Welcome to those of you finding your way here due to
my interview with Melissa Block on Wednesday's
All Things Considered, her post on
her family's favorite recent kids music,
my post on my favorite recent kids music, or because you accidentally typed "Zooglobble" instead of, say, "Aniston and Vaughn break up" into your favorite search engine.
Whatever the reason, I'm glad you're here. There's lots of great music for kids and families being released these days, and it's easier than ever to find out about it. I'd like to think this site's played a small role in that -- this site's been active since 2004, and since that time I've reviewed more than 140 CDs, conducted several interviews, and generally spread the word about kids music and musicians.
You can find reviews under the artist links on the right-hand side sidebar. If you're looking for the cream of the (recent) crop, here's
my list of the year's 20 best albums, with links. For an even more broad-based approach, check out the
2006 Fids & Kamily Poll, a collection of Top 10 lists from a whole bunch of people who've spent a fair amount of time listening to kids and family music. (My reviews of the winning albums are
here, but you should definitely check out the F&K site.)
You might also be interested in the following links:
-- Reviews of the
Wee Hairy Beasties' Animal Crackers,
Johnny Bregar's Hootenanny, the
Jellydots' Hey You Kids!, and
Sam Hinton's Whoever Shall Have Some Good Peanuts, all mentioned in the interview. Also, another fall album worth checking out is the
Sippy Cups' Electric Storyland.
--
Links to my reviews of
albums mentioned by Melissa Block in her listing of her family's favorite kids CDs.
-- Interviews with
Dan Zanes,
Justin Roberts, and
others.
-- My beliefs as they relate to kids music, both for a
slightly younger and
slightly older crowd.
-- Some
Frequently Asked Questions
I have a
Myspace page, too. No, I'm still not quite sure why, but if you want to be my "friend," drop me a line.
If you're an artist and are interested in submitting an album for review, I'd love to hear it. Find more details on how to go about this
here.
Finally, there are some dedicated writers on kids and family music included in the sidebar there to the right, and I encourage you to check 'em out, but I want to highlight sites run by my fellow Fids & Kamily organizers Amy Davis and Bill Childs,
The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What To Think and
Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child.
Amy reviews a lot of the same music I do here, but also pays attention to other kid-pop cultural stuff with a breezy writing style. And Bill and his 7-year-old daughter Ella have a
great kids radio show that's available via podcast every Saturday (with fun updates during the week).
If you've made it this far, I'm amazed. Have fun exploring and thanks for stopping by.
When playing toddler standards, simplicity works wonders, but it's also nice to take a slightly different approach from the hundreds of recordings that have preceded you. Josh Levine for Kids, from New York City musician Josh Levine stands out from most by mixing in some Latin songs in with the English-language standards (and sometimes reworking those). For example, Levine turns the "Alphabet Song" and the "Hokey Pokey" into gentle mambos. (I liked the slight but snappy "I Am a Pumpkin," featuring the Venezuelan cuatro, in particular.) On the Latin side, the slinky "Tiburon" ("Shark") showcases Levine's keyboard work and "Mi Cuerpo Hace Musica" has nice percussion work from Levine and Guillermo Cardenas. Levine also lends his alto to his own music accompanying Edith Segal's "A Real Bouquet," a sweet song in praise of diversity.
Though the album encourages movement on the part of the listener, in general it exudes the mellow vibe of a lazy, sun-drenched afternoon. I kept on having "Getz/Gilberto" flashbacks -- I wasn't expecting "The Girl from Ipanema," really, but there's a certain timelessness to the jazzy Latin rhythms that will keep it from aging. I think the 22-minute album's most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7. You can hear samples at Josh's music for kids page.
Whether you're looking for some slightly different takes on toddler favorites, to broaden your family's musical palette, or just for a nice, low-key 20-minute timeout, Josh Levine For Kids is a good place to start. Recommended.
