British Kids' Music Scene Not Much More Than Belle and Sebastian

While the old saw about the awfulness of British cuisine may no longer be valid, perhaps the new saw is the awfulness of British kids' music

Well, according to one Times of London writer, who bemoans the state of British kids' music, while lavishing very evasive praise on the new Belle and Sebastian-curated compilation Colours Are Brighter.

While I really don't like the goal of making sure he "can take pride in the songs [his] kids like," I love the idea of creating a "back-story" to certain non-kids' CDs to get them more interested in the albums. In addition to praising Elizabeth Mitchell fave Vashti Bunyan and giving a backhanded compliment to They Might Be Giants, he also puts The Sippy Cups on his Small Ages-esque mixtape for kids.

Oh, and dude, "Furry Happy Monsters" is right here.

I should also note that the Colours Are Brighter website is now offering a free "Go Go Ninja Dinosaur" mp3 along with a "Jackie Jackson" game (which proves to me how old I am, 'cause I failed miserably at it).

Review: Snail Song & Magic Toast - The Sippy Cups

Review: A Play in One Act
With three characters: Dude 1, Dude 2, and Mr. Roommate:

Dude 1: Whoa, dude, that Sippy Cups song is deep!
Dude 2: Totally, dude!
Dude 1: I mean, it's about, like, life.
Dude 2: Totally.
Dude 1: It's like... a... uh... simile!
Dude 2: Simile? It is so not a simile, dude.
Dude 1: No, dude?
Dude 2: No, dude. It's a metaphor.
Dude 1: I'm not sure I agree with you, there, dude
Dude 2: Why not?
Dude 1: Well, look, there's this song, and it's about "Magic Toast," right?
Dude 2: Right.
Dude 1: And it sounds just like the Mamas and the Papas, maybe, or some psychedelic band from the late '60s, right?
Dude 2: Right.
Dude 1: So when they're talking about the magic toast and how it gives the boy a "lift," they're clearly making the analogy that breakfast is like life. And the toast is, you know...
Dude 2: Yeah, but what you're describing is a metaphor, dude. They're not using the word "like" or anything.
Dude 1: Hey, what you know about grammar, dude, could fit inside my...

Dude 1's Roommate, dressed as always in suit and tie, walks into the room.

Roommate: Oh, it's you again... dude.
Dude 2: Hey, man, what's your problem? You're always bringin' me down!
Roommate: Well, every time I come home from... what's that place called... oh, yeah, work, you two guys are sitting here eating grilled cheese sandwiches and having these abstract philosophical discussions.
Dude 1: We were not!
Roommate: Oh, really?
Dude 2: Yeah! We were having an abstract grammatical discussion.
Roommate: I don't believe it. What were you guys discussing?

Dude 1 explains the crux of the dilemma.

Roommate: Much as it pains me to say it, dude, your friend is correct. A simile is a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds and is usually formed with "like" or "as." A metaphor, on the other hand, is a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity.
Dude 1: Ah. Righteous, dude. You bring clarity.
Roommate: What I can't figure out is why you're spending the evening listening -- repeatedly -- to an album that is targeted to kids aged 2 through 7. I know, I know, it's appealing to a lot of adults, and the band's from San Francisco, but "Magic Toast" is neither simile nor metaphor... it's about TOAST! And while that song is OK (I confess to a weakness for the kazoos) and the "Snail Song" has a pretty awesome power pop finale, that's all the EP is. Two original tracks with the other two tracks just being the first two tracks overlaid with spoken word narrative.
Dude 2: Dude, you're just cheap.
Roommate: Uhhh... maybe you're right. Pass the grilled cheese sandwiches.
Dudes 1 and 2: Right on, dude.

Review In Brief: Kids Rock For Peas! - The Sippy Cups

How best to describe the San Francisco-based The Sippy Cups? Perhaps they're what would happen if your favorite '70s cover band decided they just wanted to play for preschoolers. And added puppets and jugglers. On their 2005 debut album Kids Rock For Peas!, the seven-member ensemble (recorded live at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco) cover a wide range of '60s and '70s songs on the 47-minute disc, from the Beatles ("Dear Prudence") to the Velvet Underground ("Who Loves the Sun") to the Ramones, mostly ("I Wanna Be Elated"). You might ask, you know, those are pretty darn good songs -- in the original -- why in the world would I want to buy cover versions? Well, not that the Sippy Cups' versions are better than the originals, but the vigorous renditions of the songs and the occasional alterations to make them child-friendly (or child-friendlier) give them value in their own right. (They single-handedly rescue War's "Low Rider" from the clutches of beer commercials and "Jungle Boogie" from the clutches of Quentin Tarantino.) If the occasional song seems out-of-place ("Bennie and the Jets") or the live banter just slows the pace down, that's the risk one takes with a live package. (The presence of "Super Guy" will probably bring a smile to the parents' faces.) The songs are probably best for kids ages 2 through 6, though obviously any album covering the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Neil Diamond will probably find fans whose ages reached double-digits long ago. You can check out some video clips here. Recommended, unless for some weird reason you think Lennon/McCartney (or, er, McCartney/Lennon) wasn't that great of a song-writing duo.