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Entries in Beethoven's Wig (Richard Perlmutter) (8)

Thursday
Dec072006

49th Annual Grammy Nominations -- Children's Field

The nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards were released today and, as always, they included two children's-related fields.

Regular readers of the site will have a "one of these things is not like the other" moment.
First off, the lists...

Best Musical Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly music or song vs. spoken word.)

Baby Einstein Meet The Orchestra - Various Artists (Ted Kryczko & Ed Mitchell, producers) [Walt Disney Records]
Beethoven's Wig 3: Many More Sing Along Symphonies - Beethoven's Wig [Rounder] (my review)
Catch That Train! - Dan Zanes And Friends [Festival Five Records] (my review)
My Best Day - Trout Fishing In America [Trout Records] (my review)
The Sunny Side Of The Street - John Lithgow [Razor & Tie] (my review)

Best Spoken Word Album For Children
(For albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song.)

Blah Blah Blah: Stories About Clams, Swamp Monsters, Pirates & Dogs - Bill Harley [Round River Records/Empyrean Records]
Christmas In The Trenches - John McCutcheon [Peachtree Press]
Disney's Little Einsteins Musical Missions - Various Artists (Ted Kryczko & Ed Mitchell, producers)[Walt Disney Records]
Peter Pan - Jim Dale [Listening Library]
The Witches - Lynn Redgrave [Harper Children's Audio]

Now, the spoken word I can't speak coherently to (though it's always nice to see Bill Harley get recognized).

The musical album category, well, that's something different. Four of the albums I (obviously) recognize and while I have a clear favorite (hint: rhymes with "fan lanes"), I can't say that the Academy would clearly embarrass themselves by selecting any of those four.

Now, as for Baby Einstein... Look, I actually kinda like Baby Einstein music products -- we have a CD or two of theirs around the house, and I don't find it annoying like others do. But its presence here in this category (making clear I have not heard this album) just seems wrong. Like putting a straight-to-video movie in the category for Best Picture. It might be really good, it just seems wrong.

Its presence actually highlights a drawback with the Grammy process, and that's the fact that you typically need strong distribution or familiarity in order to be nominated. Three of the five nominated albums are on actual labels that could probably afford some distribution to a broader set of voters. More importantly, all of the names are familiar ones -- sure, Dan Zanes and Trout Fishing in America are actually self-distributed, but they've both been around the music industry long enough to make enough people check 'em off on their nominating ballots.

If you're looking for another list of the year's best kids and family CDs, check out the Fids & Kamily website...

Thursday
May112006

"Because Dan Zanes would sure make one funny-looking Wiggle"

I was browsing the Parents Choice website just yesterday, and this article concerning the selections of their Spring 2006 music award-winners hadn't been posted yet. Devon points it out today. (Look for more reviews of some of the albums on the list in the weeks ahead right here.)

Also of note is an interview with XM Kids' Director of Children's Programming Kenny Curtis, who comments on the current state of children's music. My favorite part of the whole piece:

PC: Any Other Reason To Keep Promoting High Quality Kids
Music?
KC: Because Dan Zanes would sure make one funny-looking Wiggle.

Finally, I had meant to post this anyway -- Richard Perlmutter of Beethoven's Wig fame has 10 tips on "How To Get (and Keep) Your Child Excited About Classical Music." It's a good article, worth a read, but I would argue that his tips apply to all music, not just classical:

Start With Music
Mix It Up
See Music
Identify Instruments
Make Connections
Dig In
Take Music Lessons
Listen With Them
Make Up Songs
Do It Again (Repetition, Repetition, Repetition)

There is absolutely nothing in that list that should be restricted to classical music alone.

Sunday
May072006

Review: Beethoven's Wig 3 - Richard Perlmutter

Classical Music Geek Test: I took piano lessons as a child.

I'm sure many of you are thinking, Hey, I took piano lessons as a child. Lots of people take piano lessons. That doesn't make you a classical music geek. Yes, but...

I took piano lessons to strengthen my fingers for my organ lessons.

No kidding.

Between organ, piano, and violin lessons, I had a reasonably musical childhood, primarily focused on classical music. And although I only play the violin now on a semi-regular basis, I still enjoy listening to classical music.

So it's with that background I'm reviewing Beethoven's Wig 3: Many More Sing Along Symphonies, released in May 2006, the 3rd (natch) in the popular Beethoven's Wig series from Richard Perlmutter. The concept of the series? Take famous classical melodies and write (or re-write) lyrics for the melodies. Instead of the lyrics from an answering machine tape ad from many years ago ("No-bo-dy's HOME... no-bo-dy's HOME..."), Perlmutter in his first CD matched the famous notes from the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to the lyrics, "Beethoven's WIG... Is very BIG..."

In his first CDs, Perlmutter's lyrics focused on the composer, matching a composer's famous piece(s) with lyrics tied to the composer. Recognizing that perhaps he'd have to dip back into a particular composer's well once too often or go to composers whose few outside the classical music world would recognize, on Beethoven's Wig 3, Perlmutter ties the lyrics to particular instruments. Sometimes the resulting effect is great -- the unknown (to me) Beethoven work for mandolin is given lyrics suggesting that Beethoven wrote the song for a girl who done him wrong, breaking his heart so much that he never wrote for the instrument again. It's a delightful, sprightful piece with lyrics to match. Handel's Harp Concerto in B-flat and the very beginning of Rossini's "William Tell Overture" (before the "Lone Ranger" part) are two other successful matches. And the paranoid, almost non-sensical lyrics of "They're There," rewritten from Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," though having nothing to do with the bassoon, are amusing.

In other cases, though, the lyrics don't match up as well. And I found the "Short & Suite" -- very short pieces in the middle of the disc -- went by too quickly to make much of an impact. (Even the longer pieces are typically excerpts from movements, not the full movement.)

Musically, it's appropriate for kids of all ages, of course, but the lyrics, given their complexity and speed of enunciation, probably make this most appropriate for kids aged 4 through 9. The disk is actually pretty short (about 33 minutes), and that includes the original instrumental versions for every piece on the album. (I guess you could even sing the Perlmutter lyrics karaoke-style if you wanted to.) The liner notes also have trivia questions and suggested activities. You can hear excerpts of the pieces at the Beethoven's Wig website. The album is available at the usual online and offline suspects.

I'm a believer that if you want your child to develop an appreciation for classical music you should just play the actual pieces of music. But if you don't have a classical music background, this series is a fine starting point. (And even if you do, it's a good starting point.) And while perhaps the first two albums had a slightly higher ratio of familiar-to-unfamiliar pieces, Beethoven's Wig 3 still has a fair number of selections familiar to somone whose exposure to classical music is mainly through movie trailers and television ads. You may find yourself just as interested in the music as your kids.

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