Frances England has written me a song.
OK, she's written you a song.
You, there in the back with the Danish? Song for you, too.
Explanation? England's written "Oh, How You've Grown" and offered the tender song on her website for free as part of her Holiday Family Creative Challenge. Not only can you download the mp3, you (that is, the non-commercial you) can use it as the soundtrack to your own family holiday scrapbook -- she's calling at an "end-of-the-year visual postcard." You can see England's own video here -- sepia makes everything more nostalgic.
Frances England - "Oh, How You've Grown" [YouTube]
Video: "Counting on a Friend" - The Bazillions
The Twin Cities' The Bazillions just keep cranking out one great video after another from their album Rock-N-Roll Recess. After a series of animated videos from EG Design, they've taken a completely different tack for the video from "Counting on a Friend."
It's a stop-motion animated video from EG Design.
(I mock, but it's just as cool as its predecessors.)
The Bazillions - "Counting on a Friend" [YouTube]
Itty-Bitty Review: Galactic Champions of Joy - Todd McHatton
Kids' music often resides in the realm of the real -- the concrete here and now. Music from Southern California's Todd McHatton doesn't follow that formula, especially on his latest disk, Galactic Champions of Joy.
Sure, there's a song about going to the pool -- "Tommy Had a Super Towel," which kicks off the album -- but it's much more about the towel and Tommy's imaginative (and perhaps literal) flights of fancy with it. One "Little Money Man" and "Say Hello to My Hippo," McHatton sings consecutive songs about flatulence; in the former, money appears when the title character "cuts the cheese." And on the final track, the surreal and genius (and totally justified hit) "I Think I'm a Bunny," McHatton takes the role of a monster who thinks he's, well, a bunny, while the young girl he duets with has to convince him that he is, yes, indeed, a purple monster. (I would be disappointed if the song doesn't turn into a picture book at some point.)
The music here is mostly swirling psychedelic power-pop that could have been released at any point in the past 35 years (say hello to the Beatles, or McHatton's hero Harry Nilsson, or Matthew Sweet). It can be gorgeous at times, and it's rarely simple. (This is Exhibit A in the argument against the notion that music for kids need only be bland.) Kids ages 5 through 9 will most appreciate the music (and lyrics) here. You can stream the 47-minute album here.
If parts of Galactic Champions of Joy feel a little bit like a daydream, that's entirely appropriate. The imaginative life of a child can be every bit as important as the concrete day-to-day details, maybe more so, so an album that dives deep into those ideas should be valued. Most families will enjoy at least part of it, but some families will probably find this to be one of their most beloved albums. Recommended.Dan Zanes Releases, Celebrates Christmas in Concord
Nothing like news of a Dan Zanes Christmas album to make the season bright(er). Word from Brooklyn this week that Zanes will follow up his excellent fall release Little Nut Tree with Christmas in Concord. The 5-song EP will be available on iTunes starting on November 29. [The EP is now available here.]The five tunes (tracklisting below) are traditional Christian Christmas tunes. Zanes notes that those tunes were part of Christmases in his hometown of Concord growing up:"I moved away from that narrow canon in the years since I left home as a seventeen year old in favor of more varied musical pastures, but this holiday season something pulled me back... I now realize that there were some very moving songs being sung year after year and I’m grateful for the memories of those parties and for the experience of gathering year after year with friends and neighbors to sing, eat, have a few laughs and eat some pickled herring.”Zanes did indeed travel more broadly, musically (remember his Holiday House Party from 2008?), so this is definitely much more traditional.
In addition to the EP, Zanes is also putting on a Christmas in Concord concert on Saturday afternoon, December 17 at City Winery in New York City. The concert is intended to be a celebration of the Antonsons' annual Christmas party - a seasonal highlight in Concord, NH from 1968 through 1989; sounds like it'll be much different from the House Parties of '08. Zanes promises "special guests! christmas music! songbooks! holiday spirit!," all of which I'd expect from Zanes (including the lowercase spelling). No word on the pickled herring, though.
Sounds like a blast. If we were anywhere near NYC that weekend, we'd be there. EP tracklisting (and possible sneak preview) after the jump.The Best Library Hip-Hop You'll Hear All Year
OK. Probably the only library hip-hop you'll hear all year, but whatevs.
So I got this disk from one Melvil Dewey -- no, not the librarian from the turn of the (20th) century and the inventor of the library categorization system that bears his name. Rather, it's Scott "Scooter" Hayes, who works as a librarian in Wilmington, North Carolina and for the past couple years or so has spent the rest of his time singing, or, rather, rapping the praises of libraries. (And occasionally spoofing the Masters.)
So now he has a CD out called Library Hip Hop, a disk which is long overdue. (See what I did there? I mean, besides steal the last line from Dewey's PR piece?)
Now, if you're a librarian reading this, you've probably already heard of Dewey. (And if you haven't, then you probably need to check out (see what I did there again?) the whole album. If you're anyone else, you do not need this album. It's like listening to an album about bowling -- just about bowling, no bowling-as-metaphor-for-life songs. Which would be pretty cool for 2 or 3 tracks but might not be that interesting 12 tracks in. But you might just dig the beats and the videos below. (The jacket, I offer no such guarantees for.)
Melvil Dewey - "Library Card" [YouTube]
Listen To (and Win) LEGO DUPLO JAMS
When LEGO DUPLO announced that they were going to release LEGO-related songs for the wee ones earlier this year, I was dubious. Even when Jeff, who got a sneak preview of the first track at the Toy Fair in February, said the track was pretty good, I was still dubious. Major corporations rarely get the tone of kids' music right, especially on the first go-round. As much as LEGOs are a part of my family's history (I'd guess it's been more than 35 years since I first played with them), I kept my expectations low.
Then I finally started hearing the tracks myself.
Lo and behold, the songs in the LEGO DUPLO JAMS series are pretty darn good. They work well in every possible way. To begin with, they're tuneful -- "Sort Out the Blues" is a happy, bluesy rocker, "Build With Letters" is a Jangly British pop tune, "What Can I Be" is an homage to '50s doo wop. Beyond that, the positive messages and lessons (e.g., share, create, use your imagination) are made pretty obvious to the toddlers and preschoolers who'll be listening, but not in a way that'll annoy the parents. (They'll probably be chuckling about the abundant LEGO-based double entendres -- in "Stick Together," things are a "snap," for example, or the verb "build" is employed a lot.)
Obviously the folks at LEGO strongly believe in the value of play, and the songs tie in nicely with that belief. The song "Brick Racer" might lend itself to playing with cars (LEGO or otherwise), "Barnyard Serenade" sings about a variety of animals, many of which you can find or create with LEGOs. (Check out lyrics and play suggestions in this online DUPLO JAMS book.)
Collectively, the songs could be the soundtrack for a brick-building session... or just a drive around town. Given that LEGO DUPLO JAMS was a sponsor of both the kids' stage at the Newport Folk Festival and the Meltdown, they seem to be in the kids' music game for the long haul, which is good news for all concerned.
So the easiest way to get all these songs is to sign up for the LEGO DUPLO JAMS podcast. About once a month you'll get a new song for your podcasting pleasure -- there are now ten songs, with the latest introduced yesterday.
But now there's a brand-new, free LEGO DUPLO JAMS iOS app that features 5 of those songs and little interactive "videos" to go along with them. Unlike the songs themselves, which kids up to the age of 6 or 7 would probably like, kids older than 5 will probably be bored with app. But the younger kids will like touching the screen and making different objects move. (The "Barnyard Serenade" video has a simple memory matching game, too.)
If you don't believe me that the songs are good, download the latest track, "Come Over Friends," courtesy of LEGO. It's a holiday-inflected pop-rocker perfect for Thanksgiving or December playtime.
LEGO DUPLO JAMS - Come Over Friends by zooglobble
And if that tickles your fancy, how about this -- LEGO is giving you the opportunity to win a CD featuring all the LEGO DUPLO JAMS songs plus a LEGO DUPLO set. That's right, that CD/set prize pack will go to three lucky readers. All you need to do is to post a comment below (or on the Zooglobble Facebook link promoting this contest) with a LEGO construction memory by Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 11 PM East Coast time / 8 PM West Coast time. I'll pick three winners at random. One entry per family, please. Good luck!
