Video: "Pancada" - Gui Tavares

Again, proof that kid-friendly videos don't need to have high production values. This one, for Gui Taveres' "Pancada," off Putumayo's Brazilian Playground CD, combines live-action and animation and subtitles -- how many times do you see that in kids music videos? -- for something that, while not classic, will probably keep kids interested for 3 or 4 minutes. I dig the translation "He's always eyeing up the motorbikes." Gui Tavares - "Pancada"

Gui Tavares - Pancada from Putumayo World Music on Vimeo.

Play Parties for China

I don't often pass along benefit news because if I did, I'd end up doing nothing but that. I thought the following item of sufficient interest, however, to mention here. We'll get back to regularly-scheduled slightly snarky comments soon. From June 9th to June 23rd participating Gymboree sites across the world will be hosting Kids Helping Kids play parties, with all proceeds going to Mercy Corps to help efforts in China's Sichuan province impacted by the recent earthquake. Besides, you know, playing, each participating site will create an original friendship quilt, personalized by Gymboree children and sent to China offer. Putumayo World Music is helping out, too -- all of the Putumayo music you'll hear featured at the party will be available for purchase with proceeds going to China through Mercy Corps. Go here to learn about Mercy Corps' efforts in China.

Sesame Street Goes Global, Musically

Yes, Putumayo Kids has a very full release schedule, with African Dreamland the next CD scheduled for release in March. But it's their next CD that really has me jazzed. In a recent interview Putumayo Kids director Mona Kayhan reveals what's to come: "It's our first collaboration with Sesame Street — we're calling it Sesame Street Playground, and it has all their songs from all around the world. For example, you've got the "Rubber Ducky" song in Chinese or the opening song in Dutch." Sound unheard, I wonder whether this is a better idea in concept than as an actual album, but if done properly, I think it'd be a pretty great global introduction for a lot of families. Update: Apparently the Sesame Street CD's been pushed back to September. Just so you know... Y'know, the obvious YouTube clip here is the Sesame Street theme song (seeing as Sesame Workshop's new video player doesn't have a clip available), but given the international flavor of this post, I thought I'd post Ozomatli's energetic reworking of the melody and the 2007 South by Southwest Festival. Ozomatli - "Sesame Street Theme Song"

Review in Brief: Hawaiian Playground - Various Artists (Putumayo)

Another month, another breezy mix CD from Putumayo Kids. This time it's Hawaiian Playground, which will be released tomorrow, January 22nd. As with other Putumayo Kids collections, the strength of this CD lies in its well-considered blend of modern and traditional sounds, silly and serious songs. I'm not sure too many other collections of Hawaiian music would have the nerve to kick things off with a song from a New York City band, but the Moonlighters play expert Hawaiian steel guitar music, and their jazzy cover of Sam Koki's "Right On" is lots of fun. Joe McDermott's well-produced Hawaiian pastiche "Come to Hawaii" is the most accessible song for kids here, all about using one's imagination about visiting the far-off state. The other artists here are from the islands, and the songs show how diverse the state's musical culture has become. With a number of traditional-sounding albums in my own collection, I preferred the more traditional sounds of Raiatea's "Po La'ila'i" or Keali'i Reichel's "Toad Song." But Hawaiian music today also includes styles such as "Jawaiian" (a mixture of traditional Hawaiian music and Jamaican reggae, as heard on Robi Kahakalau's "Pi'i Mai Ka Nalu"). The collection is typically all-ages, but I think kids ages 3 through 7 might enjoy talking about Hawaii via these songs (and liner notes) the most. You can hear samples of the half-hour disk at most internet shops. Hawaiian Playground isn't an introduction to the history of Hawaiian music; it is, for the most part, a sampling of what Hawaiian kids and families might listen to today. For those families looking for a brief audio vacation to the islands, this album will be the ticket. Recommended.

Review in Brief: Celtic Dreamland - Various Artists (Putumayo)

When you release as many albums on a regular basis as Putumayo Kids does, it makes it hard for the reviewer to come up with new things to say about the CDs. Celtic Dreamland, released in November 2007, continues Putumayo's run of artfully-produced disks. It's the third in its "Dreamland" series, and even the 4-year-old in your family could figure out that it's an album designed for sleepy-time. You may want to explain to your kids how Celtic music -- typically music with Irish or Scottish lineage -- is distinguished from other musical styles, but Putumayo's typically descriptive liner notes may help in that regard. The music is definitely relaxing, although it may be a bit too sunny in parts for it to be a perfect lullaby album. (I actuallly prefer Ellipsis Arts' collections when it comes to pure lullaby CDs.) There are a number of traditional (Celtic) lullabies here, but as is the case with many Putumayo disks, the foreign language (in this case, Gaelic) in which a number of the songs are sung helps mask those cases where the song isn't really a lullaby. If I had to pick a favorite (or most lullaby-ish) song in the collection, it'd be Susan McKeown's rendition of the traditional Irish lullaby "A Phluirin Mhilis," McKeown's voice and acoustic guitar a lovely combination. (The last 3 tracks, led off by McKeown, are probably the best here.) As a putative lullaby album, I'd put the age range here at ages 0 through 5, though as with most Putumayo Kids disks, there really isn't an age range. You can hear samples of the 32-minute disk at the album's webpage. Putumayo's still working its way toward an excellent album of pure lullabies, but Celtic Dreamland is a good collection that serves its purpose as a mellow-time introduction to the genre of Celtic music. Recommended.

Review in Brief: Brazilian Playground - Various Artists (Putumayo)

The latest in Putumayo Kids' "Playground" series, Brazilian Playground continues Putumayo's tradition of selecting appealing tracks from cultures near and far and mixing them together for families' enjoyment. A stroll through Putumayo's typically well-done liner notes reveals that many of the songs weren't written with kids in mind -- songs about love or dancing until dawn. Of course, the foreign-language nature of the songs allow parents to use themes as a jumping-off point and the music as a dancing-off point. Claudio Jorge's "Coco Sacudido" ("Shaken Coconut") is about a Brazilian religion with a lot of rituals and ceremonies -- your kids won't care, they'll just be dancing to the big band. For the kids who've been raised on their parents' Bebel Gilberto CDs, Marissa's brief electronica bossa nova "Alo Alo" ("Hello, Hello") will sound familiar. One warning about the disk, though -- the CD's description of the tracks as "lively" is somewhat generous -- the two tracks above are among the more shimmering and vibrant of the tracks here. Which isn't to say that the rest of the CD is bad, just that the overall vibe is a bit more subdued than I'd expected. More 4 PM (if not quite 4 AM) than 9 AM... Musically, the 36-minute CD is appropriate for kids of all ages, though kids ages 3 through 7 will probably respond to the kids' voices in some of the songs. You can hear samples (and download a teaching guide) at Putumayo's page for the CD (released a couple weeks ago), or hear samples elsewhere on the web. If your family has enjoyed Putumayo's previous Playground releases, they will enjoy this one, too. It's another good compilation. Recommended.