I think the world of Dan Zanes. But I'm willing to acknowledge that not quite everyone is as OK with the pied piper of family music as I am.
Mark Foley, the creator of New York's One Man Blam, has put his own take on Mr. Zanes up on YouTube. Now, considering that in the very description of the video, Foley says, "Dan Zanes & Company do such great work, who can resist joining in the fun?," it's clear from the get-go that the phrase "gentle satire" was created for stuff like this.
"Well, I don't have a tangerine suit / Or a fiddler in hot pink tights," Foley starts out, then later notes that "I threw out the very same duds / He got in an old thrift shop." He's aiming Nerf balls at Zanes, but he's certainly hitting the target.
Considering the other songs Foley's made available, Foley is clearly mining the same seam Zanes has mined with such success. And I've got to believe that Zanes himself would probably completely approve what Foley's doing with One Man Blam and Volunteer Music, which brings "free concerts for underserved communities and worthy civic initiatives." He, uh, just doesn't have the distribution deal with Starbucks.
One Man Blam (Mark Foley) - "Dan Zanes Blues"
Now where did I put that DZ ukelele of mine?...
New Music: Barenaked Ladies' "Pollywog in a Bog" (On Cruise Ship)
Not wanting to wait to hear music from the Barenaked Ladies' May album-length foray into kids' music, Snacktime?
Well, then, get yourself to a cruise ship!
(Huh?)
The band hosted their "Ships & Dip III" Caribbean cruise in late January (hmmm, wonder how much interest there would be in a Zooglobble cruise?). The Brothers Creeggan, a BNL side project featuring BNL bassist Jim Creeggan and former member Andy Creeggan, played a show which included Jim's "Pollywog in a Bog," from the upcoming album. It's a mid-tempo reggae tune and here, at least, also features a mid-song dancehall rap.
So who's with me on Zooglobble cruise idea? How about renting a paddle boat?
Elephants in the Outfield?: Justin Roberts' "Pop Fly" Album Cover
You know, why stop at showing album art from one eagerly anticipated 2008 release when you can show two.
This is from Pop Fly, the sixth kids album from Justin Roberts. Sarajo Frieden, who did the artwork for Roberts' masterful Meltdown! CD (and, yes, I did use the word "masterful," it is and I won't brook an argument), does the honors once more. I see elephants standing out in what would appear to be right field. Not sure if there are some imaginary rhinos there.
And, yes, I did take the cover from Justin's website. Was it the "New CD" sign that gave it away?
Pop Fly is out on Carpet Square Records April 15.I'm Feeling Peckish... Barenaked Ladies "Snacktime" Album Cover
And who says album art is passe'? Did the Barenaked Ladies resurrect Edward Gorey from the dead (and give him a cheerier disposition in the process)?
In any case, as noted earlier, BNL's first kids music CD, Snacktime is out May 6 on Desperation Records.
(Oh, and if you want to hear who makes an appearance on the disk, Bill's got the scoop. Lyle Lovett -- now there's a guy who should do a kids' album.)Well, That Made My Evening
It's been years since I've run an Oscars pool -- that happened about the time that the number of movies I saw in a theatre dropped to a dozen or so (but, hey, I love you, kids!) -- though I did catch part of last night's ceremony, including the announcement of Best Original Song, which went to Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for their lovely and aching "Falling Slowly" from the movie Once.
It was a little surprising, the win. Alan Menken, whose brilliance as a movie-musical composer cannot be denied (think all the classic Disney animated movies from nearly 20 years ago) had the misfortune of being nominated three times with Stephen Schwartz for Enchanted in the category, which meant that voters too blinkered to recognize the best song of the three (note: "Happy Working Song," duh) split his vote.
Not that I'm complaining. It's a stunning song from a great little movie. The soundtrack is nice, but I've found that it never quite moved me the way the movie did. The soundtrack version of the Oscar-winner adds a string section which, while sweet, takes away from the central core of the movie, the way these two artists create a singular musical voice. Much better is the movie's version. Less than 20 minutes into the movie, you hear this duet, and it floors you. The clip below is from the movie.
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - "Falling Slowly"
And in case you feel like you need a kid-friendly version (or at least one the kids might be a little more interested in -- initially), you can click here. I wouldn't recommend it, though -- it's absolutely awful. Update: And Bill notes that MST3K alum Mike Nelson feels similarly.
Once is out on DVD now, and if you haven't seen it, you should.
Review: Meet the Squeegees - The Squeegees
Meet The SqueeGees, the first full-length CD from the Los Angeles-area band The SqueeGees, could offer me a chance to be exceedingly lazy and simply copy the review from their debut EP, The SqueeGees. Well, maybe half the review. Because half of the CD was originally found on that debut EP.
Now, that's not a bad thing, perhaps, because that means the bubbly tiny nugget of a song, "Apples Oranges & Peaches," is back, as is "Nala the Chihuahua," with its snaky melodic line and harmonies. And "The Ol' WWW," which really isn't a kids song (though it's totally kid-safe) is back to amuse the parents.
Just as with the EP, the Squeegees are at their best when they're not as concerned with the point of the song, such as the dreamy "Bubbles." "I-D-E-A," a song encouraging more environmentally conscious thinking, almost overdoes it with the hitting-over-the-head. (More amusing is the Queen-esque breakdown that starts "So you think that you would like to drive a big car? / Have you seen the gas prices today?" and ends, of course, with "I like to ride my bicycle / I like to ride my bike...")
In fact, what struck me the most on listening to the full-length CD is how much care and craft has gone into these tunes, musically speaking. The SqueeGees generally play folk-rock, but there's a lot of interesting bits squeezed in here, like in the song above, or the harmonies in "Nala the Chihuahua." Along with Samantha Tobey's clear voice, they make the most of the songs here.
I'll peg the album as most appropriate for ages 2 through 7. You can hear some tracks from the CD at the band's Myspace page.
There's a lot to recommend in Meet the SqueeGees. I like the quirky ones more than the standard ones, but that might be personal taste. In either case, there's a high attention to sonic detail that kids musicians thinking of recording debuts could do well to emulate. Recommended.
