Do the Gilmore Girls Use Squeegees?

Apparently yes.

Word from the California-based band The Squeegees that their song "Making Noises" will be included in the Tuesday, Feb. 20th episode of Gilmore Girls. One wonders if it will be played straight or if it will be the subject of some arch pop-cultural reference. (I was under the impression that a great deal of that show resulted in an arch pop-cultural reference, but perhaps I'm wrong.)

In any case, you can hear a sample of the track here. I think it's somewhat atypical of the band's self-titled debut (on which the song is found) -- the squeaky voice reminds me a little bit of those funky alien dolls from Toy Story and Toy Story 2.

[Update: Download the video here.]

Review: My Green Kite - Peter Himmelman

It is probably accurate, though way too simple, to characterize Peter Himmelman as a "singer-songwriter." Meaning, I've always thought of "person with a guitar singing very personal songs" when I think of "singer-songwriter," and while Himmelman does sing some very personal songs, "person with a guitar" is not at all a fair description of what Himmelman does musically.

One listen to My Green Kite, Himmelman's fourth album for kids and families, and his first for Rounder Records, will make that abundantly clear. The album, released tomorrow, continues Himmelman's wildly creative approach to both music and lyrics. But unlike, say, My Fabulous Plum, which had some strong songs, but was so all over the map that it was hard to get into the album, on Kite Himmelman has dialed back that anything-goes approach just enough to create an album of slightly-more-accessible songs. The result is fabulous.

More so than most kids' lyricists, Himmelman has a gift for putting a new frame on an old picture. On the opening track "Feet", for example, Himmelman creates a Sgt. Pepper's-like ode to, well, feet, encouraging the listener to consider their own feet. (In the liner notes, Himmelman says, "Sometimes people forget about their feet. They are so used to thinking about their eyes, or their ears, or their hair.") Himmelman asks the '80s-synth-pop question "Have You Every Really Looked At An Egg?" and, well, I probably haven't. (So thank you, Peter.)

Himmelman also tells fantastical and imaginative stories, such as on the great pop-rocker title track, about a kite that just keeps flying higher and higher. "Another Bite of Hay" is the best kids' song about that didn't make it on to Bruce Springsteen's early albums. (That it happens to feature a bull, a cow, and a mule seems incidental in nature.) But Himmelman doesn't ignore realistic lyrics either, nailing parental indecisiveness on the Van Morrison-like "Maybe Is A Bad Word" and penning a sweet tribute to his father on "My Father's An Accountant." (And the slow rap "Nothin' To Say" is just fun wordplay.)

I think kids ages 5-9 are most likely to respond to the song subjects and lyrics here. You can hear samples at any major internet retailer (it's good to have Rounder's distribution network!)

This is a fantastic album, chock-full of great tunes and production, with lyrics that sometimes speak directly to kids' daily lives and other times fire their imaginations. It'll make you smile and make you think. I know it's early in the year, but with My Green Kite Peter Himmelman has recorded an album on my short list of favorite albums for 2007. Highly recommended.

Exclusive: Terrible Twos E-Card

Want to hear the first three songs from The Terrible Twos' debut album If You Ever See An Owl? Well, I'm happy to introduce to the world this e-card, courtesy of Vagrant/Poquito Records.

The album, from The New Amsterdams getting all kids' music on us, is getting a national release on April 10 and the e-card lets you listen to the first three tracks from the CD, "Ladybug," "When I Get To Eleven," and "We Can All Get Along With Dinosaurs," in their entirety. Take a listen, and pass it on. Your friends and your friends' kids will thank you.

(And if you don't understand the fuss, read the review or listen to more songs here.)

One More SXSW Kids Music Artist. Sort Of.

Just in case you get into Austin early for the Saturday Town Lake Kids' Show (and, no, folks, "Mastodon" is most definitely not a kids-friendly band about dinosaurs), you can also hear Uncle Rock (or at least his real alter ego, Robert Burke Warren) on a panel discussing kids' music. Also on the panel, rock journalist Holly George-Warren (the panel's big draw, who has also written a kids' book on country music and happens to be Robert's wife), and a Razor & Tie label representative.

I do hope, at the very least, that at least the panelists will refrain from using the phrase "junior hipster."

Review: Grace's Bell - Ben Rudnick & Friends

It's fair to say that a lot of the attention trained on the "new" breed of kids' musicians has been on the rock/pop genre. (I use "new" advisedly, because we all know that there's no such thing as an overnight sensation, especially in kids' music.) Which is somewhat unfair to musicians like Massachusetts-based Ben Rudnick & Friends, who've spent most of the past decade playing rootsier music, spending as much time with, say, bluegrass as with pop.

Well, on their fifth and recently-released album Grace's Bell, Rudnick and the band show no signs of changing their approach. They continue playing songs that wander down the backroads of family-friendly music. From the opening track "My Name is Ben," which reworks "Old MacDonald" into a twangy band introduction to the uptempo clarinet-accented rendition of the classic "When the Saints Go Marching In," the album often sounds like it comes from a world untouched by American Idol or high-definition televsion.

The album's primary strength is Rudnick's band, a talented group of instrumentalists that give the songs a thoroughly professional (though definitely not overproduced) sheen. The band just sounds good, unsurprising given the band's live reputation. When married to good songs such as the poppy "Vowels" or the world/country "Cowgirl Song" (featuring some nifty pedal steel work from New Riders of the Purple Sage's Buddy Cage), the effect is thrilling. My favorite track is the loping "Tuba Tune," which features a full brass backing band, of course -- it seems like there might be room for it in a second line parade somewhere in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. If there was anything that kept me from completely being overwhelmed, it was that sometimes the band jammed on too long on songs that just weren't as strong as those mentioned above. "Chet's Fabulous Diner," for example, just doesn't earn the 5-plus minutes it's given here.

I'd peg the album as being most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 9. You can hear samples either at Rudnick's website or the album's CD Baby page.

With Grace's Bell, Ben Rudnick and Friends have recorded an album of traditional and band favorites in their rootsy Americana style. If you have any interest in these more traditional styles performed with vigor and energy, you'll definitely want to check this album out, and even those weaned on a more rock/pop diet will probably find enough tracks worth singing along or dancing to. Recommended.