Review: No! (Deluxe Edition) - They Might Be Giants

There may be better kids music albums released since the turn of the (twenty-first) century, there have been better-selling ones as well, but a pretty strong case can be made for saying that No! by They Might Be Giants is the single most important and most influential kids music album of the past decade or so.

Yes, today's kindie superstars like Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, Justin Roberts, Ralph's World, and more had all released an album (or more) for families before TMBG's first album foray out of the world of pints of beer and into the world of half-pints of milk.  And other artists like Trout Fishing in America, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer (and many others preceding them) had been releasing albums for years.  But I think in terms of cultural impact (and, as a result, the impact on the genre itself), nothing matched that of the yellow-covered collection from Brooklyn's rockers.

The band is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the album's summer 2002 release with a deluxe edition of the album, adding on 7 bonus tracks, including one newly-recorded expanded version of a TMBG classic.  (More on that in a moment.)  It's easy to look back and say that the move into kids music was an obvious one for the band -- their songs often had a playful melodic sense and even though many of their songs had a darker undertone, some of their biggest hits ("Birdhouse in Your Soul," "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)") were completely kid-friendly.  But at the time, lots of people wondered exactly what the band was thinking, reaching for a kids' audience.

It was only after the album outsold their previous release (Mink Car, for adults, and released on September 11, 2001) that the band -- and the rest of the musical world -- realized that this was a genre that held much more financial and creative potential.  As the band's fans (like me) had grown up and become parents, the selections of kids music available to us were limited, and even more limited in terms of their sound.  With No!, the band thrust into some small part of the mainstream the idea that musical sounds for kids could be every bit as broad (and loud) as that for adults.

No! begat the band's deal with Disney, which yielded three excellent albums and lots of visibility for the band.  It also launched dozens of albums by musicians with names small and large.  No matter how long their creators had been working on them, I don't think TV shows like Yo Gabba Gabba! or Jack's Big Music Show or Imagination Movers get greenlit without the Brooklyn duo showing there was a market for this music and parental attitude.  I don't know if it is "cool" to make music for kids (and I don't really care personally), but it is no longer uncool and for an industry that is still often image-based, that is a not insignificant victory.

As for the album itself, it's so embedded in my brain (and the brains of my family), that trying to listen to the album again and listen critically after literally hundreds of spins is difficult.  My original review of the album, originally written nearly a decade ago, and one of the first posted to the website nearly seven years ago, while clunky in its narrative, still hits the key points: somewhat restricted instrumentation, skewed world viewpoint, and some excellent songs.  In retrospect (and after listening to maybe a couple thousand kids albums since then), one of its strongest aspects is the lack of any overt lesson songs.  It's not quite "no hugging, no learning," but the album's chief virtue is its own inquisitiveness and adventurousness, rather than any message within any specific song.

As for the bonus tracks, none are essential save one, a newly recorded version of "Alphabet of Nations."  This is a track, sharp listeners will note, that didn't make an appearance for another 3 years, on the album's follow-up, Here Come the ABCs.  No matter -- the Johns have taken their song, barely a minute long in its original form, and recorded the 2:30-version they play live.  More countries, even more fun.  The other six tracks are live versions of songs, some from No!, a couple from other albums.  They're good tracks, but none are essential -- feel free to download "Alphabet" and any of the other tracks whose samples move you.

That assumes, of course, that you already have the original.  If you don't, I'm not entirely sure how you've found your way to this site (or why you've read all this way).  If you don't, finish reading this paragraph and go get the thing.  Because in addition to being a culturally significant album, it's also a damn good one, too.  Inventive and witty, with no small amount of danceability.  Most days I'd argue it's not TMBG's best kids' album, but there are also days when I think that it is.  That's no small bar to leap.  I'm reading too much into this, but the fact that the next to last track on the original album is essentially kids' music's "A Day in the Life" makes No! the Sgt. Pepper's of kids' music.  Highly recommended.

Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review, as well as offered the opportunity to premiere tracks from the album.

Review: Brave

I am a big fan of Disney Pixar movies, having seen every one of their movies in the theatre, dating back to Toy Story, a number of years before I had kids, and even their shorts made for computer graphics geeks conventions more than 20 years ago.

So reviewing Brave, the latest effort from the company, is akin to me reviewing a kids musician whose albums-for-kids-and-families I'd been listening to alongside Nirvana.  It's a different frame of reference from most media for kids I take in.

The short version of the review: Brave is a good movie, about the in the middle of the pack of Pixar movies, the scariest of all of them, but with less character development than most.

The slightly longer version: The most basic of plot summaries.  Princess Merida is an ace shot with the bow and arrow, and opposed to the plan of her mother the Queen to marry her off to a suitor to help bring peace to the region.  Merida takes things into her own hands to save her from this fate, which produces way more complications than she, her family, or indeed this reviewer, could forsee.

That's right, one of the best parts of the movie is that the second-act plot development is genuinely surprising.  To say more would ruin the surprise, but the external conflict is not one you're probably expecting.  The internal, emotional conflict -- the heart of any Pixar movie -- is easier to spot, and while the movie dramatizes it OK, I never felt sufficiently invested in any character except Merida -- somewhat -- to fully latch on.

Of course, that may in part be a gender thing -- my wife and Miss Mary Mack loved the movie more than I, whereas I thought the short that preceded the movie, "La Luna," about three generations of (male)... janitors (for lack of a better word) said many the same things about parenting and self-determination that Brave did, but did it with more humor and far fewer words.  It was something that particularly struck me the second time I saw the movie.

[Side note: As a music reviewer, movie-reviewing is an odd beast.  Whereas I often listen to an album five or six times in the process of writing a review, notes by my side, movie reviews are done based on one viewing, in the dark, with all electronic devices sequestered by a movie company worried about electronic leaks.  Not quite sure how those movie reviewers manage it, aside from trying to jot down notes on a darkened pad of paper.]

Which isn't to say that Brave isn't funny, either.  The witch whose assistance sets the conflict into motion is an absolute hoot and the antics of Merida's younger siblings will keep the younger siblings in your household amused.  But often in Pixar movies the humor is rooted in emotional truth (think of Nemo's dad's neurotic ramblings) and here it can feel like the diversion from the story at hand.  I would also note that some of the scenes are pretty intense and the 3-year-old who loved Cars may not be ready for this.

I'm not being entirely fair to the movie.  It was fun, I recommend it, and I'm only sounding down because the bar set by Pixar for its other movies is so high.  If this movie came out from any other studio, it would be lauded unreservedly.  I just wish I could have felt even more attachment to the characters.

Note: I was invited to attend a press preview showing by Disney; I also saw the movie a second time, paid for by me.

All Things Considered: The Deedle Deedle Dees on NPR

If there's a band in kids music which comes anywhere close to actually considering all things, it's probably The Deedle Deedle Dees, whose interest in historical subjects and folklore is wide-ranging, and often expressed in (very catchy) musical format.

So perhaps it's appropriate that the band's latest album, Strange Dees, Indeed, was reviewed tonight on NPR's All Things Considered. I did the honors, and if you found your way here for the first time thanks to the review, welcome. Lots of other stuff from the Dees and a bunch of other bands. By the way, if you're curious about the band's blog (mentioned in the review), you can find that here.

In any case, thanks for stopping by...

Review: Coal Train Railroad Swings! - Coal Train Railroad

There are not many artists who play jazz for kids, which is a sad thing. Sad not because Jazz Is The American Art Form and more kids should be aware of their country's musical heritage (even though that statement is true). Sad because jazz can be one of the most playful musical forms, and who plays better than kids?

On their second album, Coal Train Railroad Swings!, Nashville's Coal Train Railroad are every bit as playful as their pint-sized primary audience, adding several musical exclamation points to that in the title. From the get-go vocalist Katy Bowser throws herself into the preschool-focused lyrics with abandon. On the swingin' leadoff track "I'm Diggin' Me," Bowser sounds hopped up on pixie sticks as she fully inhabits the bouncing-off-the-walls-let's-play-superheroes! narrator. On big band-inspired "Dirt," I love the way Bowser throws off the word "dirt" at the end of every line, a statement of fact mixed with "what-are-ya-gonna-do?" insouciance. And I think you can probably guess the vocal approach she takes on the gypsy-jazz "I Hab a Code."

Which isn't to imply that the music is just jokey -- they come from a kid-centered focus. Bowser can turn in gorgeous vocals as well, as on "With A Box." And she's very ably backed up by her CTRR co-founder, producer and bassist Christopher Donohue, and the rest of the band. They provide great accompaniment, playful when necessary, solid through and through. The album is very preschool-focused lyrically, which may very well restrict the repeatability for folks when kids aren't around, though the album closer, the gorgeous "On Our Swings," is a worthy successor to the West Coast jazz sound Vince Guaraldi made famous to a broad audience via the Peanuts TV specials.

The album is more appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7, though that's a lyrical distinction -- musically, it works for everyone. You can hear the whole 27-minute album via the widget at the bottom of the page.

I liked Coal Train Railroad's debut, but I really like Coal Train Railroad Swings!. If it's not quite the all-ages classic that Medeski Martin & Wood's Let's Go Everywhere is, it gets close. It's musical, smart, and, most importantly, fun. Definitely recommended.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review.