We recently received a copy of Brady Rymer's latest CD, Every Day Is A Birthday, and the first thing my wife said when she saw the CD was,
"Wow. Do we have any other kids' CDs with the artist's actual picture on the cover?"
This amused me, because it was the exact same thought I had the first time I saw a picture of the cover.
And, really, if you think about it, most children's music artists do not have a particularly large presence on their album covers. Ralph's World? Even on his latest CD Green Gorilla, Monster & Me -- Ralph is a tiny, animated man. Dan Zanes? Slightly less tiny, slightly less animated. Laurie Berkner? A little less tiny than Dan, a little less animated. And that's pretty much where the progression ends. (I guess Laurie's DVD has her featured a little more prominently.)
Progress in the children's music world is typically on the level of Justin Roberts' Meltdown! CD, in which the animated child on his fifth kids album now looks much more Justin-like.
Frankly, this probably doesn't matter much. This industry is probably significantly different than "adult" CDs, in which mass marketed CDs almost always come with the artist's picture prominently displayed (think of rap or country CDs, or U2 or the Rolling Stones). And even though the faces aren't there, there's often a graphical consistency to the cover art.
But with the increasing folding in of "serious" children's music artists such as Berkner, Zanes, and Covert into major record distribution, it wouldn't be surprising to see more faces and fewer cartoons on CD covers.
Top Five Lullabies I Actually Sing
Yeah, there are a whole bunch of lullabies out there, but there only about five I sing on a regular basis.
5. You Are My Sunshine -- Not the original version (check out the O Brother, Where Are Thou? soundtrack for a nice version of that), but the shorter version on the Songs For Wiggleworms disc. It's much more loving and doesn't include the lyric "You have shattered all my dreams," which I frankly think is a bit of a downer, lullaby-wise.
4. Wake Up, by the Arcade Fire -- Just kidding.
4. All The Pretty Little Horses -- A sweet melody; I try to remember that it doesn't matter if I can't remember what order "blacks," "bays," "dapples," and "grays" go in.
3. Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star -- An easy melody, simple words (except that nobody -- including me -- can remember anything other than the first verse. There are something like four or five verses.)
2. Brahms' Lullaby -- Which we all call the "doo doo doo" song. For fun with older kids, ask them to sing it in the style of animals. ("Quack quack quaaaaack, quack quack quaaaack...")
1. Skidamarink -- A bit uptempo for a lullaby, but it's a fun melody, easy lyrics, and even offers freedom to solo. Love this song.
There are lots of lullabies I like to hear (e.g., "The Water Is Wide"), but unless the melody and lyrics are both super easy, they are just unlikely to be sung in actual nurseries...
Review: Baloney Cake - Uncle Moondog
Baloney Cake (2005) is the second album from Uncle Moondog, the animated alter ego of California-based musician Mike McManus. Those of you hoping for the hard edge of another animated band, the Gorillaz, will be disappointed. Moondog is, er, a dog with a bunch of (mostly animal) friends with a vocal style that reminds me most of Wolfman Jack.
The album consists of a wide range of children's pop with a particular predilection for beach-related melodies and lyrics ("In Hawaii," "Surfin' School"). Now, I can't say I was super-enthused by the album. Some of that is because I didn't like the Moondog voice, which I realize is a personal choice -- others may think it's cool. Some of that is because I really didn't like "Baloney Cake," which is exactly about what the title says it's about and makes me a wee bit nauseous thinking about it. And one of Moondog's friends has a high-pitched electronic voice that drives me nuts.
What's good about the CD? Well, it's produced well, and when it stays away from cheesy kids' music touches (whah, whah, whah, WHAH) the songs have a certain appeal. The melodies are usually appealing. And McManus has a sly sense of humor. For example, in "Baloney Cake" he realizes that it is kind of a disgusting concept, and the song addresses that thought. (As does an aside in "Surfin' School.) And in "The Walrus Waltz," he not only rhymes "waltz" with "small-tz," he notes the silliness of doing so. (I'm also pretty sure that "Elvis" makes an appearance.) There's enough there that I'd like to see McManus give it a go without the Uncle Moondog alter ego -- I'd probably enjoy it more.
While I'm not a huge fan of the album, those who like Beach Boys-like melodies or want a coastal-themed album (and can handle people singing in a style different than a "normal" singing voice) may want to give it a shot. It's probably best for kids aged 3 through 6. It's available through his website. (Too bad there's nothing as catchy as the Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc.")
Desert (Island) Disc(s)
I asked my daughter today if she had a favorite CD. "No!" she said. Not at all?... OK, I'm not going down that far-too-easy humorous path. Her favorite CD was "the No! CD," which I took to mean They Might Be Giants' version. She also likes the "ABCs" CD. Which, uh, as you know, is also a They Might Be Giants CD. I know she has no concept that the CDs are from the same band, but clearly the apple has not fallen far from this tree.
Of course, the concept of an "album" is also somewhat alien to her, as she tends to think in songs ("House At The Top Of The Tree," from No!, "Theme From Higglytown Heroes" from Here Come The ABCs, Raffi's "Who Built The Ark", "Rattlin' Bog," off Dan Zanes' Night Time!). And she'll probably grow up a "song" person, not an album person, given how easy it is to pick songs.
Me, I'm still an album person, and while I could probably tell you what my favorite album ever was (Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend), I couldn't tell you what it would be now. Too many to choose from. Plus I get hung up over picking one among bands with lots of albums I love (TMBG, Wilco), and so some other album (Golden Smog's Weird Tales, maybe) slides through. Kinda like actresses from the same movie cancelling each other out at the Oscars...
Review: The Corner Grocery Store - Raffi
I think with kids' artists there's no such thing as a sophomore slump. There are plenty of artists whose second albums were just as good, if not better, than their kids' debuts. But something happens on album #3 -- delusions of grandeur, perhaps, or just boredom with the formulas -- it's good, but not as good as album #s 1 and 2. Victims of the slump include Ralph's World, Laurie Berkner, and, well, Raffi.
Don't get me wrong, The Corner Grocery Store, Raffi's 1979 album, is pretty good. It has some nice renditions of some traditional songs, including "Frere Jacques" and a very simple but pretty "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." For the most part, the instrumentation consists of the fairly simple arrangements of piano, guitar, and occasional backing band found on his first two CDs.
But there's something missing overall. Perhaps it's the lack of a really good Raffi original, like "Peanut Butter Sandwich" or "Oh Me Oh My." Perhaps it's "Anansi," which jettisons all the simple arrangements for something approaching cheesy instrumentation. I don't know. It's hard for me to put a finger on, but the whole thing just isn't quite as appealing to me. Still, for those you thinking that covering Leadbelly or Huddie Ledbetter or Woody Guthrie on children's music albums is a newfound trend, Raffi did them all (Ledbetter twice) on this CD. (He does add lyrics to some of them, so perhaps it's not quite so adventurous.)
The album is best for children ages 2 through 6. I recommend the CD, though not as highly as Singable Songs For The Very Young or More Singable Songs. You can find the three CDs packaged together (slightly cheaper) as The Singable Songs Collection. Available at the usual suspects.
Whither Jamarama Live Reviews?
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)
