Review Two-Fer: My Best Friend is a Salamander / My Lemonade Stand - Peter Himmelman

In reviewing music here, I've tried not only to cover the latest releases from musicians familiar and not, but also filling in gaps from albums released - gasp! - more than a couple years ago, especially from significant artists. Consider this the missing pieces of my Peter Himmelman coverage, the other two albums for families I've not yet reviewed here.

My Best Friend is a Salamander, released in 1997, was Himmelman's first album for kids and families, and the first thing you might be struck by in listening to it is how it could have been released this year. Ten years later, and Himmelman's still taking socially exciting trips. What is different is just how... odd those first songs were. While on his excellent 2007 release My Green Kite he's singing about kites or feet --fairly recognizable subjects treated in mostly recognizable ways -- early on he had a much more skewed, Shel Silverstein-esque approach. He sings about his best friend... who's a salamander. In "Larry's a Sunflower Now," a dreamy adult-sounding pop tune, the narrator (who poured water all around the subject to help him grow) tells Larry's worried mom," Look at the bright side / There's nothing you can do / Larry's gettin' lots of fresh air / The sun is on his faces and / Birds are in his hair today." Himmelman's fascination with rhyming wordplay -- which continues today -- is most evident here on the gentle "An Ant Named Jane," though a number of other songs have the touch of spoken-word. Seven years later and one album in the meantime...

Music Criticism and a Nice Kids' Desk

Sharp-eyed readers of this website will notice a new button in the sidebar, one for the Land of Nod Music Store. In part of my plan to ~~take over the world~~ spread quality kids' music criticism, Zooglobble music reviews will now appear at the Land of Nod's newly relaunched music store. If you go over there (really, go, check it out), you'll see that all their CDs are priced at $13.98 or less, with free shipping to boot. Why the Land of Nod? Well, I think they're a kids' retailer who definitely "gets it," musically. Their selection is broad (rock, classical, folk, the whole gamut), but definitely hand-picked. They've been doing kids' music in their stores for some time. (When I first talked with them, I suggested a number of CDs they should pick up, including Lunch Money's Silly Reflection. They said, "Yeah, we've carried that for awhile.") And Scott Eirinberg, one of the co-founders, is a big music fan, dating back to his college music journalism days (and before, no doubt). Finally, a couple notes for those worried about conflict of interest issues. First, I am not getting paid in any way based on sales from this site. I'll link to Land of Nod pages if applicable and/or if I remember, but there's no quid pro quo involved. Second, the reviews are unedited. Well, they've edited out links to other stores (fair enough) and cleaned up spelling and grammar (thank you!), but other than that, they've left the reviews intact, warts and criticisms and all. (See their page for Woody Guthrie's Songs To Grow On For Mother and Child for an example of a less-than-stellar review.) So I'm proud to be associated with the store and hope my reviews there help some more people discover music for their family.

CD Review: Old McDonald's EIEI Radio - The Biscuit Brothers

Like many people my age, I grew up on PBS shows. Sesame Street, Electric Company, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood -- all of them great. (And so was Scooby-Doo, but that's not relevant here.) So it's been a little weird to me that the great TV kids' music show of this generation -- Jack's Big Music Show -- has never been anywhere near PBS. Which isn't to say that PBS doesn't have a show worthy of adulation right in its own backyard, if only it would share it with the world. My friends, meet the Biscuit Brothers. Produced in the musical city of Austin, Texas (and appearing on a few PBS stations, mostly in Texas), this show centers around the titular brothers, Buford and Dusty Biscuit, who live on, yes, Old McDonald's farm. Along with their sister Buttermilk Biscuit and Tiny Scarecrow, the funniest muppet this side of Kermit, they explore different components of music -- tempo, melody, or emotion, for example. Want to listen for yourself? Then try their second kids album, Old McDonald's EIEI Radio, released this spring. Lest this sound somewhat dry, let me assure you that it's not. It's rarely didactic, and the show would much rather make its point through humor, as in the classic "Chickens Playing Bongos," which features many different instruments (ferrets playing french horns, for example). The skit "Traffic Report" demonstrates the importance of conducting by illustrating what can sometimes happen without a conductor helping to orchestrate musicians' entrances and exits. The music is pretty darn good, too. Buford and Dusty (better known to friends in Austin as Allen Robertson and Jerome Schoolar) have some fabulous Americana roots arrangements of children's classics -- "Oh, Susanna!" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad" are particularly sharp. But they don't limit themselves to Americana. Their revisionist lyrics to Jacques Offenbach's classical "Can Can" (as a how-to entitled "The Can, Can!") are a hoot and a half, while The 'All Coming 'Round the Mountain' Music Block," shows how the same song can be arranged in many different ways (one of which is, apparently, lovingly ripping off the guitar riff from the Beatles' "Daytripper"). Some of the originals are classics (the aforementiond "Chickens Playing Bongos," the snappy "Make Your Shoes Move!," which includes Tiny Scarecow's classic, "Help! I'm being chased by bees... No, that's OK, they were just bees of the mind"), while I don't think the slow songs near the end worked quite as well. Maybe if there were visuals...

Review: Dos Ninos - Sugar Free Allstars

The advantage of a 27-minute kids' music CD to a reviewer is the ability to listen to the CD 6 or 7 times in 4 days. The advantage of Dos Ninos to a listener in general is that you'd probably enjoy listening to the CD 6 or 7 times in 4 days. The just-released CD is the fourth CD and the first kids and family CD from the Oklahoma-based Sugar Free Allstars, and it's a winner from start to finish. It's a somewhat brief trip, but a blast nonetheless. The band is a duo, Chris Wiser on keyboards and lead vocals, with Rob "Dr. Rock" Martin on drums and backing vocals. You may not hear a funkier kids' CD this year (at least until, say, Prince releases an album for the kids). Martin's a solid drummer, no doubt about it, but it especially warmed my heart to hear Wiser's Hammond B3 organ throughout the CD. The opening track, "Bathtub Boy," shows off the Allstars' strengths -- somewhat amusing lyrics married to a groove that it's hard not to tap at least one foot to (if not bop your head or do something more complicated). It sounds like something off a long-lost jazz CD from the '60s, that is until the break -- "Lather up / scrub him down / rinse him off" will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. And from there it moves on to such kid-friendly topics as spiders ("He's Okay (the spider song)" ), grandparents ("Poppy and MeeMaw") and a trip to the petting zoo (uh, "Petting Zoo," natch). The melodies and beats really aren't dumbed down in any way -- they've just married kid-appropriate lyrics (and pretty good ones at that) to the songs. In fact, one of the songs ("He's Okay") was originally recorded for their debut CD, and is pretty much unchanged from that version. The penultimate song, "Stinky," is pretty much an instrumental, with Wiser giving a very parental "Stanky!" chorus -- older siblings will probably get a huge kick out of it. And just when you might be getting a bit tired of the organ/drum duo bit, "Buck Up Little Camper" is a silly little Tin Pan Alley knockoff, and it's over. The songs, lyrically at least, will be of most interest to kids ages 3 through 8, but that's sort of less important than with many other CDs. You can hear long samples at the album's CDBaby page -- and really, you owe yourself to at least give "Bathtub Boy" a spin. (You can also hear four tracks at their Myspace page.) And while maybe it's the hip thing to do to record a kids' CD these day, at least give these guys credit -- they're doing a library tour this summer. This will be one of those CDs you pull out to show others that kids' music these days isn't just pop or folk. This will be one of those CDs you pull out to get your kids to shake out a little extra energy. And this will be one of those CDs you pull out to put a little grin on a lot of faces. Dos Ninos packs a great deal of fun in less than a half-hour. Definitely recommended.

Review: Dream Big! - Roger Day

Let's get the negative out of the way right from the get-go: "Turn Off the TV" might just be the worst kids' song you'll hear this year. Not only is it very "you should do this," it's also done in a faux-rap style. The combination may just make your kids want to turn off the CD player and turn on the TV for several hours watching Spike TV or something. OK. I've gotten that out of my system. It's not really the worst kids' song you'll hear this year -- certainly not the worst one I've heard this year. But it sticks out like a big ol' sore thumb on what is otherwise a pretty strong collection of kids' pop from Tennessee-based Roger Day on his third and just-released CD, Dream Big!. Day can craft decent kid-friendly pop tunes, and there are a number worth enjoying here. "I Like Yaks!" is a goofy little ditty which uses the percussive stylings of master percussionist Billy Jonas. Day also does a good job with character studies or studies. One of the best tracks is "Happy Hippos Hopping," a lilting mid-tempo story song about hippos playing (while the parents watch out for crocodiles). "Zachary Hated Bumblebees" is a simple tune of sorts relating the tale of poor Zachary which uses a string quartet to good effect. On one song after another, Day puts together well-sung lyrics and catchy melodies. For those of you looking for grit in your CDs, Day is not your man -- the lyrics are uplifting through and through (save for the snotty -- literally -- bonus track). The title track is almost too vague in its exhortation to "dream big!," but there are certainly way more vapid things to shout along in a catchy chorus. Day generally avoids the saccharine pits that musicians making overtly positive music sometimes fall into. Even though Day is very good at what he does, as with artists and bands like Joe McDermott and Milkshake, what he does won't resonate with every family, while others find him an essential component of their library. The music here will be most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 9. You can hear samples at the album's CD Baby page as well as at Day's music page. So, "Turn Off the TV" aside, Dream Big! is a nice collection of kid-friendly pop tunes with positive messages. Unless that description makes you run away with your fingers in your ears, then you'll want to give the CD a spin. Recommended.

Hannah Montana is Offsprung

I'm late posting this (as the talk is going on right now), but yesterday I posted some suggestions for today's Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana chat at Amazon over at my Offsprung site. Go and make some more mildly (or harshly) sarcastic suggestions. By the way, Offsprung is rolling out some cool community features, so if you haven't stopped by, you really should. A fun group of writers and readers, growing daily.