Christmas 2010 Family Music, Part 3

The only thing more amazing to me than the fact that it wasn't enough to have part 1 and part 2 of Christmas music is that I'm already prepping Part 4. Folks, Christmas is less 100 hours away! Anyway, to the music... First off, free music from The Jimmies. There is never a bad time for free music from the Jimmies, but a holiday-themed EP during the, er, holidays? OK, perhaps the cover of "Chanuka, oh Hanukkah..." is a little late, but the rest is A-OK. The cover of "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" is best described as country-lounge-punk, but I most dig their cover of "Sleigh Ride." Anyway, download, wait for it, Mama Said NOG You Out here.

Rudy Trubitt, one of the Bay Area's Sippy Cups, has a holiday tune for your listening/downloading pleasure. It's his take on "The First Noel," and "boatload of holiday horns, as he describes it, is right. Very nice. Download or stream it here or below:

Rudy Trubitt - The First Noel by rudytrubitt My first comment when I heard that the The Not-Its recorded their version of WHAM's "Last Christmas" without the "romantic" element, was to wonder whether they left out the element where it stunk, too. (Sorry, that song holds about 2 plays worth of interest for me each year, and I think I hit that before we ever reached December.) But, hey, the Not-Its' version is short, tuneful, and funny. Plus, you can download/listen for free here or below.

Last Christmas by The Not-Its! Peter Apel is offering a very high energy take on "Jingle Bells," streamed for free or downloaded for the price of an e-mail. He's also got a free Jingle Bells ringtone, which I'm guessing would sound odd in July, but, hey, it takes all kinds. More info here.

Share: "Sing-a-Long With Lloyd, Vol. 1" - Lloyd Miller of the Deedle Deedle Dees

Here's a nice early Christmas (or late Hanukkah) present -- a free album from Lloyd Miller of New York's Deedle Deedle Dees. It's a bunch of recordings from Miller's community sing-a-longs in Brooklyn this November. They're chaotic, and I'm pretty sure that if he'd have done this in December (or January, or June) it would've sounded different. They're also lots of fun (who wouldn't to sing along with the version of "Wheels on the Bus"?), and I don't think that changes from month to month. Pick it up here for the price of an e-mail, or just stream it below.

Interview: Recess Monkey

Longtime readers will know that we're big fans of Jack Forman, Daron Henry, and Drew Holloway -- AKA the Seattle trio Recess Monkey -- here at Zooglobble HQ. Great songwriting, engaging live act, down-to-earth guys, not-entirely-overbearing handpuppet band manager, the band's got it all. They're busy busy busy all the time -- they're recording their next album with producer Tor Hyams this month while probably planning even more cool stuff with the Seattle-based Kindiependent collective -- but still found time to answer a few questions. So without further ado, please enjoy. Zooglobble: What were your earliest musical memories? Jack Forman: I remember going on long road trips around Indiana, listening to Beatles and Johnny Mathis 8-tracks with my parents. I think Anne Murray was in there too. My mom was always extremely musical, and my dad thought he was, so they encouraged me to try instruments out. Daron Henry: My first musical memory is listening to "Here Comes the Sun" while sitting on my grandparents' kitchen counter. I think that I was 4. As a kid I was always dancing...so much so that my first grade teacher called me "The Dancing Bear" after a Captain Kangaroo character. Drew Holloway: I'll never forget the look my Dad gave me when we came out of Record Revolution in King of Prussia, PA with a copy of Van Halen's 1984. I begged him to get the record after watching "Jump" on MTV hundreds of times. He must have seen potential in my augmented air guitar (playing a broom up on our couch) that helped him overlook the striking cover! My father's finger tapping on the dashboard to the AM radio hits we listened to on the way home from baseball practice and his openness with his record collection (The Beatles, Beach Boys, Jim Croce and Chet Atkins) are truly etched as early musical memories for me.

Video: "Lala Landing" - Heidi Hutchence

British artist Heidi Hutchence has a just-released album, Lala Landing, out, and now she's released her first video from the album. It's for the title track off the new disk, and as with her last video, while the song itself is OK to my ears (it's really just a preschool-targeted theme song, and those are always tricky), the video is a-DOR-able. (Say that last word in sort of a high-pitched voice, it'll make more sense.) Heidi Hutchence - "Lala Landing" [YouTube]

Interview: John Crooke (PlayNetwork)

I was in a Chuck E. Cheese's for a party early this fall and while I was absent-mindedly watching the video loop on the TVs next to the giant (and silent) animatronic animals, I was shaken out of my reverie by the appearance of the great video for "$9.99" by Caspar Babypants (AKA Chris Ballew). Hunh? When exactly did Chuck E. Cheese enter the kindie scene? I sent off an e-mail to Ballew, and he mentioned that he'd licensed the video for use to PlayNetwork, which, among other things, provides in-store background music and video media. Which then led me to John Crooke, Senior Director for Creative Development, who answered some questions about PlayNetwork and what it looks for in music. Zooglobble: First off, can you briefly explain what PlayNetwork does? John Crooke: PlayNetwork produces experiences for consumers that are centered around media for retail environments. From music to TV, video and design, we’re telling stories through media and building partnerships with the most talented and creative individuals in those areas. We create, produce and deliver exceptional content and media experiences.

Share: "K.I.D.S." - Luv Clowns

Trying to explain Luv Clowns is not the easiest thing to do. Or, rather, doing so makes the project sound really, really odd. Which it isn't. Quite. So, simply put, Luv Clowns consists of four well-known Memphis musicians - Harlan T. Bobo, Doug Easley, Alex Greene, and Tim Prudhomme - whose album was released late last month on Goner Records. Oh, and they all dress up in clown costumes when performing. I'm not sure if it's a kids music album for adults, or an adult album (relatively) safe enough for kids, but I do know that the song below, "K.I.D.S.," is a bunch of fun. Stream or download it below, courtesy of Goner. Luv Clowns - "K.I.D.S." [mp3]