Video: "Moon Moon Moon" - The Laurie Berkner Band

This Laurie Berkner song -- "Moon Moon Moon" -- has always been one of my favorites of hers -- I sing it quite a bit with Little Boy Blue. (But I don't believe in lemon pies and don't get that far.) The video (which I first saw on the We Are the Laurie Berkner Band DVD released many moon moon moons ago) is nothing special but does feature hand motions that would work really well with preschoolers. The Laurie Berkner Band - "Moon Moon Moon" [YouTube]

Zooglobble City Limits

AKL_logo.jpgPlane tickets - check. Rental car - check. Lodging - check. (Thanks, Mom!) Press passes - check. That's right, the Austin Kiddie Limits stage schedule is set for the 2010 edition of the Austin City Limits Festival and Zooglobble will be there for the fun. I've got a long history of attending the festival and I'm excited to catch the AKL bands with the family, spend some time in the sandbox, and maybe (OK, definitely) catch Spoon. If you're gonna be there, let me know. And if you're not, fear not, I might get a post or five out of it...

Listen To This: "Vagabond Worms" - Kindiependent

Attention rest of the country, Seattle's Kindiependent collective has just raised the bar again. I'd heard that Caspar Babypants, Recess Monkey, and the Harmonica Pocket jammed one recent Sunday. The result - "Vagabond Worms" - is even better than I anticipated. Update: Download the track at the Kindiependent website! Caspar Babypants, Recess Monkey, The Harmonica Pocket - "Vagabond Worms" [YouTube]

Review Redux: Meet the Squeegees - The Squeegees

MeetTheSqueeGees.jpgThis is probably a Zooglobble first. I've double-dipped reviews before for albums getting re-releases, but this is essentially a triple-dip. It's for the LA band The Squeegees. Their album started out as an EP, then doubled in size and was released in February 2008. Now it's getting exclusive national distribution in Target starting tomorrow and I thought I'd pull up that 2008 review for your pleasure, plus offer a thought on the new track... ****** Meet The SqueeGees, the first full-length CD from the Los Angeles-area band The SqueeGees, could offer me a chance to be exceedingly lazy and simply copy the review from their debut EP, The SqueeGees. Well, maybe half the review. Because half of the CD was originally found on that debut EP. Now, that's not a bad thing, perhaps, because that means the bubbly tiny nugget of a song, "Apples Oranges & Peaches," is back, as is "Nala the Chihuahua," with its snaky melodic line and harmonies. And "The Ol' WWW," which really isn't a kids song (though it's totally kid-safe) is back to amuse the parents. Just as with the EP, the Squeegees are at their best when they're not as concerned with the point of the song, such as the dreamy "Bubbles." "I-D-E-A," a song encouraging more environmentally conscious thinking, almost overdoes it with the hitting-over-the-head. (More amusing is the Queen-esque breakdown that starts "So you think that you would like to drive a big car? / Have you seen the gas prices today?" and ends, of course, with "I like to ride my bicycle / I like to ride my bike...") In fact, what struck me the most on listening to the full-length CD is how much care and craft has gone into these tunes, musically speaking. The SqueeGees generally play folk-rock, but there's a lot of interesting bits squeezed in here, like in the song above, or the harmonies in "Nala the Chihuahua." Along with Samantha Tobey's clear voice, they make the most of the songs here. As for the Target re-release, even though the band itself seems to have gone through some changes (Tobey is still there, she's now joined by Rilo Kiley bassist Pierre de Reeder and Rich Sherwood), the album appears (and sounds) to be identical to the 2008 release except for the new track, "Tweet Tweet Tweet." No, it's not a song about Twitter (which would've made for a nice new verse on "The Ol' WWW"), but a song about birds, with a nice full sound. It's not worth getting the album for that one song alone, but it's definitely a pleasant addition. I'll peg the album as most appropriate for ages 2 through 7. You can hear some tracks from the CD at the band's Myspace page. There's a lot to recommend in Meet the SqueeGees. I like the quirky ones more than the standard ones, but that might be personal taste. In either case, there's a high attention to sonic detail that kids musicians thinking of recording debuts could do well to emulate. Recommended. Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review.

Keller Williams Takes the Airwaves

Kids.jpgAs previously noted and long anticipated, Keller Williams' first album for families, Kids, gets its release October 26, but it's gonna get a big push out the door at the very beginning of the month, with seven of the album's tracks getting world premieres all across the kid-ternets. Including this corner. I'll be offering "Hula Hoop to Da Loop" for your streaming pleasure. As you might suspect from the name, those of you who dig Williams' ability with the looping technology will dig it bunches. And I think the rest of you will, too. Details on the rest of the schedule below. Thursday, Sept. 30: “Keep It on the Paper” Gooney Bird Kids (GBK Radio) Friday, Oct. 1: “My Neighbor is Happy Again” – Sirius/XM’s The Absolutely Mindy Show Friday, Oct. 1: “Hula Hoop to Da Loop” – Zooglobble Friday, Oct. 1: “Grandma’s Feather Bed” Pied Piper Radio Saturday, Oct. 2: “Mama Tooted” – Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child (part of a guest DJ set) Saturday, Oct. 2: “Because I Said So” - Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl Saturday, Oct. 2: “Lucy Lawcy” Ages 3 & Up!

Monday Morning Smile: "White Knuckles" - OK Go

I can't think of another band whose music I merely enjoy whose videos I consume so eagerly. While it's not quite as brilliant as their video for "This Too Shall Pass", this video for "White Knuckles" is fun with animals and safe for the kiddos. What's that, Lassie? You say you want to choreograph Timmy's next music video? OK Go - "White Knuckles" [YouTube]