Review in Brief: Asian Dreamland - Various Artists (Putumayo)

The first region-specific release in its Dreamland series, Putumayo's Asian Dreamland collection was released earlier this month with, yes, a collection of lullabies from Asia. Coincidence or not, it's one of the few areas of the world that Ellipsis Arts hasn't covered in its collections of world lullabies.

Although I keep an open set of ears when it comes to music, after more than three decades of listening to it, I've certainly developed some preferences, and one of those is a general indifference to music from Asia. I think it's perhaps the stringed instruments found in many Asian melodies, which may be relaxing to some, but not to me. So it came as little surprise to me that my favorite tracks on this 32-minute disk were those that downplayed the stringed instruments, such as "Cradle Song," from the Tatarstan artis Zulya, or "Aka Tonbo," a Japanese lullaby sung by Aiko Shimada and Elizabeth Falconer. Instrumentals like "Asadoya Yunta," which features a shamisen, a 3-stringed instrument similar to a banjo, were less pleasant to me. As slow as the instrumentals were, they would definitely keep me awak.

But one of the advantages of youth is that the ears of the young haven't developed their prejudices like their stick-in-the-mud dads, and so it's possible your kids will be incredibly relaxed by this collection. At the very least, it's a user-friendly collection of traditional Asian tracks supplemented by Putumayo's always helpful liner notes (you think I could identify a shamisen by myself?) A collection of lullabies, it's most appropriate for kids ages 0 through 6, though I'm sure older kids interested in traditional Asian music would find this a useful starter. Listen to Real Player samples here. Again, this collection is not for everyone, but if you're willing to try something new, Putumayo as usual offers you a good place to start.

KidVid: "Toenail Moon," Wee Hairy Beasties

The Sally Timms-directed video for "Toenail Moon," originally on the Animal Crackers CD (review here), has now been posted to YouTube. It's cute, in a lo-fi, did-the-kids-help-with-some-of-the-decorations-and-sock-puppetry sort of way.

Plus, the song's sweet.

The Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time: Songs 46-50

So here's the first installment of my quixotic attempt to produce a list of the Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time.

In general this list is supposed to produce a list of songs familiar to a wide range of kids, at least in English-speaking North America. (OK, I realize that's not quite so wide.) As we approach #1, the songs are more likely to be "classics," recorded multiple times, and familiar enough to people for them to join in singing spontaneously. Which is not to say that more recent and more recording-focused tunes won't make the list, just that they're probably more the exception than the rule.

And remember, if you haven't entered the contest to pick the top five, go do so now.

Without any further ado, then, here we go...

50. "Bicycle" - The Jellydots: Did I say this song wouldn't make this list? OK, I changed my mind. Of course, a lot of the Jellydots' tunes were written to help teacher guitar to kids, so maybe 20 years from now some 10-year-old kid will jam out on her own guitar to this. (Listen at the Jellydots' Myspace page.)

49. "Tricycle" - Lunch Money: "This tricycle / Was my brother's tricycle / And that's why it has / This dent in the fender." Lunch Money's debut Silly Reflection is a small gem of a CD and I could've picked any one of a half-dozen excellent songs here, but this one is the most accessible and relatable to kids and their parents. (Listen at Lunch Money's lyrics page for "Tricycle".)

48. "Car Car" - Woody Guthrie: Hard to believe this song is, what, 50 years old? Covered by Elizabeth Mitchell on You Are My Sunshine (with a "beep beep" that still makes us swivel our heads every time we listen to it in the car), it's still timely today. (Listen to a sample of Woody's version here.)

47. "Yellow Bus" - Justin Roberts: Roberts is one of the top 2 or 3 crafters of kids pop tunes working today. This track is a fine example of his folk-pop talent merged with his ample sense of humor -- kids and parents might not necessarily sing his music on their own all the time, but they'll definitely sing along. (Listen to a sample here.)

46. "Trot Ol' Joe" - traditional: An excellent example -- the first of many -- of songs that have been shaped through the years to fit slightly different melodies and lyrics. Also an excellent example of songs to combine with physical movements with toddlers. Love the "whoooooaaa, Joe" part.

Final note: Note the common thread here? Yes, all these songs deal with modes of transportation. No, the rest of the list will not be organized quite so neatly.

Review: Newborn / Toddler - Sara Hickman

Austin-based artist Sara Hickman has been making albums for well over 15 years now. I can remember owning a cassette with her self-produced debut Equal Scary People (who knows where that tape resides now?)

Several years ago, Hickman decided to record a kids CD inspired -- of course -- by the birth of her kids. And so in 1999, Hickman released Newborn, a collection of songs for "parents who have trepidation about singing to their newborns." Half collection of lullabies, half something more uptempo, the 40-minute album generally succeeds, usually in more the uptempo parts. A simple swinging version of "A-Tisket A-Tasket" or a gentle reading of Cat Stevens' "Moonshadow" -- pleasant to listen to. And Hickman gives her own "A Slice of Heaven" a nifty a cappella treatment. Less successful are the lullabies. I'm a parent who has no trepidation about singing to my kids, and the lullabies here intimidate me, actually. "It's Alright" is a song Hickman created for her 4-month-old daughter, and while the lyrics are sweet and give great comfort, Hickman's strong voice is a bit overwhelming. Maybe I'm wrong here, but it doesn't sound at all like the way I would sing to a colicky baby -- it's that version that I want to hear. The lullabies are fine (I've heard much worse), but they don't always sound the way lullabies might actually be sung.

Now, if the first album occasionally suffers from a bit of preciousness, Hickman's 2001 follow-up Toddler suffers in no way whatsoever in that regard. In about 43 minutes, Hickman records 31 tracks of silly songs, playground rhymes, and a few stories that do a much better job of showing how simple it can be to just sing for your kids. In writing notes on the CD, I repeatedly used the word "fun" to describe the tracks. From the instant-classic playground chant "I Like My Boots" (co-written by Hickman and 8-year-old Kristen Nichols) to the zippy "Weenie Man" to the ear-wormy melody of Hebrew folk song "Hiney Rakevet," Hickman seems to be having a blast. It's multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and a blast of energy from start to end. Unlike Newborn, Hickman also uses a few more instruments (on both albums, the playing is great).

Sara's choice of album titles makes it remarkably easy for this reviewer to peg the age range, though I'd go a little on the older side, 0-4 for Newborn, and 1-6 for Toddler. You can hear samples and read lyrics for Newborn here and a few samples from Toddler here.

Sara Hickman has crafted a couple nice CDs here. With some sweet melodies, Newborn might make a nice gift for a parent-to-be and is recommended, if only because it's not totally lullaby-driven. But it's Toddler that's definitely recommended -- it's the stronger album and will get much more use owing to the fun evident on the disk.

Cereal For Christmas: A Zooglobble First

Between interviews and other miscellaneous posts, I've been the recipient of much text here on the website authored by other generous people.

Well, in the spirit of this giving season, The Lovely Mrs. Davis gave me the opportunity to be part of her fun series of Christmas-related guest posts, and I gave her some thoughts on the 10, er, 11 Christmas CDs we own. Stop by Amy's site to see our family's nomination for best cereal-related CD ever, among other things. And thanks, Amy!