Zooglobble

Over the course of its two previous albums, the Baltimore-based band Milkshake has been content to mine a poppier seam of kids' music. While I wouldn't call them sentimental, their songs are usually sunny and optimistic -- there's little mischieviousness in their songs (at least lyrically.

On their third album Play!, released this week, Milkshake doesn't veer much from the approach on their previous albums, but does simultaneously broaden their musical palette while narrowing the topical scope a little bit. Play! is, loosely defined, a concept album about the different ways kids play. From the opening track "We've Got a Band" (playing musical instruments) to the '80s power-poppy title track, Mikel Gehl and Lisa Matthews sing about the fun of play. There are songs about make-believe play (the Beatlesque "Imagination Nation," "Pirates," "Home on the Rang") to go along with songs about playing sports ("Bowling with You," or "Baseball," with a Cal Ripkin cameo). What saves the lyrics from being cloying to adult ears is the specificity -- it's one thing to sing about how much fun it is to spend time with your family, it's another thing entirely to make that song about bowling. It grounds the song in a reality that, while it might not apply to your family, is certainly relatable.

Musically, Milkshake adds a few nice touches to their pop-rock approach. The Bacharach horns on "Okay to be Different," for example, or the sea chanty of "Pirates." While Milkshake's version of going wild ("Go Wild") is, well, more mild than wild, they don't completely abandon the rock -- the closing cut "My Best Friend," is a snappy slice of power-pop that starts at about 60 miles an hour, never lets up, and wraps up in less than 2 minutes. (In fact, I really like the last 5 tracks.)

I think the album's geared right at kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear samples of the tracks at the album's CD Baby page or hear full tracks at the band's homepage.

Milkshake is not everyone's cup of tea -- they're writing happy pop songs for happy kids. But they do this better than most of the kids' bands out there and Play! is their best album yet. Recommended, especially if you've enjoyed their other CDs.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As we slide into November and December, the number of new releases is typically scaled back because there's, like, a bajillion different things going on. Setting aside the daylight-to-task ratio, which is at its lowest point of the year, who wants to compete against the hundreds, nay, thousands of Christmas-related CDs flooding the market? ("On the first day of Christmas / My auntie gave to me / A Christmas album from Kenny G.")

Having said that, there are a few releases coming out here over the next couple months:

Nov. 7: All Together Now - V/A (a Beatles covers album with a kids' chorus)
Nov. 14: Play! - Milkshake
Nov. 14: We Wanna Rock - Thaddeus Rex
Nov. ??: Hey You Kids! - The Jellydots
Dec. 5: Asian Dreamland - V/A (Putumayo)
Dec. ??: Ernie & Neal - Rock the House

Which of these should be on your gift list for the winter-based gift-giving holiday of your choice (or on the purchase list of your favorite local library)? Tune in... find out...

Posted by SAShepherd at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's late, and thanks to a monsoon thunderstorm wreaking havoc with the internet connection, it's later than I wanted this to be, so I'll be brief...

First, I have two posts coming up early this week that I'm very excited about. One involves virtually no work on my part (no, that's not why I'm excited about it) and is a sequel of sorts to a prior post. The other involves quite a bit of work on my part and, well, I don't want to spoil it. Just don't miss it.

Second, I wanted to make sure I highlighted some stuff around the web I've been meaning to link to...
1. Reader Gwyneth has started a Kids in Atlanta website highlighting kids-related musical events in Atlanta. It's very thorough, and I think it's a great example of what people can do to make it easy for the public to find out about kids' musicians.
2. Reader Suzanne (I thiiiiink) Gwyneth also is now operating a "Live365" radio station entitled "Gooney Bird Radio" , playing some artists familiar to this website, along with the occasional foreign language and poetry.
3. Thanks to The Lovely Mrs. Davis, who mentioned this site to Christopher Noxon, author of Rejuvenile and its associated blog, and thanks to Noxon for noticing. (Go back to the old site, and you can find the reviews for Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang and Captain Bogg and Salty, both of which draw mention in Noxon's book. They'll get posted here soon, too. Really.) You can read Mrs. Davis' review of the book here.

And finally, thanks to both Charity and the JAMband and Joe McDermott, who both linked here recently. McDermott, incidentally, just won the Children's section of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for "Great Big World" (no, not the Hoodwinked version) and will have a new album coming out soon.

OK, and really finally, Milkshake and Rebecca Frezza videos for PBS Kids here.

There. That oughta hold ya. Come back soon, though, I promise it'll be worth it.

Posted by SAShepherd at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Go ahead, Jamarama Live. Tour the East Coast. See if I care. Tour with Buck Howdy, Ralph's World, Milkshake. (Oh, and LazyTown and a whole of bunch weird characters that I'm sure I would recognize if we had cable.) Ignore us fine folks in Phoenix. Fifth Largest City in America. Hmph.

Posted by SAShepherd at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

... don't mean they're not after you.

Or, as Nirvana might say, had they turned their attention to a kids' music blog instead, just because information is in a ever-so-slightly-over-hyped press release or newsletter, doesn't mean that it's not actually news.

Here, then, some recent PR news. For each artist, you decide which statements are true and which are false.

Justin Roberts: With a spiffy new website (including the Willy Was a Whale video from Noggin), why wouldn't the Today invite him and the Not Ready for Naptime Players to play on Aug. 22nd? (That's, uh, tomorrow!) Katie Couric's coming back just to see him!

Laurie Berkner: With a spiffy new website (not including the Willy Was a Whale video from Noggin), why wouldn't Good Morning America invite her and the Band to play on Aug. 26th? (That's, uh, Saturday!). And she's going to be on the Fisher Price float in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And there's going to be a 65-foot inflatable Laurie in the parade, too!

Milkshake: Will be seen on PBS Kids and Discovery World ("ToddWorld") with new videos and new music. They will also be appearing on C-SPAN2 providing musical commentary on U.S. Senate coverage.

Rebecca Frezza and Big Truck: Will also be appearing on PBS KIDS with new videos. Christopher Walken will appear in their next video.

(C'mon, I'd pay to see Christopher Walken in a video for "It Wasn't Me!")

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I skipped July, didn't I? Slacker. Well, it would've been a short list (at the time, anyway). But August? August is shaping up as a little more crowded...

August 1: Go Baby Go - Baby Loves Jazz (Various Artists)
August 1: If I Could Be... - Meredith Brooks
August 8: A World of Music - Toucan Jam
August 8: What's Eatin' Yosi? - Yosi (national release)
August 22: Marvelous Day - Stevesongs (re-release on Rounder Records -- say that three times fast)
August 29: You Are My Little Bird - Elizabeth Mitchell (on Smithsonian Folkways)

But wait, there's more!

September will see the release of new stuff from Trout Fishing in America and ScribbleMonster (maybe).

And then there's October, October 3rd in particular, which is shaping up to be a very crowded release date. The third album from Milkshake, Play. [Edit: I've been told the album may come out just a leeeetle bit later.] The third album from The Sippy Cups, which has, hands-down, the best kids' music album name of the year, Electric Storyland. And the DVD/CD release from Ralph's World, Welcome to Ralph's World. Actually, I've seen that listed on various e-tailers' sites as both 10/3 and 10/10, so it could be either. We shall see...

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

In the off-chance you're home today (or your TiVo has been taken over by your kids), you can see 3 new videos by the kids' music band Milkshake on PBS today. For more details, see this press release or, as I think they still say, check your local listings.

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome to those of you finding us because of the Salon article on "kindie rockers". (Welcome also, as always, to people looking for downloads of and lyrics to "Great Big World," from Hoodwinked. I still can't help you with those, despite your insistent pleas.) Thanks, Salon, for the link, and for posting some fabulous mp3s from said rockers. (Scott Lamb's article is worth sitting through the Honda ad non-subscribers will have to watch in order to read the article -- it's a nice summing up of the current state of kids' music.)

If you're new to the site, I encourage you to look around -- links to other kids'-music-related blogs as well as to every full album review (including Justin Roberts, Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, and Milkshake) can be found on the right. If you're wondering what to get that 4-year-old nephew for his birthday, check out my page of album recommendations by age. I treat kids' music the way any parent who really likes music would -- with my own set of interests but with an understanding that perhaps not every song off Spoon's Gimme Fiction is going to appeal to my 5-year-old (let alone my 1-year-old).

There's so much great kids' music being made, and not just by the rockers mentioned in the article who have made their way to kids' TV screens. Dig in -- you're bound to find something you and the kids in your life will really like.

Saturday AM edit: You know, I could actually help readers "dig in" if I specifically mentioned a few artists and albums that readers might not be familiar with if they're only sticking to the TV/Noggin crowd. No disrespect meant to the Noggin crowd -- Zanes, Roberts, and TMBG, in particular, are all among my favorites kids' artists -- but these four albums are tremendous, too.
Silly Reflection, by Lunch Money (review)
If You Ever See An Owl, by the Terrible Twos (review)
Fascinating Creatures, by Francis England (review)
Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World DVD, by Morgan Taylor (review)

Posted by SAShepherd at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week: Baseball, handclaps, mandolins, and parental philosophies. In song! (Dan Zanes only in passing.) Come back and see what I mean.

Also, those Milkshake music videos on PBS Friday? They're now available here. Musically, they sound like typical Milkshake (pop-rock, more pop than rock). Lyrically, they're pretty prescriptive (as one would expect for an Earth-Day-related song). Visually, there's lots of kids and the presence of your favorite (or not) PBS characters. Of the three songs, I think "Washing Machine" is the best...

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We cover the waterfront here at Zooglobble, news-wise. There is no expiration date for news here -- a week old, a year old -- if I haven't seen it before, I'm willing to pass it on.

I'm especially happy with these two bits of information, because they involve bands/artists in which women play major roles. My wife is happy, too -- upon hearing recently that we'd soon be getting a female-fronted CD -- she said, "About time!" (Or words to that effect.) Guess our female children's artists' section needs beefing up.

Aaaaanyway, the first bit of news comes from PBS Kids, which announces its Earth Day broadcast plans, including:

"the world premiere of three Earth Day-themed music videos from Milkshake, the
award-winning kids' rock band fronted by Lisa Mathews and Mikel Gehl that has
captured the ears – and the hearts - of kids and parents alike. The music
videos, which focus on taking care of the Earth and keeping it clean, were
written exclusively for PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day."

The second bit of news comes from an old article recently posted (and written) by John Mitchell about an Elizabeth Mitchell concert in June 2005. The whole article is a nice piece on Mitchell (Elizabeth, not John), but I'm particularly interested in the information below (emphasis added):

"Mitchell went on to release two more CDs, one with Lisa Loeb, and is now
working on another one. She has begun writing songs specifically for children,
but remains committed to unearthing lost musical treasures."

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Clea's post on attending Jamarama over the weekend reminded me of something I wanted to do...

I've received a fair amount of website hits from people looking for Jamarama Live reviews. So I decided to see what I could find for myself. And the answer was clear: the reason I'm getting all these hits is because there really aren't any reviews out there.

So rather than rail on the mainstream media, I went to the real power, people! The BLOGS, man!

Jamarama Reviews Out The Wazoo(s) (West Coast Edition)

Small Ages: The good (Dan Zanes), the not-so-good (Milkshake), and the ugly (the Ohmies) (this past weekend...)
Buzzville: See above. Also, apparently Dan signs T-shirts! (Santa Barbara)
Winters on the web: "It was sweet and treacly and nauseating. 70 minutes of my life I will never get back but worth it to see my son happy!" So at least we know it's 70 minutes long. (Santa Barbara)
Gavin: All you ever wanted to know about sound for the show. And it wasn't that crowded. (Long Beach)

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Children's artists can walk a fine line between sweet and sappy. Childhood is full of wonder, and trying to convey that can lead musicians into mushy-headedness.

For the most part, Milkshake avoids the Head of Mushy on their second album, Bottle of Sunshine. Milkshake, a duo from Baltimore, has two strong assets -- the sweet vocals of Lisa Mathews and the melodic and occasionally crunchy guitars of Mikel Gehl. Backed by a full band, Bottle contains a broad variety of children's pop, uptempo and down-, that does a good job of showcasing those assets.

The best songs on the album are the ones that stay away from mushiness. "Woo-woo" is a fun pop song leavened with humor about playing underwater ("If you find lost treasure on the ocean floor / please bring it back up to me.") "Boom Boom" is a country-tinged tune about dancing. And while "Book of Dreams" is a sweet pop song, elegantly produced, "Sleepytown" is a simple album-closer. (Is there some sort of union rule requiring closing a kids' music album with a slow, sleep-related song? Just wondering out loud here.)

As someone whose tolerance for mushy is perhaps lower than many, some tunes don't work as well for me. While I liked "Book of Dreams," "One Wish" reached too hard for the sense of wonder for my tastes and was fairly bland. And while I'm not against namechecking one's own band in song, which Milkshake does twice here, it has to be really catchy (paging Morningwood to the review, paging Morningwood to the review), which isn't quite the case here. (Still, I could see those two songs being fun for preschoolers in concert.)

The album is best for kids age 3 through 7. It's available at the usual online suspects. While I recommend the album, if you like me have a low tolerance for mushy, you may want to listen to some samples online before committing to the CD.

Posted by SAShepherd at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)