Here They Come To Save the Day

My wife, daughter, and I went to see Ratatouille this weekend and one of the previews was for a live-action version of the fondly-remembered cartoon Underdog. Based on the preview, the new movie looks -- what's the critical phrase here? -- really crappy. The one and only upside is that a movie about a dog did not use the song "Who Let the Dogs Out?" in the preview. (Really, how did that not happen? The Baha Men must be looking for a new agent right about now.)

Still, the movie's producers are missing a great opportunity here -- the lead single off Austin City Limits Festival band Spoon's awesome awesome awesome album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is entitled "The Underdog." And it rocks. The political subtext will go over the heads of the kids, but it's completely OK for 'em.

In case you haven't heard it, you can hear Spoon play with a horn section of about six dozen on Letterman's show here.

Or watch the original video (with apparently a Daniel Handler -- Lemony Snicket -- cameo at about 2:31) below:

I Love Pots 'n' Pans

... so put another dime in the jukebox, baby.

My latest article for Education.com is up --it's entitled "Make Some Music With Your Family". (Oh, those, oh-so-literal titles. Pesky usefulness.)

Anyway, I don't think any of the tips will be news, especially to music obsessives reading this website, but you can also see my list of 5 great family-music-making songs. Pots and pans have a significant part to play.

The White Stripes Rock It For the Kids

Really. I dig the preschool our kids attend(ed), but it's safe to say the White Stripes never played a secret show for them like they did a couple weeks ago at a Toronto YMCA. The setlist included “Cannon,” “Sugar Never Tasted So Good,” “Apple Blossom,” “We’re Going to be Friends”, “Martyr for My Love for You” and “Hotel Yorba.” Oh, and then kids came up and sang songs -- "Wheels on the Bus" and "I Believe I Can Fly" among the selections.

Y the Y? Well, apparently it came up first when the band's manager searched for "Toronto" and "fun" on the internet.

Oh, and if you haven't seen this, the Stripes' last "secret show" in Canada, this is kinda funny. Make sure you stick around for the crowd chant at the very end.

Review Two-Fer: Greasy Kid Stuff (1 & 2) - Various Artists

Would I be here on the web without Greasy Kid Stuff? Yeah, probably. Would anybody care? Well, I'm not so sure.

Way back in 1995, when Belinda Miller and Hova Najarian started their weekly Saturday-morning "Greasy Kid Stuff" broadcast on WFMU in the New York area, there may have been a number of kids' music shows on the radio, but none were doing what Belinda and Hova did. Sure, they played "kids' music" (cartoon theme songs, the Chipmunks, and a Sesame Street song made their appearance on a randomly-selected playlist from November 1997). But they also re-appropriated kids' songs played byadult artists (Elvis Presley, the Mr. T Experience and Tanya Donnelly/Juliana Hatfield on that same broadcast) and, even more subversively, artists and songs that had never been anywhere near a kids' show. It wasn't just Jonathan Richman -- it was the Phantom Surfers, the Go-Nuts, and Yo La Tengo.

In 2002, Belinda and Hova compiled their first Greasy Kid Stuff collection, filled with their broadcast's most popular songs from 7 years of Saturday-morning radio shows. This collection has a very goofy vibe to it that owes as much of its energy to Dr. Demento as it does 120 Minutes. Finding out from the liner notes that the very odd "There's a New Sound (The Sound of Worms)" was "without a doubt the most-requested song" on the show in the mid-'90s is a bracing tonic in thinking about what kids actually like to hear. Although I think the silly outweighs the rock, even the silly has a lot of rock to it (check out the surf "Ants in My Pants"), and the rock -- exemplified by the Mr. T Experience's cover of "Up and Down" from Schoolhouse Rock and the by-now-immortal "Jockey Monkey" from James Kochalka Superstar.

The sequel, released a couple years later, is more at the 120 Minutes-end of the GKS spectrum. With tracks from Cub, Supernova, and They Might Be Giants, the album has much more of an indie-rock feel. "Dictionary" is another great indie-rock track, done by Muckafurgason (two-thirds of which would later become the kids' band The Quiet Two. But the less-familiar names also turn in enjoyable tracks, most notably the surprisingly sweet (with pointed commentary near the end) "The Dinosaur Song," from Drew Farmer.

Both albums are appropriate for kids of all ages (unless you think kids shouldn't hear the "Mission: Impossible" theme as performed by chickens, then stay away from the original). But I think kids ages 4 through 10 will probably get the most out of the CDs. Samples are available at many fine internet superstores.

It's hard to choose between the two CDs (if, indeed, you have to choose between them), but I think my rough stereotyping above -- Dr. Demento or 120 Minutes is a reasonably fair one. There are some awesome tracks on both CDs and your family will like both, if for perhaps slightly different reasons. With news that a third collection is in the works, Belinda and Hova will get to share their many discoveries with a music world that's, well, finally, sort of, caught up with them. Recommended.

Obligatory conflict-of-interest note, which I forgot to include when originally posting this last night: Belinda and Hova have just started a new Greasy Kid Stuff blog at Offsprung, which is where I post, too. I could've written this review many months ago, long before they even joined the fold, but thought you should know.

Road Trip! (Oh, Wait, We're Flying. Mostly.)

Our family actually spent much of last week in Austin, Texas, where my mom and brother and his family live (and where I spent a number of years growing up). We met my one-and-only nephew for the first time (cute kid), saw the water rushing out of Mansfield Dam as the region recovered from a 50-year-flood, and generally hung out and avoided responsibility. We also lost the keys to the rental car right before we headed back to the airport (note to self: never give keys to your 2-year-old, no matter how desperate you are to occupy him while you finish packing).

Well, that last issue won't be a problem this September when my daughter and I head back to Austin to attend the great Austin City Limits Festival, from September 14 through 16. That's right, Zooglobble goes on the road for the first time. We'll be wandering around, talking to artists at Austin Kiddie Limits, checking out some of the other bands (see my draft and incredibly unrealistic given that I'm traveling with a 6-year-old schedule here), and, assuming that there is a) a press tent, and b) it has a high-speed internet connection, providing some reasonably live coverage of the event.

We've got press passes, housing (thanks, Mom!), and plane tickets. Now, the plane tickets are acutally to Dallas (that's what I get for waiting so long to make reservations), but that'll give me a chance to show the plains of Central Texas to my daughter, who's not been on I-35 before.

Am I missing a band I should check out? Any tips for attending a kids music festival with a 6-year-old? Any of you going to be there? Let me know!