Share: "Gimme Some Pancakes" - The Boogers

Who doesn't love free pancakes? I love pancakes, especially the free ones! Warm, with a little maple syrup, maybe with some butter on top. (Or some peanut butter for variety's sake.) And so I think that it's AWESOME that kids punk band The Boogers are offering their fans free pancakes for the price of an e-mail. I mean, how great is that? You give them your e-mail address, and they send you PANCAKES. All the way from Illinois! [whisper, whisper] Oh, it's not actual pancakes? It's a song about pancakes? Sigh. I mean, yeah, the new song rocks, and, yes, you can get "Gimme Some Pancakes" for the price of an e-mail. (And, yeah, Crusty and the crew are workin' on a new album for 2012.) But now I'm hungry.

Itty-Bitty Review: Golden Kids Rules - Chip Taylor and the Grandkids

Chip Taylor is a name that might not be immediately familiar to you, but some of the songs he wrote -- "Wild Thing," "Angel of the Morning" -- probably are. On his new Smithsonian Folkways album Golden Kids Rules, Taylor is joined by 3 granddaughters -- the "Grandkids" -- to sing some songs which trade in the urgency of "Wild Thing" for the experienced perspective of a grandparent. Which, yeah, I know sounds dull, but it's really not. On "I'm Just Thinkin' About What I'm Thinkin' About," Taylor sounds like John Prine channeling a daydreaming kid. "Quarter Moon Shining" might be the most beautiful song I've heard all year, filled with questions all kids ask -- "what's beyond the sky?," "how high do birds fly?," "when old dogs die, where do they go?" -- and (some) answers from Taylor, in a soaring chorus. The grandkids are not an afterthought -- they sing on every track. I don't think you'll tire of their voices -- they sound like real kids singing (in tune), rather than KidzBop shouters. The project started when Taylor wrote some songs for the wedding of his son Kristian. He wrote three songs for he and his grandkids to perform the wedding, included here at the end of the album. Despite the very personal nature of the project, it's to Taylor's credit that the three songs have enough universality to them to make me, someone who's never met Kristian and his wife Anna, understand the songs anyway. (With just a little bit of lyrical tweaking, "Happy Wedding" could easily become a joyful reception staple for any wedding.) With the exception of "Kids to Save the Planet," which is the only overt "do this!" song and therefore the least interesting one on the album, Taylor's guidance is offered gently and obliquely. The 38-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 9. You can download the title track and listen to samples from the rest here. As with all Smithsonian Folkways disks, the liner notes are excellent. Golden Kids Rules would be a perfect "from the grandparents" gift to your kids, but even if you're not receiving the AARP magazine just yet, you (and your kids), you'll probably enjoy the warmth and good humor in these folk-rock melodies. Recommended. Disclosure: I received a copy of this album for possible review.

Interview: Laura Veirs

On her forthcoming album Tumble Bee: Laura Veirs Sings Folk Songs for Children, Laura Veirs makes old folk songs sound new. It's a cliche, sure, but there is often a kernel of truth in a cliche. There is certainly truth in that one regarding Veirs' album, her first for families, on which she invigorates songs so that people who've never heard many of these songs might not necessarily think of them as "old folk songs." (And those of us who have many of these songs many times over can listen again with fresh ears.) I chatted briefly with Veirs recently (on her birthday, no less) about her musical memories, why she made the album, and what kinds of gifts a musician gets for a baby shower. Zooglobble: What are your earliest musical memories? Laura Veirs: I definitely remember Dad singing me to sleep. He plays very casually -- the piano, guitar, charango. By very casual, I mean almost "half-correct." It was nice not to have that pressure. I actually don't know how to read music, which, now that I'm a parent puts me in a bit of a dilemma. For me it'd be nice to play piano with my son and have him play along, but I'd prefer him to have the joy. Anyway, we listened to a lot of classical music and the stars of the day -- Olivia Newton-John, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young. It wasn't a big emphasis, more of a passing fancy. When did you start thinking about making this album? Before your son was born?

Itty-Bitty Review: Get Up and Go - The Biscuit Brothers

What do I have to do, people? I tell you -- repeatedly -- about Austin's Biscuit Brothers, and yet they're still not internationally-loved kids music stars. I suppose I could tell you how Get Up and Go, their fifth and latest album, continues what the Biscuit Brothers have done from the beginning of their TV show (now entering their sixth season on a variety of PBS stations) -- seamlessly blend top-notch musical performances with entry-level musical education. It's always been liking hiding the shredded carrots in the mac-and-cheese, and a song like "Tempo Tongue Twister," featuring the always hysterical Tiny Scarecrow singing a tongue twister that gradually increases in speed (aka tempo) is a perfect example of that. [Note: Tiny Scarecrow doesn't play quite as large a role on this album as he does on others, so those of you who are fans -- e.g., me -- should take note.] But really, why bother? Why tell you that the Biscuit Brothers band, though Americana country and folk is its home territory, covers the genre ground from zydeco ("The Crawdad Song," of course) to jazz ("Bill Bailey") to surf-rock ("Dance Party") to funk (the title track) with aplomb just as they've always done if you're not going to buy the albums or watch clips from the shows. There's no point in telling you that there is more pure joy on a Biscuit Brothers album than almost any other kids music album (which is already a fairly high-joy genre) -- their version of "Little Red Caboose" may be the most fun track I've heard all year. So go ahead. Ignore me. Your kids aged 3 through 8 who would get the most out of this album can ignore me, too. Get Up and Go is yet another solid album of traditional favorites done fresh and with good humor, mixed in with a few originals, an album which would be a good entry point for non-fans into the Biscuit Brothers show. It's definitely recommended, not that you care.

Share: Free Music from Caspar Babypants, Recess Monkey, The Not-Its (and more)

Big props to Amazon for continuing to offer free kids' music. A couple months ago it was Justin Roberts and Bloodshot Records, among others -- this month it's Burnside Distribution, who's offering a free 7-song sampler of artists whose albums they distribute. Because Burnside's based in Portland, OR, it's no surprise that the sampler's got a big Pacific Northwest tilt -- Caspar Babypants ("I Wanna Be a Snowman"), Recess Monkey ("Flapjacks"), and the Not-Its ("I've Got a Goat") have songs from their latest album on the list. The album also includes The Verve Pipe's deservedly beloved and over-the-top "Cereal" and Kimya Dawson's dorky and lo-fi "Bobby-O" from Alphabutt. For those of you on the lookout for new music, the album does have a couple less-familiar tracks. One is "Tootsie" from Edukator Jr., a song with an Americana feel (which is a much different sound from the rest of the tracks on their Myspace page). No surprise, Greasy Kid Stuff was all over the album when it was first released a couple years ago. The other is "Things That Can't Be Pets" from a band called Snack Trap. The track sounds like The Postal Service (if the duo had invited a female singer along).

Concert Recap: Chuck Cheesman (Phoenix, October 2011)

So, yeah, we had fun last weekend with Chuck Cheesman as part of the series at the Children's Museum of Phoenix. Chuck's had years of experience playing younguns at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music and around Arizona, so he's really good at getting the preschoolers and young elementary-aged kids up and moving around. The CMOP was no exception. Here he is playing the title track from his new album Dancing With No Shoes On... Chuck Cheesman - "Dancing With No Shoes On" (Live) [YouTube]