Video: "Even Numbers" - They Might Be Giants

This is not my favorite song on They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s CD, but it might just be the most-beautiful video on They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s DVD. Yes, it's the "next installment": Tell me that's not an awesome picture book come to life. Plus an additional video ("Letter Shapes") and an awesomely dorky-but-tuneful theme song for the podcast.

Listen To This: "Zeroes" - They Might Be Giants

While we wait for the next installment of They Might Be Giants' Podcast for Kids (did you catch last week's gorgeously animated ballad "Even Numbers," along with "Letter Shapes" from Here Come the ABCs and the John and John finger puppets singing a silly song of their own?), how about listening to a song the old-fashioned way? You know, on Myspace? Catch TMBG's stream of the bright, South American-inflected "Zeroes" from Here Come the 123s here. E eats everything, so perhaps as punishment they've taken it out of the title of the song on the Myspace page.

Listen To This: "Tiny Dinosaurs" - Lunch Money

I know I'm a little late on this, but wanted to point out that the fabulous Lunch Money now has ("have"? grammar people, help me out here) their own Myspace page. (About time!) Even better, it's streaming a new recording of a track intended to appear on their next album. "Tiny Dinosaurs" encourages roaring, always a fun thing for kids to do. Who knew there was a dinosaur called "microceratops?" (Go here to see them performing this song live this past summer.) Oh, and go ahead and listen to "Silly Reflection" and "Yes We Have Rhythm" from their debut CD at the Myspace page. You know you want to.

Sara Hickman: Sings "Iolana," Drinks Beer (Not Simultaneously)

One of the best parts of Sara Hickman's performance at the Austin Kiddie Limits Festival last September was her performance of "Iolana," from her album Big Kid (that's the song I made my Bob Dylan reference for). Well, the fine folks at DadLabs got Sara to visit them in their studio and give them another performance. (Warning: I think I've skipped past some of the saltier language in the first half of the video -- yes, a post with kids' songs that has salty language, great -- but in case I'm still low-tech here, the song starts about 4:30 into the video.) Between this and part 1 of the interview, Hickman sounds like she'd be a heckuva fun person to have a beer with. (Note: the song in this first part is hysterical, but definitely not for the kiddos.)

A Tip of Two Caps

I should have posted this before now, but it's been a busy three days 'round these parts. In any case, I wanted to note news from the kidstuneoblogosphere (yeah, I got a feeling that's the first and last time I'll be using that phrase). First, Warren Truitt from the excellent Children's Music That Rocks website announced that he was going on hiatus due to his library's building being sold and the library being kicked out. "I'll be back...," he promises, and that's a good thing. Also, Clea Hantman, who spun both kids music and music that kids just dug at (sm)all ages until deciding to focus once more on writing actual books than just mp3 posts, just released her latest book, 30 Days To Getting Over That Dork You Used To Call Your Boyfriend. Clea says, "it is the perfect gift for that 12-47 year old in your life who needs some perking up, some life lessons, some joy. It's filled with activities, nuggets of inspiration and of course, bitchin' soundtrack suggestions!" You can buy it in your friendly neighborhood bookstore or here. And, thankfully, there's another mp3 blog to go with it -- Getting Over the Dork. Great break-up tunes. Hopefully you don't need it right now, but you never know...