The Ketchup Report, Vol. 1

Lots of interesting stuff crosses my (virtual) desk. Sometimes it grabs my attention and feels worthy of a full post all by itself and I have time and I write a post. Boom.

But sometimes it's just interesting, or I don't get to it immediately, or I don't have time to write something long and witty. (Or at least long.)

So I'm going to start what I'm calling "The Ketchup Report." Why ketchup? It's because it's for things you (or I) should catch up on. Get it? (I could have also called it, all apologies to Justin Roberts, the Mustard Report for things that must be heard. Ach, I'm having a meltdown.) Expect it semi-regularly.

-- Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are celebrating more than 25 years in the family music business with a new 3-song EP, Triple Play -- preview and buy it here. They also have their 25th Annual Family Music Party -- when Ella Jenkins chooses to show up for a party, you know you've got it made.

-- Jamie Broza has a new album out soon -- I Want a Dog! -- and he's also got a Halloween-themed single "Trick or Treat" which, until Halloween 2010 can be downloaded here for free.

-- Matt Clark joined the illustrious group of musicians who've submitted their music to Click and Clack's "Dean of Auto-Music and heard their tune on Car Talk. A snippet from "Car Seat Blues," a song from his first album, was included on last weekend's show.

-- Finally, this video (and song) from DidiPop is the best bagel-related video since, well, this one.

Even More Free Holiday Music From Jitterbug.tv

In the midst of Hanukkah, and only a week or so before the solstice, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, it's prime time for holiday music. No sooner do I post about a free track than the folks at Jitterbug's let me know about their holiday playlist. It's a good one and even better, it's a free one, available for downloading or streaming. Music from The Hipwaders, Brady Rymer, Didi Pop, Gustafer Yellowgold, Princess Katie & Racer Steve, Rock Daddy Rock, and David Tobocman. Good stuff (I've already talked about a few songs on the list), downloadable here and in a few cases, nowhere else.

Licensing Kids Music, Italian Division

We occasionally cover the use of kids music for commercial purposes, from Dan Zanes' dalliance with Wal-Mart and Coke to Kira Willey's "Colors" being used in an ad for Dell Computers. Plenty of other folks have had their kids music licensed for other purposes -- Justin Roberts, the Jellydots, for example.

Here is the most unlikely use I've seen this year. Didi Pop recently had "Feed the Pet" from her self-titled debut used for... a line of kids wear from an Italian fashion house. That's right... Laura Biagiotti licensed the use of the tune for their line of dolls. (To hear it, just go to the website, and after clicking on English -- or "Italian" if you're bilingual -- click on Laura Biagiotti DOLLS.) I wouldn't exactly put "get music licensed by an Italian fashion house" on your kids' music to-do list, but, hey, it happens...