Radio Playlist: New Music March 2016

As compared to February's playlist, this month's new music playlist is definitely full. (If you want to catch my list from February -- briefer but just as high quality -- you can see that 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.

**** New Music March 2016 (March 2016 Kindie Playlist) ****

"I Like To Be Surprised" - Turkey Andersen

"Esperanca (feat. Tita Lima)" - Sandra Sandia

"Lousie Loves Art Song" - Emily Arrow

"I Wear Pink" - Hullabaloo

"I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" - Beleza

"The Melody of Misfit Souls & the Open-Hearted" - Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips

"The Silly Dance" - Holly

"Life is Like a Noodle" - Lard Dog & the Band of Shy

"Drum Factory: I'm My Own Grandpa" - Cory Hills

"This Old Man" - The Wunkabunks

"Seven" - Dan Crow

"Somebody Come and Play" - Rory

"Bird on a Wire" - The Not-Its!

"Barefoot Floors" - Jane Roman Pitt

Video: "Young at Heart" - Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips (World Premiere!)

It's not quite Kendrick Lamar dropping a new mixtape or Wilco releasing Star Wars (the album) without any advance warning, but today Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips release their new album Music Is Everywhere with less than a week of public notice. They've been celebrating by releasing a whole week's worth of videos across the kindiesphere, and I get the privilege of wrapping the whole thing up with the world premiere of the video for "Young at Heart."

Mista Cookie Jar guitar, art by Alex Chiu

Mista Cookie Jar's released some of the songs on Music Is Everywhere as singles over the past year, but "Young at Heart" is brand new, a tender celebration of youthful attitudes, a spiritual cousin perhaps to Dylan's "Forever Young." The song gets some playful stop-motion clay-based animation from Portland based artist Alex Chiu, who, C.J. Pizarro notes, decorated his guitar a few years back.

In any case, you can find Music Is Everywhere today in all the usual places including CD Baby. And enjoy the video below...

Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips - "Young at Heart" [YouTube]

What Can You Find? Frances England's "All The Things I've Found" Contest

I'm a looooongtime fan of Frances England dating all the way back to her debut album Fascinating Creatures, which is now 10 years old. (Wow! Really!) Her new album Explorer of the World is set to be released on April 1, and if you've heard any of it -- try "City Don't Sleep" -- you'll understand why it's one of the most eagerly anticipated kids' albums of the year.

From my perspective, one of the most exciting things about the album isn't even the album itself, it's the Art + Observation activity book England made to accompany the album. Filled with activities that encourage discovery of the world next door by kids of all ages, it dovetails perfectly with the exploration theme of the album itself. (Fans of the books of Keri Smith and Lynda Barry's Syllabus, among others, will be particularly enamored of England's small book.)

To promote the upcoming album, England's been creating a series of short promotional videos, and I'm pleased to premiere the latest, which features a bit of "All The Things I've Found," one of the songs on the album. Unsurprisingly, the visuals accompanying the clip show some of the amazing patterns around us if we spend a little time looking for them.

Frances and I have a little assignment for you, too -- we're looking for patterns that you or your kids find in your everyday life. Post a picture of such a pattern here or on the Facebook post for this, and I'll randomly select one entry to receive a free copy of the album! I don't do contests often here, but I think that the chance to win this album is worth you taking the time out of your day to find an interesting pattern. Actually, I think it's worth you taking the time to find an interesting pattern regardless, but a chance to win the album is a sweet bonus. All entries for the contest are due by Monday at 7 PM West Coast time. Thanks and good luck!

Interview: Steve Denyes

One of the things I admire about musicians who've been musicians for awhile is just that -- they've been musicians for awhile. It's difficult enough to have the same job for a number of years, but when that job is primarily one which generates creative products as an output, keeping things fresh over a long period of time is particularly difficult.

Which is one reason I wanted to talk with Steve Denyes of the band Hullabaloo. Their brand new album I Chew features songs mostly written last year when the San Diego-based Denyes set himself the goal to write and record one song a day for nearly a month. Anyone who wants to challenge himself that way has figured out how to keep things fresh and wants to try new things.

And indeed, when I suggested that instead of doing an interview over Skype to record it, rather than by phone or over e-mail, Denyes was game to sign himself up for Skype and tackle this interview in a slightly different manner.

So in just a shade under 30 minutes you can listen to his thoughts on the growth of his band, the origins of I Chew, and how surfing helps him be a musician.

Photo credit: Natalie Chiles

Video: "Cosmic Vacation" - Michael and the Rockness Monsters (World Premiere!)

It's super-cute-video time!

The self-titled debut album from Michael and the Rockness Monsters got its official release yesterday (you can get it from iTunes and Amazon if you're so inclined), and to celebrate they've released an adorable video for the song "Cosmic Vacation."

Seriously, this computer-animated trip around the solar system (and back) is candy-colored and super-sweet and will captivate the nearest preschooler at hand. So I'm happy to be world premiere-ing here today.

Michael and the Rockness Monsters - "Cosmic Vacation" [YouTube]

Monday Morning Smile: "Upside Down & Inside Out" - OK Go

Let's face it, OK Go aren't the unofficial video band for adults on Zooglobble... they're pretty much the official video for adults on Zooglobble.

You probably saw their latest video a dozen times on Facebook. If you didn't, or if your kids didn't, you really should see this. Filming a video in zero gravity could be a gimmick. Or it could be brilliant. This is brilliant.

OK Go - "Upside Down & Inside Out" [Facebook]