It says a lot about the two new ("quite old, but new to you!") tracks from Elizabeth Mitchell that they take two of the most repetitive sing-song melodies and turn them into nearly 2 minutes of very listenable songs. Don't get me wrong, singing "London Bridge" or "Hickory Dickory Dock" with your kid is great, but after two minutes of that I'm usually more than ready to move on. These two tracks, especially the toy piano-accompanied mellow "Bridge," pass the test. I suspect these tracks won't appear on Mitchell's new Smithsonian Folkways album, which'll come out sometime in 2010, but they're nice nonetheless. Listen at her Myspace page for a limited time...
Listen To This: "Mezuzah" / "Apples & Honey" - The Macaroons
How's this for a kids music supergroup of sorts? A couple guys from The Zambonis (North America's favorite all-hockey band, who are partially responsible for "Hockey Monkey"), a guy whose band DeLeon turns Sephardic folk tunes into indie rock, and Michael Azerrad, best known for the book Our Band Could Be Your Life. OK, not a kids music supergroup, seeing as they have maybe one great kids song between them. But put them together as The Macaroons, a kids band with a fairly Jewish focus, and you have a potentially ground-breaking album.
They're putting out an album later this year on JDub Records, and I'm here to tell you that regardless of your faith, you need to listen to the two tunes they've posted post haste. Both songs -- the stomping, hair-metal with a sense of humor "Mezuzah" and the sweet pop-rock of "Apples & Honey" -- are, well, awesome.
In case you're not Jewish and need the Internet to explain things (like I did), here's teh internets on what a "mezuzah" is. You don't need any help with "Apples & Honey," which is a sweet Rosh Hashannah song. "It's when things get sticky / Just remember life is sweet" -- special meaning for those of the Jewish faith, but a sentiment the rest of us could get behind.
Listen To This: Steve-n-steveN (or, Steve Burns and Steven Drozd)
Today the Flaming Lips are releasing their latest studio album, a two-disk set entitled Embryonic. Seems like it's as good a time as any to start talking about Steve-n-steveN, the collaboration featuring Blue's Clues star-turned-indie rocker Steve Burns and multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd from the Flaming Lips.
This collaboration's been talked about for a while (the songs have been posted for awhile, too), and given Burns' and Drozd's previous foray into music for kids, the fact that it's getting closer is Good News For All Involved.
The "About" description sums up the 6 songs on the Myspace page thusly:One day, while searching everywhere for Princess Rainbow, a lonely unicorn named Steve Burns met a magical musical octopus named Steven Drozd in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. "Hi," said Steve to Steven. "I like writing stories about outer space, wizards, and feelings." "That's cool," said Steven to Steve while playing a bass guitar, Micro Moog synthesizer, and two Stylophones simultaneously. "I like to make brain burning musical soundscapes. Maybe you could add your stories to my music." "Okay", answered Steve, "let's always do that right here in Oklahoma and never in New York City." And that's just what they did... for all us children.Songs about poop, facts, unicorns, and octopi. Basically, it's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (already one of the best not-kids-albums that's really a kids' album) meets preschool. And, yeah, it really sounds like that. Totally worth 20 minutes or so of your attention. (Thanks to Cormac at Kids-Tunes for the reminder.)
Listen To This: "'Cuz We're Cousins" - Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion
I mentioned earlier this week how I've got some liner notes in Go Waggaloo!, the kids album Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion recorded for Smithsonian Folkways.
I knew that there'd be some fun stuff posted in run-up to the album's Oct. 27th release, and the first stuff o' fun is now available -- a streaming preview of "'Cuz We're Cousins." Musically, it's right in the Smithsonian Folkways folk wheelhouse, but lyrically, I'm pretty sure it's the first time the Xbox gets a line in a Folkways song. Listen here. So, yeah, it's clearly not one of the 3 songs Woody Guthrie wrote lyrics for on the album, but he totally would've made an Xbox reference if he were still alive...
Oh, and folks in New York and San Francisco can see Sarah Lee and Johnny play a couple kids' related shows -- a fundraiser for Clearwater September 11 in Tarrytown, NY and a -- here, I'm looking at you, Deb -- a benefit concert with Pete Seeger and The Waybacks for The Center for Steinbeck Studies September 18 in San Francisco. And more family shows are on their way...
Listen To This: "I Am a Paleontologist" - They Might Be Giants
As promised earlier today, here's that free mp3 courtesy of They Might Be Giants -- the completely rocking ode to diggin' up dinosaur bones, "I Am a Paleontologist," which features Danny Weinkauf on vocals. It's from Here Comes Science, the CD/DVD out next week on Amazon/iTunes (and everywhere on Sept. 22).
And, no, I don't know most of those dinosaurs. Maybe I should learn...
Download the track here or stream it below...
Listen To This: "Let's Go Play" - Laughing Pizza
I can't say that I'm the biggest Laughing Pizza fan -- pizzas can't laugh, for one thing, they're food -- but they've got a new song posted for streaming or downloading that's lots of fun -- "Let's Go Play". It's probably going to be posted for a limited time, so grab it now if you care to...
