There's another new Yo Gabba Gabba! episode coming up this week -- it's called "Baby" and it's kinda Mother's Day-themed. To pitch in, Solange performs the song "Mama Loves Baby." Solange wears an eye-catching dress, but it's nothing compared to the strikingly bright green-screen visuals behind her. It's almost as if they're trying to counteract whatever mellow vibe is generated by the song. (In other words, I like the song more than I like the video.)
Solange Knowles - "Mama Loves Baby" (from Yo Gabba Gabba!) [YouTube]
Kindiefest 2010: Bill Harley
Everything I so enjoy about Bill Harley is wrapped up in this picture. The Kindiefest panel that I'd moderated that included the amazing group of Bill, Suni Paz, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Kathy O'Connell had wrapped up some time before. I found myself talking with Bill near the exit and looked down at the garbage can just outside the window and saw my name card -- and just my card -- discarded on the top. "Aw, man!," I said, jokingly, and decided I needed to get a picture of the proof of my impermanence. At which point Harley said, "No, wait -- I need to get my card out and in the picture." We then ran outside like a couple of giddy 7-year-old boys, he found his own card in the trash, arranged it artfully on top, and then I took the picture.
It's that ability to see the absurdity and humor in the day-to-day life of us all that makes Harley such a beloved performer. He's a hard worker (he said at the panel that he sets aside an hour or two each day to write), but it's that essential humanity (honoring the child, as he said) that's given him such a long career, I think.
On Sunday, Harley performed at the public showcase. It was a fun set, though I was a bit distracted because I had to leave for the airport and so spent part of the set saying my last goodbyes. But I had fun, as did the rest of the crowd. Harley also let his friend Keith Munslow, who backed Harley up on keyboards, do a song of his own. Good stuff all around. Maybe that Bill Harley placecard's on eBay by now...
Bill Harley (w/ Keith Munslow) - "Everybody's a Baby About Something" (Live @ Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube] (my favorite part of this -- also generally indicative of Harley -- is that he teaches the crowd to whine. In harmony.
More pictures (of the actual Bill Harley) after the jump.Kindiefest 2010: Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem
I'll be posting a bunch of stuff -- photos, videos, rambling thoughts -- from my weekend at the 2010 edition of Kindiefest over the next week or so. That's probably a dozen posts, so without any further ado...
I liked Ranky Tanky, the first kids' album from Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, a lot, but didn't totally love the disk.
I loved them in concert. It doesn't entirely surprise me, as I get the sense that their strength is their live show, four talented musicians making music together. But in Brooklyn they got the audience involved for each and every song until ending with a stunning a cappella version of "Wildflowers" that transfixed the crowd.
If they can bottle just a little more of that live energy into their albums, they are going to become big, big stars on the kids music circuit if that's what they want.
Here's their take on the title track from Ranky Tanky...
Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem - "Ranky Tanky" (Live at Kindiefest 2010) [YouTube]
One more after the jump...Share: "Zudio" - Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem
A lot of Zooglobble readers probably already know about Many Hands: Family Music from Haiti, the compilation produced by Dean Jones and released on the newly-formed Spare the Rock Records label. It's got a crazy-good lineup -- Dan Zanes, Pete Seeger, Elizabeth Mitchell, They Might Be Giants, and tons more -- and will benefit the Haitian People's Support Project, which supports nutritional and educational programs in orphanages, schools, and temporary shelters throughout Haiti.
Almost all of the music is new, and if the rest is as good as the free track from Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem that they're offering, it's gonna be a splendid disk. Rani and her band turn in a swinging version of "Zudio." Some of you may recognize it as "Sodeo" from one of Raffi's early, classic disks. I really like his version, but I like this one from the front, from the back, and the side side side. Stream or download the mp3 here.Interview: Jeremy Messersmith
When I went to Austin in March to speak at SXSW, I of course saw literally dozens of performances during the rest of my time there. One of my favorites -- if not the favorite -- was that of Jeremy Messersmith, a Minnesota artist whose set on a chilly night at Central Presbyterian Church managed to both capture that chill and defy it in equal measure.
So what does this have to do with this website? Well, Zooglobble has always been a little idiosyncratic in reflecting my tastes (while it may cover a lot of artists it doesn't cover them all), and I've been listening to Messersmith's new album The Reluctant Graveyard (out tomorrow, May 4) a bunch since I was provided a copy of it a few weeks back. It's a great album, and thirteen big hit songs about death - perfect for a kids music website, right?
Well, beyond the album's appeal to adults, Messersmith has, for 3 years in a row, played Minnesota's 89.3 (The Current) Rock the Cradle event for kids alongside such artists as Adam Levy and Haley Bonar who've recorded for music for kids. So I thought it might be interesting to get a bit of a perspective on playing music for kids from someone who doesn't do it very often. Read on for Messersmith's thoughts on his musical upbringing, philosophical rambling, and the surprising lack of interest in Kermit the Frog and Spongebob Squarepants.
Zooglobble: What were some of your formative musical experiences?
Jeremy Messersmith: Well, I started the recorder at 5, maybe? I think "Baa Baa Black Sheep" was my first song.
I listened to a lot of church music - hymns, praise songs, and the like. The great thing about all that is that it's participatory. My dad would be in the front row, playing trombone; I was 3 or 4 when I was playing a wood block. They took inspiration from that Biblical text -- "Make a joyful noise" -- and thought everybody should join in.
When did you decide to become a songwriter?
Pretty late - not until college. But a friend of mine when I was a kid found me and sent me a copy of a song I "scaffolded" when I was 8 - I put new lyrics to an old melody. "A beast, a beast, rising in the east...". I must've been a jackass when I was a kid.
So how did Rock the Cradle come about?Happy Birthday, Pete Seeger!
Ninety-one years old today. I'm pretty sure that looking up the phrase "national treasure" in the dictionary will turn up a picture of Pete Seeger. 91 years old, and he's coming out with a new album on July 27 called Tomorrow's Children on Appleseed Recordings. Recorded with kids.
Trying to pick a single YouTube clip to celebrate his birthday is darn near impossible, so we'll go with this old clip in which he teaches folks how to play "Skip To My Lou" on the banjo. He says it's not skill that's important, but passion. The spirit of Pete hovered over KindieFest this weekend, that's for sure... Happy Birthday, Pete.
By the way, if you want to listen to a 2-hour concert featuring the whole Seeger clan (including the late Mike Seeger, plus Peggy Seeger and Pete, of course) -- check out this recording from the Library of Congress).
