Recess Monkey: Jet Pack

I've been working a bit this week on a story about a janitor, so maybe that's why I got such a kick out of the new video from Recess Monkey (thanks to my favorite kids music connoisseur Zooglobble for the link). If you're in the market for some fresh, funk-influenced, space-themed kids music, the new RM album, The Final Funktier (due out June 15th) seems like it's going to be pretty fab, by the way.

Recess Monkey: Jet Pack

Zooglobble's KidVid Tournament 2009

Ok, it's that March Madness time of year again, which means BRACKETS. Which means CHILDREN'S MUSIC VIDEOS! Right?

Every year, Zooglobble (the premier kids' music blog) hosts a KidVid Tournament...head to head match ups of the best kids' music videos of the year. Each day, you can vote for a match up, and the winner heads to the next bracket to duke it out with the remaining winners. Right now, they're in the tail end of the first bracket, so I highly recommend that you and your family head over, watch some videos, vote, and enjoy the fun.

One of my favorites already lost, but then again, I'm a little goony like that. Something about this Barenaked Ladies video just cracks me up:

American Songs 2 on Zooglobble

Thanks to Stefan over at Zooglobble for his Memorial Day review of American Songs vol. 2! If you haven't yet been to Zooglobble, it is *the* place to go for kids and family music reviews. That said, I'm pleased as punch to see American Songs vol. 2 reviewed on the site and considered "a good folk song primer for slightly older kids."

Also just up at Zooglobble, and worth a visit, is an interview with Frances England about her much-anticipated new album, Family Tree, and the surprise success of her first, truly lovely album, Fascinating Creatures.

Grab Bag Friday: KidVid Has a Winner!

All good things must come to an end. And so, sadly, does Zooglobble's KidVid Tournament 2008. In an exciting final matchup, Mr. Richard's paparazzi video "Cheese" took on the quirky animation of They Might Be Giants' "Seven Days of the Week (Never Go To Work)."

If you go to the final matchup page, you can view both videos, and see the gazillion voters who ushered Mr. Richard into victory by a landslide. Seriously, it wasn't even close.

Since I was rooting for the losing side, I'm going to post "Seven Days of the Week" (from their new album Here Come the 1-2-3s) as a consolation post of sorts. Of course, these days we're supposed to believe that we're *all* winners, right?

March Madness: KidVid Tournament 2008

Woohoo! It's time for Zooglobble's annual March Madness KidVid Tournament! I *love* this tournament. Here's the official sum-up from the Zooglobble site:

It is time once again for the KidVid Tournament, the 2008 edition, where families come together by watching videos the way they were meant to be watched.

On the computer.

Over the next 2+ weeks, we'll be pitting 16 of the best kids' music videos from the past year or so head-to-head with readers voting to determine the best video of the year.

Here is where you can find:

The Bracket

Contest One: Orange Sherbet vs. Eric Herman (It looks like voting is already closed on this one, but that shouldn't stop you from watching and choosing your favorite in anticipation of the next round.)

Contest Two: David Tobacman vs. Ellen & Matt

There will be a new match-up or two every day until the ultimate video prevails. Have fun playing kingmaker!

They Might Be Giants: Family Friday Night Podcast

For those of you who've wondered whatever happened to the quirky, fun, indie-pop duo They Might Be Giants, you might be interested to know that they are now actual *giants* in the kids-and-family music scene. They took the scene by storm with their first kids' album, No!, in 2002 and followed up in 2005 with a supercool CD/DVD set Here Come the ABCs (which I *highly* recommend).

Now, with their highly anticipated album Here Come the 123s due out this February, TMBG has begun a Friday Night Family Podcast with videos of songs from the album. Zooglobble has been posting them pretty regularly (check out this great one The Seven Days of the Week: I Never Go to Work) and you can see the whole list here.

I think, so far, Apartment 4 (below) is my favorite:

Save the Music: For the Kids Three

Fids & Kamily: First off, the 2007 Fids & Kamily Winners were announced this week! Last year, the rock stars of the kids' music blogosphere (Stefan from Zooglobble, Bill from Spare the Rock Spoil the Child, and Amy from The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What to Think) joined forces to set up a panel of judges and choose the best kids' music of the year.

• You can check out the Best Music of 2007 for Kids and Families just in time for holiday gift lists.
• Be sure to read Stefan's wise article Share Your Music and Let Them Share Theirs while you're there.
• You can also hear selections from all the winning albums on Spare the Rock Spoil the Child.

For the Kids: For the Kids Three ranked #12 on the 2007 Fids & Kamily Awards list. I recently received a review copy of this CD in the mail from Nettwerk Music Group. Now, I was interested because Nettwerk is the uber-hip record label/music management firm out of Canada that has consistently gone against "traditional" methods of operation in favor of a more grassroots approach. They were one of the first to embrace DRM-free (digital rights management) music, believing that if you buy a song, you should be able to play it on whatever device you want. They joined in the fight when the recording industry sued a Texas teenager for filesharing...Nettwerk offered to pay all the teen's legal fees during the fight. CEO Terry McBride's famous quote was, "Suing music fans is not the solution, it's the problem." They were way ahead of the game even before waves of musicians began to drop their major labels like hot potatoes. I remember reading this article in Wired when Barenaked Ladies decided to ditch their label and go with Nettwerk for their management.

So with that history in mind, it's not too surprising that Nettwerk has been targeting bloggers as part of their marketing campaign for For the Kids Three. If Zooglobble gives it a "definitely recommended" and The Lovely Mrs. Davis has it in her Minivan Rotation, that's a pretty big buzz already (at least in the land of cyber-savvy moms and dads who pride themselves on music cred). And here I am writing about it, too...and that's, well, something.

The album, by the way, is quite cool. Definitely worthy of a #12 on the Fids & Kamily Awards. There are a couple misses on the album, but in general Nettwerk has gathered a bunch of hip, unexpected artists (like Moby and Hem and Over the Rhine) who generally perform adult indie-pop music and created an album for kids (apparently, the third in a very hip series). The music is a mix of traditional kids' songs (done very non-traditionally) and originals that will probably make you smile and dance around a bit. Highlights for me?

• My Little Bird by Rogue Wave (who I will *definitely* be checking out now)
• I Want to Have Fun by Of Montreal (fun is the operative word here)
• My Darling Clementine by The Submarines and Wheels on the Bus by Kyle Andrews (just because I didn't think these two songs could *ever* sound hip, and these do)
• Does Your Cat Have a Moustache by The Format (because this rocks)
• See You On the Moon by Great Lake Swimmers (sweet, sweet lyrics)

Bottom line: Even if you don't like kids' music, this album is worth looking at just to get a whole list of cool new artists to listen to!

Bonus: A portion of the proceeds of the album go to VH1 Save the Music Foundation, which is dedicated to restoring and sustaining music programs in public schools.

Grab Bag Friday: The GOOD Stuff: Boost Mobile Rock Corps

I just got my first issue of GOOD Magazine, and in it they had a small article about an organization called Boost Mobile Rock Corps. This has got to be about one of the coolest ideas I've seen in a while. Check out the video below to learn about what they do. And if you live in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, or another large city, definitely check out their calendar of events!

In other news...

• There's another great Ella Jenkins interview at Zooglobble.
• I'll be participating in Blog Action Day on October 15th.
• Don't forget to leave a comment here...you could win a free copy of my new CD!

Grab Bag Friday: Four Fun Things for Friday

Hooray...it's Friday!!!!

Here are four fun things to enjoy today:

1. Kelly from The Poop (one of the most enjoyable blogs around) wrote a very entertaining post about her child's love for summer camp.

2. Keren Ann's very cool new song "Lay Your Head Down" is available for free as NPR's Song of the Day.

3. Zooglobble posted about a Nodcast Podcast with Smithsonian Folkways children's music greats Ella Jenkins and Elizabeth Mitchell (the podcast is worth listening to and even includes Ella Jenkins showing off some awesome bird calls!)

4. Creature Comforts America (even the missing episodes) is going to be released on DVD! Now if that doesn't make your day a little happier, I don't know what...

Grab Bag Friday: Bloggers for a Cure & Offsprung

Between now and June 1, The Lovely Mrs. Davis & some of her fellow bloggers have joined together to raise money for cystic fibrosis research. And they're giving away lots of cool prizes to those who participate.

Read more about it at The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What To Think or at Bloggers for a Cure.

According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, this chronic disease affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide).

In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

This is an amazing difference, and shows how important this research can be. To learn more about cystic fibrosis, and new treatments and therapies that are in development, please visit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

And speaking of Mrs. Davis and her cohorts, a brand new cool-parent website has been born, featuring Mrs. Davis, and of course one of my favorites, Zooglobble (music for kids that parents won't hate). Offsprung bills itself as "the perfect online antidote to a parenting culture gone barking mad." Have a nice weekend!

Grab Bag Friday: Bathroom Humor

The Poop, a San Francisco parenting blog, was recently mentioned on Zooglobble, so I checked it out.

And found this, which was way too funny not to pass on to you.

If you need a laugh today and have 2.5 minutes to spare, you'll be glad you stopped by.

View Peter Hartlaub's post on The Poop

Grab Bag Friday: More Christmas Music

Getting tired of the same old holiday music? For the last few weeks, the blog The Lovely Mrs. Davis Tells You What to Think (a cool mom's views on kids' media, pop culture, and motherhood) has been hosting holiday music guest posts by a number of kids' music bloggers, musicians, and cyberspace icons, including:

Stefan from Zooglobble (Music for Kids that Parents Won't Hate)

Lisa Mathews from the band Milkshake (of recent PBS Kids fame)

Music podcaster/host Bill Childs of Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child

Click here to read their eclectic and fun holiday music picks.