Thursday, May 17, 2007 at 1:06AM ... and Joe Johnston.
Did you know that Laurie Berkner teamed up with Steven Spielberg to film a very expensive video for "We Are the Dinosaurs"? Neither did I.
It's the kids' music equivalent of "Thriller"!
Warning: NSFK (Not Safe For Kids, at least those in Laurie's core demographic)
Thursday, December 21, 2006 at 7:49AM I've been meaning to mention this for awhile now, but if you grooved to the music of Hoodwinked, there's some new music from Todd Edwards, the co-director of the movie, and the man responsible for much of the movie's awesome soundtrack.
Edwards' creation, Blick Van Glory has its own website and Myspace page. The Myspace page has 4 songs streaming, and while they're not really kids-related, they are some great power-pop and alt-pop tunes with a very '80s vibe. "The Sophomores" has the video, but my favorite is "Eskimo Love Song." Or maybe "Odyssey John." I don't know. They're all good. The album is due for a spring 2007 release.
By the way, co-directors Todd and Cory Edwards both explained in notes to me or comments here why you can't buy the Hoodwinked soundtrack except on eBay. As Cory stated in the comments on my review of the album, "is due to contract disputes between the movie's investor and the record company. As the director, I can tell you that it was completely out of the hands of the filmmakers... and it absolutely KILLS us that no one can easily buy this product now. It is a fantastic disc and booklet that Ryko did a great job on and we're very proud of it. I have faith that it will resurface someday."
Sunday, December 10, 2006 at 7:43AM One of the weirder things things about the NPR interview this week was that not only did that story appear higher on NPR's top e-mailed story list than the venerable music critic Robert Christgau's piece on crunk, so did my list of the top 20 kids' music albums of the year. I still don't know if that was a good or a bad thing, but perhaps kids' music -- one of the few genres Christgau hasn't really touched on in his long career -- is a genre he might want to explore.
Well, anyway, news this week that Christgau has moved his "Consumer Guide" record reviews to MSN. It's well worth your time every other month to read his reviews. And, what do you know? One of Christgau's favorite records in his MSN debut? The Gothic Archies' The Tragic Treasury, the Lemony Snicket-inspired CD from Stephin Merritt. Hmmm... I've reviewed that here, too.
Perhaps there's hope for the guy yet...
Thursday, November 2, 2006 at 10:17AM I can't decide -- is it Spoon or the Shins?
Spoon's "The Book I Write" is from the upcoming movie Stranger Than Fiction while the Shins' "Phantom Limb" is from their upcoming January Sub Pop release, Wincing the Night Away. Both songs are pleasant enough, though not an immediate favorite on initial listen. (Still doesn't mean I won't be getting Wincing on album release day, January 23.)
Who got 10 Across?
Name a family-friendly Spoon or Shins song. Go.
I vote for the Shins' "Turn A Square". I think Bill's played Spoon's "Lines in the Suit," which isn't so bad a choice, either. (It's an awesome song.)
Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at 9:57AM Continuing the Minneapolis love... The Hold Steady released their latest album Boys and Girls in America yesterday and if stories of teenagers and college kids set to every riff heard in an arena between 1976 and 1982 (and then some) is your bag, go here and check out the album stream. Even though they're in New York now, the Hold Steady is every bit a Minneapolis band as the Replacements were. It's not so much for the kids, but the adults might like it. (And for those of you who, like me, were put off by Craig Finn's shouted-not-sung stylings on Separation Sunday, he's dialed that back a notch or two. He's almost singing now.)
