I have it on good authority -- that is, NPR's website -- that they'll be airing the latest in my occasional chats with All Things Considered's Melissa Block later this afternoon (Monday). This time the subject is "Grown-Up Bands Craft Kid Songs". Better, perhaps, than "Grown-Up Bands Sing Kid Crafts," which would have resulted in songs about popsicle-stick ornaments.
To those of you stumbling across this website for the first time, welcome. (To those of you, like me, on the West Coast, you might still have time to listen live.) I hope the music struck your or your kids' fancy, that I sounded charming, and I that I provided you with a respite from all the other news of the day/week/month. (Thanks, Melissa, for the chat!)
If you are new, here's a brief rundown of what you can find here...
-- Off to the right are links to my YouTube page, Facebook fan page, Facebook page for me, and Myspace. Sorry, I'm not Twittering, because I'm about 3 years behind the curve.
-- I write occasionally in other spots, such as the fine parenting/humor website Offsprung.
-- In case you like the music, but want a different website layout, there are other voices in this genre -- Bill Childs at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child hosts an excellent radio show among other things, and Gwyneth at Gooney Bird Kids and Warren at About's Kids Music site are good places to go to. Though Amy has recently shuttered her site, the archives are still worth a stroll.
-- Bill and Amy and I also run the Fids and Kamily Awards, our attempt to use the hive mind of the kids music world to find the consensus #1 album of the year.
-- For those of you in Austin, Bill and Gwyneth and I will all be attending the Austin City Limits Festival and if want to hear some great kids music outside the festival, Bill and I are hosting the Family Music Meltdown 2. Join us if you can!
Otherwise, if you're an artist and you want me to listen to some music, or if you're interested in having me write, talk, or perform an interpretative dance about kids music, my e-mail address is over there to the side.
More details on the artists in today's piece after the jump, and there are tons of artists linked on the right, both those who "moonlight" in the kids music genre and those who do nothing but. Thanks again for stopping by.
There's A Party On My Stereo: Yo Gabba Gabba Album / DVD Out October 14
Hot on the heels of the this week's Season Two premiere of Yo Gabba Gabba! comes word that episodes of Season One of the show will hit DVD on October 14 (Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Dancey Dance Bunch. Really.) [Update: I got an update from the folks at Viacom. It is not a complete set, but just four shows with a MSRP of $16.99 -- "Friends," "Eat," "Dance," and "Happy." Sorry if the original vaguely worded heads-up from Viacom made me think it was a complete season set. It's not. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Hey, there's a song there...]
Yeah, yeah, I know there are some big fans of the show out there, but even cooler from my perspective is the news that October 14 will also see the iTunes release of a digital-only Yo Gabba Gabba! soundtrack.
That's right -- those of you with a desperate need to have "Party In My Tummy" available to you at a moment's notice in the car or during a particularly recalcitrant dinner experience will now be able to fill that need. For the rest of us, Mark Kozelek's great "Bedtime Lullaby" will do just fine. And because the album tracks will be available a la carte, you'll be able to pick and choose...
The full track listing after the jump.
We'll See You at the End of the Tour
A shout-out to Amy Davis, who announced last night that she was permanently shuttering her blog, The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What To Think. Amy announced the decision with a post that featured her characteristic wit and enthusiasm for the kids music genre. Amy will be helping Bill and I once more with the Fids and Kamily Awards this year, but I will miss Amy's writing, not just on kids music, but generally. Best of luck, Amy, though if the Diamondbacks somehow squeak back into the playoffs this year, I'm still cheering against your Cubs.
Interview: Matt Pryor (The Terrible Twos)
Matt Pryor leads a double life. Or is it a triple life? Matt's best known right now for being the leader of the band the New Amsterdams (the band he formed after his prior band the Get Up Kids dissolved), but right now he's also promoting his first solo album. That's not uncommon -- people do that all the time. But to be also be the ringleader of the kids' band The Terrible Twos, well, that's a third thing for Matt to keep track of.
Matt swung through Phoenix last month promoting not only his solo debut Confidence Man but also the Terrible Twos' second kids music CD, the excellent Jerzy the Giant (review). After his Terrible Twos show, but before his solo show for adults later that evening, we had a chance to chat briefly about Led Zeppelin's influence on their latest album, the best thing about playing for kids, and Pryor's plans for the next Terrible Twos album.
The funniest part of the entire interview? When I went into the tiny green room after the Terrible Twos show to interview him, mentioned that I was glad for the quiet, at which point one of the bands opening for Matt later that night let forth with an awesomely loud chord. It took us a good 15 seconds to stop laughing...
Zooglobble: What's it like writing songs with your kids?
Matt Pryor: My daughter Lily would walk around the house singing these melodies that would come into her head. All I would do is take those melodies and expand them and write a rhythm guitar part or a piano part. In the case of "Great Big Poop," I told my drummer, "Play like John Bonham -- it's duh, duh, duh, duh-de-duh-de-duh, and then you can do whatever you want." It's one take, and then built everything on top of it. We've haven't sat down much to collaborate -- it doesn't go as well as when I just steal one of the melodies.
Is Lily your oldest?
She's the oldest. My middle son Elliott is the one who tours with us most frequently. He plays maracas on stage... he'll be meeting up with us on Friday...
So I read somewhere -- and who knows how it was taken out of context -- where you said people take kids music too seriously. What's your feeling about kids music and why you do it?Austin Kiddie Limits 2008 Preview: mr. RAY
We're nearing the end of our ongoing series of previews of the artists who will be playing the Austin Kiddie Limits stage at the 2008 edition of the Austin City Limits Festival. Today it's mr. RAY. (Previous artists: Buck Howdy with BB, Uncle Rock, Jambo, The Jimmies, Big Don.)
First, the technical specs...
-- Official Website (or here if you're British)
-- Videos
-- Myspace page
-- Zooglobble archives.
mr. RAY might just be the biggest artist to play the AKL stage this year... if you're British. That's right, the New Jersey-based mr. RAY (aka Ray Andersen) is signed to Universal Records for the UK and Ireland and has a big following across the pond. Here in the US, his fanbase isn't quite as big yet, perhaps, but those of you in Austin next weekend will get a chance to hear his Beatles-y pop for preschoolers and see what'll definitely be the coolest guitar on stage barring the surprise appearance of Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen.
mr. RAY plays 1:30 Saturday, 2:30 Sunday.
mr. RAY - "Roy G. Biv"
One more video after the jump.
Review in Brief: You Can't Rock Sittin' Down - The Mighty Weaklings
With several albums for adults under their belts, you would be forgiven for thinking the New York band The Mighty Weaklings was just cashing in on the kids music trend with the recent release of their first kids album You Can't Rock Sittin' Down.That wouldn't be entirely fair, seeing as singer/bassplayer Matt Vogel's been a Sesame Street puppeteer for a dozen years and they've already had a video on Jack's Big Music Show.
This album will seriously appeal to families with a powerpop weakness."The Monster Under My Bed" tells about a kid who's best friend is a monster, and rocks in doing so.The album's best song, "The Grumpy Song," features a banjo-inflected bluegrass tune, vocals Sesame Street/Muppet Show/Fraggle Rock puppeteer Jerry Nelson, and a chorus of kids (and adults) shouting "I'm Grumpy" in such a way that is guaranteed to put a dorky grin on the listener's face.
The album as whole has a very strong Muppet Show vibe -- interspersed among the 9 songs are 5 skits.At times I thought the skits were pitched squarely at me the thirty-something parent and wouldn't entertain the younger listeners at all.The knowing humor didn't really match the earnestness of the rest of the songs like "It's Sunny When You Share" (get it?), the imaginzative "Rocket Ship" (from Jack's, and the try-try-again theme of "Fallin' Down."You could easily find the materials for an episode or three of The Mighty Weaklings Show inside the album -- it's not hard to picture a TV show, even without puppets.
The 33-minute album's pitched mostly at kids ages 4 through 8.You can hear samples here or listen via the player embedded past the jump.Despite some awkwardness from the skits themselves, the songs here are solid kid-friendly power-pop.Your kids will find that You Can't Rock Sittin' Down ranks high on the "rock" scale and low on the "sittin' down" scale.Recommended.
