Best Kids Music 2011: Top 25 Albums

The high point in my list of the best kids music of 2011 is this, my list of my favorite kids music albums of the year.

By "year," again, I mean albums with Nov. 1, 2010 through Oct. 31, 2011 release dates available to the general public. That means albums like Laura Veirs' Tumble Bee, with a Nov. 8, 2011 release date, have to wait another 12 months before appearing in this list. (I would be shocked -- albeit incredibly delighted -- if there were 25 albums better than that particular one in the next year.)

I do use the word "favorite" advisedly. I receive something approaching 300 family music albums every year. I review maybe 20% of those. Last year I picked out 20 albums, and cutting off this list this year at 20 just seemed cruel. But, as it turns out, increasing the number on the list to 25 didn't make things any easier. Albums from folks like Laura Doherty, Chip Taylor, Todd McHatton, and ScribbleMonster -- albums I genuinely liked -- didn't make the list. That's what happens when albums in the top 10% of everything I heard this year can't fit into the number of slots available; I had probably about 40 albums I was seriously considering for this list. So the difference between what goes in this list and what stays off is as much about personal preferences as it is about "objective" quality. (That's why I came up with the idea for Fids and Kamily, thinking that the personal preferences of many folks would be a much better approximation of "best.")

In any case, here are those 25 albums, ranked from most favorite to a little less most favorite, that I (and we) most appreciated this year. (As always, the top 10 reflects my Fids and Kamily ballot.)

1. Caspar Babypants
Sing Along!
[Review]
"I really, really like Sing Along! -- the Caspar Babypants disks have been favorites at our house for a long time, and I see no reason why this new album won't join its predecessors in heavy rotation. If he can keep it up, Chris Ballew might just create a body of work for preschoolers to rival Raffi's."
2. (tie) Frances England | Lunch Money | Recess Monkey
Mind of My Own | Original Friend | FLYING!
[Review | Review |
Review]
"One of the key charms of England's first two albums was the lo-fi intimacy England achieved that fit her folky sound. But if on those albums she was willing to make the recordings be akin to a secret shared between friends, on the new album she's a proud 4-year-old, sharing the news with all the world."
"Original Friend is every bit as "open book" as its predecessor Dizzy, but this time around songwriter Molly Ledford's subject is friendship. Friendship temporarily lost and then regained (the strings-assisted 1-minute opener "Friends Again"); friends who are awesome (the title track, and a prototypical Lunch Money indie-pop song); friends willing to imagine with you (the pop-by-way-of-circus-music "Getaway Car")."
"At this point the band writes succinctly
And perhaps a little distinctly
There's almost no fluff
Or extraneous stuff
The melodies simply just hit me."

5. (tie) The Hipwaders | Dan Zanes and Friends
Golden State | Little Nut Tree
[Review | [Review]
"Where are the albums for kids too old for Laurie Berkner but not ready for Lady Gaga? This year's best album for that age group is the latest record from the Bay Area band The Hipwaders. It's called The Golden State, and as you might guess from the title, it's a big, sunny power-pop embrace of their homestate..."
"So, it was worth the wait, friends... It's a joyful album meant for listening and dancing and singing along to -- in other words, a classic Dan Zanes album and one of the best kids music albums of the year."

7. (tie) Cat and a Bird | Lori Henriques
Cat and a Bird | Outside My Door
[Review | Review]
"Cat and a Bird is fairly new to the scene -- the band's website isn't even set up as of this writing. But their self-titled debut bristles with an energy and self-assurance that pays dividends. Their sound -- mixing elements of folk, rock, electronic beats, and gypsy violin -- sometimes sounds both 100 years old and from 100 years in the future."
"It's a Broadway (or perhaps off-Broadway) musical waiting to be made, or perhaps the subject of the first kids' music-themed episode of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, or a Randy Newman album consisting of pleasant narrators."

9. (tie) Caspar Babypants | Holly Throsby
This Is Fun! | See!
[Review]
[Review]
"The title suggests that Ballew is finally feeling comfortable in this his new skin of family entertainer. And while you never would've known that he was uncomfortable after listening to his first two tons-of-fun disks, it is a clue that Ballew has begun to figure out his calling. That calling? Focusing on preschool-aged kids and younger." [Note: Yeah, I know. Two spots in the Top 10. I almost thought of limiting CB to just one spot on the list. But that didn't seem fair to this album, which was nearly as good as its successor.]
"One of most captivating family music albums I've heard this year. Recorded at an old church south of Sydney, the album kicks off with the sound of a horn heard off the coast as the intro to "Putt Putt," a gentle tune about going out into the ocean with a small motor boat. From there, the album moves to "Fish and Mice," which starts out with what sounds like a Casio drum keyboard and eventually leads to an infectious sing-along chorus with a bunch of kids singing interjections ("Fish!"... "Bike!"). This looseness in musical production is carried on throughout the album."

9 (tie, continued). The Deedle Deedle Dees
Strange Dees, Indeed
[Review]
From here on out I'm just going to post links to reviews -- if you want to read more about the fine albums on the rest of the list, the links are there for your enjoyment and edification. But I do want to single out the new album from the Dees.

Every year, the hardest part of drawing up my Fids & Kamily list is not picking out my favorite. Oddly enough, that's been pretty easy over the years. No, it's picking out #10 in the list. Because there is inevitably at least one album (if not more) that gets excluded that you're wondering exactly how it didn't make the list. This year that album is the Dees' Strange Dees, Indeed. If you'd asked me on another day, I might have preferred it to Caspar or See! (or decided there should only be one CB album in that list). So even though it didn't make my F&K ballot, it's tied with those two albums above in my mind. It's woolly and weird, just like the Dees themselves, and I mean that in the best way.

12. Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke
Hey Pepito! EP
[Review]
If this had been 12 songs long instead of 6, it probably would be at #6 instead of #12.

13. The Thinkers
Oh Zoooty!
[Review]
Goofy, playful, and imaginative indie-pop.

14. Billy Kelly
Family Garden
[Review]
Best known for his utterly silly songs, Kelly plays it relatively straight on his latest album... and I still like it.

15. Beethoven's Wig
Sing Along Piano Classics
[Review]
The long-running series applying humorous lyrics to classical music, er, classics is reinvigorated.

16. (tie) Papa Crow | Chuck Cheesman
Things That Roar | Dancing with No Shoes On
[review]
I reviewed these two folk albums together, and while I like them both for different reasons, I like them both a lot.

18. The Jimmies
Practically Ridiculous
[Review]
I'll say it again -- why does Ashley Albert not have a TV show of her own yet?

19. Gustafer Yellowgold
Gustafer Yellowgold's Infinity Sock
[Review]
This ranking is just for the music itself, which for several years now has been consistently good. This could go on for many more years.

20. (tie) Ellia Jenkins | Biscuit Brothers
A Life of Song | Get Up and Go!
[Review | Review]
Ella Jenkins is a living legend, while Austin's Biscuit Brothers are merely well-loved by a number of folks. But both do a great job in helping kids develop a lifelong love for music.

22. Various Artists
I Love: Tom T. Hall's Songs of Fox Hollow
[Review]
There are some gorgeous (and fun) songs on this song-for-song remake of a kids' country album classic.

23. Brady Rymer
Love Me for Who I Am
[Review]
The rare album targeted at (or inspired by) a small group (in this case, kids with alternative learning styles who have autism, Asperger's, etc.) that completely transcends that to speak to all listeners.

24. The Not-Its!
Tag, You're It!
[Review]
Another blast of pop-punk from the best-dressed band in kids' music.

25. Alastair Moock
These Are My Friends
[Review]
One sign of how vibrant the kids' music scene is right now is that this album, squeaking in on this list at #25, could very well have made my Top 10 list from 2006.

Itty-Bitty Review: Get Up and Go - The Biscuit Brothers

What do I have to do, people? I tell you -- repeatedly -- about Austin's Biscuit Brothers, and yet they're still not internationally-loved kids music stars.

I suppose I could tell you how Get Up and Go, their fifth and latest album, continues what the Biscuit Brothers have done from the beginning of their TV show (now entering their sixth season on a variety of PBS stations) -- seamlessly blend top-notch musical performances with entry-level musical education. It's always been liking hiding the shredded carrots in the mac-and-cheese, and a song like "Tempo Tongue Twister," featuring the always hysterical Tiny Scarecrow singing a tongue twister that gradually increases in speed (aka tempo) is a perfect example of that. [Note: Tiny Scarecrow doesn't play quite as large a role on this album as he does on others, so those of you who are fans -- e.g., me -- should take note.]

But really, why bother? Why tell you that the Biscuit Brothers band, though Americana country and folk is its home territory, covers the genre ground from zydeco ("The Crawdad Song," of course) to jazz ("Bill Bailey") to surf-rock ("Dance Party") to funk (the title track) with aplomb just as they've always done if you're not going to buy the albums or watch clips from the shows. There's no point in telling you that there is more pure joy on a Biscuit Brothers album than almost any other kids music album (which is already a fairly high-joy genre) -- their version of "Little Red Caboose" may be the most fun track I've heard all year.

So go ahead. Ignore me. Your kids aged 3 through 8 who would get the most out of this album can ignore me, too. Get Up and Go is yet another solid album of traditional favorites done fresh and with good humor, mixed in with a few originals, an album which would be a good entry point for non-fans into the Biscuit Brothers show. It's definitely recommended, not that you care.

Listen To This: "Uki Buki Kuki Duki Fuki Guki Huki Juki Island" - The Biscuit Brothers

OK, this is mostly a Tiny Scarecrow deal, but any new music -- especially TS music -- from Austin's Biscuit Brothers is always welcome. It's a "work in progress," according to the Soundcloud page, but it's amusing with very much of a Disney "Tiki Room" vibe. Reportedly it's from the next BB album, which is in progress, especially after their Kickstarter campaign reached funded status late last week.

Uki Buki Kuki Duiki Fuki Guki Huki Juki Island by The Biscuit Brothers

Tiny Scarecrow Takes To Kickstarter

I have long been a fan of Tiny Scarecow, the diminutive scarecrow puppet/fool in the PBS show The Biscuit Brothers. So while I'm sad that his Kickstarter video doesn't feature, well, either of the actual Biscuit Brothers, it does mean that TS gets 3 minutes of his own.

He's taken to Kickstarter to raise funds for a new episode of the TV show (distributed for free to any PBS station which wants to air it). It's a great TV series, and if you haven't checked out the clips available on YouTube, you really should. For the love of all that's good, people, Tiny Scarecrow deserves a tracking shot. I'm backin' the project.

[Note: TS is also on Twitter, which seems a bit advanced for a puppet, but, hey. Follow him here.]

Review: DVDs for Road Trips

I saw "for road trips" not because these are travel-themed but because there are seven of them. Seven seems like enough to get through at least a day or two of your drive across or through the country. Let's get to it, then.

I don't think the guys in Seattle's Recess Monkey actually sleep. They already release more CDs than just about anybody else, and now they're cranking out a DVD a year, too. Like their first volume, Field Trips with Recess Monkey Episodes 5-8 features a combination of band "field trips" (Sirius-XM studios, Ella Childs at Spare the Rock, illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka), live shows, and their stellar videos. The videos are the highlight of the DVD ("The Teens" and "Sack Lunch" in particular) -- should episodes 9 through 12 be in the works (knowing the trio, they probably are), the band should consider creating a menu that'll allow viewers to just access the videos. Recommended.

The Nields' Organic Farm DVD is, as you'd expect, an appealingly low-fi (dare I say "organic") affair. It's mostly a collection of tunes recorded in front of a live audience, and features the Nields singing a number of hits from their two family albums. As they were on record, the Nields sisters are joined by their father on a few songs. Among the non-live tracks are a couple songs showing how a parent or teacher might use a song as a simple teaching tool. It's a nice little bonus treat. Recommended.
If this strikes you as a potential TV show, it's because it is. Snacks, the concept, is the creation of Pennsyvania-based singer-songwriter Kevin Wiggins and New Jersey-based John Hulme. The concept of Snacks The DVD (2009) is... well, I'm not really sure what it is except that it involves sock puppets stealing cookies (I think they're called "The Munchies"), some fun pop-rock, and a mysterious creature called the "Norgle." It's all very low-budget, but not without charm and imagination. If you like the music (and I think a fair number of you will), many of the tunes are on the Feed Your Mind CD (though some predate it). Recommended.

Sara Hickman's Big Bird, Little Bird is basically her Newborn CD in DVD form. From a purely production standpoint, this is probably the highest quality disk reviewed here. Simply (and stylishly) animated in form, the videos are a good match for Hickman's warm and loving songs. The DVD also features parenting tips from Hickman, a certified parenting instructor. The tips will have a short shelf life, but the videos themselves may get views into preschool. Recommended, especially so for new parents.

Meet the Instruments: Clap and Tap is, as you may have guessed, one of a series from Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer. This particular DVD focuses on rhythm instruments from the simple (hand clapping and marching feet) to the more obscure (washboard, the limber jack). It's a pretty simple presentation -- Fink and Marxer sit on chairs in front of a plain background as they go through the various percussion explorations. It's geared pretty directly at toddlers and preschoolers and has the most pedagogical approach, so this isn't something you'd probably enjoy watching with your kids. But it's recommended for teachers and others who might want to share some early musical education concepts.

Finally, if you've read this site for any length of time, you know how much we adore Texas' Biscuit Brothers, whose PBS show is the best show about music for kids on TV. The Brothers' 2009 Live in Concert disk is, as you might guess, a live show. Our family actually prefers the TV episodes to the live shows, so I'd probably recommend starting with one of the Go Make Music! collections for newcomers to the show. Still, longtime fans of the show will probably appreciate this collection of folk songs. (And for those Tiny Scarecrow fans out there [raises hand], there's a couple of bonus clip episodes, including "Tiny Scarecrow, This Is Your Life," featuring some of his greatest hits.)

And, hey, here's the latest episode-based DVD! This late-2008 collection (Go Make Music Volume 3) includes 3 full episodes. At this point, they've had to move away from narrow concepts (tempo, dynamics) to broader ones on this disk (folk songs, music from around the world). Longtime listeners might think they've heard some of these songs before (and they have), but both newcomers current fans will appreciate the continued thoughtfulness and care put into the music and episodes themselves (e.g., stealing the "Daytripper" guitar riff for a Beatlesesque take on "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain"). And any show that gives Sarah Jarosz five minutes to go through various musical styles on the mandolin is worth more than just five minutes. Recommended.

(Disclosure: I was provided with copies of all DVDs here for possible review, with the exception of Go Make Music Volume 3.)