I always liked the half-loping/half-strutting horn-filled "The Ladybug Without Spots" from Randy Kaplan's fine Loquat Rooftop album, and now he's got a cute animated (albeit abbreviated) video to go with it. (And, yes, he's wearing the hat.) Even better, it's the first of a promised few from a collaboration with MindSmack (you can't miss it, with the logo burned in at the bottom corner). Between the videos and his upcoming third kids album, Kaplan's gonna have a busy 2010.
Randy Kaplan - "The Ladybug Without Spots" [YouTube]
Review: C'mon - Renee and Jeremy
The first time I heard Renee and Jeremy's It's A Big World more than 2 1/2 years ago, I instantly recognized how unique its sound was (read the review). Even if I thought it was just shy of being a timeless classic, it was definitely (and still is) a very important album in the resurgent genre, a completely modern lullaby album that was so intimate it sounded like it was recorded in the nursery. (Which it was, incidentally.)
But if lullaby albums are about the parents, the follow-up albums are about the kids, which brings us to C'mon, the recently-released second album from the duo of Renee Stahl and Jeremy Toback. Whereas the first album was designed to put everyone at ease, C'mon is designed for, well, if not dancing, then at least bobbing of heads. At times, the album is the grooviest thing you're going to hear until Sly and the Family Stone release their family music album, but it also retains just enough of the raw intimacy that gave It's a Big World such a distinctive sound (for example, Toback's "here we go" at the very start of the leadoff track, "Share"). But if you're looking for another hushed rendition of "Three Little Birds," you'll be surprised by the '80s pop and synthesized strings of songs like "Watch Where You're Going."
The songs are anchored by Stahl's beautiful voice, but Stahl and Toback duet more on this album than on its predecessor, usually to great effect ("Wishing Well" not only features Stahl and Toback duetting, but also multiple layers of Stahl's vocals). Fans of the first album might prefer the lullaby "Is It Really Any Wonder?." But for me the album's standout track is ELO-meets-the-playground "Mama Papa Love," which neatly turns the line "Mama loves you so much, baby / What you gonna do with that love? / Papa loves you so much, baby / What you gonna do with that love?" into "Baby loves you so much, mama, what you gonna do with that love?" It speaks straight to both parent and child and soars.
I'm a bigger fan of the music than the lyrics, which are generally simple, big on repeated choruses, and directed at kids with fairly obvious topics -- sharing ("Share") or delayed gratification ("Right Now"). The album is slightly more than the sum of its parts, as over its 33-minute run it sets up its groovy mood and sticks to it. The songs here are topically most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 6. You can get the physical copy exclusively (for the moment) at Barnes and Noble or digitally here.
Families who are fans of the first album should have no problem getting into C'mon after a listen or two. Neither should listeners new to the duo. It's a sweet treat of a disk. Definitely recommended.
Disclaimer:Renee & Jeremy provided me with a copy of the album for possible review.Video: "Isthmus Be The Pirate Waltz" - Dean Jones and the Felice Brothers
I know that my posting schedule has been light recently, which explains why it's taken me so long to post this video for "Isthmus Be the Pirate Waltz" from Dean Jones and the Felice Brothers (from their Rock Paper Scissors collaboration). In video form, it's a nice encapsulation of the album itself -- messy, a little lo-fi, and a big ol' party. If I had a pirate name, it'd be "Blackjack Pickle."
Dean Jones with the Felice Brothers - "Isthmus Be the Pirate Waltz" [YouTube]
Video: "Wash Your Face" (Live) - The Okee Dokee Brothers
The Twin Cities-based Okee Dokee Brothers' Kids With Beards is one of the better kids music albums I never got around to reviewing -- a solid, occasionally odd, but often quite enjoyable collection of tunes released in 2008. You've never heard banjos and disco mix quite like this.
Well, Joe and Justin have some new tunes, and they're trying them out live. More importantly for the audiovisual needs of your friendly kids music blogger, they're also posting them to YouTube. Fun stuff, plus banjos. Banjos go a long way with me, as do gratuitous mid-'80s references. I think they'll go a fair way with your kids, too.
The Okee Dokee Brothers - "Wash Your Face" [YouTube]
One more live video after the jump. Lots of fun wordplay in this one.
They're Baaack: New Fresh Beat Band Episodes Start Monday; Season 2 On Its Way
Dan Zanes: Movie Star and Cultural Icon
OK, I'm overstating it, but there's no question that Dan Zanes is reaching some level of cultural saturation that might even go beyond Laurie Berkner and the Wiggles.
No, it has nothing to do with Wonderful World, a new movie starring Matthew Broderick. Zanes announced last month that he'd written some songs for, and had a small on-screen role in, the movie, which is about an ex-children's music singer who's looking for a new direction in his life and that he'd written some songs for the movie. (More details on Zanes' role in the movie can be found here -- interestingly enough, director/writer Josh Goldin said he "loosely based [the lead character's] back story on the children's music heavyweight Raffi -- specifically his unsuccessful attempt to make records for adults.")
No, what I want to mention is this Dan Zanes shout-out -- of sorts -- in Greenberg, an upcoming movie from Noah Baumbach, which stars Ben Stiller as... some other guy who's looking for a new direction in his life. (Hat tip: Mr. Richard.) It comes at the very end of the trailer (the money shot, as it were) and the quote from Stiller's character makes no sense -- he's suggesting to a bunch of apparently college-age kids that they grew up on Dan Zanes, which, considering that Zanes' only been releasing kids music for literally 10 years, seems, well, wrong.
But I'm more interested in the fact that Baumbach threw Zanes' name into the script and that the trailer creators thought Zanes' name was enough of a marker that it'd signal a particular attitude to a particular audience -- an audience, for example, who would recognize LCD Soundsystem's so incredible "All My Friends" (James Murphy does this soundtrack) as the background music.
If only Hollywood Squares were still on the air, I think Zanes would be set...
