Video: "Field Trip" - The Hipwaders

My copy of Goodie Bag, the new EP from the Bay Area band The Hipwaders came packaged with an actual goodie bag, one of the very few promotional schwag items that have actually made me laugh. More thoughts on the EP in the future, but for the moment, you can hear the song "Field Trip" in the video below. The occasional lack of syncing makes it sound a little bit like the studio version dubbed over a live performance, but in any case it's a cool little space-jazzy song (apropos for the subject at hand). The Hipwaders - "Field Trip"

Review: Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine (self-titled)

RobbertBobbertBubbleMachine.jpgWhat do you get when you cross the Beach Boys with some fuzzed out guitars and synthesizers and mix in a tiny hint of Barney? Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine, who last week released his debut CD on Little Monster Records. Robbert Bobbert is the brainchild of Robert Schneider, whose main job is as the ringleader for Apples in Stereo, an indie-pop band whose output melds '60s pop sounds with more modern textures. And for the Robbert Bobbert album, Schneider melds '60s pop sounds with more modern textures. Sometimes this works to great effect, such as on the synth-poppy "We R Super Heroes," one of the year's catchiest kids' songs. The raved-up "Hey Little Puppy" seems stolen from a lost Beach Boys kids album, while "Boom Boom" features lots of vocalizations (beat-boxing, "ba-ba-ba-da-da"s to no end) and is perfectly timed for a 2-minute dance break with your littlest ones. While the music here is for the most part pretty catchy, listeners who are used to lyrics that play to two audiences at once -- the kids and the adults -- will be a little disappointed. In many songs, the lyrics are no more sophisticated than that of, well, Barney. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- what's wrong with a 90-second song tackling one theme in direct terms for a 3-year-old? And for the most part the melodies and arrangements are superior to that of the purple dinosaur's. But the songs where they don't quite ring true (the rapping mouse on "Fee Fi Fo, Fee Fi Fum"; the stomping in "The Mighty, Mighty Elephant") may have the parents hitting fast-forward and wishing for slightly more advanced lyrics as on the mini-science lesson of "Gravity" or the elegant "The Tiny Sheep." Lyrically, the songs here will be of most interest to kids ages 2 through 5. The 23-minute album comes packaged with some sweet art from Todd Webb (Little Monster is definitely doing the most interesting physical album packaging of any of the labels dealing with kids music). If you want to listen to the album, it's embedded at the bottom of this post (after the jump if you're reading this on the main page). The Robbert Bobbert character is being developed into a TV show. Based on the evidence from Robbert Bobbert's debut CD, it could hit the sweet spot for a lot a preschoolers and not a few of their parents. The album's got a lot of undeniably catchy tracks, and Schneider's only going to get even better as a songwriter for kids. Recommended. (Reminder: Embedded song player after the jump.)

Robert Schneider Is Really Enthusiastic About Robbert Bobbert

I'm just about ready to post a review of the self-titled debut album from Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine, but before I do, I thought the clip below (from ABC News' "Amplified" program) was a decent enough interview with Robbert Bobbert himself, Robert Schneider. It starts out focusing a little bit on recording tracks for the next Apples in Stereo album, but then moves into talking about the kids CD. Schneider is an animated man, but I've seen just enough of him to realize that's just the way he is. "Spastic," he self-deprecatingly calls himself before modifying that to "enthusiastic." Props, too, to Schneider for calling "Pop Goes the Weasel" a great pop song. (Note: minor ad prior to piece. Ad seems to change from time to time. Will it turn into the 2009 version of the great Laurie-Berkner-hair-debate, who knows?)

Key Wilde, Mr. Clarke, and a Greasy Little Monster

RiseAndShine.jpgOne of the cool parts of doing the kids music website thing is that folks let slip all sorts of interesting news via Facebook or in e-mails to me. News about shows, albums, collaborations, etc. Of course, unless somebody specifically says, "run with that" I don't actually mention it on the site. If I don't have something public to cite, then, well, I don't post. So I'm glad that I finally -- finally! -- get to announce, like, three different bits of news I've known for a some time now. Four, maybe -- depends how you're counting. First, and most importantly, the great duo Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke have signed with Little Monster Records. That's the cover for the album -- Rise and Shine! -- that'll be coming out later this spring at the top. If you haven't heard their stuff, I highly recommend that you get on over to their site and listen to some older versions of the tracks on the CD (all the tracks have been subsequently modified in some way for the album). But that's not all...