Whew. That's a mouthful.
Last month I partnered with the cool website Figment ("All Bands, No Music") for a contest that challenged Figment's users to create the best fake children's music album of all time.
Well, the time is at hand to announce the winners. It wasn't easy, because how exactly do you judge it? Sure, quality of album cover is a key component, but trying to create a backstory and set of song titles that paid homage to the kids music genre without going over the edge, now that's hard.
The winner and two runners-up are below, with top prize going to the self-titled debut from Mac & Cheese -- somebody needs to steal the phrase "Funshine Records." Click on the album cover to find out more about each album. (Warning: the Strum Pets album, as you might expect from that album title, was created with a tongue planted firmly in cheek and elsewhere on the body. Do not click if anyone has ever said you lack a sense of humor.) Thanks to everyone who entered -- choosing between 'em all was not an easy task. And thanks to Eric and Larry for letting me play along.
Yeah, I know, 48 hours late. But how appropriate would this have been Monday morning? Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! (Three gifted singers, indeed.)
The Muppets - "Danny Boy" [YouTube]
I've been trying not to publish album art and tracklists unless it's a really big deal.
Well, a new album -- Jungle Gym -- from Justin Roberts is a really big deal. I know, Jeff already published the tracklist (which you see also there to the left), but I also wanted to be able to share some album art, which Roberts was kind enough to do. The lovely cover art (as always) from Sarajo Frieden, along with a story from Justin about recording one of the tracks, follows...
While I'm on the whole Canada tip, I thought I'd draw your attention to a couple of notable playlists put together for the Bunch Family website originating out of Canada. They're for "March Break" (which we call "Spring Break" and must come a week or two before ours) and come courtesy of Dan Zanes and Broken Social Scene's Jason Collett. They're both kinda cool lists -- the easiest way to distinguish between the two lists is Marley-wise -- Dan votes for kid-friendly Ziggy, Jason for Bob. Oh, and Collett picks not one, but two Flaming Lips songs.
Also, Canada's a big country -- those lists are barely long enough to get you out of the Toronto suburbs, no?
Sure, I talk about the Grammy Awards (a lot), but let's not forget our neighbors to the north. That's right, the nominees for the 2010 Juno Awards have been announced, and I feel compelled to give props to the Juno Children's Album nominees...
Action Packed - Bobs & LoloI'm Me! - Charlie HopeLove My New Shirt - Norman FooteWe Share the Earth - The Bee's KneesWalk On - The Kerplunks
I've heard the Bobs & Lolo and Kerplunks disks, and they're not bad, but my favorite here is Charlie Hope's I'm Me!. Having said all that, even though the Kerplunks were nominated in this category just last year, I expect the Juno to go to veterans Foote or The Bee's Knees.
The Juno Awards will be announced April 18, 2010.
Yes, folks, it's KidVid Tournament time. And I need your help.
You may remember that I picked out my 20 favorite kids music videos of 2009 last week. I hope you were paying attention, because now I need your help setting up the brackets for KidVid Tournament 2010.
In the poll below, I'm asking you to vote for up to 15 of your favorite videos. The 15 that get the most votes will be placed in the KidVid Tournament 2010 bracket and I'll pay attention to the vote counts in determining the all important seeding.
A couple additional notes:
1) Why 15? Well, I've got to make sure that if you, my loyal public, completely miss the boat on a video (or if a video misses out by, say, 1 vote), I have a just a little bit of control.
2) The eagle-eyed among you will notice that Secret Agent 23 Skidoo's video for "Family Tree" is missing from the poll. That's because I have a rule that prior winners have to take at least one year off. Skidoo got more than 500 votes in last year's epic KidVid Tournament 2009 final against the The Jimmies. If he were in again this year, he'd probably win, and what's the fun in that? I'm sure he'll be back.
Anyway, voting ends Wednesday night, and one vote per household please. The poll is below, and in case you need to be reminded, all the videos follow the poll in a handy playlist format. Thanks!
Zooglobble's 20 Favorite Kids Music Videos of 2009 [YouTube]
Whew. That's a mouthful.
Last month I partnered with the cool website Figment ("All Bands, No Music") for a contest that challenged Figment's users to create the best fake children's music album of all time.
Well, the time is at hand to announce the winners. It wasn't easy, because how exactly do you judge it? Sure, quality of album cover is a key component, but trying to create a backstory and set of song titles that paid homage to the kids music genre without going over the edge, now that's hard.
The winner and two runners-up are below, with top prize going to the self-titled debut from Mac & Cheese -- somebody needs to steal the phrase "Funshine Records." Click on the album cover to find out more about each album. (Warning: the Strum Pets album, as you might expect from that album title, was created with a tongue planted firmly in cheek and elsewhere on the body. Do not click if anyone has ever said you lack a sense of humor.) Thanks to everyone who entered -- choosing between 'em all was not an easy task. And thanks to Eric and Larry for letting me play along.
I've been trying not to publish album art and tracklists unless it's a really big deal.
Well, a new album -- Jungle Gym -- from 
