I previously mentioned that Tor Hyams was putting together a new label, Happiness Records, and that his first order of business was putting together a compilation album featuring folks who've played the Kidzapalooza stage. Now, that cover's not the prettiest I've ever seen and, more importantly, I'm not sure what the fate of a compilation album is in the era of the iPod. Having said that, the tracklisting makes for a pretty darn good mix tape...
This video from Brooklyn's AudraRox has been out there for a year now, but I'm only now just finding it. It's for "Best Friends Forever," a selection from the new Sesame Street: Being Green DVD. It's a sharp-looking video (yay for Sesame Workshop's deep pockets!) and a fun song.... which is now (newly) available for your downloading pleasure here. I love the line "Warm in the middle / cold at the ends..."
AudraRox - "Best Friends Forever"
There's more, of course.
Last week I posted some art and a rough video from the latest Debbie and Friends video, "I've Got a Laugh." Well, the finished product is out, and it does look pretty slick.
I have to tell you, though, I think Debbie Cavalier might want to look for some of her money back. I've met Debbie in person, and she totally has five fingers, not four, on each of her hands.
Debbie and Friends - "I've Got a Laugh"
I've been on TV before, though I think every single one of those times involved screaming loudly at the camera in response to a particularly exciting play at a collegiate sporting event. A couple weeks ago, however, I appeared on Phoenix-area TVs talking coherently and at a rational volume. The folks at Raising Arizona Kids magazine, who interviewed me for their May issue, also produce a weekly segment for our NBC affiliate and on Memorial Day, I was the featured person. That segment is now online, which means that in just 56 seconds you can see Miss Mary Mack talk, me and my kids and my neighbors' kids dancing, and special brief appearances from Recess Monkey, Laurie Berkner, the KC Jiggle Jam, and Caspar Babypants. You can also see me giving me these odd sidelong glances that give me the appearance of thinking something like, "Is that an alien landing on our front lawn? I can't quite tell but I need to finish answering this question first."
A reminder for Seattle-area folks (or folks who are willing to travel there to see a great lineup of Seattle-area kids music) -- go here by 9 PM west coast time tonight (Friday) to enter to win a family pack of tickets. Don't miss your chance!
Pete Seeger might not have an official website of his own -- this Wikipedia page will have to do for a link -- but definitely resides in the 21st century. How many other 90-year-olds do you know who are offering a couple free mp3 downloads to promote their latest release? That's right, Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing the American Favorite Ballads Volumes 1-5 box set, which itself was an expanded version of a collection of songs recorded from 1957 through 1962. You can go here to download Seeger's renditions of "Buffalo Gals" and "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" and then decide if you need 139 tracks (nearly six hours) of Pete Seeger in his sweet, crystal-clear voice accompanied by his banjo-picking. (You probably do.) Not all of it is "kids music," strictly speaking, but there's more than enough tracks that'll be familiar with anyone with more than a couple kids' disks in their collection.
I previously mentioned that Tor Hyams was putting together a new label, Happiness Records, and that his first order of business was putting together a compilation album featuring folks who've played the Kidzapalooza stage. Now, that cover's not the prettiest I've ever seen and, more importantly, I'm not sure what the fate of a compilation album is in the era of the iPod. Having said that, the tracklisting makes for a pretty darn good mix tape...
Pete Seeger might not have an official website of his own -- 
