... it's everywhere now. The Land of Nod Curious World page, Peter Himmelman's own Curious World page, McDonald's. OK, not sure about the McDonald's part, but seriously, all over the place. Episode 1, "Friends," was really top-notch -- love the way Himmelman interacts with the kids, love the theme song, love the incredibly slow way Himmelman walks with King Ferdinand in the credits for "Turtle Talk." I think elementary school kids are really gonna dig this. The next episode ("Animals") is Sunday at 11 AM Chicago time. Here's the YouTube embed, because I'm old school and will passive-aggressively deal with the way Flash sometimes hates me.
Peter Himmelman's Curious World, Episode 1 ("Friends") [YouTube]
New Renee and Jeremy Album, C'mon, Due November 10
More than a year ago, Renee Stahl and Jeremy Toback, AKA Renee and Jeremy, said they were going into the studio to record It's A Big World! Well, a full change of seasons after Toback described the new album as "a little light, a little dark, like smores, the album has a name (C'mon), a release date (November 10), and, best of all, album art. Yes, that's Hsingping Pan's artwork gracing the cover once more, a cover which does indeed match the more uptempo nature of the new disk. (You can click here for a link to a couple stripped-down early versions of tracks from the new album.)
There'll be some interesting methods of distribution for this new album, but for the moment, the only other thing I have to share is the tracklist, which is after the jump...Popular From Albany to Phoenix
Welcome to readers of the Albany Times-Union, which published an article on the surge of kids music over the past few years and quoted me (and Bill) in it. The surge of stories about the surge of kids music has died down a bit (it's been a while since I've used the acronym YAKMA), but it'll be a long time before most folks realize there's more to kids music than just the Wiggles (a band I defend - sort of - in the article).
Closer to home, welcome also to readers of the Phoenix New Times, who kindly gave me an award for Best Kids Music Blog. I will gladly accept the award, even with the lack of spellcheck on the article.
Anyway, howdy, folks. Lots of stuff to see here -- tool around for a bit...
Peter Himmelman's Curious World Less Than 72 Hours Away
... or even less depending on when you read this. Peter Himmelman's Curious World is set to premiere on Sunday at 11 AM Central time at the Land of Nod website. I was already kinda excited for the show, and yesterday I saw the show's trailer (below), which does nothing to diminsh the excitement...
The show list after the jump...
Yo Gabba Gabba on CD Is Awesome (Album Due Oct. 20)
We can have a long debate over the merits of Yo Gabba Gabba the TV show, but there's little doubt that it's exposed a bunch of preschoolers to a lot of artists that normally would have little exposure to a bunch of preschoolers. The Shins, Yo Gabba Gabba, Mates of State -- the list is long (and kinda cool). Now comes word (via Pitchfork) that Filter US will be releasing a Yo Gabba Gabba compilation entitled Music Is Awesome on October 20. It'll be both a CD and iTunes release. To some extent, it overlaps with the iTunes exclusive compilation released last year. But at 21 tracks in length, including stuff from Chromeo, Of Montreal, and the Shins that weren't on that release, there's a fair amount of new material. Track listing after the jump.You Have Less Than Two Weeks to Vote for the Best Kids Music Albums of All Time
Well, not all of you. A fair number of you have already voted in the Top Kids Music Albums of All Time Poll, but a bunch of you (yes, you) haven't, and the deadline is now just less than two weeks away. I appreciate the continued number of shout-outs from across the web, and I encourage you to spread the word (but not too much so), but more importantly, I want you to vote. It'll be awesome.
