Itty-Bitty Review: Tag, You're It! - The Not-Its!

I've always thought of punk music as being pretty anti-authoritarian, which is why I've been surprised to see a lot of kids punk bands be, well, not anti-authoritarian in their music. I suppose it's not that surprising -- how could you sell your music to the very authoritarians (the parents) you're singing against? But I wonder how many parents see the punk outfits and hear the crunchy guitars and think, "not for my family." Pity. The Seattle band The Not-Its! have always been on the "pop" end of the pop-punk spectrum. Rather than take a full-on punk approach, they sneak themselves into homes and audiences with snazzy color-coordinated tutus and ties and cartoon-friendly album covers. This summer they released their third album Tag, You're It! filled with songs about such dangerous topics as freeze tag ("Freeze Tag"), favorite subjects in school ("Mathematics"), and playing air guitar ("I Love Food"). I'm beginning to suspect that the Kindiependent bands have access to some eternal fountain of hooks that they parcel out to themselves, because this album's filled with catchy choruses and nifty melodic lines. (Lead singer Sarah Shannon's voice and the tight musical backup don't hurt in delivering the hooks.) If there's a downside to the album, it's that it plays it too safe at points -- saying "Gotta Keep on Tryin'" is a lot better than most songs that tackle the topic of perserverance, for example, isn't saying much. I tended to prefer the slightly off-kilter tracks: the parent-child argument of "Carry Me," for example, will ring a bell with many parents who've gone, well, anywhere, ever with their kids. (And "Puppy Dog" nicks the bassline from Blondie's "Heart of Glass" to call out a poorly trained canine.) The 31-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear some of the tracks from the album at the band's music page. Tag, You're It! is a short, sharp blast of pop-punk goodness through and through. Safe enough for the kiddoes and the grandparents, regardless of whether they're into Joey Ramone or Vic Damone. Recommended.

Review: Muppets: The Green Album - Various Artists

Caring whether your kids have "good" (read: "your") taste in music, books, and movies is a foolish thing to do, so it means something that the day that my daughter said she really didn't like The Muppet Movie was one of the very few times when I actually, well, cared. It's a great movie, a little cheesy at points maybe, but funny and tender, one of the great movie musicals of the past half-century. (Seriously -- there are very few post-1960s musical on the AFI list of the Greatest Movie Musicals, and even fewer created specifically for the screen.) Why do I relate the story? Well, more so than most albums reviewed here, it's my opinion, not that of kids, which matters here, because Muppets: The Green Album isn't really a kids music album. The album is a collection of 12 Muppet-related songs, drawn mostly heavily from The Muppet Movie or from songs heard on The Muppet Show. Much like Disney's collections of covers from their own stable of American tunes, Disneymania, Disney's approach here is to get popular (critically or otherwise) artists to tackle the Jim Henson-related songs. The fact that some of these artists weren't yet born when The Muppet Show went off network television doesn't seem to have hurt their recruiting efforts. (The fact that the rest of 'em were kids when the show was still on probably helped tremendously.) And as is the case with any such collection, Disney or otherwise, this album succeeds or fails based on how good the songs are and whether the artists bring anything new to them (or, if they ruin their charm). As to the former issue, I think I've made clear my admiration for the Paul Williams-Kenny Ascher-penned songs for The Muppet Movie, but in addition to those classics, you also have songs like the Joe Raposo-penned Sesame Street song "Bein' Green." What do the artists do with them? Well, some combinations work really, really well -- punk group the Alkaline Trio give "Movin' Right Along" a fun kick in the pants it didn't know it needed, and Sondre Lerche resurrect "Mr. Bassman," a song from a Muppet Show episode. I liked The Fray's take on "Mahna Mahna" more than I expected to, though it's probably the most faithful cover here. OK Go put their own spin on the theme song, and even though I could do without the tacked-on guitar solo, they do manage to keep the listeners' attention during what is, well, a theme song. And Andrew Bird's take on "Bein' Green" nails Kermit's wistfulness without making his cover a carbon copy. But following Kermit is a tough act, and while many attempt to cover "Rainbow Connection," very few succeed, and I can't say that Weezer and Hayley Williams from Paramore do, either. As for "Night Life" from The Great Muppet Caper, covered here by Brandon Saller of Atreyu and Billy Martin, I'll just quote my wife after hearing it for the first time: "I never need to hear that ever again." So, is this a kids' album? Not really. I'll put the age range for the album at ages 8 and up, not because any of it is inappropriate for younger kids, but because unless they've seen lots of Muppets on TV/DVD, they won't have the context for the music. (Older kids can enjoy the music on their own terms, or perhaps even recognize a few of the bands.) For a little while longer, you can stream the album here. In the end, Muppets: The Green Album has a number of very good recordings from an underrated American songbook. Is it a great kids' album? No. Is it a lot of fun for those of us of a certain age who are still able to tap the kid inside? For the most part, yeah. For those Muppet fans, it's recommended. Disclosure: I received a copy of this album for possible review.

Review: The Golden State - The Hipwaders

The kids music genre these days does a great job with music for the under-8 set, but for the most part abandons the tweens to the vagaries of older siblings and Radio Disney. Where are the albums for kids too old for Laurie Berkner but not ready for Lady Gaga? This year's best album for that age group is the latest record from the Bay Area band The Hipwaders. It's called The Golden State, and as you might guess from the title, it's a big, sunny power-pop embrace of their homestate, from the Beach Boys-like melodies on several tracks to paeans to life in California (see: "Come To California," "Slow Children at Play"). There are enough hooks here to outfit a pirate convention -- the driving "Hey, Josie!" might just be even more catchy than "Educated Kid" (and my fealty to that song is long-established), while "My Dog Steve" features an insanely catchy chorus that gets even catchier once the "na-na-nas" are thrown in. The trio sounds as good as they ever have. As for the part about the album being for tweens, that's more of a lyrical thing (though the power chords may also have something to do with it). On the angular "The Wrong Thing," the song's narrator is trying to make better choices: "They say you can’t grow without mistakes / Do they have to count every one I make? / I want to fly I want to soar / I don’t want to keep messing up anymore." "The Ramble," although it's about Central Park's Ramble, celebrates exploring the outdoors and could easily be about the California coast. The band also reworks one of their older tunes, "Stand Up to the Bully" with a ska beat. And while I've always thought the band focused more on boy protagonists (heck, there's a song called "So, You're a Boy") on here, "Go Go Girl" gives a "single-digit" aged girl just as much enthusiasm as any of guitarist/songwriter Tito Uquillas' other protagonists. The album is most appropriate for kids ages 6 through 11. You can listen to samples from the album here. A special shout-out to the album art from Brian Clarke -- simple packaging, but elegantly done. The back cover of The Golden State features a boy in profile, skateboard in hand, overlooking a verdant valley and lake. It's the portrait of a kid on the verge of exploring the outside world, just like some of the characters in and many of the listeners to the album. It's the same kid who might just be inspired to pick up a guitar after listening to the album. The Hipwaders' best album to date, Golden State isn't just a great album for the tweens in your life, it's a great album, period. Highly recommended. [Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review.]

Itty-Bitty Review Two-Fer: Mr. Leebot and Lloyd Miller

There are pitfalls in trying to be objective in reviewing music, especially in the close-knit world of kindie music, where if everybody doesn't know everybody (yet), the degrees of separation are small enough that it makes Kevin Bacon look like a loner. And while I deal with that constantly here, adding a layer of "good works" on top of it all, well, consider this then your grain of salt for the two albums discussed here.

First off is Austin's Mr. Leebot, whose latest album Erratic Schematic is fundraiser for an orphanage in Ethiopia from which Mr. Leebot (AKA Lee Davila) and his wife recently adopted two babies. As I've previously mentioned, the idea of adoption is important to me, so I was predisposed to like this album from the get-go. While Mr. Leebot's sound -- think of him as DEVO's kids music side project -- may not be for everyone, he's started to ever-so-slightly fill out his sound (I like the New Wave sound of "Cleaning Theme"). As a whole, it's Leebot's best album yet. And the track at the heart of the album -- "Our Family" -- should be heard far and wide. (Listen to it here -- just scroll down the page.) The album is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7. You can listen to samples here. As for an album geared toward a slightly older crowd, how about Hamlet? That's for high schoolers, right? Well ,The Deedle Deedle Dees' Lloyd Miller would beg to differ, having helped his wife's second grade class to write a musical based on the play. Miller recruited Dog on Fleas' Dean Jones and a couple of the Dees to record the music along with kids in the class. The result, Hamlet: The Album, is alternately rockin' ("Something's Rotten!") and pensive ("Tush, Tush") -- a little bit like the play itself, no? In best Fleas/Dees fashion, the album is ragged around the edges, the Band or the Stones mixed with a Shakespeare and Sesame Street. I'd much rather listen to these kids sing than any number of auto-tuned KidzBoppers. The album will be most appreciated by kids ages 6 to 11. And if the story behind the album isn't appealing enough, perhaps you'll be heartened to hear that all profits from the album will go to Japan earthquake relief. Listen (or order the album) below. While neither Erratic Schematic nor Hamlet: The Musical have a broad enough appeal for me to endorse the albums unreservedly for all listeners, both are solid enough albums to merit a listen even without the totally worthy backstories. I think a lot of readers will find a lot to like here. Give 'em a spin, maybe even your ducats. Recommended. Disclosure: I received a copy of Erratic Schematic for possible review.

Review: FLYING! - Recess Monkey

1. There once was a band from Seattle For whom writing reviews was a battle So consistently good That even though I should Provide insight, my same-ness would prattle. 2. So instead of writing a review The way that I normally do I took a new tack Went down a new track To talk about this distinguished crew. 3. The band, of course, is Recess Monkey A trio, a band made up of three Guys named Jack, Drew and Daron On this album they're tearin' Through more songs both peppy and funny. 4. They've released their album called FLYING! Effortless, like they're not even trying This album's their seventh It's still free of bad synth And features laughter and (appropriate) crying. 5. In time these three fine young fellows Have matured, though they've not yet quite mellowed They write short, sharp pop ditties For elementary kiddies With lyrics that quite easily flow [Ed.: Better than this, to be sure.] 6. At this point the band writes succinctly And perhaps a little distinctly There's almost no fluff Or extraneous stuff The melodies simply just hit me. 7. Tor Hyams produced this new disk And sonically the sound is quite brisk. Played piano, too Acting as the glue That kept the band sounding their best. 8. Beyond that, there are other guest stars Like Chris Wiser from Sugar Free Allstars [Ed.: "stars"? "Allstars"? that's stretching it.] Dean Jones, Chris Ballew, Justin Lansing and Tom Baisden, too A duet with Molly Ledford, and Johnny Bregar. 9. Most all of their lyrics are great Heroes big and small predominate. A kid's life is his "Day Job," "Toolbox"'s tender but odd, And "Flapjacks" spells out what's on your plate. 10. My favorite songs this time around Are "Toolbox," with lots of quaint tool sounds. "Super Stuffies" is epic "Your Favorite Book" ranks to me second "Bunk Bed" is a Phil Spector track re-found. [Ed.: "Re-found?" Really? Sigh.] 12. The ages of kids who'll think it's most great Would be between that of four and of eight. To listen to songs You won't be steered wrong By going here, don't hesitate. 13. As always I would be remiss, If the artwork I did not address. Jarrett Krosoczka's Comics make the most of The theme the album does possess. 14. So I hope that you're not too offended By how rhyming this review I've amended But Recess Monkey is fab and you prob'ly should grab FLYING!, highly recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: Dandelion - Steve Weeks

Freed from his devotion to the alphabet (see: A-H, I-Q, and R-Z), Colorado's Steve Weeks is back with Dandelion, an album lacking an obvious organizational hook. But what hasn't changed with this new album is Weeks' affinity for tall tales rooted in decency. Songs like the rock-folk "Bartelby Finkleton Will Not Take a Bath," the gentle "My Dog Ate My House," and "The Blizzard of '78" are a blend of Shel Silverstein and Keller Williams. (There is a reason Weeks also a song titled "I Might Be Lying" on this album.) While these songs will sound familiar to fans of Weeks' earlier work, he branches out a bit -- "Birdsong" is a list of well over a hundred different birds over a driving beat, while "Why" features kids asking a bunch of legitimate questions over Weeks' nifty acoustic guitar playing. And the title track is Weeks' finest song yet, a subtly metaphorical look at the usefulness of a dandelion, reminiscent of and as good as Justin Roberts' best work. The album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9. You can hear samples from the album here. Dandelion is a good album for a sunny day, and for a history-making snowy day, too. There are tall tales here, but some truths, too. Recommended.