San Francisco's Charity and the JAMband has always been good about offering mp3s on their website, and now word comes from Charity that she's going to be offering these on a monthly basis.
The first one, for December, is a sweet little acoustic expansion of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Definitely worth the time to listen (and download). Sign up at the top of the page to be notified of future downloads.
Christmas With The Muppets
We've well-established that I'm usually a bit behind the pop-culture curve, so I'm not entirely surprised that I mostly missed the Muppet renaissance from the past six months.
I'm a little sad, however, that I didn't know about the existence of the "Habanera" as performed by some Muppets with less than, say, a fully-formed English linguistic set until now. (You can watch that particular video at the end of this post.)
Yes, in true viral video fashion, there are new, apparently authorized videos being created in Muppets' names. The "Ode to Joy" feautring Gonzo and his chickens, an amusing "Stars & Stripes Forever," and others. And now a video for a much more modern-sounding song, "Glad All Over," from next week's new Muppet special, Letters To Santa, has surfaced. It's not like it's anything special, but it's good to see the Muppets back on the air.
Letters To Santa airs Wed., Dec. 17 on NBC.
Itty-Bitty Review: Sesame Street Playground - Various Artists (Putumayo)
Sesame Street Playground, the latest globetrotting collection of kids music from cultural omnivores Putumayo, solves the problem of "what region do we tackle next?" by moving on to children's television. Sesame Street is broadcast all around the world, of course, and this collection culls a sample set of songs from some of those local versions.
The downside of the collection is that unlike a lot of the Putumayo compilations, the overall quality of the songs isn't as compelling. Sesame Street has such a rich musical history here in the U.S. that it almost seems unfair to limit it to just Elmo's Song, "Sing," and a Chinese-language rendition of "Rubber Duckie." It's not that the songs are bad (I like the India show opening "Galli Galli Sim Sim" and "Ricas Frutas" from Mexico), just that it casts such a wide net that there isn't the cohesion your hear on the other, more sonically focused collections. On the other hand, the disk also includes a DVD with videos for five of the songs on the album. It's the visual that gives a lot of context to the songs. On video, the point of the songs is clear, even without the captions that are provided. (And Putumayo's liner notes are, as usual, very strong.)
The album will be of most interest to kids ages 3 through 6; you can listen to clips and watch all the videos here. I don't think Sesame Street Playground has quite the repeat playability a lot of their albums has. But a lot of the songs are enjoyable and the videos serve as an easy introduction to cultures (or, at least, muppets) from around the world. If your kids enjoy Sesame Street, they may find this album an interesting side trip.Children's Grammy Nominations: A Nation Reacts!
OK, a nation isn't really reacting, but the nominees are. Some thoughts from some of the nominees... (Ed: Now with bonus Brady Rymer thoughts!)
The prize for wittiest reaction goes Richard Perlmutter, the guy behind the oft-nominated Beethoven's Wig series:
The greatest composers on high Looked down from their perch in the sky "Who's Perlmutter?" Bach said Mozart just shook his head Then Beethoven said, "One lucky guy!
Would Arthur Listen To This?
In the always-expanding Ziggy Marley to the stars. Last month Marley announced he was recording a kids' CD. No word on release date.
More of Marley on the subject, plus the obligatory video...
Interview: Brandon Reese
This interview almost didn't happen.
I mean, I clearly think that the illustrations of Brandon Reese are awesome -- just see my comments on his illustrations for the Jellydots' Changing Skies and the forthcoming Lunch Money album Dizzy.
But I wasn't thinking interview. Until I was shoe shopping with my kids this weekend and a card game near the register caught my eye. Whimsical, joyful art that looked like, yes, another eeBoo product from Reese. And then I thought -- man, I've got to interview this guy.
I really, really like this interview. Read on to find out how Reese became an illustrator, stories behind the art for those two albums, and what bad kids music album art entails.
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Zooglobble: How did you become an illustrator (e.g., what did you draw growing up? where did you get your training, etc.?)
Brandon Reese: I think I always drew. My mom and brother are a big reason for that. When my brother and I were little, my mom read somewhere that in order to foster creativity in your children, you shouldn't give them coloring books but blank pieces of paper instead. My brother always drew and I wanted to be as good as him, so I was constantly practicing.
As far as training, the first formal art class I'd ever taken was in college. Reason being, I went to small private schools my whole life, none of which really had any arts programs. I'm sure if you could find my old school books you'd see doodles on most of the pages. I distinctly remember getting in trouble in the 6th grade for drawing in my textbook and my teacher calling me "morbid." (I was really into skulls and skeletons back then.)
(chicken- by Brandy, age 5)
Zooglobble: How did you become an illustrator (e.g., what did you draw growing up? where did you get your training, etc.?)
Brandon Reese: I think I always drew. My mom and brother are a big reason for that. When my brother and I were little, my mom read somewhere that in order to foster creativity in your children, you shouldn't give them coloring books but blank pieces of paper instead. My brother always drew and I wanted to be as good as him, so I was constantly practicing.
As far as training, the first formal art class I'd ever taken was in college. Reason being, I went to small private schools my whole life, none of which really had any arts programs. I'm sure if you could find my old school books you'd see doodles on most of the pages. I distinctly remember getting in trouble in the 6th grade for drawing in my textbook and my teacher calling me "morbid." (I was really into skulls and skeletons back then.)
(chicken- by Brandy, age 5)
