I'd heard rumblings of a collaboration between Michael Rachap and his Readeez project and other kids musicians to do something called The Greatest Songs You've Ever Read, and this video is the first tangible result. It features Ireland's The Speks and their (previously-released) take on "Old King Cole," which gives props to the fiddlers three. Those three guys always get short shrift.
(BTW, this was a genius idea the first time I heard of it, and it's even better in execution.)
The Speks - "Old King Cole" [YouTube]
Video: "Billy Bagel" - The Macaroons
Here's a joke appropriate for "Billy Bagel," the latest video from The Macaroons album Let's Go Coconuts:
Q: If a seagull is a gull who flies over the sea, what do you call a gull who flies over the bay?
A: A bagel.
I'm here all week, folks. Tip your waitstaff and make sure you try the fish.
The Macaroons - "Billy Bagel" [YouTube]
Radio Playlist: New Music May 2010
Time once more to add some new music to the Zooglobble Radio Station. This playlist airs in the mid-afternoons (West Coast time) and includes tracks from some of the disks that have crossed my desk over the few weeks (that Macaroons album has been there awhile, but, yeah). There are some tracks from forthcoming albums -- Recess Monkey, Justin Roberts, StarFish, Dream Jam Band, Dirty Sock Funtime Band (who I now think should totally form a supergroup with the Dream Jam Band so they can call themselves the Dirty Dream Sock Jam Funtime Band). Even if you can't listen in the afternoon, the tracks are scattered throughout the day, too.
My Brother is a Satellite - Recess Monkey (The Final Funktier)
Obsessed by Trucks - Justin Roberts (Jungle Gym)
The Kid Is All Id - Randy Kaplan (The Kids Are All Id)
Clap Your Hands - Gwendolyn And The Good Time Gang (Clap Your Hands)
Cookies And Milk - The Royal Order Of Chords And Keys (Punk Rock, One Sock!!!)
6th Grade Band - Sugar Free Allstars (Funky Fresh And Sugar Free)
Arabella Angelique - Grenadilla (Grenadilla)
I'm A Monkey - Candy Band (High Five)
Boing - The Dream Jam Band (Leave It In The Soup)
Follow The Fence - The Hammond Sisters (Blue Sky Lullaby)
Flying on Matzoh Brei - The Macaroons (Let's Go Coconuts!)
Cloudbusting - Neil Halstead (Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies (LTD Edition))
Who's My Pretty Baby - The Sweet Colleens (The Monkey Dance: All The Kids Are Doin' It!)
The Ba-Bap Ba Bum Song - Eric Ode (Seven Clever Pirates)
Tikki Tikki Tembo - Cory Hills (The Lost Bicycle)
Dream Of The Clown - The Dirty Sock Funtime Band (Sock-A-Delic)
Spread Your Wings - StarFish (Enter Sandbox)
Duckie - Libby Kirkpatrick (Sweet Songs)
Due to internet radio restrictions, the playlist is in shuffle mode on the station -- songs are listed here in random order as well.
Video: "Have a Party When You Get the Blues" - The Dream Jam Band (World Premiere)
I've premiered a number of songs here at Zooglobble, but this is a first -- a world premiere video. (Shouldn't it be Friday night or there be some sort of cool animation preceding it?) It's from the Dream Jam Band, for a song off their forthcoming second album, Leave It In The Soup, out July 13th.
The video itself isn't terribly complicated -- the band members play the song on a set -- but the song, oh, that song. "Have a Party When You Get the Blues" is one of the high points of the album, a catchy melody and a chorus that begs to be sung along with by the entire family. (C'mon, you know y'all want to...)
The Dream Jam Band - "Have a Party When You Get the Blues" [YouTube]
Kidzapalooza 2010 Lineup Announced
Watch below, but briefly:
Recess Monkey
The Happiness Club (group of students from Chicago)
CandyBand
Rocknoceros
Dan Zanes with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (!)
The Verve Pipe
Tim and the Space Cadets
The Q Brothers
Peter DiStefano with Tor Hyams
plus special guests The New Number 2 and Chrissie Hynde (JP, Chrissie, and the Fairground Boys)
That'll do, for sure.
Watch Perry Farrell and Tor Hyams announce the schedule below. Lollapalooza is August 6-8, 2010.
You Cannot Slow Down Library Kids Music Festivals, You Can Only Hope to Contain Them
But really, why would you?
Earlier this year it was the Tricycle Music Fest, a production of the San Francisco Public Library system. It took over from the original Tricycle Music Fest, a production of the Charlotte, Mecklenburg County library system in North Carolina. That Fest is currently on hiatus, which could very well be the result of a loss of grant or municipal funding, both of which have likely taken a hit in the current economic environment.
And while San Francisco's fest will have a second go-round this October, there's still that whole 3,000-mile swath of land between the coasts. Luckily, Minnesota has stepped into the gap. (Yay, Minnesota!) The library system of Dakota County (suburban Minneapolis) is putting on Rhythm and Words on June 12, featuring authors and musicians from the Twin Cities' nascent kids music scene. Bunny Clogs, Clementown, and the Sweet Colleens, among others, will be performing, along with authors (including Lunch Lady creator Jarrett J. Krosoczka (who knows a thing or two about kids music and book festivals).
Clearly, this is the type of thing that requires backing of some sort -- a donor, advertising, in the case of this festival a portion of a dedicated tax. But it's proof that it still can be done, even these days...
