Video: "Boo!" - Trout Fishing in America

Another Halloween, and there's a bunch of Halloween-themed music out, most of which I really don't care that much about because I don't care that much about Halloween.

So the Halloween videos and music I feature here are definitely cream of the crop, such as the latest video from Trout Fishing in America. It's for "Boo!," one of the most distinctive tracks off of Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers. The song and the video (directed by Maxwell Sorensen and Louis Sparre for Tweed Video) are spooky in just the right way for your favorite 8-year-old.

Trout Fishing in America - "Boo!" [YouTube]

Video: "Recess" - Justin Roberts

Justin Roberts has not been one of those artists who've ridden to kids music stardom on the tails of his videos -- he's only made a few, and while they're good, they tend to attract tens of thousands of views because of the quality of the songs.

From a pure video perspective, Roberts' brand new video for "Recess," the title-track from his award-winning album, this is probably my favorite of his. That's mostly because the video -- directed by his sister Staci, name-checked in the song and showing off fancy disco moves of her own as the teacher -- very much captures the playfulness that Roberts and his Not Ready for Naptime Players brings to their live performances. I fully expect to see some disco moves the next time I see them live.

Justin Roberts - "Recess" [YouTube] (h/t USA Today)

Fids and Kamily 2013 Music Awards Announced!

When I started this website more than nine years ago, I held in my mind two slightly contradictory notions about music reviews:

1) There was not enough distinction between music reviews, especially for kids -- music was uniformly good in many reviews -- and therefore finer distinctions needed to be made to assist parents in allocating finite resources (monetary and time).

2) Cultural reviews are inherently biased and basing one's own opinion of a cultural product on that of just one other person could be deficient.

In other words, individual reviews are both important and insufficient.

I've tried to write at this site in a way that honors both notions. While I do tend to cover only music worth the time of at least some portion of my audience, there is some gradation in my reviews. And I've always tried to convey the idea that these are just my opinions. Really well-informed opinions based on thousands of hours of listening to thousands of albums, but opinions nonetheless.

All of which is to say that I consider the founding of the Fids and Kamily Music Awards one of the best things I've done for kids music. Since 2006, I, along with Bill Childs (Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child) and Gwyneth Butera (Gooney Bird Kids) (who took over for Amy Davis) have coordinated the awards, soliciting Top 10 lists from the people who spend more time listening to kids music than anybody in the country. There's lots of great kids music out there, but Fids and Kamily highlights the best of the best.

This year's list of 2013's best albums features some familiar faces along with a few newcomers to the list. It's 2013, so how about the Top 13 albums of the past year, led by Justin Roberts, returning to the top of the Fids and Kamily pile:

1. Justin Roberts - Recess
2. Frances England - Blink of an Eye
3. Alastair Moock - Singing Our Way Through-Songs for the World's Bravest Kids
4. Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell - Turn Turn Turn
5. Shine and the Moonbeams - Shine and the Moonbeams
6. Recess Monkey - Deep Sea Diver
7. The Not-Its! - Kidquake
8. Dean Jones - When the World Was New
9. Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - Pleased to Meet You
10. Justin Roberts - Lullaby
11. Lori Henriques - The World Is A Curious Place to Live
12. Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band - Fantastico!
13. Lloyd H. Miller - S.S. Brooklyn

More details on the year's results, including 10 more honorable mention albums and the year's top 6 debut albums can be found on the 2013 results page.

Thanks to all the judges for participating, Bill and Gwyneth for coordinating (especially this year) , Jeff Bogle from Out With the Kids for logo design, and most importantly to all the kids music artists who continue to make such quality music for families to enjoy.

(Oh, and look for my personal lists in the near future.)

Radio Playlist: New Music October 2013

A bunch of new music has come across my desk or been released since the September new music playlist, so time to post another Spotify update (see the September playlist here). 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 October 2013 (October 2013 Kindie Playlist) ****

Lloyd H. Miller – Working On a Bridge
Todd and Cookie – All These Magical Things
Martykins – The Magic Pick
Josh and the Jamtones – Green and Spakkled Frogs
Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – When I Grow Up
Jr. Madness – Jim-a-Long Josie
Chris Doud, Willy Tea Taylor & Joey No Knows – Jake the Frog
Davy Andrews – Space Monkey
Cadi Grace – The Craziest Dream (Wake Me)
The Bug Family Band – Hexagon
The Ohmies – Ohmies Jamboree
Jelly of the Month Club – Brand New Friend
Red Yarn – Bob the Rabbit
The Never Land Pirate Band – Ahoy Ahoy
Recess Monkey – Smooth Sailing
The Short Films – The Mysterious Okapi

Video: "From You" - Charlie Hope

Charlie Hope, who in her warm-hearted simplicity and clear voice, I sometimes think of as the latter-day, female equivalent of Raffi (though with a Juno and without the Daniel Lanois connection), has a new album coming out next month. She's just released her first video from Sing As We Go , an animated video for "From You," and it's a tender, computerized felt-like creation from UK animator Charlotte Blacker. (We are big Charlotte Blacker fans 'round here.) It bodes well for the album as a whole.

Charlie Hope - "From You" [YouTube]