It's been awhile since I've talked about Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to the debut kids' CD from Apples in Stereo head honcho Robert Schneider. According to Little Monster Records, the Robbert Bobbert CD will drop in "fall 2008."
But we're into instant gratification here, so I'm here to show you how to instantly, er, gratify yourself. First, the quality -- you can listen to another album track at Little Monster's home page. "I Am A Clock" is a sing-songy sing-along ("Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!") with some fun electronic squiggles thrown in for good measure. There's not much to the song, but those "Ding! Dong!"s are kinda catchy.
And for those of you who are a little more into quantity than quality...
School's Out... And In. Simultaneously.
I have written multiple times (OK, twice thus far) about the band Central Services Board of Education, the kids' music offshoot of Seattle indie-pop band Central Services. Count myself as a CSBOE fan, though one of just a few because, you know, they haven't actually released an album.
Well, soon enough that group will expand, because this afternoon the band said that they've finished the album and will have pre-release copies at their first-ever full-band performance Sunday along with Recess Monkey at Northwest Folklife. The band says they're targeting a release right around "back to school" time.
Can't make it to Seattle to pick up a pre-release copy to tide your family over this long summer? Well, then get yourself over to their Myspace page, where they've posted a zippy new track, "8 Is A Number" ('cause everyone's doing number songs this spring, dontcha know?). It's available for download in handy mp3 format, along with a "director's cut" version of the totally awesome "The Lonely Tomato." Both now with added horns!
Barenaked Ladies Are Not Just Peckish, But Bookish As Well
For those of you who were kinda taken by the cover art for Snacktime, Barenaked Ladies' first kids' album (due out May 6), well, now you can get a whole bunch more of that. Instead of just preordering the CD alone, you can preorder the CD and an accompanying book. Yes, you can also get a book featuring a collection of stories based upon the album, with illustrations from bandmember Kevin Hearn (who also did the album cover).
I'll have a review of the album soon enough, but I think longtime readers of the website will probably find the preorder price ($10 for the CD alone, $15 for the book/CD combo, both shipped) tempting.
But in case you need to hear more...
Video: "Pop Fly" - Justin Roberts
While people are furiously voting in the KidVid Tournament 2008 (and if you're one of those, move on to the next post -- don't vote here), we're already collecting videos to determine the most popular kids music video in 2009.
One of those possible participants? Justin Roberts' "Pop Fly" video, which was released today. It's a fun, lo-fi cut-out effort, accompanied by the title track from his upcoming album, a track that I like more and more every time I hear it. (I also like the Cubs/Willy the Whale logo on Roberts' jersey.)
Video after the jump.
KidVid Tournament 2008: The Jimmies vs. Mr. Richard
Moving on into the semifinals of KidVid Tournament 2008, we have a matchup between two popular videos thus far in the competition. The first video, The Jimmies' Latin-tinged (of course) "Spanimals," is off the Jimmies' 2007 debut CD, Make Your Own Someday (review). Its competition will Mr. Richard's Italian-tinged "Cheese," which is from his late-2007 release Polka Dot Puzzle (review).
Please read these voting rules carefully...
1. Vote in the comments below.
2. One vote per family.
3. Vote by 9 PM West Coast time tonight (Wednesday).
4. Please vote nicely. Anything that smacks too much of, well, talking smack won't be counted as a vote. It's OK to say how wonderful your favorite is. It's not OK to say how awful the other is.
5. Just as a reminder, comments aren't posted immediately -- for spam-prevention purposes they need my OK before being posted. So if your vote doesn't show up immediately, don't worry -- it will get posted eventually.
OK, so on to the videos (which you should watch both of, even if you already know who you're voting for.)
The Jimmies - "Spanimals"
Mr. Richard - "Cheese"
New Ralph's World Album -- The Rhyming Circus -- Due May 20th
Well, we've known about the title of the first Ralph's World album of all-new material for Disney Sound -- The Rhyming Circus -- for awhile now.
But now we have a date -- May 20th -- which, given that Dan Zanes is also releasing his new album on that date, makes it like the kids' music equivalent of Kanye and 50 Cent. Except I hope neither of them stops recording. (And I was just reminded that Frances England's new album drops that day, too. )
Anyway, the album will feature "rhymes such as wooly mammoth and sandwich, or squish and Lillian Gish." I also like a line mentioned from "Do The Math" -- “a new girl in class/Polly Hedron, a non-Euclidean lass”).
Tracklist after the jump.
