Review: Lead Belly Sings For Children - Lead Belly

It's hard to think about a time before "children's music" was even a genre, back before, well, if we weren't walking to school in the snow uphill both ways, at least before satellite and internet radio offered people thousands of listening choices. But there were a few artists that recorded songs for kids (if not exclusively) a half-century ago and for their continued presence on CD, we have the fine folks at Smithsonian Folkways to thank. Of the four major kids' artists on Folkways' roster (Ella Jenkins, Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, and Woody Guthrie), Lead Belly's collection of children's music is the most compact (read: easiest to review), and that's where I'll begin.

Lead Belly was born in 1888 and, according to the detailed liner notes in Lead Belly Sings For Children, Folkways' 1999 collection of his children's material, he claimed to have collected 500 songs over the 60 years of his life. From that perspective, Lead Belly was clearly important to 20th century American music and this collection should be considered "essential" for that alone. It's a reference CD of sorts. But I'm sure you have heard many "essential" albums that sat unused on your shelf for yours or went back to the library without even one renewal -- is this one of those albums?

Thankfully, there is enough great material that merits repeated spins by a modern audience. The album is grouped by type of song, starting off with children's rhymes and game songs from many years ago, such as "More Yet" and "Sally Walker," then sliding into blues songs (though those are certainly mixed throughout the entire collection). The spirituals collected here are given fine renditions as well, getting a group of children to sing with him on "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." The collection ends with a series of work songs, many of which will be familiar to modern listeners, including "John Henry" and "Pick a Bale of Cotton." (Any interpreter of children's and folk songs worth his or her salt will have covered at least one of the songs here.)

My ears are spoiled by modern production values, and so I was pleased by the fact that these recordings, some of which are more than 60 years old, sound pretty good. Lead Belly's voice is appealing (I particularly liked the way his voice sounded on his slightly bluesier take on the chorus of "Blue-Tailed Fly (Jimmie, Crack Corn)") and his guitar work (it's generally just him and his guitar) is easily heard. (An exception to the "solo" rule is his lively rendition of "Pick a Bale of Cotton" with the Oleander Quartet.) A minor quibble with the disk is that Lead Belly's introductions (and there are many of them) sound a bit muddled compared to the songs themselves. When Lead Belly get a crowd of children to sing along, however, they sound great.

Children aged 2 through 10 or so would probably most appreciate the songs here (though different songs will appeal to different age groups. You can hear clips at the Smithsonian's site.

Given the broad historical overview of the collection, and the relative sameness of the songs, it's unlikely that Lead Belly Sings For Children will become you or your child's favorite children's music album. It's very likely, however, that you will find a few songs worth playing repeatedly and that it won't gather much dust on your shelf. Recommended.

Just Go Crazy

Our family celebrates an inordinate number of holidays in June. We have no less than 5 birthdays, plus (at the moment) a couple Father's Days. There are entire countries with fewer holidays than our family. Most celebrations in June overlap partially, if not completely, with somebody else's celebration. I've pretty much reconciled myself to the fact that Father's Day will always play second fiddle to our daughter's birthday. Give me a hand-drawn card (or picture) and an excuse not to do yardwork, and that's enough for me.

Our daughter, of course, had other ideas. She wanted a -- and you parents know that I'm not kidding one iota here -- "Love Heart Pony Hello Kitty Care Bear" party. You can't really get a cake like that at Safeway, but that's neither here nor there. For reasons not worth delving into here, said party was very small. Four guests. I gotta tell you, while attending gargantuan parties with more kids than the Polyphonic Spree has band members can be fun, hosting such a party is Not For Us. But we (and by "we," I mean "my wife") put a lot of thought into planning the party, which revolved around a few games. The String Game (follow a string throughout the house) -- hilarity ensued. The Treasure Hunt (The Amazing Race on a much smaller footprint) -- hilarity ensued. And the Freeze Game, which is infinitely better if you can find a song that's actually about the game, such as on "Freeze," by Babaloo, off his "Room For Everyone" disk, rather than having to hit pause on the CD player every few seconds. It's a lot easier to "just go crazy" when the song asks you to.

For what it's worth, the CDs in the CD player for the party? They Might Be Giants' Here Come the ABCs, The Terrible Twos' If You Ever See An Owl, the Putumayo Caribbean Playground collection, Jack Johnson's Curious George soundtrack, and, for adult amusement, Paul Simon's Graceland.

Remarkably, at the end of the day, we weren't crazy. We'll continue our refusal of Polyphonic Spree parties. It's Spoon parties for us.

Review: Stomp Yer Feet! - Johnny Bregar

Pity the preschool children's musician. Forced to play the same set of familiar songs at least some of the time, yet Raffi (and before him, Ella Jenkins, Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, and Woody Guthrie) got there first and staked their claim. Few artists have managed to make a career out of playing the songs that the above artists perfected. (And believe me, many have tried. And failed.) Laurie Berkner is perhaps the only modern artist who's completely succeeded, and her fame is as much for her original music as it is for her rendition of traditional classics.

In walks Johnny Bregar and his late-2005 kids' music debut Stomp Yer Feet!. Bregar, a Seattle-based musician, played in local folk/rock band Big Spoon and found the selection of kids' music for his preschool-aged son wanting. His debut is a stellar collection of mostly traditional folk and other children's tunes, dusted off and given a fresh coat of paint.

The album starts off with "If You're Happy And You Know It," played with soul on an electric Rhodes piano ("just like Ray Charles used to play," Bregar writes in the song notes), and immediately all the characteristics of this winning album are revealed -- real instruments both familiar and rare, new sets of lyrics to traditional songs, and Bregar's rich and ever-so-slightly-raspy voice . The "Alphabet Song?" 12-bar blues. "Polly Wolly Doodle?" A little bit of Dixieland, a lot more bluegrass. "Waltzing Matilda" sounds as if it was recorded 60 years ago (but with much better recording equipment). And the ukelele just rocks.

All of which might get tiresome eventually if it weren't for the fact that the few originals on the 42-minute disc are pretty good, too. "Blah de la" might get annoying after listening to it 100 times, but its simplicity also makes it a perfect fit for the album -- even the youngest preschooler could probably get the hang of it and sing along. "Pancakes" is another simple cut, not much more than a chorus, but one that Matthew Sweet would be happy to record. And the one fully-realized original, "Moon," about wanting to touch things a kid probably shouldn't, is the song the Counting Crows will record when they eventually decide to stop recording songs for PG-rated movies and set their sights on G-rated movies.

The songs will appeal most to kids age 2 through 6. You can listen to samples here and buy the album either through Bregar's website, Amazon, CDBaby, or Land of Nod.

I hate to do this to the guy, because Bregar seems like a nice guy, but Johnny Bregar could be the next Raffi. Like Raffi, he's got the musical chops, the sense of humor, and a great voice. (If he's singing about whales 10 years from now, I can't be held responsible.) If you're looking for a collection of traditional kids' songs, and you either already have Raffi's collections or you can't stand Raffi's collections, you should really check out Stomp Yer Feet! -- Bregar's staking his claim to that niche of kids' music. Highly recommended.

Did I Miss the Memo?

Because what's with all the Kidzapalooza love? Didn't I already mention this oh, about, seven weeks ago? (Not that I'm counting. OK, I'm counting.) Will there be an Austin City Limits Festival flurry two weeks from now?

But the posts do highlight some of the additions since my original post along with Clea's thoughts on Perry's lineup.

Review in Brief: Kaleidoscope Songs Volumes 1 and 2 - Alex Mitnick and the Kaleidoscope Band

Kaleidoscope Songs Volumes 1 and 2, released in 2004 and 2006 by Alex and the Kaleidoscope Band would seem to have all the elements of a successful children's music album. Lyrics that target kids and their experiences, a large cast of musicians playing an even larger set of real instruments, and a fine, soulful voice in lead singer Alex Mitnick -- what's not to like? Well, despite all those advantages, there wasn't enough that said to me, "you won't mind hearing this repeatedly." This is partially the result of those lyrics targeted right at the 3-year-old audience -- they're not meant to speak to the parent ("I'm so glad to be alive / I like to learn new things / I like to notice all that I can," for example). The music itself is mostly mellow children's pop, and perhaps I was looking for a hook that never came. Only in a few songs did I find a spark -- "So Blue" and "Rock of Ages" both had a pleasant Van Morrison-vibe to them, while "Water Lily" is a gentle and appealing tune with touches of reggae. Those three songs are off Vol. 2 -- if you're interested in learning more about the band, I'd recommend starting there. You can listen to samples of some songs here. Your preschool-aged kids may like the two Kaleidoscope Songs albums, your preschool-aged kids' preschool teachers may find a lot of songs good for inclusion in lessons on the albums, but you, the parent, may not be so enthused by the albums.

Me and Julio Dancing Down By the Schoolyard

Via the New York Times, a story about how many NYC schoolkids celebrate spring by dancing on the playground.

No one is quite sure when New York City children began celebrating spring by dancing in schoolyards, their teachers leading them, often awkwardly, through the steps, their proud parents gathered round, snapping pictures and clapping along. It is a peculiar urban rite — called Dance Festival in most of the city, and May Fete on Staten Island — that has been around, it seems, for as long as the public school system itself.

And they're worried about this tradition failing? How could an enterprising company not have stepped forward already and offered to sponsor this thing citywide? Why hasn't this spread throughout the country? Couldn't you imagine a Pancake Mountain-coordinated day in Washington, DC? Chica-go-go in Chicago? Setting aside the fact that we'd have to dance around the May Pole in March here in the desert Southwest to avoid burning our hands on the May Pole, this would be great here, too.

You could play local artists -- OK, perhaps not every Prince or Replacements song would be great for the Twin Cities, but there'd be a few from each. You could play international artists, too. Oldies, new stuff, whatever.

If any of you New York readers care to describe in more detail how exactly this works (how long does this take, is this really as cool as it sounds, or is it more pathetic in execution), I'd love to hear it.

This Week: More Thematic Drift

More cool stuff coming up this week -- reviews, interviews, and the like -- but no coherent theme, except perhaps a broadening of the site's scope to look at albums released before, say, seven minutes ago.

If you missed my reviews of Keith Munslow's Accidentally (on purpose) and Josephine Cameron's Close Your Eyes, check 'em out. The latter is the first "Review in Brief" here on the site, designed to get to the point with fewer semi-obscure references. And thanks, too, to Fran for linking to my article on things I'd like to see more and less of in kids' music.

Thanks as always for reading, e-mailing, submitting, and commenting.

Review: Little Red Wagon - Timmy Abell

I doubt Lester Bangs used the word "gentle" to describe music in his reviews, but he probably didn't write reviews of kids music too often. There's no better word, however, to describe Timmy Abell's 2005 album Little Red Wagon.

On his fourth music album (he has recorded albums of stories as well), the North Carolina-based Abell blends modern folk songs of his own with traditional folk songs familiar to many. If there is any unifying component to the album it is the sense of, well, gentleness that pervades the songs in both treatment and theme. Abell is an accomplished musician, and one of the pleasures of listening to the album is the nifty playing of both Abell (who plays banjo, guitar, and hammered dulcimer, among other instruments, on the album) and the other musicians. The musicianship is particularly noticeable on the traditional (and silly) "Turkey in the Straw" and the brief but sweet Abell original "Rounded Glass Jig," with what I believe to the hammered dulcimer making a beautiful sound on the latter. No matter whether uptempo ("Turkey" or "I'm My Own Grandpa") or subdued ("Jig" or the pleasant title track), the songs exude a sense of calm. Over an entire album, it may be a little too much gentleness, but there's a sense of unity to the songs.

Not all of the lyrics are specifically kid-focused, but those that are have some style to them. "Going To Grandma's" weaves various modes of transportation into a zippy little (and true) narrative about the many different types of vehicles used to get from one distant place to another. "Secrets" is a textbook example of how to write a children's song with moral content, illustrating the point rather than lecturing the listener. The song combines a nifty metaphorical chorus ("A cat in a bag becomes very uncomfortable / Birds in a cage become eager to fly") with verses about the progress of a secret through the narrator's circle of acquaintances to show what happens to secrets rather than saying "Secrets Are Bad!" It's a neatly effective track.

Like many folk albums, there's nothing that would prevent playing this album for very young kids, but lyrically it's probably most appealing to kids 4 through 8. You can hear samples and read lyrics for the album here (click on the Little Red Wagon album cover) and purchase the album either at Abell's website or other retailers (online or iTunes).

As noted above, the album is a very gentle folk album, and if you don't think that will appeal to you, there's nothing on the album that would change your mind. But I've heard Abell compared to a younger Pete Seeger and I think that the comparison is a pretty good one. Abell's clear voice and use of the folk tradition are reminiscent of Seeger in his prime. The album is a pleasant retreat from more active, more modern kids' music. Recommended.

Links: Father of Two

A few links to toss out the day before Father's Day. See if you can guess the common theme.

Bill, father of two, has SteveSongs in studio and has pictures of them and Milkshake to prove it. (Yeah, yeah, SteveSongs was prerecorded...)

Chag, father of two, has an amusing dadblog at Cynical Dad. In the all-important sports-world scoreboard, his affinity for the Yankees (a negative for me) is far outweighed by his affinity for the North Carolina Tar Heels (big thumbs up).

Thanks also to Brady Rymer, father of two, who mentioned my interview with him in his newsletter this week. (Sign up at his homepage.)

Oh, and I, father of two, have updated my "Songs for Dads" post.

Enjoy your Father's Day, y'all, father or not.

More and Less

After years of listening to, carting around, losing, and, if need be, "misplacing" children's music albums, I have a few suggestions for those of you out there producing music for kids and families. No matter if you're doing theatrical productions, indie rock, or glossy children's pop, here are four things we can use more of, four things we can use less of.

More real instruments, fewer kids: I know little about the economics of the children's music business, but I know that recording a large band of musicians is more expensive than recording a small band or solo artist. You have to pay more musicians and it probably takes more time in the recording studio (if you have your own studio, I guess that's not so much a problem). Hootenanies might be fun, but they're not necessarily cheap. And the more instruments you use, the more you have to think about how it'll sound when you're playing live and you have a smaller band... or no band at all.

But it sounds sooooo much better when you use a broad array of real instruments. Songs that sound cramped and dinky with a programmed synthesizer sound so much fuller with a full band. You don't even need a full band -- the occasional fiddle or horn section on just one or two songs adds a tremendous amount of life to an album.

If you need to save recording studio time, you can always cut back on using kids in your songs. I generally find kids' voices more appealing as a musical spice (on the chorus, say) than as the main meal. No need to cut 'em out entirely, but just like a horn section and cayenne pepper, a little bit of a chorus of six-year-olds goes a long way.

More lyrics in the liner notes, less name-checking: I suspect part of the reason for not putting lyrics in liner notes is that it adds space and, therefore, cost to those notes. But especially with songs for kids, it's nice to have the lyrics handy, especially if the songs are traditional songs for kids intended for the parents and/or kids to sing along. Putting the lyrics on the artist's website is a nice try, but going over to the computer and finding the appropriate webpage isn't the easiest thing to do with a baby on your hip who's very interested in that mouse you're moving around with your right hand.

And speaking of lyrics, the small trend of children's music bands namechecking themselves in song has Got. To. Stop. Now. We get it, you're [-----------] and you're so much fun to listen to. There are two responses here: 1. Prove it. 2. Don't write a song about it. (Or, if you do, it had better be insanely catchy. See Point #1.)

More chords, less weird packaging: Before we pass by the concept of lyrics in the liner notes entirely, I should mention how nice it is also to have chords included in the liner notes. And I'm saying that as someone who doesn't even play the guitar and would have to plunk out chords on the piano. Chords are cool. In some sense it's aspirational -- it makes the parents think they might just one day learn how to play guitar and lead singalongs around the campfire. (And maybe it'll inspire a few parents to actually do that.)

But weird packaging is uncool. (Yes, the linkages here are increasingly tenuous.) Put your music in an oddly-shaped package and you run the risk of never having your disk played. The Sandra Boynton book/CD collections are nice, but we don't play them much because there's no convenient place to put the book (in which the CD is stored) near the stereo, let alone in the car. The CD sampler on the Laurie Berkner DVD is nice, but because it's pacakaged with the DVD, if you want to listen to it in the car, you're forced to take the DVD case with you, which is not the most elegant of solutions. (If only it were in the shape of a cup-holder. Then we'd be OK.)

And finally...

More songs, less Barney-bashing: You might be able to determine whether or not you'll like a song in 29 seconds, but I can't. I mean, it takes about 10 seconds to decide you hate a song, but a lot longer to decide that you (or your child) love it. So while I understand the costs of bandwidth, I heartily encourage artists to put full-length versions of some of their songs online. There are a number of different ways to get full versions of songs out to the public -- podcasts, Myspace, and, well, actual mp3s, to name just a few. It's better to put three full songs online than clips of all twelve. It's the best way to sell yourself to a public looking to find out more about a genre that's somewhat hidden.

But when you sell yourself by putting down someone else, you're just selling yourself short. (Did I just sound like Dr. Phil there? Urgh.) It's one thing for writers online and off- to bash Barney, the Wiggles, or Raffi (writers are trying to make distinctions), but another thing entirely for artists to do so. When you sell a recognizable fraction of the eight gazillion albums those artists have each sold, then you can say how much better you are than them. Until then, just talk about how great you are. The abuse of Raffi by some kids' musicians -- who, if he didn't invent kids' music, certainly created the idea of the kids' music genre -- is particularly mystifying to me. It's as if Fall Out Boy decided to promote themselves by trashing the Beatles.

Despite the weirdness of my segues, I think the concepts are not without merit. If you'll excuse me, I've got to continue my scientific experiments on making scratch-proof Arthur DVDs. (And you know how much of a Nobel-worthy accomplishment that would be.)

Review In Brief: Close Your Eyes - Josephine Cameron

Josephine Cameron's 2005 release Close Your Eyes isn't really a kids' music album, but at its core it's an album of lullabies both traditional and original, and that's enough to a merit a review here. Based in Maine, singer-songwriter Cameron has a winsome voice reminiscent of Susanna Hoffs -- it's not my perfect voice for lullabies, but Cameron's phrasing and the understated jazzy instrumentals (piano, a little guitar, occasional drums) serve the songs nicely. The CD starts out a bit too loud and emphatic for proper lullabying, though Cameron's duet with Anna Vodicka on a medley of All Night All Day/Swing Low (Sweet Chariot) is enjoyable nonetheless. Starting with track #5, "Dream a Little Dream," however, Cameron puts together a mellow set of melodies, concluding with a lovely wordless "Lullaby" (co-written by Cameron and her producer Anthony Walton). (You can here clips of most tracks here and of the title track here.) Close Your Eyes is a nice choice and recommended for listeners seeking a lullabies album that avoids the standard fare and arrangements.

Songs For Dads

(Revised June 16, 2006)

While there are a few songs for moms, the list of songs for fathers is pretty short. So short, I considered putting Rankin' Don's "Father Goose" songs from Dan Zanes & Friends albums on the list. While fathers are sometimes characters in kids' music (the RTTs' "April 14th," Keith Munslow's "Accidentally"), they're rarely the subject. Here, then, is the short list -- if you have additions, please note them in the comments.

-- "Daddy-O," off Frances England's Fascinating Creatures
-- "My Dad!," off Alex and the Kaleidoscope Band's Kaleidoscope Songs, Vol 1
-- "Cat's in the Cradle," Harry Chapin (just kidding!)
-- "I'm So Glad To Be A Dad," off Dennis Caraher's Bow Wow Baby
-- "My Daddy Is Scratchy," off Jamie Broza's My Daddy Is Scratchy (thanks to Fran for the reminder)
-- "My Daddy (Flies a Ship in the Sky)," off the Daddy-O! Daddy Woody Guthrie tribute
-- "Courtship of Eddie's Father" (see comments)
-- "Dad" by Father Goose (comments)
-- "Thank you, Daddy" (comments)
-- "The Coffee Song," by Ralph's World, off At The Bottom of the Sea. (Yeah, I used it for the mom's list, but a reader reminded me it mentions D...A...D.D.Y.)

A reader also recommended Daddies Sing GoodNight: A Fathers' Collection of Sleepytime Songs, which isn't really a collection of songs about dads, but close enough...

And, a few for the adults (from commenters and e-mailers)...

-- "My Dad (My Pa)" by Nancy Sinatra
-- "Bein' a Dad" by Loudon Wainwright III
-- "The Kids Are Alright" by The Who
-- "Slow Turnin," "Your Dad Did," and "Stolen Moments" - John Hiatt
-- "Still Fighting It," Ben Folds ("You're so much like me / I'm sorry.")

Review: Accidentally (on purpose) - Keith Munslow

The Rhode Island School of Design may be known for many things, but musically it may be most known nationally for being the incubator of the Talking Heads. On a smaller scale, however, perhaps it should also be known for Keith Munslow. Munslow, who has taught in RISD's Young Artist Program, released his third album for kids, Accidentally (on purpose), in 2005, and while there's nothing remotely resembling, say, "I Zimbra" on the disk, it's still a well-crafted album of children's music.

Munslow employs a wide variety of musical styles on the disk. Perhaps the best track is "Bad Robot," a swampy, bluesy stomp about a robot rampaging through the neighborhood (sort of). With a winning melody and a horn section (not to mention great lyrics and), the song works for both the 7-year-old and the adults in the car. (The dryly witty sound effects at the very end show the care taken to put this album together.) Beyond the blues, Munslow employs the polka ("Absentee Polka"), swing ("Dancin' in the Kitchen"), and even a touch of Randy Newman-esque pop, but without the cynical view of the world ("Cardboard Box"), among other styles. Munslow and his large cast of backup musicians give his lyrics a fine, well-played setting.

Lyrically, Munslow likes to tell stories. If you're reminded a little bit of Bill Harley (I was), it's not surprising to find out that Munslow and Harley have collaborated on a number of projects in the past. The title track, which leads off the album, includes some amusing couplets ("I accidentally tracked that mud in/ accidentally pushed my cousin / accidentally clogged the drain /accidentally called up Spain") but also crafts a small comeuppance for the narrator. A number of songs deal with imagination, both positively ("Cardboard Box" and "I Just Wanna Be a Frog") and, er, less so ("Bad Robot").

Kids ages 4 through 9 will most appreciate the overall package of the songs (the music is appropriate for a broader audience, it's the lyrics that won't interest the youngest ones very much). You can hear samples and read the lyrics from the 29-minute album here. The album is available through Munslow's store, CDBaby, and the iTunes Music Store.

While the album isn't perfect throughout, that's probably just because the first three or four songs are so strong that the merely good songs on the rest of the disk just don't quite compare. But overall Accidentally (on purpose) is a fine, well-crafted album of creative children's pop. Recommended.

Yeah, I Liked Catch That Train! Too

Wow, you go from reading Dan Zanes' newsletters to finding yourself quoted (or at least linked) in Dan Zanes newsletters. It's enough to make you a little dizzy. (Thanks to the fine folks at Festival Five for the mention.)

If you're one of those newsletter readers, and you're new to the site, welcome. You'll find a lot of other artists here who are making a career out of making family-friendly (or, as Zanes puts it, "age-desegregated") music. Zanes is pretty unique, but if you like his stuff (and I certainly do), you're certain to find another artist or blogger you'll enjoy (if you haven't already).

For those of you not on the DZ e-mail list, two things:
1. Why not? (Go here and enter your e-mail address to join.)
2. The newsletter posts a link to where you can watch video clips of the 4 videos currently showing on Playhouse Disney. (Catch That Train!, Let's Shake, Malti, and Down in the Valley)

(Congrats, too, to the Lovely Mrs. Davis for the linkage as well.)

Reader Review: Songs from the Hebrew Scriptures / New Testament - Why Not Sea Monsters?

One of Zooglobble's West Coast readers, Katy, was inspired by my review of the two Why Not Sea Monsters? albums (featuring Justin Roberts and Liam Davis) to provide her own view of the albums. Her spiritual background (much stronger than mine, as you'll see) makes for a slightly different perspective on the disks. And while I don't envision making reader reviews a common occurrence here (though y'all are welcome to do so in the comments), I thought this review merited its own post.

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As a minister in the United Church of Christ as well as mother to two girls (5 and 7 ½) who are big Justin Roberts fans, I wasn’t sure at first what to make of these scripture-based CDs. Until I listened to them. And then I was completely sold. First off, I should confess that I describe myself as a liberal/progressive Christian (yes, we do exist!), so it’s hard for folks like me to find scripture-based material that’s fun to listen to and at the same time consistent with the message we want to teach our kids. As a rule, I tend to be leery of contemporary Christian music because I find it is often poorly done musically, or it’s bad theology, or both. With a Master’s Degree from University of Chicago Divinity School (the “Harvard” of U.S. theological schools), Justin Roberts has done his homework here. His music makes the texts accessible and theologically sound to my way of hearing, without dumbing them down.

I find the Hebrew Scriptures CD is somewhat more enjoyable than the New Testament. I tend to turn toward this CD more often, but more because of the music than the texts they’re based upon. I love his take on the story of Noah’s Ark on “Make That Two.” And the lyrics to “No Spring Chicken,” in reference to the story of Abraham, are beautiful (“But love is longer than the Nile/lift your eyes to the stars above/And watch them as they burst and bloom with love.”). Finally, his and Liam Davis’s version of Craig Wright’s song, “Where Were You?” from the Book of Job, is stunning. It always sends chills down my spine. Having said that, I find the line, “Imagine towers wreathed with smoke” jarring because I can’t help thinking of 9/11. Still, the overall mood of the song more than makes up for that one line.

As for the New Testament CD, it contains so many of my favorite gospel stories that emphasize Jesus’ message of love and inclusion, that I really like it too (the Prodigal Son in “Now You’re Back,” the Banquet of Heaven in “Guess Who’s”, the Good Samaritan in “Not Today”). There’s also the story of Zacchaeus in “What’s He Doing Up There?” As a tax collector, Zacchaeus would have been ‘persona non grata’ in the culture of the time since he served the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, Jesus sees his faith and invites him to a meal, which completely challenged contemporary views on socially acceptable behavior (Jesus did a lot of that). I also really love “Shh Shh Shh”, about Mary and Martha, and “Rub-a-dub-a-dub-dub.” I never would have thought to put the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet to a reggae beat with a kazoo orchestra—but it totally works. Roberts and Davis infuse all these stories with so much new life and humor that I hear them in a whole new way. That’s no small task. And I really appreciate the inclusion of biblical women in both CDs (Lydia, Ruth, Mary and Martha, Sarah, etc.).

Another benefit of these CDs is that they have led my daughters to ask me, on many occasions, “Mommy, tell me about this story…” As a result of these CDs, we have had many more discussions about God’s love, serving the poor, including people who are often left out, etc., than we would have otherwise. It’s really nice to have some good music between Sundays to back up the values we want to live by as a family. I will definitely be using these CDs in our Sunday School program, and I am telling friends and colleagues in other churches about them too.

This Week: All Over The Board

If I have no theme for the week other than "no theme," does that mean I have no theme?

While I'm pondering that conundrum, do check out my reviews of disks from Duplex and Captain Bogg & Salty if you missed 'em. (And, yes, there will be plenty more this week.)

And thanks as always to everyone who reads, comments, and e-mails. Keep 'em all coming!

Review: Pegleg Tango - Captain Bogg & Salty

Let's see... rock songs with not a little bit of theatricality. Lots of nautical themes. Band out of Portland, Oregon. We're talking about the Decemberists, right?

Well, not exactly. Pegleg Tango, released in 2005, is the second album from the Portland-based group Captain Bogg & Salty. Captain Bogg & Salty has been playing pirate-themed rock and pop for kids and adults since 1999. Unlike Monty Python's famous short film appended to the start of The Meaning of Life, The Crimson Permanent Assurance, which applied the themes of the business world to a pirate movie structure, Pegleg Tango more often applies themes of pirate life to a rock/pop song structure.

Musically, the six-piece band appropriates a number of different styles on the 39-minute disk -- gorgeous pop on the midtempo "Sea Monster," theatrical Decemberists-esque storytelling on "Scallywagg," or the '50s rock rave up "Pirate Party," to name just three. The theatrical background of the band (many of them with musical theater or sketch comedy backgrounds) comes through most noticeably on songs such as "I'm A Pirate," which interrupts its surf-rock tune to do an amusing "Wide World of Sports" riff, or "Sea Kings," an Elvis-like slow pop tune featuring a spoken-word interlude by the clearly demented Captain Bogg himself.

If you're looking for true pirate songs, I have a feeling you'd be a little disappointed by the disk, which only has 3 or 4 songs which I would consider shanty-like. Lyrically, however, even the most modern tunes have a very piratical focus, alternating between the boredom of life at sea (and what's done to alleviate that boredom) and the excitement of plundering. Frankly, the only parts of the disk that I didn't care for very much were the 3 audio sketches, and that was mostly for the fact that audio level on those was so much quieter than the music that it made it hard to listen to.

Kids love pirates, though without the visuals, I think the CD itself would appeal most to kids age 5 through 9. You can listen some sound clips at the band's website here or more here.

There are those of you for whom listening to pirate music would be akin to walking the plank. (What, you didn't think I'd make at least one pirate reference here?) You should stay away from this. But for the rest of us, even though the captain is slightly deranged, the journey on Captain Bogg & Salty's Pegleg Tango is an enjoyable one. Recommended.

Links Are My Bandsaws

I don't have many power tools, and unless guided by somebody more adept, my puttering around the house is typically limited to replacing light bulbs or fixing [insert name of minor house failure -- and we have a lot of them -- here].

But I do putter around with my sidebar, and so I wanted to draw your attention to a couple additions there on the right.

First, Troy at Songstreet is a compatriot of Devon at Head, Shoulders.... If you're interested in musical activities with young kids, both sites are great places to go.

Second, although Bill at Spare the Rock will always be first among kids' radio equals for me, the fine folks at WFMU's Greasy Kids Stuff also have great playlists. You can see (and listen to) playlists here.

I should also note that the Lovely Mrs. Davis and Fran at the About Kids Music site have both continued to post lots of reviews recently and you should check them out if you don't on a regular basis.

Finally, thanks to a couple kids' books sites for links -- Big A little a and Book Buds. As many kids' music CDs are released every year, there are probably 5 times as many kids' books published. I don't have a kids' books sidebar section (yet), but those two are good places to start to learn more about new (and old) kids' books. (I also want to note that fellow blogger Clea at small ages has her own pair of crafty books out -- check out her blog for more details.)

Review: Ablum - Duplex!

Presented with a band that includes 3-, 11-, and 12-year-old kids as members, plus an album cover that makes it look very much like the 3-year-old was the artistic director for the album, Ablum (2005), by the Vancouver-based Duplex!, had a couple strikes going against it according to my general bias against kids in bands and bad album cover art.

Thank goodness I have no idea what I'm talking about there, because this is a very good album. Consisting of adult members from assorted north-of-the-border bands (The Beekeepers, p:ano, and more) plus a few of their kids, Duplex! is very much a side-project supergroup. And while my temptation is compare them with labelmates and Western Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers ('cuz I'll do anything to work in a reference to them), the more appropriate comparison is the Eastern Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene. While the New Pornographers work up their tunes into a polished if frenzied power pop sheen, Broken Social Scene plays things loose, sometimes sounding ragged around the edges.

It's the general ragged charm of the album, plus the willingness of the group to throw just about everything against the wall and see what sticks, that is its strength. From the Grateful Dead-noodlings of the album opener "Yr Mama" to the Cake stylings of "Heatin' Up the Milk," there are few musical stylings that it doesn't cover. Euro-cabaret of 8 1/2 Souvenirs? Try "Mr. Slim or "Bethlehem." Sleater-Kinney? Try "Nucat." Ska? "DNA."

The album is not without a strong sense of humor, amusing both youngsters and hipsters. For kids, the album's particular enjoyment in rhymes is particularly noticeable in "The Salad Song, " which takes a decidedly anti-green approach ("Spinach, cucumber / I think I'm going under / Cabbage and sprouts / I have a lot of doubts"). Adults will probably appreciate more the cabaret song "Bethlehem" and its less-than-reverent view of the city ("Bethlehem / Where the beds are fluffy and the rocks are hard / where everyday is a holiday card"). For the most part, though, the subjects (including poop, monkeys, and multiplication) are very kid-focused.

When you throw everything against the wall, some of it is bound to, uh, slide off. The spoken word "Lament of the House Rabbit" is tedious while "Lookit Me!" is as annoying as your 4-year-old who wants you to look at her every five seconds for what seems like an eternity. But those are exceptions, not the rule.

Kids age 3 through 8 (or 38) are most likely going to enjoy this album. You can buy the CD at many online stores (physical and download formats), and find samples there. (There are no samples at the Mint Records page for the band.)

If you have any sort of indie-music tendencies, you will find something to amuse and entertain you in Ablum. The giddy fun in making the record comes through loud and clear on the album, and you'll find yourself telling others, "Yeah, the album cover's kinda dorky, but wait 'til you hear it..." Definitely recommended.

Review: Rock Your Socks Off - Charity and the JAMband

There must be a scientific study out there verifying what a lot of parents already know through personal experience -- your child's endurance when it comes to dancing outpaces yours. Sure, you go to the gym three times a week, but your kid, he's Lance Armstrong with the stereo on.

If this sounds at all familiar to you, then the third release from the Bay Area-based Charity and the JAMband, Rock Your Socks Off (2006), will come as a welcome relief to your legs, because it's filled with enough boogie-friendly music to tucker out even the most energetic of kids.

The album is filled with kid-friendly and self-empowering themes mixed with a (I wouldn't say it if weren't true) jam-band attitude and style. On the album's best songs, singer-songwriter Charity Kahn encourages kids to move to the music with a soulful voice and wordplay both direct and abstract. On the infectious "Happy Fluffy," lyrics such as "You're gonna jump around / Jump jump around / Jump around / Jump up and down" are matched to a bouncy melodic line that does its best to encourage actual jumping. Meanwhile, on the closest thing to an actual jam on the album, the leadoff track "Travellin'" includes a whole mess of bluesy nonsense wordplay ("car jam jeep jam double-decker bus jam / bug jam beetle jam chuckwagon van jam").

Musically, the 6-person JAMband itself has a great sound together, but with enough looseness to not feel too structured. Although it's mostly soulful and funky, the music takes some detours (the amusing "Towel Tango," for example). Some of the tracks are really motion oriented and may not sound all that appealing while stuck in traffic driving to soccer practice (I'm thinking here of "We Need Mud" and "Cake"). And two tracks just before the end ("Wish" and "Peace Dream") bring the dance party to an abrupt halt. After more than 30 minutes of dancing and movement, it's probably necessary, but these two tracks are really slow and lyrically serious and feel out-of-step with the rest of the album.

Lyrically, the album is probably most appropriate for kids age 4 through 8, although any kid stable enough to boogie will probably enjoy the rhythms and music here. You can listen to samples of the album at the CDBaby website for the album as well as watch a video for "Cake" at the Indie Food Channel.

The Grateful Dead and Phish have each gone their separate ways. But with Rock Your Socks Off, you could actually rediscover a little bit of the jam-band magic (even after you need to take a break collapsed on the living room floor from exhaustion). Recommended.

Song of the Day: Baby Kangaroo - Joe McDermott

A quick one... Joe McDermott is an Austin, Texas-based kids' musician. "Baby Kangaroo" is off his third album, entitled Everywhere You Go. It's a catchy little ditty about the joys of owning a baby kangaroo. Near the beginning, McDermott sings...

"I think you should get a baby kangaroo
It might just be the perfect pet for you
They bounce (16x)
And they also hop"

And so it's this cute and cuddly song for 3-year-olds. But as the song progresses, the narrator quickly shows the weariness of owning a kangaroo over a long period of time...

"In about two years it will be fully grown
You'll need a bigger yard and you'll need a bigger home
Cause when he was little he loved to bounce
And now he's bigger and he loves to Bounce"

The lyrics don't quite do the weariness justice (nor do they include the amusing off-the-cuff remarks). The lyrics also don't do justice to the two other things I like about the song:

1. The fact that it's sung virtually a cappella, and
2. The sole instrument accompanying the voices is what sounds very much like a ping-pong ball.

The ping-pong ball is now my favorite part of the song.

You can hear a 1-minute clip of the song here.

So now, dear reader, you have three choices for what to listen for the traditional 2nd-song-in-the-Song-of-the-Day-post. It's a Choose Your Own Adventure, Zooglobble-style!

1. For another amusing (and even more meta-) a cappella song, try "A Cappella," off Larry Sherwin's Turn Up The Music! (Go to the appropropriate link here.)

2. For accompaniment that includes a ping-pong ball, try They Might Be Giants' "Bed Bed Bed Bed Bed," from No!. (You can hear samples at many places, including CDBaby.)

3. Or, for a more traditional "Song of the Day" reference, go to the Futureheads' website and check out any of their many videos. Nobody combines punk sensibilities and four-part harmony any better. (Go here and click on "Videos." "Hounds of Love" is an awesome, awesome cover.)

This Week: Heading West

So long, Chicago -- this week on Zooglobble it's West Coast-related artists. That's right, we'll have reviews of new albums by Ice Cube and Pearl Jam and... [whisper, whisper]... oh, you're probably right. OK, scratch that, we've got some other artists to talk about.

And if you missed the interview with Justin Roberts or the review of his Why Not Sea Monsters? albums with Liam Davis, check 'em out.

Review: Chocolate Milk - ScribbleMonster and His Pals

In college, I had a friend who occasionally entertained crowds by doing rock classics in the one-and-only voice of Ethel Merman. You've not lived 'til you've heard an Ethel Merman impersonator doing performing "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin. ("Hey hey mama, said the way you move...") The incongruity of rock lyric and near-cartoonish voice rarely failed to bring down the house. Nobody could take that voice seriously.

I think most people would agree that "Black Dog" isn't a kids' song, but the question remains: why is it that some children's music feels the need to use cartoon voices? Cartoonish voices are good... in cartoons. Stripped of the visuals, cartoonish voices can become very tiresome very quickly. Do you want to hear an entire album of alternative pop recorded by, say, Bugs Bunny?

ScribbleMonster and His Pals attempts to bridge that gap on their 2004 album, their second, Chocolate Milk. ScribbleMonster is joined by ScribbleKitty, ScribblePiggy, and ScribbleBunny in singing seriously catchy power-pop melodies. Can the combination work?

Not entirely. This is best demonstrated on the title track (which fills the "void of festive, drinking songs for kids"); it's actually found twice on the album. On the first version of the song, voiced by ScribbleMonster, the growly voice causes me some ScribblePain. The second version, voiced by ScribbleJim (James Dague, the Chicago-area group's songwriter and voice for ScribbleMonster) provides no small amount of ScribbleJoy and is a ridiculously catchy song. "Beautiful Day" borrows part of the chord progression from Weezer's "Island in the Sun," and has the same, mellow alterna-pop feel of Weezer's song. In a good way. Because it's sung by "ScribbleKitty," whose voice is, well, normal, it's pleasant to listen to. (And while we're on the subject of songs sounding a lot like other, older songs, "Don't Cry, Dance" makes me wonder if the ScribbleAnimals haven't been to more than a few showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.)

The power-pop melodies and instrumentation will be familiar to fans of alternative pop and rock over the past 20 years, with mid-tempo rockers and quite a bit of fuzzy electric guitar. The lyrics are written with good humor and have little pretension. "The World's Greatest," for example, a driving rocker about being whatever you want to be, a standard topic for kids songs, has a list of entirely reasonable careers, including lines about "I'm gonna be the world's greatest plumber / I'll clear a clog like nobody else can." Any song that sings about becoming a plumber without condescension is OK by me.

The album will probably appeal most to kids ages 3 through 8. You can hear a number of songs at the ScribbleBooks Music page, or watch some additional videos at their Video page. You can buy the 32-minute album through the ScribbleMonster website and the other usual online suspects (in physical or download format).

In the end, I can't recommend Chocolate Milk entirely because of the cartoonish voices, but other listeners may not have the same eye-twitching that the voices cause me on some of the tracks, so if you're interested check out the Music and Video links above. Behind those cartoon voices you'll find a nice batch of kids' alterna-pop. And if ScribbleJim ever releases an album, I am so there.

Review: The Amazing Adventures of Kid Astro - Ralph's World

Listening to The Amazing Adventures of Kid Astro (2004), Ralph Covert's fifth album as Ralph's World, one can't help shake the feeling that Covert spent a lot of time listening to AM radio growing up. Because the album sounds like what kid might hearing moving up and down the AM side of the dial (and occasionally flipping over to FM).

Take one of the strongest cuts on the album -- "Fee Fi Fo Fum," which is a great little slice of bluesy garage rock. Covert sings it with a Jagger-like swagger; and even '90s garage-rock revivalists The Smithereens wouldn't do it any better. (Not to mention Covert slides in some healthy self-esteem lyrics such as ("It doesn’t matter who our friends are / if you got some Fee Fi Fo Fum / It doesn’t matter who our friends are and / let me tell you everybody got some"). "Dumptruck" has a funky countryfied sound with a slinky bridge. "We Are Ants" is a sweet piece of bubblegum pop that would sound great on any oldies station today. (Sure, it copies some of the chord structure from "Fee Fi Fo Fum," but why wouldn't you when it sounds so good?) "Sun in My Eyes," despite some clunky lyrics ("And the simple things are simple / And the truth will still be true"), sounds like a Beatles outtake.

Even on the songs I didn't enjoy I can appreciate what Covert's trying to do. "The Tea Tale" is a slice of James Taylor at his most acoustic. The lyrics and arrangement don't do much for me, but I recognize that's a matter of taste, not execution. And the title cut nicely blends the outrageous tropes of Saturday-morning adventure cartoons with the ever-popular-with-kids-genre of... prog-rock. For all those kids begging their parents to play their copy of Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. (OK, I really don't care for prog-rock. Having said that, it's not half-bad.) On all the songs, Covert backs himself up with a crack band and well-placed soloists (the clarinet on the zippy "Miss Molly Crackerjack," for example).

With songs about dumptrucks and first kisses, it covers a wide range, age-wise, perhaps ages 3 through 10. You can read lyrics and get an mp3 of "Fee Fi Fo Fum" at the Ralph's World site here. The 36-minute album is available at many online (iTunes Music Store, included) and finer retail locations.

Over the years in Ralph's World, Ralph Covert has honed his children's pop and rock songwriting skills, coming up with great hooks while generally steering clear of lyrical sappiness. The rockers and gentle acoustic ballads combine in The Amazing Adventures of Kid Astro to make for an album which sounds just as nice coming out of your speakers in the 2000s as it would have in the 1970s. Definitely recommended.

Please Release Me (June 2006 Edition)

The list of June 2006 children's music-related releases is pretty slim, at least compared to May 2006. So now that all the kids (except those in those newfangled "year-round" schools) are on summer vacation, the labels are, too? Ah, well...

June 6 - Cars Soundtrack -- Hey, it's got Sheryl Crow, James Taylor, and Randy Newman. That's enough to at least be worth further investigation. (To listen to 1-minute samples of each song, go here and click on "Music" up on the right-hand side.)
June 20 - Eric Herman - Snow Day. Releasing an album titled "Snow Day" on essentially the first day of summer is just cruel to those of us living in Phoenix. Setting that aside, you can listen to random tracks off all of Herman's CDs here.
July 5 - Rebecca Frezza - Tall and Small. Yeah, it's a July release, not June. Sue me, it was a short list.

Lots of stuff coming up this summer and into the fall.

Review: Songs from the Hebrew Scriptures / Songs from the New Testament - Why Not Sea Monsters?

For many artists, children's music is a side project. If you're Justin Roberts, however, you're already a children's music artist, so what's your side project? It's recording as Why Not Sea Monsters? with frequent collaborator Liam Davis.

In late 2005, Roberts and Davis released two Why Not Sea Monsters CDs -- Songs from the Hebrew Scriptures and Songs from the New Testament. Most of you will recognize that these albums have a distinctly... Biblical aspect to them. (My readers, they're sharp.) Roberts was commissioned to write many of these songs by Augsburg Fortress Publishers, he wrote a few more when deciding to record the album, and added a couple covers.

To put in context my review of the album's music, I should explain to you my history with Christian music.

Which is to say, virtually none. Aside from my U2 albums (upon which some churches are basing entire services), the only Christian music album I've ever owned was Amy Grant's Unguarded, and I didn't buy it for the praise music. I bought it because the music was good. The message was secondary. (That's still the case today, even though I'm now an active member of a mainline Protestant church.)

For the most part, the music here is good. Those of you expecting Meltdown! Bible Stories, as Roberts and Davis dial back some of the tempo and layering of instruments found on that album. Instead, they're content to play mostly midtempo acoustical songs in the manner of "Roller in the Coaster" off Way Out or "Koala Bear Diner" off Meltdown!. Given that many of these songs may end up in Sunday School curricula, the fact that many of these songs are little more than guitar and drums and/or bass, the simplicity is appropriate. (Each of the 35-or-so-minute discs include chords and lyrics.)

The best songs are those where Roberts lets his humor shine and he puts his own spin on stories so familiar that most people, Christian or not, would recognize them. On the sweet and poppy "Why Not a Spark?," Roberts' narrator tells of God choosing what to bring forth at the Creation, but he keeps getting ahead of himself ("On the fifth day / God said, why not sea monsters / Why not starfish and lobsters / why not airplanes over water / Wait that's later!"). Or Daniel in the lion's den who beckons the lion with "Here kitty kitty / Won't you come kitty kitty" ("Here Kitty Kitty"). As a whole, Roberts has written Christian music without much trace of sappiness.

I found the songs on Songs from the Hebrew Scriptures more enjoyable, and maybe that's because my raised-not-in-Sunday-School theological foundations are pretty weak and I was drawn to the more familiar stories in the Old Testament. Hebrew Scriptures also has the advantage of having Roberts cover Craig Wright's "Where Were You?," a beautiful hymn ("Where were you when I crafted you a language... / So you could live and die with dignity / And shake your fist with poetry, imagining creation from the first") for which Roberts and Davis pull out all the instrumental tricks (strings, for example) they've otherwise left in the bag. It's an absolutely gorgeous song. On the other hand, New Testament's stories are less familiar and the songs aren't as compelling ("Lydia" has the lyric "Her name was Lydia / Our hearts will never be rid of ya," which, I'm sorry, bugs the heck out of me).

Biblical songs can probably be sung at any age, but I think the morals and religious precepts contained within the songs are most appropriate for kids aged 3 through 10. You can hear samples by going through the Sea Monsters website.

In the end, this is a Christian music album, and there's no two ways around it. Having said that, I think you just need a basic Christian belief system (regardless of whether you attend church regularly) to enjoy the CDs. [And, as a reader subsequently pointed out to me, the Hebrew Scriptures CD is appropriate for persons of the Jewish faith as well.] Regardless of your faith, if you're not sure these are for you, start off with Hebrew Scriptures. Recommended.

Interview: Justin Roberts

The one thing I discovered from teaching preschool is you shouldn't have a preconceived notion of what kids will respond to. So I don't try to guess. -- Justin Roberts

With three CD releases in the past six months (the highly acclaimed Meltdown! and two "Why Not Sea Monsters?" scripture-related CDs with collaborator Liam Davis) and a very active 2006 touring schedule, Justin Roberts has been a very busy man as of late. Still, Justin must have exemplary time-management skills as he provided thoughtful responses to the questions below. Read on to find out which characters in Roberts' songs have echoes of Justin himself, who he's trying to please when writing songs, and what rocking out with kids is more fun than.

And thanks again to Justin for the interview.

******************

When did you realize that you were going to make making kids' music your career?
I put out Great Big Sun in 1997 right as I was entering graduate school at the University of Chicago. I had no intention at that time of becoming a kids music performer. However, after finishing my masters in religious studies, I decided rocking out with kids was a lot more fun than studying Sanskrit. I stand by that statement today.

How much of your music is based on memories from your own childhood compared to watching kids as an adult?
I take a lot of inspiration from my own childhood, little memories and events that I use as building blocks. But sometimes I just make it all up. I think when I'm writing a song I try to get into the characters head and tell his or her story. In the same way that I would when writing a song for adults. So, while I might be inspired by the kids in my neighborhood cranking out chalk art, the character in the song develops as the story comes out.

On Meltdown! was "Cartwheels & Somersaults" based on personal experience, or was that a generalized experience?
I wrote that song for my sister (who is nine years younger than me). However, in the song it sounds like it is told from the prospective of an only child who is much closer in age. I still remember how amazing it was the day I came home from school and met my sister. Of course, several days later I was teasing her just like a big brother should.

Were you anything like the impish kid that seems to populate so many of your songs ("My Brother Did It," "Meltdown," "One Little Cookie")?
I was a pretty well behaved kid. If I did anything wrong, it was on the sly. My brother was a little more confrontational. But most of the stuff from the songs is made up. If anything, "My Brother Did It" is a role reversal since I was the younger one getting blamed for everything. I love how kids are sort of amoral but they have a sense of right and wrong at the same time. They are always testing boundaries. Which is funny to me.

Which is harder for you to write -- music or lyrics? Why?
I write my music and lyrics at the same time. Sometimes I have to fill in words and verses here and there but it is always created to the melody. I think that is often how the stories find their way out. In general, songwriting is a complete mystery to me and can be quite stressful (it's not a coincidence my CD is called Meltdown!) as I spend months feeling like I can't write a good song. Then some of my favorite stuff (like "Cartwheels") just pops out.

How easy is it for you to write music that kids will relate to, but that parents might enjoy, too? Do you think you've improved your ability to do so over the years?
I try not to think too much about my audience when I write. I try to write a melody I would want to hear as an adult and sometimes I will laugh when a lyric comes out or get a emotional if the song is sad. I never know what kids are going to think of the songs. I don't really test market them too much. I'm more sure adults will enjoy the songs when I complete them than kids.

I don't know that I've necessarily gotten better at reaching both audiences. I'm just always trying to push myself to make a better record than the last one. But there are still those out there who love the simplicity of Great Big Sun. When Liam and I are in the studio together, we just try to make a record that we would want to listen to. The one thing I discovered from teaching preschool is you shouldn't have a preconceived notion of what kids will respond to. So I don't try to guess.

How did you get involved in writing the "Why Not Sea Monsters" albums? Were you trying to do something different from your "regular" kids' albums?
Augsburg Fortress Publishers approached me several years ago to write two songs based on bible verses for their Sunday School curriculum. Having a background in philosophy and religious studies made it a fun little side project. I would write the songs and Liam would record and arrange them with me. One song led to another and soon we had about 16 tracks that were all originally commissioned by AFP. So, I wrote six more songs and covered a couple songs by Craig Wright (friend and playwright/television writer) to fill out the two records. My goal on these records was to try to write Bible songs that would not be preachy but would still bring out the strange beauty of these stories.

What's next for you and Meltdown!?
I've been travelling since March promoting the new CD and we have tons of summer dates set up too. We also have some new videos that we are very excited about which should be airing on Noggin soon.

This Week: Second City Children's Music

Doesn't quite have the ring of Second City Television, but it's pretty good stuff, anyway. Justin Roberts, Ralph's World, and more, all this week.

If you haven't seen it, read the review of The Terrible Twos' If You Ever See An Owl below. Great stuff. And if you missed my interview with Brady Rymer, it's worth your time.

Thanks as always for reading.

Review: If You Ever See An Owl - The Terrible Twos

The Terrible Twos are a side project once removed. Singer-songwriter Matt Pryor, of the emo band the Get Up Kids, formed the New Amsterdams as a side project with a more alt-country sound. With The Terrible Twos (the New Amsterdams to a man), Pryor has shifted his subject matter back maybe 15 years, targeting the young nieces and nephews of the New Amsterdams fans.

And with If You Ever See An Owl, Pryor and his band have crafted an album that will entertain those nieces and nephews along with their parents and aunts and uncles. Melodically, it's reminiscent of alt-country/Americana-pop artists like the Old 97s, Rhett Miller, and early Ryan Adams, with some Death Cab for Cutie and hints of Wilco thrown in for good measure. (Obviously, it's most like the New Amsterdams themselves.) Acoustic rock of tempos both fast and slow, melodies wrapping their way around your brain. The uptempo "When I Get To Eleven," about a boy's acceptance of growing older, makes counting to 11 a lot more fun than it has any right to be. The love song to a little girl named "Vivian" is worthy of lovesick Miller or Adams. And "A Rake, A Broom, A Mop, A Shovel," just like They Might Be Giants' "Violin" turns a very angular song into something enjoyable.

Lyrically, the 32-minute album covers ground familiar to many kindergarteners -- math, burping and being polite, the problems of a birthday too close to Christmas ("Caroline, don't worry about birthday time / Don't think that on 22 / There's none for you / It's just not true" on the shiny "Caroline"). It's unclear if Barney was the inspiration for "We Can All Get Along With Dinosaurs," but a purple dinosaur stars in a treacle-free song about tolerance. Elsewhere the lyrics target the parents as much as the kids (the disappearing baby of "The Little Houdini," the kid in the driving "Pizza and Chocolate Milk" who says "Don't try to force me to eat vegetables I hate / You may think I'm kidding / That I won't win / If I keep screaming you'll cave in.") But throughout the album there runs a feeling of love and affection for the subject matter (and kids who serve as the inspiration) that distinguishes the album from many others.

Kids aged 4 through 10 are most likely to enjoy the subject matter and the occasionally slow-paced song. The Terrible Twos' website has two downloads ("When I Get To Eleven" and "Caroline"), while their Myspace page has four more songs.

Normally I'd mention where the album is available for purchase, but here's the sad part -- due to unspecified release issues, the album is currently only available at New Amsterdams shows. I can only think of Wilco's troubles in getting their terrific album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot released after getting dropped by their own label. It took a great deal of effort before the album saw the light of day and attracted great praise, perhaps more than it otherwise would have. If You Ever See An Owl deserves not only a release but lots of fanfare to accompany that release, because this is an album that's going to make lots of kids and parents very happy. Highly recommended.

Crosseyed and Painless

David Byrne recently posted a few thoughts on the past, present, and future of album art. Byrne's main point? We shouldn't necessarily mourn the loss of album art (which was often designed without the artist's input) with the rise of the iPod et al. Bryne posits a future in which recorded music is free while graphic designers develop ways to entice those listeners to pay for other stuff (merchandise, etc.) associated with the artist. (Thanks to Stereogum for the original reference.)

What does this have to do with children's music? I don't know whether many children's music artists spend much time considering album art. Even if they do (and they probably do), the results often doesn't show that. Raffi's early albums, while pretty darn good, could hardly be considered to have great album art. Those covers are pretty good compared to some I've seen. Aside from the Wiggles, who have very consistent art direction (THE WIGGLES! SMILING! FUN, BRIGHT COLORS!), there aren't a lot of kids' artists whose art direction I love. Dan Zanes is a conspicuous exception (it helps if your brother-in-law is an artist), and there are some other exceptions, too. (The packaging of Lunch Money's Silly Reflection is fabulous, for example. By the way, do you have that album yet? Why not? Go!)

I think much of children's music is trapped behind packaging that screams "you, the adult, will tolerate this and that's all." And I think that may explain partially why certain albums do or don't do well. Flipping through the small kids' music section at your local Borders... what are you going to choose? If you're trying to decide what to give as a gift for your niece's 4th birthday, what are you going to choose? How about looking at covers online? (Yes, I realize that, considering the current plainness of this website, this is a bit "pot-calling-the-kettle-black.")

While bad album art won't always win (Raffi's CDs are still very popular), it takes an awesome album to overcome that art. While Byrne may be right that album art in general may fall by the wayside, I think that day is further away for kids' music than for most music.

And just because I dig the Talking Heads, here's a page with some Talking Heads audio samples. The obvious choice for this site is "Stay Up Late," a funky tune from Little Creatures, but how can you not listen to something from Remain In Light? Go have fun.

What's your favorite children's music album cover/packaging?

Review: Paws Claws Scales and Tales - Monty Harper

We at Zooglobble love librarians. We especially love children's librarians. Turning on kids to the excitement of reading (and listening) -- way cool.

If you're a children's librarian and you're not aware of Monty Harper, you should be. Harper has carved himself out a niche writing albums filled with library-friendly children's music. His latest album, 2006's Paws Claws Scales and Tales, is another album specifically targeted to the Collaborative Summer Learning Program, a "grassroots consortium of states working together to provide high-quality summer reading program materials for children at the lowest cost possible for their public libraries."

All of which is very nice in an "isn't reading wonderful" sort of way, but you're asking, is it any good? And the answer is, yes, it is good. Even if you're not a children's librarian.

Now, Harper's subject matter from which to draw lyrics is narrowly constructed -- talk about pets and reading/libraries. It's a very square peg he's trying to pound into the round hole of good music. It's a testament to Harper's skill as a lyricist and storytelling that the references to reading typically don't come off as sounding overly forced. The title track refers to four popular animal characters in children's literature and each verse should be fun for kids as they guess which character Harper's singing about (a conceit Harper's used on previous albums). "Villa Villekulla Hula" sings about Pippi Longstocking while the peppy "Dog Books" refers to a few classic canine-related tales.

Harper really shines, however, in those songs which he's not trying to sing about both pets and libraries. My favorite track is the country-ish, inspired-by-a-true-story "It's Hard To Love a Reptile," which would be a fabulous song on any album and includes the classic lyrics "It's hard to love a reptile / When you know that she don't love you back / When your gazes connect and you start to suspect / She's been thinking of you - as a snack!" "Eleanor Gerbil" is as close Harper can get to the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" without paying Michael Jackson royalties. "Hummingbird Hum" is a sweet Beatlesque tune sung with his daughter. (As for "Fred's Frog Flippy," about a frog who just won't hop, I would've much preferred it if Harper had taken the opportunity to write a Talking Heads homage called "Making Flippy Hoppy.") In general, the music is kids' pop-rock.

The enhanced CD includes some bonus tracks, but the real reason to use the enhanced CD is to read Harper's detailed songwriting notes for each song. The care with which Harper constructs his songs and especially his lyrics is evident. He's also open about where he would've liked to have done more. (For example, on "Eleanor Gerbil" he mentions how a real string quartet would've sounded much better than the synthesizers employed on the track, and it's true that one of the CD's few weaknesses is the mostly synthesizer-driven nature of the sound.)

Given the reading-focused nature of the lyrics (which are extensive), I'd recommend the 36-minute CD for kids ages 4 through 9. You can hear samples at the Reading Songs website.

If you're a children's librarian, I highly recommend Paws Claws Scales and Tales, even if you're not participating in the CSLP. If you're not a children's librarian, I still think you and your kids will like the album, which is fun musically and sophisticated lyrically. Recommended.

Googling Children's Music

Google has introduced a beta version of Google Trends, which tracks the popularity of certain search terms. What can this tell us about the popularity of children's music? A lot (though it means nothing to me in terms of what our family actually listens to).

Here's Dan Zanes. A spike in mid-2005 -- I'm guessing there must've been some Noggin-related activity around then. The graph only appears to go through early-April, so there's little evidence of a Catch That Train! bump in the available data. Looks pretty good until you compare him to...

Laurie Berkner. Note the spike in early 2006 -- that would be the release of We Are... The Laurie Berkner Band DVD. Again, looks pretty good until you compare her to...

They Might Be Giants. I'm guessing the spike in mid-2004 has to do with the release of The Spine, their last non-children's release of new material. So they have the advantage of non-kids-related stuff, too. But you don't need that if you're...

The Wiggles. Hoo-boy, those other lines are getting mighty flat. But even that's not all that impressive once you type in...

High School Musical. Breaking Free, indeed.

Interview: Brady Rymer

"Lately, I’m becoming more focused on this idea that the songs and the music within them can be for the whole family."

Brady Rymer's fifth album Every Day Is A Birthday is a fun mix of songs dealing not only with the experience of childhood but also with the experience of parenthood. Rymer recently was kind enough to answer a few questions about his latest album, what it's like to be a kids' musician, and the strange effect of the Grateful Dead on his son.

Many thanks to Brady for taking the time to answer these questions. It's a long interview, but well worth the read.

Besides the concert hours, what are the biggest differences between being an "adult" musician (in From Good Homes) and a "kids" musician?
At a live show, the kids are roaring and ready from the first note, and I’ve got about 45 good minutes with them. The dynamic reminds me of those old rock ‘n’ roll road shows that had a handful of acts on the bill; each band would do a quick 30 minute set, and each of ‘em got the place rockin’, with their hits, from the get-go. When I was with From Good Homes we’d be onstage for hours; if I did that now, the parents might just be with me at the end of the show, but you know those little ones would be snoozin’ after a dozen songs. Other than that, there aren’t too many things that I approach differently. I want the music (and musicians) to be interactive and engaging, and I want the set to gain momentum and get lots of good energy flowing back and forth between audience and band, no matter who I’m playin’ for-- grandmas, toddlers, dads, whoever!

On "Every Day Is A Birthday," "Dilly Dally Daisy" clearly was inspired by your daughter. Are most of your songs based on your kids?
Certainly my kids bring home and inspire a lot of songs. Their worlds are so packed with crazy situations, colors, and events that you could probably write a record a day if you just followed ‘em around with a pen and guitar! It’s incredibly fun and refreshing as a songwriter to get down a little lower to the ground and look at the world through their eyes (this also helps me as a parent-- one great perk of my job). It’s exciting to me to bring this unique language to songwriting – it’s not every day you get to write about your baby’s last night in utero or how proud a kid is to see his big ol’ belly reflected in the mirror.
Other families and friends also inspire songs. “Full Moon Walk” developed out of a beautiful experience we shared with family friends; “Mama Hug” and “Keep Up With You” were inspired by conversations with friends and neighbors. The other day at Little League practice, one of the moms was telling me how she’s been in the backyard throwin’ the baseball with her son. And he said to her after a pitch, “who knew, Mom-- you have a great curve ball!” Now if that doesn’t sound like a cool song, I don’t know what does.

I've read a bit of parental frustration into "Instead of Watching My TV." Was that a case of over interpretation, or have there been times you've had to encourage your kids to go outside (or another room) and do stuff?
The TV song, along with “Look in your Pocket,” were definitely written with the challenges of parenting in mind. It’s an ongoing adventure to keep your kids creative and inspired. It takes a lot of energy as a parent-- so I guess those songs are just me tryin’ to help some kids that might be stuck. Sometimes they just need a little encouragement, a suggestion, and then they’re off & runnin.’

For instance, my son loves weeding the garden – he goes out there with his mom and they make it fun – he gets a penny a weed, and they have this rewarding thing that they share together. But it’s still a project to un-stick him from the cartoon-filled TV on Saturday mornings, no matter what! I don’t even know if “Blowin’ in the Wind” could accomplish that!

"Rock N Roll Mother Goose" is a fun song to listen to, with lots of energy. Was it fun for you to record the song?
It was a blast! I’m glad that spirit comes through on the recording. I remember getting into such a fun place singing it; I could have kept singing all night. It’s modeled after Ray Charles’ great song “Shake a Tail Feather”; if you listen to that recording, Ray and the band are having such a good, boisterous time, and I really wanted to capture their playfulness and exuberance. So yeah, I was boppin’ around the studio when we were working on that one, waggin’ my elbows, shakin’ my tail feather, doin’ the goose! As we added elements to the song – the keyboards, horns, backup vocals – it grew more and more exciting; we all had a lot of fun creating the song.

Which is harder for you to write -- music or lyrics? Why?
Lyrics, I guess. I grew up listening and learning songs from the radio, picking out the tune and playing it on my guitar, so I identified first with the chord changes and music, and then focused on the lyrics (usually getting a lot of them wrong!). That kind of changed when I heard Bob Dylan-- I was hit over the head with how beautiful, colorful and poignant lyrics could be. They seem to take a little more time; you want to make sure that they’re just right. Songs for me generally come pretty fast, at least the initial idea. Music and lyrics together, but then it just takes time for it to all settle down, for the right words, musical ideas and textures to fall into place. I think of it as a puzzle – at the end of the process, with some luck, all of the pieces of the song fit together.

The song “Diggin’ Up A Dinosaur” was inspired by a songwriter, David Wilcox, talking about his songwriting approach. He said that writing is like dusting off dinosaur bones that are in the ground, carefully, a little at a time; until eventually it all becomes clear. He described that so well; anyway, that idea eventually turned in to “Diggin’ Up A Dinosaur,” a song about discovering who we are.

How easy is it for you to write music that kids will relate to, but that parents might enjoy, too? Do you think you've improved your ability to do so over the years?
I have always written songs about the experience of being a parent, as well as the experience of being a kid. My earlier songs are more closely focused on a kid’s world; I think they work for parents because they’re written with love, and they’re honest and real, reflecting experiences we’ve all gone through in some way.

Lately, I’m becoming more focused on this idea that the songs and the music within them can be for the whole family. I think kids can handle a challenging lyric, or a metaphor, and certainly can enjoy listening to music that is layered with great instruments and played by great musicians. The lyrics are getting to a broader place: “Keep Up With You” speaks to everyone, and the band’s new favorite song “Road Trip,” which we’ve been playing a lot live, is the best so far in terms of communicating with the whole family. I really look forward to recording this next batch of tunes I have ready; I think they are going to be the most inclusive of families yet. I love this direction; it really feels right.

Aside from your music, what do your kids like to listen to?
Green Day, the current American Idols, Elvis, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Annie Lenox, Simple Plan, KISS, Chuck Berry…the list goes on and on! My kids’ tastes are pretty eclectic. We love introducing them to different kinds of music, and we play all sorts of stuff around here – gospel, old blues, rock n roll, you name it. I remember the first time my son heard the Grateful Dead; he was in his bed getting ready to go to sleep. The song came on and he just got up on his bed and started doing the trippy, spaced out, freeform dancing that goes on at Dead shows! I was amazed. He never saw his mother dance like that!, but there it was – reacting completely honestly and in spiritual synch with that music!

We like putting together iTunes Playlists together. You get a real variety that way and you can work on a theme, which is fun. For my daughter’s birthday party we made one playlist with a Rainbow theme: it has everything on it -- Lesley Gore and Louis Armstrong, Paul Anka, Willie Nelson, the Ramones and the Rolling Stones, and they enjoy it all.

What's next for you and the album?
Well, we are working real hard on making some videos. So many of the songs paint pictures and tell stories, and it’s really exciting to explore their visual possibilities.

I love doing live shows (I’ve loved it since I first played with a band in Junior High), and I have the best time onstage with The Little Band That Could. We are so excited with the response that Every Day Is A Birthday has received, and we’re working on getting some farther-flung tour dates, to get the live show out there to families across the country.

And like I said before, I can’t wait to start recording my new CD.

Attention Children's Music Artists (and their PR people, if any)

I've updated the album submission policy to reflect a few weeks of receiving requests to review assorted kids' music CDs. I tried to make the policy a little less flippant and a little more understanding of the children's music recording industry. I don't think I've said anything substantially new, but if for some reason you read the policy before and didn't think you "qualified" (a very loose term for this site), feel free to read again.

And, as many artists who've received e-mails from me can attest, "I'm always interested in hearing new music." If you've got some, let me know!

Review: Quiet Time - Raffi

Raffi generates such strong feelings in people, that it's almost impossible to review the April 2006 release of Quiet Time without addressing some knotty issues. I'm not going to tackle those knotty issues here, but here are 3 "nots."

1. This is not a new Raffi album.
2. This is not a Raffi greatest hits album.
3. This is not a bad album.

This is not a new Raffi album -- You know how you get excited about an episode of a TV show without an "R" behind it, thinking, "hey, this is a new episode!," then get disappointed to find out it's nothing but a "clip" show? That was what I felt on a small level when I realized that this wasn't an album of new Raffi songs; in fact, every single track on here is previously released.

This is not a Raffi greatest hits album -- As the title suggests, Quiet Time is laid-back and calming. So even though the 31-minute CD draws from just about every single album of new material Raffi has released over the past 30 years, it's hardly a "greatest hits" collection. (Which, Raffi's multi-CD collections and concert albums aside, he could sorely use.)

This is not a bad album -- Having outlined what this is not, let's talk briefly, then, about what it is. The album cover calls these "songs for a pause, a cuddle, or a nap," and I think that's a pretty accurate description. Although these are slow, relaxing songs, they are not, for the most part, lullabies. They're gentle songs, a good soundtrack for quiet times and activities. Raffi has a clear and wonderful voice, which serves these songs well. He is a great interpreter of traditional child's music. Your appreciation of the Raffi originals may vary. I found "Spring Flowers" to be a soothing song in which the vocals are almost as much of an instrument as the instruments themselves (it certainly doesn't sound like the music he recorded 20 years before). On the other hand, his "Blessed Be" is overly precious to me, and I find Raffi most appealing precisely when he's not being overly precious. Again, your mileage may vary.

I think the album will be most enjoyed by kids ages 1 through 5. Released by Rounder, the album's available at most online and the usual retail suspects.

This is not the first album I'd recommend for someone looking to start off with Raffi. But for someone looking for pleasant background music to a half-hour of downtime for their child, Quiet Time is a good choice.

News: Belle & Sebastian Compile the Cutest Children's Music Album EVER!

Hey, I kid because I love.

The snarky friends at Pitchfork report that Belle & Sebastian indeed have "curated" a children's music album to be released on Sept. 11, 2006 and to benefit Save The Children. Now, it's not (as of this writing) confirmed on the band's website, their label's website, Rough Trade's website, or Save the Children's website, but it's on the web, so it must be true, right?

With contributions from "Franz Ferdinand, Four Tet, Snow Patrol, the Flaming Lips, the Fiery Furnaces, Kathryn Williams, the Divine Comedy, Travis, Jonathan Richman (aren't all of his songs children's songs?), and Rasputina," it's not a lineup that screams "kids music!" to me (well, OK, save Jonathan Richman), but that doesn't mean I won't be very interested in hearing it.

(Previous "reportage" here. Really, I do kinda like Belle & Sebastian, just not sure how this is going to turn out.)

This Week: Nothing But Fescue

OK, not really. But so many people have found their way here looking for the revised lyrics to Ben Folds' "Rockin the Suburbs" from the Over The Hedge soundtrack that I thought I'd find out what fescue is. (It's mentioned in the song, and I had no idea what it was.)

Fescue is a "deep rooted, cool season perennial grass." And who says you can't learn anything from children's music!

Besides this mini-educational lesson, I'll have another interview this week, along with more reviews. I just haven't figured out which ones yet.

Review: The Hipwaders - The Hipwaders

The Bay Area three-man band The Hipwaders released their second (self-titled) album in 2005. On the 42-minute CD they cover a wide range of musical styles, from the jangle-pop of the album opener "Come Along With Us" to the new wave stylings on "Silly Robot Dance" to the vaguely Nirvana-esque stylings of "Stand Up To The Bully," with many more styles as well ('60s psychedlic pop in particular). Generally, it's a guitar-based pop-rock confection.

With the exception of two songs, all songs were written or co-written by the band. Lyrically, they cover the gamut of elementary-school-aged themes -- cleaning up one's room, bugs, and the sheer wonderfulness of jelly beans, just to name a few. The Hipwaders also have a slight science bent, with songs about earthquakes ("It's An Earthquake!") and volcanoes ("Volcano," natch).

With 18 tracks on the CD there are bound to be some favorites and less-than-favorites. I particularly like the "Rock Lobster" echoes on the driving ode-to-antsiness "Twitchy," the funky new-wave "Silly Robot Dance," and the brief, strutting '80s pop "Kelly the Clown." There are a pair of eerie story songs about a Civil War-era ghost/skeleton/thing ("Mr. Wiggly Jiggly Bones") and werewolves ("Howling at the Moon") which I find to be too long, breaking up the overall poppy flow of the album. But I think that's just personal taste (they're not bad songs) and older kids may find them appealing. (At the very least you can enjoy the Cab Calloway reference on "Bones.")

Given the lyrical themes, I think the album is most appropriate for kids age 5 through 9. You can hear 4 of their songs in their entirety at The Hipwaders' MySpace site. You can buy the album at Amazon, CDBaby, and a few other sites linked through The Hipwaders' main website.

In sum, The Hipwaders is a solid album of kids' pop-rock. In its broad appropriation of pop music stylings, it is very reminiscent of Ralph's World albums. They're not at a Ralph's World level of polish and songcraft yet, but give The Hipwaders time. They may just get there. Recommended.

Nothing's So Good You Can't Post It Twice

Sometimes you can't help but revisit prior posts...

I've had the full copy of Dan Zanes and Friends' Catch That Train! for a few days now and I've expanded my review from last week just a bit to talk about the physical copy (scroll down to the end). As an aside, Zanes has covered (and written) enough material at this point to publish a family songbook of his own if he wanted to. Nicely illustrated with quality liner notes, I'd get a copy.

I continue to update my Album Recommendations by Age for each additional review I post, so if you've got a birthday coming up... I also continue to update my Baseball Songs and Train Songs lists as people comment or I stumble across an appropriate song on my own.

And, finally, I updated my review of Putumayo's Folk Playground CD from this morning, not to update the tone (fine but not outstanding) but to correct numerous grammatical errors. Hoo boy, it was early, but I can't blame those mistakes on the time.