When I posted that song from Lunch Money the other day, I knew that there was more good stuff on its way, and now it's here, courtesy of the Tricycle Music Fest's blog. Y'know, for a first year of a music festival, the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County done good.
The first track is another great uptempo track in the vein of "Cookie As Big As My Head," except this one features dinosaurs, so it's bound to be a massive hit.
Lunch Money - "Tiny Dinosaurs"
The other new track posted is a slower song featuring a "ribbit, ribbit" singalong chorus. It's more of a story song than I'm used to hearing from the band, but it's still a sweet listen.
Lunch Money - "Somehow a Frog Finds a Pond"
Kids' Compilation of the Year Race Heats Up: For The Kids 3 To Be Released Oct. 2nd
OK, you already know how great I think the DeSoto kids' comp Play is.
But Pitchfork reports today that Nettwerk, headquartered in Canada, and who've already released a couple decent kids music comps in their For The Kids series, is compiling a third installment, to be released October 2nd. The original Billboard.com article has the track listing, which would have to put it in competition with Play on the basis of the artist listing alone: Blitzen Trapper, Mates of State, Hem, Jolie Holland, and others. Of Montreal strikes me as either an inspired or an insane choice -- we shall see. The album nicks the Great Lake Swimmers' awesome "See You On the Moon," from the 2006 Paper Bag Records kids comp of the same name (that would be last year's Canadian kids comp).
These compilations have never really depended heavily on artists working primarily in the kids' music genre for material, and this edition is no exception. The sole kids' music group? The Sippy Cups, who lend their version of "I'm A Believer" off of their Kids Rock For Peas! for the CD.
Tracklisting after the jump. (Yeah, I'm gonna make you click. I'm so mean.)
When I Say You've Never Heard These CDs, I'm Not Talking About You in Particular
Another week, another piece of mine on Education.com. This time it's "Five Great Kids' CDs You've Probably Never Heard." Regular readers probably have heard all of these CDs (heck, a couple of the bands listed have been discussed here in the past couple weeks), but if your kids' music diet has been limited to intakes of Jack (the music show, not the bourbon), Disney, or NPR, or assorted award-giving sites, here are five CDs you should get to know ASAP. Go forth and enjoy.
DVD Review Two-Fer: Jim Cosgrove / Eric Ode
I receive a lot of CDs every week, some good, some bad, but not so many DVDs. I expect DVDs to become a much bigger deal in the world of kids' music here in the next couple years as artists look to connect with their audience in multiple ways, beyond just recorded music and concerts. It's also a way to help artists develop more of an identity nationally. (It's also a way to generate additional revenue, but that would be a rather crass way of putting it, I suppose.)
For the moment, however, the number of DVDs is still more accurately a trickle rather than a flood. Musicians Jim Cosgrove and Eric Ode each released a DVD relatively recently, and it's worth a glance to see the results of some of the early settlers of the kids' music DVD field.
Listen To This: Lunch Money, "Cookie As Big As My Head"
There are a number of releases in the works for the rest of 2007, but none I am anticipating more than the second album of South Carolina-based trio Lunch Money. It's approaching three years since the release of their debut CD, the small gem Silly Reflection (review), and that's just way too long, y'know? Their lo-fi songs, slightly remiscent of Yo La Tengo or Spoon at its most minimalist, have stayed fresh after repeated listening...
So thanks to Gwyneth, who caught the band's set at Chicago's Summer on Southport Festival a couple weeks ago, and preserved this new track for the world (or at least the world with access to YouTube) to see. "Cookie As Big As My Head" is another instantly catchy melody (though the bass seems particularly high in this mix) married to sharp lyrics ("By the way, my cookie policy is / I'm a chocolate chip girl / We can [something] Pecans and walnuts / [something else] Is winter coming? / Are you trying to tell me that I look like a squirrel? / I want a cookie as big as my head...") OK, I'm sure the lyrics will be sharper on disk. [Note: Thanks to Lunch Money songwriter extraordinaire Molly Ledford for setting things straight in the comments.]
Jim James Is Kermit and Alvin at Kidapalooza
Thank goodness for the internet. Without it, there'd be no way for me to show you Jim James' kinda-accurate impersonation of Kermit the Frog at this weekend's Kidzapalooza. Here he does "Rainbow Connection," accompanying himself on banjo:
And if that wasn't enough, James, the front man front from the excellent My Morning Jacket, turns Alvin and the Chipmunks' novelty hit "Christmas Don't Be Late" into something almost haunting. Yeah, it's August, but it's worth a couple minutes of your time...
It's not clear how many kids were actually in that crowd of what looked to be primarily people over 5' 6", though...
