Songstresses for the Shorter Set
With my sincere apologies to all of the lovely and talented people who have sent me their CDs in the past few months, I’ve let them collect into one massive pile. I’ve finally decided to have a little kidapalooza in my apartment, and I’ve burned through the whole stack in the past few days. These four CDs shuffled up to the top as my favs, and they all feature rockin’ lady singers. You can’t go wrong with any of these albums to entertain the wee ones.
Rock and Roll Garden – Bari Koral
This is a deceptive album. It starts off so happy and sing-songy with tracks like “Hey Ducky” and “The Backpack Song” that I almost dismissed it as being a simple sing-along CD. By the end, though, I found myself engrossed in the catchy tunes. Anyone who writes a song about the subway is aces in my book, but the song I can’t get out of my head is “Uh Oh”, a peculiar name for a truly touching song about friendship. There are also plenty of calls to action to get the kids up and moving. Rock and Roll Garden is tailor-made for our living room dance parties.
Great Day – Milkshake
It does feel like a great day when you’re listening to this latest release of the Baltimore rockers, Milkshake. This is one of those fabulous albums that while perfect for kids, is something I’d pop in to have a listen to on my own. I had the pleasure of working with some of the members of Milkshake a couple years ago on an album I produced for Hooked on Phonics. The songs were so sweet that I was unprepared for the full on rockin’ that they do in Great Day. I particularly like the track “I Want It” for perfectly capturing the Veruca Saltish demands becoming more frequent in our house.
Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck
The music of Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck is the super-accessible type that you’d find in insterstitials between your favorite kids shows, especially in call-and-response songs like “Hey-O”. Sure enough, I did a little reading on their website and they have appeared on PBS Kids in between episodes of Curious George and Clifford. The music is better than the average interstitial act, though, with catchy hooks and appealing topics like trucks, motorcycles, robot dancers, rocketships, and especially Superman.
Make Your Own Someday – The Jimmies
I’ve spoken before about my love of The Jimmies’ video collection, Trying Funny Stuff, which is but a fine sorbet to the album Make Your Own Someday. The CD comes with the tag line “Silly Songs for the Shorter Set”, but silly doesn’t do it justice. The Jimmies are funny and silly, sure, but each song if more rockin’ than the last. It’s seriously good music. My soft spot remains with “Taddy”, but there are so many more songs to love, like “The Peanut Butter Polka” which rhymes people’s names with how they like their sandwich.
Oh, and if you happen to be in Tribeca tomorrow (12/3), check out the Jimmies performing free at the Barnes & Noble on Warren St. at 4:00.
UPDATE: The news has just come in that Milkshake’s Great Day has been nominated for a Grammy (Best Musical Album for Children). Congrats!
