Hey, I kid because I love.
The snarky friends at Pitchfork report that Belle & Sebastian indeed have "curated" a children's music album to be released on Sept. 11, 2006 and to benefit Save The Children. Now, it's not (as of this writing) confirmed on the band's website, their label's website, Rough Trade's website, or Save the Children's website, but it's on the web, so it must be true, right?
With contributions from "Franz Ferdinand, Four Tet, Snow Patrol, the Flaming Lips, the Fiery Furnaces, Kathryn Williams, the Divine Comedy, Travis, Jonathan Richman (aren't all of his songs children's songs?), and Rasputina," it's not a lineup that screams "kids music!" to me (well, OK, save Jonathan Richman), but that doesn't mean I won't be very interested in hearing it.
(Previous "reportage" here. Really, I do kinda like Belle & Sebastian, just not sure how this is going to turn out.)
Sing A Song of SteveSongs
Just wanted to point out that Bill at Spare the Rock announced today that SteveSongs would be appearing in-studio on his June 17 show. I've been told that Steve's latest album, Marvelous Day!, will be re-released by Rounder Records this summer. More details (and review) later this summer.
Anyway, kudos to Bill for getting both Steve and Milkshake to appear on the air with him.
New Ralph's World Song Streaming Online. Sort Of.
What do you get when you cross Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh's best friend) with a snippet of the new Ralph's World song for Winnie the Pooh? Sniglets, of course!
Sorry, couldn't resist.
In any case, the website runs a clip of the new Winnie-the-Pooh song from Ralph's World. To me, it sounds a little more like the early Ralph's World stuff (in particular, "Animal Friends" off his debut).
Oh, and the page gives confirmation that the new Ralph's World DVD/CD set will be released this fall. I'd heard/seen that elsewhere, but it's nice to get confirmation on that.
Hat tip to the Semi-Official Ralph's World Message Board for the pointer.
Three Exciting Words: New. Elizabeth Mitchell. Album.
Or is it four? (Really, are full names one word or more? Any grammaticians out there? Any wordsmiths want to say if "grammaticians" is an actual word?)
In any case, Elizabeth Mitchell, one of the best children's music interpreters out there, announced via newsletter that she'll be releasing her new album in August. It's nice to have the news confirmed by the source.
Perhaps we'll have a "You Are My..." name-the-album contest...
Please Release Me (May 2006 Edition)
An admittedly selective (or perhaps not) list of upcoming children and family music releases:
May 2: Beethoven's Wig 3 (Richard Perlmutter), Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate (Daddy-A-Go-Go)
May 9 (or 16): Catch That Train! (Dan Zanes and Friends)
May 16 (without a doubt): Johnny Cash Children's Album (Johnny Cash, natch)
May 20: Paws, Claws, Scales & Tales (Monty Harper) -- kids' librarians, check out www.ReadingSongs.com for more info
May 23: Folk Playground (Putumayo, Various Artists)
We'll be reviewing many of these CDs in the weeks ahead. We'll be reviewing a whole bunch of other stuff, too, so if the stuff above doesn't tickle your fancy-bone, maybe something else will.
In addition to these releases, we expect new albums from a bunch of Zooglobble favorites, but we'll wait until we hear something more definite before mentioning it. Cautious are we. Talk like Yoda we do sometimes.
V-I-D... E-O-S...
... on the M-O-U-S-E!
Dan Zanes' latest (April 25) newsletter informs us that he filmed videos for 4 songs back in January and that those videos -- "Catch That Train!," "Let's Shake," "Malti," and "Down in the Valley," -- will be airing on Playhouse Disney. They apparently will include singing, dancing, and egg-frying. (I'm down with the first two, unsure of the last.)
The newsletter also notes that the new Catch That Train! CD will be released on May 16. Somebody better tell Amazon, because they still have a May 9 release date listed...
Let me also take this opportunity to note that I'm adding links to Noggin's music videos on the sidebar. Just in case, you know, you need to watch music videos on your tiny computer screen. Playhouse Disney, at this point, is evidently concerned about the long-term effects of squinting on the nation's youth and their parents, as no link is currently available to their videos...
