Brilliant stuff from Chris Ballew aka Caspar Babypants. I've always liked the song "$9.99" from his More Please! disk, but this video -- which features a lot of help from Ballew's daughter Josie -- is, well, just wow. Another one of the incredible series of minimalist Babypants videos.
Caspar Babypants - "$9.99" [YouTube]
Video: "Big Pet Pig" - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke
It's got music from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke (from their fabulous Rise & Shine disk), with animation to boot from Wilde as well. It, uh, tells the story of a big pet pig. A winner video indeed. I also enjoyed the Coen Brothers-like disclaimer - "A true story..."
Video: "Goodnight Irene" - Gretchen Eichberger-Kudlack
A couple years ago, I was particularly charmed by Songs for Sleepy Beings, an album of lullabies put together by Gretchen Eichberger-Kudlack and Half Moon, a band she recruited for the occasion.
It's been awhile since I've heard from Eichberger-Kudlack, and since the Sleepy Beings website seemed to have lapsed, I worried that perhaps this would be a one-time deal.
Thankfully, that's not the case, as I found out after getting in touch with her. For the moment, she's focusing on other things -- she's got a new website for the Northwest Michigan Folklife Center and she's directing two theatrical dance productions, among other things. But her kids music days aren't permanently behind her -- she notes that she plans to do another album for the "3-7 [year old] set, incorporating
the voices of my now four year old daughter and her friend."
For now, enjoy this very rewritten cover of "Goodnight Irene" (which makes Raffi's version sound totally faithful to the Leadbelly/Pete Seeger versions). It's sweet and features Eichberger-Kudlack's wonderfully clear voice.
Gretchen Eichberger-Kudlack - "Goodnight Irene" [YouTube]
Video: "Time Out to Rock" (Live) - The Not-Its
I'm gonna go out on a big limb here and say that this video, taped at yesterday's "A Child's Time to Rock" benefit, shows Seattle's Not-Its playing the title track from their forthcoming (July 2010) Time Out to Rock disk. Because, you know, it's titled "Time Out to Rock" and features fancy logo stuff at the end. I'm smart like that.
Their timeouts apparently rock a little harder that my kids' -- those usually end up with reading books on the bed.
The Not-Its - "Time Out to Rock" [YouTube]
Video: "Share" - Renee & Jeremy
Different house, different couch, and different song than last time, but the end result is still the same -- if Renee & Jeremy sang one of the drier parts of your air conditioning unit's installation manual, I'd still listen. Luckily, I'm a long-time fan of the song.
(And a new fan of that couch.)
Renee & Jeremy - "Share" [YouTube]
Laurie Berkner Band's Greatest Hits Album On Its Way. Eventually.
"On its way" implies a level of progress that isn't really there (unless you think more theoretically than I) but Laurie Berkner has announced that the band is rehearsing some of the songs that will appear on The Laurie Berkner Band's Greatest Hits Album. (They actually append it with "!!!," but that didn't seem very journalistic of me.) So, yeah, there's gonna be a Laurie Berkner greatest hits album. No additional info except that a special version of "Open Your Heart" will be on it. How did that song go again?...
