When Will We Hear the Pied Piper Pledge Drive?

Move on over, Click and Clack -- here comes Pied Piper Radio. Amberly Warnke from Ages 3 and Up! has gone big time, developing a biweekly radio show for the Public Radio Exchange. The goal? Distribution to public radio stations across the country.

And why should you care?

I'm excited that somebody's taken a more concrete step to try to reach the public radio demographic. I gave a shout-out to Amberly here in which I noted that I was "excited that Pied Piper Radio will allow a whole new audience of kids to listen to music crafted for them."

Obviously there are a lot of ways for families to listen to kids music right now, as Amberly points out. (Heck, I even have one myself.) But the public radio demographic is an important one that's essentially being missed, and that's why Pied Piper Radio is important, even if you already have a favorite community radio station/satellite radio/internet program. The problem is that without members of the public saying, "hey, I want this," public radio station program directors will continue to say that "kids don't listen to the radio." By "radio," they don't mean Radio Disney, which older kids listen to in droves. Minnesota Public Radio produces a 24-hour streaming station called Radio Wonderground -- it raises the question as to whether MPR doesn't realize the value of that service or if other program directors don't realize it. The viability of the kids music genre doesn't hinge upon a public radio presence, but lack of such a presence doesn't do it any favors.

So it's up to you, fine Zooglobble readers, to let your public radio station know that Amberly's service is available. The weekend is a fine time for family music -- they can find an hour. And if they don't, you can already listen to the first episode.

Imagination Movers Season 3 Set! (For, er, 2011, Maybe?)

It was a little dicey there for awhile -- you could tell from Facebook that the fans at least were getting restless (and nervous) -- but it's official -- Season 3 of the Imagination Movers' self-titled Disney Channel show is going to happen. Here's an article from Variety discussing the move -- it notes that production will start back up in New Orleans in June and that the production order includes a concert special, a first for the band on Disney. (And, yeah, there's another album coming out on June 8.)

Even though Seasons 1 and 2 started in the fall of 2008 and 2009, with a June production start, I'm guessing that fall 2010 may be hard to accomplish.

What the article doesn't mention is Nancy Kanter (Senior VP of Programming for Playhouse Disney) saying (in the press release) that Season Three "will expand the Movers world beyond the Idea Warehouse and will include more surprise visitors and guest stars."

So there you go -- perhaps they'll start going the Yo Gabba Gabba! route and inviting a whole bunch of guest stars from the real world. Come to think of it, maybe the Movers should challenge the folks at YGG -- which just started its third season -- to a friendly rumble. Or maybe a pickup basketball game. I think the guys have the moves, but Brobee et al. got height, and you can't teach height.

Remind: Ziggy, Elizabeth, (Daniel), and Jay. Tonight.

A quick reminder that Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton join Ziggy Marley on the Tonight Show, er, tonight (March 15). They'll be helping out with "I Love You Too" from Marley's Grammy-winning album Family Time. It's not the song that Mitchell helped out with on the album, but it'll do. Here's another version of the track to get you in the mood...

Ziggy Marley - "I Love You Too" [YouTube]

Video: "Donut Brain Aliens" - Dirty Sock Funtime Band

I probably should lead with the newest video, but it's a video for a song called "Donut Brain Aliens." How could I not lead with it?

It's from the Dirty Sock Funtime Band, and it's from their new show that starts tomorrow (Wednesday, March 10) on WQED in Pittsburgh. It features "educational adventures... aimed at youngsters ages 3 to 8."

Adventures involving donut brain aliens, apparently.

Dirty Sock Funtime Band - "Animal Song" [Vimeo]

The Dirty Sock Funtime Band "Donut Brain Aliens" from Snap Films on Vimeo.

More, less, well, weird stuff from the show after the jump.
Dirty Sock Funtime Band - "Animal Song" [Vimeo]

The Dirty Sock Funtime Band "Animal Song" from Snap Films on Vimeo.

I think this is my favorite of the three. Cats with jazz hands -- can't go wrong with that.

Dirty Sock Funtime Band - "Animal Song" [Vimeo]

The Dirty Sock Funtime Band "Rest Stop" from Snap Films on Vimeo.

Kids Radio Expands By One (or Three)

Thought I'd share not one but three new radio stations for kids music, from Kids Public Radio. The streams have been in beta for some time now, but it's ready for prime time, with three channels for your (kids') listening pleasure -- Lullaby, Jabberwocky (stories), and Pipsqueaks (kids sing-alongs). The latter two feature lots of kids voices, so I think a lot of kids'll kinda dig that. (Those really are niches not yet filled by a lot of other radio shows.) There's even a super-brief bit featuring Greasy Kid Stuff (listen here). Good stuff.