Itty-Bitty Review: Look Both Ways - ScribbleMonster & His Pals

I'm not sure whether covering obscure Sesame Street songs is either foolish or genius. But that's exactly what Chicago-area band ScribbleMonster have done on their just-released new album Look Both Ways. Aside from the opening track (their cover of the show's theme song), the casual fan (adult or youth) is likely to recognize few (if any) of the songs here. What the band might lose from "Rubber Duckie" completists skipping the collection they gain from the freedom of putting their own stamp on some of the best songwriting for kids anywhere. One some tracks, you can't picture another band covering these songs any better than they are. On both "Loud and Soft" and "Stop!" the power-pop band hit just the right enthusiastic/giddy/slightly silly tone that will motivate kids to sing along and participate. This silliness also shines in the duet with ScribbleMonster (the, er, monster) and kids musician Steve Weeks on "Clink, Clank." (The phrase, "Right, I take this xylophone mallet," makes me smile every time.) They also provide distinctive covers of the slightly-disturbing (at least to my memory) "I Want To Hold Your Ear" and the sunny "Someday, Little Children," featuring Racer Steve from Princess Katie & Racer Steve on guitar. The songs are most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear samples from the brief (26-minute) album at the album's CD Baby page or five full tracks at the band's radio page. I'm still not sure whether covering semi-obscure Sesame Street songs is foolish or genius, but it's hard to go wrong with folks like Joe Raposo and Jeff Moss writing songs and ScribbleMonster performing 'em. Recommended. Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of the album for possible review.

Rabbit Days & Dumplings: A Dan Zanes-Approved Family Music Album Needs Your Help

I have written -- a lot -- about crowd-funding kids music projects, particularly those offered through Kickstarter. But for many reasons, I've never actually pitched in. Until now. The fine folks at Festival Five Records, known to the rest of the world as Dan Zanes' record label, dropped me a line this weekend and said that Elena Moon Park, Zanes' violinist and trumpeter, had begun a new Kickstarter project. As soon as I read the one or two sentence description -- something along the lines of "family folk music album featuring music from China, Japan, and Korea" -- I was pretty much sold. For personal reasons, I've always been on the lookout for a family music album that featured Asian music, particularly from Korea, and saddened that nothing's been available. Putumayo's Asian Dreamland is OK, and Elizabeth Mitchell has featured a few songs scattered amongst her past couple albums; I think Zanes also has a track or two on his albums. But an album that introduced Asian music to families, both native-speakers and non-, has been a large hole in the family music spectrum. And Park's plan -- to incorporate a large group of musicians to sing songs in native languages and English, using Eastern and Western instruments -- to do just that is overdue. (Heck, with the complicated political history those three countries have shared, even intra-Asian cross-cultural understanding can't hurt.) That's why, for the first time, I've actually kicked in some money for a project. Because it won't just create some great music, it fills a need, both for me personally and the world generally. So give the video a spin. Zanes pops up in the video to offer his full support. I can't imagine that he's not going to be part of the album itself. Should be a great album, even if "family Asian folk music album" isn't on your Top 5 list of albums that need to happen (as it -- and hopefully was -- mine).

Songs for Valentine's Day 2011

'Round here, the civics geek inside of me would like to think that everybody celebrates February 14 as Arizona Statehood Day, but I know that it's primarily Valentine's Day just as it is in the rest of the country. Unlike the frenzy of winter holiday songs, however, the kids music community hasn't necessarily jumped in recorded a whole bunch of songs for Valentine's Day. But for those families and kids for whom that Transformers Valentine's Day tattoo just won't fit the bill, here are a few songs for you... DidiPop might have been the first to offer up a new Valentine's Day song this year -- it's called "Happy Valentine's Day." (Note: Unlike Christmas songs, it would appear that "Valentine" is a required word in the title of Valentine's Day songs.) DidiPop - "Happy Valentine's Day" YouTube] The February installment of Jeremy Plays Guitar's monthly free song of the month series is, unsurprisingly, Valentine-themed. (It's even called "Valentines.") That means bows and arrows! OK, not really. It's more about making Valentine's Day cards. Listen to or download the song here. And, yes, there's more...

Pete Seeger and Julie Andrews Win Children's Grammys

I didn't watch the pre-telecast awards ceremony for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards this afternoon -- for one thing, I already had other plans, but I also had a sneaking suspicion that I knew who would win the Best Musical Album for Children. When Pete Seeger is nominated in your category, you'd probably best just get out of the way. He was my pick when the nominees were announced and sure enough, he won this afternoon for his album Tomorrow's Children. This article says Seeger was surprised -- "I never thought in a million years we'd win a Grammy," Seeger is quoted as saying -- but I wasn't. I liked Tomorrow's Children and gave away a copy of the album, but didn't feel it was quite as good as Justin Roberts' Jungle Gym or Here Comes Science from They Might Be Giants. Still considering it's only the fourth Grammy for a man who should have so many that he's using them as holders for spare rolls of toilet paper, it's not surprising that he's picking up a few late in his career. And, yes, as predicted, Julie Andrews also won a Grammy for Julie Andrews' Collection Of Poems, Songs, And Lullabies, beating out Bill Harley and the Healthy Food for Thought kid-comp. Again, hard to begrudge Julie Andrews winning anything at this point... Congratulations to Pete, Julie, and all the nominees...

Review: "Cat and a Bird" - Cat and a Bird

As someone who listens to a lot of music and reviews it on occasion, there's nothing quite like discovering a new artist with their first CD.Don't get me wrong, it's lots of fun to hear an artist you like a lot clicking on all cylinders, but the pleasure in listening to someone like, say, Justin Roberts, is that of hearing a sound you and your family have sort of come to expect performed wonderfully.Putting a CD into the CD drive and hearing a new, unfamiliar sound and voice -- that can be thrilling when that sound and voice click. Cat and a Bird is fairly new to the scene -- the band's website isn't even set up as of this writing.But their self-titled debut bristles with an energy and self-assurance that pays dividends.Their sound -- mixing elements of folk, rock, electronic beats, and gypsy violin -- sometimes sounds both 100 years old and from 100 years in the future.It is impossible not to smile and bop your head while listening to these songs about the animal kingdom.From the album opener "Bee Jive," featuring some nice steel guitar work, to "Surfer Turtle," all sunny and filled with "la"s, to "Kangaroo," which (appropriately) bounces along carried by Emily Chimiak's vocals -- there's something to discover in each track.Chimiak's musical partner in the band Vasily Taranov ably handles most of the instruments (the violin is Chimiak's), throwing in ukulele and upright bass and more.I actually think many of the best tracks are at the end of the album -- I'm thinking of the dance tracks "Lion and the Challengers" and "Night Owl." I would be remiss if I didn't discuss the lyrics as well.I hear a lot of "educational" music that is easily forgotten, but on songs like "Platypus," with its Tin Pan Alley, it memorably sings about the title character by mentioning what it's not ("He's got a beak, neither a cat nor bird / he's got mystique, although he looks absurd.").Nobody will pass their preschool zoology class as a result to listening to these songs, but the songs give some character and personality to the animals they sing about, and matched with the melodies and rhythms, they'll get enough spins to perhaps remember what they're dancing to. I think kids ages 4 through 9 will most appreciate the animal/lyrical themes here.You can hear samples of the 37-minute album at CD Baby, emusic, and iTunes. I can't take credit for discovering Cat and a Bird (that distinction, I believe, goes to Kathy O'Connell and subsequently Bill Childs).But I get just as big a kick out of hearing a new sound as anyone, especially a sound with as much style as this band's.It's a new sound, and one that clearly will gain a much wider audience than it has right now.Without a doubt, this is one of the year's best debuts, but more than that, it's one of the year's best albums, period.Highly recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: Joey's Song for Kids, Volume 1 - Various Artists

It's hard to review benefit albums because the worthy cause behind most such albums makes reviewing the music itself difficult. Who wants to say the album's bad if the cause is good? In the case of Joey's Song for Kids, Volume 1, luckily, the songs are mostly pretty good. First, the cause -- the album benefits The Joseph Gomoll Foundation, which raises money for epilepsy research and advocacy in honor of Joey Gomoll, who died suddenly at the age of 4 while afflicted with Dravet's Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. After his passing, his dad channeled his energies into establishing the Foundation and getting literally dozens of artists to donate songs (mostly unreleased ones at that) for a series of benefit albums, some with music for adults, some for kids and families. Which brings us to the music itself. The first few songs, while certainly competent, aren't terribly exciting, staying in a bland album-oriented-rock rut. If you've heard a dozen or more different versions of "The Wheels on the Bus," for example, Lowen & Navarro's version isn't going to stand out at all. But a few songs through, maybe around April Smith and The Great Picture Show's fun and bouncy "Say, Say, Oh Playmate," the album gets more interesting and mostly stays that way. Jon Dee Graham's previously-released "Hippopotamus," is a great little acoustic country-folk tune, and Ellis Paul (no stranger to family music) turns in a wistful "Mr. Teetot." Special mention also goes out to Gurf Morlix's previously released "Dan Blocker" - not specifically a kids song, but the one most likely to be stuck in family's heads. The album is probably most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7. (For those of you without kids in that age range, you may also care to try the similarly-titled Joey's Song, Volume 1, a collection of songs for adults from the same types of artists - Neko Case, HEM, Robbie Fulks - found on the kiddo version, though I think I preferred the kids' album.) In the end, beyond the worthy cause, Joey's Song for Kids, Volume 1 stands on its own merits musically. Good intentions aside, it's an album that will likely be played after the initial charitable impluse has subsided. Bring on Volume 2. Recommended. Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the album for possible review.