Monsters of Kids’ Rock
There must be something in the air that is making all the kids’ music superstars release new videos right about now.
First up is the newly released Dan Zanes and Friends The Fine Friends are Here! Now, as far as I can tell, to become a “fine friend” of Dan Zanes you must be a supremely talented musician, and it helps to be bilingual. This concert video was shot at the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn, and a good time was had by all. Dan Zanes fans will enjoy the video (and it’ll really make you want to go see a live show), but the music itself has a broader reach–it’s more family music than kids’ music, like the kind of music you’d put on while having a margarita while the kids dance and play. My favorite is “Wonder Wheel,” both for the subject matter and lovely tune. The DVD is packed with a bonus CD of sweet bedtime songs, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the DVD benefit the Mario Batali Foundation. (Great. Now I want a margarita AND a plate of pasta.)
Now, would I still love The Jimmies‘ new video collection, Trying Funny Stuff, if they didn’t send me an awesome Jimmies whoopie cushion in the mail? Yes, and I’ll tell you why. I want my girl knowing that chicks can rock. (I have School of Rock dreams for my little one.) The Jimmies’ frontwoman Ashley Albert is clearly having a ball as she belts out songs like “Cool to be Uncool” and “Bedhead”, and the videos are as cool as the songs, with imaginative imagery and a wonderfully excessive use of fake mustaches. Much as I’d like to share one of those rockin’ tunes with you (which you can see here), I’m going to go with “Taddy,” where The Jimmies take it down a notch. I love everything about this video, and the song makes me cry a little.
And finally, you may have heard that a little band called They Might Be Giants has a new DVD called Here Comes Science, a follow-up to Here Come the ABCs and Here Come the 123s. Science is the best of the bunch. The diverse set of science topics makes for some wild and unexpectedly catchy songs. Seriously: “The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma.” Don’t you love it? And can you explain the difference between speed and velocity in ten words or less? Well, with Here Comes Science, you can. Perhaps you’ve already seen the stunning video for “Electric Car”, but I’m partial to the songs that sound more like classic TMBG of my youth, especially “The Bloodmobile” and “How Many Planets?” which shares my lament of Pluto’s lost planetary status.
Dane Zanes and They Might Be Giants are available now, and The Jimmies will be available on November 3.
