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"
KidVid Tournament 2008: The SqueeGees vs. Mr. Richard
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"
KidVid Tournament 2008: Orange Sherbet vs. Eric Herman
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
Video: "Good Day" - Tally Hall
I don't talk a lot about music that isn't specifically kids' music, but that guideline's never stopped me before from veering into stuff for the adults.
And so when I saw the video below for Tally Hall's "Good Day," I thought, hey, that's worth posting. For one thing, it's a really cool song. For another thing, it's a really cool video. The punchline to the video will probably go over your kids' heads, but the video and the song is pretty kid-friendly. Especially if you and your kid are able to process rapidly-changing cuts and about 8 different tempo changes.
"Good Day" is from Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, which is being re-released by Atlantic Records on April 1. (You can hear "Good Day" and more at their Myspace page.)
Now, I'm hardly the first person to the Tally-Hall-for-the-kids party (Clea mentioned this very song more than 18 months ago), but there really is a kids' music connection here...
Video: "Campfire Song" - Orange Sherbet with Hot Buttered Rum
One of the 2007 albums that just missed making my list of 20 favorite kids music albums of 2007 was Campfire Sing-Along from the Bay Area band Orange Sherbet with some help from the band Hot Buttered Rum (here's the review).
I've been a little sad that the CD didn't get more attention, so I'm happy to have an excuse to provide more attention myself. I've found a video that the band put together with the artist Sarah Klein. Klein is friends with Orange Sherbet singer-songwriter Tamsen Fynn and will be showing a couple of her short films at the San Francisco Bay Area International Children's Film Festival this weekend. You can see the hand-animated "On the Farm" here (direct link to broadband version) and the live-action bread-filled "Feed the Starter" here (again, direct link to broadband version). They're both cute, in different ways
But those are from an older Orange Sherbet album, and I'm all about the new. (Usually.) So I'm most excited to find the hand-animated video for Campfire Sing-Along's leadoff track, "Campfire Song" (broadband link here). As you might expect, it involves a bear, which I always find to be a good thing.
In Case You're A Little Tired of Dan Zanes
I think the world of Dan Zanes. But I'm willing to acknowledge that not quite everyone is as OK with the pied piper of family music as I am.
Mark Foley, the creator of New York's One Man Blam, has put his own take on Mr. Zanes up on YouTube. Now, considering that in the very description of the video, Foley says, "Dan Zanes & Company do such great work, who can resist joining in the fun?," it's clear from the get-go that the phrase "gentle satire" was created for stuff like this.
"Well, I don't have a tangerine suit / Or a fiddler in hot pink tights," Foley starts out, then later notes that "I threw out the very same duds / He got in an old thrift shop." He's aiming Nerf balls at Zanes, but he's certainly hitting the target.
Considering the other songs Foley's made available, Foley is clearly mining the same seam Zanes has mined with such success. And I've got to believe that Zanes himself would probably completely approve what Foley's doing with One Man Blam and Volunteer Music, which brings "free concerts for underserved communities and worthy civic initiatives." He, uh, just doesn't have the distribution deal with Starbucks.
One Man Blam (Mark Foley) - "Dan Zanes Blues"
Now where did I put that DZ ukelele of mine?...
