Well, Kansas City's KC Jiggle Jam holds the title for the best kids music festival anywhere, and this weekend's Kidzapalooza will again rock Chicago's Grant Park with a stellar lineup, but there's always more room for additional family music in the midwest. Des Moines, a city I have a soft place in my heart for (seriously, folks, sweet city there), joins the club on Sunday, Sept. 27 with their Every Family Rocks festival. Any lineup that features not only big names Dan Zanes and Justin Roberts, along with regional stars like Funky Mama and Truckstop Honeymoon (featuring Mike Ward, who's recorded folks like Randy Kaplan and Laura Freeman), to go with their local acts, has got me on board. All that for just $8 (in advance).
Now to start working on the Upper Midwest (or the Southwest).
Video: "Bubble" (Live) - Mommie
If that last live video was thrashy, this live video is not. Not every song on Mommie's debut album Mommie's Dearest (review) is about vehicles. On the album, "Bubble" takes a very dreamy cast, but in this live video from the past weekend, it has more of an alt-country sound. I like the rapt look of attention from the boy on lead Mommie (so to speak) Doug MacMillan's left. (I also like how MacMillan steps to the side during a portion of the instrumental break to let the videographer capture the rest of the band). Not every band could keep a crowd during a North Carolina rainstorm...
Mommie - "Bubble" (Live)
Mommie - "Bubble" from Mann's World on Vimeo.
Video: "I Don't Need To Be Worried" (Live) - The Boogers
If you'd asked me a year ago for the hardest rocking band in kids music, I'd probably have given the nod to Detroit's CandyBand. But now, I'm not so sure... the Ramones-inspired Chicago-area band The Boogers have been playing a number of live shows. Take a listen to "I Don't Need To Be Worried" from Road To Rock, played live in Texas, and tell me that it wouldn't get some kids pogoing (and maybe even feel a little more confident).
The Boogers - "I Don't Need To Be Worried" (Live)
Play List: Bedtime Mix
As I noted in my original "Play List," I'm hoping to feature other folks' lists, and the first guest list is from reader Dan, who writes...
Mixtapes have always been a hobby of mine and when the little guy entered our world I figured why stop. We have also found it to be beneficial in introducing new music (as well as a little bit of parent music) to help with those musical obsessions that can drive families a bit crazy (right now the non-stop play in our house is Pop Fly by Justin Roberts).
This is our current favorite bedtime mix.
"Let It Be" - Nick Cave - I Am Sam
"Beautiful Boy -John Lennon" - The John Lennon Collection
"Miracle- Renee & Jeremy" - It's A Big World
"Over The Rainbow" - Dan Zanes & Friends - Rocket Ship Beach
"Give it a Kiss" - Wingdale Community Singers- Bright Spaces 2
"Sleep, Little One, Sleep" -Kevin Locke And Sissy Goodhouse - Lullaby
"Spirit Lullaby" -Sweet Honey In The Rock -Lullaby
"Hush Little Baby" -Dean Jones - Napper's Delight
"Butterfly" -Elizabeth Mitchell & Lisa Loeb- Catch The Moon
"2/2" -Brian Eno- Ambient 1 Music For Airports
On a good night our little guy is asleep by the end of the 3rd song, but the Brian Eno at the end is a nice transition into the CD ending if he is still awake by then.
Contest: Win Putumayo's Picnic Playground
The latest album from Putumayo Kids, Picnic Playground, is a fun collection of food-related tunes from folks close to home (Johnny Bregar, Asheba) and far away. And now Putumayo's giving you a chance to win the CD. All you have to do is be one of the first two folks to submit a recipe in their Picnic Playground Recipe Contest. They're looking for your favorite picnic recipe, and the winners will get the whole Putumayo Kids collection of albums. But if you're one of the first two entries that mention Zooglobble at the start of your entry, you'll automatically win the Picnic Playground disk.
Even if you don't win, you can sign up to get a free download from the album here or see if the tour's coming to your city here.
The rules for winning the overall contest are here. Entries are due August 25th, but speed is of the essence if you want to be the winner of this disk, natch.Video: "The Patience Bossa" - Perry Farrell & Deborah Harry
One of the cooler tracks from the Tor Hyams-compiled (and recently re-released) A World of Happiness is the Perry Farrell-Deborah Harry duet "The Patience Bossa." As with other kids' songs, the potentially annoying fact that it's a fairly overt message song ("patience = good," natch) is very much ameliorated by the fact that it's a pretty cool song. Farrell and Harry each do a good job with their roles in the song (Farrell, unsurprisingly, is anti-patience 'til the end) and the bossa rocks. The video, directed by Gary Oldman, may have a bit too much Farrell and Harry and not quite enough, you know, kids for the whole family to adore, but it's kinda cool anyway.
Perry Farrell & Deborah Harry - "The Patience Bossa"
