The high point in my list of the best kids music of 2011 is this, my list of my favorite kids music albums of the year.

By "year," again, I mean albums with Nov. 1, 2010 through Oct. 31, 2011 release dates available to the general public. That means albums like Laura Veirs' Tumble Bee, with a Nov. 8, 2011 release date, have to wait another 12 months before appearing in this list. (I would be shocked -- albeit incredibly delighted -- if there were 25 albums better than that particular one in the next year.)

I do use the word "favorite" advisedly. I receive something approaching 300 family music albums every year. I review maybe 20% of those. Last year I picked out 20 albums, and cutting off this list this year at 20 just seemed cruel. But, as it turns out, increasing the number on the list to 25 didn't make things any easier. Albums from folks like Laura Doherty, Chip Taylor, Todd McHatton, and ScribbleMonster -- albums I genuinely liked -- didn't make the list. That's what happens when albums in the top 10% of everything I heard this year can't fit into the number of slots available; I had probably about 40 albums I was seriously considering for this list. So the difference between what goes in this list and what stays off is as much about personal preferences as it is about "objective" quality. (That's why I came up with the idea for Fids and Kamily, thinking that the personal preferences of many folks would be a much better approximation of "best.")

In any case, here are those 25 albums, ranked from most favorite to a little less most favorite, that I (and we) most appreciated this year. (As always, the top 10 reflects my Fids and Kamily ballot.)

1. Caspar Babypants
Sing Along!
[Review]
"I really, really like Sing Along! -- the Caspar Babypants disks have been favorites at our house for a long time, and I see no reason why this new album won't join its predecessors in heavy rotation. If he can keep it up, Chris Ballew might just create a body of work for preschoolers to rival Raffi's."

Continue reading "Best Kids Music 2011: Top 25 Albums" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Part 1 of my list of this year's Christmas songs for kids was out of date as soon as I hit "publish," because I realized that I'd forgotten Billy Kelly's video from Dear Santa Claus (review). Maybe I was distracted by the mindbending song. Or maybe I was just wondering if this video is Kelly's video resume for applying to direct Paranomal Activity 4: The Christmas Special.

Billy Kelly - "Glebells Jing" [YouTube]

I reviewed Rosie Thomas' album A Very Rosie Christmas a few years back -- it's pretty good. (Anyone who can take a Chipmunks song and turn it into something earns lots of bonus points.) Anyway, she's got a new holiday tune out -- I don't think it's quite as good as the 2008 album, but you may like it...

(Or just stream the whole holiday album here.)

Continue reading "Christmas Songs 2011, Part II" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Next up in my list of the best kids music of 2011 are my favorite songs. Now, seeing as I listen to literally thousands of kids songs every year, picking out 25 (less than 1%, probably) is very difficult, and if you asked me to make this list up next week I'm sure at least a couple of songs here would be replaced by others. Growing this list to 25 (last year's was 20) didn't make things any easier -- it just shifted the bubble.

But these 25 (listed alphabetically by song title) are definitely among the year's best recordings.

-- Bad Blue Jay - Caspar Babypants (Sing Along!)
-- Bonfire - The Jimmies (Practically Ridiculous)
Bonfire
-- Cooperate - Sugar Free Allstars & Secret Agent 23 Skidoo

-- The Crocodile Synchronised Swimming Team - Too Many Cookes (Down At The Zoo)
-- Dandelion - Steve Weeks (Dandelion)
-- Didn't Know What I Was Missing - Alastair Moock/Lori McKenna (Planting Seeds, These Are My Friends) -- listen here
-- Freeze Tag - The Not-Its (Tag, You're It!)

-- Garbage Man - Mr. Richard & The Pound Hounds (Backyard Astronauts) -- download free here
-- Henry (Hudson), How Ya Gonna Find a Way? - The Deedle Deedle Dees (Strange Dees, Indeed)

-- Hey, Josie - The Hipwaders (Golden State)
Hey, Josie!
-- Hey Pepito! - Key Wilde & Mr Clarke (Hey Pepito!) -- listen here
-- I Think I’m A Bunny - Todd McHatton (Galactic Champions of Joy)

-- John Kanakanaka - Dan Zanes and Friends (Little Nut Tree) (this is a solo performance below)

-- Let's Dance - Lucky Diaz And The Family Jam Band (Oh Lucky Day!)
-- Metaphor - The Alphabeticians (Rock)

-- Mushy Berry Pie - The Thinkers (Oh Zoooty!) -- listen here
-- A Piano Is Stuck In The Door - Beethoven's Wig Featuring Richard Perlmutter (Beethoven's Wig: Sing Along Piano Classics)

-- Place in My Heart - Frances England (Mind of My Own) -- listen here
-- Quarter Moon Shining - Chip Taylor & the Grandkids (Golden Kids Rules)

-- Please Don't Move (to Another Time Zone) - Lunch Money (Original Friend)
-- Skywriter - Baron Von Rumblebuss (Agreeably Loud!!)
-- Soft Things - Brady Rymer/Laurie Berkner (Love Me for Who I Am) -- listen here
-- Waters of March - Jamie Broza (I Want a Dog!)

-- Wisconsin Poncho - Gustafer Yellowgold (Gustafer Yellowgold's Infinity Sock)

-- Your Favorite Book - Recess Monkey (FLYING!)

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh, to have the energy of Pepito, the titular squirrel the latest EP of Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke. I'd be able to knock out these reviews in four, five minutes flat. Perhaps I could do that if I just wrote something like, "I've yet to hear a Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke song that I haven't liked" and left it at that.

But you probably expect just a little bit more (even though it's true). So, then, in brief, the six songs of Hey Pepito!:
1) "Pepito": a gigantic adrenaline rush that might, in the long run, get a little wearisome when you listen to it for the four-hundredth time, as your kids will invariable make you do. (Purchase the album via Little Monster (or the widget below) and get an e-copy of a Wilde-drawn comic featuring Pepito to boot.)
2) "Don Mario's Song": Another ear-wormy chorus, with the added benefit of an extended Latin percussion break, each instrument named in turn. I love "Pepito," but I think this is the best song on the album.
3) "Talking Big Pet Pig": This pig looms large in KWMC iconography -- here he gets an origin story, done Dylan-pre-electric-style.
4) "It's So Good": Previously released, is that a samba I hear?
5) "Mary the Fairy": Also previously released, the story of a flight-challenged and inattentive fairy.
6) "Summer Lullaby": As tender a song as "Pepito" and "Don Mario's Song" are rave-ups.

The songs are most appropriate for kids ages through 3 through 7. Listen to the whole EP by streaming it via the player below. Hey Pepito! is a fun 22 minutes, a worthy albeit brief follow up to their wonderful debut Rise and Shine. Or, to put it another way, I've still yet to hear a Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke song that I haven't liked. Definitely recommended.

[Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review.]

Continue reading "Itty-Bitty Review: Hey Pepito! - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have you had your coffee yet? Your kids had their chocolate milk? No? Well, don't worry about it. Just stream the first song on this new EP from Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke, you'll all be ready to conquer the world. (Or at least power your bike up the hill.)

Titled Hey, Pepito!, the 6-song EP features four new songs, including the aforementioned title track, the only-slightly-less hyper "Don Mario's Song," "Talking Big Pet Pig," which is, well, the story of the "Big Pet Pig" as told by Bob Dylan, and a very sweet "Summer Lullaby." (It also features "It's So Good" and "Mary the Fairy.")

The EP is officially released July 1, but you can stream it below.

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We are down to the last Round 2 matchup in KidVid Tournament 2011. It features the Leadbelly Regional, hosted today by Bill over at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child. The winner of the matchup between the #1 seed, Caspar Babypants' "$9.99" and the #2 seed, Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke's "Big Pet Pig," will be the last entrant in the KidVid Tournament 2011's final four videos. The competition is for today and today only, so head here, watch both videos, and vote your heart. Or your head. Or toes. Whatever, really.

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It started with my favorite kids music videos of the year. Then you voted on your favorites at Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl. Then you went to Out With the Kids, Ages 3 and Up!, Gooney Bird Kids, and Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child to vote in Round 1. Maybe you even went to Dadnabbit (or should've, anyway) to read Jeff's handicapping of the brackets.

All that, and we still have seven matchups to go. Here, then, are the Round 1 winners who will be facing off in Round 2.

Ella Jenkins Region: The Not-Its!, "Green Light, Go!" (2) vs. Sugar Free Allstars, "Cars and Trucks" (4)
Pete Seeger Region: Keller Williams, "Hula Hoop To Da Loop" (1) vs. Recess Monkey, "Black Hole in My Room" (2)
Leadbelly Region: Caspar Babypants, "$9.99" (1) vs. Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, "Big Pet Pig" (2)
Woody Guthrie Region: The Bazillions, "Preposition" (1) vs. Debbie and Friends, "Cinderella" (2)

Some of the winners won in blowouts, some in squeakers, but all of these (friendly) face-offs will get even closer here in this next round. Even though I like the Sugar Free Allstars video (it made my Top 25 list, after all), it makes me a little sad that John and Mark's "A Counting Error," my favorite video of the year, didn't make it to round 2, but that's the perils of fandom, right?

Round 2 will start on Saturday, March 26. Which matchup will kick off Round 2 and where will it be found? Well, you'll just have to wait for Saturday to find out...

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've had an exciting weekend of KidVid Tournament 2011 action, but we're not done yet with the first round. Today's action moves down south as Gwyneth over at Gooney Bird Kids is hosting two matchups for the Leadbelly Regional:

-- Caspar Babypants, "$9.99" (1) vs. The Verve Pipe, "When One Became Two" (4)
-- Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, "Big Pet Pig" (2) vs. Holly Throsby, "Fish & Mice" (3)

Don't forget -- if you're looking for commentary before or after you vote (today only!) Jeff Giles over at Dadnabbit is providing commentary on the whole bracket. Read his take on today's matchups here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Given that Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke's Rise and Shine was my second favorite kids music record of 2010, you would expect that I'd treat the news that they'd recorded a couple Christmas tunes for Little Monster Records with great excitement.

Even better, the tunes themselves don't disappoint. You will not dance to another Christmas song with more abandon than to "Sing a Song of Christmas Cheer." And their take on "Silent Night" is somehow simultaneously a little punk and a little reverential. Together they're just $1.29...

And if you're not sure about it all, for the price of an e-mail, pick up "Silent Night" for free using the link below...

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This song's been floating around for awhile now, but never in quite such a blogger-friendly form. It's "Mary the Fairy" from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, and Little Monster Records has offered it for sale, either by itself or in some other combinations. They also note that it'll be part of Little Monster's Magical Creatures, Musical Pets compilation, available "next year." Of course, the compilation has been promised for so long that I wonder if it isn't as mythical as the creatures supposedly sung about within. (I kid because I love.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Given that Key Wilde is not just part of the great Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke but an illustrator, you'd think that if he decided to make a coloring book, it'd be kinda cool. And so, following the lead of Justin Roberts and John Upchurch and Mark Greenberg (not to mention Charity and the JAMband and the Deedle Deedle Dees), Wilde's got a coloring book of his own. Download the coloring book and give your kids their own opportunity to add even more medals to Sylvester's chest. Or just scribble randomly.

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know, I posted this video from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke once already a few months back, but I haven't had the best luck watching the videos, including this one, on the Topspin widget. YouTube doesn't fail me, though... and, hey, it's always fun to go back and rediscover videos you haven't seen for three months. It's akin to that toy you hid from your three-year-old and brought out a few weeks later. Like new, right?

Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "Big Pet Pig" [YouTube]

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I think the first time I became aware of the Topspin media widget was a couple years ago when David Bryne and Brian Eno promoted their new album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today using it. As someone who writes a website, the content-filled nature of the widget appealed to me, but it appealed to me as a fan as well. Sure, from a listener perspective, it's just a way to give an e-mail address to get an mp3, but it did it in such an elegant and well-designed way that it typically was the only type of widget that I'd actually respond to.

In time I realized that kids musicians were starting to use the widget, too. At this point enough of them are using the platform that I thought it'd be worth asking the users what they thought of it and its good (and bad) points. Among the artists who responded were Debbie Cavalier, Jeremy Toback, and Kevin Salem from Little Monster Records, along with one of his artists, Key Wilde. I also talked some with Mike King from Berkleemusic -- if you need an overview of Topspin, you could do far worse than checking out the videos King made with Topspin CEO Ian Rogers.

What made you interested in working with Topspin?
Most artists came to Topspin via some personal connection -- Debbie Cavalier first heard about Topspin nearly two years ago when, as the Dean of Continuing Education at Berklee, they started to plan the development of the “Marketing Music with Topsin” course. Jeremy Tobck knew Topspin cofounder Shamal Ranasinghe when he was developing the idea for Topspin, and was "super intrigued" by his idea of deepening the direct relationship between artists and fans. Toback says that Ranasinghe, dug Renee & Jeremy, wanted then to be beta users, and "helped convince us that we had built enough on our own to benefit" from the platform.

As for Kevin Salem, he says that Robert Schneider’s manager told him about it, though he "was slow to respond." (Robert Schneider is another Topspin artist, both for the Apples in Stereo as well as his Little Monster Robbert Bobbert project.) But the Topspin representative was an "old acquaintance" from Salem's time as a solo artist after giving him a quick tutorial, Salem thought it could "help plug the considerable holes in [his] physical distribution network." He also says he thought it could help create "unique products" for the fans and "shift the ratio of physical-to-digital sales in our genre." [I'd note that at Kindiefest, Salem noted that the next Little Monster release, a compilation, will be entirely digitally distributed.]

Continue reading "Topspin and the Kindie Artist" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For being such a big fan of Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke, I'm a bit ashamed to say that I just unearthed this interview I did with Key Wilde a few months back. I could've sworn I published this just after the release of the excellent debut record Rise and Shine. Man, it's been a hectic three months. (In related news, apparently the Saints won the Super Bowl?)

Oh, well, better late than never in that the interview below gives you, dear reader, more info on the past, present, and future of one half of one of my favorite kids music bands.

Zooglobble: What are your earliest musical memories?
Key Wilde: We were always singing together as a family. Constantly. We used to drive from Texas to North Carolina every summer and I remember all of us singing in the car the entire way. My dad and his two brothers sang barbershop harmonies together and as a little kid I was always trying to find a part and sing along with them. They knew hundreds of songs – bawdy college tunes, wacky folk songs, obscure standards – songs that made you laugh. It was always a joy to sing them over and over again and I still remember them all. We have a large extended family and to this day every family gathering culminates in a big songfest – a wonderful tradition I’m happy to pass along to my own kids.

My dad played piano and insisted that the kids take formal lessons. We all rebelled at the time but are now grateful for the experience.

How did you get into being an illustrator for a living?
I studied fine arts – painting – at Parsons in New York and when I graduated I really didn’t want to do any commercial illustration at all. I found a great loft in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) a few years before the massive migration and undertook all sorts of ridiculous part time work in order to make the rent and carve out time for painting. I never promoted myself as an illustrator but eagerly accepted any assignments that came my way. Over the years my “survival” work has evolved from teaching, bartending and running a muffin store among other things to art direction, design and illustration – all things that I really love doing. And I’ve continued to develop as a “fine artist” on the side which has always been a deep-rooted goal. And of course the music has always been a constant distraction.

How did you meet and start making music with Mr. Clarke?

Continue reading "Interview: Key Wilde (Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke)" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's hard to review an album when in one sense you've been reviewing it for a couple years now. From the very beginning, the songs from Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke were so wonderful, so fun that I couldn't stop telling people when they'd added another one to their collection. And now, many many moons later, the final product is here, Rise and Shine, the duo's debut kids' album, and familiarity has not breeded contempt, but rather continued and even heightened endearment.

The album kicks off with the earthy title track -- never did eating one's worms sound so appealing outside of the avian world -- and pulls you in with each successive track. "I Had a Little Dog" is a shambling country melody that notes almost as an afterthought one of the album's few attempts at a standard moral lesson ("can't be what you're not / so be proud of what you've got"), followed by the hardest rocking kids tune of the year, the awesome "Favorite Names". If you're not in love with this album by the fourth track ("Big Pet Pig," with Wilde's shouted counterpoints -- "Well he can take all the garbage you've got (WHAT YOU GOT?)" -- to Clarke's sung verses), then there's not much I can do for you. That track's followed by two subversions of traditional kids' tunes -- "John the Rabbit" adds a whole cast of mischievious supporting characters while "Rattling Can" is a nuclear (literally) re-envisioning of "Rattlin' Bog." If the rest of the album doesn't quite reach the heights of those first 6 tracks, well, it comes close, and who can blame them when he bar was set so high? (I do particularly like "18 Wheeler" and the dreamy formal album closer "Peekepoo.")

The album's probably most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7, though the sly humor underpinning the entire album broadens the age-appropriateness considerably. In its physical form, the album also comes with a lovely book/CD case drawn by Wilde, who's also an illustrator. You can hear the album here.

So, yeah, the album's great -- a mix of Johnny Cash, Johnny Rotten, and Johnny Appleseed. Targeted at the kids, but with enough musical gifts to keep the parents happy through repeated listenings, Rise and Shine is already one of the year's best albums. I hope the follow-up comes out much, much faster. Highly recommended.

Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of the record for possible review, not to mention the opportunity to stream the album for readers. Clearly I'm a big fan.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, your opportunity to buy the digital download of the Little Monster Records EP Hello, Our Name Is Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke (natch) has come and gone with the arrival of 2010.

But it's a new year with new opportunities, and the first opportunity is to listen to Rise and Shine, the full-length KWMC debut, in its entirety, right here. It's officially released next week, but Little Monster is offering you, loyal Zooglobble reader, the opportunity to listen before then.

To listen is to like. A lot. 2010 is gonna be a great year.

Oh, sorry, too late.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the last 3 years or so, I'm not sure there's anyone who's been as big a fan of Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke as I. Go ahead -- look at the archives here, dating all the way back to April 2007, where I extolled the song "Favorite Names" and talked about sharing great kids music like that of the duo's with the world. I dig this band.

So when I was asked last week by Little Monster Records if I'd be interested in an exclusive offering of the new Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke EP Hello, Our Name Is Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke to you, my readers, at a super-low-are-they-crazy? price it didn't take me long to agree...

Really, the song "Favorite Names" is worth a dollar in and of itself, but, wait, there's more! (I've always wanted to say that and mean it.) If you click that "Get it Now" button you'll be able to buy that song, plus two more fun songs that aren't on their January 5th full album Rise & Shine plus the video for "I Had a Little Dog" plus the digital liner notes which include coloring pages.

For. A. Buck.

Now the only reason I thought about declining the offer is because I don't want to make it seem like my editorial integrity is being compromised. But I think I've made it clear over time how much I like the band. It seemed to me that trying this was an opportunity for experimentation regarding new distribution channels for kids music that I'd like to see more of. And you are welcome to stream the songs and video without buying. In any case, I won't make a single dime from doing this, either upfront or based on sales. All the money -- which won't be dramatic, because it's just $1, people! -- will go directly to Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke and Little Monster. Just click on "Get it Now" and you'll be able to purchase it in mere seconds. Instant gratification.

One final caveat -- this offer is only good through January 1, 2010. After that, the offer (and the digital EP and this stream) will disappear. Ed: And so it has...

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Some of you (like, er, me) haven't yet finished your Halloween kids music mix CD, but sometimes procrastination pays off. Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke put together a new track titled, simply, "Halloween," which features some mean surf guitar and has offered it to you, my readers, for your listening and downloading pleasure. It's a demo, but sounds pretty good anyway; I'd also note that the very littles may be slightly spooked by the track, but it's fine, really, for kids. And adults, too.

By the way, that digital EP of theirs will be appearing "any day" now, according to Wilde.

Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "Halloween" [mp3]

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love love love Little Monster Records but feel a little saddened by how long it sometimes takes for their albums to reach the public. Rise and Shine, the debut from Zooglobble fave Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke is no exception, as it's now been pushed back to a January release date.

But, but, but. They're getting better at making us feel better in the meantime as they'll be releasing HELLO, Our Names Are Key Wilde & Mr Clarke, a digital EP, later this month. The EP will include the awesome "Favorite Names" plus two more previously unreleased songs not on the full album. The digital EP will also include plus an animated music video of "I Had a Little Dog." I liked this a couple years ago -- I still like it.

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Key Wilde was an illustrator long before he recorded music for kids. So the fact that Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke shows now have some visual accompaniment makes perfect sense. A bunch of video from their Saturday show at the 92Y Tribeca have been posted to YouTube and while the mechanics of the video aren't quite worked out (check out the mouse work on the always-awesome "Rattlin' Can" after the jump), it just makes their shows even better. Their debut album Rise and Shine comes out later this summer on Little Monster Records -- here's a surprisingly nimble "Big Pet Pig" from the album.

Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "Big Pet Pig"

Continue reading "Y'Know, Key Wilde Does Also Draw..." »

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I've got tons of video and pictures from this weekend's StinkFest 2009, but it's going to take me awhile to upload it all. Please have patience -- I'll get to it all eventually, I promise.

Also, I have a point-and-shoot digital camera without a powerful lens. My photos are pretty bad. So J.P. Stephens from the band Lunch Money whose camera (and eye) are much better than mine has given his permission to use his photos. All photos here are his, and if you want to see more of his work, visit him at Lumos Studio.

At some point during the KindieFest (StinkFest 2009) set of Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, a longtime reader of the site came up to me and said, "I know you kept telling me about these guys, but I never really paid attention. Now I get it -- they're great!" As someone who's been singing the praises of the band for more than a couple years, I was happy to hear they'd secured themselves a new fan. Now, with their debut Rise and Shine! ready to be the latest Little Monster Records release (hopefully in July), it's time for more folks to join in.

So, yeah, the duo, given the extra muscle of a bassist and drummer, rocked. One of my favorite tracks from the very beginning, "Rattling Can," has been given a punk-bluegrass sheen. And it's totally awesome.

Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "Rattlin' Can"

One more video after the jump...

Continue reading "Live Video: Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

No, that's not the name -- it's my verdict.

I've known for awhile of the tribute album consisting of Barry Louis Polisar covers, produced by Polisar's son Evan Aaron Cohen of the Radioactive Chicken Heads. But now it's got a name -- We're Not Kidding -- and, more importantly for the purposes of this website, songs for your listening pleasure.

I use that phrase "listening pleasure" advisedly, because the songs I've spun thus far have been uniformly winning. I started out with the familiar names -- Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, Elizabeth Street, Tor Hyams, Ham & Burger, The Boogers -- and all of those tunes worth the time. (Check out the electric guitar on Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke track.) And then I moved to the unfamliar, the top of the page. After 4 songs, some fabulous, none less than interesting, that's when I realized that this could be, well, potentially awesome.

A 2-CD set could be too much Barry Lou, but the combination of Polisar's songwriting with the varied musical approaches and high quality production (never Polisar's strength) make me very eager to hear the final product, set to be released this year.

Posted by SAShepherd at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

One of the cool parts of doing the kids music website thing is that folks let slip all sorts of interesting news via Facebook or in e-mails to me. News about shows, albums, collaborations, etc.

Of course, unless somebody specifically says, "run with that" I don't actually mention it on the site. If I don't have something public to cite, then, well, I don't post.

So I'm glad that I finally -- finally! -- get to announce, like, three different bits of news I've known for a some time now. Four, maybe -- depends how you're counting.

First, and most importantly, the great duo Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke have signed with Little Monster Records. That's the cover for the album -- Rise and Shine! -- that'll be coming out later this spring at the top. If you haven't heard their stuff, I highly recommend that you get on over to their site and listen to some older versions of the tracks on the CD (all the tracks have been subsequently modified in some way for the album).

But that's not all...

Continue reading "Key Wilde, Mr. Clarke, and a Greasy Little Monster" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's the battle of the ampersands in the Ella Jenkins Region, the last of the 4 KidVid '08 Regions to be decided -- the #1 seed Renee & Jeremy's "It's A Big World" (the title track from their debut CD of the same name) versus the #2 seed Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke's "I Had A Little Dog" (from their forthcoming - eventually - CD).

You know the rules by now -- one vote per family in the comments below, due by 9 PM tonight (Friday). As always, vote nice, y'all.

Renee & Jeremy - "It's A Big World"

Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "I Had A Little Dog"

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

... It's a matchup from the Ella Jenkins Region — the #2 seed “I Had a Little Dog” from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke (from their as-yet-unreleased CD) versus the #3 seed “Animal Alphabet Song” from The Hollow Trees (off their Welcome to Nelsonville release).

Watch the videos and vote here, not in the comments to this post.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yeah, I posted this song ten months ago. I don't care. It still rocks (in a very, er, folky and gently humorous way).

Plus, now you can see what the mysterious Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke look like. Well, I guess they're not that mysterious. But it's not like I'd seen a picture before...

Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "Sylvester (Big Pet Pig)"

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a while since I've posted something from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, but it's been a while since they've posted something, too, so fair's fair, right?

Anyhoo, they've taken their first step into the video world with an animated video for the best Johnny Cash children's song that Johnny Cash, uh, never actually wrote or sung. "I Had a Little Dog" is one of those songs where the chorus continually builds upon the last iteration (e.g., "Twelve Days of Christmas"), backed by a train-like rhythmic backbeat. The video itself is pretty minimalist, but I think the kids will really like it.

According to Wilde, their record is "nearing completion." Add it to the list of eargerly-anticipated 2008 releases...

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

No, not hip-hop, though I'd love to hear what Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke would come up with in that genre, too (I'm thinkin' De La Soul). Instead, we have '50s guitar mixed with some Brian Wilson-esque vocal layering. Lots of fun, just like every other song they've let us listen to. (Track #6 on the player linked above.)

It includes -- twice -- the non-sequitur line, "A potbellied pig in every backyard." A pot-bellied pig is not the first animal that came to my mind given the song's title, but maybe it's a eulogy in honor of Max, George Clooney's pig. (That obit, by the way, is one of the funnier things I've read in quite some time.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

... but I'm not. The latest song from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke tells the gently bouncy story of Sylvester the Pig. It's a fun enough song, but it's the shouted questions and comments in counterpoint that make me want to listen to the 2-minute tale over and over. Track #5, "Big Pet Pig".

By the way, it sounds like they're posting a new song every week or so, so I'll see you here next week.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I know. I've been writing about Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke a lot recently. You might be wondering if the whole thing hasn't been played out at this point.

I'm sorry, nope. Go listen to the newest addition, track #4, "John the Rabbit," and tell me that it doesn't put a smile on your face, especially the new verses. Very loping, very winning.

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember when I told you about those cool songs from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke?

Well, there's another song up at their website, and it's just as winning. Entitled "Pekepoo," it puts a dreamy new spin on the phrase "raining cats and dogs." Track #7, go now.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When I hear good new music that doesn't even have a record associated with it, I'm sometimes tempted to keep it secret, to spring it upon the world when the record is finished.

Luckily, I soon come to my senses, recognizing that not only is that a stupid idea (I'm probably not the only one who knows), but it's a selfish one, of course. And since the sharing, communal nature of much of kids' music is one of its most appealing points, being selfish about good music seems, well, just so wrong.

And so I am happy to share this music from New Jersey-based Key Wilde. Key seems mostly drawn (pun unintended -- really) to the visual arts, but the seven songs from an upcoming CD (listen here) recorded as "Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke" show a playful musical side, too. A number of the songs have a loping folk-country feel, but "Favorite Names" is a fun multilingual punk tune, while "Rattling Can" is an awesome bluegrass re-envisioning of "Rattling Bog."

Fans of Frances England and Dan Zanes should definitely check the songs. (Which, I should note, have already received some airplay on Belinda & Hova's show. See what I mean? Somebody else knows.)

And then, yes, I will tell you when the CD finally comes out.

Posted by SAShepherd at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)