Train Songs

In honor of the release of Dan Zanes and Friends' Catch That Train! (review here), I thought I'd list a few songs about trains for kids.

(Note: references to the Island of Sodor will be summarily deleted.)

(Last updated May 23, 2006)

"Catch That Train!" - off of Dan Zanes and Friends' (DZ&F) Catch That Train!, of course
"Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" - also try DZ&F's Catch That Train!
"Wabash Cannonball" - many, try DZ&F's House Party
"Guysborough Railway" - try DZ&F's Night Time
"Rock Island Line" - try DZ&F's Family Dance
A whole bunch of songs on DZ&F's Parades and Panoramas
"Freight Train" - try Elizabeth Mitchell's You Are My Flower, also (reader-recommended) on Enzo Garcia's Breakfast with Enzo
"Little Red Caboose" - many, try Elizabeth Mitchell and Lisa Loeb's Catch The Moon
"I've Been Working on the Railroad - many, try Laurie Berkner's version on Buzz Buzz
"New River Train" - try Raffi's New River Train
"Choo Choo Train" - try Ralph's World's debut Ralph's World
"The Little Engine That Could" - try the Hollow Trees' self-titled debut (sorry, Greg!)
-- Yosi also has a "Train Medley" on Under A Big Bright Yellow Umbrella that includes some (if not all) of the songs listed above.
-- Reader BethBC also notes that James Coffey has an entire CD of train-related songs called My Mama Was a Train.

I'm sure there are more, but this is a decent start -- if you post 'em in the comments, I'll add them above.

Baseball Songs

I don't like to change posting dates, but I'm adding so many songs here, and this predates the time a lot of people started visiting the site, so I'm making an exception here. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, or something like that. Originally posted April 2, 2006. Last revised May 16, 2006

I'm ignoring the fact that the baseball season is one game old. Baseball starts Monday, during the day, and nobody can tell me otherwise.

There are very few sports-related children's songs that come to mind. I can understand why, as sports like football and hockey require a lot of equipment and are typically for older kids (this is especially the case for football). Basketball and baseball are easier to play, perhaps -- less equipment, introduced at an earlier age. Since the major sports typically become mostly a spectator sport as we grow up, perhaps it's good that there isn't much children's music about sports since a song about watching other people do something is kinda depressing as a kids' song. (It does make me think that the genre of children's soccer songs is a niche waiting to be filled.)

In any case, the list of songs about baseball for all ages is reeeeeeaaaaalllllllly short. (OK, not so short anymore) Here goes:

-- "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (well, duh) -- try Wiggleworms Love You, from the Old Town School of Folk Music (nicely bipartisan, cheering for both the Cubs and White Sox)
-- "Baseball Dreams" -- off At the Bottom of the Sea, by Ralph's World (Cubs all the way in this one)
-- "I'm Gonna Catch You" -- off Under a Shady Tree, by Laurie Berkner (it has one relevant line -- "So I jumped into Saturday / And I had a baseball batter-day" -- yeah, I'm really reachin' here)
-- "Centerfield" -- off Centerfield, by John Fogerty (not kids' music, but a great song anyway)
-- "Talkin' Baseball -- off countless albums by Steve Cashman, who just re-records and updates his song -- baseball history lesson in 3 minutes
-- "Big Train" -- off the RTT's Turn It Up Mommy!, as noted in the comments. About Walter "Big Train" Johnson. I'd probably disagree that he's the best pitcher ever, but that's another blog. Good song.
-- "Right Field" -- Peter, Paul and Mary. Again, see the comments.
-- "Cryin' in the Dugout" -- off Daddy-A-Go-Go's upcoming Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate album. A humorous song -- "Baseball Dreams" played for laughs instead of nostalgia.
-- "The Greatest" -- Kenny Rogers. See the comments.
-- "Roll Around" -- Peter Himmelman, off of his My Lemonade Stand CD. A fun, rollicking song about a baseball who retires, then comes back to his calling.

And finally, an artist reviewed here on this very site wrote me to suggest four more songs, including at least one I'm miffed I forgot... the comments in quotes are the artist's, not mine.

-- "Catfish" -- off Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series. I am unfamiliar with this one. But it's Dylan.
-- "Joe DiMaggio’s Done it Again" -– Wilco and Billy Bragg, from their Mermaid Ave Vol. 2
-- "A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request" –- Steve Goodman – "Classic, and very funny." See "Talkin' Baseball," above.
-- "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" -- Brave Combo - "two very cool versions... wacky and fun." It's Brave Combo, how could it not be fun?
If any of you have more suggestions (or can point me to a family-friendly soccer song), leave me a comment.

DVD Review: We Are... The Laurie Berkner Band - Laurie Berkner

In order to write this review, I must reveal a shocking secret:

I shot J.R.

Uh, wait, sorry, I'm confusing my shocking secrets. That wasn't me. Let me try again.

We don't have cable television.

That's right. No cable, no satellite dish, just a big ol' antenna on the top of our roof.

Why is that so important to this review? Well, Laurie Berkner is the biggest superstar in the children's music industry and I think that can probably be traced directly to Laurie's constant appearances on Noggin, Nickolodeon's preschool TV channel. Her videos and appearances on Jack's Big Music Show introduced her to the country at large and had to have been a major factor in Starbucks' decision to inaugurate their entry into the DVD market with this DVD.

And it's something that's been completely irrelevant to my experience of Berkner. So I watched these videos with the eye of someone who hadn't seen these videos a hundred times. (Heard the songs perhaps a hundred times, but that's a different matter.)

Here, then, are some notes on the videos:
1. These are very simple videos -- the band, some kids, and the occasional graphics or set design. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, this is not. Of course, when you think of the target audience -- 3- or 4-year-old kids -- this is entirely appropriate.
2. The band has an appealingly friendly attitude in the videos. Brian and Susie mugging to the camera, and all three (especially Susie) not being particularly concerned with matching their instrument-playing to the music. This is not a criticism as it allows them to show themselves having fun playing music.
3. The band has taken all the colors the Wiggles don't wear in their outfits, found the brightest clothes in those colors, and wear them all simultaneously. By the way, if there's a cow farmer out there missing a purple or orange cow, I think Laurie slaughtered them to make her leather pants.
4. These videos are very similar but not identical to those that are actually on Noggin. (See the originals here. I actually watched those to check.) The band rerecorded the songs and the videos for this DVD, but kept both much like the old versions. Now, they're close enough that they're likely to fool the little ones, but for adults, the difference may generate a bit of cognitive dissonance a la the switching of Darins on Bewitched. [Edit: In the comments, Laurie's "PR Mama" points out, correctly, that not all of the videos on the DVD are actually shown on Noggin. That's correct, only 4 of them are (or, at least, only 4 of them are available on Noggin's website). I apologize for not being clearer in my text.]
5. The DVD is a bit like a greatest-hits album for Berkner, containing all of her big hits -- "Pig on Her Head," "Victor Vito," "Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)". Berkner's knack for melodic hooks and fun lyrics are on full display. When a song doesn't quite work (for me, it's "Under a Shady Tree"), the video doesn't work, either. (In addition to being a boring melody to me the lyrics mention the grass under Laurie's feet when there's no grass around.)
6. Unlike many requisite new songs on greatest-hits albums, "Walk Along the River," is a great song -- it should be a pop hit. (I cannot, try as I might, get the phrase "I take a step / I take a step / I take another step" out of my mind.)
7. The DVD is about 30 minutes long with maybe another 8-10 minutes of "bonus" videos.

In the end, reviewing this DVD is a bit like reviewing the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. You either like the movies or you have no interest, and a review isn't going to sway you either way. As an overview of Berkner's work, it's very good. As an occasional "babysitter" for mommy and daddy (raises hand), it will probably get your kids to jump up and interact with the TV. (And of course it's even more likely to do that if you join in, which I've done, too.)

Again, if you're unfamiliar with Berkner's work or the videos, check the originals out here. If you like those, you'll like the DVD. I like Berkner and I like the DVD.

Welcome!

Hi! You're probably here because you heard me talk with Melissa Block about children's music on today's (Friday, April 7th) edition of All Things Considered. (If you did, can you please let me know how I did? I haven't heard the interview myself yet. East Coast bias...)

If you've developed a nasty twitch in your eye because you absolutely cannot stand the music your preschooler or elementary-aged child is listening to, take a few minutes to look at the reviews here, linked on the right-hand side or search on "review" up top. You may find an artist you're not aware of making music for kids and adults that you just might love. Or, at least, not hate. (We're pretty flexible around here.)

Find a list of albums reviewed here, organized by age, here. Here are my reviews of the Justin Roberts album Meltdown! and the Brady Rymer album Every Day Is A Birthday, which were discussed in the NPR piece. Reviews of the Laurie Berkner DVD and new Dan Zanes album are forthcoming.

You can also find links to people thinking and writing about (or even playing) kids' music on the right-hand side.

If you're a children's musician, I'm always on the lookout for good music I haven't yet heard. Find out how to get in touch with me here.

We'll be posting new stuff every week. I hope you'll stop by again another time to discover or discuss other music you and your kids can both enjoy.

Thanks,
Stefan

Whose Noggin Is That?

We recently received a copy of Brady Rymer's latest CD, Every Day Is A Birthday, and the first thing my wife said when she saw the CD was,

"Wow. Do we have any other kids' CDs with the artist's actual picture on the cover?"

This amused me, because it was the exact same thought I had the first time I saw a picture of the cover.

And, really, if you think about it, most children's music artists do not have a particularly large presence on their album covers. Ralph's World? Even on his latest CD Green Gorilla, Monster & Me -- Ralph is a tiny, animated man. Dan Zanes? Slightly less tiny, slightly less animated. Laurie Berkner? A little less tiny than Dan, a little less animated. And that's pretty much where the progression ends. (I guess Laurie's DVD has her featured a little more prominently.)

Progress in the children's music world is typically on the level of Justin Roberts' Meltdown! CD, in which the animated child on his fifth kids album now looks much more Justin-like.

Frankly, this probably doesn't matter much. This industry is probably significantly different than "adult" CDs, in which mass marketed CDs almost always come with the artist's picture prominently displayed (think of rap or country CDs, or U2 or the Rolling Stones). And even though the faces aren't there, there's often a graphical consistency to the cover art.

But with the increasing folding in of "serious" children's music artists such as Berkner, Zanes, and Covert into major record distribution, it wouldn't be surprising to see more faces and fewer cartoons on CD covers.