Well, how about this one?
At the same time that Bill and Amy and I were putting together the Fids and Kamily awards, our Pazz and Jop-inspired poll focusing on kids and family music, the masterminds behind Idolator were planning their own poll.
And despite the fact that I'm from Arizona, the state that spawned the New Times chain that took over the Village Voice, the New York newspaper that hosted Pazz & Jop for more than 30 years, then unceremoniously dumped Robert Christgau, who ran it all that time, I wangled myself an invitation to participate in the new poll. (See this NPR story for more info on the controversy.)
You can see my album votes -- which are the same as my F&K votes -- here. (I though about reordering my votes in order to vote for albums more likely to get support from the rest of the poll, but thought better of it.)
You can also see my Top 10 singles votes, which, since it was put together in about 3 minutes before deadline, probably needs some explaining. Not that those aren't great songs, but I think I need to put together a proper Top 20 list.
Frankly, the most surprising thing about the poll? I wasn't the only person to vote for kids' music:
-- Dan Zanes got two votes (though at the moment they're listed as Catch That Train! -- that would be my vote -- and Stop That Train!).
-- Paul Westerberg also got two votes for his work on the Open Season soundtrack.
-- Unsurprisingly, Bruce Springsteen placed high (#39) with his We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Session CD (Top 20 for me).
-- Uncle Rock got a vote for Plays Well With Others.
-- The Gothic Archies got a vote for The Tragic Treasury.
-- Other votes came for High School Musical, Spongebob Squarepants, Aly & AJ, Jack Johnson, and Smoosh.
You can also find some "kids music" listed in the Top Singles section.
Next year, we're asking Robert Christgau and Chuck Sasha Frere-Jones to participate in Fids & Kamily.
Mrs. Davis Loves Ralph Covert
... and Ralph loves her right back.
If you love Ralph, head on over here for your chance to win 4 Ralph's World concert tickets.
(And if you don't win there, stay tuned, because you might just have a chance at another website starting with the letter "Z.")
Minnesota Parents Know All About Fids and Kamily
I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but Bill Childs also has a gig writing about kids' music for Minnesota Parent. (Bill is Minnesotan and a parent, though not both simultaneously at the moment.) His latest column discusses half of his Fids and Kamily ballot. Find out all about Liam's favorites...
Readers Who Need Readers: Upbeat Passover Music
Readers. Readers who need... readers.
Are the luckiest readers... in the world.
Got a request from a reader as follows:
I'm looking for some upbeat Passover Song and Dance Music for children between the ages of 6- 12. Something we can beat tambourines too and for the most part has English lyrics but a Hebrew tone.I don't think the Why Not Sea Monsters? discs are quite what this reader is looking for, and other than that I don't have any good ideas. But I'm sure you do. E-mail me or just go ahead and share them in the comments. Thanks.
Review: Sir Jerry's World - Sir Jerry
Get this man a TV show. Now.
Wondering what in the world I'm talking about? Go check out the website or the music video (lower right-hand corner of the "house" -- the sky-blue horizon room -- yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's a good indication of the creativity at work with this artist.
Take one listen to Sir Jerry's World, the 2006 release and second kids' album from Toronto-based Sir Jerry, and tell me that that 37-minute album wouldn't make for a great episode of television, regardless of whether you're 8 or 38.
Sir Jerry, er, Jerry Levitan, interviewed John Lennon -- yes, that John Lennon -- when he (Jerry) was just 14 years old. As a result, a lot of his press coverage tends to make Beatles comparisons, but I don't hear it too much. Sure, perhaps in songs such as "The Chi L'in Purse," the Eastern sounds of the story song give it a very Beatles-go-to-India effect, but Sir Jerry explores a much broader musical palette. The horn-based rock of "Sir Jerry's Theme," the played-for-laughs rapping on "Do the Melman," the sheer They Might Be Giants-esque goofiness of "Swinging Through the Portals of Time," the winsome pop of "Superhero," -- all show a very Beatlesque willingness to try new things, but don't really sound like the Beatles. Another more apt comparison musically that's been suggested is David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust, which on tracks such as "King Santa" makes more sense. (And the band, led by Levitan's partner in musical crime Ruben Huizenga, sounds pretty good, too.) With so many different musical approaches and combination of jokey and less-jokey stuff, the album doesn't quite hang together, but it's definitely never boring.
The album is targeted mostly at kids ages 4 through 9. You can hear some selected tracks at Sir Jerry's website (go to the room in the upper-left-hand corner and click on the piano to hear 2 songs from each of his albums).
With an elaborate stage show (up to 10 people at a time) and time spent acting on Toronto stages, Sir Jerry would seem to be a natural person to tackle a goofy Pee Wee's Playhouse-type TV show. I like Sir Jerry's World the album. But I'd love Sir Jerry's World: The TV Show.Review: Just Look At You - Jamie Barnett
For those of you who find CDs with not one, but two, duets between adults and kids well, not worth your time, please move on. You won't like this disk.
(Are they gone? Good.)
It's a risk, of course, anytime you let a younger child sing lead on an album, but on Just Look At You, the 2005 release from California-based schoolteacher and occasional musician Jamie Barnett, the payoff is more fulfilling than a chorus of KidzBoppers.
So is the album itself, a gentle mix of guitar-based folk and other styles with a warm lyrical content. On "The Sun Shines," Barnett duets with his niece Alyssa, and when he describes her as singing "bravely" in the liner notes, the description is apt -- it sounds just like your niece might sound like, and it fits perfectly. On the soft and funky blues "I Love Pancakes," Barnett is backed by a ragged kids' chorus, as he is on a few other tracks.
Which isn't to say Barnett is entirely dependent on the younger voices -- perhaps the best track is "Goldilocks," a retelling of the fairy tale that is remiscent in both the tone and the vocals of John Prine's "Jesus - The Missing Years":
"She’s not a bad person but I’m telling you / My friend Goldilocks she does things she shouldn’t do / She walks into people’s houses but she doesn’t really care / That she doesn’t even know the people who are living there"
Add to that the retelling of the Montgomery bus boycott ("381 Days"), which is given just enough lyricism ("When Rosa Parks sat down / The people around / Did not even know what they saw / What they were looking at then / Was the beginning of the end / Of a hateful unjust law") and a singalong chorus to lift it above most history lessons set to music, and the entire album is suffused with warmth.
I think kids ages 3 through 8 are most likely to appreciate the 31-minute album, though its mostly gentle nature may make it appropriate for quiet time for even younger ones. You can hear samples of all the tracks here.
Just Look At You is a quietly powerful album, which shows, among other things, how courage can come from taking a stand or just singing along. For a change of pace from brighter, shinier pop, Barnett's album is an excellent choice. Recommended.
