A Sticker For Details

#2 -- Quotations of two sentences or less on artists' websites or other promotional materials or by other websites/magazines do not require permission from the site owner. Quotations longer than two sentences, or any quotations attached to products actually sold to others, require express permission from the site owner. OK, I realize the very last part of #2 is not common, but I know that artists will quote reviews on websites, promotional materials, and even on CD wrappers/covers. I'm just covering myself in the event that somebody wants to quote me on the latter. I'm not expecting a lot of letters from that provision.

And to be clear, when I said "not expecting a lot of letters," what I meant was, "putting this out there for a cheap laugh." So imagine my surprise when I saw the latest album from Brady Rymer, Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, in all its shrink-wrapped, ready-for-retail glory:

Look there in the lower left-hand cover. That red sticker. That quotation at top, said by, erm... Who woulda thunk it? I'm pointing this out not out of vanity -- trust me, if I do that, you'll know it. Nor am I pointing it out because I don't think it's true. I meant it when I wrote it two years about Brady's last album, Every Day is a Birthday, and I still think it's a true statement. Nor am I pointing it out to make clear that doing something like this will have absolutely no impact (either way) on my opinion of an album. OK, maybe I am doing it for that last point. But mostly, I just wanted to say that I appreciated my name being spelled correctly. Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could is out on Bumblin' Bee Records on March 4.

In and Out of the "Rabbit Hole": At the Grammys with Buck Howdy

Buck Howdy attended this last weekend's Grammy celebrations, a nominee for Best Musical Album for Children for his (and partner BB's) fun Chickens album. I'll have more thoughts (and photos and comments) from the Grammys later, but Buck had written up some thoughts about his experiences this weekend and I thought they might be of interest to both consumers and fellow musicians. Thanks to Buck for letting me share them with you. **** Today I'm feeling a bit like Alice In Wonderland, having just emerged from the "rabbit hole" called The Grammy Awards. Last December our CD BUCK HOWDY WITH BB - CHICKENS was nominated in the Grammy category Best Musical Album for Children. Now that the Grammys are over I can only say that the experience as a nominee is simply surreal - from the parties leading up to the big event, to the Red Carpet stroll we took (interviewed along the way by CNN, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, MTV), to the marathon award sessions. One highlight was the nominee reception. Its a gathering where nominee medallions are presented (while everyone still feels like a winner) and where even a turkey-farming-singing-cowboy can rub shoulders and visit with legends like Charlie Louvin; Whisperin' Bill Andersen; young jazz star Eldar; country sensations Montgomery Gentry and too many others to recount It's a wonder BB and I didn't get whiplash, "Look there's the Foo Fighters; wait, look over there, isn't that Taylor Swift? Wow, John Tesh got old and he needs a haircut!" Another highlight was the Kids Artist breakfast on Saturday morning at the Biltmore Hotel - a wonderful gathering of nominees and other kids artists as well as media, distributors and promoters. It's an event that should be repeated often and attended by everyone who has anything to do with making music for kids or families. Lynn Orman of Orman Music & Media and Beth Blenz-Clucas of Sugar Mountain PR co-hosted the event, and about 40 artists and industry folks were there.

A Last-Minute Valentine's Day Gift (or Two)

Never called the florist? Didn't have time to buy chocolate? Oh, well, the Internet has provided a couple free mp3s for your listening pleasure. First up, Charity Kahn from the Bay Area-basedCharity and the JAMband has posted "Moon Hug," a mellow love song just as appropriate for a parental mash note to a child. Kahn says in an e-mail that she's working on a new album and the track is from that upcoming album. And, across the Bay, the Hipwaders have posted "Valentine" at their Myspace page. It's more of a puppy-love song straight out of the '60s. Both are available for download today only...

Video: "You Can Be Anything" - Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang

I can't say that "You Can Be Anything," off Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang's non-holiday, self-titled debut CD, is my favorite track off that CD. (Gwendolyn, make a video for "Anatomy," stat!) But the newly released video, if you're about 3 years old, seems like it hits a whole bunch of sweet spots. Animation, fire trucks, other kids dancing -- yeaaaaaahhhh.... Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang - "You Can Be Anything" (link is now updated)

And for the adults, about 36 seconds in, your topic is whether ELO merits the #8 ranking. Discuss.

Proof That I'm Still Weird

As if I needed more proof. Having a website devoted to a particular subject area -- in this case, kids music -- obviously draws other similarly-inclined readers and can make one think, "hey, this is kinda popular!" Until you vote in a massive year-end poll -- in this case, Idolator's 2007 Pop Critics Poll -- and realize that you are, indeed, weird. OK, not weird, perhaps, but clearly my taste in music (submitted based on "professional" obligations, anyway) does not closely align with anyone else's. Here's the proof. Heck, at least last year, I think someone besides me at least voted for the Dan Zanes disk. It's really too bad, because I keep saying (and said so in my own ballot) that there's great music in the genre for all ages if you're only willing to give it a shot. I really couldn't have filled out that ballot to look like other voters anyway because I barely listened to 10 "adult" albums in 2007 that were from 2007. It usually takes me 6 to 12 months just to get caught up. (I think I'll finally get to that new Georgie James disk next week.) So, for what it's worth, here are my top 5 albums of the year, adult division. 1. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga: Oh, how I adore this CD. It's not even close -- my favorite of the year by far. 2. They Might Be Giants - The Else: Which isn't to say this album was bad by any means. My favorite TMBG "adult" album since John Henry. 3. The Broken West - I Can't Go On, I'll Go On: A case of 8 or 9 OK-to-good songs and 3 awesome songs. Works for me. Roots-pop-rock. 4. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver: Technically speaking, I didn't even hear this in its entirety until 2008. But it's good. Really good. 5. (Tie) Feist - The Reminder / Kelly Willis - Translated From Love: Depends on whether I want my female singer-songwriting fix close to the Canadian or Mexican border.

Interview: John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants)

They Might Be Giants were my first musical discovery. Meaning, up through and including most of high school, I was a fairly straight-laced, MTV-watching, Columbia-House-12-for-a-penny-ing music listener. And, then 20 years ago this September, they released Lincoln on the Bar/None label and that was the start of an entirely new musical direction for me, one where I actually sought out music rather than taking whatever was most easily consumed. I take that brief personal detour for two reasons: 1) In one sense, the fact that I've got this website charged with finding great music for kids and families is due, in some small way, to that 20-year-old album. 2) It provides an interesting perspective to me as I consider the words of John Flansburgh, who founded the band as a duo with John Linnell 25 years ago and who now navigates with Linnell both a very independent course as a band but also one that has them working with many large media corporations. Flansburgh, who, along with Linnell and the rest of TMBG, has released two excellent album in the past 12 months -- the adult-oriented The Else last summer and the kids-focused Here Come the 123s last week -- took some time out from his busy schedule to answer some questions about the new CD/DVD set. Read on for Flansburgh's thoughts on the influence of "Sesame Street" on their work for kids, how they went about picking animators and directors for the video, the future of the Podcast for Kids, and much more. Zooglobble: What sort of music did you listen to in your childhood? John Flansburgh: My mom avidly listens to a bunch of quite specific music that is very non-rock and very non-kid: Noel Coward, Joan Baez, Louie Armstrong, Lotte Lenya (which was very mysterious to me as a kid). West Side Story and Cabaret were routinely played at top volume to inspire housecleaning. I had some Beatles and Monkees albums I bought with birthday money that I essentially memorized, and some very odd kiddie albums I inherited from a distant relative that were truly strange. One was called Happy Birthday to You! and even at a very young age I was suspicious it was a bit of a rushed effort. Side two got pretty grim. You've mentioned Sesame Street as an inspiration for your kids' CDs -- is that the music, the visuals, or both? Both. Personally, as abstract or maybe as obvious as this sounds, when we first embarked on kids' stuff I felt it was important that it be focused directly to kids. I know that notion contradicts what a lot of people say is our kids' stuff's fundamental appeal, but for me it was the essential difference from our adult efforts. I never wanted anyone to walk away from the kids' stuff thinking we were rock guys some how goofing on kids or kids' stuff. No inside jokes for adults allowed, and no pandering. Sesame Street was very good at avoiding any kind of pandering vibe that poisons so much kids' stuff. Also, Sesame Street, and specifically the Muppets on Sesame Street, established this perfect tone. They balanced educational material with very original ideas and actual entertainment. It's breezy. Did you primarily write the songs for the album in a concentrated burst, or was it a case of polishing up song snippets you'd written sporadically over the past few years?