Maker Songs for Maker Kids

I don't know if this generation of kids are any more DIY than previous generations, but those kids with maker tendencies (or parents who want to encourage those tendencies) have never had as many opportunities to indulge them (not to mention temptations to ignore them).

I was listening to The Board of Education's fine new album Binary when it occurred to me that the song "I'm Not Here Right Now," about a kid not so keen on sitting in a classroom but very keen on getting out and constructing and exploring, could be an anthem for today's maker kids.

So here's a playlist to be inspired by the next time you and your kids are turning a cardboard box into a race car, learning basic electronic circuitry, or building your own cardboard drum set.  I tried to stay pretty close to the maker concept (and avoiding music-making or cooking and the like), but strayed occasionally into maker-friendly songs that more generally celebrate imaginative use of found objects and creating one's own entertainment.  (Also, despite the number of tracks covering the Woody Guthrie classic, this is nowhere near the number of versions of "Bling Blang" that are available.)

Yes, I understand the slight irony of listening to others' creative works while creating your own, but nobody's perfect.  Go forth and create!

Maker Songs for Maker Kids [Spotify url]

Billy Kelly – The Ballad of Johnny Box
The Biscuit Brothers – I Did It Myself
The Board of Education – Vasimr (to Mars!)
The Board of Education – I'm Not Here Right Now
The Board of Education – Know Your Inventors, Pt. II
The Board of Education – Know Your Inventors, Part I
The Board of Education – Lunchtime (Tin Foil Robots)
Brady Rymer – Bling Blang
Caspar Babypants – Googly Eyes
Coal Train Railroad – With A Box
Dan Zanes & Friends – Thrift Shop
Dog On Fleas – Bling-blang
Elizabeth Mitchell – Bling Blang
Fox and Branch – Bling Blang
Frances England – Bling Blang
The Hipwaders – Art Car
The Hipwaders – My New Camera
Imagination Movers – Imagination Movers Theme
The Jellydots – Adventure Quest!
Johnny Bregar – Yes I Can
Johnny Keener – Bling Blang
Justin Roberts – Cardboard Box
Keith Munslow – Cardboard Box
Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – Lemonade Stand
Lunch Money – Come Over to My Dollhouse
Matt Clark – Cardboard Box
Metric – Everybody Has a Talent
Monty Harper – My Video Camera
The Pop Ups – Box of Crayons
Ralph's World – Sunny Day Rainy Day Anytime Band
Recess Monkey – Fort
Recess Monkey – Science Fair
Recess Monkey – Toolbox
Recess Monkey – I Got A Toy, But I Played With the Box
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – Hot Lava
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – Brainstorm
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – Bored Is A Bad Word
Sugar Free Allstars – Cardboard Box
They Might Be Giants – Science Is Real
They Might Be Giants – Put It to the Test
They Might Be Giants – Computer Assisted Design
They Might Be Giants – Where Do They Make Balloons?
They Might Be Giants – The Edison Museum

Radio Playlist: New Music July 2012

I'm trying something a little bit different this time around with these radio playlists -- instead of posting an update to my Live365 station as I did for June, I've posted a Spotify update.  It's limited, of course, in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list (though I do have a list of stuff that would've posted had it been there -- see the end).  

Check out the list here or go right here if you're in Spotify.

**** New Music July 2012 (July Kindie Playlist) ****

Stephen Michael Schwartz – California Grey

The Cat's Pajamas – Funky Bears

Elizabeth Mitchell – Little Sugar

They Might Be Giants – Violin (Bonus Live Version)

Richard Younger – Barefootin'

Lunch Money – Gingerbread Man

Randy Kaplan – They're Red Hot

Playtime Music – Row Row Row Your Boat

Ozomatli – Flip Flap 

[the non-Spotify list]

The Zucchini Brothers - Crazy Life

New Raspberry Bandits - Fine Country

Professor Banjo - John Henry

Forest Sun - Trampoline

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.

Listen To This: "Robot Parade (Live)" - They Might Be Giants

First I let you hear a live version of "Clap Your Hands."  Then I told you about the fresh new extended version of (and briefly had a download and stream of) "Alphabet of Nations."

Now I get to offer you a stream of a live version of "Robot Parade," yet another of the fun bonus tracks from They Might Be Giants' deluxe rerelease of their classic 2002 kids' album, No!.  Posted with permission of the band, it's fun for all ages...

They Might Be Giants' "Alphabet of Nations"... For You, By You!

I was excited when this was announced a few weeks back, and I'm just as excited today.  Why? Well, it's release day for the deluxe reissue of They Might Be Giants' classic 2002 kids' album No!.  (You can pick up the album via iTunes and in many other places.)

I would suspect that many readers already have the album, but the fancy reissue also comes seven bonus tracks, including a brand new version of "Alphabet of Nations."  "Brand new," you say?  "What's wrong the original version?"  Well, nothing, but as anyone who've seen the band perform the song live (or on Conan O'Brian) can attest, the extended version they perform is just extra... awesome.

Hey, at the request of the band I've removed the download and stream of "Alphabet of Nations," but I'll be uploading another track for your downloading/streaming pleasure shortly.  I assure you, the version of "Alphabet of Nations" is worth your 99 cents at your favorite e-music-supplier.

The band's hosting a challenge on Tumblr and Twitter, crowd-sourcing images from around the world to include in a brand-new video they're creating for this new version of the song.  They're looking for you to post photos on Twitter with the hashtag #TMBGnation or tumblr at http://tmbgnation.tumblr.com/.  By July 10, they're looking from 3 photos posted from people from, or hailing from these specific countries:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, China, Denmark, Dominica, Egypt, Ecuador, Fiji, France, the Gambia, Guatemala, Hungary, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Mongolia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Suriname, Turkey, Uruguay, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

They're looking for portraits of faces (big smiles!), flags, celebrations of culture, and/or action photos.  (And even if you're from a country not on a list, they still want to see those photos. We're all from West Xylophone, right?)  Go, go, crowdsourcing iPhone users!