This is how big Bill Harley is. While waiting for NPR to air his essay on singing the national anthem, Harley has a backup NPR piece ready to air. Seeking to join the kids music fight against H1N1 spearheaded by the Jimmies and Chromeo Harley writes a song about washing one's hands ("Wash Your Hands," natch) for airing on NPR. You can listen to a clip in the embedded player below, but you may as well just go to Harley's website and download the mp3 for free.
Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion (and kids) Talk "Go Waggaloo"
I'm obviously biased when it comes to Go Waggaloo, the kids music album from Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, since I have liner notes in the release. But I like the way this slickly produced electronic press kit has the occasional sound of Sarah Lee and Johnny's kids screeching in the background. If you like the sound of the clips (the songs, or the kids) in the piece below, you can go to Folkways' album page and preorder the album, which will not only get you the album early (it'll ship around Oct. 1, nearly a month before it's officially released), but also, if you're one of the first 100 pre-orders, get you an autographed copy.
But there's more...
Video: "Hush Little Baby" - The Bluegrass Babies
I posted their rendition of "Get Along Cindy" a while back, now the Bluegrass Babies (creation of Paul Castle) are back with a new video, this time for "Hush Little Baby." It's a bit too uptempo for the last thing to listen to (or watch) before bedtime, but it's got a sweet sound. Again, the animation is a bit too simple to be classic, but the dancing animals might amuse your 2-year-old.
The Bluegrass Babies - "Hush Little Baby" [YouTube]
Video: "Never Gonna Be Bored" - Adam and the Couch Potatoes
It takes a minute or so to really get revved up, but not since Central Perk has a red couch been employed to such busy effect. Adam and the Couch Potatoes are the friends who rattle off a bunch of suggestions for the "I'm bo-ored" crowd in "Never Gonna Be Bored" from One Size Fits All.
Adam and the Couch Potatoes - "Never Gonna Be Bored" [YouTube]
Listen To This: "The Fishy Wishies" - The Fishy Wishies
A Gentle Warning...
OK, maybe not a warning, but at least a request.
I really do appreciate that people are excited about the Top Kids Music Albums of All Time Poll and are e-mail folks and putting it on Facebook, et cetera. But as I review submissions, I'm beginning to wonder if some artists are starting to cross the line.
For better and for worse, I tacitly accept the craziness of the KidVid Tournament, where encouraging folks to vote for your video happens (and, you know, it's a competition).
But this poll is something different -- it's not a competition. Look at it this way -- rules for public radio business support are pretty clear -- you can't have qualitative language (e.g., award winning, leading, Pulitzer Prize Winner, etc.) or state facts that cannot be proven, you can't use comparative language (e.g., better, best, oldest, largest, etc.), and you can't have a call to action ("Visit our store…"Call xxx…etc.).
The announcement in Bill Harley's latest e-newsletter was just about perfect, I thought:For those who are just looking for a fun family-music activity, Stefan Shepherd... is looking for your list of top 10 kids albums of all time! Here's your chance to make a wonderful list of all the family music you love and share it with other! It's easy to do and will certainly be fun. Check out the details here!Anything more than that, and I think you've crossed the line. Sure there's qualitative language and calls to action, but none of it is directed at Bill -- it's just a heads-up about the poll. It's like a public service announcement.
So, kids music artists, please don't encourage fans to vote for you. It cheapens the poll, I don't like it at all, and it makes big-eyed puppies very sad.
And everybody else without a stake in the end result, please do vote -- the more people who vote, the better the result will be.
