Song of the Day: Tricycle - Lunch Money

Lunch Money is a band based in South Carolina. They play lo-fi children's rock and the songs of theirs I've heard create moments of ear-to-ear grins. So do other things, I suppose, but most of those are the result of family joy and not necessarily from children's music.

Their song "Tricycle" creates a lot of grins for me. It's a very simple song, musically -- guitar, drums, and a surfeit of handclaps. It matches an eminently hummable tune with words that have meaning to both the 3-year-old and their 33-year-old parents. "This tricycle was my brother’s tricycle / and that’s why it has this dent in the fender." It's a goofy little song, but it's sooooo much fun.

Listen to three songs off their first album Silly Reflection here.

For another song with handclaps from a band with an occasionally lo-fi aesthetic, listen to the Shins' "Kissing the Lipless" here.

(Hat tip to Bill from Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child for the Lunch Money advocacy.)

News: Want to Listen to the New Dan Zanes Album?

Then get yourself over to Amazon.com's Music Easter Store page, where you can find a stream of Catch That Train!, Dan Zanes' new album, scheduled to be released May 16, 2006. (Windows Media Player required to play, though samples are available for all the tracks in other formats.)

Having listened to the stream, I can say that anybody who's liked Dan Zanes' prior 4 children's music albums will like this one. It's just as good and with further listening may prove to be his best. Early favorite tracks include "Let's Shake," "Loch Lomond" (with Natalie Merchant), and "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister." (Considering Zanes' affiliation with Starbucks and Disney and fears that he'd "sell out," there may be other reasons for selecting that last track.) I would've ordered the CD sound unheard, but I pre-ordered it today.

Anyway, go now.

Review: Every Day Is A Birthday - Brady Rymer

Brady Rymer's 2006 release Every Day Is A Birthday is his fourth CD of children's music. Accompanied by what might just be the best-sounding band in children's music, Rymer delivers a solid batch of songs that will engage both kids and adults.

Brady Rymer was a member of the '90s roots-rock band From Good Homes. On Birthday, he's firmly placed in the AAA (adult album alternative) format, with hints of alt-country, cajun, and Motown thrown in for good measure. Fans of the Wallflowers, Counting Crows, and the Jayhawks will probably enjoy the musical textures here. I also heard not a little bit of Paul Westerberg in the album, both in the melodies and the voice, if not the desperation.

Indeed, Rymer has a thoroughly positive outlook on childhood. Songs like "Look In Your Pocket" and "Diggin' Up a Dinosaur" talk about the power of childhood imagination, while the amusing "Dilly Dally Daisy" and "Keep Up With You" celebrates childhood energy ("Mama needs a hot bath every evening / Loofah sponges, essential oils... / If she's ever gonna keep up with you!"). Some listeners may find some of the slower and quieter songs (such as "Side By Side") a bit too earnest, but that's more an issue of taste -- your "tolerance for mushy," as it were. I personally preferred it when Rymer let the band loose, as in the opening track "Rock 'N' Roll Mother Goose," the cajun-styled Guthrie classic "Little Sacka Sugar," or the rollicking "Mama Don't Allow." (I also could've sworn I heard a bit of a sneer in "Instead of Watching My TV" as if Rymer was telling the child in question to do something instead of watching his TV. But maybe I'm reading too much into that.)

A couple other notes: The album comes with a collection of snippets from the songs to challenge the listener to identify which song which snippet came from. This was harder than I anticipated. Must pay closer attention! It also comes with karaoke versions of three album tracks. This is such a cool idea that I can't believe it hasn't been done before (that I'm aware of). This is really great.

In the end, if you're looking for something more "adult-sounding" than some of the children's pop/rock that's out there, this CD is for you. (My wife, who definitely fits that category, really likes the CD.) It's best for ages 4 to 9. Recommended. Available at the usual online suspects.

News: New Milkshake News, Old Elizabeth Mitchell News

We cover the waterfront here at Zooglobble, news-wise. There is no expiration date for news here -- a week old, a year old -- if I haven't seen it before, I'm willing to pass it on.

I'm especially happy with these two bits of information, because they involve bands/artists in which women play major roles. My wife is happy, too -- upon hearing recently that we'd soon be getting a female-fronted CD -- she said, "About time!" (Or words to that effect.) Guess our female children's artists' section needs beefing up.

Aaaaanyway, the first bit of news comes from PBS Kids, which announces its Earth Day broadcast plans, including:

"the world premiere of three Earth Day-themed music videos from Milkshake, the
award-winning kids' rock band fronted by Lisa Mathews and Mikel Gehl that has
captured the ears – and the hearts - of kids and parents alike. The music
videos, which focus on taking care of the Earth and keeping it clean, were
written exclusively for PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day."

Now, aside from the scary fact that Lisa and Mikel are apparently collecting body parts from people (capturing ears and hearts, folks -- wasn't "Silence of the Lambs" set in the Baltimore area?... hmmm....), this does sound kinda cool. Or, at least, I think this could be right in Milkshake's wheelhouse. Check out "Woo-Woo," off Bottle of Sunshine -- I realize that Milkshake's music definitely tends toward the heartfelt, but isn't that exactly the type of thing you'd expect to hear on Earth Day?

The second bit of news comes from an old article recently posted (and written) by John Mitchell about an Elizabeth Mitchell concert in June 2005. The whole article is a nice piece on Mitchell (Elizabeth, not John), but I'm particularly interested in the information below (emphasis added):

"Mitchell went on to release two more CDs, one with Lisa Loeb, and is now
working on another one. She has begun writing songs specifically for children,
but remains committed to unearthing lost musical treasures."

Well, given how little her website had been updated recently, I'm not surprised she's (in theory) working on another album. (They Might Be Giants and Dan Zanes are also not paying their webmasters enough to keep their websites hopping with new stuff.) Here's hoping the album comes out in 2006.

Song of the Day: Mama Don't Allow - Brady Rymer

One of my favorite kids' books is Mo Willems' Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, which simultaneously manages to capture the mindset of a three-year-old and permits that same three-year-old to yell "No!" repeatedly. It's a safe rebellion for the child, while also allowing him or her to exert control. (It's also now a musical, apparently, but that's a whole different subject.)

The musical equivalent is the traditional "Mama Don't Allow," which allows the listener to do all sorts of things mama (a particularly strict sort) don't normally allow: hand-clappin', foot-stompin' -- you get the idea if you somehow have never heard the song before.

Brady Rymer has a nice version of the song on his latest album, Every Day Is a Birthday. It's uptempo, full of energy, but the part that I really dig (and I why I'm mentioning it here) is when Rymer sings, "Mama don't allow no backup-singin' 'round here," and, sure enough, the backup singers chime in. It's a nice, slightly meta-, slightly humorous moment in a fun version of the song that could easily be no different from countless other versions of the song.

Reminds me a little bit of They Might Be Giants' "Fibber Island," off of -- appropriately enough, given the start of this post -- No!. "Here on Fibber Island / No one sings along," and then the backup singers (or whatever the squeaky voices are) chime in "no one sings along." Just as with Rymer's version, it's a meta-moment that challenges the listener and gives them a little bit of excitement when they figure out what just happened.

You can hear Rymer's version of "Mama Don't Allow" here. And, while we're sending you to CDBaby, you can hear TMBG's "Fibber Island" here.