Video: "Friends Again" - Lunch Money

After you go all Blues Brothers with your first video, I guess the only option Lunch Money had for their second video was to go small.  Their video for "Friends Again," which opens their previous album Original Friend, has the simplest of concepts, matching the reconciliatory theme of the song itself.  But it's nicely shot and edited and looks lovely. (Donuts at the end are a nice touch.)

Also: Lucy is a stone-cold comedian.  Tina Fey, watch your back.

Lunch Money - "Friends Again" [YouTube]

Monday Morning Smile: "SuperBot - A Magnifying Mess"

I don't have a great deal to say about "SuperBot," an animated short that is also serving as a pilot from Argentina's Trexel Animation.  Well, other than it's cute and it's short, and it's 3 minutes of magnifying-glass fun.  Seems to me it would make a nice interstitial series.

Weekly Summary (11/18/13 - 11/24/13)

Itty-Bitty Review: Live at the Orange Peel - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo

Those of us who review kids music talk about the importance of getting kids to see live music.  For all the work I put in reviewing albums from across the country, the connection with kids isn't made through the CD player in the minivan or the family iDevice, but through the shared musical experience of a concert.

Maybe it's because the live experience is so transformative that explains why there are so few live albums in the kindie genre and those that do exist, either on album or on DVD, don't fully capture the energy and joy from seeing a live act.

I can't say that Secret Agent 23 Skidoo's live album, the just-released Live at the Orange Peel, is the album that totally breaks free of those constraints.  But it is a lively survey of the undisputed king of kid-hop's first three albums.  Featuring ten songs evenly split among his first three albums (including some tracks like "Time Flies" that only appear on some versions of the albums), Skidoo and his band of co-conspirators show in 40 minutes why he's a popular act with family audience.  Returning to Asheville, North Carolina, where he got his start, his family, including his daughter Saki (A.K.A. MC Fireworks), and Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band provide the full musical experience that help set Skidoo apart from other kid-hop acts ("Magic Beans" sounds particularly good).  The songs aren't massively different in production on stage than on record, but hearing Skidoo (and Saki and the others) rap live does give it a little different feel.

I would rather see Secret Agent 23 Skidoo live with my family than listen to Live at the Orange Peel.  But that's no knock on the new album - more so than many live kindie records, this one feels like it's its own creature rather than a pale document.  Skidoo fans will be pleased; newcomers could do worse for an introduction.  Definitely recommended.

Win A Copy of Elizabeth Mitchell's The Sounding Joy (Plus Free Concert Tickets)

I've already reviewed the fabulous album of Christmas music from Elizabeth Mitchell, The Sounding Joy, and now it's your chance to win a copy of your very own.  (And now, also to win 4 tickets to see Mitchell and many of her friends from the album in New York City -- see below.)

That's right, courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways, I have a copy of the album inspired by Ruth Crawford Seeger's 1953 songbook American Folk Songs for Christmas looking for a good home for the holidays.  Might it be yours?

The album features guest stars aplenty, including Natalie Merchant, Dan Zanes, John Sebastian, Aoife O'Donovan, and Ruth Crawford Seeger's daughter Peggy Seeger.  Most importantly it features Mitchell's peaceful voice and stellar arrangements from Mitchell and husband Daniel Littleton.

Mitchell will be playing a couple holiday gigs this year (with Merchant and many others), at New York City's Symphony Space on December 14 and Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock on December 20.  If you can't be there, then this album might be the next best thing.  (See below for details on winning a 4-pack of tickets to the Symphony Space show.)

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To enter, leave a comment below with your favorite wintertime holiday song, regardless of whether that's "Joy to the World," "The Dreidel Song," The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping," or "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)."  You'll need to leave your e-mail address (so I can contact you if I win), but it won't be displayed, and you'll also need to be patient because I have to approve every comment before it's posted.  Deadline for submitting a comment is 10 PM Eastern time on Wednesday, Nov. 27.  I'll pick a winner randomly and promise to get it out to the winner in plenty of time to inspire their own December singalongs.

(The wonderful folks at Symphony Space -- really, I've met them, they *are* wonderful -- have also offered 4 tickets to the December 14 show with Mitchell and many others.  Everyone who enters for the CD will also enter for the concert.  The first name drawn will get to choose between the tickets and the CD, and then I'll pick a second winner who'll get to use whatever the first winner didn't select.)

Thanks and good luck!

Video: "Dinosaur" - Lori Henriques

From the first time I heard Lori Henriques' The World Is a Curious Place To Live, her song "Dinosaur," with its wistful (but hopeful) love song for the long-extinct animals was a favorite of mine.  Now it has a video worthy of its delicate, thoughtful nature.

It's courtesy of Henriques' brother Joel of Made By Joel, who drew every line of the story.  (You can see just a little bit more about how the video was made here.)  Really, very much worth your time...

Lori Henriques - "Dinosaur" [YouTube]