Melissa Block's CD Changer and Ours Look Similar

To those of you visiting here from Melissa Block's post on CDs her family's been enjoying, welcome. You'll find over 140 reviews of CDs here (all accessible from the artist links on the right-hand side of the page), plus news and interviews squeezed in whenever I can find the time.

For what it's worth, you can follow the links below to my reviews of the albums Melissa lists...

-- Catch That Train! - Dan Zanes and Friends (review / interview)
-- You Are My Little Bird - Elizabeth Mitchell (review)
-- New Orleans Playground - Various Artists / Putumayo (review)
-- Alphabet Songs - Steve Weeks (Vol. 2 review, Vol. 3 review)
-- The Johnny Cash Children's Album - Johnny Cash (review)
-- Whoever Shall Have Some Good Peanuts - Sam Hinton (review)

And thanks for stopping by!

Busy Week Ahead...

It was a busy Thanksgiving weekend that was extended thanks to an always fun illness (thank you, stomach virus / food poisoning!), but I'm past that and there's lots of new stuff ahead this week.

Time to Rebrand

I had low expectations when I started this website.

I wanted to share some music that was recorded with kids in mind that both kids and adults could find enjoyment in. But my bar for parental enjoyment was pretty low -- I was looking for music that wouldn't drive parents to rip the CD out of the minivan's player and drive over it repeatedly. My tagline -- "Music for kids that the parents won't hate" -- was a reflection of those low expectations.

Even though the tagline is still not a bad reflection of my concerns, I've never been particularly enamored of it. I don't like the word "hate," and there's something distinctly negative about it (something implicitly acknowledged in the headline for the NPR piece I was in -- "Music For Kids That Even Parents Might Love").

It's time to try out a new tagline.

Snakes on a plane!

OK, you're right, not good. So we're going with this:

Kids music worth sharing.

I Spent, Like, Five Minutes On a New Logo...

... and if you want to see it, you'll have to head over to Zooglobble's new Myspace page.

I think you'll agree that I have no future as a graphic designer.

I'd been thinking for a while about setting up a page (because, hey, I think this social networking trend might have staying power), so last month I created the account and have been slowly adding "friends," or, as I like to call them, "kids' musicians and associates I am or am not familiar with". I really don't know what I'll use the page for -- I still expect to post all the good stuff here -- but maybe I'll put that mp3 player there to good use. (And by the way, I can also host mp3s here, too.)

The number of kids' musicians on Myspace has really grown over the past year, even though, as Scribble Monster puts it, "MySpace IS NO PLACE FOR A KID! RUN TO A SAFE PLACE LIKE ScribbleTown!" Just another sign of how parents are taking a greater interest in kids' music. (Or maybe how 6-year-olds are way ahead of me when it comes to social networking.)

That Bar's Getting Longer...

Time I expanded the sidebar links. You're probably familiar with many of these, but if not, explore a bit...

Maybe you're familiar with the Fids and Kamily Awards? (OK, yeah, you probably are.) Anyway, there's a new link there. I've been tallying votes, and I'm really excited about the list.

Kids Music Sites: I've added Eric Herman's fine Cool Tunes for Kids website, on which he wears a reviewers' hat and a musician's outfit, or some other mixed metaphor like that.

Radio Shows: Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child will always be the #1 radio show around here, but in case you need a kids' music fix during the week, you can listen to Gooney Bird Kids or Loopy Moose Radio as well. I've also updated the Greasy Kid Stuff link to note their new playlist location.

Stores: Amazon and CD Baby you know about. If you're looking for a more selective list, the Land of Nod has a decent selection of kids' music online (and has the occasional podcast from artists like Justin Roberts and Dan Zanes), while the Pokey Pup has a good selection.

KidLit: You think it's hard listening to all sorts of new kids and family music from across the country? Imagine the amount of stuff that people who review literature for kids have to wade through. There are tons of sites out there, so start with Big A little a, A Fuse #8 Production, and Book Buds and start from there.
(Oh, and did you know they've got an end-of-the-year award process, too? See the Cybils for more.)

Other Stuff of General Parental Interest: I like the writing at Cynical Dad, Daddy Types, Family Man Online, and Neal Pollack's The Maelstrom. I just felt like I should goose their Google numbers ever so slightly.