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Intro to Kindie: Dr. Patricia Shehan Campbell (University of Washington, Smithsonian Folkways)

Smithsonian Folkways Recording logo

It's safe to say that the single biggest label for kids music is Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Oh, sure, perhaps your Disneys and KidzBops might have more in terms of total sales, but for sheer breadth of its offerings made over more than a half-century since Moses Asch founded Folkways Records in 1948 (it was acquired by the Smithsonian in 1987), no other label comes close.

They continue to release kids music regularly -- later this month they release ¡Come Bien! by José-Luis Orozco, the first Smithsonian Folkways release for the longtime bilingual educator. It's a rich tradition, the Folkways kids music oeuvre, numbering in the hundreds of albums and thousands of tracks.

So I was really hoping that I'd get someone associated with the Smithsonian to pen an entry in my "Intro to Kindie" series, featuring kids music experts listing tracks designed to, well, introduce a listener to kids music, knowing that there would be more than enough to make a list with only Folkways tracks.

And they said yes!

These songs were selected by Dr. Patricia Shehan Campbell, who teaches courses in children’s music and “the ethnomusicology of children” at the University of Washington. With a lifetime of singing experience, she has a long experience in sharing songs and singing games with children and their teachers, and is author of Music in Childhood, Songs in Their Heads: Music and Its Meaning in Children’s Lives, Musician and Teacher, and editor of The Oxford Handbook of Children’s Musical Cultures. She is also currently the Chair of the Board of Smithsonian Folkways.

In other words, there are few if any people in the world who would know better the breadth of the Folkways collection, especially in kids music, and I'm honored to present her list.

On a related note, one of the biggest thrills I've had in reviewing and discussing kids music is the opportunity to write liner notes for a Smithsonian Folkways release, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Family's Go Waggaloo. So you can imagine that I was happy when they asked if I'd be interested in writing an entry in their "People's Picks" series talking about favorite Smithsonian Folkways songs at the same time I was asking if they'd be interested in writing something for "Intro to Kindie." (Great minds, etc. etc.) So please head over there and read about (and listen to) the 20 great kids music tracks (mostly kids music, anyway) I chose. (Me! In amongst Valerie June, Jonathan Lethem, Warren Defever, and more!)

Enough about me: on to the list!

Children are wired to make music, to listen intently to music, and to understand their world through music. Children’s song-singers know the powerful ways that melodies, rhythms and words can convey messages to children, awaken their imaginations, and inspire them to think, feel, and do. Children’s own songs are filled with sounds of joy and wonder, even as adult singers express the best of children’s playful selves in the music they sing and play.

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, is a veritable treasury of “people’s music” from everywhere in the world, and the music of, by, and for the little people—children’s music—is a meaningful component of the collection. This twenty-song playlist samples several generations of singing children and children’s song-singers. Featured are musical glimpses of legendary musician Woody Guthrie and his granddaughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, notable “folk-songsters” Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, and Elizabeth Cotten, and highly acclaimed singers like Ella Jenkins, Suni Paz, Tom Glazer, and Elizabeth Mitchell who have dedicated their lives to singing for and with children. Several selections feature children themselves in full vocal exuberance, singing to amuse and communicate with friends.

Altogether, these children’s songs represent historic renderings and contemporary expressions at the core of a vast collection of musical traditions collected, preserved, and readily available onsite of the vast and varied archive of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

1. “Little Bird, Little Bird” by Elizabeth Mitchell from You Are My Little Bird (2006)

2. “Go Waggaloo” by Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family from Go Waggaloo (2009)

3. “On Top of Spaghetti” by Tom Glazer from Tom Glazer Sings Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGGGGG and Other Children's Favorites (2008)

4. “Bought Me a Cat” by Pete Seeger from American Folk, Game and Activity Songs (2000)

5. “Did You Feed My Cow?” by Ella Jenkins from You'll Sing a Song and I'll Sing a Song (1992)

6. “Freight Train” by Elizabeth Cotten from Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes (1989)

7. “Why, Oh Why?” by Woody Guthrie from Songs to Grow on for Mother and Child (1991)

8. “Jambo” by Ella Jenkins from Jambo and Other Call and Response Songs and Chants (1996)

9. “Matarile” by Suni Paz from Alerta Sings and Songs for the Playground/ Canciones Para el Recreo (2000)

10. “Grey Goose” by Lead Belly from Lead Belly Sings for Children (1999)

11. “Camp Songs” by Tony Schwartz from 1, 2, 3 and a Zing Zing Zing (1953)

12. “Loop de Loo” by Lilly’s Chapel School (Ala.) from Ring Games: Line Games and Play Party Songs of Alabama (1953)

13. “Shoo Lie Loo” by Elizabeth Mitchell from Sunny Day (2010)

14. “Go In and Out the Window” by Jean Ritchie from Children's Songs and Games from the Southern Mountains (1957)

15. “Little Liza Jane” by Elizabeth Mitchell from You Are My Little Bird (2006)

16. “¡Que llueva! (Let it rain!)”by Suni Paz from Alerta Sings and Songs for the Playground/ Canciones Para el Recreo (2000)

17. “Jump Rope” by Tony Schwartz from 1, 2, 3 and a Zing Zing Zing (1953)

18. “All Around the Kitchen” by Pete Seeger from American Folk, Game and Activity Songs (2000)

19. “Charlie Over the Ocean” by East York School (Ala.) from Ring Games: Line Games and Play Party Songs of Alabama (1953)

20. “Golden Kids’ Rules” by Chip Taylor & The Grandkids from Golden Kids Rules (2011)

Dr. Patricia Shehan Campbell playing with children in Singapore

Review: Meshugana - Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights

Joanie Leeds and the NIghtlights Meshugana album cover

With Christianity still the majority religion in the United States, most of those with a different or no religion still probably get a pretty good idea of the basic contours of the Christian rituals, at least Christmas and Easter, even if only through music. But what about those other religions? Where are the songs that might share those rituals with a wider audience?

There are a number of artists who've recorded albums that present Jewish culture and traditions for a kid-centered audience, so Joanie Leeds is hardly the first. In fact, her latest album, Meshugana, isn't even her first attempt at an album celebrating those Jewish rituals (though it is her first with her band The Nightlights).

It is, however, one of the most successful I've heard as a non-Jewish listener at conveying that culture both 1) with a modern sound, and 2) in a way that might bring those Gentiles like me a little bit closer. About half of the songs are tied to specific Jewish holidays, but the rest are more applicable year-round. The album's strongest track, the tender "Hello, Goodbye, Shalom," neatly weaves together the Hebrew word "Shalom" (meaning "hello," "goodbye," and "peace") into a gentle Beatles tribute that succeeds on every level. "PJ Party" celebrates reading with a soaring sing-along chorus and just a handful of Hebrew words mixed in. And the title track is about as revved up and mixed-up as you might expect a song about a "crazy person" (the meaning of "meshugana") might be.

As a non-Jewish listener, the songs that are more tied to specific holidays were not as compelling to me, but Leeds definitely tried to keep them accessible -- "Honey and Apples," tied to a ritual for Rosh Hashana, was my favorite of these. As with the rest of Leeds' work, the songs (all original -- even "Wade in the Water" gets a Passover reworking) are mostly funny, occasionally tender, and feature a range of rock styles from folk-rock to indie-pop, even a hint of country.

The 35-minute album will be most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 9. You can stream the album here. For those of you wanting lyrics, yes, the physical copy includes those in the liner notes.

We're not Jewish, so I can't see our family breaking out this CD often, but I could certainly envision spinning selected songs in playlists throughout the year. And for those families (or classrooms) who want to share a little more about the Jewish culture and faith -- or for those families who want to celebrate their faith with some 21st-century pop sounds -- Meshugana will make for a nice addition to their collections. Recommended.

Note: I was given a copy of the album for possible review.

Andrew & Polly with accordion and ukulele

Interview: Andrew Barkan and Polly Hall (Andrew & Polly)

Like most working musicians, Andrew Barkan and Polly Hall -- the married couple best known to the sippy cup set as Andrew and Polly -- wear many hats. They're kids musicians, sure, but also children's show music writers, commercial jingle writers, and more. And this month, while the Los Angeles-based duo release their second full-length kids' album Odds and Ends, they're also continuing to release episodes of their brand new podcast for kids, Ear Snacks. (Appropriately enough for these multi-hat musicians, Episode 2 is all about hats.)

I chatted with them by phone last week about how they met, how they found their way to kids music, their new releases, and the birthday party that spurred the release of Odds and Ends.

Zooglobble: What are your earliest musical memories?

Polly Hall: When I was very little, my next-door neighbor took violin lessons. I was two years old, and I asked to play the violin "just like Mary Beth." So at three, I got a violin and started taking lessons. I took lessons using the Suzuki method, and when you practice violin, you stand on this mat with an outline of feet... I remember singing with my family on holidays -- I grew up in a Jewish family and music was really important. My mom would sing, and we sang in groups, singing about the history.

Andrew Barkan: I remember my dad making up songs in the car to keep us from destroying the car. Mom sang, too, but Dad was the chief song-maker-upper.... I remember visiting this huge cathedral in San Francisco called Grace Cathedral and hearing music there. It's seven, eight stories high -- it's cavernous, and sounds take seven seconds to fade away.

How did you meet?

Polly: We met in college -- both of us sang in a cappella groups. Andrew played the piano. At 16, I had got a guitar, and at 19 I was writing folk songs and wanted to make a record. A mutual friend introduced us.

As a violinist you play melody, but in college I studied theory. I got interested in electronic and computer music, and production. So I went to grad school for [electronic and computer music]. Andrew went to grad school for film scoring.

Andrew: I taught for a while...

Polly: We both taught.

Andrew: I was teaching and being in the studio. I realized that being in the studio for eight to ten hours -- I could do that.

Besides writing kids' music, we write commercials and other things. We get to write in many different genres, it's a mind challenge.

How did Andrew & Polly come about?

Polly: In 2006 we were living in Providence, finished with grad school, and were stuck there for a couple weeks. We're always singing together and could sing in harmony. We had lots of friends with kids, my sister, so we made a recording that we gave to friends. They'd say that they couldn't get through car rides without it, or they'd listen before bed. These were all covers, but we began writing songs. I [Polly] was co-owner of a music studio at the time, and so we moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2010, and released our album (Up and At 'Em) right then.

We decided to play some shows.... Los Angeles has a great scene for kids and families -- they like being in a place with music. It was liberating to find joy in performing.

Andrew: Life on the road, playing... the west side of Los Angeles is not that. It was a break from the studio to play in front of a hundred kids, it let us reflect on what we were doing.

Polly: How did it begin?... In college, I did a radio show, and my co-host babysat in Manhattan. My mom constantly resourced awesome children's music. There was this one guy from Kentucky named Joe Wise...

Andrew: He was folky and smart and weird. He told stories, too.

Polly: Even just a little story that went nowhere. He had a lovely song called "Show Me Your Smile."

Andrew: No AutoTuning.

So Odds and Ends -- it's folky and smart and weird, by the way -- is the title significant in that it signifies that these are random songs written through the years, or was it recorded with the specific album in mind?

Polly: Somewhere in the middle. After we won the Joe Raposo Children's Music Award in 2012 and Sirius-XM radio started playing our music, we wrote and recorded "Little Bitta You" in a flash of inspiration. Mindy Thomas at Sirius-XM loved it. So we'd write and record and ask ourselves, "Should we wait?" And we'd say, "No, let's release it now." The downside is we wouldn't have the content for a full-length album. But the upside is there's new content all the time.

Andrew: So we'd get the next one out when it was ready.

Polly: Children get obsessed for periods of time, so the singles do well.

Andrew: We do it in our home studio.

Polly: Here's the reason we finally had to do a full album. [In 2013], we played a birthday party for one-year-olds in San Francisco, and as a party favor, all five families hosting gave copies of Up and At 'Em. Two years later [this spring], the five families had us back for the three-year-old birthday party, and we couldn't not have a new CD for them.

Andrew: We had to create the CDs before the tracks were done.

Polly: We created the test run for them -- gave them 80 copies, and the other 70 we sold at shows.

Andrew: Polly does all the artwork.

Polly: We added a couple tracks, reworked some songs. We're reaching a new audience and we're really pleased.

How come you wanted to create Ear Snacks?

Andrew: We love podcasts. I in particular -- listen while walking the dog, and so on.

Polly: Andrew is also legally blind, he reads with his ears.

Andrew: We have a son who's 18 months old. Knows about headphones, but the TV is off. He knows we play shows and with kids, we do things with imagination.

Polly: We hope we're writing songs that are folky, smart, and weird. We can sing loud in the car, but don't they also deserve more fundamental, thoughtful things of their own?

Andrew: I had Fisher-Price "American Revolution" tapes and Polly had "Little Thinker Tapes," with a host who'd say things like, "let's go to Mars!"

Polly: They were lots of character-based stuff. We wanted something that was more based on our relationships, something that honored that [type of recording].

Andrew: "Ghostbusters" [from Odds and Ends] was more of an Ear Snacks prototype.

Polly: You know, the podcast is not wholly different from five families asking us to do an album. We made two episodes, but families wrote us asking to be in the show. [Episode 3 is now out.] It's like doing a half-album every month. We have high standards.

Andrew: The only thing close in the category is Story Pirates.

Polly: The top podcasts list is a very confusing place. Sesame Street, lots of parenting podcasts. Some are original, but there are also podcasts that are rebroadcasts of Nick[elodeon] and Disney shows. I understand why that is...

I don't really know what the end goal is. It's really fun for kids -- some of them are conducting the interviews with parents. And if that's all, that's great. We hope we make it a year.

What's next?

Polly: We want to finish the season, and we're recording the next album -- we're not going to wait five years.

Andrew: This will be a coherent concept album.

Polly: We're having lots of fun with it... Digital projects with Nick in the next year or two. Shows booked through the end of the year.

Andrew: And swimming lessons.

Photo credits: Josh Piha

Review: Gustafer Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns - Gustafer Yellowgold

Gustier Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns album/DVD cover

Can it be true? Can Gusfater Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns really be the seventh album from Gustafer Yellowgold?

Of course it's true -- why would I start out this review with a bunch of untrue rhetorical questions? Over the course of more than a decade and those seven albums, Morgan Taylor has crafted an entire world about the yellow guy from the sun wrapped in a gauzy '70s AM-rock packaging. The songs are catchy, but what lodges Gustafer into the kindie listener's memory are the lyrics and the videos illustrating Taylor's often surreal subjects and stories.

Sure, you can hear "Sunny Side" as a song celebrating waking up early and having a positive attitude, but the video suggests that it's really celebrating eggs cooked sunny side up (and features at one point some 8-bit squirrels). "Dark Pie" brings a little electronic percussion (hints of Wilco's update of '70s soft rock on "Heavy Metal Drummer") to the public and private shame that is overbaking of pies.

This is an album of food-inspired songs and while there's always been more than a hint of food antagonism in the Gustafer oeuvre, that comes out in full force here -- from the Gary Glitter stomp of "Rock Melon" to the slightly disturbing craziness of "Gravy Insane" to the food-gone-amock soft-rock-turned-electro-rock-rap of "Cakenstein." (I love "Cakenstein.") But Taylor indulges his softer XTC side as well, particularly on tracks like "Cinnamon Tap," "Strawberry Love," and "I Sandwich," which is an odd metaphor for love.

If there's any change from prior GY work, it's that unlike the past few albums, there is no story throughline to the album. It has its "food" theme (though like They Might Be Giants' numbers and letters-inspired albums, it's as much a jumping-off point as anchor), but there's no plot per se. That's fine, but I do miss those attempts at broader stories.

You can get the 29-minute album either as part of the DVD/CD set or just the album alone. I think the music stands up on its own, but hopefully I've made the case for the videos as well. The DVD/CD set also includes sing-along versions of all the songs, along with a 24-minute bonus video featuring Taylor telling you how to draw Gustafer's best friend, the pterodactyl Forrest Applecrumbie, with occasional sound clips from other songs. As with all Gustafer albums, the sweet spot is for kids ages 3 through 8.

Gustier Yellowgold's Dark Pie Concerns is another surreal trip through the Gustafer universe, funny and memorable, both musically and visually. Even if this trip doesn't head anywhere in particular, it's still fun to meander with him. Definitely recommended.

Note: I was provided a copy of this DVD/CD set for possible review.

This Human Person Would Like Your Help

I used to write a lot about kids music Kickstarters -- and other kid-focused crowdfunding projects -- but for a variety of reasons have let my "Bake Sale" series highlighting such projects go dormant. But that doesn't mean I'm still not checking out the kid-friendly projects that artists and creators are starting.

Therefore, I insist that any of you who like musicians like They Might Be Giants, Billy Kelly, and Turkey Andersen -- or who like and love kids who like and love musicians like They Might Be Giants, Billy Kelly, and Turkey Andersen -- or who like and love people who like and love kids who... oh, you get the point. Anyway, watch this video. (Even if you don't like those bands, watch the video. Very, very funny.)

Human Person is the nom de plume of Austin-based musician and commercial film director Dave Thomas, and I would very much like his Kickstarter for his new album "Music Songs" to be successful. Please listen to the demo versions of the songs there, filled with nifty wordplay and artful arrangements and tell me that it wouldn't be a valuable addition to our modern lifestyle. (You can also listen to those 3 songs on last weekend's Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child.)

Please, do it for the kids.

Review: Beatles Baby - Caspar Babypants

Caspar Babypants Beatles Baby album cover

Chris Ballew works fast. Diligently, to be sure, but fast. Beatles Baby is his tenth Caspar Babypants album in less than 6 years, and that's on top of his work with the Presidents of the United States of America and his new efforts in the world of ambient music.

Beatles Baby arrives this Friday, almost 2 years to the day after Ballew's first set of Beatles covers, the search-engine-challenging-in-retrospect-titled Baby Beatles. As with its predecessor, its value in a world in which few if any Beatles covers are truly necessary is in its nimble and somewhat pared-down approach to the songs.

Many of the originals' signature touches remain -- Billy Shears gets his shout-out on the transition from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" to "With a Little Help From My Friends" at the start of the album, or the driving bass line in "Lady Madonna." Also nifty is the reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's" near the end (again, just like the original) and the transition from "Golden Slumbers" to "The End" from Abbey Road (sorry, fans, of "Carry That Weight" -- that gets elided out). In some cases, like on "Drive My Car," the simple arrangements are let the melodies shine through even more, though Ballew also pulls out some orchestral synth arrangements. For me, the most interesting tracks are those on which Ballew puts more of his stamp on the piece -- the mellow take on "The End" or the somewhat sped-up take on "Hey Jude," or the "cleaned-up" take on "Piggies" (though some fans of the original might miss the Fab Four's rougher take.

As with all of the Caspar Babypants music, the 49-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 1 through 5, but of course the Beatles source material will automatically extend the high end of that age range another 80 or so years upward.

It's hard to make a case for this album as essential listening, for either Beatles fans or Caspar Babypants fans (and I count myself in both camps) -- why not listen to the original tracks from 50 years ago, and Ballew's written dozens of nifty pop songs for preschoolers in his own right? But the clean and thoughtful stripped-down pop that's been a hallmark of the Babypants sound is every bit in evidence here as it's been in the past, and, married to one of the best songwriting duos of the 20th century, that's good enough for me. Fast work, yes, but still just as good. Recommended.

Note: I was given a copy of this album for possible review.