Renee & Jeremy's new album of covers A Little Love is out in a couple weeks. It's good. Really good. (Stream some long-form samples at their website.) But I can hear some hipsters saying, "Coldplay? Really?"
I'm sorry -- the LA duo (and Kindiefest showcaser's) cover of "Yellow" is gorgeous. And their new video for the song, created by Jon Izen? Just as much so. If you don't like this, I feel sorry for you.
It was an exciting first week of action in KidVid Tournament 2012 and week 2 will be even more exciting. (I hope.) Without any further ado, the 2nd Round matchups are as follows...
Woody Guthrie Region #1 Elizabeth Mitchell - "Ong Tal Sam" vs. #4 Princess Katie & Racer Steve - "Sand in My Sandwich" #2 Dog on Fleas - "Do You Wanna Know My New Dance Step?" vs. #6 Imagination Movers - "Everybody Sing"
The winner of the Woody Guthrie Region meets the winner of the...
Ella Jenkins Region
#1 Caspar Babypants - "Mister Rabbit" vs. #5 Gustafer Yellowgold "Pancake Smackdown" #2 Renee & Jeremy - "Share" vs. #6 Todd McHatton - "I Think I'm a Bunny"
Leadbelly Region #1 Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band - "Blue Bear" vs. #5 Beethoven's Wig - "My Little Chicken" #2 The Not-Its! - "First Kid in Outer Space" vs. #3 Rocknoceros - "Early Worm"
The winner of the Leadbelly Region will take on the winner of the...
Pete Seeger Region #4 Brady Rymer - "Love Me For Who I Am" vs. #8 Suzi Shelton - "Tomboy in a Princess Dress" #2 The Pop Ups - "Balloon" vs. #3 Rabbit! - "Magic"
As with last week's entries, this week's competition will place across teh Internets at these fine locales. Really, you should familiarize yourself with each and every one of 'em!
Finally, I'd just like to say thanks to all of you for not entering the official tournament pool. My faith in humanity -- for not entering a silly pool for a silly tournament -- is maintained.
Picking my favorite kids music videos gets harder every year. I've picked 25 here, but featured at least 3 times that number on the site (a figure which itself is a culling of many more videos). There are another half-dozen videos that easily could have made this list were I to make it, say, tomorrow.
You'll find lots of old standbys here, but also videos from new bands and bands who don't spend nearly as much time with their video editor.
Here, then, are my 25 favorite kids music videos from 2011 (2011 defined roughly as March 1, 2011 - February 29, 2012 -- I'm just assuming nothing else definitively worthy gets released in the next couple days or so). I'm offering up my (ranked) 10 favorite videos, with another 15 (unranked) honorable mentions. [The complete playlist can be viewed at the end of this post.]
Don't get me wrong -- I love's Chris Ballew's DIY videos, finding them models of the form. But his occasional (and ongoing) collaboration with New Zealand's Mukpuddy Animation has already produced a couple fine videos, including this, my favorite of the year.
2. Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band - "Blue Bear" [YouTube]
Another near-perfect melding of song and visual style.
There is no shortage of songs from kids' musicians celebrating the Christmas season this year. I expect a few Hanukkah songs, maybe even a Kwanzaa song or two, before December is through. (Still waiting on Festivus kids music, though.) I'm titling this "Part I" fully expecting there will be at least another part or two this year. So let's get to it.
I doubt you're gonna find another Christmas kids music video this year as hyper -- and, frankly, as awesome -- as this new video from Mista Cookie Jar. It's for a new track called "Robot for Xmas," which you can download for free here. But, really, it's the video that makes it.
Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips - Robot for Xmas [YouTube]
You think I'm stopping here? Oh, no, there's plenty more... OK, after that video, you might need something a little more soothing for you and your kids. And there aren't very many kids' artists who are more soothing than the California duo Renee & Jeremy. They released a holiday single last year, and this year they've got an original tune, "Sunny Christmas" for your holiday pleasure. You can download it at iTunes or listen to it at their website.
Laurie Berkner is also getting into the holiday video game this year, creating a new video for her seasonally-appropriate song "Candy Cane Jane," off her Rocketship Run album. She's selling the video as a download on iTunes and elsewhere, but you can watch the whole thing on iTunes. (Odd warning before you watch it with your kids, though -- it's on Berkner's VEVO channel, which runs an ad before the video. Which I don't mind at all, it's just that VEVO doesn't seem to have given any thought to the ads that run before the video -- the most recent time I watched it, it featured an anti-meth ad that seemed pitched at perhaps a slightly older crowd than would typically be watching a Laurie Berkner video.)
The Laurie Berkner Band - "Candy Cane Jane" [YouTube]
Joe McDermott has a new song and video which is totally ecumenical and secular -- it's all about "Holiday Break" and explains why this can be the (second-favorite) time of the year for your kids' teachers. The Official Wife of Zooglobble is in the educational system herself -- she can totally relate.
For those of you looking to actually celebrate a little Christmas with your kindie friends, Roy Handy and the Moonshot offers up a version of "The Friendly Beasts" (available on iTunes here). It's a melodic line I wasn't familiar with, but which says comes from a Burl Ives disk (or actual vinyl record) that's nearly 50 years old at this point.
Roy Handy and the Moonshot - "The Friendly Beasts" [YouTube]
Finally, a couple kindie artists have created "holiday cards" for your video perusal. DidiPop and Joanie Leeds have each created an animated card, but beyond that, they're very... different. You will have to decide for yourself which you prefer (and which music is original).
It's getting cold, even here in Arizona, so this new video from Renee & Jeremy (who are otherwise promoting their poppy "Sunny Christmas" single) will probably serve as a welcome respite from Old Man Winter (or at least his grumpy Brother Late Fall). It's for "It Makes You Feel Good" off their album C'mon and it's filled with images of pools, beaches, and jumping on beds. Good vibrations all the way 'round.
Renee & Jeremy - "It Makes You Feel Good" [YouTube]
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 2:43PM 
OK, after that video, you might need something a little more soothing for you and your kids. And there aren't very many kids' artists who are more soothing than the California duo 
