Crowdfunding, Part 2: Matt Clark Kickstarts His Project

FunnyLittleFella.jpgTwo or three weeks ago, Jim Cosgrove, AKA Mr. Stinky Feet made a splash in the kids music world by announcing he was "crowdfunding" his next album by asking for supporters to pledge money toward the costs of recording, producing, and distributing the next album. Cosgrove's views on why he went this route are essential reading for kids musicians. He also noted that he hadn't previously heard of Kickstarter, a site which helps musicians (and countless others) do the same thing. One major difference, though, between Cosgrove's approach and Kickstarter's is that Cosgrove's going through with the project regardless. (In fact, I'm pretty sure he's starting recording this week.) But if a person seeking Kickstarter help doesn't reach the required amount, they receive squat. So let's hear it for Portland, Oregon's Matt Clark, who's established the first genuine kids music Kickstarter project. That's right, if you go here, you can be part of another crowdfunding experiment. $3 gets you 1 mp3; $5 gets you 2, and so on. My favorite level -- $50 gets you (among other things) 3 chances to name the new disk. Clark's debut, Funny Little Fella, was a nice little disk -- here's hoping he gets the $3,000 to have round 2 see the light of day.

Video: "All My Friends Are Insects" (from Yo Gabba Gabba!) - Weezer

You know the deal -- if I can't embed a video here, I don't like to post it. Why post something with just a couple lines of text and a link? But I'm willing to make an exception if the video's pretty awesome, and the Yo Gabba Gabba! video for "All My Friends are Insects" as performed by Weezer, the creation of which we noted here a few months back, is pretty awesome. It was on the Nick YGG site last night, but was gone this morning, apparently because Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive. Oh, well, good for them -- go watch it. It misses the complete awesomeness of Steve Burns' "I Hog the Ground" video, but by just a hair. Also amusing: the raging discussion of how earthworms are not insects. I dunno. Doesn't bug me.

Video: "Is It Really Any Wonder?" - Renee and Jeremy

Is there another pair of voices in kids music who blend as sweetly as Renee and Jeremy? I submit to you the answer is no. This is one of the sweetest songs from C'mon, but if they sat around at home and sang the phone book, I'd listen. (Also, note: the last time they did this, Jeremy's hair was much shorter.) Renee and Jeremy - "Is It Really Any Wonder?" - [YouTube]

My Favorite Kids Songs of 2009

I know, it's March now, and I'm still trying to sum up 2009. I already gave you a list of my 20 favorite kids music albums of 2009, now it's time for my 20 favorite kids music songs of 2009. As with the albums, I tried to limit myself to songs on albums from a general Nov. 1, 2008 - Oct. 31, 2009 timeframe, consistent with the Fids and Kamily Awards. I've tended to think of music in terms of albums and not individual songs, so I know that I've omitted some great songs here, but I'm working on changing that in the year ahead. Anyway, in alphabetical order, here they are...

Video: "I Found Love" (Yo Gabba Gabba) - Trembling Blue Stars

This isn't a new Season 3 video from Yo Gabba Gabba -- it's actually from Season 1. And the song itself -- "I Found Love," done by Trembling Blue Stars -- is actually more than 40 years old. But it's newly available on YouTube, and it's so dreamy (with animation so lovely) I couldn't resist posting it. Trembling Blue Stars - "I Found Love" (from Yo Gabba Gabba) [YouTube] Plus, a bonus video after the jump which, though it might seem odd at first, actually does tie to this first video.

Share: "Saint Patrick's Day" - The Speks

You probably don't need much more than general Irish music to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with your kids. The adults would prefer an adult libation or two, and I can't help you with that. But in case you're looking for something ever-so-slightly more kids-focused, here's a free mp3 from Irish band The Speks. "Saint Patrick's Day" is an original song which, according to the band, is "based on a section of the traditional Irish figure dance called the High Caul Cap. For the song's finale we play a traditional Irish reel called Captain Kelly's." I dig the end the most, but it's a fun tune that I also think would be of interest and use to early childhood educators. Stream (or download the mp3 for the price of an e-mail address) below... <a href="http://thespeks.bandcamp.com/track/saint-patricks-day">Saint Patrick's Day by The Speks</a> Also: their debut album Sing-Along Songs from Glasses Island - Volume 1 is on sale digitally for just $1.99 here. If you're at all interested in Irish music appropriate for kids, it's definitely worth it at that price.