The new website for the Little Monster Records label isn't quite ready for prime time, with more "under construction" signs than Berlin in the 1990s. (Yes, I realize that Berlin wouldn't literally have "under construction" signs. Work with me here, folks -- I've never seen so many cranes in a city.)
But probably due to the low-key nature of this website, we don't really care as long as the content's good, and in this case, with mp3s from All Together Now (the recently-released Beatles tribute CD) and upcoming Little Monster releases from Robbert Bobbert, Gustafer Yellowgold, Soulville, and Medeski, Martin & Wood, the content's good. The Robbert Bobbert and Gustafer tracks can also be heard on their myspace pages, but the Soulville and MMW tracks are new to me. MMW's "Where's the Music?" is funky and amusing, and I like both Soulville tracks, too.
No, I have no idea who "Ralph & Ralph" are.
I Wanna Be Sedated. Or Burped.
[Suggested alternate, overused headline: "Rock 'N' Roll Preshool."]
I know I'm late with the news on these two releases, but enough time has passed with at least one to make another post worthwhile...
Baby Rock Records made a splash with news of their Roackabye Baby! series of lullaby renditions of hit songs from such well-known kids artists as Barney Radiohead and Metallica. Baby Rock has continued the series, with a Nirvana collection released last week. I've got my eye on the Pixies collection that's coming out Jan. 2nd. (They won't have to change "Wave of Mutilation" at all!)
Taking a different tack, you have Go-Kart Records, who on Nov. 21 are releasing Brats on the Beat, a 12-track collection of classic Ramones tracks with kids singing on the choruses and Actual Punk Musicians (from Pennywise, the Donnas and Queens of the Stone Age, among others) singing lead.
Of the two concepts, the lullaby album series intrigues me more because there are some great melodies, not just on the Pixies CD, but on just about every CD in the series. It doesn't interest me so much as a parent but as a fan of the music. A great re-interpretation (see the Easy Star All-Stars' reggae version of Radiohead's "Karma Police", for example) is just another way to appreciate a classic song. The Ramones album could be pretty good, but it essentially appears to be a Kidz Bop Punk album, albeit with higher street cred.
Please Release Me: November (and December) 2006 Releases
As we slide into November and December, the number of new releases is typically scaled back because there's, like, a bajillion different things going on. Setting aside the daylight-to-task ratio, which is at its lowest point of the year, who wants to compete against the hundreds, nay, thousands of Christmas-related CDs flooding the market? ("On the first day of Christmas / My auntie gave to me / A Christmas album from Kenny G.")
Having said that, there are a few releases coming out here over the next couple months:
Nov. 7: All Together Now - V/A (a Beatles covers album with a kids' chorus)
Nov. 14: Play! - Milkshake
Nov. 14: We Wanna Rock - Thaddeus Rex
Nov. ??: Hey You Kids! - The Jellydots
Dec. 5: Asian Dreamland - V/A (Putumayo)
Dec. ??: Ernie & Neal - Rock the House
Which of these should be on your gift list for the winter-based gift-giving holiday of your choice (or on the purchase list of your favorite local library)? Tune in... find out...
There Are Little Monsters Under My Bed!
"Well, then, pick up your CDs, dear."
On the eve of Gustafer Yellowgold's and Robbert Bobbert's CMJ-related appearance at Joe's Pub on Saturday, I thought I'd note that their new label, Little Monster Records, has put together quite the diverse lineup of kids' releases. A Beatles tribute album, All Together Now, featuring members of the Bangles, Grandaddy, among others, will be released next week. A Medeski, Martin & Wood kids' album will be released next year along with Soulville, a collection of R&B and soul tunes that includes a kids chorus. (And then there are releases from Gustafer and Robbert Bobbert.) I can't imagine many families buying all 5 releases, but unless they're all awful, I can't imagine many families not finding something appealing in at least one of them.
I've often thought that there was room for kids-focused boutique labels. Frankly, even with Little Monster's creation (along with a re-energized Kid Rhino and ever-expanding Rounder Records), I think there's room for even more. Maybe not labels in the traditional sense (in which the labels often own the recordings), but labels as management companies, serving as filters and helping with distribution, production, and promotion.
Robbert Bobbert's Head-Bboppin' Tunes
I don't know whether Robert Schneider's kids' music album to be released by Little Monster Records in early 2007 under his Robbert Bobbert alter ego will be any good.
But if the tunes on his Myspace page are any indication of what'll be on the album, it'll be one of the oddest albums to come down the pike in some time.
"I Love the Animals" is a catchy New Wave/Beach Boys, Casio-accompanied tune which would be somewhat odd in its own right were it not accompanied by "Fee Fi Fo," which I can only describe as "The Chipmunks meets 50 Cent." It's a rap song from a mouse.
All I can say is, go listen for yourself.
Welcome Morning Call Readers
If you're here because of the nice article in the Sunday Morning Call, welcome. Thanks for stopping by -- we love guests. There's a whole bunch of stuff accessible from the links on the right (plus a search box there on the upper right-hand side), but here are some direct links to articles here on:
Ralph's World
Laurie Berkner
Dan Zanes (includes full-length interview)
Milkshake
Brady Rymer
They Might Be Giants
Trout Fishing in America
To read more about Frances England, go here -- to go directly to a review of her fine Fascinating Creatures CD, go here.
Want to find out more about the "Fids and Kamily" poll? Go directly to its website.
And, finally, here are links to the other kids' music sites mentioned in article -- Kids Music That Rocks, (Sm)all Ages, and The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What To Think. More kids' music-related sites are there on the right -- I'd point out Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, a Massachusetts-based radio program with weekly podcasts on which you can hear a lot kids and kids-friendly tunes.
And if you're a long-time reader here, the YAKMA (Yet Another Kids' Music Article) is worth your time for the breadth of quotations and news -- the next They Might Be Giants kids' CD, Here Come The 1-2-3s, for example, is now slotted for a Fall 2007 release.
