They Might Be Giants' "Here Come The 123s" Delayed. Oh, the Humanity!

While in Austin, I ignored my e-mail from Amazon saying that the new They Might Be Giants kids' CD/DVD, Here Come the 123s would now be released February 5, a period so far in the future the major political parties might have already selected their 2008 Presidential candidates. Sigh. Oh, well, not all is lost, They Might Be Giants fans. The band has noted this video which, for many reasons, warms my heart. Song Concert

ACL Fest (Austin Kiddie Limits) 2007: Day 3 Report

You know, by the time you've been listening to music for about 20 hours in a 36-hour period, your focus tends to wander. Yeah, yeah, drums. Yo La Tengo, sure. Where the heck is that water bottle? But I came here to Austin with a job to do and I'm going to do it. After all, I'm a professional. Actually, no, I'm not. But I'm here. In any case, Day 3 here at the Austin Kiddie Limits stage and I'm without Miss Mary Mack, who slept in until 9 AM this morning and is relaxing back at the (metaphorical) ranch with her grandma. After filing my Day 2 report at the press tent, I dashed over to the stage, just in time to catch We Go To 11... pose for pictures. Sorry, guys, maybe next time.

ACL Fest (Austin Kiddie Limits) 2007: Day 2 Report

OK. It's 11:15 AM Sunday, and I'm in the press tent. I am -- of course -- sweating like a really sweaty dog. The kid-band We Go To 11 start in about 15 minutes, and I'm probably about a 14-minute walk from the AKL stage, so, uh, I'm going to be brief. (Well, probably not, but briefer than I otherwise would be.) Miss Mary Mack and I had a leisurely morning on Saturday. Since the Bummkinn Band and Jambo were playing the first two sets on Saturday and we'd seen 'em on Friday, we took a pass. (The fact that we'd be watching music until 9 PM thanks to the Family Music Meltdown also, uh, played a role in the decision here.) So we got to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage a little into the Sippy Cups' first set of the day. SippyCupsACL.jpgThe Sippys had the most impressive stage setup of the day. Banners on the side and bright day-glo costumes to rival Bjork's for long-distance visibility. The crowd was definitely bigger today than on Friday. Must be something about that whole school is on Friday thing. Their first set was mostly covers, finishing with their reworking of "I Wanna Be Sedated," changed into "I Wanna Be Elated." Can you call it a mosh pit if nobody's actually bouncing off one another, just bouncing up and down?

ACL Fest (Austin Kiddie Limits) 2007: Day 1 Report

"I love the Austin Kiddie Limits -- that's great. It's because nobody in the audience is reading the blogs saying, 'That guy is over.' They're either crying and asking mommy to go home or they love it." -- James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem at Austin City Limits Festival 2007 But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll spare you the rest of the story about "Day 0" -- the flight to Dallas was fine, and although I was overly optimistic about getting out of the Fort Worth area ahead of the rush hour traffic, it was an uneventful drive through central Texas. Really, it was stuff that makes for poor website reading and I don't have the time. So the next morning, Miss Mary Mack (yes, that's the name I'm giving her, thanks to loyal reader Katy for the suggestion -- she loves that song) and I got in the car and drove to downtown Austin. We got there around 10:30, boarded the shuttle bus and took the long, slow drive to Zilker Park. ACLentry.jpgAfter securing my pass, we went in a side gate for press and others, thereby passing the crowds here, which, I didn't realize at the time, were waiting for an 11 AM entrance. We got inside, then all of a sudden I heard the theme music for "Chariots of Fire" and the gates opened up and people started streaming in. Nice touch. After wandering around a bit (a common theme for the day), we headed on over to the Austin Kiddie Limits stage to catch the first act of the day: Sara Hickman.

ACL Fest (Austin Kiddie Limits) 2007: Day 0 Report

I'm sitting in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, availing myself of their free Wi-Fi, and I'm proud to say that the first 90 minutes of this trip has gone off without a hitch. Without a hitch, I tell you! Boarding passes retrieved? Check! Last-minute bathroom run made? Check! First snack selection given my daughter's A-OK? Check! My goal for the flight? To get to Dallas with everyone happy and with a website name for my daughter so I don't have to constantly call her "my daughter." With any luck, I'll have a Day One post sometime Saturday morning. Gotta go -- they're boarding.

Review: Jump in the Jumpy House - Mr. David

JumpInTheJumpyHouse.jpgHow to describe Jump in the Jumpy House, the recently-released third CD for kids from San Jose, California-based artist Mr. David?.... How about... "this album sounds like nothing else you've heard all year." Well, yes, but that's what I said about his last album, The Great Adventures of Mr. David, so perhaps I need to find different words, because it doesn't sound like that CD, either. Whereas the previous album had a strong folk and folk-rock influence, the new album has more diversity of sound -- the garage rock of the title track, aided by the propulsive guitar work of Greg Lisher from Camper Van Beethoven; the gentle Spanish guitar on "Miss Pila"; the early New Wave sounds of "Hey! It's Lunchtime!" Mr. David (real name: David Alexandrou) does a passable Johnny Cash impression on "Them Devils," or at least is obviously inspired by him there. I also love the brief "Ragtime Honey," a sweet little ragtime instrumental that's a nice palate-cleansing (or aural-cleansing) at the center of this 31-minute album before plunging into the second side. In an interview here last year, Mr. David said he was proud of "putting out a kind of children’s music that really is different." There's no doubt he's doing that. There are times on this CD when I wonder if it really isn't a little too different. "Cabin Blues" is pretty abstract for a kids' song, about passing the days in a (vacation) cabin. The leadoff "Crocodiles Are Hungry" is almost stream-of-consciousness, barely touching on crocodiles and ending with a tribute to "John, Paul, George, and Ringo." (Favorite line: "People always ask me, 'How can you spend so much time up in your hammock?' / I say, 'Because man, I got pink lemonade!'") I think this is one of those albums that will probably divide listeners. Some families will absolutely adore this album for its adventurousness while others might think that "Jump in the Jumpy House" rocks and "Little Girl" is a sweet little song and the rest is just a little too weird. The album is probably most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear (and download) "Hey! It's Lunchtime" and "Jump in the Jumpy House" at Mr. David's Myspace page or hear samples of all the tracks here. Jump in the Jumpy House is another wildly imaginative album from Mr. David. It's got some fun beats and lyrical pictures. Even if the album isn't quite your family's cup of lemonade, though, you have to hand it to Mr. David for indeed stretching the boundaries of what kids music can be. Recommended.