Share: Free Music from Justin Roberts, Bloodshot Records, VeggieTales (and more)

Not really sure what Amazon's been thinkin', but somebody last month must have said, "Hey, you know what would be cool? Free kids' music!" And, then, actually followed through on that idea, because now there are a handful of free EPs for the digital downloading, with easily 15 to 20 good songs worth your time.

Justin Roberts leads the pack with his, er, Snack Pack EP, featuring songs from 5 of his albums. You probably have some of these already, but maybe not the earlier songs ("Little Raindrop" or "Billy the Bully"), and if you don't have any of them, then get over there pronto.

The real find in the craziness is Roberts' fellow Chicagoans Bloodshot Records' Fun For All Ages sampler, which includes seven tracks from four fine albums, Songs for Wiggleworms, Wiggleworms Love You, Animal Crackers, and The Bottle Let Me Down. Do not hesitate in picking up this album, the Alejandro Escovedo track is especially lovely.

But that's not all. VeggieTales aren't for everyone (particularly if you're not religious and you're listening to their Bible-based stuff), but their silly secular stuff can be fun no matter your denomination or lack thereof. Their Five Super Silly Songs EP is exactly that; it includes versions of a couple songs that were big hits on Kids Place Live, "The Hairbrush Song" and "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything."

What's that? You want more? How about some Sesame Street? Their Amazon sampler has a more energetic version of "Ladybugs' Picnic" than you might be familiar with (but it's still good) and also features "What's the Name of that Song?"

You can also pick up an EP from the Wiggles as well as a Cedarmont collection and a sampler from a Rockabye Baby-style knockoff called "Cradle Rock." Not my thing, those last two, but your mileage may vary.

Review Basket: Another Bundle of Christmas / Holiday CDs

Well, it's that time of year when folks all across this great Interwebs of ours put together listings of Christmas and other holiday-themed lists.

And I'm no different.

I haven't bothered to put together a "most essential" list of holiday albums -- rather, here's a list of some CDs that have crossed my desk over the past year...

If you need to see last year's list, go here. You can also read a 2006 essay here. (Yes, that Sufjan Stevens collection is still getting lots of airplay 'round these parts...)

Let's start out with the clear winner of the kids' music holiday competition -- Wee Hairy Beasties' Holidays Gone Crazy. This isn't really a winter holiday collection as it contains a fair number of tracks from their Creepy Lullabies Halloween 7", but it does have a few Christmas tracks -- the why-didn't-I-think-of-that "Dinosaur Christmas" (as gloriously jolly and dorky as you'd expect) and its predecessor "The Tail of the Night Before..." But it's also got non-holiday-themed tracks like "Here Comes My Shadow" and "Bury Me in the Sand." Filled with the Beasties' trademark Americana (washboards, harmonicas, kazoos, and lap steel guitar, for example) and 5th-grade-humor (what do you expect from an album with a "Yellow Snow PSA"?), it's definitely not for the reverential times. You can get it in a physical format a lot of places, but at this late date, why not get it electronically here? But even if you get it in February, you might just listen all year long.
There was consternation in some quarters when this album won the Grammy this year for 2007's best music album for kids -- should music by animated (OK, puppet-ed) characters compete? Setting that debate aside, this album is pretty decent. A fun/sweet Kermit/Miss Piggy duet on "A Red and Green Christmas," tunes from secondary characters (Pepe the Prawn, the Swedish Chef, Floyd), and a nice mix of songs traditional and new for the album.

Whether you prefer the previous album to John Denver and the Muppets' A Christmas Together, recorded nearly 20 years ago, will probably depend on a couple things. First, older listeners may prefer the original voices on this recording to the second generation voices on the later album (the voices are close, but not entirely identical). Second, it's John Denver. While I like a lot of Denver's songs, I'm not wildly enthused about his songs here. On the other hand, it has two absolute classic Muppet songs, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (Miss Piggy takes a star turn here) and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (on which Animal still makes me smile).

I received a couple Hanukkah CDs and while I hoped I'd be able to give a complete review, that proved beyond my abilities as a non-Jewish listener. It isn't like listening to a foreign language album -- that I can handle -- rather, it's like listening to an album about, say, microbiology in a foreign language. On ShirLaLa Chanukah!, Shira Kline, better known as ShirLaLa plays it mostly straight -- it's filled with stories mixed in with songs that occasionally veer into modern styles. Mama Doni, on the other hand, takes a more comedic approach on her I Love Chanukah EP -- if you ever wondered what "Living La Vida Loca" would sound like mashed into a song celebrating Chanukah, "La Vida Dreidel" answers that question. (If you're interested in hearing the album, the whole 4-song EP is available at her website.)

Finally, a couple for the adults.

Matt Molnar, aka Ranlom, provides a pop-jazzy take on mostly traditional tunes on his Going On Holiday. The arrangements sound modern, but they doesn't try to hide the spiritual basis for most of these songs. Except, of course, for the silly "Christmas at Grandma's House," which adds a camera-addicted grandparent to the traditional Christmas mix; your kids might relate. Samples here. Fun stuff.

Rosie Thomas... When I said to someone the other day that I had the new Rosie Thomas Christmas disk, he asked, "Is it quirky?" And, yeah, it is. But, as you might expect from someone who's made music with Sufjan Stevens, it's awesome at times. There are some very jazz-mellow renditions (the secular "Christmastime Is Here," the most-definitely-not-secular "Silent Night") and some bouncy pop ("Why Can't It Be Christmastime All Year?," which somehow manages to be both sprightly and little wistful simultaneously). But the highlight -- and goodness knows I'm surprised as anyone to write this -- is Thomas' cover of the Chipmunks tune "Christmas Don't Be Late." Thomas turns this secular novelty into a truly moving meditation on the waiting nature of Christmas. I don't think your kids will really care about the CD, but, you know, Christmas isn't all about the kids...

Listen To This: "Creepy Lullabies"

I told you last week about the two new releases from the wonderful Wee Hairy Beasties. Jon Langford, Sally Timms, and Kelly Hogan, backed up by Devil in a Woodpile, are giving their bug-sized slice of Americana another shot, this time with a Halloween take, on their Creepy Lullabies double-single/EP.

And you can now go hear for yourself. Get yourself on over to their Myspace page to give five new songs a spin. "Wee Scary Beasties" gives their theme song a twist, "Creepy Lullaby" is a gentle, ever-so-slightly-askew, lullaby, and "Monster's Disco" would be, if there was any justice in this world, a massive novelty hit. "The Lonely Vampire" and "Pumpkinhead" also make an appearance.

In addition, there are some more details about that second full-length. It's entitled Holidays Gone Crazy, and it's set to be released Nov. 4. It appears that many (all?) of the Halloween songs will make an appearance on this full CD, along with more traditional songs such as "Dinosaur Christmas." (What? That's not a traditional Christmas song? Well, maybe it will be.)

Anyway, go listen.

New Wee Hairy Beasties For The Holidays

Word from Sally Timms (AKA Monkey Double-Dippey) that the Wee Hairy Beasties will have not one but two albums coming out in the next 2-3 months. The first is Creepy Lullabies, a double 7" single which will be released Oct. 14 on their own, new Wee Beatz Records and credited to -- get this -- the "Wee Scary Beasties." Ha!

Timms promises "songs about lonely vampires, monsters busting a move, and a... veggie-patch dweller named Pumpkinhead." It's on vinyl, but there will be digital downloads available for those of us who aren't hip enough to have kept their record player. (You know what, they totally need to start releasing kids' songs on this kind of vinyl.)

The second album is a Christmas/holidays-themed album, which I believe will bypass the vinyl stage.

Because I love you guys, I'm gonna give you some recently-recorded Wee Hairy Beastie YouTubage...

And one more "Wild Thing"...

KidVid Tournament 2007 Quarterfinals: "Willy Was A Whale" (1) vs. "Toenail Moon" (3)

The third quarterfinal matchups sees "Willy Was A Whale" from Justin Roberts, the #1 seed in the Woody Guthrie Region against "Toenail Moon" - Wee Hairy Beasties, the #3 seed.

Vote in the comments below. Rules: Video with most votes wins. One vote per e-mail address, please. Votes due by Tuesday 11 PM-ish East Coast time.

"Willy Was A Whale" - Justin Roberts

"Toenail Moon" - Wee Hairy Beasties