A Sticker For Details

#2 -- Quotations of two sentences or less on artists' websites or other promotional materials or by other websites/magazines do not require permission from the site owner. Quotations longer than two sentences, or any quotations attached to products actually sold to others, require express permission from the site owner. OK, I realize the very last part of #2 is not common, but I know that artists will quote reviews on websites, promotional materials, and even on CD wrappers/covers. I'm just covering myself in the event that somebody wants to quote me on the latter. I'm not expecting a lot of letters from that provision.

And to be clear, when I said "not expecting a lot of letters," what I meant was, "putting this out there for a cheap laugh." So imagine my surprise when I saw the latest album from Brady Rymer, Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, in all its shrink-wrapped, ready-for-retail glory:

Look there in the lower left-hand cover. That red sticker. That quotation at top, said by, erm... Who woulda thunk it? I'm pointing this out not out of vanity -- trust me, if I do that, you'll know it. Nor am I pointing it out because I don't think it's true. I meant it when I wrote it two years about Brady's last album, Every Day is a Birthday, and I still think it's a true statement. Nor am I pointing it out to make clear that doing something like this will have absolutely no impact (either way) on my opinion of an album. OK, maybe I am doing it for that last point. But mostly, I just wanted to say that I appreciated my name being spelled correctly. Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could is out on Bumblin' Bee Records on March 4.

New Music: "La Piragua" - Dan Zanes

Dan Zanes has made available a second track from his upcoming Nueva York! CD. The track is "La Piragua," and it's got a sinewy melodic line and groove that I think will lead to a lot of swaying dancing in concert (or possibly family rooms). That's Sonia De Los Santos joining Dan on vocals. And dig the guitar work. Zanes says it's a Colombian song about a mysterious small boat written during the 1960¹s by Jose Barros, one of the country's most recognized cumbia songwriters. Barros, who also wrote "El Pescador," another Colombian song included in the album, died earlier this year. Stream "La Piragua" (as well as the previously released "Colas") at Dan's Myspace page. Nueva York! is out in April on Festival Five Records.

New Barenaked Ladies Album "Snacktime" Out May 6 at about 3:30 PM.

Remember last month when I told you that the Barenaked Ladies had a new kids' album coming out? Well, more details have emerged, thanks to those hardworking folks at Billboard. They're reporting that the band will release Snacktime on their own Desperation Records on May 6. Even though I don't have any ads here on the site, I'm going to gin up some tension and page views by making you click on the link below to see the track list. Hee hee.

New Music From Astrograss

The New York band Astrograss has, at least in its music for kids, always had an affinity for words -- after all, its first EP for kids (review here) set its bluegrass-y jazz (or jazzy bluegrass) to the lyrics of Shel Silverstein. So it's no surprise that the first song the band's made available from their upcoming album, tentatively called Let Me Stay Up All Night continues with the fanciful wordplay. Called "There Their They're," it includes the zen-like phrase, "Someday, when I learn to spell 'spell'..." and is set to Astrograss' adventurous musical stylings. Plenty of kids' bands say that they don't sound like anyone else -- Astrograss is one of the few that can back up that claim. Listen to (and download) "There Their They're" here. Let Me Stay Up All Night is out March 9.

Video: "Even Numbers" - They Might Be Giants

This is not my favorite song on They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s CD, but it might just be the most-beautiful video on They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s DVD. Yes, it's the "next installment":

Tell me that's not an awesome picture book come to life. Plus an additional video ("Letter Shapes") and an awesomely dorky-but-tuneful theme song for the podcast.

Listen To This: "Zeroes" - They Might Be Giants

While we wait for the next installment of They Might Be Giants' Podcast for Kids (did you catch last week's gorgeously animated ballad "Even Numbers," along with "Letter Shapes" from Here Come the ABCs and the John and John finger puppets singing a silly song of their own?), how about listening to a song the old-fashioned way? You know, on Myspace? Catch TMBG's stream of the bright, South American-inflected "Zeroes" from Here Come the 123s here. E eats everything, so perhaps as punishment they've taken it out of the title of the song on the Myspace page.