Best Kids Music 2010: Top 10 Debuts

OK, the next part of my review of the best kids music of 2010 focuses on debuts. I can't even say that I'd thought about this seriously until Warren Truitt put together his list of top debuts of 2008. But I don't think he did it last year, so since I abhor vacuuming (or a vacuum), I'm going to appropriate the idea. While there are a couple of exceptions, for the most part we didn't know about these bands twelve months ago. And there was a fair amount of competition for these slots -- I could've expanded this to a Top 15 list fairly easily. In addition to quality of music, I'm also thinking about intangibles -- does their entire approach suggest that they could have a large fanbase and a Top 10 overall album 5 years from now as well? (Some of them do right now.) It wouldn't surprise me if that were the case with any of these artists.

I should note that by using the word "debut," I'm assuming that this isn't the last family music album from each of these artists. Albums from Haley Bonar, Keller Williams, and Essie Jain, for example, would've been considered for this list, but I made the assumption that their family albums would be their sole foray into the genre. I would be happy to be proven wrong.

Anyway, here's ten debut albums (listed alphabetically by artist) worth celebrating.

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem - Ranky Tanky: Why Rani Arbo and not Keller Williams? Do I have any inside information that would suggest that this fine album, a worthy companion to many of Dan Zanes' albums drawing deep from many musical wells, is just the beginning? No, not really. So consider this a hopeful wink and nudge to the fine quartet from New England. We'd like more of this, please.
The Bazillions - Rock-N-Roll Recess: Hailing from Minnesota, this was the best pure power pop debut of the year. Not only do they have some finely crafted tunes, they've put together some fabulous videos that suggest this isn't just a lark for them. Another important part of the increasingly strong Minnesota family music scene.

Coal Train Railroad - Coal Train Railroad: Straight-ahead classic vocal jazz from Nashville. Coal Train Railroad have the musical chops to make this a long-term gig. They're also trying lots of different ways to get their music out there, from podcasts to Kickstarter campaigns. We need lots of different musical genres to succeed in order to make the idea of family music not odd. Especially jazz.

Lucky Diaz - Luckiest Adventure: Fifteen minutes of sweet indie/folk/pop from the LA singer-songwriter. With a holiday song in addition to this 5-song EP, Diaz has just six songs on his family music resume, but at this point, his full-length follow-up due out in March is without a doubt one of my most eagerly-anticipated disks of 2011.

Oran Etkin - Wake Up, Clarinet!: Not one but two jazz albums in this list, which is a Good Thing. New York-based jazz musician Etkin covers a slightly broader range, stylistically, on his debut. He's got music classes for toddler and youngsters in New York, and while I'd prefer he'd play more stuff that isn't so directly "class"-like, it's still plenty good.

Moona Luna - Piñata Party: The first really good kids-rock-en-Español album comes from the new daytime alter egos of the band Pistolera. There have been many bilingual albums, but most focus on trying to teach Spanish. This album doesn't worry excessively about that, which means you're more likely to listen repeatedly. Which means you'll probably learn more. And have fun.

The Pop Ups - Outside Voices: I don't think there was anything approaching the collective pitter-pat of the hearts of kindie bloggers when they started hearing the disk from the New York duo. Review after review seemed to be written in which folks knew before the album was done, heck, before the first song was done, that this was something special. All this, and they have a puppet show, too.

Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band - Play!: Who would've expected an album of play-along ukulele music to be so much fun? Well, maybe the ukulele fans amongst us, but this isn't just for the obsessives. There's a playful spirit here that keeps these traditional tunes fresh. And if it encourages all of us to pick up a ukulele and strum a few chords, so much the better.

Tim and the Space Cadets - The Greatest Party Ever: So, former bandmates from the delightful New York-based Jimmies leave that band to write their own songs? Trying to match the awesomeness of the Jimmies is a tough task, but Tim Kubart seemed up to the challenge on this, the first EP. Poppy goodness with a visual (and video) sensibility to match.

Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke - Rise and Shine: Can I really list this as a debut if I first starting writing about the songs that found their way onto this album in April of 2007? Well, yeah. It took a long time for this album to see the light of day, but it was totally worth it. There's a lot of music there -- hopefully it won't take another 3 years for the next album to be released.

Best Kids Music 2010: Top 10 Album Packages

My first entry in my list of the best kids music of 2010 is something I've pondered for awhile, and that's album packaging. I know that Jeff over at Out With the Kids has already posted a similar list, but his is as much about album cover art as the whole packaging. I love that Pop Ups cover art, but there's not much to the packaging beyond that. (Except, of course, for the music itself, which is awesome.)

While I wouldn't call my entry into the digital world as "being dragged kicking and screaming," any long-term reader here would recognize I still have a 20th-century predilection for the physical object. And my kids still listen to musical using CDs, not iPods. So consider these ten albums as examples why your iPhone and iPod and iPad can't replace your CD collection just yet. And if you're looking for something more than a download code to put into someone's stocking or birthday pile, these will do nicely.

Randy Kaplan - The Kids Are All Id: I tend to prefer lyrics in my liner notes, but with notes as offbeat (yet illuminating) as Kaplan's, I'm willing to make an exception. Plus, the packaging is gorgeous, with some silly illustrations to keep the kids amused.
Billy Kelly -Is This Some Kind of Joke?: Sometimes being elegant or competently put together isn't enough. Sometimes you also need to package your album with a gigantic maze, an erasable marker, and autograph the thing. Well, "sometimes" is a bit strong, perhaps, but it seems to have worked for Billy Kelly. And, yes, the whole idea is totally Kelly.

Elizabeth Mitchell - Sunny Day: A typical Smithsonian Folkways release, with meticulous attention to detail, married to generous liner notes from Mitchell herself and beautiful illustrations from Ida Pearle. It's clear that Mitchell and a lot of other people thought a lot about how to present her music through words and pictures, and it puts an excellent album in an even better light.

Princess Katie & Racer Steve - Tiny Cool: There's nothing particularly unique in the album packaging, nothing that you couldn't find elsewhere, but the design is very well done and so perfectly matches the PKRS demographic, down to the PKRS poster on the back side of the lyrics. It's a great example of an artist clearly understanding who they are and conveying that through their physical product.

Recess Monkey -The Final Funktier / Justin Roberts - Jungle Gym: OK, I admit it, I couldn't choose between the two. These two artists consistently release high-quality physical products marked by some consistent design themes. In the case of Roberts, it's artwork by Sarajo Frieden; for Recess Monkey, it's the Recess Monkey logo, solid-colored disks, and probably the best photography in the kids music business.

Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band - Play!: The packaging isn't quite as elaborate as some of the other albums here, but it emphatically conveys "fun!" without overdoing it. More importantly for an album of play-along songs for the ukulele, it comes with lyrics, chords, and even fingerings for the chords. It's an album designed to be pulled out and used.

Various Artists (The Secret Mountain) - Swing Cafe: The Secret Mountain puts out gorgeously illustrated books accompanied by music on CDs. This particular release contains some classic jazz recordings (Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, etc.) accompanying a story of a cricket named Zaz who dreams of singing in New York. Every time I see an artist releasing a book whose production values make me cringe slightly, I think of folks like The Secret Mountain who the same thing and do it well.

Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke - Rise and Shine: It's probably not entirely fair to other artists competing in this category when Wilde is, you know, and illustrator. But Wilde's drawings tell little stories complementing each of the songs, drawings that are just as winning as the songs. And Little Monster Records, as much as they are pointing toward the future of digital music, still put out awesome physical products.

Dan Zanes - 76 Trombones: Another artist with a long history of producing album packaging that's every bit as fun to read through as listen. Just as Zanes' music on the album gave a modern twist on some classic Broadway tunes, so does the album packaging make it seem like Broadway is the central gathering point for the modern American melting pot. Not to mention a dance party.

My Favorite Kids Songs of 2009

I know, it's March now, and I'm still trying to sum up 2009. I already gave you a list of my 20 favorite kids music albums of 2009, now it's time for my 20 favorite kids music songs of 2009. As with the albums, I tried to limit myself to songs on albums from a general Nov. 1, 2008 - Oct. 31, 2009 timeframe, consistent with the Fids and Kamily Awards. I've tended to think of music in terms of albums and not individual songs, so I know that I've omitted some great songs here, but I'm working on changing that in the year ahead.

Anyway, in alphabetical order, here they are...
- Dan Bern - "Trousers": Goofy and silly. Probably not entirely true, but that should probably be counted in its favor.
- Bunny Clogs - "Velveeta Girl and Squatsy": I have no idea what this song means. But it'll make your dance around, which is praise enough in my book. Listen here.
- Caspar Babypants - "Little Broken Truck": Everything that makes Chris Ballew's debut kids' album Here I Am! so winning is found in this song - simplicity, clean production, and a whimsical sense of humor. Listen here or watch a live version here.
- The Dreyer Family Band - "Mad": Dealing with negative emotions in a way that actually recognizes those emotions honestly is a rare trick. This track accomplishes that. Listen here.
- Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion - "Brush Your Teeth Blues #57": Because I wrote a liner note essay for the album, I took the Go Waggaloo album out of the running for my own Top 20 album list. But I'd be remiss if I didn't pick at least one song from the album for this list. It's a dreamy lullaby amidst these mostly uptempo tracks. Listen to a prior version of the song here.
- Laura Freeman - "Look in a Book": I love Freeman's sense of humor on this track, as will bright 6-year-olds. Which is what I attempt to be sometimes.
- Peter Himmelman - "Main Dish": A whole feast of great songs on Himmelman's My Trampoline disk, this one about accepting different roles in life, is my favorite. Or maybe it's just about dinner.
- John Upchurch and Mark Greenberg - "The Lawnmower Song" and "A Counting Error": Yes, that's right, my second favorite kids album of the year, John and Mark's Children's Record, gets the honor of having 2 songs on this list. The first is such a perfect little pop song with a little country styling thrown in. The second is one of the more surreal kids' songs you'll ever hear, yet totally logical in its absurdity. Download "A Counting Error" here.
- Los Lobos - "Heigh Ho": Yeah, it's a cover. A cover song that will melt you and your kids' faces! Or at least march around like crazy folk. Watch the official video here.
- Lunch Money - "Are You a Rabbit?": Trying to pick a single great song off my favorite album of the year, Dizzy, is difficult, but this hits so many high points (braininess, interaction, melody, that bridge!) that it wins out.
- Ziggy Marley - "Family Time": The title track to Marley's Grammy-winning album, featuring a delightful family vibe. Watch the video here.
- Kesang Marstrand - "Dandelion": A sweet lullaby from an album full of them, Marstrand's Hello Night, her voice is the biggest winner here. Watch the video here.
- Milkshake - "Enemies": A great song dealing with the complicated emotions of friendship. Download the song here.
- Keith Munslow - "Spork": They year's best retro-dance song. Also the year's best near-instrumental about a maligned eating implement. Listen here.
- Recess Monkey - "Marshmallow Farm": So many great Recess Monkey tracks to choose from off of Field Trip, so I picked this one based on the track that most caught our family's attention. Listen here.
- The Telephone Company - "What Am I Gonna Do with This Baby?": Pop-song perfection about somebody trying to decide what to do with a baby they've found. It's really a lot more upbeat and kid-friendly than that sentence implies.
- They Might Be Giants - "Meet the Elements": I'm probably unfairly lumping the video in with the song (the video is totally and completely awesome). But the song is excellent in its audio-only form as well. It completely rocks (and educates). Watch that awesome video here.
- The Verve Pipe - "Wake Up": Within 10 seconds of hearing this track, I had a good feeling that the album was going to be more than some misguided attempt to cash in on the kids' music fad. I was right. Listen here.
- Logan Whitehurst - "Happy Noodle vs. Sad Noodle": This isn't really a new track, it was just re-discovered by Belinda and Hova for their 2009 Greasy Kid Stuff 3 compilation. But it's an awesome track, I think you'll agree. Download the song here.

My Favorite Kids and Family Albums of 2009

Wow. Trying to narrow down 2009's list of my favorite albums for kids and families was tough. (That's why I'm doing this in 2010, right?)

Seriously, 2009 was a great year for kids music. When the year started, I was unsure whether we'd reach 10 really good albums, but as I put together this list, I realized how there were some really good albums I had to leave off this Top 20 list. I mean, there are albums like Milkshake's Great Day that just missed this list, which I think shows how crowded the field became.

I always base these lists on my lists for Fids and Kamily Awards, so the album year for my purpose is from Nov. 1, 2008 through Oct. 31, 2009. This means that there are some pretty old albums out there, and some good ones from the past couple months (say, that new Dean Jones/Felice Brothers disk) are going to have to wait another 10-12 months before getting their due.

But, before any more time elapses, here's the list...
20. Yo Gabba Gabba - Music Is... Awesome! - Various Artists: I was prepared to not enjoy this disk, and I can people creating different playlists -- one for the YGG stuff, one for the guest artists. But there are enough good songs (especially from the guest artists) that it's worth checking out.

19. Homemade Fun - Keith Munslow: Munslow's broad sense of humor and musicianship has a smaller audience than it deserves. But it's a delight, a celebration of imagination.

18. The Time Machine - The Sippy Cups. The Sippys continue their maturation with this, an album of originals loosely tied around the concept of growing older. Equal parts goofy and heartfelt.

17. Welcome Table - Dan Zanes: This collection sort of slipped under the radar compared to Zanes' live DVD release and his late-2009 release 76 Trombones, but this is a solid collection of previously-released and newly-recorded material. It's a collection of faith-based songs, but in a very Zanes-ian ecumenical, community-oriented style. Lots of Zanes fans, regardless of faith, will find this an appealing collection.

16. Songs With No Character - Scribblemonster: This album was released in early November 2009, and at the time I wondered if it wasn't the last really good album of the 2008 album year. I decided it was the first really good album of the 2009 album year. Kids power pop at its very best.

15. Gustafer Yellowgold's Mellow Fever - Gustafer Yellowgold: This was the point at which I started to realize just how good the year was for kids music. This was probably the best of the three Gustafer Yellowgold CD/DVD sets, the last one made my Top 10 list, and here this one sits at #15. That's a function of how many great albums are sitting at this part of the list.

14. Worser - Duplex: There are lots of "easy" kids albums on this list (a term not meant to be perjorative) -- this is not one of them. That isn't meant to be perjorative, either. It's just that songs about VIkings, sandwich construction, and same-sex divorce aren't your typical kids fare. Might not be for every family, but for some families, it's pretty great.

13. Pink - Rocknoceros: Most kids albums end up the early elementary school crowd, so I'm always geeked to see bands like Rocknoceros continue to make music for the preschoolers. Oh, sure, the kindergarten crowd will still tune in, but it's the 3-hour-a-day crowd that makes up the core of the Rocknoceros. Well, them and their grateful parents.

11. (tie) Family Time - Ziggy Marley; and A Family Album - The Verve Pipe: These two albums were the last to get cut from my Fids and Kamily ballot. Had I completed my ballot on a different day, it's entirely possible that one of these albums would have made the cut. Both of these albums were made by artists whose day jobs -- making music for adults -- would not have left any indication that they had a great kids album inside them. But both albums celebrated family in their own special way, releasing albums that hold the attention of listeners outside their core audience.

10. More! More! More! - Bunny Clogs: Funky, funny, soulful, joyful -- sometimes within the course of a single song. Certainly in the course of this big, sprawling stew of an album from Honeydogs frontman Adam Levy. More indeed.

8. (tie) Thank You For Joining The Happy Club - Billy Kelly; We Are the Not-Its! - The Not-Its: Let's hear it for a couple newcomers who mix humor and heart in equal measure. Or in mostly equal measure -- Kelly puts his thumb down on the humor side, with the Not-Its voting for a little more heart. Pennsylvania's Kelly lies in the pop camp, Seattle's Not-Its prefer their pop with more rock. But both have melodies and style to spare, Kelly animated, the Not-Its sartorial. It bodes well for both their careers.

6. (tie) Dragonfly - Johnny Bregar; My Trampoline - Peter Himmelman: Both Bregar and Himmelman crank out solid albums like most of us crank out lunches for the kids. Himmelman's the more well-known, of course, but Bregar's no slouch in the songwriting department, either. Bregar's the folksier of the two while Himmelman rocks more. Both are fine, fine albums that are worthy of your time.

5. Here Comes Science - They Might Be Giants: Here's a measure of They Might Be Giants' talent in creating music for kids. This album, their fourth for families, might just be my least favorite. And it came in fifth place. It's for slightly older kids, perhaps, their most explicitly educational, and perhaps I missed the whimsy. But it's like asking a parent which one of their kids they love the most. One might be a little more difficult than the others, but you love 'em all equally.

3. (tie) Here I Am! - Caspar Babypants; Field Trip - Recess Monkey: All hail Seattle! Chris Ballew's kids music side project Caspar Babypants produced the first of many CB albums for kids, while Field Trip showed Recess Monkey producing another great album. There's no other band playing just for kids who's turned out as many great albums as Recess Monkey has over the past few years; Caspar Babypants shows every sign of cranking out just as many great albums in the years to come.

2. John and Mark's Children's Record - John Upchurch and Mark Greenberg: Totally out of nowhere. It was a surprise to me when I stumbled upon this -- a glorious surprise. So many great songs on here, an imaginative box of delights. A little odd, but odd in all the right places and without sacrificing great insight into the life of a child. And you'll be humming the songs for days.

1. Dizzy - Lunch Money: Their first album Silly Reflection created such a powerful attachment amongst its group of devotees (me among them) that Lunch Money ran the risk of disappointing them all no matter what they did. But instead of trying to duplicate that album, Molly and crew turned their viewpoint a little bit outward -- life in libraries, disagreeable and agreeable food, watching the river -- and created a little jewel of a pop album that celebrates childhood with the knowledge of adulthood without watering down either of them. More than any other kids music album released in 2009, this is the one that meant the most to me.

I know one (or many) of these will mean a lot to your family, too. Enjoy.

My Favorite Kids and Family Albums of 2008

It's that time of year once more, time for me to give you my rundown of my favorite kids and family albums from 2008.

As always, I use the adjective "favorite" deliberately, as opposed to "best," because taste is subjective. It's why I came up with the idea for the Fids and Kamily Awards -- because I think the opinions of 20 or so attentive listeners are worth more than the opinion of just 1 listener. (I should also note here that "2008" really means Nov. 1, 2007 through Oct. 31, 2008, which means I've already reviewed a few CDs late this year that don't make this list but have a good shot at next year's.)

But for those of you who are interested in what particularly tickled the fancies of this one attentive listener and our family this year, read on...

1. (tie) They Might Be Giants - Here Come the 123s
1. (tie) Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime
1. (tie) Medeski, Martin & Wood - Let's Go Everywhere
Yes, my top 3 albums of the year are from artists who usually make music for adults. OK, perhaps They Might Be Giants have been doing this for the kids long enough to be counted as a full-fledged member in the kids musician union, but the Barenaked Ladies and Medeski, Martin & Wood put forth adventurous and fun albums for the family their first time out of the gate. TMBG rounded up a bunch of excellent videos to go with their occasionally educational songs. Barenaked Ladies applied their their pop-folk humor to a younger age set; to no one's surprise, it worked. Medeski, Martin & Wood's album was playful and totally accessible (psst, don't tell anyone it's jazz or they might not want to listen). Fabulous music all around -- 2008's best.

4. (tie) Justin Roberts - Pop Fly
4. (tie) Recess Monkey - Tabby Road
4. (tie) The Terrible Twos - Jerzy the Giant
The musicians here are slightly more experienced in the kids music biz, and they're the most consistent songwriters in the genre. Justin Roberts was probably ever-so-slightly unfairly advantaged because his previous album is a classic, easily in my top 5 ever; this new album is just as good, just slightly mellower. Recess Monkey just keeps turning out album after album with pop nuggets, as if we'd just discovered that the Beatles had recorded a ton of kids music 40+ years ago. And the Terrible Twos actually straddle the kids music / adult music divide, with Matt Pryor still making music for those of drinking age as well, but his music for (and sometimes with) kids is a string of great character sketches.

7. (tie) Frances England - Family Tree
7. (tie) Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Easy
There aren't many stylistic similarities between Frances England and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo -- the one produces indie-folk-rock for kids, the other hip-hop for kids. They are, however, wholly original in their sound. England's songs tackle all your usual kids music subjects and celebrates the imagination in a gentle (but not too gentle) manner; accompanied by England's artwork, the album is a guaranteed gift winner. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo has done nothing less than produce the first great kids hip-hop album. But as with the Medeski, Martin & Wood disk, to peg it as a genre disk is to diminish it -- the album will appeal to a wide range of families. It, too, like England's disk, celebrates the imagination. They're not so dissimilar after all.

9. Central Services - ... Presents the Board of Education
I've written many words about the Central Services disk. I've been enamored of these tunes ever since I first heard early versions of them nearly two years ago. The album itself is geared just as much toward older kids as the younger kids who make up the majority of kids' music's target audience, but it's sort of the music equivalent of Young Adult literature -- dealing with themes (or school subjects) your well-past-kindergartner might relate to with a whole bunch of undeniable hooks.

10. Laurie Berkner - Rocketship Run
Laurie Berkner might not have another classic toddler sing-along tune like "We Are the Dinosuars" here, but there is nobody else who is taking such care to make albums for the under-5 set. Matching another set of catchy melodies with some detailed production and her great voice produces this new album. Let's hope it's not another 4 years before her next CD.

11. (tie) Brady Rymer - Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
11. (tie) The Nields - Rock All Day, Rock All Night
Picking the #10 album for my Fids and Kamily ballot is always the hardest part for me because I end up leaving one or two albums off the list that I really want to be on there. So this year, Brady Rymer and the Nields were thisclose to my Top 10. Rymer continues to refine (and improve) his family-rock sound (and has a Grammy nomination to show for it), while the Nields sisters used their own family to record a double-album of tunes -- one bouncy, one mellow. Another day, and I might have put one of these disks in my top ten...

13. Dan Zanes - Nueva York!
It is odd for me to not put a Dan Zanes disk in my top ten. Recording a whole album in Spanish was an audacious move by the godfather of the kids music revival, and as a result, the new album was a little less accessible than, say, its Grammy-winning predecessor. But it's still a very good disk, filled with the joy and energy that are Zanes' hallmarks. A worthy addition to Zanes' canon.

14. The Hollow Trees - Welcome to Nelsonville
The Hollow Trees, on the other hand, sound a little bit like the Dan Zanes of ten years ago, mining classic American tunes and reinvigorating them with bluegrass and folk takes. The traditionals and covers fit right in with their originals about Nelsonville, a place that's ever-so-slightly like the Hundred Acre Wood. Nelsonville sounds like a place that's a lot of fun, y'know?

15. (tie) - Harmonica Pocket - Ladybug One
15. (tie) - Randy Kaplan - Loquat Rooftop
There's nothing particularly similar about these two disks. The Harmonica Pocket mixes indie pop and traditional toddler favorites with a bit of world music while Kaplan is all over the map with some tin pan alley, folk-rock, and punk. Both albums share the feeling that their creators are following their idiosyncrasies wherever they may lead them, and luckily for us, they're leading both of them down some very musically rewarding paths.

17. Gretchen Eichberger-Kudlack - Songs For Sleepy Beings
My favorite lullaby album of the year. Long-time readers will know that I am particularly picky about lullaby disks, so that is high praise. The album is well-constructed as a lullaby album, starting out with a full band playing some gentle tunes and slowly stripping back the instrumentation until it's just Eichberger-Kudlack playing classical piano melodies. A tiny gem.

18. (tie) Ellis Paul - The Dragonfly Races
18. (tie) Me 3 - The Thin King
18. (tie) David Tobocman - I Count To Ten and Other Very Helpful Songs
When you get to this point in the list, distinguishing between albums is sort of a fool's errand. I know I didn't like these three disks quite as much as I liked my top three. I know I liked them quite a bit, though -- Paul's heartfelt folk-rock-with-a-message (living in the world division), Me 3's quirky indie-rock, and Tobocman's piano-pop-with-a-message (personal skills division). What I don't know is how to distinguish between the three of them for ranking purposes. And, frankly, there were another half-dozen albums that could have pretty easily been on this list as well. But the list has to end sometime and any list that ends with these three disks has got to be a pretty good list.