Review in Brief: Never Mind the Rain - Tracey Eldridge

Never Mind the Rain is the debut album from DC-area musician Tracey Eldridge, but she's been making kids music for a couple decades now.

Perhaps that helps explain the evident care and craft that's gone into the CD, a collection of kids' pop originals that traverses many musical styles, from the big band sounds of "Tommy Builds a Band / Tommy's Big Parade" (which mixes in snippets of "When the Saints Go Marching In") to the boogie woogie of "Buzzy Bumblebee."

Eldridge will occasionally include spoken-word intros to songs, and on some songs she's clearly try to teach something about the world at large. It's all well-done, but not everybody will groove to that approach, so that's my warning for ya. Personally, I preferred the slightly more offbeat and less message-oriented songs, like the goofy "Corn Chips" (a tribute to the very goofy Slim Gaillard, known for his song "Potato Chips," among others), "Oh, Zydeco" (on which Eldridge channels fellow DC-area musician Mary Chapin Carpenter), or "Beware of the Wily 'Ol Crocodile," where Eldridge cedes lead vocals on a very Grinchian track to her producer and musical partner Mookie Siegel.

The songs are most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear samples at Eldridge's website or the album's CDBaby page.

I know my audience well enough to know that this album won't be the favorite of every family looking for new music. But Never Mind the Rain is a collection of, well, sunny, positive, and occasionally educational kids music of every genre and there will be a few families that find that combination wonderful.

Contest: Win Ralph's World / House of Blues Tour Tickets

Sure, you've had your chance to win tickets for the upcoming Ralph's World tour of House of Blues venues across the United States.

But you haven't had a chance to provide Ralph suggestions as to what he should play during this, the first tour of a kids music artist in House of Blues venues (including San Francisco's Fillmore and Portland's Aladdin Theatre). Kinda cool, no?

So, here are the rules. By 8 PM MST Thursday, January 25, in the comments below list which city you'd like to see Ralph's World in and the three songs your family would like to see the band play. (If you want to explain why, go ahead!)

The winner will be picked at random and notified at the e-mail address you provide when you make the comment. The winner will receive 4 tickets to the concert of his or her choice on the tour below. Four tickets! Sweet!

If you don't win (or even if you do), you can get more info on the tour and order tickets by clicking on the link below.

2/3/2007 House of Blues Anaheim, CA
2/4/2007 Fillmore San Francisco,CA
2/10/2007 House of Blues San Diego, CA
2/11/2007 Aladdin Theatre Portland,OR
2/17/2007 House of Blues West Hollywood,CA
2/18/2007 Moore Theatre Seattle,WA
2/24/2007 House of Blues Las Vegas,NV
2/25/2007 Boulder Theater Boulder, CO
3/3/2007 House of Blues Chicago, IL
3/4/2007 Somerville Theatre Somerville,MA
3/10/2007 House of Blues Cleveland,OH
3/11/2007 Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia,PA
3/17/2007 House of Blues - Orlando Lake Buena Vista, FL
3/18/2007 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
3/24/2007 House of Blues - Music Hall New Orleans,LA
3/25/2007 The Pageant St. Louis, MO

Review: Taxi - David Weinstone (Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals)

Nearly ten years ago, New York City musician (and parent) David Weinstone, dissatisfied with assorted kids music programs, decides to start one of his own. The result, Music For Aardvarks and Other Mammals, became a popular program in its own right in New York City, even expanding beyond New York City.

Over those nearly ten, Weinstone's put together 10 CDs of original material to accompany the classes. This week sees the release of Taxi, one of three compilations of material from the first 10 CDs. (It reflects favorites of both Weinstone and class attendees.)

I decided deliberately to listen to Taxi without finding out more about how the songs were used in MFA classes because I think the purpose of these CDs is to introduce the music to a much wider audience -- people like me who've never stepped foot inside a MFA class. So the question becomes, how does this hold up as an album?

And the answer is, pretty good. Weinstone is definitely willing to write directly to kids' interests -- getting candy at the end of a doctor's visit in "Lollipop Doc" or the eternal fascination of the belly button in "Belly Button Song". But that wouldn't mean much if he weren't able to wrap those topics in appealing lyrics and a diverse range of musical styles. "Dirt," for example, folds lines such as "I like dirt. / Dirt's what I dig. / I like pokin' around, / with a big old twig" into a loping, brass-band march. "Have You Seen My Nose?" mixes silly lyrics about discovering one's nose (and mouth) with a laid-back Brazilian melody. "Big Boom Whacker" is a nonsensical synth-heavy tune that survives an Ah-nuld reference. My favorite track, "Ruby's Friends," is a folky waltz about pretending. (And I haven't even mentioned the Santana riff.)

This isn't to say you can't tell the album's music class origins. Songs such as "Big Old Tree" and "Tango" have class participation and movement written all over them. And the "Hello" and "Goodbye" songs -- required for any kids music class -- are here, too. (They're perfectly fine to listen to.) But they don't overwhelm the album -- you could listen to them having never attended an MFA class and not feel puzzled.

I think the album's most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 7. You can hear snippets of all the songs at the album's CDBaby page.

While there are no songs here that absolutely stand out as immediate kids' songs classics, Taxi is a strong collection of kid-appropriate and parent-friendly songs. Whether you're hearing these repeatedly between MFA classes or occasionally in the CD changer, you'll probably find them worth your family's time. Recommended.

18 + 8 = ?

This entry has nothing to do with kids music. No Laurie, no Barney, no Wiggles, no Ralph. (Really, I tried to think of a way to tie them in, and nothing clicked, short of using song titles that were a particular stretch.)

So click below only if you want to read about, well, you'll just have to find out...
Early last year I decided to run a marathon.

Of course, if I knew that the Sunday morning I would be running the marathon would be coldest morning in Phoenix in more than sixteen years, I might have reconsidered my decision, but who expected freezing temperatures in Phoenix? "Average Race Day Temp.," the website says -- 40 degrees Fahrenheit. And that, frankly, probably understated it by 3 or 4 degrees thanks to the urban heat island effect. Who knew it would hit 29 degrees?

I know, 29 degrees is not cold -- I've been outside in 29 degrees below zero -- but one is typically not expected to wear shorts in such weather.

But there I was with 11,000 other marathoners waiting for the sun to rise and for us to start running, which might actually help us warm up.

Once we took off, it was surprising how cold I didn't actually feel. It was certainly brisk, but I had a couple layers of shirts, a headband, gloves, and long pants on over my shorts. So I felt OK, which made for a bit of a shock when I passed a photography store temperature gauge which read 32 degrees. Oh, OK.

The first six miles went well. I saw my wife and kids, who had a few friends from the neighborhood (the route went right past it), and shedded more clothes than I'd originally anticipated. The second best part of the day for me, though I know it couldn't have been fun for people to stand in the same weather I was running in. The next six also went OK as I continued to run along streets I drive down weekly if not daily. Even the third six miles weren't too bad, though I began to slow down a bit.

And then I hit the wall. Now, I'd run a half-marathon before and had sort of hit a wall at the 10-mile point, but this was worse, where I simply had to stop running for a while. I was amused (darkly) by the people shouting "Looking good!" because however I looked (I was moving forward), "good" would have been about #5,693 on the list of words I'd've used to describe myself at the moment. Someone else (who was running, I think) shouted, "Pain is temporary, but the memory lasts forever," which is one of those aphorisms that sounds motivating before the race and consoling after the race but which sounds like a bunch of cow manure during the race. The pain might be temporary but at the moment it was, well, real.

Before the race I'd mentioned to a couple people that I thought it might be cool to run some big-city marathons to see parts of cities you might not see otherwise -- San Francisco, perhaps, or Chicago. Well, it was a good thing that I've been to Scottsdale and Tempe many, many times, because I didn't really see anything except the quarter-mile ahead of me (if I wasn't just staring at the ground).

As painful as it was, I think I was basically running 12-minute miles during those last 8 miles, as compared to the 9 1/2-10-minute miles I ran the first 2/3rds of the race. (Of course, that was a 12-minute mile when I was running. I walked every mile or so.)

And, then, before I knew it, I turned the corner, Sun Devil Stadium loomed above me, and the finish line was 500 feet away. I sprinted across the finish line, and it was over. Not that I was entirely coherent. After winding through all the lines you have to go through (medal, timing chip, picture, goodie bag, food), I saw someone I knew waiting for his wife at the exit area. He recognized me, and noted that I looked a bit dazed. I told him that Sun Devil Stadium could have been burning, and I would have simply nodded "OK. It's burning."

So that was my day Sunday. I'm glad I ran the marathon. I don't know if I'd ever train for another one, but I remember hearing somewhere that pain is temporary, but the memory lasts forever. That sounds nice, don't you think?

Readers Who Need Readers: Tom Glazer

A reader has sent me this request:

"As a kid my sister and I had many of Tom Glazer's records ("Music Ones and Twos", "Let's Sing Finger Plays" and a few others) but I have been unable to find any CDs by Tom Glazer for my twin daughters. I know he is dead now. But who owns the rights to his old recordings and are they available?"

I really only knew Tom Glazer as the performer on three of the Singing Science records from the late 1950's/early 1960's. (If you are a They Might Be Giants fan, you must immediately click on the link above.)

I've ordered a couple of the disks off eBay, and got something which was, well, it didn't look like it was a fully authorized version. (Whether it did or did not pass intellectual property requirements I will leave to other, more qualified kids' music writers to determine.)

This guy may be able to help the reader, but how about you... any thoughts?

(Bonus link: Time magazine's recommendations for the best in kids' music... in 1960.)