The Ketchup Report, Vol. 7

I see a lot of stuff. I don't always have time for a separate post. Here, then, is a collection of random pieces of information -- videos, downloads, news -- that never made it into its own neatly-titled post. -- Aaron Nigel Smith is offering up a free mp3 of his song "In a Book," a slow reggae jam not featured on his forthcoming Let's Pretend album. Pick it up here.

-- I'd read somewhere -- probably a comment on its Facebook page -- that there was going to be a Kidzapalooza in Chile this year. That struck me as odd, but sure enough, yes, there is. April 2nd and 3rd, while Lollapalooza entertains a whole bunch of folks in Santiago, acts such as Achú, Cuchara, Fractal + Joe Vanconcellos, Los Pulentos, Los Plumabits, and Magictwins will be rocking the Kidza stage (though in the case of the Magictwins, I'm not sure "rock" is the word, even though they rock... magically). Kidzapalooza co-founder Tor Hyams reports he is indeed making the trek down to South America to produce the stage, a trek which makes the cross-country flights folks like Hyams and myself will make for Kindiefest seem like small potatoes. And, Tor, please see what you can do about bringing Los Plumabits -- featured on a Chilean kids' TV show which seems to be somewhat analagous to Yo Gabba Gabba! -- to the States. Los Plumabits - "Disco Laser" [YouTube] More -- much more -- after the jump.

KidVid Tournament 2011: The Brackets!

You already know about my favorite kids music videos of the year. This past weekend many of you headed over to the Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl to vote on your favorites from that list. (Thanks, Dave! And thanks Jeff for the swanky logo.) Combining my original, partially-ranked list with the rankings from the poll, I now have the brackets for KidVid Tournament 2011. It was a little difficult trying to merge the two and honor the high-ranked entries in each -- I visualize Salteens sitting in front of their monitor, stunned, while Jim Nantz interviews the lead singer who says that he just can't understand how the Tournament Committee overlooked them. (Also note: I excluded Secret Agent 23 Skidoo from the beginning because he won a couple years ago, and I exempt prior winners for a number of years.). I've got 16 great kids music videos, ready to compete against each other in a friendly single-elimination tournament, with readers picking the winners in each round. The tournament starts Friday, but here's the entire bracket... Ella Jenkins Region John Upchurch & Mark Greenberg, "A Counting Error" (1) vs. Sugar Free Allstars, "Cars and Trucks" (4) The Not-Its!, "Green Light, Go!" (2) vs. Essie Jain, "What a Big Wide World" (3) Pete Seeger Region Keller Williams, "Hula Hoop To Da Loop" (1) vs. Justin Roberts, "Obsessed by Trucks" (4) Recess Monkey, "Black Hole in My Room" (2) vs. Jamie Broza, "Waters of March" (3) Leadbelly Region Caspar Babypants, "$9.99" (1) vs. The Verve Pipe, "When One Became Two" (4) Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, "Big Pet Pig" (2) vs. Holly Throsby, "Fish and Mice" (3) Woody Guthrie Region The Bazillions, "Preposition" (1) vs. Coal Train Railroad (and Readeez), "Just the Juice, Jack" (4) Debbie and Friends, "Cinderella" (2) vs. Billy Kelly, "The Sky Floats (and So Do Boats)" (3) Now, as I mentioned before, some of my friends around the kids music world will be hosting the first and second round matchups. Here's the schedule of when you'll want to check out their sites for the first round. I mean, you should be doing so, regularly, but still. Out With the Kids: Friday, 3/18 Ages 3 and Up!: Saturday, 3/19 Gooney Bird Kids: Monday, 3/21 Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child: Tuesday, 3/22 As for which matchups will be featured on each site on each day, well, for that, you'll just have to tune in.

Video: "Antidisestablishmentarianism" - The Okee Dokee Brothers (Readeez-Style)

I coulda sworn that I'd written something about "Antidisestablishmentarianism," one of the standout tracks on the Okee Dokee Brothers' fine Take It Outside album, being a perfect candidate for a Readeez video. So maybe I just trained my finely-honed telepathic skills on Joe, Justin, and Michael. But, really, why wouldn't you make a Readeez for a song celebrating the longest word in the English language? The Okee Dokee Brothers - "Antidisestablishmentarianism" [YouTube]

Video: "Career Day" - The Bazillions

The Twin Cities' kid-jangle-popsters The Bazillions aren't resting on their 2010 video laurels. Their first video of 2011 is for "Career Day," featuring a neat mix of live-action faces and animation that's reminiscent of the video for They Might Be Giants' "I Am a Paleontologist". Ironically, "paleontologist" is just about the only career the Bazillions don't sing about in the video. The Bazillions - "Career Day" [YouTube]

It's the Runup to KidVid Tournament 2011...

And I need help. Not just yours, either. That's right, it's almost time for the formal start of KidVid Tournament 2011 and this year I'm getting help from a number of my fellow family music writers and radio hosts. ~~Starting tomorrow,~~ Dave Loftin from the Saturday Morning Cereal Bowl ~~will be~~ is hosting a poll where he'll be asking you (yes, you) to select your favorites from amongst my 25 favorite kids music videos of 2010. Go here, watch the videos, and vote at the poll on the right side of the page. Think of it like Tournament Week before KidVid Tournament 2011 -- some videos will play themselves into the tourney, and some on the bubble will fall out. (I did something similar last year.) That will happen over the span of maybe 48 hours, and starting late next week, you'll be able to vote for your favorite videos in head-to-head matchups at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, Ages 3 and Up!, Out With the Kids, and Gooney Bird Radio. They'll host the first and second rounds -- just like real regionals! (Except for the part where there's no west coast representation.) And by the end of March and beginning of April, we'll come back here for the semifinals and finals. All the while (or at least part of the while), Jeff Giles from Dadnabbit will provide a little commentary. I'd say he's the Billy Packer of KidVid, but maybe I shouldn't. Anyway, should be fun, follow along here for all you need to know and enjoy the ride!

Itty-Bitty Review: Acoustic Dreamland (Putumayo) - Various Artists

The sight of Nicola Heindl's illustration immediately brands it as a Putumayo disk. But take off the animated cover of Acoustic Dreamland, the latest collection from Putumayo Kids, replace it with some tastefully sepia-tinged photograph of, I don't know, a moon rising over a barn, and you could totally sell this collection at Pottery Barn, perhaps. Which is to say that this isn't so much a kids music album as it is just a kid-friendly album. But oh what a nicely curated album it is. I never would have pegged Wilco as a source for lullabies, but Mark Erelli's version of "My Darling" outshines the original, methinks. Ditto for Elizabeth Mitchell's cover of the Allman Brothers' "Blue Sky." Kids musicians aren't totally shut out here -- Frances England records a new song, "Here With Me," for the collection, and Kesang Marstrand lends a song from her excellent lullaby collection as well. As with many Putumayo disks, however, the value in the collection isn't so much the individual songs as much as it is the fact that someone has spent the time finding the tracks and saving the listener the effort. The album is appropriate for all ages, though the lullaby nature of means that you're more likely to spin it with kids ages 5 and less. You can sample some of the tracks here. I can totally see Acoustic Dreamland being used at nap time or quiet time or during a nighttime feeding. And, buried on a hard drive and stripped of its album art, long past your kids nap, eat at night, or are ever quiet, listened by you and you alone. Recommended.