Video: "Electric Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" - They Might Be Giants

So a couple months after I post a video for "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" from They Might Be Giants, the band decides to release another version of the song and a video to match. It's "Electronic Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and as you might expect, there are enough bleeps and bloops for an entire season of Bobby Knight basketball and major league baseball. I think I prefer the original song (and video), but this one's got its own zip.

(And, yes, I'm still singing the song to Miss Mary Mack.)

They Might Be Giants - "Electric Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" [YouTube]

54th GRAMMY Nominations: Best Children's Album

First, let's get the technical stuff out of the way -- here is the list of the nominees for Best Children's Album, with the winner to be announced Feb. 12:

All About Bullies... Big And Small - Various Artists (James Cravero, Gloria Domina, Kevin Mackie, Steve Pullara & Patrick Robinson, producers)
Are We There Yet? - The Papa Hugs Band
Fitness Rock & Roll - Miss Amy
GulfAlive - The Banana Plant
I Love: Tom T. Hall's Songs of Fox Hollow - Various Artists (Eric Brace & Peter Cooper, producers)

OK, now that I have that out of the way.

WHAT???!?

Now, let it first be said that I totally expected the GRAMMYs' decision to combine 2 children's categories into one to spell a death knell for independent artists. I was obviously completely wrong, seeing as all five nominees are independently produced. So make of that what you will regarding my understanding of the GRAMMY process.
Let me then say (as I said last night on Facebook) congratulations to all the nominees. I'm sure it feels incredible, and I would guess that all the folks involved have put a tremendous amount of effort into not only these albums but also their careers. For example, I met Amy Otey - AKA Miss Amy, one of the nominees -- at Kindiefest last year and I know that she and her husband Alex are a) nice people, and b) committed to what they do.

I don't think it's a contradiction in terms, however, if I say in the very next breath that this list in many ways has nothing to do with kids music today. I can be glad for the individual nominees without thinking that it is a group particularly reflective of the genre.

Now, I don't like confrontations, and so if it sounds like I'm stepping on eggshells, well, I probably am. I received e-mails from a number of different folks who were... less delicate than I in expressing their... frustration with the list. That's why I (almost literally) slept on this post to make sure the cold light of day wouldn't change my feelings or moderate my thoughts.

It hasn't.

For the record, if I were to choose my favorite of the nominees, it would be the Tom T. Hall tribute. (I did, after all, review the album favorably for NPR.) Also, I've only heard four of the albums (sorry, Papa Hugs). But my concern with the list is not necessarily that the albums I really liked weren't nominated. It's more that it's hard to characterize that list as fully reflecting kids music today.

It's not that the Wiggles are anywhere near my first choice to be nominated, but there's no doubt that the "kids these days" are still listening to the multi-colored men from Down Under. I'd hate to see that getting nominated for (or winning) a GRAMMY once is the de facto way to get nominated again, but from that perspective, Beethoven's Wig or Dan Zanes or Trout Fishing in America would seem to be at least up for consideration. What about TV shows like Jake and the Never Land Pirates? All of those artists are folks who tour nationally (or whose show is shown nationally), whose music should have been exposed (or at least potentially exposed) to a wide variety of families in different settings.

I know that at least a couple of the albums tangentially address those concerns. The I Love album is a compilation with a number of nationally-known artists. But it's also an album made by folks who don't typically record for kids and probably won't again. (The fact that it is a tribute album to a famous kids' album does ameliorate the concern there.) The All About Bullies... album -- in which, I should note, I was thanked in the liner notes -- does feature a wide of kindie artists who have lent (mostly previously-released) tracks to the project or have recorded spoken-word tracks. But the compilation nature of the album makes it an odd bird -- it's more like a movie soundtrack that pulls in some popular tracks to fill out the original work.

Last year, when They Might Be Giants were nominated along with Pete Seeger and Justin Roberts, as well as the Battersby Duo and Judy Pancoast, I at least thought that it represented the genre decently -- might not have been the best five albums in my view, but it combined veterans with newer artists, everyone with at least some participation in the genre. And there was a palpable sense of rooting interest for Roberts on the part of many other kids' musicians, a recognition that Jungle Gym was a special album and should be considered against the juggernaut that is one of my two or three favorite bands in the world (They Might Be Giants) and a living legend (that would be Pete).

When Pete Seeger won last year for Tomorrow's Children, it was not for his best work. It was a competently-produced album, but he won because he sang about pollution with kids, and, more importantly, he's Pete freakin' Seeger. The man should have so many GRAMMYs he's using them as key holders. So it's hard to begrudge him the win. But it, like Kids Corner's Kathy O' Connell has pointed out about all this year's nominees, seemed designed more about the "good work" of the theme rather than organically about musical expression.

For better or worse, this year's nominees have no "must-hear" album, the album that musicians -- who make up the largest component of the GRAMMY voting base -- raved about all year. Just as importantly, this year's nominees have no star or even semi-big name in the kids' world in the list. Any one of the nominees as part of a broader nominee list would have been acceptable, even healthy. But the list taken as a whole seems pretty detached from who's making kids music these days.

Even if you accept my argument that the nominee list isn't reflective of the kids music genre as a whole, the real question is, so what?

If you don't like the GRAMMYs, then ignore them. But the fact remains that the GRAMMYs are still the biggest recognition of music in the country. It does, in some small way, affect perceptions of music, no matter the genre. There are tens of thousands of artists who would dream of holding a GRAMMY, probably in part because they want the recognition of their peers and because they've seen musicians they and many others look up to also holding a tiny, shiny gramophone. While the nominee list would give encouragement to other artists that they, too, could be nominated for a GRAMMY, it seems less likely that the albums themselves would encourage other artists to make albums that should be nominated for a GRAMMY.

Review: The Loog Guitar

I was intrigued by the idea of Loog Guitars from the first time I saw Rafael Atijas' Kickstarter proposal this spring to manufacture a high-quality three-string guitar sized for kids (but playable for adults) intended to be assembled by both kids and adults.

How intrigued? Well, to begin with, I interview Atijas about the Loog. And then I became a backer of the project.

After some manufacturing delays -- which is one thing that Kickstarter has laid bare for a number of projects I've backed -- the guitars became production realities this fall, and sure enough last month a large package arrived.

I -- along with Little Boy Blue -- finally got a chance to assemble the Loog and play with it a bit and I thought you'd be interested in the process and some thoughts from my (our) hands-on with the guitar.

Despite the comparatively large shipping box, the actual product box is pretty reasonably-sized. That's it, right there -- kinda elegant, especially when you realize that the product box doubles as a guitar case. A cardbox guitar case, but a sturdy one nonetheless, and a heck of a lot more protective than, say, a cheap gig bag you might get with a $40 ukulele.

After using a knife to cut through the various tape seals around the box, open the box itself. What you see inside are various components wrapped in bags or protective foam along with a couple small brochures (one is provides a parts list and assembly instructions, the other gives basic playing advice). It's not quite Apple-elegant in its packaging -- I'd put it at maybe IKEA-level -- but it's been designed with some thought (exactly how so I'll get to later).

One comment: we ordered the "Loog II" body, the classic electric guitar shape. There's also a rectangular body (more like a cigar-box-shaped guitar) and a triangular body, but my recollection from the Kickstarter updates from Atijas is that the electric guitar shape was by far the most popular.

Once you've unwrapped and unpackaged all the items and laid them out on a family room rug in a slightly obssessively organized fashion, they might look like this. Those are five colors of pick guards on the left, the main body at the lower right, with the neck above it, and the rest of the various components between them.

The first thing you're asked to do is to screw the three tuning pegs into the top of the neck. You get six very tiny screws, and here's where the idea of building this guitar with your kids can break down a bit. Little Boy Blue is a kindergartner and besides that his strength and fine motor skills aren't as good as some of his peers. Which makes screwing a tiny little screw into solid wood -- even in pre-dilled holes -- somewhat difficult. I didn't bother getting out a cordless screwdriver for this, but even if I had, I think the drill bits would have been too large for these particular screws.

Next step: inserting the strap buttons into the guitar body. Relatively easy (slide the screw into the button, slip a felt washer over the end, and screw into the top and bottom of the body), and the size of the screws are a little larger, but again, screwing into wood is not the easiest thing in the world for little kids. And since the instructions repeatedly warned against overtightening the screws, using a cordless screwdriver wasn't a good option, particularly with kids.

Even this early in the process, I was impressed with the build quality of the guitar -- not once in the process did I have a problem with a misdrilled hole, for example.

Step 3 was inserting the tailpiece into the guitar body. Again, more screwdriver use on tiny screws. It might have been at this point that Little Boy Blue finally gave up helping as the manual dexterity required was exceeding his skills.

Next up, the bridge, which in our box came pre-assembled with the "saddle" (the white part) already inserted into the bridge. I actually assembled the guitar, then loosened the strings and flipped over the saddle because it looked like maybe there was a right side up (which was not up when we got it out of the box). I'm not sure about that, though.

After inserting the bridge, we had to attach the neck into the guitar body. We ordered a 21" neck, though a 24" neck is also available for the model. The neck is inserted into the notch on the body, and the (long) screws are screwed in the back through a metal plate washer with the Loog logo. Again the build quality was noticeable as the screws fit perfectly into the plate washer.

Finally -- and by "finally," I mean maybe 15-20 minutes after I started including the occasional interruption -- it was time to wind the strings onto the guitar. You tied one end of the (low) nylon A string into a small knot, ran it through the tailpiece and up through the tuners, then turned the tuners until it was tuned (relatively) properly. Repeat with the other two strings (D and G). Go ahead and add one of the snap-in plastic pickguards, and you have an honest-to-goodness electric-looking acoustic 3 string guitar.

Very cool.

After finding a guitar strap and putting it on the guitar, it was time to play.

While I am no guitar expert -- I'm barely even a novice -- I do think the guitar has a pleasant sound. There's a limit to the pleasantness of the nylon strings' sound, but the guitar sounds (and looks) miles better than a random $40 or $50 "toy" or introductory guitar. (Of course, it should for the three figures you're paying for the guitar.) It is not hard to picture serious guitar players wanting to play this instrument, not necessarily full-time, but at least as a pleasant novelty. Less-serious players may enjoy it even more.

The second brochure included with the guitar, as I noted above, provides some guidelines for playing the guitar. "Level I" is Open A tuning (A-E-A), which provides a nice major chord (minus the III note) which means if you're playing a single-finger chord (i.e., your finger is barred across all 3 strings), it always sounds good. "Smoke on the Water" guitar riff FTW! The instructions then provide guidance for playing power chords (Level II: A-D-G) and standard chords (Level III: G-B-E).

One of the (non-kid-related) reasons I was interested in the Loog was precisely the 3-string nature of the instrument. While the strings relate to the guitar -- Level II is equivalent to the 5th, 4th, and 3rd strings of a guitar while Level III matches the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings -- it is simpler to master, or at least learn. Rather than needing to remember finger placement for six strings, I (or Little Boy Blue or Miss Mary Mack) only need to learn 3.

Now, based on some initial playing on Little Boy Blue's part, it will take him a little while to figure out how to play chords of more than one finger, so I'm planning on keeping the guitar tuned to Level I for the most part for now. And frankly, even Level II will take some while for me to master. (Hey, I'm a violin player -- I'm not used to playing chords.) But he totally looks like a little rockstar when he drapes the guitar strap over his neck.

The downsides to the instrument I've noticed thus far are pretty minimal:
-- As I noted above, only older kids are probably going to be able to assist in its construction in any meaningful way.
-- The distance between the top strap button and the neck made it very difficult to put on the guitar strap we had in the house.
-- The product box doubles as a guitar case (and a decent one at that). The cardboard fits pretty snug around the guitar, which is great... as long as you don't have a guitar strap on it.

Really, the biggest downside isn't really a downside, just a fact of life -- it's not cheap. Right now it's selling for $199, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that price go up before it hopefully comes down as a result of production scales of economy. So it's not cheap. But the difference between that and a $40 introductory guitar is immediately noticeable -- this is a guitar I fully expect to be used in our house for ten or twenty years or more. All I can say is that I think you get $199 worth of guitar, and if you're willing and able to spend that much money, I think you'll be very pleased with the Loog.

As I (and Little Boy Blue and Miss Mary Mack) play with the guitar some more, I'll be sure to post an update regarding its use and our adventures in learning how to play the Loog. All I can say is, I'm glad it's in our home.

Video: "To the Moon" - The Mighty Buzzniks

A gorgeous new video from Australian band The Mighty Buzzniks. It's for "To the Moon," from their recent release Bug Out. Directed and animated by Kate Cawley, who appears to be in line to draw the moon when Harold and his purple crayon actually find it. A driving rock song for preschoolers with a fun video to match.

The Mighty Buzzniks - "To the Moon" [Vimeo]

Create a Family Band for $100 (Musical Instruments for Families)

If you've read this site for any length of time, you know that I just as interested in making music yourself as I am in finding excellent and cool music for kids. Singing hymns, singing in other groups, playing ukulele, getting ukulele lessons from Dan Zanes -- yeah, it's all a part of a musical life.

So with holidays associated with gift-giving coming up, I've decided to put together a list of instruments that would cost you roughly $100 and allow a family of all ages and sizes to make music together. Now, don't get me wrong, it's perfectly OK to make your own instrument -- I've been known to make my own drum set -- but over time I've noticed that our kids (or we adults) don't tend to use those paper-plate shakers. It's a useful process to know how to make those sorts of things when you're 3 years old, but I also think it's important to have high-quality instruments.

What have I excluded in putting together this list?
1) A place to store all this stuff: We have a couple of big, lined wicker baskets we got from Target that, if I recall correctly, probably cost around $10 each.
2) Accessories: Depending on what you get, you may need (or want) to get tuners, mallets, or bags.
3) Songbooks: This topic deserves a whole separate post on its own. You don't need a songbook, but there are times -- more often than you think -- when you will realize you know exactly one line of a song and that's all. Or need chords to go along with the words.
4) Books on making music: I'd recommend Nerissa & Katryna Nields' All Together Singing in the Kitchen, particularly if you've not made music before yourself, but there are obviously many ways to learn how to play just about any instrument.
5) Large, expensive instruments: Pianos are great, but even the cheapest piano on Craigslist will spend your entire budget. Full-sized guitars or Loog guitars will also generally exceed the $100 limit. My goal with this list is to get your family enough musical diversity to get y'all to the point where you want to learn to play the piano or guitar or violin or drum set.

To make my $100 limit more practical, I aimed for a $90 list of instruments on Amazon, giving you room, therefore, for shipping costs, pricing variability, or, should you decide to shop at your local music store (also a good bet), sales tax and local pricing variability. If you want more than the Basics, I've made a few suggestions for Extra instruments should your interest or budget allow.

Ready? Good, let's begin.
Let's start out with rhythm instruments, which you can almost not have enough of. They'll probably be the first instruments infants and toddlers gravitate to -- what is a baby rattle but a simple shaker? -- and even the person who considers themselves most out of musical practice can handle these.

** Shakers ** ($12)
Basics
Egg shakers: 2 @ $2 each -- high quality plastic ones are fine. We've got one of the more expensive wood ones and find them to be way too quiet and mellow.
Animal shakers: Set of 3 for $8 -- You don't strictly need these, but we love the way they look. They look like toys but feel comfortable in the hand and make a satisfying sound.
Extras
Maracas: $5 for a mini-pair (essentially egg shakers on a stick) or $7 for a bigger pair.
Rain sticks: You can spend anywhere from $5 for a very small one to more than $50 for one that will be taller than your kids. Stand them up straight, and let the beans or rice inside float down and make a soothing rain-like sound. They're not for making symphonies, but they're pleasant to listen to

** Bells ** ($7)
Basics
Jingle (cluster) bells: $7 -- gives you the jingly sound
Extras
Wrist jingle bells: $3 -- toddlers too young to carry around cluster bells for an extended period of time will probably like these, which wrap around a wrist and fasten with velcro.
Tambourines: I've never been a big tambourine fan, but they make a jangly sound that can be popular with some kids. We have a Jambourine that is a bit small for adult hands, but just right for kids.

** Drums/Sticks ** ($17)
Basics
Rhythm sticks: 2 pairs @ $2/pair = $4 -- In each pair there's one with ridges and one smooth. Use them together to make a guiro-like sound. Use the 2 smooth ones you'll have as drum sticks. (Or don't, depending on the rules of your household.)
Lollipop drum - Lollipop drum: $13 -- this makes a nice, satisfying sound, but not too loud of one. Unless it's repeated over and over and over. But, really, if you're going to have a drum, this is a nice, portable one to have.
Extras
Bongos: We really liked these First Act Bongos, but they appear to have been discontinued. These Remo bongos appear to be of similar quality and price, so they may be a useful substitute. We liked the sound that the First Act bongos made but the one drawback to any bongo (or just about any drum without a neck strap) is that you can't walk around the house with them. Which is why I went with the lollipop drum above.
Guiros: $9: You can get a plastic guiro, but I've never been totally pleased with the sound of those. Better to spend more on a wood or metal one, or a cute animal one. (We have this hedgehog guiro.)
Triangle: $4 -- They're OK. They make a nice clear sound. But you better be prepared to find replacement string to serve as a triangle holder or your kids will wail away at the triangle... while holding onto it with their fist. Tends not to work out so well that way.

Now that you've got a rhythmic base, let's get some melody in there. Well, in a lot of cases, it won't start out as melodic -- or at least practiced -- at all. But it's important to have some notes.

** Wind instruments ** ($14)
Basics
Harmonica: $5 -- you can get a kajillion different harmonicas anywhere, and just about any of them will do. I don't suggest getting a "kids" version of a harmonica (First Act has one, for example) -- just get 'em the real thing. Cheaper and better.
Recorder: $5 -- again, there are a lot of them out there. Here's a recorder that seems to have earned good ratings.
Kazoo: 2 @ $2 apiece -- Don't bother with cheap, plastic ones. Spend $2 (or $3) to get one (or two, actually to get one of slightly higher quality.
Extras
Slide whistle: $2 -- I find slide whistles somewhat annoying. But the kids like 'em a bunch. Definitely not required, and it'll be way beyond the ability of most kids to make anything remotely resembling a melody. But that's your (and my) problem, not theirs, 'cause to them, they're just making music.

The math wizards among you will see that we've spent $50 thus far for 13 instruments (assuming that a pair of drum sticks counts as one). We've got $40 left, and while I've got some suggestions, how you choose to spend these last $40 depends is dependent in part upon personal preference and your family situation. If you just have one child, you may find it easier to buy one nice musical instrument. Or you may want to be able to play with your child -- instead of getting one slightly nicer ukulele, you may choose to get two super-cheap ones. It's up to you. So consider these last suggestions mix-and-match.

** Other instruments** (Up to $40)
Basics
Ukulele: $38 -- Ukuleles are easy to hold. While I was favorably impressed with a First Act Discovery guitar (for the price, anyway), I find ukuleles easier to play, easier to hold, and just more friendly. We bought a Makala ukulele for Little Boy Blue earlier this year and he's played with it more than the guitar. It's no Dan Zanes ukulele or Loog guitar, quality-wise, but it's decent. If quality isn't an issue for you, you could instead buy two of these Mahalo ukuleles for a total of $44.
Accordion: $18: I know, the accordion sounds like a complicated instrument, but a dedicated elementary school student could master at least a few tunes fairly quickly. I really liked a First Act Discovery accordion, but it doesn't seem to be available anymore. You could try this Hohner toy accordion, but I offer no guarantees for its quality.
Xylophone/glockenspiel: There are so many ways you can go with this -- xylophones and mallets from Fisher-Price or Hohner, a xylophone/piano for toddlers from Little Tikes, or something a little more sturdy (and likely to be played by your kids after they've outgrown the brightly-colored plastic). In my experience, the wood ones are not nearly as bright-sounding, which may be a bonus for you.
Resonator blocks: We have an A and a D block, which sound pleasant played together or in sequence. Amazon only has a full set (for $55), but you should be able to find individual blocks for $10 to $15 apiece elsewhere.