Radio Playlist: New Music November 2017

Squished between the end of the Grammy eligibility period, Halloween, and Christmas, I sometimes feel like a November new-music playlist is a bit of an afterthought.  But there are actually some pretty good songs that have crossed my desk in the last few weeks, not to mention some that for time considerations are just going to have to wait until January.  A total of 24 minutes of music, great for a short little errand or pecan pie prep.  (Feel free to check out the October list here if you missed it.)

As always, these Spotify playlists are limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums.  But I'm always keeping stuff in reserve for the next Spotify playlist.

Check out the list here (or right here in you're in Spotify).

**** New Music November 2017 (November 2017 Kindie Playlist) ****

"I Play Music" - Johnny Bregar

"Mama (Live from Austin)" - SaulPaul

"Don't Put Me Down, Or My Dog" - Kid Pan Alley

"One of Those Days" - Kim Schneiderman

"Little Friends" - Smilin' Rylan

"Jane Goodall" - Michael Hearst, Tanya Donnelly

"My Creature" - Micah and Me

"Despacito" - Lullapop Lullabies

Halloween 2017 Music for Kids

Prepping to trick or treat tonight?  Gathering up the candy to hand out and trying not to dig in early?  Kids and parents having last-minute costume emergencies?  Here are a handful of (like, literally, five) new Halloween tunes from kindie artists to spin in the background, plus a couple videos to air before or after screening It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!  (If you need more, like, waaaaay more, be sure to check out my long list of kids songs for Halloween from 2016 -- no Spotify link, but plenty of suggestions.)

Halloween 2017 Kids Music Playlist [Spotify link, URL]

"Ghost in My House" - Jumpin' Jamie

"Scary Scary Halloween Party" - Rabbit!

"Snowstorm on Halloween" - Turkey Andersen

"Zombie Parade" - Smilin' Rylan

"My Mommy Is a Mummy" - Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats

I included this Turkey Andersen tune on the list even though it's about a year old because there's a Brand New Video!

Turkey Andersen - Snowstorm on Halloween [YouTube]

For the power-pop-loving Halloween fan (or ghoul) in your house, I'd recommend this new track from Jumpin' Jamie.

Jumpin' Jamie - "Ghost In My House" [YouTube]

Radio Playlist: New Music October 2017

With the onset of fall comes the close of a Grammy eligibility window, so there are usually a bunch of releases up through September 30, then a bit of radio silence (so to speak).  I've got 35 minutes worth of that early fall rush of songs in this month's new music playlist. (Feel free to check out the September list here if you missed it.)

As always, these Spotify playlists are limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums.  But I'm always keeping stuff in reserve for the next Spotify playlist.

Check out the list here (or right here in you're in Spotify).

**** New Music October 2017 (October 2017 Kindie Playlist) ****

"Wake Up!" - Brendan Parker

"Daddy's Beard" - Josh Lovelace

"Don't Let the Boogah Bug You Out" - Lard Dog & the Band of Shy

"Elephant in My Room" - Phredd

"Telephone - Dance Remix" - "The Laurie Berkner Band

"Amor Es Lo Que Siento Por Ti (Para Mama') - Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer

"Taken Over by Robots" - The Dilly Dallies

"The Quest for the Missing Polka-Dotted Pink Sock" - Mista Cookie Jar

"Better Than You Know" - twinkle

"El Coqui / The Frog" - Mister G

"Go Well and Peace Be with You (Hambani Kahle)" - Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Radio Playlist: New Music September 2017

Between catching up with stuff I missed last time and the late summer/early fall rush of new music, I've got a whopping 16 songs in this month's new music playlist. (Feel free to check out the August list here if you missed it.)

As always, these Spotify playlists are limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums.  But I'm always keeping stuff in reserve for the next Spotify playlist.

Check out the list here (or right here in you're in Spotify).

**** New Music September 2017 (September 2017 Kindie Playlist) ****

"Ellen Lemon" - Gustafer Yellowgold

"Fiesta De La Brea" - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

"Ten Little Piggies" - Caspar Babypants

"Miss Mary Mack" - Jazzy Ash

"Come Gather 'Round" - KB Whirly

"Sway" - Alphabet Rockers

"My Purple Fox" - Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies

"That Thing" - Randy & Dave

"Pennies and Forget-Me-Nots" - Steve Pullara and the Cool Beans Band

"Conjunctions" - Big Don

"You Could Be the One" - The Bazillions

"Going for a Drive" - Marjo Wilson (aka Cotton Dandee)

"Beethoven's Horse" - Ralph's World

"Alphabet Tebahpla" - Danny Weinkauf

"Hooray for Spinach" - Val and the Whippersnappers

"I've Got No Strings" - Jess Penner

The Best of Gustafer Yellowgold: A Playlist

Brighter Side cover

What am I supposed to do with the new Gustafer Yellowgold album, Gustafer Yellowgold's Brighter Side, since it's the first one that comes without a full DVD to accompany it?  All seven Gustafer prior albums dating back to 2007's Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World, were produced as DVD/CD sets with a video for each song, and, to greater or lesser degrees, a unifying story linking the songs together.

But for the new album, musician and illustrator Morgan Taylor, the mastermind behind Gustafer, eschewed a full set of videos.  He'll be doing videos for some songs -- shout-outs to "Hot Nights" and "Baconstein" -- but not all.  Perhaps Taylor is just looking to mix things up.  (And if it means he releases music a little bit more often, even better.)

While I could do the standard review thing, I think I will take a cue from Taylor's decision and mix things up myself.  So I put together a list of the best Gustafer Yellowgold songs from all eight albums (including Brighter Side).  It wasn't a terribly difficult process -- quite enjoyable, actually -- because Taylor is one of kindie's most gifted pop songwriters, with an oblique sense of humor.

I tend to go for the more uptempo Gustafer tracks, so while you could easily make a solid compilation of nothing but the mellow tracks for cooling-down/nighttime purposes -- and Brighter Side tends to lean slightly more towards that softer, mellower side -- this playlist features more of the punchier tracks, either in tempo or arrangement.

So here's a Spotify playlist of my 40 favorite Gustafer Yellowgold tracks, organized chronologically, up to and including music from Brighter Side, out today.  Grab your favorite foods (or least favorite foods, depending on how pugilistic your kids are feeling), tune in, and enjoy!

A Massive Caspar Babypants Playlist

Jump For Joy album cover

Today marks the release of Jump For Joy!, the 13th album for kids from Caspar Babypants, AKA Chris Ballew.

Thirteen albums for any artist is a significant achievement, but the fact that Ballew has done so in basically little more than 9 years is even more amazing.

And the fact that those 13 albums are uniformly good to great -- not a stinker among them -- is the most impressive feat of them all.

Jump For Joy! is another good Caspar Babypants album, and while I'd probably pick a different album to introduce a listener to CB (More Please! or Sing Along!, to suggest a couple), it's certainly a worthwhile spin.

I have written many words about the music of Caspar Babypants -- many, many words.  Let's face it, trying to say something interesting about the latest album from some who is releasing new music every 33 or 34 weeks can get difficult.  Let's just say I think that Ballew is one of the great songwriters for preschoolers of this era or any other.

So rather than going into more detail on his latest album saying, basically, "I like this -- you should try it out," I decided to put together a playlist of my favorite Caspar Babypants songs.  And as I went through his albums one by one, I quickly realized that to do something like a 15- or even 30-song list wouldn't do Ballew justice.

I present to you, then, one hundred awesome Caspar Babypants songs, up to and including songs from Jump For Joy!, out today.  I have not tried to organize these 100 songs into the perfect Spotify playlist -- they are simply CB songs, ordered chronologically by release date.  The one exception I made was to move all the songs from Night Night!, Ballew's lullaby/nighttime album, to the very end, but even then you'll hear a few lullabies from his other works scattered throughout.  (I also tried to keep the songs I picked from Winter Party!, his Christmas/holiday album, not very... Christmas-y so that it works even in the heat of late August.)

Anyway, parents, enjoy, and Chris Ballew, thanks.