More Joy

In case you haven't checked out Offsprung's forums, cheekily called The Playground, it might be worth a little time. For example, this thread (noted by loyal reader Katy) unearthed a video on YouTube for "My Children, Be Joyful," by the Canadian band Rock Plaza Central. (Well, if "unearthed" is the verb for a video featured on YouTube's front page and with nearly 300,000 views.) The video takes entirely unrelated footage from the Canadian television show Nanalan, which, I gotta say, looks suspiciously like a little show called Jack's Big Music Show. Or vice versa. Anyway, the song builds up to a frenzy (la la la's, violins, and, like, a dozen horns) and the frenetic puppets somehow fit perfectly. And, yeah, it's joyful. Not bad for a song from an album (Are We Not Horses, released in the States this year) that is "all about robotic horses. Robotic horses who think they are real horses. For real. Caught in a battle between good and evil. Between angels and humans. And after eradicating the world of the angels, wondering if they fought for the right side." Yeah, that might not be so much for the kids. Or maybe. I don't know. I kinda want to find out, though. By the way, if you want to get the track for free, head on over to the band's Myspace page to download it and three others. What songs are bringing you and your family more joy?

Two Songs (and a Catchy Jingle) from Brady Rymer

This has been available for awhile, but I wanted to point out that Brady Rymer has three new songs available for download as part of his Children's Dimetapp Breathe & Boogie Tour. Go here to download "Healthy Livin'" and "Even the Animals Sneeze," a couple mid-tempo folk-rockers that would've sounded fine on his recent Every Day is a Birthday CD. Also available for download is "We are the Sniffles," which also has a video on the site. I'm sorta bummed because it's the best of the three tracks -- propulsive, great harmonies -- but it's got a couple shout-outs to Dimetapp (both in the song and on the video). It's worth a spin, though, because aside from the commercial reference (which kinda kills any repeat-listening value for me), it shows Rymer and his band at their best. Rymer, incidentally, will be releasing his latest album, Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, on March 4. You can hear one of the songs from the upcoming CD, "Road Trip" by attending one of his final shows on this tour in Rochester (NY), Houston, Dallas, and Madison, New Jersey (details here) and picking up the free six-song Rymer CD they're distributing. So, yeah, I'm just waiting for the edited version...

New Music / Video: "High Five" - They Might Be Giants

Well, if they hadn't pushed back the release 4 months, we'd all have been grooving to this for a month now, but They Might Be Giants have a video for "High Five," one of the songs off their upcoming CD/DVD Here Come the 123s. The animation is done by Divya Srinivasan, who did a bunch of videos on Here Come the ABCs, including "Go For G!" and "Alphabet Lost and Found." (See her videos and stills, including those from "Roy G. Biv," also off the upcoming album, here.) As with "Alphabet," I don't think the Johns are taking the lead vocally on "High Five," which is the best disco song about the number five ever written. And, yes, it includes the phrase "down low, too slow." You have go to Amazon to watch it, but it's worth 2:26 of your time. Go here. (Hat tip to Amy for catching this.)

Video: "Cheese" - Mr. Richard

This video, for the song "Cheese," may make you smile a bit. The song is from Mr. Richard's upcoming album Polka Dot Puzzle, due out December 11th. His voice isn't the smoothest of the bunch, but he's got a sly ear for kids' (and parental) frustrations especially, and he rocks the mandolin here. His legion of fans are undoubtedly waiting eagerly...

Sox? Rox? No, Rex.

Yeah, so that whole Diamondbacks - Rockies series didn't go well for this Diamondbacks fan. Can't say that the Rockies played awesome, but they sure played better than the D-Backs. So as with any fan who watches their team completely blow their big chance, I felt a little down, like I needed some headbanging. By, uh, dinosaurs. Playing, uh, "This Old Man." The animation is rudimentary, and I'm probably missing 95% (OK, 99%) of the references in the video, but as far aping metal cliches, Rockosaurus Rex has got it down pat. For more, check out their Myspace page, which includes a new demo song, a version of "Hush Little Baby" which is 100% guaranteed to not get your baby to sleep.