New Ralph and Ralph Song Sounds Nothing Like Ralph's World

Remember the other day when I talked about Little Monster Records and wondered who the mysterious "Ralph & Ralph" were? You don't? Really? Oh, well, you're probably not getting enough sleep. Anyway, I still don't know who they are, but maybe some of the eagle-eared readers out there can identify voices from the new Ralph & Ralph track posted on their "Sounds" page. "Ralph and Ralph's Song" is a slow, loping song that Randy Newman might write and includes the following couplet, which is either a 1) biting meta-commentary on the digital music distribution process or 2) feel-good life lesson. "A record costs money / but a song is for free." Indeed.

Review: Play! - Milkshake

Milkshake-Play.jpgOver the course of its two previous albums, the Baltimore-based band Milkshake has been content to mine a poppier seam of kids' music. While I wouldn't call them sentimental, their songs are usually sunny and optimistic -- there's little mischieviousness in their songs (at least lyrically. On their third album Play!, released this week, Milkshake doesn't veer much from the approach on their previous albums, but does simultaneously broaden their musical palette while narrowing the topical scope a little bit. Play! is, loosely defined, a concept album about the different ways kids play. From the opening track "We've Got a Band" (playing musical instruments) to the '80s power-poppy title track, Mikel Gehl and Lisa Matthews sing about the fun of play. There are songs about make-believe play (the Beatlesque "Imagination Nation," "Pirates," "Home on the Rang") to go along with songs about playing sports ("Bowling with You," or "Baseball," with a Cal Ripkin cameo). What saves the lyrics from being cloying to adult ears is the specificity -- it's one thing to sing about how much fun it is to spend time with your family, it's another thing entirely to make that song about bowling. It grounds the song in a reality that, while it might not apply to your family, is certainly relatable. Musically, Milkshake adds a few nice touches to their pop-rock approach. The Bacharach horns on "Okay to be Different," for example, or the sea chanty of "Pirates." While Milkshake's version of going wild ("Go Wild") is, well, more mild than wild, they don't completely abandon the rock -- the closing cut "My Best Friend," is a snappy slice of power-pop that starts at about 60 miles an hour, never lets up, and wraps up in less than 2 minutes. (In fact, I really like the last 5 tracks.) I think the album's geared right at kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear samples of the tracks at the album's CD Baby page or hear full tracks at the band's homepage. Milkshake is not everyone's cup of tea -- they're writing happy pop songs for happy kids. But they do this better than most of the kids' bands out there and Play! is their best album yet. Recommended, especially if you've enjoyed their other CDs.

Time to Rebrand

I had low expectations when I started this website. I wanted to share some music that was recorded with kids in mind that both kids and adults could find enjoyment in. But my bar for parental enjoyment was pretty low -- I was looking for music that wouldn't drive parents to rip the CD out of the minivan's player and drive over it repeatedly. My tagline -- "Music for kids that the parents won't hate" -- was a reflection of those low expectations. Even though the tagline is still not a bad reflection of my concerns, I've never been particularly enamored of it. I don't like the word "hate," and there's something distinctly negative about it (something implicitly acknowledged in the headline for the NPR piece I was in -- "Music For Kids That Even Parents Might Love"). It's time to try out a new tagline. Snakes on a plane! OK, you're right, not good. So we're going with this: Kids music worth sharing.

Review: First Time for Everything - John Carlin

FirstTimeForEverything.jpgOK, let's get the cover out of the way. Yes, it's bizarre. No, I can't explain it. And, yes, the album inside is better. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's get to the album itself. First Time for Everything is the debut kids' CD from the New York-based musician John Carlin. Carlin, like many kids' artists, had a career as a musician for adults, then started teaching music classes for kids. And, like many of those artists, his debut album is a very DIY affair, with Carlin playing every instrument. What distinguishes Everything from many other DIY albums are the flourishes of musical diversity within. The album starts off with the guitar-pop of "Eliza" and "Run Around," the latter song about how good it feels just to, well, run around. "Bein' a Dog" borrows some of melodic riff from "Time Warp, while the title track is a sauntering number featuring loose raspy vocals from Carlin. While I liked the original cuts, perhaps the nicest touches are the reworkings of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (featuring a musical interlude with acoustic guitar that's considerably different from, but very complimentary to, the original melody) and "This Little Light of Mine," which adds a small taste of a New Orleans brass band. The downside to the disk is that the production sometimes muddies the vocals (especially on Carlin's originals), making it difficult to understand them. It's something that certainly can be fixed on the next go-round. I'm gonna peg the 35-minute album as best for kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear clips of the songs here. By no means is First Time for Everything reinventing the kids' album. It's just an album with some nice new pop tunes with kid-appropriate lyrics and some old tunes presented with enough dash to make listening to the familiar melodies fresh. But if that's enough for you (and it's certainly enough for a lot of people), you could certainly do much worse. Recommended.