Well, if they hadn't pushed back the release 4 months, we'd all have been grooving to this for a month now, but They Might Be Giants have a video for "High Five," one of the songs off their upcoming CD/DVD Here Come the 123s. The animation is done by Divya Srinivasan, who did a bunch of videos on Here Come the ABCs, including "Go For G!" and "Alphabet Lost and Found." (See her videos and stills, including those from "Roy G. Biv," also off the upcoming album, here.)
As with "Alphabet," I don't think the Johns are taking the lead vocally on "High Five," which is the best disco song about the number five ever written. And, yes, it includes the phrase "down low, too slow."
You have go to Amazon to watch it, but it's worth 2:26 of your time. Go here.
(Hat tip to Amy for catching this.)
Video: "Cheese" - Mr. Richard
This video, for the song "Cheese," may make you smile a bit.
The song is from Mr. Richard's upcoming album Polka Dot Puzzle, due out December 11th. His voice isn't the smoothest of the bunch, but he's got a sly ear for kids' (and parental) frustrations especially, and he rocks the mandolin here. His legion of fans are undoubtedly waiting eagerly...
Two More Biscuit Brothers CDs? That's Just Gravy
We are definitely Biscuit Brothers fans at our house, so the news in their latest newsletter (go sign up!) that the Brothers are readying not one but two CDs for the upcoming season is good 'round here. Family Favorites sounds like it's probably a Greatest Hits CD of sort from their first two CDs, minus the skits which, though amusing, don't always translate as well without the television pictures. What I'm really looking forward to, though, is Have a Merry Musical Christmas! I get all giddy thinking about what liberties Tiny Scarecrow will take with longtime favorites.
OK, maybe not giddy. But I think it'll be fun.
New Justin Roberts Album "Pop Fly" Due in 2008
Neither of Chicago's baseball squads are still playing, but Justin Roberts has baseball on the brain. In his latest e-mail blast, Roberts announced plans to release his next CD, titled Pop Fly, in "early 2008." (There were also a bunch of baseball-themed metaphors that kinda stretched things pretty far, so I'm choosing to omit those here.)
I'd heard about the release plans before, but this was the first I've heard the album title (which, frankly, could be totally not about baseball, but rather about a paternal unit with unusual transportation capabilities). Having a title somehow makes it real, which means I can begin to get excited about it. Seeing as it was one of my Top 3 family albums of 2006, and the #1 release in 2006's "Fids & Kamily" poll, I think it's safe to say I'm looking forward to it.
Even if it's barely on the on-deck circle.
Please Release Me: October 2007
I haven't done a "Please Release Me" for a looooong time (October 2006, to be precise). For whatever reason, it just proved to be one of the less interesting things I did. That, and the entire industry seems to be moving toward the near-immediate release of CDs. (Radiohead announced this weekend they're releasing their new CD in 10 days.) Pretty soon mixing boards will include a button that will allow artists to ship the track they've just recorded directly to iTunes.
But this October seems particularly packed with promising releases. To wit:
Oct. 2 - Various Artists - For the Kids Three
Oct. 9 - Uncle Rock - Uncle Rock U
Oct. 9 - Various Artists - Every Child Deserves a Lifetime
Oct. 16 - Gustafer Yellowgold - Have You Never Been Yellow?
Oct. 20 - Recess Monkey - Wonderstuff
Oct. 23 - Father Goose - It's a Bam Bam Diddly!
Oct. 23 - Enzo Garcia - Field Trip with Enzo
Last week saw the release of a new Putumayo disk (Brazilian Playground) and albums from Buck Howdy and Meredith Brooks. And I haven't even mentioned all of them.
Now, many of these are already available through the artists and elsewhere, but in case you don't know whether I'll be posting reviews of these CDs (and more) in the next few weeks. Because to buy a dozen CDs would be insanely expensive. (Unless, of course, everybody adopts the Radiohead "pay-want-you-want" model.)
Listen To This: "Beard For All Seasons" - Gustafer Yellowgold
Ever since the New York Times used the phrase “The show is a cross between ‘Yellow Submarine’ and Dr. Seuss" to describe Gustafer Yellowgold, it's been plastered all over their promo materials. Hey, if I were them, I would too. But I always thought it was just barely appropriate -- yes, it's animated and poppy, but those weren't quite the musical and lyrical influences I was hearing on the debut DVD.
But they've posted another track off their upcoming Have You Never Been Yellow? CD/DVD set, "Beard For All Seasons," on their Myspace page. And "Beard" definitely sounds like the Beatles (a clean melody, horns, handclaps) aided by a touch of Seussian lyrical whimsy. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
(Oh, and the DVD, which comes out October 16, has an audio commentary from creator Morgan Taylor. While the idea of an audio commentary on a kids movie isn't weird at all, I'm pretty sure this is a first for the kids' music world. DVD geeks unite!)
