Privacy Policy

I'm prepping something (low-key, don't get too excited) and it occurs to me that while I've written blogging product disclosure guidelines, I haven't written out my privacy policy. So here it is in fairly simple, non-technical terms, because I'm a fairly simple, non-technical guy: What Information We Collect From You 1. When you comment on this site, the publishing system software captures your IP address, time of comment, and requires you to submit an e-mail address. 2. I have site counters on this site which operate via cookies. 3. Any link-referral systems (e.g., for iTunes or Amazon) collect information required to operate via cookies. I am currently a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. (Amazon told me to write that sentence in that way, which is why it sounds clunky.) I also have an affiliate link to iTunes. At the time of this writing, I use such links comparatively rarely. How We Use That Information 1. The software filters out some comments as spam, presumably based in part upon IP and e-mail addresses. I don't use your IP address at all; I don't use your e-mail address except if I am notifying you that you are a contest winner. 2. I review site usage data on an aggregate basis. 3. Regarding the link-referral systems of iTunes and Amazon, I don't get to see any of that individually-attributable information -- I receive it on an aggregated basis. So that's it. If there's something you think I've left unclear, let me know in the comments and I'll try to address it accordingly.

Many, Many Hands (Reprise)

ManyHands.jpgI know, I've talked quite a bit about Dean Jones/Bill Childs' excellent Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti disk. I mentioned the run of benefit shows organized across the country. The last of the shows is this Sunday at 1:00 PM at Pines Theater in Northampton, MA's Look Park and features (take a deep breath) Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower, Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, the Deedle Deedle Dees, and Tony Vacca. For how much? $6.50 for kids, $9.50 for adults (increasing to $8/$11 day of). Folks, I would pay that much to see one of those artists. (Well, I don't know Vacca, but he's described as a "local hero," so were I local, that statement would probably apply to him, too.) Were this concert within a two-hour drive -- heck, were this concert within a two-hour flight -- I would be there. If you are luckier than I geographically and you're not already planning on going, please reconsider. Should be great. Get advanced tickets and more details here.

Video: "Moon Moon Moon" - The Laurie Berkner Band

This Laurie Berkner song -- "Moon Moon Moon" -- has always been one of my favorites of hers -- I sing it quite a bit with Little Boy Blue. (But I don't believe in lemon pies and don't get that far.) The video (which I first saw on the We Are the Laurie Berkner Band DVD released many moon moon moons ago) is nothing special but does feature hand motions that would work really well with preschoolers. The Laurie Berkner Band - "Moon Moon Moon" [YouTube]

Zooglobble City Limits

AKL_logo.jpgPlane tickets - check. Rental car - check. Lodging - check. (Thanks, Mom!) Press passes - check. That's right, the Austin Kiddie Limits stage schedule is set for the 2010 edition of the Austin City Limits Festival and Zooglobble will be there for the fun. I've got a long history of attending the festival and I'm excited to catch the AKL bands with the family, spend some time in the sandbox, and maybe (OK, definitely) catch Spoon. If you're gonna be there, let me know. And if you're not, fear not, I might get a post or five out of it...

Listen To This: "Vagabond Worms" - Kindiependent

Attention rest of the country, Seattle's Kindiependent collective has just raised the bar again. I'd heard that Caspar Babypants, Recess Monkey, and the Harmonica Pocket jammed one recent Sunday. The result - "Vagabond Worms" - is even better than I anticipated. Update: Download the track at the Kindiependent website! Caspar Babypants, Recess Monkey, The Harmonica Pocket - "Vagabond Worms" [YouTube]

Review Redux: Meet the Squeegees - The Squeegees

MeetTheSqueeGees.jpgThis is probably a Zooglobble first. I've double-dipped reviews before for albums getting re-releases, but this is essentially a triple-dip. It's for the LA band The Squeegees. Their album started out as an EP, then doubled in size and was released in February 2008. Now it's getting exclusive national distribution in Target starting tomorrow and I thought I'd pull up that 2008 review for your pleasure, plus offer a thought on the new track... ****** Meet The SqueeGees, the first full-length CD from the Los Angeles-area band The SqueeGees, could offer me a chance to be exceedingly lazy and simply copy the review from their debut EP, The SqueeGees. Well, maybe half the review. Because half of the CD was originally found on that debut EP. Now, that's not a bad thing, perhaps, because that means the bubbly tiny nugget of a song, "Apples Oranges & Peaches," is back, as is "Nala the Chihuahua," with its snaky melodic line and harmonies. And "The Ol' WWW," which really isn't a kids song (though it's totally kid-safe) is back to amuse the parents. Just as with the EP, the Squeegees are at their best when they're not as concerned with the point of the song, such as the dreamy "Bubbles." "I-D-E-A," a song encouraging more environmentally conscious thinking, almost overdoes it with the hitting-over-the-head. (More amusing is the Queen-esque breakdown that starts "So you think that you would like to drive a big car? / Have you seen the gas prices today?" and ends, of course, with "I like to ride my bicycle / I like to ride my bike...") In fact, what struck me the most on listening to the full-length CD is how much care and craft has gone into these tunes, musically speaking. The SqueeGees generally play folk-rock, but there's a lot of interesting bits squeezed in here, like in the song above, or the harmonies in "Nala the Chihuahua." Along with Samantha Tobey's clear voice, they make the most of the songs here. As for the Target re-release, even though the band itself seems to have gone through some changes (Tobey is still there, she's now joined by Rilo Kiley bassist Pierre de Reeder and Rich Sherwood), the album appears (and sounds) to be identical to the 2008 release except for the new track, "Tweet Tweet Tweet." No, it's not a song about Twitter (which would've made for a nice new verse on "The Ol' WWW"), but a song about birds, with a nice full sound. It's not worth getting the album for that one song alone, but it's definitely a pleasant addition. I'll peg the album as most appropriate for ages 2 through 7. You can hear some tracks from the CD at the band's Myspace page. There's a lot to recommend in Meet the SqueeGees. I like the quirky ones more than the standard ones, but that might be personal taste. In either case, there's a high attention to sonic detail that kids musicians thinking of recording debuts could do well to emulate. Recommended. Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review.