Contest: Win Ralph's World / House of Blues Tour Tickets

Sure, you've had your chance to win tickets for the upcoming Ralph's World tour of House of Blues venues across the United States. But you haven't had a chance to provide Ralph suggestions as to what he should play during this, the first tour of a kids music artist in House of Blues venues (including San Francisco's Fillmore and Portland's Aladdin Theatre). Kinda cool, no? So, here are the rules. By 8 PM MST Thursday, January 25, in the comments below list which city you'd like to see Ralph's World in and the three songs your family would like to see the band play. (If you want to explain why, go ahead!) The winner will be picked at random and notified at the e-mail address you provide when you make the comment. The winner will receive 4 tickets to the concert of his or her choice on the tour below. Four tickets! Sweet! If you don't win (or even if you do), you can get more info on the tour and order tickets by clicking on the link below.

2/3/2007 House of Blues Anaheim, CA 2/4/2007 Fillmore San Francisco,CA 2/10/2007 House of Blues San Diego, CA 2/11/2007 Aladdin Theatre Portland,OR 2/17/2007 House of Blues West Hollywood,CA 2/18/2007 Moore Theatre Seattle,WA 2/24/2007 House of Blues Las Vegas,NV 2/25/2007 Boulder Theater Boulder, CO 3/3/2007 House of Blues Chicago, IL 3/4/2007 Somerville Theatre Somerville,MA 3/10/2007 House of Blues Cleveland,OH 3/11/2007 Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia,PA 3/17/2007 House of Blues - Orlando Lake Buena Vista, FL 3/18/2007 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA 3/24/2007 House of Blues - Music Hall New Orleans,LA 3/25/2007 The Pageant St. Louis, MO

Review: Taxi - David Weinstone (Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals)

Nearly ten years ago, New York City musician (and parent) David Weinstone, dissatisfied with assorted kids music programs, decides to start one of his own. The result, Music For Aardvarks and Other Mammals, became a popular program in its own right in New York City, even expanding beyond New York City. Over those nearly ten, Weinstone's put together 10 CDs of original material to accompany the classes. This week sees the release of Taxi, one of three compilations of material from the first 10 CDs. (It reflects favorites of both Weinstone and class attendees.) I decided deliberately to listen to Taxi without finding out more about how the songs were used in MFA classes because I think the purpose of these CDs is to introduce the music to a much wider audience -- people like me who've never stepped foot inside a MFA class. So the question becomes, how does this hold up as an album? And the answer is, pretty good. Weinstone is definitely willing to write directly to kids' interests -- getting candy at the end of a doctor's visit in "Lollipop Doc" or the eternal fascination of the belly button in "Belly Button Song". But that wouldn't mean much if he weren't able to wrap those topics in appealing lyrics and a diverse range of musical styles. "Dirt," for example, folds lines such as "I like dirt. / Dirt's what I dig. / I like pokin' around, / with a big old twig" into a loping, brass-band march. "Have You Seen My Nose?" mixes silly lyrics about discovering one's nose (and mouth) with a laid-back Brazilian melody. "Big Boom Whacker" is a nonsensical synth-heavy tune that survives an Ah-nuld reference. My favorite track, "Ruby's Friends," is a folky waltz about pretending. (And I haven't even mentioned the Santana riff.) This isn't to say you can't tell the album's music class origins. Songs such as "Big Old Tree" and "Tango" have class participation and movement written all over them. And the "Hello" and "Goodbye" songs -- required for any kids music class -- are here, too. (They're perfectly fine to listen to.) But they don't overwhelm the album -- you could listen to them having never attended an MFA class and not feel puzzled. I think the album's most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7. You can hear snippets of all the songs at the album's CDBaby page. While there are no songs here that absolutely stand out as immediate kids' songs classics, Taxi is a strong collection of kid-appropriate and parent-friendly songs. Whether you're hearing these repeatedly between MFA classes or occasionally in the CD changer, you'll probably find them worth your family's time. Recommended.

18 + 8 = ?

This entry has nothing to do with kids music. No Laurie, no Barney, no Wiggles, no Ralph. (Really, I tried to think of a way to tie them in, and nothing clicked, short of using song titles that were a particular stretch.) So click below only if you want to read about, well, you'll just have to find out...

Readers Who Need Readers: Tom Glazer

A reader has sent me this request:

"As a kid my sister and I had many of Tom Glazer's records ("Music Ones and Twos", "Let's Sing Finger Plays" and a few others) but I have been unable to find any CDs by Tom Glazer for my twin daughters. I know he is dead now. But who owns the rights to his old recordings and are they available?"

I really only knew Tom Glazer as the performer on three of the Singing Science records from the late 1950's/early 1960's. (If you are a They Might Be Giants fan, you must immediately click on the link above.) I've ordered a couple of the disks off eBay, and got something which was, well, it didn't look like it was a fully authorized version. (Whether it did or did not pass intellectual property requirements I will leave to other, more qualified kids' music writers to determine.) This guy may be able to help the reader, but how about you... any thoughts? (Bonus link: Time magazine's recommendations for the best in kids' music... in 1960.)

Laurie Berkner: How To Succeed Without Really Trying?

I will stop talking so much about Laurie Berkner soon, but The Lovely Mrs. Davis' post on Laurie and the reasons for her success couldn't go unresponded. Typically Amy and I are pretty sympatico on our musical opinions, but we've never quite seen eye-to-eye on Berkner. (Though we've never actually "talked" about Laurie in any sense.) But I think the thing that tweaked me about Amy's post is twofold: 1. Laurie's not talented 2. Laurie's not "indie" (and that somehow is bad) Amy's view is that there are "numerous other artists whose talent for writing and performing kids' music far surpass Laurie's." Taste is, of course, subjective, but I can't think of many artists for preschoolers who are better than Laurie -- she writes good melodies, lyrics, and has one heck of a voice (if you think she can't sing a "regular" song, check out her duet on "Happy Trails" with Buck Howdy on his Giddyup! album). In her videos (don't know about her concerts), she has an engaging personality. (OK, her albums are a bit underproduced, I'll grant you that.) Her focus is a bit narrower than other artists who might try to hit the elementary school crowd, and I wouldn't play her albums for myself like I might with some other kids' music artists, but Laurie is very, very good at what she does and I'm not sure who'd rank above Laurie for the preschool set. Raffi, perhaps. As for the "indie" argument, I've always found that argument rather tired. "Indie" has always meant more than the source of the music -- it's meant the approach. But, taking the argument at face value, is it true? First off, Razor and Tie would qualify as an "indie" label for most people ("New York-based Razor & Tie is one of the fastest growing independent entertainment companies in the United States." -- from Razor and Tie's website). If it's somehow not an independent label, that means such artists as Elizabeth Mitchell (Smithsonian Folkways), the Terrible Twos (Vagrant/Paquito), Gustafer Yellowgold (Little Monster), or Peter Himmelman (Rounder) don't count as "indie," either. "Doing their own marketing" isn't a good way of describing "indie," either, as artists such as Justin Roberts, Dan Zanes, and Brady Rymer all have talented publicity people working for them. Even if you disagree with my definitions and think Razor and Tie is not "indie", the simple fact is that Berkner is recording her albums on her own dime -- she's just using Razor and Tie for the "production and distribution" of her Two Tomatoes albums. She's like 99% of kids' artists out there -- just with a far, far better distribution arrangement, and one that I guarantee most would take. It's sort of like the Wiggles discussion... Amy does bring up a good point regarding marketing to kids, and I have no disagreement there. So I still think Amy's fabulous and lovely. But in this case, I'm gonna have to disagree. Thoughts?

Review in Brief: Songs for the Coolest Kids - Princess Katie and Racer Steve

Let's be upfront and say that the songs on Songs for the Coolest Kids, the debut album from New York-based Princess Katie and Racer Steve, are geared directly at kids ages 4 through 8. Would you listen to these songs on your own, without your kids around? Probably not. Why not? The subject matter and directness of the lyrics aren't written with you in mind. On "Tell the Truth," for example, the chorus goes "Tell the truth! / Nobody likes a lie / Tell the truth / It's okay to cry." Other songs talk about returning lost objects to their rightful owner and how important it is to just try. This is straight-up telling you what's right and what's wrong (or "emotional development," to use Katie and Steve's phrase), and it's great for 5-year-olds (most of the time), and a little dull for their parents. Having said that, there aren't many albums taking this approach that are as tuneful as this one. The songs here are a collection of well-done pop-rock. "Tell Them How You Feel" has a lo-fi sixties rock feel, replete with handclaps, while "Tell the Truth" sounds like 10,000 Maniacs (not least of which because Princess Katie sounds just like Natalie Merchant (and I know I'm not the first to make the comparison). If some of the tunes sound a lot like other songs ("Kings & Princesses" has a very .38 Special sound, while "Miracle Lullaby" is seems to be thisclose to infringing on the copyright to "Killing Me Softly"), at least the borrowing is judicious, and the kids won't mind. If you want to listen, you can go to the Princess Katie and Racer Steve website and listen to the "radio" there. You probably won't find yourself sneaking a listen when your kids are gone, but it's an appealing enough spin when they're around.