Zooglobble

First Colours Are Brighter, now this:

"This month brings the release of Songs for the Young at Heart, an album chiefly of cover versions of children's songs by different artists, curated by Stuart Staples and David Boulter of the indie band Tindersticks."

Aside from the curious British use of the verb "curated," of note is the participation of Jarvis Cocker, Kurt Wagner (from Lambchop), and Stuart Murdoch (from Belle and Sebastian).

The article says the album was released in England on Monday, January 22nd, but the V2 album page suggests Feb. 26th. Amazon.co.uk suggests both are correct. I know, it's confusing. Life is so not black and white, eh?

Tracklisting:
1.Theme For The Young At Heart (Stuart Staples)
2. Uncle Sigmund’s Clockwork Storybook – Sung by Robert Forster (The Triffids)
Originally by The Spinners in 1967
3. Florence’s Sad Song – Sung by Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian)
From “Dougal & The Blue Cat” – 1972
4. White Horses – Sung by Cerys Mathews
Originally by Jacky Lee in 1968
5.The Lion & Albert – Told by Jarvis Cocker
Original monologue by Marriott Edgar
6. Robinson Crusoe – Performed by The Tindersticks
Theme from the television programme from 1965
7. Hushabye Mountain – Sung by Stuart Staples
From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – 1965
8. Morningtown Ride – Sung by Suzanne Osbourne
9. Inch Worm – Sung by Kurt Wagner (Lambchop)
Hans Christian Anderson soundtrack 1952
10. Mary, Mungo & Midge – performed by The Tindersticks
From the BBC TV series 1969
11. The Three Sneezes – Told by Martin Wallace
12. Puff, The Magic Dragon – Sung by ‘Bonnie’ Price Billy and Red
Originally by Peter, Paul & Mary in 1963
13. Hey, Don’t You Cry – (Stuart Staples) sung by Stuart Staples

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can't say that my initial expectations for Colours Are Brighter, the kids' music compilation put together by Belle & Sebastian trumpeter/bassist Mick Cooke, were very high. Franz Ferdinand doing kids' music, along with a whole bunch of other bands, only a few of which were familiar to these American ears? The whole thing sounded nothing more than a quickie album thrown together to cash in on the sudden popularity of music for kids. (OK, a quickie album designed to raise money for Save The Children's "Rewrite the Future" campaign, but still.)

Fear and misinformation are poor bases for making decisions on many things, and kids and family music albums are no different, my friends.

To begin with, Cooke has been putting together the compilation for a couple years, so it's not like Cooke read the Billboard charts in March and thought, hey, I can do that. More importantly, the music's pretty good.

Franz Ferdinand might just do the best job on the entire disk of putting together a kids' song that's in the spirit of the adult band. With its tinkling piano and scuffling drums, "Jackie Jackson" has enough of the more muscular sound of their music for adults, but the song's chief attribute is singer Alex Kapranos' spirited vocal turn on the story of greedy boy who likes to eat too many cakes. (The boy meets an unsavory, Roald Dahl-like ending.) Another band familiar to some are Snow Patrol, who resurrect an old song, "I Am An Astronaut," which seems like a picture book come to life (or sound), using swirly Snow Patrol sounds. (And, yes, "The Monkeys Are Breaking Out the Zoo" returns Belle and Sebastian to their more twee-pop sounds.)

The less-familiar artists sound good here, too -- Rasputina sounds a bit like Bjork on the funky, angular "A Skeleton Bang" while The Barcelona Pavilion (who hail from Canada, I believe) turn in a post-punk "Tidy Up Tidy Up" that sounds They Might Be Giants-ian echoes. My favorite tracks? Four Tet (featuring Princess Watermelon) doing the dance-track "Go Go Ninja Dinosaur" and the Ivor Cutler Trio singing "Mud," a track that sounds like it was recorded 80 years ago, but was in fact recorded only 40 years ago.

Not everything works great -- The Kooks' "The King and I" would sound good on their recent debut album, but if there was something that distinguished the song here from the rest of their work, I couldn't hear it. And the Flaming Lips' track, "The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now" is a half-sung, half-spoken word track on which, unfortunately the spoken words are too difficult to understand.

There's nothing age-inappropriate here, but I'm guessing kids ages 3 through 9 are more likely to appreciate the music. If you want to hear the tracks, visit either the album's website or its Myspace page. The album is available as an import here Stateside, or you may want to go directly to Amazon.co.uk or CD-Wow.

Colours Are Brighter is subtitled "Songs for children and grown ups too," which isn't a bad description. The songs stretch across the spectrum from being targeted right at the younguns to being pretty much "starter songs" for the bands' adult work. It's not a perfect compilation and there's not much of a unifying theme, but there are enough decent songs that it's worth exploring, particularly if you're interested in hearing a cross-section of mostly British, mostly current, pop-rockers. Recommended.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another day, another song posted to the Colours Are Brighter website.

Or, in the case of this particular day, two.

The Kooks turn in a 311-esque "The King and I" which, well, doesn't really sound like it was all that kid-focused while Jonathan Richman does "Our Dog Is Getter Older Now," which, well, I can take or I can leave.

The Four Tet track is still the coolest one I've heard.

Yes, I will eventually stop talking about this, I promise. But I've gone this far down the path.

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, it's not like Oct. 3rd isn't already busy enough as it is, CD-release-wise -- new stuff from Beck, the Decemberists, the Hold Steady, even the Killers (though their new album is getting absolutely miserable reviews). But, hey, even in the kids' music segment we got a new (sort of) Ralph's World. Not to mention a bunch of other stuff to look forward to.

So here we go:

Oct. 1: AudraRox - I Can Do It By Myself
Oct. 3: Ralph's World - Welcome To Ralph's World
Oct. 8: The Sippy Cups - Electric Storyland
Oct. 10: Gothic Archies (Stephin Merritt) - The Tragic Treasury: Songs from a Series of Unfortunate Events
Oct. 16: V/A - Colours Are Brighter
Oct. 17: V/A - New Orleans Playground (Putumayo)
Oct. 24: Wee Hairy Beasties (Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Kelly Hogan, Devil in a Woodpile) - Animal Crackers
Oct. 24: V/A - Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Vol. 1

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

They've posted Franz Ferdinand's song "Jackie Jackson" at the Colours Are Brighter Myspace page, but after constant buffering, all I get is about 30 seconds of Franz Ferdinand-y goodness about a greedy boy eating too much cake before an abrupt cutoff. Your mileage may vary, and hopefully it's better than mine.

The Belle and Sebastian-compiled benefit album is set to be released in the UK on Oct. 16th.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

While the old saw about the awfulness of British cuisine may no longer be valid, perhaps the new saw is the awfulness of British kids' music

Well, according to one Times of London writer, who bemoans the state of British kids' music, while lavishing very evasive praise on the new Belle and Sebastian-curated compilation Colours Are Brighter.

While I really don't like the goal of making sure he "can take pride in the songs [his] kids like," I love the idea of creating a "back-story" to certain non-kids' CDs to get them more interested in the albums. In addition to praising Elizabeth Mitchell fave Vashti Bunyan and giving a backhanded compliment to They Might Be Giants, he also puts The Sippy Cups on his Small Ages-esque mixtape for kids.

Oh, and dude, "Furry Happy Monsters" is right here.

I should also note that the Colours Are Brighter website is now offering a free "Go Go Ninja Dinosaur" mp3 along with a "Jackie Jackson" game (which proves to me how old I am, 'cause I failed miserably at it).

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I cannot stop Belle and Sebastian's relentless assault on me, I can only hope to contain it.

Despite attempting to keep my expectations low for their upcoming children's compilation, entitled Colours Are Brighter, all evidence suggests that it may turn out to be quite good. The latest evidence can be found on the newly-established website for Colours Are Brighter. A decent track from Snow Patrol, "I Am An Astronaut" and an awesome "Go Go Ninja Dinosaur" from Four Tet. And if you go to the album's Myspace page you can hear the Four Tet song again as well as a goofy monkey-based track, which, though listed as Kathryn Williams' "Night Baking," is clearly Belle and Sebastian's own contribution "The Monkeys Are Breaking Out the Zoo."

The album, a benefit for Save The Children, is scheduled to be released in the UK on Monday, Oct. 16th. (Those goofy Brits and their Monday release dates! That's why we fought the Revolutionary War, of course, to buy our new releases on Tuesday. One if by land, two if by sea, three if you want the latest from Babyshambles.)

You can preorder at Amazon.co.uk here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pitchfork picks up a NME story updating the Belle and Sebastian-curated children's music compilation, Zooglobble goes nuts. (You know, for someone who's a little bit skeptical about this whole endeavor, I'm certainly spending a lot of time talking about it. Maybe I'm talking myself into thinking it might just work.)

First, the actual news -- the compilation on Rough Trade Records is now scheduled for release in October, not September as originally announced. Oh, and the Flaming Lips have been added to the bill.

Now, for pure silliness, let's guess what the best track will be, purely based on the artist and song name:

Four Tet (featuring Princess Watermelon) - "Go Go Ninja Dinosaur"
Rasputina - "A Skeleton Bang"
Franz Ferdinand - "Jackie Jackson"
Snow Patrol - "I Am an Astronaut"
The Divine Comedy - "Three Cheers for Pooh, Cottleston Pie, Piglet Ho"
The Kooks - "The King & I"
Half Man Half Biscuit - "David Wainwright's Feet"
The Barcelona Pavilion - "Tidy Up Tidy Up"
Jonathan Richman - "Out Dog Is Getting Older Now"
Ivor Cutler Trio - "Mud"
The Flaming Lips - "The Big Ol' Bug Is the New Baby Now"
Belle & Sebastian - "The Monkeys Are Breaking out of the Zoo"
Kathryn Williams - "Night Baking"

I've got my bets on the Four Tet and Flaming Lips tracks. The Divine Comedy track could either be a disaster or inspired. As a big fan of the Milne books, it's a track I simultaneously view with anticipation and dread.

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey, I kid because I love.

The snarky friends at Pitchfork report that Belle & Sebastian indeed have "curated" a children's music album to be released on Sept. 11, 2006 and to benefit Save The Children. Now, it's not (as of this writing) confirmed on the band's website, their label's website, Rough Trade's website, or Save the Children's website, but it's on the web, so it must be true, right?

With contributions from "Franz Ferdinand, Four Tet, Snow Patrol, the Flaming Lips, the Fiery Furnaces, Kathryn Williams, the Divine Comedy, Travis, Jonathan Richman (aren't all of his songs children's songs?), and Rasputina," it's not a lineup that screams "kids music!" to me (well, OK, save Jonathan Richman), but that doesn't mean I won't be very interested in hearing it.

(Previous "reportage" here. Really, I do kinda like Belle & Sebastian, just not sure how this is going to turn out.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fold your hands, child, indeed.

As I've said before, I have no shame when it comes to referring to old news when it's new news to me. This June 2005 article titled "Preschool of Rock" (ha, ha, that's funny, because there was that movie, with Jack Black, about these kids... oh, never mind) from the British paper The Guardian says nothing that every other article about rockers making kids' music hasn't said. But it's an entertaining piece and contains this one little piece of info that's news to me.

Erasure plan to release a record for children, while Scots indie band Belle and Sebastian are curating a compilation of kids' songs. Rumours suggest they have
solicited contributions from such unlikely sources as Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters, Primal Scream and cerebral post-rockers Four Tet.

Belle and Sebastian? Twee-pop "curated" album? What is this, a museum or an album? I know Belle and Sebastian disdain the "twee-pop" label, and I admit their new album has considerably more muscle than their past work, but I'm a little more dubious about the idea of bands like Franz Ferdinand recording music for kids. Don't get me wrong, I have and enjoy both of Franz's CDs, but I'm not convinced of their ability to simplify their angular post-punk melodies and change their lyrical approach.

Could be worse, I suppose -- Pete Doherty could be one of the contributors.

(Hat tip to Dadbloggit for the original article.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)