A reminder about three contests going on RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE! (Unless, of course, you're reading this on Saturday. In which case, that sense of urgency up above is going to sound sort of silly.)
1. Pick the Top 5 Kids' Songs of All Time -- the person closest to the actual songs (that would be, er, my list) wins a free CD from a selection of my choosing. Entries are due before I post songs 16 through 20, which will probably happen in the next day or so.
2. Vote in the KidVid Tournament Final -- One randomly-selected voter will get to choose between copies of Captain Bogg & Salty's Pegleg Tango and Frances England's Fascinating Creatures, fine albums both of them. Voting closes tomorrow (Tuesday) night.
3. What Historical Event/Personage Should the Deedle Deedle Dees Write A Song About? -- Tell us, and win a copy of the Deedle Deedle Dees' great new album Freedom in a Box, not for you, for your local school or library system.
But that's not all on #3. Lloyd Miller, Ulysses Dees himself, has offered to actually write a song based on the event or person you list. That's right, folks, not only are you contributing a CD to a local school or charity, you're contributing a song to the world at large. How totally cool. So if you haven't entered, DO SO NOW. (Entries are due by Thursday night.) TR would want you to.
Listen To This: Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke
When I hear good new music that doesn't even have a record associated with it, I'm sometimes tempted to keep it secret, to spring it upon the world when the record is finished.
Luckily, I soon come to my senses, recognizing that not only is that a stupid idea (I'm probably not the only one who knows), but it's a selfish one, of course. And since the sharing, communal nature of much of kids' music is one of its most appealing points, being selfish about good music seems, well, just so wrong.
And so I am happy to share this music from New Jersey-based Key Wilde. Key seems mostly drawn (pun unintended -- really) to the visual arts, but the seven songs from an upcoming CD (listen here) recorded as "Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke" show a playful musical side, too. A number of the songs have a loping folk-country feel, but "Favorite Names" is a fun multilingual punk tune, while "Rattling Can" is an awesome bluegrass re-envisioning of "Rattling Bog."
Fans of Frances England and Dan Zanes should definitely check the songs. (Which, I should note, have already received some airplay on Belinda & Hova's show. See what I mean? Somebody else knows.)
And then, yes, I will tell you when the CD finally comes out.
KidVid Tournament 2007 Final: "Pieces of 8ight" vs. "Tricycle"
Well, we're down to the final contest of KidVid Tournament 2007: "Pieces of 8ight" from Captain Bogg & Salty up against "Tricycle" from Frances England.
I'm really looking forward how these two fun (but completely different) videos do when pitted against one another.
Now, I'm expecting more than 100 comments below based on the response these videos generated previously. One of those lucky voters will get their choice of the CD from which these songs are drawn, courtesy of the artists themselves. (Thanks, artists themselves!) The randomly-selected voter will get to choose, and you're not restricted to the band you voted for -- perhaps you're a huge Captain Bogg & Salty fan and want to see what all the Frances England fuss is about.
Vote in the comments below. Rules: Video with most votes wins. One vote per e-mail address, please. Votes due by Tuesday 11 PM-ish East Coast time.
And remember, this contest is for entertainment purposes only. Please -- no wagering.
"Pieces of 8ight" - Captain Bogg & Salty
This video, directed by Vince Malone, is from the band's fund second album, Pegleg Tango. It's got a sly sense of humor ("Go Bobcats.") and captures the band's energy and sense of play.
"Tricycle" - Frances England
This video is for a song off of England's fabulous debut CD, Fascinating Creatures. The video's director, Jane Holland, says that they "shot and produced the simple little video from a child's eye view." It's simple, but the approach fits the song quite well.
Review in Brief: My Precious One - Miss Amy
OK, to begin with, no, that's not the best album cover I've ever seen ("What exactly is she looking at?," you might be thinking). But parenting is about not judging things by their cover and expecting everything to be perfectly designed, because if you do, you'll be disappointed and miss out on some cool stuff.
So My Precious One, the third album from New Jersey-based Miss Amy does have some cool stuff. Unlike her first two CDs, which took a fairly uptempo approach, this CD, released last year, is a collection of quiet songs and lullabies. It's also my favorite of her three CDs. As lullaby albums go, it deftly sidesteps the traditional list of lullabies, only including "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "The Water Is Wide" as familiar melodies here. While some songs don't work so well (the whistling on the cowboy-inspired "Get Along" being a prime example), there are some sweet arrangements here, particularly the wordless vocals on "Soft As the Snow" and "Goodnight Sweetheart." I also like the sly humor of recording a lullaby called "Are You Ready To Rock?"
These are for the most part actual lullabies, so I'll peg the age range here at ages 0 through 5. You can samples from the album (which also raises funds for the March of Dimes) at its CD Baby page or hear her rendition of "The Water Is Wide" at her Myspace page.
There's no reinventing the wheel here, Miss Amy's My Precious One is simply an album of lullabies that melds tasteful arrangements with a nice voice and sweet melodies. As lullaby albums go, this is a pretty good one.The Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time: Songs 21-25
Once again, somebody asked when the next entry in this series would be posted just as I planning the post. My readers are nothing if not persistent and possibly endowed with mind-reading abilities. Just another side benefit of reading this website.
With this entry, your opportunity to enter my contest to guess the Top 5 is rapidly disappearing. All entries are due before I post songs 16 through 20, which I expect to do this upcoming week. Winner gets a free CD. You might want to look at the previous entries...
Songs 26 through 30
Songs 31 through 35
Songs 36 through 40
Songs 41 through 45
Songs 46 through 50
25. "Teddy Bears' Picnic" - John Walter Bratton (music) / Jimmy Kennedy (lyrics): Amazing what you learn in putting these lists together. Did you know the music for this song was written exactly 100 years ago? And then when words were added 25 years later, the resulting recording sold more than one million copies? (Thanks, Wikipedia!) The lyrics are probably what amuses the kiddos, but I love the way the melody bounces up and around. Recorded by many (Trout Fishing in America and Garcia/Grisman, among others), but why not listen to the original million-seller here?
24. "We Are the Dinosaurs" - Laurie Berkner: Long after Jack's Big Music Show has ended production, long after CDs have stopped production for some method of music distribution we can't even fathom, little kids will be singing this song. The earworm-y beginning -- "we are the dinosaurs, marching, marching, we are the dinosaurs..." followed by the "WHADDAYA THINK OF THAT?!!" and the timpani drum is, well, the opening strains of Beethoven's Fifth of the late 20th century kids' music resurgence. (Watch Laurie's Noggin video here.)
23. "This Little Light" - Traditional: It's a Christian hymn, but it's been used in the civil rights struggle of the 1960's and in countless other secular situations. Can I hide this song under a bushel? No! (You can listen to one of my personal favorite renditions -- the very first song on Elizabeth Mitchell's very first kids' album You Are My Flower -- on Mitchell's website. Click on "flower," then "listen".)
22. "Row Row Row Your Boat - Traditional (lyrics), Eliphalet Orem Lyte (music): While I'm not quite sure I agree with Wikipedia's existential explication of the lyrics, it's definitely not the most mind-easing set of lyrics if the parent is really paying attention to the lyric. Luckily, the words are so ingrained in our brain we don't need to pay attention to it in order to sing it. (And, as a result, there is absolutely no need to give you a sound clip. It's already stuck in your brain now anyway.)
21. "Baby Beluga" - Raffi and Debi Pike: This is the biggest hit from the biggest children's musician of all time. Shouldn't this be, like, #2? I feel bad putting it at #21 instead of somewhat higher, but I don't think it's the easiest song for kids to sing by themselves. But there are a bunch of kids who are singing it with their parents (who sang it with their parents). (Listen to the song at Raffi's Myspace page.)
Readers Who Need Readers: Help Identify This Album
A request from a reader who is disdainful of capitalization (but that's ok, i am too sometimes):
i am hoping you can help me put a name to a musician i remember from
my childhood... here are all the details i can remember:
> early 70s
> it was on a cassette tape (possibly from sears)
> the cassette had a face on it, with the reel holes being eyes
> folk songs interspersed with short narration about the songs
> the only songs i can remember for sure: someone's in the kitchen, jimmy crack corn, something about flies (shoo fly ple?)
> mostly (if not all) guitar and maybe banjo
A brief Google search on my part turned up nothing -- I think this is going to have to rely on a reader with a long memory. Any suggestions? Leave 'em in the comments.
