That Blogging, I Hear It's Popular These Days

I've previously mentioned Brady Rymer's blog, which, though updated only sporadically, is a fun read. There are a few other musician-authored blogs I've been reading for weeks if not months now, and I've been failing in my kids-music-news duties by not mentioning them before.

The best kids' musician-penned blog I know of is Monty Harper's blog, which includes links to his podcasts and gives some insight into the working world of a kids' musician. Harper's good humor, noticeable in his songs, is evident here, too.

A couple other artists who have more recently started blogging, of a sort, are Eric Herman and Yosi. Both take a slightly different approach from Rymer and Harper -- they've focused (thus far) on other kids' music artists. Herman's blog talks generally about assorted kids' artists, both well-known (Ralph's World) and not, and why he's enjoyed them. Yosi's blog focuses more on specific albums that he reviewed for a parenting magazine in New Jersey.

Harper has been blogging for a while now (longer than this site, even), so he understands what it takes to write a blog on an ongoing basis. We'll see whether Rymer, Herman, and Yosi want to keep it up. (And believe me, after that initial burst of expression, it's easy to let the blog just die a slow, painful death.)

Now there are other ways to communicate with fans -- Justin Roberts is a fairly regular newsletter publisher, for example, and Dan Zanes' newsletters, while not as regular, always have a nugget or two of good (or fun or useless, or all three) info. And Myspace, of course, has its own blogging capabilities. But I'm actually surprised that more artists haven't plunged into the blogosphere. It does seem to me a fairly cheap and easy way to establish connections between the artist and the audience, especially one that may be growing, at least in terms of the ability of an artist to reach a national audience. Monty, Eric, Yosi, Brady -- has it helped? Or is it a useless, time-consuming pain in the rear?

Even More Justin Roberts

Liked my interview with Justin Roberts? Want more of that plus a picture of Roberts' dog Udo? Then get thee to this Apple profile on Roberts. (Thanks to the Justin Roberts Newsletter for the heads up on that and a bunch more. Why haven't you signed up yet?)

Justin Roberts and Newfangled Technology

Justin Roberts might not be very adept at performing magic or telling jokes, but he is one heckuva songwriter. Thanks to the Land of Nod, you can hear the proof.

In a 15-minute (or so) podcast, Roberts inaugurates the "Land of Nod Nodcast Podcast" by crafting one catchy theme ditty, playing some of his stuff from Meltdown!, Not Naptime, and Great Big Sun, and displaying a very self-deprecating attitude. He even has a demo version of "Our Imaginary Rhino" for our amusement. (And, hey, if kids' music albums eventually get the expanded/remastered treatment now given to every album more than 10 years old, why shouldn't the stellar Meltdown! be at the top of the list in 2016?)

Not content with audio-only content? Devon at Head, Shoulders, Knees... found YouTube footage of Justin Roberts' "Airplane of Food" video.

Buck Howdy more your style? Fran at the About Kids' Music site has got you covered.

And if you're still just happy reading... The Lovely Mrs. Davis has a guest post from Charity Kahn (from Charity and the JAMBand).

Go forth, enjoy, then sit back and enjoy the cool pleasures of dancing or singing with your kids on a summer day (or night).

Welcome Interstate Managers, er, Salon Readers

Welcome to those of you finding us because of the Salon article on "kindie rockers". (Welcome also, as always, to people looking for downloads of and lyrics to "Great Big World," from Hoodwinked. I still can't help you with those, despite your insistent pleas.) Thanks, Salon, for the link, and for posting some fabulous mp3s from said rockers. (Scott Lamb's article is worth sitting through the Honda ad non-subscribers will have to watch in order to read the article -- it's a nice summing up of the current state of kids' music.)

If you're new to the site, I encourage you to look around -- links to other kids'-music-related blogs as well as to every full album review (including Justin Roberts, Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, and Milkshake) can be found on the right. If you're wondering what to get that 4-year-old nephew for his birthday, check out my page of album recommendations by age. I treat kids' music the way any parent who really likes music would -- with my own set of interests but with an understanding that perhaps not every song off Spoon's Gimme Fiction is going to appeal to my 5-year-old (let alone my 1-year-old).

There's so much great kids' music being made, and not just by the rockers mentioned in the article who have made their way to kids' TV screens. Dig in -- you're bound to find something you and the kids in your life will really like.

Saturday AM edit: You know, I could actually help readers "dig in" if I specifically mentioned a few artists and albums that readers might not be familiar with if they're only sticking to the TV/Noggin crowd. No disrespect meant to the Noggin crowd -- Zanes, Roberts, and TMBG, in particular, are all among my favorites kids' artists -- but these four albums are tremendous, too.
Silly Reflection, by Lunch Money (review)
If You Ever See An Owl, by the Terrible Twos (review)
Fascinating Creatures, by Francis England (review)
Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World DVD, by Morgan Taylor (review)

Reader Review: Songs from the Hebrew Scriptures / New Testament - Why Not Sea Monsters?

One of Zooglobble's West Coast readers, Katy, was inspired by my review of the two Why Not Sea Monsters? albums (featuring Justin Roberts and Liam Davis) to provide her own view of the albums. Her spiritual background (much stronger than mine, as you'll see) makes for a slightly different perspective on the disks. And while I don't envision making reader reviews a common occurrence here (though y'all are welcome to do so in the comments), I thought this review merited its own post.

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As a minister in the United Church of Christ as well as mother to two girls (5 and 7 ½) who are big Justin Roberts fans, I wasn’t sure at first what to make of these scripture-based CDs. Until I listened to them. And then I was completely sold. First off, I should confess that I describe myself as a liberal/progressive Christian (yes, we do exist!), so it’s hard for folks like me to find scripture-based material that’s fun to listen to and at the same time consistent with the message we want to teach our kids. As a rule, I tend to be leery of contemporary Christian music because I find it is often poorly done musically, or it’s bad theology, or both. With a Master’s Degree from University of Chicago Divinity School (the “Harvard” of U.S. theological schools), Justin Roberts has done his homework here. His music makes the texts accessible and theologically sound to my way of hearing, without dumbing them down.

I find the Hebrew Scriptures CD is somewhat more enjoyable than the New Testament. I tend to turn toward this CD more often, but more because of the music than the texts they’re based upon. I love his take on the story of Noah’s Ark on “Make That Two.” And the lyrics to “No Spring Chicken,” in reference to the story of Abraham, are beautiful (“But love is longer than the Nile/lift your eyes to the stars above/And watch them as they burst and bloom with love.”). Finally, his and Liam Davis’s version of Craig Wright’s song, “Where Were You?” from the Book of Job, is stunning. It always sends chills down my spine. Having said that, I find the line, “Imagine towers wreathed with smoke” jarring because I can’t help thinking of 9/11. Still, the overall mood of the song more than makes up for that one line.

As for the New Testament CD, it contains so many of my favorite gospel stories that emphasize Jesus’ message of love and inclusion, that I really like it too (the Prodigal Son in “Now You’re Back,” the Banquet of Heaven in “Guess Who’s”, the Good Samaritan in “Not Today”). There’s also the story of Zacchaeus in “What’s He Doing Up There?” As a tax collector, Zacchaeus would have been ‘persona non grata’ in the culture of the time since he served the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, Jesus sees his faith and invites him to a meal, which completely challenged contemporary views on socially acceptable behavior (Jesus did a lot of that). I also really love “Shh Shh Shh”, about Mary and Martha, and “Rub-a-dub-a-dub-dub.” I never would have thought to put the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet to a reggae beat with a kazoo orchestra—but it totally works. Roberts and Davis infuse all these stories with so much new life and humor that I hear them in a whole new way. That’s no small task. And I really appreciate the inclusion of biblical women in both CDs (Lydia, Ruth, Mary and Martha, Sarah, etc.).

Another benefit of these CDs is that they have led my daughters to ask me, on many occasions, “Mommy, tell me about this story…” As a result of these CDs, we have had many more discussions about God’s love, serving the poor, including people who are often left out, etc., than we would have otherwise. It’s really nice to have some good music between Sundays to back up the values we want to live by as a family. I will definitely be using these CDs in our Sunday School program, and I am telling friends and colleagues in other churches about them too.