Dan Zanes takes a small step toward creating family-music empire, albeit in a very inclusive way.
News from Zanes in his newsletter that the next Father Goose album, It's a Bam Bam Diddly, will be released in October. In addition to help from Dan's band and many others, Sheryl Crow also makes an appearance on the disk. I'm pretty sure Crow never said the phrase "it's a bam bam diddly," which is now my favorite album title of the year.
Zanes also mentions that he's recording the next Dan Zanes and Friends CD, which will be called En Espanol, for release in 2008. He says it's "a very different type of project but even at this early stage it has a very high emotional content." No word on whether Sheryl Crow will appear on that disk as well.
Listen To This: "Sad Robot" - The Jellydots
They Might Be Giants frankly retired the category of "Best Robot Song For Kids (and Adults)" with "Robot Parade," but I'm not going to begrudge attempts by other artists to take a run at TMBG's crown.
This week's contestant is The Jellydots, who've just posted another new track from their upcoming album Changing Skies at their Myspace page. "Sad Robot" is, as the title suggests, not the happiest of tales -- a lonely robot dreams of communicating with the stars. It also features a heavy bass line and lots of guitar work. It is a considerably different track than the previously referenced "San Diego." It's more like the "Adult Version" of "Robot Parade," on TMBG's Dial-A-Song collection, perhaps. And it seems like there should be some wistful Japanese animation to go along with it...
They Might Be Giants' "Here Come The 123s" Delayed. Oh, the Humanity!
While in Austin, I ignored my e-mail from Amazon saying that the new They Might Be Giants kids' CD/DVD, Here Come the 123s would now be released February 5, a period so far in the future the major political parties might have already selected their 2008 Presidential candidates.
Sigh.
Oh, well, not all is lost, They Might Be Giants fans. The band has noted this video which, for many reasons, warms my heart.
Song Concert
New Music, New Album from Gustafer Yellowgold
It's been a little while since I checked in with the coolest dude from the hottest thing in our solar system -- that's right, Mr. "I'm From the Sun" himself, Gustafer Yellowgold. Well, not literally, mind you, since he's an animated character, the creation of New York artist-musician Morgan Taylor.. What I mean is, it's been awhile since I paid close attention to their Myspace page, and lo and behold, a new song is up.
"The Mustard Slugs" starts out with a cheesy Casio keyboard $80 full-sized Lowrey Genie family organ from 1979 (that's Rachel's description, not mine) that never really goes away, but is joined by other supporting instrumentation (including an irresistible bout of hand-clapping) and a fun story about some multiplying mustard slugs.
"The Mustard Slugs" is one of the tunes on Gustafer's second DVD/CD set, Gustafer Yellowgold's 'Have You Never Been Yellow?' (hah!), which will be released on October 16 (with pre-ordering available at the Gustafer website starting September 10. I have no reason to believe that this new album will be any different from the first (Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World), in which the Nick Drake/Matthew Sweet-esque retro-poppy tunes mixed with the slightly odd "musical moving book" style of animation makes for a hypnotic viewing experience, and even separated from the visuals, the songs stand up on their own.
Release Date for They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s Set
Yes, Bill, I'm excited. Very excited (and thanks for the heads-up). They Might Be Giants' next album, Here Come the 123s, will be released by Disney Sound on October 2. You can preorder the DVD/CD set from Amazon here. This Might Be a Wiki has the tracklisting here, but since it got pulled from the Disney Sound pre-order, let me list it after the jump...
Listen To This: Josephine Cameron - "Oh Sister"
News from Josephine Cameron that she'll be releasing one track a week for free from her upcoming September release American Songs Vol. 2 at Cameron's Myspace page. First up, "Oh Sister," which is actually a Cameron original, a slow track about friendship and support. There's nothing particularly kid-focused about the track (and it's probably too slow to keep younger kids engaged, at least on CD), but it sounds like it'll be at home among a host of other much more traditional songs. Fans of Cameron's last CD, Close Your Eyes (review) and other traditional music should make sure to stop by the Myspace page weekly as tracks are added...
