It made my list of 2010's best kids music albums, but in my review of Haley Bonar's Sing With Me EP, I couldn't provide listening links. Bonar's now rectified that -- you can stream the whole darn thing:
And, what's this? Another new album from Bonar?
Listen To This: "Silent Night / Sing a Song of Christmas Cheer" - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke
Given that Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke's Rise and Shine was my second favorite kids music record of 2010, you would expect that I'd treat the news that they'd recorded a couple Christmas tunes for Little Monster Records with great excitement.
Even better, the tunes themselves don't disappoint. You will not dance to another Christmas song with more abandon than to "Sing a Song of Christmas Cheer." And their take on "Silent Night" is somehow simultaneously a little punk and a little reverential. Together they're just $1.29...
And if you're not sure about it all, for the price of an e-mail, pick up "Silent Night" for free using the link below...
Share: "K.I.D.S." - Luv Clowns
Trying to explain Luv Clowns is not the easiest thing to do. Or, rather, doing so makes the project sound really, really odd. Which it isn't. Quite.
So, simply put, Luv Clowns consists of four well-known Memphis musicians - Harlan T. Bobo, Doug Easley, Alex Greene, and Tim Prudhomme - whose album was released late last month on Goner Records. Oh, and they all dress up in clown costumes when performing. I'm not sure if it's a kids music album for adults, or an adult album (relatively) safe enough for kids, but I do know that the song below, "K.I.D.S.," is a bunch of fun. Stream or download it below, courtesy of Goner.
Luv Clowns - "K.I.D.S." [mp3]
Listen To This: "Old MacDonald... Zulu Style" - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
The South African men's vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo is probably most familiar to American ears from their appearance on Paul Simon's Graceland album, but the group founded by Joseph Shabalala has been singing for about fifty years now. Songs from a Zulu Farm is their next album. It's due out next month and it's essentially a kids music album -- stories in songs from the youth of the group's members. This track off the upcoming album is "Old MacDonald... Zulu Style" and, yeah, Old MacDonald has moved his farm to Africa. It's charming.
"Old MacDonald Zulu Style" by Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Photo credit: Luis LealListen To This: "Mary the Fairy" - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke
This song's been floating around for awhile now, but never in quite such a blogger-friendly form. It's "Mary the Fairy" from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, and Little Monster Records has offered it for sale, either by itself or in some other combinations. They also note that it'll be part of Little Monster's Magical Creatures, Musical Pets compilation, available "next year." Of course, the compilation has been promised for so long that I wonder if it isn't as mythical as the creatures supposedly sung about within. (I kid because I love.)
Listen To This - "Live in Monophonorama" - Coal Train Railroad
Fresh off starting a Kickstarter campaign, the fine folks at Coal Train Railroad clearly didn't get the memo that the winter holidays are a time for peaceful reflection, as they've now released a digital EP, Live in Monophonorama. It's a collection of tunes from their fun 6-episode podcast aired over the summer. It's a nice little way to tide you over until the next CTRR album. Jeff over at OWTK has an exclusive coupon code that'll let you download it for just $4.
