Weekly Summary (5/13/13 - 5/19/13)

Hey, you!  Oh, I'm sorry, that sounded rude.

Hi!  This is what was posted here at Zooglobble last week.  Fresh kids music goodness for your reading (and watching and listening and downloading and podcasting) pleasure.​

Monday Morning Smile: "This Is Water" - David Foster Wallace

This has been floating (pun mostly unintended) around the internet for a couple weeks now, but this short film featuring highlights of the late David Foster Wallace's commencement address to ​Kenyon College graduates in 2005 earns all the plaudits it's received.

By trimming Wallace's original speech of more than 20 minutes down by more than half, and marrying it to some excellent visuals, both real-life and animated, The Glossary have created 9 minutes that is certainly worth your time and worth the time of your kid-graduates.  Maybe not your preschooler or kindergartener, but as long as you (or, more importantly, your child) can handle a couple salty words they probably hear on network TV anyways, Wallace's speech says important things about attitude, empathy, and learning that folks moving on to junior high, high school, college, or just a new coffee mug should hear.

May 22 Update: I've noticed a lot of folks stopping by for this video today, which I found odd, considering I was about the 412,852nd person to write about it on a website.  I think it probably has something to do that I was among the last to post about it before the David Foster Wallace Literary Trust asked The Glossary to remove the video.  Sorry, folks.

David Foster Wallace - "This Is Water" (film by The Glossary)​ [Vimeo]

Itty-Bitty Review: Underbirds - Underbirds

Underbirds.jpg

Kids music has seen a bunch of collaborations recently as kindie artists recognize strength in numbers, but most of those collaborations have been one-off pairings.​  Supergroup side projects? Not so much.

So for a couple guys obsessed with pop radio sounds of 25+ years ago, Todd McHatton and Morgan Taylor are pretty forward-thinking as their pairing Underbirds marks what might be the first ​kindie supergroup built for the long haul.

​Of course, "kindie supergroup" implies the music on their self-titled debut is music recorded specifically for kids, and there are times when that's not entirely clear.  Sure, songs like "Brilliance," whose narrator has clearly just mastered some talent, or "Here Comes My Friend," can be easily heard as kid-focused.  But few of these pop gems sound like they were crafted with your local 5-year-old front-of-mind.  Rather, they're songs about friendship and daring and love and (especially) nature that happen to be kid-friendly.  If you gave this disk to your friend who has kept his or copy of Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend​ ever since college [raises hand] and just said they'd probably enjoy this new album, they'd enjoy it free of the cultural baggage that comes with being an adult enjoying "kids music."

​At barely 25 minutes long, Underbirds​ is barely more than an EP, but it's filled with songs accessible to the entire family; it's probably most appropriate for kids ages 5 and up, lyrically.  (Listen to "Brilliance" here.)  Whether your kids are 4 or 14 (or you're a kid-at-heart 34-year-old), the pop-lover within you will find something to adore.  Here's hoping partnerships like Todd and Morgan's last.  Definitely recommended.

Radio Playlist: New Music May 2013

It's been about a month since my last Spotify update for new music (see the April playlist here), so it's time to publish a new one.  As always, it's limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums.  But I'm always keeping stuff in reserve for the next​ Spotify playlist.

Check out the list here or go right here if you're in Spotify.

**** New Music May 2013 (May 2013 Kindie Playlist) ****

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – Gato Astronauta

Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble – Little Liza Jane

Miss Nina – My Hula Hoop

Mariana Iranzi – Bú

Lesley & the Flying Foxes – Just a Normal Day

Underbirds – Trail of Hearts

Liz Buchanan – Bananas, Unite!

The Whizpops! – Dinosaurs

DidiPop – Snuggles and Books

Listen To This: Singing Our Way Through - Alastair Moock & Friends

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I was pleased to hear that Alastair Moock had turned the devastating news that his Clio had been leukemia into a fundraising project to record an album of songs to share with kids and families "traveling similar paths," as Moock puts it.

The result -- Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World's Bravest Kids​ -- is now available.  It features a bunch of guest artists (hi, Elizabeth Mitchell, hi, Rani Arbo!) and songs that are much more upbeat than you might expect given the topic matter.

The whole album is now available [Ed: the album has been pulled from public view for the moment].  The first couple tracks are fairly cancer-specific, but after those tracks, it's accessible to listeners regardless of medical situation (if any).  You should definitely take a listen [when, er, it becomes public again].

Weekly Summary (5/6/13 - 5/12/13)

TO: You

FROM: Zooglobble

SUBJECT: Items Posted on the Website Last Week

Blog:  Video: "Tambourine Submarine" - Recess Monkey, Introducing Bake Sale, Interview: Korum Bischoff (Recess Monkey), Share: "Railroad Medley" - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke

Videos: "High 5 Your Shadow" - Ratboy Jr.

Listen to Music: The Cat Doorman Songbook - Cat Doorman, "Ohio" - Rocknoceros

Free Music:  Lullaby & Lovesong Sampler - Mae Robertson

Kids Music Reviews: ​None this week...

Upcoming Releases: Lots of new stuff coming...

Podcasts​

Kindie Week in Review: Episode 15: As If To Further Depress Me

My Other Other Gig: None this week...

Bake Sale​: Hello, iTunes!, Episode 2: Kaitlin McGaw, Alphabet Rockers TV Pilot

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