering those next week so a big ol' thank you, they've been enjoyed, and sorry for the delay.**

random songs mostly from morning becomes eclectic this morning

2006-07-12T19:41:00.001-07:00

In San Diego I can get LA station KCRW in my car about 50% of the time. It comes in and out as I drive through various neighborhoods and this morning, as I sleepily drove my daughter to camp, it was doing just that. But miraculously, it was coming in during the songs and out when Nic Harcourt spoke. I like Morning Becomes Eclectic and I like Nic Harcourt (I even once had a vaguely libidinous dream about him, but that is neither here nor there.) I have a few friends who think he's over-rated (too much singer-songwriter, the complain). They're crazy. Of course he's not gonna please all the people all the time, but he really does turn me on to music regularly that I don't even hear about on the 37 blogs I check regularly. Plus, hello? It's just mighty fine car radio, as good as it gets.

So today as I was driving back from camp he played a handful of songs that I thought worked for this blog. I got a few of those here. Plus, since there was a mild disagreement last week over good Bright Eyes songs and the tune Conor Oberst apparently wrote as a kids' song, I thought I'd post that one too. Judge for yourself.

You know, I don't even know what the Julieta Venegas song is about (save for being titled, "Song of Love") but it's so fun and peppy and I can't wait to add it to the soundtrack of my daughter's birthday party. Plus, the opening sounds just like "99 Luft Balloons." Tally Hall are just silly, but you know, my kid and me both dig the tempo changes and well-orchestrated pop. Plus, they did have one of these songs on the O.C. Tee hee. Dengue Fever is one of those bands I want to see live. I bet they are awesome. Anyway, this song also could be about terrible things for all I know (probably is, I'm sure some reader will inform me), but I love the gal's voice (although not featured prominently in this tune) and I think it would play well next to any of the great Bollywood tunes Heather posted the other day. And Rosie Thomas is a young purty thing and this is a lullaby. She's on Sub Pop.

Got to go, I'm hurting. Here are the tunes:

Tally Hall, "Ruler of Everything"
Tally Hall, "Good Day"
Dengue Fever, "Tip My Canoe"
Rosie Thomas, "Two Dollar Shoes"
Julieta Venegas, "Canciones de Amor"
Bright Eyes, "True Blue"

More about: Tally Hall, Dengue Fever, Rosie Thomas, Julieta Venegas (en espanol), Bright Eyes

Lollapalooza: MMJ >> Husky Rescue >> Oh No! Oh My! >> Wilco

2006-07-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

Oh my gawd. My flu turned into a lovely respiratory infection so I've been truly down 'n' out in the worst way. But on this, the end of day two of my antibiotic run, I'm feeling well enough to post from the comfort of my bed. I thought I'd stick to my most recent theme, it's been easy enough after all. Bands playing Lollapalooza. I've got a few new-to-small-ages tunes and then I'm gonna re-share a couple of Wilco tunes, although I know I haven't posted one of these tunes before.

So here goes: My Morning Jacket is one of those bands that I think just sound lovely in the background, the kind of band that kids aren't offended by, but generally don't call their own (I'd say Built to Spill is in this category as well, at least from my limited experience with my own kid.) But then, in the middle of Z being on, I guess in the background, my daughter started singing, "Off the Record." She says she really likes it, so here you go.

I know nothing about Oh No! Oh My! and got this track from I Guess I'm Floating. But hey, it's a great one for the kids, ain't it? They're opening for the Flaming Lips on some dates, they are playing here in San Diego in August, playing with Jeremy Enigk. This song is so sweet and lovely and poppy. The other song I have by them is all electronic, although honestly, it's kind of good for kids too.

I've posted a Husky Rescue song before, the one that was on the Canadian kid's LP. I didn't realize how much I liked them till my friend Keith told me to give the Helsinki band another listen. Yeah, it's super pretty, loverly, delightful even. This song, while not my favorite from Country Falls (that would be "Summertime Cowboy"), is good for sleepytimes. Oh, and that's them in the picture, above.

Wilco, still my favorite band. They become more favorite with each release, if that's possible. My kid truly does love this band, she can pick out Jeff Tweedy's voice effortlessly when she hears them in a store or on the radio. I think I've posted two of these tracks before, they are two of her favorites. But I didn't post the final track, "Just a Kid" from the Spongebob Squarepants soundtrack before. Not their best tune (it's just a classic pop song essentially, no tricks) it's still a fun one, perfect for the kids in every way and it purportedly features Spencer Tweedy, Jeff Tweedy's son, on drums. Remember, his own band, The Blisters, are also playing Lollapalooza.

My Morning Jacket, "Off the Record"
Oh No! Oh My!, "Walk in the Park"
Husky Rescue, "Sleep Tight Tiger"
Wilco, "Magazine Called Sunset"
Wilco, "I'm A Wheel"
Wilco, "Just a Kid"

Hopefully I'll be good to go now that the meds are kicking in and I'll post the rest of the week. I have a few golden oldies (from my college days) to share.

More about: Oh No! Oh My!; Husky Rescue; My Morning Jacket; Wilco

Oh and look, my book got a write up on the Cool Mom Picks blog. Checkity check it.

Guest Post: The Two Mirrors, Pt. 1

2006-07-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

** I fixed the Bright Eyes link **

Greetings folks. Zak over at The Two Mirrors has graciously accepted my offer to guest post for the next two days. Yay for me! Don't forget to check out his blog. (And marvel at the beauty of his children, at right.) And now, in his own words—

Hello to all you (sm)all ages readers. We over at the The Two Mirrors are huge fans of this site. My kids musical lives have greatly improved since I stumbled upon this site. I offered to guest blog over here to share my kiddies favorite tunes. I have a two part post to share with you. The first part is a summary of 3 songs written for adults that my kids love. The second part will be 3 songs written for kids that my kids love. Hope you enjoy!

Part One

So my kids have great taste in music. Aiden just turned three in July and Anna is just a wee 15 months. The both grew up with music always on in the house. For some reason both of them loved the Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse early on. However these three songs are ones that they are into right now.

Bright Eyes—Gold Mine Gutted
This song comes from Conor’s electronic album released last January. I may be the only one in the world who thinks this, but personally I liked Digital Ash better than I’m Wide Awake, but I digress. Sunday night at our house is record night. We listen to music as a family and the music reflects what my wife, the kiddies, and myself have been listening to through the week. It has been a great way for my family to spend time together away from work, school, tv, and friends. Anyway, every week record night begins when we play this song. My kids absolutely love it. Some of the content is not exactly kid friendly, but still we love it. Conor sets the tone for record night with this line “speakers on the tv stand, just a turntable to watch.”

Starlight Mints—Popsickle
This is becoming one of their new favorites. However, as you may expect, they both want a popsickle when the song is over. This track comes from the Starlight Mints debut album released in 2000. It’s just a fun little song with great melodies and an easy sing along chorus (the making of a kid friendly song).

Mates of State—Think Long
We love the Mates of State. They are so kid friendly and they actually had a kid rather recently. This record’s lyrical content reflects this new addition to their family, but their music has always been a very fun and poppy listen. And they do it with just keyboards and drums. The best part about this song is that at the end when they are singing “Think Long” over and over again, Aiden swears to me that they are saying Big Bird. Taken a listen and see what you think. Side note—they put on a fun live show too! Anyway if you are a parent you should own their new record Bring it Back.

Bonus track for the parents:

You want to shed a little tear? Listen to this track from The Mates new album. It was written after they had a car wreck with their baby in the car.

Mates of State—Nature and the Wreck

A feel-good CD, in every way

2006-07-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

So I guess I should be posting something patriotic and wholly American today but you know, I'm not that sort of girl. Not that my daughter doesn't love a little USA call-out, she does, she definitely feels an affinity for her country and honestly, I'm unsure where this came from (pre-school?) Of course during the World Cup she loudly and proudly exclaimed she wanted USA to win, and when they failed fairly miserably, she quickly turned her attention to Italy because Daddy worked there when she was little and plus, she loves to go to Little Italy here in San Diego and eat gelato.

I'm gonna take another route and talk about something that I think is pretty patriotic in its own way: Down by The Riverside, a CD benefiting the Reuben Lindh Family Services. A CD the lovely Heather from I Am Fuel, You Are Friends pointed me to.

This Minneapolis-based non-profit fuels several pre-schools, parenting programs and therapy programs for children facing all sorts of barriers from the physical to the emotional (since 1969!) They in fact do a lot of "music therapy" classes there as well. And they have friends in many Minneapolis musicians.

The Jayhawks have a song, Mason Jennings has two (including "Mockinbird," with Amy Jennings, heard on the great radio show, Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child) and Semisonic have several in different formations (one as a band; a solo by Dan Wilson, another two with John Munson.) Chan Poling (of the old band the Suburbs and the new band the New Standards) is here, Adam Levy is here as is Robert Skoro (whose CD came out at the end of last year and I never picked it up, but it was nice, what I heard of it and I do dig his version of "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore.")

This CD is full of classic kid tunes, played close to the heart and simply, but without the plasticized layer of sugar that is most often found on children's comps. I'm not posting the other Mason Jennings tune or the Jawhawks song (even though I love it) because I want you to buy this one folks. And if you've got one of those active Paypal accounts from all that eBay-ing you do, it's a cinch and takes a minute and a few days later, bam, you have a nice CD in your box.

Mason Jennings, "Oh Susannah"
Robert Skoro, "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore"

Buy this here CD.

reubenlindh.org // newartistdirect.com

The Enchanted One, That's Me

2006-07-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

So I've been down with the flu.

In July. In 90 degree weather.

So I'm gonna ease back into this with a post that I've wanted to do, but couldn't because the CD wasn't in its case (a re-occurring problem in our household.) Carole King did this children's record back in the 70s, when I was a wee one, based on stories by the wonderful Maurice Sendak ("Where the Wild Things Are.") At the time I was listening to my mom's Rolling Stones, Jackson Browne and Beatles records. But she got me this record and despite thinking I was too old for kid stuff, I was eight, I thought it was great. It helped that there was a book and a TV special too, to drill the stuff into my brain, but really I remember genuinely liking it. My favorite song was a short one, called "Screaming and Yelling." At the end of each segment, Carole King, as the kid Rosie, refers to herself as "The Enchanted One." That is the exact place where I envisioned myself as Super Clea. My family did a lot of yelling.

The whole thing is about shining as the star you are, self-esteem and all that jazz, and its presented in such a truly lovely manner. I threw in a few songs (including the classic Sendak story "Pierre") although honestly, I like 90% of this CD. It's so very worth buying but I did hear that Sony is possibly re-releasing it re-mastered? I don't know, I don't know that your kids are gonna know the diff.

Carole King, "Screaming and Yelling"
Carole King, "Pierre"
Carole King, "Really Rosie"

Buy: Really Rosie

It's fun to stay at the...

2006-06-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Despite my best efforts, my daughter can't stop singing "YMCA."

Check below for a whole lot of new songs (new songs from me, not new-new songs as in the the blog race of July 06, oh you know what I'm talking 'bout.)

More tomorrow—

Lollapalooza: Sleater K. >> Eels >> Peppers

2006-06-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Had a few hiccups last week (summer is here after all) and so I thought I'd make it up to y'all with a big ol' post. I'm checking out the list for Lollapalooza (not that I'm going, while I love the idea of music fests, I rarely like them in actuality) and while there is plenty of kid music offered, even some reasonable kid music, I am more inclined to dig into the "adult" bands and look for tunes the whole clan can enjoy.

Sleater-Kinney isn't a band I think of when I think kiddles, normally. But hey they got a few good ones that your kids can probably sink their baby teeth into. I've picked two tunes that work, especially recommended is "Little Babies" -- it's got counting, nonesense words, a singalong chorus, all the makings of a good family pop tune.

Eels have a zillion good ones for kids, from the fabulous Shrek tunes (I've posted at least one before) to the pastiche dance pop tunes of E's alter ego MC Honky and a lot of stuff in between. True, all his irony and subtleness and depression is lost on the kids, but really, that ain't a bad thing, exactly. All they hear in "Hey Man" is the upbeat backbeat and the groovy singalong swagger.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are at the top of this 199, oops, that's right, 2006 list. When I worked at a used record store in college (many years ago) I liked the Red Hot Chili Peppers well enough. I thought their cover of Sly and the Family Stone's "If You Want Me To Stay" was pretty awesome and put it on more than one gift mix tape. That song is just slinky. (Another successful slinky indie rock cover of a soul song? Urge Overkill's cover of Hot Chocolate's "Emma," but neither song is appropriate for the small ages crowd.) So what is? The two I picked, below, I think. If I missed a swear word, I'm sorry. I do believe these two are clean.

The Mp3s:

Sleater-Kinney, "Little Babies"
Sleater-Kinney, "Oh!"
Eels, "My Beloved Monster"
Eels, "Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)"
Eels, "Can't Help Falling in Love"
MC Honky, "Sonnet 3"
Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Yertle the Turtle"
Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Me and My Friends"

Bonus Slinky Songs:

Red Hot Chili Peppers, "If You Want Me To Stay"
Urge Overkill, "Emmaline"

And yippee, I've been alerted by two lovely blogging readers, Heather at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends and Boy Howdy at Not All Who Wander Are Lost that I was mentioned at the end of the SALON article on Kindie Rock! To read the article, click here. If you want to just see this blog mentioned (and oh yeah, download some tunes) go here. Thanks guys! And if you're new to this blog, well, golly gee, um, howdy!

Kidzapalooza

2006-06-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah with a Z.

So Lollapalooza is going to be held in Chicago this year, on August 4th-6th. Essentially over my daughter's fifth birthday. Wish I could take her, I think she'd enjoy it. Of course, last time we took her to a music fest out of state, we suffered through allergies, heat exhaustion and whacked out bedtimes. And we saw nary a band.

So we're bringing the Lollapalooza to the blog. Of course Pitchfork's fest is the same weekend, and maybe they're having a kid's stage too, but I dunno. I will check into that. Maybe later I'll bring Pitchfork's fest to this blog, but they have their own, far bigger one, so well, maybe that makes no sense at all. At this here blog I thought I'd post on the various bands that will grace both the kid's stage and the various and sundry "other" stages. Because in general, I don't love the kid's music. I mean I like some of it, but what really makes me happy is when my daughter is shaking her booty to Wilco or Belle & Sebastian or the Raconteurs, just to name a few in-house faves. But more on that later. Today, kid's stage. The bands that will be performing at Lollapalooza on the kid's stage are as follows:

Peter DiStefano (Kid's music? Really? Isn't this the dude from Porno for Pyros?)
Justin Roberts
The Candy Band
Ella Jenkins (Official God-Mom of Kid's Music)
Q Brothers (I'm not convinced this is music)
The Blisters (Jeff Tweedy's son's band)
Asheba (Kid reggae)
Chutzpah (Jewish Rap, with a song entitled, "Super Jew")
ScribbleMonster (A fake monster made of scribbles fronts a band)

Plus, Kellee McQuinn and Kid Tribe (A dance "class" of sorts), the Alvin Ailey Dance Camp (ditto) and the now famous because of the movie, School of Rock kids.

Okay, so I like Ella Jenkins for her old-school cool folk tunes and her completely bitchin' deep-throated voice that sounds wise and kind and heavenly. I've never been the Justin Roberts fan. I just don't get it, but I know some of you do. Perhaps those who do should tell me which songs to listen to because thus far, I haven't heard anything I want to hear again. (Sorry!) I did see he has performed at Chicago's own Hoot Night with such wondrous performers as Kelly Hogan and Nora O'Connor. In fact, so does Scribble Monster (or rather, Scribble Monster's backing band, the Shysters.)

The Blisters are the pre-teen band featured in that Quaker Oats commercial that's floating around and are none other than Jeff Tweedy's sons and their friends. Cute. I think.

So that leaves the Candy Band. I may have posted a song or two before. They're funny, and for me, if you're gonna be a "kid's band" this is sort of the way to do it: loud, energetic, simple and fun. Oh yeah, and I like that they're chicks.

Candy Band, "Skip to My Lou"
Candy Band, "Spiderman"

There are way more songs and videos for the Candy Band on their website.
For some Shysters' / Scribble Monster songs, visit the music page on their website.
For some Chutzpah clips visit their web page.

Lollapalooza's Kidzapalooza Website - Children under 10 are free.

PS- Since I mentioned her birthday, I might as well ask you: got any good ideas for a party? I have been entertaining the idea of a Tuesdayapalooza. You know, get a few bands, throw an outdoor concert dance party. But oh, the work. Thoughts? Anyone, anyone?

And I'm spent a lot

2006-06-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

The aformention and promised indie rock. Course, it's not all that indie, and none of it's new, but my promises are always empty.

Let's discuss: The Blur song is the infamous anthemic "woo hoo" song. It seems apropos now as I'm sure somewhere, someplace it's playing in honor of some national soccer team. It's got head-bopping, it's got a singable chorus of nonsense, what more do you need to make 'em happy? An early Rilo Kiley track from the Initial Friend EP. Oh how I love this song. Simple, silly, light and airy and yet full of Jenny Lewis-sass. Not the masterful band they became but good nonetheless. Yeah there is a bit about getting naked, but you know what, my daughter literally does that a lot and it's just fine in the confines of our home. The community pool? Well that's another story entirely. I think I posted this Nellie McKay song before but oh well. It's a good one, a fam favorite. There is barking. Sparks? What can I say, songs about monsters work, even these kinds of monsters. It just makes me think of Valley Girl. Ah, Nick Cage's trianglular shaped patch of chest hair, I knew yee well. Saw that flick only about 48 times when I was in high school. And lastly, my daughter's favorite song, by her (and my) favorite band, but this one is singalong style, solo and live from the Letters to Santa Benefit that Jennings at rbally.net has been posting. Let me just say now, he's good that rbally guy and these tracks just make me so freaking happy, even when I'm spent. So, go check out his fabulous blog.

Blur, "Song 2"
Rilo Kiley, "The Frug"
Nellie McKay, "The Dog Song" (m4a)
Sparks, "Eaten By The Monster of Love"
Jeff Tweedy, "Magazine Called Sunset"

Also, fyi, I'm working on my superclea site and my yer little sister blog. I'm actually combining them and right now, it's a mess, so excuse me, pardon me, I'll let you know when it's working. On an only marginally related note, my book and I got a write up in the Bratz magazine. This bums me out to no end. Yep, that's my press. Woo hoo indeed. Please buy my book, I apparently need help.

But Where is Leather Tuscadero?

2006-06-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

Many a blogger have been writing about their bargain bin CDs. I picked this one up recently for a couple of bucks and it's fun. Not great. But fun.

It was the title that caught my eye-- Teen Town U.S.A. I write predominantly for teens in my real life and I just have such a weird pull to anything teen. But these throwback teen comps are usually rife with Frankie and Annette or the same damn twelve songs that played on AM radio when I was a kid. This one actually features a few early recordings by a couple of guys who became famous. The Beach Boys perform as Kenny and the Cadets and Paul Simon as Jerry Landis. Neither is ground-breaking or astonishing, but they're reasonable sock hop type tunes to dance the night away. The rest is made up of lots of other folks that weren't even one hit wonders because these songs were never hits. Still it's a silly lil' slice of Happy Days Americana. My fave? Oh definitely Jerry Landis, aka Paul Simon's ridiculous "Lone Teen Ranger." Hey, it made it to #97 on the pop charts!

Really I'm gonna post some indie rock tomorrow.

Bobby Reed, "High School USA"
Jimmy Jordan, "Tick Tock"
Kenny & the Cadets, "Barbie"
Jimmy Johnson, "Lone Ranger"
Jerry Landis, "Lone Teen Ranger"

The rest of the CD is more of the same. On Yeaah! Records out of the UK, circa the late 90s.

Not a real green dress, that's cruel.

2006-06-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not really a Barenaked Ladies fan. In fact, this CD is my husband's which makes me laugh. Like, did he really like this band at some point? And yet, the million dollars song is pretty sweet. And great for the little ones. I just can't get over the bad haircuts. The oversized Geoffrey Beene glasses. The berets (Okay so there aren't any in the above pictures, you'll have to trust me, they wore them.) Didn't Brandon Walsh have something to do with these guys?

Speaking of bad haircuts, what's up with the soccer 'do? We've been watching the World Cup and I just can't get over the bleached blonde, shaved sides thing. And it's just the latest in a long line of historically bad hair-dos. Anyway, they make me laugh repeatedly. Almost as much as the names of some of the soccer players, but they don't have control over that. They're paying their hairdresser's good money. They so need some Nick A. action.

Barenaked Ladies, "If I Had a $1000000"
Barenaked Ladies, "I Love You"

One more for the "I Love You" files.

I'll get back to the indie rock soon. Meanwhile, Jennings over at rbally.net continues to make my heart sing: he's posted the second of his six part post of Jeff Tweedy solo shows for charity. Lovely and amazing.

Alas, no "We Are the Champions"

2006-06-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

I won't say another word about it today.

In other news... I'm old.

How old? My birthday is around the corner and let's just say, for my Homecoming Dance, the theme was Styx's "Come Sail Away." Yeah, old. Care to guess?

In honor of that dance wherein I wore a Laura Ashley seafoam green (with a frosted sheen) off-the-shoulder number and had my bi-level hair blown out as straight as a Jew fro will go in Hollywood, Florida, I give you... Styx for Kids.

Okay only Mr. Roboto counts. But I'll throw in "Come Sail Away" for good measure.

Styx, "Mr. Roboto"
Styx, "Come Sail Away"

Thank you Michelle for sending me these. I think.

World Cup Fever

2006-06-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

This is for the husband whom I love very much. He would give most anything to be in Germany right now, watching the first US game, but alas, he can't even go to the bar at nine AM with all his friends because it's Daddy Day at Preschool and they're having a donut tea party right now. What a guy. He didn't even flinch when I said I could maybe get him out of it.

Air Miami, "World Cup Fever" (Holland Mix)

More non-related World Cup songs later. (That is unless US take the CR. Then I may need to go into Queen "We Are the Champions" mode or something.)

She was kissed by an Angel

2006-06-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Blogger down. Blogger up. EZ Archive down. Blogger down. Urgh. Blogger up. EZ Archive still down. Blogger down. Arghh.

Also found among the dust bunnies: Cocktail Mix Swinging Singles, Vol. 3, a Rhino production. Here are few of the drunk songs that are fun-fun-fun for dancing 'round the house. I like the big band pop tunes of this era, they have drama and pomp and verve. Ignore all the alcohol and gambling references and these are good times for the little ones. And don't worry, when Della here sings about a Tramp, the kids are thinking Disney dog.

Count Basie & Tony Bennet, "Are You Having Any Fun?"
Stan Kenton, "Tequila"
Della Reese, "The Lady is A Tramp" (my favorite version of this song)
Diana Dors, "Come By Sunday"
Peggy Lee, "Heart (Corazon)"

I think this CD may be out of print. It's a fun one.

My computer lives!

2006-06-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

Sure the keys on the right side, like the return and the delete, stick a bit and take an extra beat to pop back into their original place, but hey, I can live with that. That's what my baby looks like, to the right, only mine has an all-over tinge of brown and the faint smell of Columbian coffee fields. Just enough to make me salivate and crave a cup every time I sit down to type.

Working on a project right now and what with Blogger down for hours earlier, I am gonna have to do a little teeny tiny post. Tomorrow's will be much bigger.

While I was waiting for blogger to come back up, and stalling and procrastinating on that project I'm working on, I loaded a bunch of CDs that I just found this morning in the back of the stereo cabinet. Apparently, they fell back there eons ago and there they stayed amassing a large collection of adorable dust bunnies. So from these practically new old CDs come these gems, just right for your family's listening pleasure.

The Beatles, "I Me Mine"
The Beatles, "One After 909"
Joe Jackson, "Look Sharp!"
Michael Jackson, "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough"

I know, many of you are simply creeped out by the MJ in any form. I understand, but he still makes me wanna shake my rump.

I'm a freaking idiot

2006-06-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

Dumped an entire cup of coffee on my open laptop today. That's what I get for swinging by Starbucks, someone's trying to teach me a lesson. It appears to be working, at least for now, as I type this. But who knows what the near future holds. I have backed everything up which is why I'm not in a fetal position sobbing violently.

Let's get on with this just in case Polly here poops out on me.

The Kinks. You know all about them. Ray Davies, his brother, rocking Brits who could really write a song when they wanted. Great for the kiddles. Sorry if I've posted any of these already, but they're so good twice is nice.

The Kinks, "Animal Farm"
The Kinks, "Have A Cuppa Tea"
The Kinks, "Picture Book"
The Kinks, "Big Sky"

Buy Ray Davies last CD. It's good.

Oh and speaking of buying stuff, this is the last day I'm gonna bug you for awhile. BUY MY BOOKS.

I Wanna Make My Own Clothes, By Clea Hantman
I Wanna Re-Do My Room, By Clea Hantman

It's a deal, really. Pages and pages of fun.

And I have ressurected my other blog for a bit. Yer Little Sister has the MP3s I captured from two Austin City Limits shows, one with the Flaming Lips and the other with Wilco. Did I mention the Flaming Lips one featured Chan Marshall on Black Sabbath's "War Pigs"? Oh yeah. I've got more coming throughout the week, provided my computer holds up.

Brought to you by the letter "O"

2006-06-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

Today's songs have but one thing in common: the band's start with the letter "O." Make that two things: they are also enjoyed by my daughter.

Truth be told, my kid likes anything by the Old 97s and I think that might have something to do with the fact that it was the last show I saw with her in my belly. She was but weeks from her coming out party. I've posted an Of Montreal song before I think. This one is sweet like sugar. And lastly, Optigonally Yours was a band that consisted of Rob from Pinback and um, Goblin Cock and Pea Hicks on the optigan, a guy who has played with a lot of different bands / people over the years. They live in San Diego, like me. In case you don't know, the optigan is this sort of organ like thing that plays "discs" of recorded instruments somewhat crudely. It was made by Mattel, as in the people who brought you the Barbie. The result is a bit weird. The music, with Rob on vocals, is oh so childlike and kooky.

Optigonally Yours, "Mr. Wilson"
The Old 97s, "Big Brown Eyes"
Of Montreal, "Spoonful of Sugar"

More about: Optiganally Yours, Of Montreal, Old 97s

Also, congrats to Bill of Spare the Rock, who was chosen as "Cool ~~Mom~~ Dad of the Week." He seems like a pretty cool dad to me. I'm a fan.

The Rawking Refuses To Stop is a blog that I've been enjoying of late, mostly for the good tunes posted (Pipettes, the Bens, Radiohead, Phoenix just to name a few from this past week.) He has posted two classic Disney tunes recently.

In case you were wondering, and I'm quite sure you were, I did not win the chili cook-off. I tasted them all, mine was far superior. I was robbed. The block party also had a face painter, rock climbing wall, jumpy bounce house and stuff out to decorate your bike with. My daughter decorated her wagon and when she failed to receive a prize, she pouted, just like her mother. C'mon! It had bells hanging off the back like a little toddler wedding mobile. Genius.

And finally, my book is officially out tomorrow, but apparently people have received them already in the mail from pre-ordering so please, go do it. They really do make awesome summer gifts, they'll give the 9 thru 14 year olds of your life something productive to do with their time. Crafts that do not require a lot of money or big equipment. I tell them how to make clothes without a sewing machine for crying out loud. This is good stuff. There is also one more out at the same time, but alas Amazon doesn't have the picture posted for it. It's called "I Wanna Re-Do My Room" and it's crafts for your younger one's living space.

Buy my book (please.)

2006-06-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Friday came too soon. Don't get me wrong, I love the weekend, the relaxing two hour breakfasts, the fun little kiddle activities, the endless birthday parties... and this weekend is our neighborhood Chili Cook-Off. Yep, my neighborhood has a neighborhood Chili Cook-Off. And I only live 11 minutes from downtown, or so I keep reminding myself when I feel like I live in the nether reaches of the burbs. Now I haven't eaten meat in the last two months, but there are five pounds of pork butt in my fridge. I'm taking it this year.

Update on my life for all you keeping track:

* My kid is gonna stay at the school she's at and do kindergarten there. Yes, it's a private school. For one year, only, we hope. Send the hate mail on in, I deserve it.

* My book comes out in four days. You can pre-order it now. Now. And if you are the proud owner of a blog that reviews books on occasion and has an audience of parental types, let me know. I'll pass on your address to my publisher and get a book to you.

* I'll be eating meat this weekend.

Here's just two songs for the road. Kick out the jams--

Yann Tomita, "Doopee Time"
The Vandals, "Supercalifragilisticexpealodotious"

Was that one on the nationally televised spelling bee finals?? Because if so, I think I just lost.

MY Commercial Music (Pt. 2, sort of)

2006-06-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

Like I said yesterday, I have freelanced for this agency that does a lot of Target stuff. I suppose they could be mad at me for writing about it here, to my oh couple of hundred readers (hee hee) but honestly I don't know if they will ever use me again. Not because I wasn't good. Of course I think I was good. But, well, you know the last time I was there it was for this roundtable of freelancers and in-house folk to brainstorm "big" campaign ideas. Now there was one guy, a freelancer, a copywriter, like me, but he was so the opposite of me. He was all jazz hands. He was fancy NYC retro suit guy. But when you washed the big words and smooth delivery away you were left with a whole lot of nothing. Still, the folks at the agency thought he was a freaking genius. And these are kind, smart people, but boy were they off base about this guy. We went back to the hotel and he proceeded to rip them all a new one about how gullible they were and dumb because he knew he was full o' crap. Me? I mostly kept quiet, took notes and turned them in after the meeting. But you know what? People. Don't. Read. Jazz hands win out every time.

They ended up hiring him full time and within a few months, he was gone. I don't know if he was fired or quit, I didn't pry. For all I know he still does freelance for them. For all I know he's the idiot who came up with Choxie.

My favorite part of the job, as you can imagine, was coming up with songs for my campaign ideas. They never took any of my suggestions for tunes though. Below are a few songs I picked for a previous holiday campaign (w/o using Christmas songs.)

This is just a sampling of the mountains of mix CDs I made for the agency. Oh and remember commercials only use 30 seconds (or less if they re-mix) of the song. So when Macy Gray sings "fine chocolate ass," well that doesn't need to be in the commercial, you know? Course maybe you don't want to play that one to your kids, but it goes by so fast, I doubt they will notice. Side note: we took our daughter to an all day concert thing and while we were waiting for Wilco to come on Macy was finishing. Now my daughter was two, and Macy let loose with a slew of expletives and my daughter's head whipped around so fast to pay attention to this bellowing pip-squeak voice spew colorful words and we thought, great, she's gonna learn her first curse word from Miss Gray. But they didn't stick. This song has such a joyous overall feel to it, even if only the last 20 seconds were used, it's just so damn celebratory.

Macy Gray, "Come Together"

More just happy soaring sounds that sound celebratory and uplifting. My kid sometimes likes Polyphonic Spree and sometimes finds it utterly annoying. I know a lot of people who feel that way about that band. I, however, love them. I think they really tug the same heartstrings that the original Coke song does (yesterday's New Seekers' track.)

Polyphonic Spree, "Have a Day" (Live on KCRW)

Another one that has the New Seekers schmaltz and yet is cool at the same time? This cover of "Sing" from Ivy. It was on a kid's CD a few years back and I just think it's beautiful. Have I posted this before? I think I have.

Ivy, "Sing"

And the last one, because this post is too long. Come the holidays I think that it's all about the smells and sights and sounds that really enhance the whole experience and bring it to the front and center of our lives. At least that was where I was going with a particular campaign idea I had and this is, of course, the song to bring it all home.

XTC, "Senses Working Overtime"

These aren't the songs I really pushed or thought were totally and completely right. I decided to hang on to those secretly for now, you know, in case they do call again. (Tee hee) Either that, or I'll wait and post them closer to Christmas!

Commercial Music

2006-05-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, I mean commercially viable but more specifically I mean music featured in commercials of late. Of course you could do a whole blog on this (hey, what a great idea!) but I'll just do one (or two) posts on the subject because while some of the songs featured in commercials may be enjoyable enough to hear on television and in your car, most are not. My husband and I have often marveled at the stuff that makes it on to commercials, we figure most of the agency folk these days are our age or slightly younger and they're pimping their favorite tunes. How else to describe Iron and Wine covering the Postal Service in an M&M commercial?

By the way that song is freaking amazing, commercial or not. The lyrics! Loved it originally and love the cover. But I digress.

I had a chat recently on the subject with a musician friend of mine who said we shouldn't fault Sam Beam or any of these other musicians because for an independent artist (or semi independent) a commercial, one little ol' commercial, can be enough money to support said musician for 6 months to a year. That way they can continue to make music full time without slinging coffee. Or they can sit on their couch smoking dope all year, whatever is their fancy. And hey, I agree. It may potentially harm their career, but more likely, it won't and people like you and I will talk about how weird it is that that song is in a freaking M&M commercial.

As a side note, I have done a fair amount of ad agency work myself and most notably freelanced for an agency that does a lot of Target stuff. I contributed my list of songs that I thought should have been used in a few commercials they were crafting and well, they didn't pick mine. Maybe I'll post some of my Target choices tomorrow (and the songs they went with instead- you decide who is smarter, me or the big bucks agency!) Or maybe I will hop, skip and jump away from this topic altogether. Whichever way the wind blows.

Harry Nilsson, "Coconut" (Coca-Cola with Lime)
The Caesars, "Jerk It Out" (iPod shuffle)
5,6,7,8s, "Woo Hoo" (Vonage)
David Bowie, "Young Americans" (Fidelity Investments)
Devo, "Whip It" (Swiffer)
B-52s, "Rock Lobster" (K-Mart)
The Monsters from Sesame Street, "Mahna Mahna" (Dr. Pepper)

Two more that probably won't appeal to the kids but they are nice, nice songs:

The Concretes, "Say Something New" (Target)
Iron & Wine, "Such Great Heights" (M&M)

And lastly, an oldie but goodie, the song that set the bar for commercial music:

The New Seekers, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" aka "The Real Thing" (Coca Cola)

Other people covering music for kids of late

2006-05-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

Second post of the day:

I meant to write about this earlier but forgot, so here goes. The new cartoon flick, Over the Hedge, features a buncha new songs (and a redux of an old one) by Ben Folds. I like Ben Folds. These songs are typical of the kid movie genre and therefore aren't as good as Ben Folds is in general, but still, they're catchy, pop tunes that will probably snag the ear of your little one, especially if they've seen the movie. And I'll take Ben Folds over say, The Cheetah Girls, any day of the week. So having said all that, I Guess I'm Floating has the tunes, so go get 'em.

I'm trying to see if I can mention Heather from I Am Fuel, You Are Friends more than any other blogger so, here is my second mention of her for today: She did a post last Friday about good music from kid film soundtracks. I nabbed me a couple I didn't have, I bet you don't have 'em all either. By the way I'm gonna have to mention Heather a whole lot more often to win that prize.

Ha ha hee hee ho ho

2006-05-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

I've had half a dozen crying jags in the last 24 hours, mostly, at least on the surface, induced by the kindergarten dilemna (my local one kind of sucks) but really brought on by the wackadoo inner workings of my downward spiraling mind.

To honor my current state of being:

Napoleon XIV, "They're Coming To Take Me Away"
Jospehine XIV, "I'm Happy They Took You Away"

I've got more to say today (and not about the wackadoo) but it will have to wait till tonight.

What a Wonderful World (Sometimes)

2006-05-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

The most lovely song for singing your itty bitties to sleep could arguably be "What A Wonderful World." It's a purty tune with a lovely sentiment and it's been covered from here to the moon and back. Yesterday I posted on Victoria Williams (and I heard from no one thankyouverymuch) and she covered this tune on the very same CD I nabbed those two songs from. But I'm not posting it here. Instead, I've chosen another six versions, each wildly different. For just listening pleasure, I'll take the Shane and Nick or the Flaming Lips version but for soothing babies? The Innocence Mission wins hands down. Although there is no arguing with Louis.

Louis Armstrong, "What a Wonderful World"
Dan Zanes & Lou Reed, "What a Wonderful World"
Shane MacGowan & Nick Cave, "What a Wonderful World"
Ruth Brown, "What a Wonderful World"
The Flaming Lips, "What a Wonderful World"
The Innocence Mission, "What a Wonderful World"

Other people who have covered WAWW: Willie Nelson, K.D. Lang, Joey Ramone, BB King, Etta James, Glen Campbell, Gloria Gaynor & more.

Where she stops, no one can say

2006-05-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

Victoria Williams has one of those voices that you either enjoy or you can't stand. It's nasally and high-pitched at times and sounds as if it belongs to a cartoon character from the 30s. Her songs, especially her older ones (since I haven't heard a lot of her newer work) are southern yarns, tales of crazy characters from small towns. Victoria has MS and as a musician didn't have health insurance and so there was a benefit CD released for "Sweet Relief" which is an organization that was created after the tracks were laid down to provide insurance to such artists. The benefit CD is pretty interesting as it has a lot of 90s bands and artists like Pearl Jam, the Waterboys, Matthew Sweet, Evan Dando and Michael Penn covering her weird songs. Nowadays she performs with her husband, former Jayhawk Mark Olsen, as the Creekdippers. (FYI- Mark and fellow Jayhawk Gary Louris just finished doing some dates on the west coast as an acoustic duo.) These two story tracks are from the 90s Swing the Statue CD. They're very childlike and I don't just mean their content, but the instrumentation and the composition and delivery too. You either will really enjoy them or hate them, I suspect there will be little middle ground. Ditto for the kiddles.

Victoria Williams, "Tarbelly and Featherfoot"
Victoria Williams, "Boogieman"

More about: Victoria Williams
Purchase: My Books!

You can't blame me, really, and I'm still giving you music at the end of the post.

2006-05-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

So today I'm gonna start with a little self-promotion that just may carry on through for the next few weeks. My latest books, "I WANNA" are coming out on Simon & Schuster on June 6th. You can pre-order I WANNA Make My Own Clothes on Amazon. And you should if you know any 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15 year old girls who are crafty or have a remote desire to be crafty. This is the start of a series of four books. There is one on making Clothes with no more than a needle and thread (#1) and another on re-doing your Room (#2), again with no real big tools or equipment. They both release on June 6th and yes, that's in like two weeks. Then there is one on making Gifts for all your friends and family (#3) which is my favorite and it releases in October and another on Accessories (#4) and quite frankly I don't know when that comes out. I'm done, I can tell you that much. My illustrious book career has been anything but, however this will make NINE books I have published which I am proud of, even if very few people have actually purchased them. Have I guilted you in to pre-buying yet?

Oh, there is a website, too.

FYI- A few years back I also wrote a fiction series for the same age group called The Goddesses, which are about the Muses, you know from Greek mythology, and how three of them piss off their pops (Zeus) and he sends them off to Athens as punishment, only he's getting rusty at that God stuff and accidently sends them into the future. And to Athens, Georgia.

No, seriously, that's what it's about.

It's pretty funny for middle reader fiction, I think, and you can still get them on Amazon. In fact, wanna buy Goddesses Book #1: Heaven Sent now? Heh heh. My first book is out of print, but I have a zillion of them in my garage. It's called Hey Day: 365 Ultra-Glazing, Super Amazing Things to Do, Make & Ponder. Or something like that. Same age group, maybe a touch older. An excellent tome and you can get one, just email me. Maybe send me a few bucks for postage if you're so inclined.

Now on to the music.

I thought I'd just do a basic indie pop hits for kids post today. The family went out this weekend and trolled one of our favorite neighborhoods, a place now called "South Park" but really is just the northern end of Golden Hill, a neighborhood I lived in for like eons pre-marriage / child. It's got more and more cute shops and cafes now and it is home to our favorite record / CD shop M-Theory. Inside one of their outposts (they have two in the neighborhood) my daughter pogo'd to the song coming out of the speakers and loudly and proudly announced that "We have this song." It was the Raconteurs, "Steady As She Goes." She makes her Mom proud.

Later that same evening we danced up a storm to a new playlist I made for working and a favorite of that set was the outrageously poptastic sounds of Belle & Sebastian in the form of "Funny Little Frog." Such a great song, such a smash pop hit. I know that my wild dancing to the song makes her like it even more. I got so crazy, I hurt my toe and we got to watch it swell up before our very eyes! Good fun I tell you.

Lastly, a song I got off a blog recently and I am sorry I can't remember whose, but it's by the also poptastic Apples in Stereo and it's their "Theme Song." You can never go wrong with a snappy theme song. Oh, made a rhyme! I do it all the time! Somebody call a mime!

The Raconteurs, "Steady As She Goes"
Belle and Sebastian, "Funny Little Frog"
Apples in Stereo, "Apples in Stereo Theme Song"

More info: The Raconteurs, Belle and Sebastian, Apples in Stereo, Clea Hantman's book world

Purchase: I WANNA Make My Own Clothes; I WANNA Re-Do My Room Goddesses Book #1: Heaven Sent; Goddesses Book #2: Three Girls and a God

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

2006-05-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Once again I was gonna post something else, something I've been meaning to and then this:

I'm giving my daughter her bath and we're chatting it up as we do. I say, "Hey, I wanna try reading to you from a book with no pictures." And then I explain that, "You can use your imagination to think up what the characters look like" and then she says:

"Oh, I already do that Mommy, with songs."

And before I can even break into that gigantic smile that you know came upon me right quick, she continues, with not so much of a breath:

"Like on that Rockin' Robin song, I thought it was a girl singing but it's not, did you know that it's a boy? Daddy told me, and I imagined it was a girl singing and she wore a dress like Snow White, only not the one with the puffy sleeves, but the one that looks like it has rips in it and it's purple, like a light purple, maybe violet and her hair is in a bun and it's yellow and I thought, yeah, she is probably singing this song about her bird friend and I thought she looks like that but she's not a she, she's a boy."

Jackson Five, "Rockin Robin"

I think we're both crazy

2006-05-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

The zoo was exhausting, but oh so fun. There are these two polar bears there and one of them was playing with a bright orange cone, dunking it and then pushing it back down with it's giant paws. Up and down, each splash bigger than the next. My daughter and her friend had their faces pressed to the glass and one time that enormous bear came up and just stared them straight in the eye, for a good 1-2-3 count, before dipping back down and resuming his game. The girls were stunned still, I don't think they took a breath for more than that 3-count. It was awesome. One time, at Sea World, the polar bear ate a duck in front of us... well I changed the subject and pushed me daughter in the opposite direction so she didn't see, but um, ick.

Something different since I didn't prepare anything and I'm truly tired. Wilco, yes my most favorite band, were on Conan earlier this week and they did a new song. It's such a great ode to the everyday perils of marriage and coupling. The small jealousies, the little insignificant fights that add up, the occasional nasty look.

Is that the thanks I get for loving you?
Is that the thanks we get for falling in love?

Most of us, even those of us who are in lovely relationships with lovely people who are truly partners in every sense of the word, feel this way sometimes.

Pitchfork I think it was, said something like this about the song: "Jeff Tweedy's still writing notes he can't hit," or something like that and you know what, they're right and thank goodness he does that because it makes this light soul-pop song shiver with personality and poignancy that it may not otherwise have if he had that golden voice other (lesser - ha ha) people strive for.

The whole thing ends with the sing-a-long refrain, "We can make it better." Damn straight.

Wilco, "Is ThatThe Thanks I Get?" (Live on Conan)

Back to the kid stuff tomorrow.

More about: Wilco