It's time again for an updated list of new and upcoming releases, (and by "updated," I mean "updating last month's list.") Additions to the list are noted with a "++"; changes to previously-mentioned items are indicated with italics.
As always, if I've listed you on here and gotten something wrong (or something not ready for primetime), let me know and I'll edit or delete it. And if you're not on here and think you should be, drop me a line, too, and I'll get you added for the next iteration.
The Bari Koral Family Rock Band: Anna And The Cupcakes (Feb. 14)
Bill Harley: High Dives and Other Things That Could Have Happened (Feb. 14)
++ Imagination Movers: Rock-O-Matic (Feb. 14)
Putumayo Kids: Instrumental Dreamland (Feb. 28)
++ Jazz at Lincoln Center: WeBop (Feb. 28)
Tim and the Space Cadets: Anthems for Adventure (February)
Doctor Noize: Grammaropolis (March 4)
++ Rockabye Baby: Lullaby Renditions of Dave Matthews Band (March 6)
The Good Ms. Padgett: ... Tells The Little Red Hen and Other Stories (March 20)
Recess Music: La Bella Stella (March 27)
Princess Katie and Racer Steve: Love, Cake & Monsters (March?)
Central Services Board of Education: Binary [tentative] (March?)
RhymeZwell: Robots on the Dance Floor (March?)
Gustafer Yellowgold: Gustafer Yellowgold’s Year in The Day (April 3)
The Pop Ups: Radio Jungle (April 3)
Mo Phillips: Monster Suit (April 10)
Caspar Babypants: HOT DOG! (April 17)
Sukey Molloy: I Am Happy! (April 24)
++ Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band: A Bit A Luck! (May 8)
Orange Sherbet: Delicious (May 15)
Hope Harris: Picasso, That's Who! (May 22)
Okee Dokee Brothers: Can You Canoe? CD/DVD (May)
Randy Kaplan: Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie (spring?)
The Funky Mamas and Friends: Pickin’ In The Garden (spring)
Elena Moon Park: Rabbit Days and Dumplings (spring)
Alison Faith Levy: World of Wonder (spring)
Ratboy Jr: Title TBA (late spring/early summer)
++ Recess Monkey: In Tents (June 19)
The Dirty Sock Funtime Band: Dirty Socks Come Clean (June 26)
++ Melissa Green: Sing Loud (July 31)
++ Lori Henriques: The World Is A Curious Place To Live (July)
++ Hey Dango: Blast Off (summer)
Charity and the JAMband: Title TBA (August)
++ Hullabaloo: Title TBA (Sept. 4)
++ The Diggity Dudes: Title TBA (Sept. 18)
Recess Music: Someone Else’s Shoes (September 25)
Andy Z: The Grand Scream of Things (Oct. 9)
Other expected 2012 albums: Ah-Choo, Peter Apel, Sugar Free Allstars, Renee & Jeremy, The Bramble Jam, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (Make Believers), Bobby Susser (Wo), Eric Herman (2 albums: one music, one comedy skits), Keith Munslow (2 albums: one solo, one with Bill Harley), Wayne Potash, Alex and the Kaleidoscope Band, Shine and the Moonbeams, Yumza!, Rockabye Baby albums for Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers ++, Elska ++, Ozomatli ++, Justin Roberts ++
Laurie Berkner's New Show: Sing It, Laurie!
The biggest news to come down the pike yesterday was the first public steps toward Laurie Berkner's return to TV.
Oh, sure, Jack's Big Music Show is still airing on Nick Jr. But it's been years since new episodes have been made. So it's a big deal that Little Airplane Productions (The Wonder Pets!, Small Potatoes) is partnering with Berkner to create Sing It, Laurie!, a new animated preschool TV series. The series is about a little girl named Laurie who loves to sing and play her purple guitar. In each 11-minute episode, Laurie, along with her dog Jamaica (Jam for short), will explore one theme, such as family, community, or nature. That's Laurie and Jam flying in the Wing Dinger, a "unique one person helicopter that's just the perfect size for Laurie and Jam." Each episode features Berkner's music, some of it newly composed for the show, some of it from Berkner's past albums.
The announcement noted that the educational curriculum was written by Dr. Christine Ricci (Dora the Explorer) and will focus on three core themes: creativity, curiosity and music appreciation.
What's missing, of course, is the announcement of a TV distribution agreement, so it'll be awhile before we'll see Laurie and Jam figuring out how to solve childhood obesity with a guitar and a helicopter. (OK, we'll probably never see that episode. Which is probably a good thing.) But given both Little Airplane and Berkner's track record, this has a better shot than any other kindie-musician-with-a-script of making it onto a TV channel near you in the next year.Mamma Yamma: The Canadian Foofa (Or Is It Toodee)?
I recently got a note from reader Susan suggesting I check out Kids' CBC, because they "seem to be doing a Yo Gabba Gabba-type thing by inviting Canadian indie musicians to jam with the character Mamma Yamma, who is a large, ebullient yam. In particular, Susan directed me to this video which featured musician Joel Plaskett doing a kid-friendly take on his song "Fashionable People."
Joel Plaskett - "Fashionable People" (from Kids' CBC) [YouTube]
Goofy, and kinda cute, even if you don't know the pretty-much-not-kid-friendly original. Though I'd been vaguely familiar with the show (it even has a CD of songs), I hadn't paid too much attention. My loss, I suppose.
As I watched this video and dug deeper into the Mamma Yamma archives, I got not only a YGG vibe, but also a Sesame Street feeling. That show's been inviting musical guests onto its street pretty much from the get-go forty years ago. Admittedly, it's generally gone for more mainstream musical guests than Brobee, Foofa, Toodee, and the rest have on their own show, but they've occasionally dipped into slightly more off-center artists. (See: Feist.)
In fact, Mamma Yamma has her own Feist-ian equivalent, with Kathleen Edwards reworking her kid-unfriendly (albeit pretty awesome) "Cheapest Key" into a very kid-friendly (and still pretty awesome) song "Eat the Alphabet". (Sorry, for some reason it's cutting off early, but you get the point. If you want to listen to a live version, Bill played it before at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, perhaps he'll do so again, hint hint.)
And here's one more complete one to finish this off. Any show that features Tegan and Sara gets a thumbs up in my book.
Tegan and Sara - "Alligator" (for Kids' CBC) [YouTube]
Share: Edukator Jr. - Edukator Jr.
A while back, I highlighted Plays Well Together, a free collection of mp3s from Seattle-based Burnside Distribution. While I focused on the mostly Seattle-based nature of the artists, there were a couple artists with whom I was unfamiliar.
One of them was Edukator Jr. Now, they're a band that clearly didn't spend too much time pushing the album (that's a Myspace link, for example, and not a particularly up-to-date one at that). But as EPs go, their self-titled debut is pretty good. It's squarely in the preschool/early elementary education wheelhouse and its subject matter -- songs about ABCs, brushing teeth, taking naps, etc. -- is nothing that hasn't been done before but it's wrapped in a shiny, mostly indie-pop sheen that stands up to repeated listenings.
Don't believe me? Well, you can check it out for yourself here, or just use this widget to listen to it or download for the price of an e-mail.The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore: The Short Film
I rarely stray from the subject of kids music here at Zooglobble, so when I do, you can rest assured it's with good reason.
This is good reason.
Before it was an acclaimed iPad app (or at least simultaneously), The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore was also a short animated film co-directed by author William Joyce (The Guardians of Childhood series and much more) and Brandon Oldenburg.
To say too much would ruin the joy that's found within the roughly fifteen-minute movie, but it celebrates stories and books and movies and includes both goofy slapstick and tugged heartstrings. I'm not surprised that it picked up an Academy Award nomination for Animated Short Film. It is worthy of Pixar's short film work, which is no small praise from these quarters.
I've embedded it below, but it would be doing a disservice to the movie if you didn't go here and watch it full screen, or, even better, watch on your TV via Roku or Apple TV.
Video: "Humpty Dumpty" - Groove Kid Nation
I'm posting this video from Music in Motion, the latest album from Groove Kid Nation (the creation of L.A. musician Rodney Lee) mostly for one reason: the stinky face.
The animation's OK (a bit static, but it'll do in a pinch), and the groove on this retelling of the story of Humpty Dumpty is pretty funky, but, like I said, it's all about the stinky face. How often do you get to learn about the stinky face in a musically-appropriate manner?
Groove Kid Nation - "Humpty Dumpty" [YouTube]
