The one downside to The Terrible Twos' excellent If You Ever See An Owl? You couldn't get it except for at New Amsterdams shows or the occasional Terrible Twos' show. I felt kinda bad telling everyone about it, really.
Well, my guilt (such as it is) is near an end, because the band announced late last month that the album would be released in January 2007 by Kid Rhino / Paquito Records. About time that the rest of the world got a chance to hear these infectious tunes.
And for those of you who've managed to snag a copy and are thinking, so what, the band also announced it'd be recording a couple new songs for a "Christmas EP." Methinks "Caroline," the story of a child who's birthday's just a little too close to Christmas for her taste, would also make an appearance on the EP...
"Part Yellow, Part Gold, All Gustafer"
News that Gustafer Yellowgold, or at least his nifty creator Morgan Taylor, has been signed to V2's new kids' imprint Little Monster Records comes amid changes at Gustafer's Myspace page.
That's right, folks, he now has 710 friends, the most important of which seem to be from "Sesame Street," primarily.
Oh, and there are a couple new tracks streaming there for your listening pleasure. "Cooler World" is sort of an introductory song, OK, but nothing special. "Birds," however, is a blast of Beatles-ian (or, if you're younger and/or hipper, XTC-ian) pop confection. ("Rocket Shoes" is also new, but has been streaming on the site for many months now.) Could "Mellow Fever" be the working title for the next DVD or CD following the rerelease of Wide Wild World?
In addition, there's an amusing video promo for Gustafer which includes news that Taylor's working on the next DVD (Have You (N)ever Been Yellow) -- which I think I knew, or maybe that was just a falling-on-cake-inspired reverie -- and an illustrated book (natch) called The Inifinity Sock, which was news to me. (Love that title, in spite of or perhaps because it makes no sense whatsoever.)
But the best part is that the first half of the video is done as if it were a preview for some awful Michael Bay flick.
"Part yellow, part gold... all Gustafer." I'm still chuckling.
How Do You Like Dem Apples, Gustafer?
News is slowly trickling out about V2/Artemis Records' new kids music imprint, Little Monster Records. And so far, they're batting 1.000. (See? It's baseball playoff time, and I made a baseball reference? Get it? Yeah, OK.)
Not only have they signed up Gustafer Yellowgold, as previously rumored (they'll be re-releasing Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World DVD in March), they've also signed Robert Schneider, leader of the indie rock band The Apples in Stereo. Schneider's alter ego Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine (with the year's best PR line -- "If the number of B's in a name represented fun, Robbert Bobbert & The Bubble Machine have cornered the market!") will release an album for Little Monster in spring 2007.
They'll be performing together at Joe's Pub in New York City on Saturday, Nov. 4. Should be a blast -- if you're in NYC, go.
The King and I and Belle and Sebastian and...
Another day, another song posted to the Colours Are Brighter website.
Or, in the case of this particular day, two.
The Kooks turn in a 311-esque "The King and I" which, well, doesn't really sound like it was all that kid-focused while Jonathan Richman does "Our Dog Is Getter Older Now," which, well, I can take or I can leave.
The Four Tet track is still the coolest one I've heard.
Yes, I will eventually stop talking about this, I promise. But I've gone this far down the path.
Prince Does Kids Music
No, really, "Song of the Heart," for a kids' movie -- Happy Feet.
It's a pleasant, funky mid-tempo number that will erase absolutely no memories of, say, Prince tearing up First Avenue in Purple Rain, but it's nice enough.
Sadly, it's the only Prince cut on the soundtrack. For what it's worth, here's the track listing for the soundtrack, to be released Oct. 17th.
1. Song of the Heart - Prince
2. Tell Me Something Good - Pink
3. The Joker / Everything I Own - Jason Mraz/Chrissie Hynde
4. I Wish - Fantasia/Patti LaBelle/Yolanda Adams
5. Boogie Wonderland - Brittany Murphy
6. Somebody To Love - Brittany Murphy
7. My Way - Robin Williams
8. Do It Again - The Wondermints
9. Jump And Move - The Brand New Heavies
10. Kiss - Nicole Kidman
11. Golden Slumbers - K.D. Lang
12. John Powell Score Suite
Two songs by Brittany Murphy?... Well, at least those Wondermints and K.D. Lang tracks could be good.
(Thanks to Stereogum for the tip.)
Please Release Me: October 2006 Edition
Well, it's not like Oct. 3rd isn't already busy enough as it is, CD-release-wise -- new stuff from Beck, the Decemberists, the Hold Steady, even the Killers (though their new album is getting absolutely miserable reviews). But, hey, even in the kids' music segment we got a new (sort of) Ralph's World. Not to mention a bunch of other stuff to look forward to.
So here we go:
Oct. 1: AudraRox - I Can Do It By Myself
Oct. 3: Ralph's World - Welcome To Ralph's World
Oct. 8: The Sippy Cups - Electric Storyland
Oct. 10: Gothic Archies (Stephin Merritt) - The Tragic Treasury: Songs from a Series of Unfortunate Events
Oct. 16: V/A - Colours Are Brighter
Oct. 17: V/A - New Orleans Playground (Putumayo)
Oct. 24: Wee Hairy Beasties (Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Kelly Hogan, Devil in a Woodpile) - Animal Crackers
Oct. 24: V/A - Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Vol. 1
