This Oran Etkin / Putumayo Kids Thing Might Just Work Out

Seriously, check out Oran Etkin, whose duet with Charenee Wade on "Little Lamb Jam" is featured on the latest Putumayo Kids disk, Jazz Playground. I don't need much more than a tuba and Dizzy's "Salt Peanuts" to make me happy, and this collection of bits from a recent Jazz Playground Concert Tour concert in Philly has both. Let there be a long, fruitful partnership. Video from Etkin (plus a bonus video from the album) after the jump...

The Top Kids Music Albums of All Time Poll: #s 25-11

Here's a list of album numbers 11 through 25 of the Top Kids Music Albums of All Time Poll. For a few more comments on the methodology, go here, but you may as well just dig in... because it's gonna take a little while.

25. Family Dance - Dan Zanes Points: 136 Ballots: 6 Release date: 2001 Zanes' second foray into music for families. Unlike its predecessor Rocket Ship Beach, this album to me feels like his first real "age-desegregated" album, with less of the more kid-focused stuff on the first disk.

24. Easy - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo Points: 137 Ballots: 6 Release date: 2008 (released in 2009) I'm not the only person to have said it -- it's the first great kids hip-hop album, but saying so makes it sound like its appeal would be limited. It's not.

23. Rocket Ship Beach - Dan Zanes Points: 140 Ballots: 6 Release date: 2000 Sure, Laurie Berkner and Justin Roberts released albums before this one came out, but if there was an album that first made people in the world at large aware of a resurgent genre, it was this one.

22. On a Flying Guitar - SteveSongs Points: 144 Ballots: 6 Release date: 2000 The second SteveSongs disk, and the first after Steve Roslonek left his job as a business consultant to perform music for kids full-time. It's worked out well for him, I think.

21. Singable Songs for the Very Young - Raffi Points: 146 Ballots: 6 Release date: 1976 It's been said (though by whom has been lost to the mists of time and the internet) that this album, Raffi's first, basically created the kids' music genre from a sales perspective. Seeing as the album has gone platinum, that's not entirely surprising.

The Top Kids Music Albums of All Time Poll: Results Introduction

I'm about to post the first part of results from the Top Kids Music Albums of All Time Poll, and I wanted to start off by thanking everyone who voted lo these many months ago. Nearly 90 folks submitted ballots, which I thought was an excellent response. And I also want to thank everyone for their patience while I compiled these results. One note on the results I'll be presenting here. The rules I outlined in my original post asked people to vote for 10 albums, with point ratings from 1 to 10, but people could submit fewer than 10 albums with points reduced accordingly. As I received votes, however, I realized a couple things: 1) The disparity between a tenth place vote and a first place vote was far too large 2) By permitting one- or two-vote ballots (albeit at a discounted value), it didn't discourage persons who wanted to specifically promote one artist at the cost of all others. So, prior to tabulating votes, I decided to change the scoring methodology as follows: 1) Rather than scoring votes from 1 to 10, I scored votes from 18 to 27. (There was a justification for selecting that range, but it's not worth getting into.) 2) I disqualified all ballots with fewer than five votes. I will be describing the top 25 albums using the revised methodology, but will publish (after the full results are revealed) both sets of results. So I hope you enjoy the results. There are a lot of familiar faces, a few (relatively) unfamiliar ones, and a lot of time both in the voting and in the compiling. Enjoy.

My Favorite Kids Music Videos of 2009

As much as 2009 was a great year for kids music, I think it might have been even more the year of the kids music video. In past years, coming up with 16 good kids music videos, let alone 20, was hard work. This year, it was hard, but not because there wasn't enough good stuff. There was too much good stuff. I'm still not sure why that is -- while you have your fair share of material developed for DVDs or TV pilots, there are still plenty of videos on this list that seem created solely for the purpose of promoting a song or album (and perhaps amusing their creators). But it doesn't really matter, does it? Here, then, are my 20 favorite kids music videos from 2009 (2009 defined roughly as March 1, 2009 - February 28, 2010), starting off with the #1 video of the year... (or you can watch the whole list at my YouTube playlist of these 20 great kids music videos). 1. They Might Be Giants - "Meet the Elements" [YouTube] Videos are flavor enhancers -- they don't do much for a bland song, no matter how technically proficient or cool the visuals are. But a good video can go a long ways toward implanting a song into the brain. And combine a great song with a great video, and you can put this result at the entryway to They Might Be Giants' wing in the Kids Music Video Hall of Fame.

Video: "Donut Brain Aliens" - Dirty Sock Funtime Band

I probably should lead with the newest video, but it's a video for a song called "Donut Brain Aliens." How could I not lead with it? It's from the Dirty Sock Funtime Band, and it's from their new show that starts tomorrow (Wednesday, March 10) on WQED in Pittsburgh. It features "educational adventures... aimed at youngsters ages 3 to 8." Adventures involving donut brain aliens, apparently. Dirty Sock Funtime Band - "Animal Song" [Vimeo]

The Dirty Sock Funtime Band "Donut Brain Aliens" from Snap Films on Vimeo.

More, less, well, weird stuff from the show after the jump.

Zooglobble Radio - Kids Music Worth Airing

Well, now that I've got such a spiffy new logo, I think it's time to have something else shiny to go with it. How about a new radio station? That's right, I'm happy to announce a new kids music radio station, Zooglobble Radio, the motto for which is "Kids Music Worth Airing!" (Get it? Get it? "Kids music worth airing"? Yeah, OK, I was amused.) I've been wanting to get a little more of the great kids music that crosses my desk (or inbox) out into the world, and this is my solution. While terrrestrial radio and podcasts were both potential options for me, I've decided to start an internet radio station. I've been broadcasting for a week or two now, and I'm getting the hang of it, negotiating the playlist rules of operating an internet radio station and the limits of storage. I'm also trying to get the hang of listening to CDs with an ear towards songs just as much as albums as well as getting used to converting CDs into a digital format (which I've not had to do). All of which goes to explain why I've got a lot of different songs available right now, but not nearly as many as I hope to have over time. Anyway, I don't claim to have the background of Amy from Hip Young Parent or Gwyneth and her Gooney Bird Kids station. And maybe one day I'll start doing live shows like live radio standbys Kathy from Kids Corner, Belinda and Hova from Greasy Kid Stuff, or Bill from Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child -- not to mention a bunch of other radio stations. (The barriers to entry of satellite radio are significant, so I think Sirius-XM's Kids Place Live is safe from further satellite radio competition. And Lisa, I just don't have the time to write all those permission letters...) Right now, I've got 3 playlists going at the moment: -- My Favorite Kids Albums of 2009 -- New Music February 2010 -- Lullabies March 2010 You can see when they're airing here. I do plan on updating them semi-regularly, so it's not like you'll have to listen to the same songs for months on end. Finally, if you have questions or comments or suggestions, do let me know. I'm looking forward to doing this -- hope you're looking forward to listening to this.