Life Is Good (Festival) Is Very, Very Good

LifeIsGoodKids.jpgExcellent, even. That's a festival lineup for you: Laurie Berkner Band, Dan Zanes and Friends, and They Might Be Giants. Not to mention The Sippy Cups. (Unless, of course, the "Dane Zanes & Friends" text isn't a joke and it's just a Dan Zanes tribute band.) What lineup? It's for the Life Is Good Festival 2010, a charitable event to be held Sept. 11 and 12, 2010 in suburban Boston. Here's the kids lineup. Man, if that's the kids lineup, I shudder to think what the adult stages would be. (U2, Bruce Springsteen, and Beyonce?) No details yet on ticket prices, schedule, etc.

Share: "76 Trombones" - Dan Zanes and Friends

76Trombones.jpgNo, not the entire album, Dan Zanes' latest. Just the title track from it. But don't you think that's enough? It's in support of Heifer International, the well-known charitable group that helps provide income-producing farm animals and training to folks around the world. Just go here and, for the price of an e-mail address, pick up Zanes' lopey rendition. (And while we're on the subject of Dan Zanes and animals, he's recorded a second Nodcast Podcast for the Land of Nod -- remember the first? -- while strolling through the Central Park Zoo. It's acoustic Dan, with friends from the animal kingdom.)

KidVid Tournament 2010: Caspar Babypants vs. Dan Zanes

It's the second matchup of the second round of KidVid Tournament 2010 -- a titanic Pete Seeger Regional final featuring Caspar Babypants' "Itsy Bitsy Spider" from his More Please! album going up against "Pollito Chicken" from Dan Zanes and Friends featuring La Bruja, from Zanes' Nueva York! album. Who will administer the smackdown (in a very, non-competitive, child-friendly way, of course)?

KidVid Tournament 2010: Rocknoceros vs. Dan Zanes

Day Two of KidVid Tournament 2010 features the Pete Seeger Region. The first matchups pits the top seed, the title track from Rocknoceros' Pink album, against "Pollito Chicken" from Dan Zanes and Friends featuring La Bruja, from Zanes' Nueva York! album. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, but the official results are based on the poll at the bottom of the page. One vote per person, please. Votes due by midnight tonight (Wednesday) East Coast time. And, as always, play nice! Rocknoceros - "Pink" [YouTube] Dan Zanes and Friends featuring La Bruja - "Pollito Chicken" [YouTube]

Down Here in the States, We Call It Spring Break

While I'm on the whole Canada tip, I thought I'd draw your attention to a couple of notable playlists put together for the Bunch Family website originating out of Canada. They're for "March Break" (which we call "Spring Break" and must come a week or two before ours) and come courtesy of Dan Zanes and Broken Social Scene's Jason Collett. They're both kinda cool lists -- the easiest way to distinguish between the two lists is Marley-wise -- Dan votes for kid-friendly Ziggy, Jason for Bob. Oh, and Collett picks not one, but two Flaming Lips songs. Also, Canada's a big country -- those lists are barely long enough to get you out of the Toronto suburbs, no?

Video: "Pollito Chicken" - Dan Zanes and Friends feat. La Bruja

There have been a ton of "learn Spanish through kids music" disks that have come across my desk over the past year or so, but few of the songs have been as effective in teaching a few Spanish words (or as fun) as Dan Zanes' version of the nursery rhyme "Pollito Chicken." It features Caridad De La Luz aka La Bruja as the maestra, and whereas before you could only download the video, now it's available for viewing on YouTube. BTW, the Spanish for "tie" (you'll see a lot of them) is "corbata." Dan Zanes and Friends featuring La Bruja - "Pollito Chicken" [YouTube]