Spotify for Kids

When I first heard about Spotify's launch here in the United States, my initial reaction was pretty much... "so what?" It wasn't that I didn't appreciate the promise of unlimited music for free, it was more that I recognized the potential downside for me -- I'm already swimming in music, new and old, kindie and not, and the promise of unlimited music seemed either like a burden or fairly useless. But, I dragged out my invite, signed up, and I've spent a few days exploring the library. Not so much for personal reasons -- I'm still drowning in music, though I can see how it could be useful for research/writing purposes (I'm already using it for a particular project). No, I've been exploring the collection of kids music on Spotify. The verdict? Pretty good, but not perfect. The upside: The collection really is pretty broad. All of Dan Zanes' family albums, all the Laurie Berkner Band, all of They Might Be Giants' family stuff, all of Justin Roberts' family stuff. Imagination Movers, Elizabeth Mitchell, Recess Monkey, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Caspar Babypants, the list goes on. The Many Hands compilation is there, too. The downside: The collection isn't complete, and it can be hard to find albums at times.

So I Like This Symphony Space Lineup

I don't often talk about a kids music series in a particular city, if only because, by definition, most of my readers don't live there. But New York City's Symphony Space has just announced its 2011-2012 Just Kidding lineup, and while it's worth mentioning just because of the quality of its performers, I think that other entities looking to produce kids music could draw some valuable lessons from the list: 1) Bring in the big names: Elizabeth Mitchell, Recess Monkey, and Justin Roberts are just 3 popular artists playing the series. There is value in having "name" artists who will draw sizable crowds to whom you can promote your other shows. 2) Bring in the up-and-coming names: Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, Joanie Leeds, Gustafer Yellowgold -- names that have no small amount of popularity, whose audiences may not necessarily be aware of the broader "kindie" world (or who are very aware and are your bread-and-butter 3-or-4-concert attendees. 3) Bring in the new names: Shine and the Moonbeams, Cat and a Bird, Tim and the Space Cadets. 4) Take a chance on the out-of-towners: OK, I realize that Caspar Babypants (Chris Ballew), is probably a pretty safe bet. But, still, it's good to mix up the artists. 5) Don't have it all just be music: The "Just Kidding" series is really a "performing arts"-type lineup, not necessarily a music lineup, with folks like the Story Pirates, the Trachtenburg Family Slide Show Players, and Galumpha (who appear to be sort of a Pilobolus for kids) making appearances. (That's not even mentioning the Thalia Kids' Book Club series.) Nobody's going to be able to see everything, but the diversity of performances help cover your bets. 6) Announce everything in advance: Seriously, being able to look eight or ten months out and see a full list of concerts and performances is incredibly reassuring to a parent (and helps for planning purposes). 7) And have a bunch of performances: So you know that, pretty much every Saturday, there's gonna a performance there, and it's probably gonna be pretty good. So, anyway, it's a good lineup. Details after the jump.

Newborn: The LMNOPs

I guess this is an edition of "Newborn" where I can say I was there "at the birth." Late last year I noted the Kickstarter campaign of the new band The LMNOPs. The Missouri band -- basically the duo of of Zach Reasoner and Todd Gummerman -- successfully completed their Kickstarter campaign, and now you can check out the results on their self-titled debut. We've already noted the zippy "Alphabet Song" as well as "Happy To Be Me" -- in terms of newer tracks, the swirling pop of "Elephant Song" and crunch of "Rolly Polly Roll" are a couple standouts. You can stream the album below or download it at a "pay what you want" price. I don't know what the future holds for the band, but it's sort of like seeing a baby take tentative steps for the first time, I suppose.

Play List: Yet Another Birthday Playlist for Little Boy Blue

Little Boy Blue had another birthday recently, and while I didn't make him his own Drumship Enterprise (it's beat up but still working), I did make him a sequel to last year's playlist. It's a mix of songs he's grooved to a lot over the past few months and new and thematically-appropriate tunes. Six Little Ducks - Raffi (More Singable Songs) It's Hard To Wait For Your Birthday - Lori Henriques (Outside My Door) Birthday - The Jimmies (Practically Ridiculous) All My Friends Are Different - Salteens (Kid Songs) Hey Pepito! - Key Wilde & Mr Clarke (Hey Pepito!) Everybody's Got Their Underwear On - Billy Kelly (Is This Some Kind of Joke?) The Sound I Found - Kira Willey (Dance For The Sun) Bluegrass For Breakfast - The Okee Dokee Brothers (Take It Outside) Cereal - The Verve Pipe (A Family Album) Mushy Berry Pie - The Thinkers (Oh Zoooty!) If Mama Had Four Hands - Sarah Lee Guthrie and Family (Go Waggaloo) Original Friend - Lunch Money (Original Friend) Your Favorite Book - Recess Monkey (Flying!) Keep It On The Paper - Keller Williams (Kids) Let's Dance - Lucky Diaz And The Family Jam Band (Oh Lucky Day!) Stick Tune - Music Together (Family Favorites) Carry Me - The Not-Its! (Tag, You're It!) Our Family - Mr. Leebot (Erratic Schematic) Tatooine - Jeremy Messersmith 150 Year Old Surfer Turtle - Cat and a Bird (Cat and a Bird) Vagabond Worms - Kindiependent Googly Eyes - Caspar Babypants (This Is Fun!) Cooperate - Sugar Free Allstars & Secret Agent 23 Skidoo Hay Que Trabajar - Moona Luna (Piñata Party) Dandelion - Steve Weeks (Dandelion) Particle Man - They Might Be Giants (TMBGs Other Thing Brass Band) Ooki Na Nuri No Ki No Shita De (Under the Big Chestnut Tree) - Elizabeth Mitchell (Sunny Day) Something That I Want - Grace Potter (Tangled) For what it's worth, this year's musical gift was ukulele of his very own...

Video: "Everybody's Got a Name" - Matt Clark

This new video from Matt Clark for his song "Everybody's Got a Name" is fine and all -- it's got simple animation by Jessica Cornelius, simple tune, two Uncle Craigs and a cat called Puddin' Tain. But it still doesn't resolve the ultimate question -- what's the name of the guy at the grocery store!?! Matt Clark - "Everybody's Got a Name" [YouTube]

Concert Recap: The Thinkers (July 2011, Children's Museum of Phoenix)

Hoo boy, that was a fun show put on by The Thinkers on Sunday. We set up most of the Children's Museum of Phoenix shows many months in advance, so it's not often we can fit in a last-minute addition like the Thinkers as the Boston/NY-based band moved westward on a massive country-wide tour, but I'm glad we did, because we all had fun. Little Boy Blue, Miss Mary Mack, and I caught their second set of the day, and with the help of a generous supply of egg shakers and rhythm sticks, it was one of the most chaotic sets I've seen in the sunlit room where we host the shows.

But chaotic in a good, not totally chaotic way. Just lots of kids banging around, jumping, maybe dancing. (I was told that the first set earlier was even more packed and chaotic.) Nobody really knew the songs, of course (present company excepted), but the kids were more than game. Twenty-five minutes later, they were done, the kids were toast, and I had a grin on my face. The band continues to tour for at least next three weeks up the west coast. Definitely track 'em down and check 'em out. Here's "Froggy Hop," with more live video after the jump. The Thinkers - "Froggy Hop" [YouTube]