We Just Flew Back From the Pacific Northwest...

... and, boy, are our arms tired.

So, yeah, we were gone for almost a week. I'll have a little to report from the trip (the bit is actually kids-music-related), but let me get through the e-mail and mail and stuff that was dropped off at the doorstep first. (And, if you haven't read it, there's a nice YAKMA about Dan Zanes that mentions Bill and Amy.)

(Note: My wife has many good ideas. The "take a day off after a long-ish vacation" idea is near the top of the list.)

Review: Class of 3000: Music Volume 1 - Andre 3000

In reviewing this CD, let me be clear from the start that ours is not, for the most part, a television-watching household. It's not really a principled stand as much as it is a reflection of our busy lives. We just don't have much time to watch TV if we want to do other things like, you know, bathe and eat.

Having said that, I do wish we had a little more time, because if we did, we might find time to watch Class of 3000, a Cartoon Network show co-created by, executive produced by, and starring Andre 3000 of the hip-hop duo Outkast as musician/teacher Sunny Bridges. Even if the animation was lousy, we'd still have the music to enjoy.

Released earlier this month, Class of 3000: Music Volume 1 features one song from each of the first season's thirteen episodes, plus the show's theme song. That theme song by itself is more adventurous than most kids' music, going from funk to jazz and even picking up a nursery rhyme along the way. (You can download a copy here, courtesy of Sony, or listen to a Windows stream here or a RealPlayer stream here.)

Luckily the rest of the CD is just as creative and funky. "Throwdown" could be a hip-hop hit. "Cool Kitty" sounds like it was written 40 or 50 years ago, with a snappy surfer/girl-group vibe. "Oh Peanut" is a slower track that shows off some more classical instrumental grooves (listen to a Windows stream here and a RealPlayer stream here.) "Life Without Music" is one of the better "educational songs" of recent years. And, hey, how often on a major-label kids' music release do you get the pure instrumental bebop jazz of "My Mentor?" Rarely, oh so rarely.

If there's a drawback to the album as an album, it's that some songs are clearly tied to the visuals. In some cases it's not much of a drawback -- while I might like to see the visuals associated with "Fight the Blob," the drumline march of the tune is so strong, it works fine a song told in music. In other cases, such as "UFO Ninja," I'm clearly missing something. I'm not saying you need to have seen the series, just that I think those who have might enjoy it (and understand the story-driven songs) slightly more. For those of you don't like cartoony voices, well, I'm usually right in that camp, but the vocal characterizations here are pretty strong, and I think you'll enjoy 'em. (I did.)

The songs are probably most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 10, though with the exception perhaps of the darker "We Want Your Soul," everything here is A-OK for youngsters, too. You can hear samples at your standard internet retailers, but I'd also recommend checking out the videos from the show, available at the show's website. You can hear many of the album's tracks there.

In the end, what I find so wonderful about Class of 3000: Music Volume 1 is that a major label gave an exceedingly talented musician the freedom to create an album that takes so many risks. In the jazz interlude of the theme song, one character says, "But, Sunny, radio doesn't play songs without words anymore," and Sunny says wearily, "I know..." It'd be a shame if the public doesn't hear these tunes, be it by radio or some other way. The album is a smartly crafted collection of kid-friendly funk, hip-hop and jazz. Definitely recommended.

The Best Day in the History of Kids Music?

Fifty years from now, will historians look back on Saturday, September 15, 2007 as the day that was the best day in the history of kids music?

Well, of course not, silly, that's just hyperbole.

But it's gonna be pretty darn cool.

In addition to the fine artists performing at Austin Kiddie Limits that day, Bill and I are proud to be hosting a fantabulous all-ages show at Austin's Ruta Maya coffeehouse.

Starting at 6 PM, you'll get to hear sets from Laura Freeman, the Telephone Company, Joe McDermott, and -- all the way from Brooklyn -- the Deedle Deedle Dees (with a full band, no less). And we'll end the show by 9 PM. Your kids will be guaranteed to sleep for 10 hours straight after all the dancing they'll do. (Note: Guarantee not valid in all 50 states.)

The cost for this show is a stunning $5 per person, with infants getting in for free. At that price, buy two tickets!

We'll have more details as we approach the day of the event, but if you're anywhere near Austin on the 15th, come on down and join us. The show will be a blast.

Disney, the Carnegie Steel of the Kids' Music World

Amy beat me to this, but there was a great discussion last week on Idolator about Disney's control of the music industry, at least as it pertains to tweens. The thing I took from the article and subsequent was just one more confirmation that Disney's success lies in its vertically-integrated structure, of which Carnegie Steel was one of the first examples more than a century ago. From the grooming of artists on their television shows to the molding of albums by the music side, and back to the TV and Radio Disney side for constant promotion, it's no wonder they dominate this industry. (The only wonder is why nobody else has been able to copy their success.)

In fact, if you read this interview with Radio Disney's Senior Vice President Jill Casagrande, you'll see lots of mentions of artists like the Jonas Brothers, Hillary Duff, or Miley Cyrus. What you won't see is lots of mentions of artists who aren't in the Disney stable.

Disney does a good job of picking talented artists, especially in the sub-tween demographic -- they're distributing They Might Be Giants and Ralph's World, after all. But it is striking exactly how much big business has capitulated to Disney. They've left the field wide open to Disney -- how many more High School Musicals will it take before somebody else steps up?

Dora the Musician-Explorer

For those musically-obsessed families out there who are also Nick Jr.-obsessed, the next four weeks promises to be particularly good (or tunefully repetitive) as the channel will air five music-themed shows, one a day, for four of its shows. Starting tomorrow (Monday, July 23rd) and for the next four weeks, Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets!, Blue's Clues, and The Backyardigans will each get their turn in the musical sun with a week apiece of music-themed episodes. The channel will also be premiering Yo Gabba Gabba! videos. Anyway, you get the idea -- lots of music.

Dora the Explorer gets the biggest PR push as it's the one show getting a new episode premiere, "La Maestra de Musica." It debuts on Monday, July 23rd. What's this episode all about? Well, let's go to the press release...

"Boots and Dora walk to school and bump into Boots’ music teacher, La Maestra de Música, who is singing Boots’ favorite song, “Hola, Hola.” When the chain breaks on La Maestra’s bicycle, she needs Dora, Boots and the preschoolers at home to help her figure out the quickest way to get to school..."

Anything more would just spoil the fun, now wouldn't it? (Although I will say, that the episode features the slowest schoolkids I have ever seen. They get to school a good 20 minutes late. Oh, and those snakes are so not scary.)

We've given a screener of the episode of few spins, and it was popular with the younguns. It follows the same template as every other Dora episode, so it's not like this breaks any new ground. In fact, the most fun is Swiper's appearance, in which he doesn't swipe the valuable can't-be-named-here-object, but in which he handles his rejection is with more style and grace than he typically does.

The music itself is perfectly competent, with the "Wheels on the Bus" getting a slight linguistic and contextual makeover. It's not exactly Raffi, though. In fact, what struck me in watching the episode is what nice little songs the hyper theme song and the closing "We Did It!" song are. The opening track in particular is ear-wormy the way few TV theme songs are nowadays. On the other hand, unlike those songs, the songs in this episode actually encourage the kids to sing along. That, by itself, is a good thing.

One final note -- that is not, as I'd first wildly thought (and hoped) upon seeing the image, Laurie Berkner. (Unless she's credited here under a fake name and using an archly stylized singing style.) So I'm just throwing that out there, Viacom, a Dora/Laurie Berkner crossover. It'd be huge.

(Illustration courtesy Nick Jr.)