Share: "Rollin' Baby" - Elizabeth Mitchell

Ahhhh... nothing like a little Elizabeth Mitchell track to take the edge off a cool, crisp fall morning. (What's that? I live in the Arizona desert and "cool, crisp" means about 75 degrees? Shhhh!) The track is called "Rollin' Baby," and it's a cover of a track from Mitchell's sister-in-law Anna Padgett, who records as The Good Ms. Padgett. "Rollin' Baby" will remind you a little bit of "Who's My Pretty Baby?," very simple and sweet. Even better, it's free for the price of an e-mail (use the widget below). Padgett, incidentally, has a new album, The Good Ms. Padgett Sings The Little Red Hen and Other Stories, this fall. Her first album had a vibe similar to that of her sister-in-law's, and I'm guessing her second will as well... (Photo credit: Laura Levine)

NPR Reviews Dan Zanes' Little Nut Tree

OK, not, like the entire network of member stations. Pretty much just me. Well -- I had some help. Besides Dan Zanes, the review also features the Sierra Leone Refugee Allstars, Andrew Bird, and Sharon Jones. (That's pretty darn good as help goes.) So check out the review, which will air on All Things Considered at 5:20 / 7:20 / 9:20 PM East Coast time tonight.

Monday Morning Smile: Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants

When my daughter was younger, on most nights I would sing her a song or two before putting her to bed. But as Miss Mary Mack grew older, she eventually decided she didn't want me to do that every night. Once a week or so, however, I'll still sing her a goodnight song. Until recently, it has been something from my repertoire of lullaby songs -- "Hush Little Baby," perhaps, or Brahms' Lullaby (the "doo doo doo" song, with other silly sounds as well). But for some reason -- Miss Mary Mack has been very vague as to her motivation -- in recent weeks she has requested "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," a Jimmy Kennedy/Nat Simon song from the early 1950s whose prominence in my brain is 100% due to They Might Be Giants, who recorded a version for their essential 1990 album Flood. So now I bring up the TMBG version, with the weird vocalizations and instrumental parts, in my mind using memories of an album twenty years old and am thankful I still get to sing lullabies for my daughter. They Might Be Giants - "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" - [YouTube]

Itty-Bitty Review: Tag, You're It! - The Not-Its!

I've always thought of punk music as being pretty anti-authoritarian, which is why I've been surprised to see a lot of kids punk bands be, well, not anti-authoritarian in their music. I suppose it's not that surprising -- how could you sell your music to the very authoritarians (the parents) you're singing against? But I wonder how many parents see the punk outfits and hear the crunchy guitars and think, "not for my family." Pity. The Seattle band The Not-Its! have always been on the "pop" end of the pop-punk spectrum. Rather than take a full-on punk approach, they sneak themselves into homes and audiences with snazzy color-coordinated tutus and ties and cartoon-friendly album covers. This summer they released their third album Tag, You're It! filled with songs about such dangerous topics as freeze tag ("Freeze Tag"), favorite subjects in school ("Mathematics"), and playing air guitar ("I Love Food"). I'm beginning to suspect that the Kindiependent bands have access to some eternal fountain of hooks that they parcel out to themselves, because this album's filled with catchy choruses and nifty melodic lines. (Lead singer Sarah Shannon's voice and the tight musical backup don't hurt in delivering the hooks.) If there's a downside to the album, it's that it plays it too safe at points -- saying "Gotta Keep on Tryin'" is a lot better than most songs that tackle the topic of perserverance, for example, isn't saying much. I tended to prefer the slightly off-kilter tracks: the parent-child argument of "Carry Me," for example, will ring a bell with many parents who've gone, well, anywhere, ever with their kids. (And "Puppy Dog" nicks the bassline from Blondie's "Heart of Glass" to call out a poorly trained canine.) The 31-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear some of the tracks from the album at the band's music page. Tag, You're It! is a short, sharp blast of pop-punk goodness through and through. Safe enough for the kiddoes and the grandparents, regardless of whether they're into Joey Ramone or Vic Damone. Recommended.

Video: "Living Inside of a Jar" - Jim Gill

The first time you watch this video, I recommend not watching it at all... that is, close your eyes or scroll up (or down) or hide the page behind another page if that's possible on your operating system and just listen to the song. It's a perfectly fine song, sure. Then watch it. No matter if you thought the song was cool or "meh," I guarantee you'll be more impressed by the song the second time through. Jim Gill - "Living Inside of a Jar" [YouTube]

Kickstarter and Kids Music. Again.

The list of crowdfunding posts here is lengthy, and it's about to get even longer. It had seemed to me that the mania for family musicians to fund their projects through sites like Kickstarter had calmed somewhat, but it's started up again with a vengeance, with at least 5 projects worth your time to check out, several of them with hip-hop flair. First up is Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, who's drumming up support for his third kid-hop album Make Believers. The project just launched, and at the higher funding levels you can get the shirt off Skidoo's back! (OK, not really. Just his coat. Or his hat.) Anyway, here's the video with Skidoo's whole family pitching in. Kid-hop option #2 is from Boston-based artist RhymeZwell, and it's to fund the filming of a new video for the first single off his upcoming second album Robots on the Dance Floor. And while the implication in his promo video that there's nobody doing kid-hop is, erm, well, see above and below, we'll just chalk that up to the sales pitch. And judging by the concept video's production values (and the song itself), I think the final result may be pretty slick.. Rewards include copies of the album. Kid-hop #3: Big Don (aka Don Robinson) is an Austin-based hip-hop artist who's raising funds to print and distribute Big Don's Brand New Beat, his second album for kids. (I remember getting a copy of his first album randomly placed in my hands at an Austin City Limits Festival a few years back; it was a lot better than most albums randomly placed in my hands.) As you might expect, rewards include copies of the new album. Hip-hop not your family's thing? Well, there's more...