Listen To This: "You Are Here" - Lunch Money (from Many Hands)

ManyHands.jpgWhen I was given the opportunity to share with you a track from Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti, the hardest part was picking the track. There are lots of great songs on the compilation put together by Dog on Fleas and Bill Childs to benefit a variety of Haiti efforts, limiting myself to just one was hard work. (But in a good way.) I picked this track from Lunch Money because in a couple ways it exemplifies the album as a whole -- 1) the benefit compilation itself is the first I can think of that consists primarily of family musicians performing (as opposed to adult artists performing kids' tracks), and 2) its theme of connecting with people elsewhere in the world fits well within the album's underlying intention to connect this part of the world with another part of the world -- nearby geographically, but far away in other ways. Also, 3) it's just a really fun and sweet track. Many Hands: Family Music from Haiti is officially released next week, Aug. 10. (You can preorder the album at Amazon, among other places.) Until then, courtesy of Dean and Bill and Lunch Money, stream this track. [Ed: But only for a limited time. The album's out today...]

Contest: Win Pete Seeger's "Tomorrow's Children"

TomorrowsChildren.jpgPete Seeger has a new album out this week. That's right, 91 years old, and Pete's still recording music and building community. Or is it the other way 'round? He's released Tomorrow's Children, a collection of all-new recordings, and I have a copy courtesy of Appleseed Recordings for one lucky Zooglobble reader. That's right, somebody will win a copy of Pete's latest album, recorded with guests such as Dar Williams and local kids the Rivertown Kids, a group of kids whose classroom Pete regularly visited back in 2007 and who share songwriting credits on some of the tracks here. (It's about 180 degrees from a Kidz Bop album.) For more details on the album, go here. To enter the contest, just leave a comment below with who else you think Seeger should duet with when he records his next album. Entries are due by Sunday, August 8 at 8 PM West Coast time. I'll pick one commenter randomly and notify them by e-mail. Thanks and good luck!

Share: "Oh, John the Rabbit" - Elizabeth Mitchell

SunnyDay.jpgAs previously noted, Elizabeth Mitchell will be releasing her next family music album, Sunny Day, later this year, October 5, to be exact. And she's just released a super-cute video for one of the tracks on the new disk, "Oh, John the Rabbit." You can view the video here. It's pretty simple, with Elizabeth, Daniel, Storey, bunnies, and a bunch of other kids. "John the Rabbit" is a pretty classic call-and-response song, one that Mitchell recorded on her very first kids album, You Are My Flower. Storey wasn't even born when that album was released more than a decade ago; to have her join in on this version seems pretty cool. Anyway, if you like the video, you can also download the mp3 from that page as well for the price of an e-mail. Update: The video's now on YouTube... Elizabeth Mitchell - "Oh, John the Rabbit" [YouTube]

Itty-Bitty Review: "Luckiest Adventure" - Lucky Diaz

LuckiestAdventure.jpgYou can make a big impression in a small amount of time. With his debut family EP Luckiest Adventure, Lucky Diaz proves you can do it in about fifteen minutes. The singer-songwriter from LA has put together five fabulous songs that will probably stay lodged in your iTunes playlist, car CD player, and brain for a long time after you first hear it. "Blue Bear" is a shuffling rockabilly tune that must spontaneously generate handclapping solos in concert. It's followed by "Explorer," which has a bit of a laid-back Jack Johnson feel mixed with some nifty fret work from Diaz. "Fire Fighter Girl" apes the girl-group sound of fifty years ago, "Let Me Be Yours" sounds like a folk-rock love song for adults but works in a knock-knock joke (sort of), and the album concludes with an rootsy power-pop take on "This Old Man" -- complete with an appearance by the man himself. Diaz has a versatile voice that can do the big choruses and falsettos equally well, and it's ably backed up by the trio (Diaz and a couple others). The songs are most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 6. You can download the album on iTunes or Amazon, and you can stream 3 of the songs at Diaz's website. On Luckiest Adventure, Diaz has put more really good songs on a 5-song EP than a lot of artists fit in on an entire full-length. Full-length pronto, please. Definitely recommended.

Radio Playlist: New Music July 2010

Time for some new music to the Zooglobble Radio Station. A bunch of music has crossed my desk over the past month or two, and I know there's a bunch of albums that I haven't been able to squeeze in here (guess it won't be hard to put together New Music August 2010). This playlist airs in the mid-afternoons (West Coast time), but if you can't listen in the afternoon, the tracks are scattered throughout the day, too. Animal Friends - Poochamungas (Mud, Mommies and Mayhem) F & G - The Pop Ups (Outside Voices) America's Our Country - David Tobocman Moon Moon Moon (Alternate Version) - Laurie Berkner (The Best Of The Laurie Berkner Band) What A Big Wide World - Essie Jain (Until The Light Of Morning) Right Now - Jon Samson (Another Kids Album) Mariposa Mi Nina - The Bramble Jam (Move Your Boots) Va A La Playa - Mo Phillips (Robot Rodeo) Hard On You - Skyboat (On Trinity Street) All God's Critters - Kathryn Christian (I'm a Michigan Kid) I Want a Cookie - The Rozz and Val Show (The Rozz and Val Show) Turn the Sunshine On - Cathy Heller (Life is Good) Together Like You And Me - Brendan Parker (Spaghetti Eddie! And Other Children's Songs) on top of spaghetti - The Primate Fiasco (Wheels On The Bus) Tommy Got In Trouble - The Bazillions (Rock-n-Roll Recess) NOT! - Geff Crawford (Recess) The Cul-de-Sac Kids - Paul Rogers (The Cul-de-Sac Kids) Cumbia - Spencer the Gardener (Organic Gangster Vol. 1) Yonder Come Day - Gina Samardge (Together) Super Smart Guy - Daniel Schorr (I Smart) Explorer - Lucky Diaz (Luckiest Adventure) This list is random, and, due to internet broadcast rules, you'll hear them randomly on air as well...