Little Monsters, Big Expectations

So with the collapse of V2 Records, one might be wondering what the future of Little Monster Records is. I have word that Little Monster Records will be announcing a new home soon, which I'm very excited about, because even though I found their Beatles release underwhelming, I'm increasingly excited about the rest of their release schedule. To wit: yesterday's WNYC Soundcheck, which included Little Monster's Kevin Salem. About 10 minutes in they play a portion of the title track to their upcoming Let's Go Everywhere CD, and it's nothing less than what would you get if you combined Johnny Cash (specifically "I've Been Everywhere") and jazz funk. In a good way. In an awesome way. Folks, John Lurie is performing on the album -- this is going to be interesting at the very least and could be great. To wit, part deux: Well, sadly, I don't have a part deux, because Ralph and Ralph have deleted a blog post where they talked about their goals for the new album. But now it's gone (or they've deleted their old myspace page with the post) and I can't really say anything other than "I read it, and it made me excited to hear even more tracks than what's on their myspace page. Knew I should've posted it at the time...

New Music from Ralph & Ralph. (No, not that Ralph.)

More music from Little Monster Records recording artists Ralph & Ralph, this time at their new Myspace site. Four songs, one for each member of Ralph & Ralph. Yeah, that's what I said. There are actually 4 members of the band, two of 'em women. In any case, while I really like "Ralph and Ralph's Song" (previously available), "Supposed to Cry" is also pretty good. All sorts of crazy instruments from that band. "Sounds like: nothin' else!" Indeed. Can't wait to hear the full-length CD.

New Ralph and Ralph Song Sounds Nothing Like Ralph's World

Remember the other day when I talked about Little Monster Records and wondered who the mysterious "Ralph & Ralph" were? You don't? Really? Oh, well, you're probably not getting enough sleep. Anyway, I still don't know who they are, but maybe some of the eagle-eared readers out there can identify voices from the new Ralph & Ralph track posted on their "Sounds" page. "Ralph and Ralph's Song" is a slow, loping song that Randy Newman might write and includes the following couplet, which is either a 1) biting meta-commentary on the digital music distribution process or 2) feel-good life lesson. "A record costs money / but a song is for free." Indeed.

"Under Construction" = New Music

The new website for the Little Monster Records label isn't quite ready for prime time, with more "under construction" signs than Berlin in the 1990s. (Yes, I realize that Berlin wouldn't literally have "under construction" signs. Work with me here, folks -- I've never seen so many cranes in a city.) But probably due to the low-key nature of this website, we don't really care as long as the content's good, and in this case, with mp3s from All Together Now (the recently-released Beatles tribute CD) and upcoming Little Monster releases from Robbert Bobbert, Gustafer Yellowgold, Soulville, and Medeski, Martin & Wood, the content's good. The Robbert Bobbert and Gustafer tracks can also be heard on their myspace pages, but the Soulville and MMW tracks are new to me. MMW's "Where's the Music?" is funky and amusing, and I like both Soulville tracks, too. No, I have no idea who "Ralph & Ralph" are.

Review: All Together Now: Beatles Stuff For Kids of All Ages - Various Artists

AllTogetherNow.gifAlthough it has signed very 21st century artists such as Gustafer Yellowgold and Robbert Bobbert (Robert Schneider), Little Monster Records, the new kids' music imprint from V2/Artemis Records has chosen to look back 40 years for its first release, All Together Now: Beatles Stuff For Kids of All Ages. If this first release is any indication, Little Monster releases will be designed to encourage parent-youth interaction. The release comes packaged with a storybook illustrated with kids' drawings, poems that are meant complement the lyrics, and Beatles facts which are probably familiar to the adults but won't be, of course, for the young'uns. And what exactly will you be sharing with those young'uns, musically? Thirty minutes of covers of well-chosen if familiar Beatles songs. Producer/guitarist Kevin Salem has assembled a talented backup band for the versions, which are sung by New York Doll Steve Conte along with some guest stars, including Marshall Crenshaw, Jason Lytle (ex-Grandaddy), and the Bangles (with Matthew Sweet joining Susanna Hoffs once more on a fun "Good Day Sunshine"). The songs also feature a chorus of kids who, refreshingly, are neither Broadway-trained nor pitch-corrected. They sound like, well, your elementary school or church choir, in a good way (see the simple "Love Me Do"). If you're going to put kids on record, this is the way to do it. As well-done as the whole package is, there's really nothing new here. The versions hew very closely to the originals. I realize that the idea behind the CD -- introducing the Beatles to another generation -- doesn't lend itself to massive reinterpretations of classic recordings, but there's little reason why your copies of the original Beatles CDs won't do just fine. Given the ages of kids singing (they sound like they might be in 2nd or 3rd grade, generally), I'm going to peg the age range here at ages 4 through 9, though obviously Beatles music is OK for just about any age. Three of the tracks are available here. For the moment, the CD is available only at Barnes & Noble, though that will end at some point next year. All Together Now is a nicely-assembled collection of Beatles tunes, attractively packaged and with nice thought put into it. As good as it is, I don't see it as being of great interest to people who already have some Beatles tunes in their collection. But I can't wait to see and hear what the team behind this album has up their sleeves when they turn their attention to some original songs.

Please Release Me: November (and December) 2006 Releases

As we slide into November and December, the number of new releases is typically scaled back because there's, like, a bajillion different things going on. Setting aside the daylight-to-task ratio, which is at its lowest point of the year, who wants to compete against the hundreds, nay, thousands of Christmas-related CDs flooding the market? ("On the first day of Christmas / My auntie gave to me / A Christmas album from Kenny G.") Having said that, there are a few releases coming out here over the next couple months: Nov. 7: All Together Now - V/A (a Beatles covers album with a kids' chorus) Nov. 14: Play! - Milkshake Nov. 14: We Wanna Rock - Thaddeus Rex Nov. ??: Hey You Kids! - The Jellydots Dec. 5: Asian Dreamland - V/A (Putumayo) Dec. ??: Ernie & Neal - Rock the House Which of these should be on your gift list for the winter-based gift-giving holiday of your choice (or on the purchase list of your favorite local library)? Tune in... find out...