New Spring Music For Kids!

Last week you had the chance to win some new music from Raffi, and I am happy to report that the contest has been won by local Vermont person Conga Insanity. Conga has entered every one of my giveaways and has never won before, so I’m sure she will be thrilled to discover not only that she has won, but that I have picked out a perfect blog name for her. But as you may recall, I have been listening to a lot of new music lately, and I promised to share some of my favorites with you this week. Well, this week is here, so happy 9th birthday to my daughter Ruby, and here we go!

“Explorer of the World” – Frances England

Boy, this is a cool album. It really feels as though Frances England has captured the world in one musical place. It is laid back with a sense of urgency. It is funk horns chilled out to an indie groove. It is both the beginning and end of an adventure. It is the noise of a foreign city, and it is the grass of your backyard. And it all works together. I can’t tell if she has written an album of lullabies or a dance party. Maybe both? I am listening to it again right now and I am vigorously bobbing my head in a relaxed, blissed out way. (Releases April 1)

Explorer of the World – If you a regular reader here then you know that this year my family’s theme word is “adventure.” We are going to travel. We are going to make everyday exciting and fun. This opening track, then, might be out theme song. Listen to it and try to stop the adventure from happening. You can’t.
City Don’t Sleep – This is one of those lullaby dance tracks. On first listen it didn’t stand out to me as one of the best tracks, but when the album was over I found myself singing it for the rest of the day. “City don’t sleep! No no no! City don’t sleep! Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” Yup. And then those horns come in, oh my goodness, just put this on repeat. It’s stuck in my head permanently.
Ballad for a Beatboxer – Do I even need to say anything more about this? It’s called Ballad for a Beatboxer! And yet, it’s a folk song. With beatboxing. And electronica. It’s awesome. Hey a cappella friends (you know who you are), check this out, even if you don’t have kids. You might want to arrange this one. And actually, I think it might be a reggae song. No, it’s hip-hop. Never mind. It is unclassifiable in the best way.
City of Hills – England wrote this album while apparently wandering around San Francisco. You can tell, especially in in this upbeat and joyful ode to the city. Makes we want to be there with her.

“Every Day’s Your Birthday” – Miss Nina & the Jumping Jacks

I’m not 100% sure how old Miss Nina is, but I am going to guess “exactly as old as me,” and I’m not sure what she likes but I am going to guess “the exact same stuff as me,” because I think she wrote this album from inside of my childhood or something. Oh wait, did I say I wasn’t sure what she likes? Because that is a lie. She likes classic fun. She likes 80’s music. She likes oldies and 70’s rock tunes. She likes the Beatles and Kermit the Frog. She likes old school hip-hop. And I know this because I listened to her fantastically silly and groovy new album. From the opening guitar riff of the title track to the closing rap/drum solo of the final seconds of the album, this thing is going to make you dance and sing. Oh, and probably your kids too. Or something. Is this supposed to be for kids? Right. Kids. Kids will love this. Too. (Releases May 6)

Every Day’s Your Birthday – No, she is not suggesting that every day is your actual birthday, but rather that you should live as though it were. Kind of like the kindie version of “dance like no one’s watching.” Except kids always dance like no one is watching, so they need something else to remind them to celebrate. This should do it.
My Freeze Dance – It starts off Taylor Swift, and then goes full on Meghan Trainor. Or is it just a fun song in an oldies throwback style, and Meghan Trainor is just the most recent one to capitalize on that? I don’t know. But hey, you can make your kids freeze! I would advise pausing this track right after she says “FREEZE!” and then leaving it there while you take a bathroom break, and then unpause it later. This will totally work.
DJ in My PJs – Did you ever what it would sound like if the Beastie Boys tried to sing you a lullaby? I know, we all have. Well, I think we just found out. And it contains just the right amount of cowbell.

“Are You Listening?” – The Not-Its!

If you don’t know The Not-Its! then you need to just do yourself a favor and go out and get one of their grungy, punky, rock-and-rolly albums and enjoy some hardcore kids music. Their latest offering automatically gets point in my book for featuring a song about my former home city of Washington, D.C. Hey D.C friends! Check out this song! And they have a song about how terrible science fairs are. Maybe don’t play that song for your kids who are currently involved in a science fair. Or, you know, do. It depends on how you both are feeling about the state of your terrible project. It could be cathartic. (Available Now!)

Dance With Me – This is a great opening song, as it really invites people in to fun and movement, but it also rocks pretty hard.
Washington, D.C. – Yeah, obviously this was going on the list. But aside from being about a great city, the refrain of “are you listening” seems especially poignant in this election year.
Don’t Fear the Dentist – Do I love this because of the manic, frenetic intensity? Yes, but more importantly I like that the dentist is a “she.” Wouldn’t it be great to get to the point in society where that would not be surprising or remarkable? But my personal dentist is a she. So this song is extra awesome.

“Why?” – They Might Be Giants

Full disclosure: I received all of the music in this post for free. Except this album. Why? Because I clearly don’t know the right people to get free review copies of TMBG albums. But I would gladly have paid for any of them, and for this one I did. My kids looooove They Might Be Giants. Yes, there was some parental influence exerted, but it is not hard to love their earlier efforts, such as the “Here Comes…” series. This one, however, hearkens back to their first album aimed directly at children, “No!” There is no theme, other than awesome, quirky, hilarious, and insightful music. So pretty much a normal TMBG album. (Available Now!)

I Am Invisible – Both of my children crack up every time they hear this song. Especially the part about the cat. You have to listen to it; no spoilers. But it is pretty funny. Some good ideas for you invisible people out there. And some good questions too.
Walking My Cat Named Dog – Another hilarious entry which sends my kids into hysterics. The cat is named dog! What is going on?! And you’ll be grooving along to it as well.
Elephants (ft. Danny Weinkauf) – This is the true story of some elephants, and possibly the best song, musically, on the album. It’s so well done, and with the kids telling the story in the middle ramping up to the climax, well, this one gets “rewound” a lot for a second listen.
Thinking Machine – Ruby’s favorite track by far, this seems like something Bear might have written. It is a call and response of nonsense and confusion. But like most good nonsense, it has to be well-crafted to make sense. This is excellent nonsense.

(Extra Credit – I gave you my kids favorite tracks, but might I also recommend, for some excellent wordplay and musicplay, “Mrs. Wheelyke” and “I Haven’t Seen You in Forever”?)

“Sugar Free Allstars” – Sugar Free Allstars

Hey, waitasecond! Haven’t they put out other albums?! Why are they releasing an eponymous album now?! Who cares! This album is everything you could ever want it to be. There isn’t a bad track on here, so choosing just a few to feature will be tough. I will try. But honestly, If you want fun, funky, upbeat ska-rock-pop-big band awesomeness, check out Sugar Free Allstars! The band and the album! (Releases April 2)

Monster Truck – This is a hard rocking-ode to Monster Trucks, with a surprisingly sweet bridge, that then devolves into probably the funniest thing my children have ever heard in their lives, judging from the howls and screams in the backseat, and their insistence on playing this specific track for every single person they meet.
Grumpopotamus (and the Crankosaurus Rex) (ft. Genevieve Goings) – Okay, this one is my favorite. It’s so repetitive, and yet it still leaves you wanting more. Ever been in a bad mood? Not only is this song for you, it’s about you! Plus everyone loves Genevieve from Choo Choo Soul! She never disappoints.
Can You Picture That? – A Muppet Movie cover?! Between these guys and Diana Panton, we’re going to have the whole movie covered pretty soon! And that’s a good thing.
Upside Down Town – This one was one of those “became a favorite over time songs.” So if it wasn’t your favorite at first, just listen to the album one billion more times like we did, and you will see what a fun and silly song this is. My kids figured it out, and now we all want to go to Upside Down Town. And, in fact, we did.
Mr. DJ – Do you know what is brilliant about this disco dance number about not wanting to go to bed and needing a song to keep them awake? This song is easily the longest song on the album. At over 5 minutes long you really get the sense that the kids are trying to drag this out as long as possible. And not in a way that feels tedious for the listener. No, we get to sit back and watch them aaaaaaaalmost fall asleep, but then, NO! DANCE!
One Verse Song – A one joke song. Luckily it is a funny one.
My Dog Pete – Is there anything funnier than a barbershop tune about a dog in the middle of a rocking funk album? No. No there’s not.
BunnyBot – OMG. BunnyBot is brilliant. When the little sister is talking, my wife and I cannot keep it together. The whole family has had some belly laughs over this one. It gets funnier as it goes along, but the basic premise is that the two kids need to find one thing to play that they both enjoy. And the results are amazing.

(Check back here Friday for an amazing new video for Monster Truck!)

Okay, that’s it for today. I am out of time for writing about music. As I mentioned, it is my daughter’s birthday. So please enjoy these excellent albums, and I’ll be back later with more sweet tunes for your family to enjoy. Tenor Dad: out!