KidVid Tournament 2011: Day 3 (Leadbelly Regional)

We've had an exciting weekend of KidVid Tournament 2011 action, but we're not done yet with the first round. Today's action moves down south as Gwyneth over at Gooney Bird Kids is hosting two matchups for the Leadbelly Regional: -- 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 & Mice" (3) Don't forget -- if you're looking for commentary before or after you vote (today only!) Jeff Giles over at Dadnabbit is providing commentary on the whole bracket. Read his take on today's matchups here.

KidVid Tournament 2011: Day 2 (Ella Jenkins Regional)

Day 1 of KidVid Tournament 2011 is in the books, Day 2 is next. Head on over today to Ages 3 and Up! for your chance to vote on the next two matchups, featuring the Ella Jenkins Region: -- John Upchurch and 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) And before (or after) you vote there, Jeff Giles over at Dadnabbit continues to provide his commentary on the whole bracket. Read his take on today's matchups here.

KidVid Tournament 2011: Day 1 (Woody Guthrie Regional)

Yes, that's right. Head on over today to Out With the Kids for your chance to vote on the first two matchups in KidVid Tournament 2011, featuring the Woody Guthrie Region: -- The Bazillions, "Preposition" (1) vs. Coal Train Railroad (and Readeez), "Just the Juice, Jack" (4) -- watch and vote here. -- Debbie and Friends, "Cinderella" (2) vs. Billy Kelly, "The Sky Floats (and So Do Boats)" (3) -- watch and vote here. And, if you want a second opinion on the videos, Jeff Giles, the fine writer and mastermind behind Dadnabbit, has graciously agreed to provide his thoughts on the whole bracket. Read his take on the day's competition here.

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]