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For a variety of non-music-related reasons, I've been slack in formally noting this on the front page of the site, but I wanted to extend my congratulations to Florida's Mr. Richard, who took on all comers in KidVid Tournament 2008, and took the title of KidVid Tournament 2008 with the help of a most remarkable fanbase. (I always knew he had an active fanbase -- I had no idea just how active until the Tournament.)

Congratulations to him and all the other performers (especially New York's The Jimmies, who took on Mr. Richard with their video for "Cheese" and together broke all commenting records to smithereens in their epic semifinal matchup, extended.) I don't quite know what form KidVid Tournament 2009 will take, but it'll be here...

Anyway, for one last time, here is Mr. Richard and "Cheese."

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here we go, everyone, the final of KidVid Tournament 2008. This contest pits "Cheese" from Mr. Richard's Polka Dot Puzzle (video directed by Banks Helfrich) against "The Seven Days of the Week (Never Go To Work)," from They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s CD/DVD (video directed by David Cowles and Sean McBride).

As always, vote once per family only, please, in the comments below. Votes are due by 9 PM West Coast (midnight East Coast) tonight (Tuesday). And, remember, vote nicely.

Mr. Richard - "Cheese"

They Might Be Giants - "Seven Days of the Week (Never Go To Work)"

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (225)

Yes, there was a KidVid Tournament 2008 semi-final between the Jimmies and Mr. Richard. Which ended in a tie.

But just like that other March Madness permits its 40-minute games to go into 5-minute overtime, so will I. Given that the voting window has generally been about 12 hours long, I'm going to open voting IN THIS THREAD for about 90 minutes (that's 1/8th the length of regulation), 'til 1:50 PM as time-stamped below.

The rules: One vote per family/household in the comments below. I will be checking IP addresses, so don't even think about voting twice, 'cause I'll delete both votes. I'm not going to delete votes for trash talk, but c'mon, folks, be nice. (Besides, I don't think you're going to convince someone to change their vote.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (150)

While yesterday's matchup was a live-action affair, the 2nd semifinal in KidVid 2008 is an all-animation competition. Renee & Jeremy offer "It's A Big World," a soft lullaby from their It's A Big World disk (review). They Might Be Giants counter with "The Seven Days of the Week (Never Go To Work)," a zippy anti-work/pro-trumpet practice tune from Here Come the 123s (review).

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

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

They Might Be Giants - "Seven Days of the Week (Never Go To Work)"

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

And if I wasn't running a blog for kids' music, I'd use an even stronger term.

TheJimmies-Mr. Richard KidVid 2008 Semifinal ended with, I'm not kidding, a virtual tie. I mean, there might have been a slight voting edge to one artist, but we're talking 1 or 2 votes in nearly 700 cast.

We're talking Florida 2000-close. And given that I eliminated some votes (on both sides) because they appeared to have come from the same family (one IP address voted 8 times in, like 5 minutes -- I didn't eliminate all those) and some other votes (on both sides) because they crossed a line I set for rudeness, I could purposefully exclude or include votes based on my personal preference and create my own winner.

Which I don't want to do.

(Heck, 5 people voted without making clear who it was they were voting for. My own hanging chad. Sigh.)

So I'm calling this round a draw. I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I'm trying to be fair to both artists.

Stay tuned.

(And thanks, by the way, to everyone who voted and kept the tone pretty light.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Moving on into the semifinals of KidVid Tournament 2008, we have a matchup between two popular videos thus far in the competition. The first video, The Jimmies' Latin-tinged (of course) "Spanimals," is off the Jimmies' 2007 debut CD, Make Your Own Someday (review). Its competition will Mr. Richard's Italian-tinged "Cheese," which is from his late-2007 release Polka Dot Puzzle (review).

Please read these voting rules carefully...
1. Vote in the comments below.
2. One vote per family.
3. Vote by 9 PM West Coast time tonight (Wednesday).
4. Please vote nicely. Anything that smacks too much of, well, talking smack won't be counted as a vote. It's OK to say how wonderful your favorite is. It's not OK to say how awful the other is.
5. Just as a reminder, comments aren't posted immediately -- for spam-prevention purposes they need my OK before being posted. So if your vote doesn't show up immediately, don't worry -- it will get posted eventually.

OK, so on to the videos (which you should watch both of, even if you already know who you're voting for.)

The Jimmies - "Spanimals"

Mr. Richard - "Cheese"

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (759)

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)

Ah, back to 2 KidVid Tournament 2008 matchups a day. Over at Offsprung we have a battle to be the champion of the Pete Seeger Region -- Gustafer Yellowgold's "Pinecone Lovely" against Mr. Richard's "Cheese."

Vote here by 9 PM Thursday night.

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Let's start off the 2nd week of KidVid Tournament 2008 with a battle for supremacy in the Leadbelly Region -- the #1 seed They Might Be Giants' "Seven Days of the Week (Never Go To Work)" (from their recently-released Here Come the 123s CD/DVD) taking on the #2 seed, David Tobocman and his track "Home" (from I Count to Ten and Other Helpful Songs, also recently released).

Go forth, watch both videos, then You. Make. The. Call. (Or, rather, vote in the comments below by 9 PM Thursday night. Vote once per family. Play nice, y'all.)

They Might Be Giants - "Seven Days of the Week (Never Go To Work)"

David Tobocman - "Home"

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)

Some days just get away from you, so there's no KidVid Tournament 2008 matchup here... but....

Go here and vote on the Jimmies' "Spanimals" vs. Orange Sherbet's "Campfire Song" for supremacy in the Woody Guthrie Region bracket.

Go, go now! Voting 'til 9 PM tonight.

If you are having problems voting over there, please post here and let me know! (I won't post the comments, but I do read them.)

Update #2: I've been told that people are not verifying themselves as being real. I know you're all real, but I think there's a follow-up step that you need to do after you've registered -- I think that's an e-mail, but I forget. In any case, check your e-mail for verification e-mails from Offsprung.

Posted by SAShepherd at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

So the first round of KidVid Tournament 2008 is in the books, and much like the men's and women's basketball tournaments, we've seen our share of close calls, blowouts, and slightly humorous beer ads.

OK, so "no" on the beer ads.

Anyway, this week we'll have the second round of voting to find the most popular kids' music video of the past 12 months. Thanks to everyone who voted last week. Upcoming this week will see...

Ella Jenkins Region: #1 Renee And Jeremy - "It's A Big World" vs. #2 Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "I Had a Little Dog"

Leadbelly Region: #1 They Might Be Giants - "Seven Days a Week (I Never Go To Work)" vs. #2 David Tobocman - "Home"

Pete Seeger Region: #1 Gustafer Yellowgold - "Pinecone Lovely" vs. #3 Mr. Richard - "Cheese"

Woody Guthrie Region: #1 The Jimmies - "Spanimals" vs #2 Orange Sherbet with Hot Buttered Rum - "Campfire Song"

When will voting start? You'll just have to wait and find out...

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

One last chance to vote -- the Ella Jenkins Region's #1 seed, Renee & Jeremy's "It's A Big World" against the #4 seed, Andre 3000's "Throwdown."

Go here and vote by 9 PM tonight (Friday).

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The final day of the first round of KidVid Tournament sees a matchup from the Pete Seeger Region, with the #1 seed -- Gustafer Yellowgold's "Pinecone Lovely" (off the Have You Never Been Yellow? CD/DVD) -- taking on the #4 seed, Asheba's "No More Monkeys," most recently found on Putumayo's Animal Playground disk.

Who will win? That's up to you -- vote in the comments below, one per family, please. The voting deadline is 9 PM West Coast time tonight (Friday). And vote nicely.

Gustafer Yellowgold - "Pinecone Lovely"

Asheba - "No More Monkeys"

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

Over at Offsprung, where They Might Be Giants' "Seven Days of the Week (Never Go To Work)" takes on Happy Monster Band's "I Will Be Your Friend." #1 takes on #4 in the Leadbelly Region.

Vote here.

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While some other "March Madness" starts today, we're already on Day Thre of KidVid Tournament 2008, in which we have a matchup from the Woody Guthrie Region -- the #1 seed "Spanimals" from The Jimmies from their debut Make Your Own Someday versus the #4 seed "You Can Be Anything" from Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang (off their self-titled debut).

Vote in the comments below. One per family, please. Play nice. Votes due by 9 PM West Coast time today (Thursday).

The Jimmies - "Spanimals"

Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang - "You Can Be Anything"

Posted by SAShepherd at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (46)

... 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)

In day two of KidVid Tournament 2008 we feature a matchup from the Pete Seeger Region -- the #2 seed "The Elements" from The SqueeGees from their self-titled CD and Meet The SqueeGees EP versus the #3 seed "Cheese" from Mr. Richard (off his Polka Dot Puzzle album).

Vote in the comments below. One per family, please. Play nice. Votes due by 9 PM West Coast time today (Wednesday).

The SqueeGees - "The Elements"

Mr. Richard - "Cheese"

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (116)

Over at Offsprung there's a KidVid Tournament 2008 matchup from the Leadbelly Region -- the #2 seed "Home" from David Tobocman (from his Very Helpful Songs CD) versus the #2 seed "Bounce" from Ellen and Matt (off their Best Friends album). Go there, watch the videos, and vote by 9 PM today! (You'll need to register with the site, but we're a very friendly group of people. No hassles, we promise.)

Posted by SAShepherd at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Leading off the KidVid Tournament 2008 is a matchup from the Woody Guthrie Region -- the #2 seed "Campfire Song" from Orange Sherbet with help from Hot Buttered Rum (off their Campfire Sing-Along CD versus the #3 seed "My Lucky Day" from Eric Herman (off Snow Day!).

Vote in the comments below. One per family, please. Votes due by 9 PM West Coast time.

"Campfire Song" - Orange Sherbet with Hot Buttered Rum

Watch here (broadband link here)

"My Lucky Day" - Eric Herman

Posted by SAShepherd at 07:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (77)

It is time once again for the KidVid Tournament, the 2008 edition, where families come together by watching videos the way they were meant to be watched.

On the computer.

Over the next 2+ weeks, we'll be pitting 16 of the best kids' music videos from the past year or so head-to-head with readers voting to determine the best video of the year.

Who was the selection committee which decided the 16 best? Well, mostly me. Plus, well, some reader suggestions. (Gwendolyn and Andre 3000 thank you!) The seedings are below. The first two matchups will be posted Tuesday morning. Come back and vote for your favorites.

And remember: please, no wagering!

Ella Jenkins Region
1. Renee And Jeremy - "It's A Big World"
2. Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "I Had a Little Dog"
3. Hollow Trees - "Animal Alphabet Song"
4. Andre 3000 - "Throwdown"

Leadbelly Region
1. They Might Be Giants - "Seven Days a Week (I Never Go To Work)"
2. David Tobocman - "Home"
3. Ellen and Matt - "Bounce"
4. Happy Monster Band - "I Will Be Your Friend"

Pete Seeger Region
1. Gustafer Yellowgold - "Pinecone Lovely"
2. The Squeegees - "The Elements"
3. Mr. Richard - "Cheese"
4. Asheba - "No More Monkeys"

Woody Guthrie Region
1. The Jimmies - "Spanimals"
2. Orange Sherbet with Hot Buttered Rum - "Campfire Song"
3. Eric Herman - "My Lucky Day"
4. Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang - "You Can Be Anything"

Posted by SAShepherd at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

One of my favorite events on this site last year was the inaugural edition of the KidVid Tournament 2007, which took the craziness of basketball's March Madness and married it to the craziness of the kids music genre. (I'm pretty sure nobody ever used the phrase "craziness of the kids music genre" before -- hey, I'm right! -- but whatevs.)

Well, the slightly sports-aware among might be aware that we're getting close to that time again and, yes, that means it's almost time for KidVid Tournament 2008.

But before we get there, I need your help. Because I only have 14 videos selected...

Continue reading "KidVid Tournament 2008: Picking The Final Two Slots" »

Posted by SAShepherd at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)