Hot on the heels of the this week's Season Two premiere of Yo Gabba Gabba! comes word that episodes of Season One of the show will hit DVD on October 14 (Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Dancey Dance Bunch. Really.) [Update: I got an update from the folks at Viacom. It is not a complete set, but just four shows with a MSRP of $16.99 -- "Friends," "Eat," "Dance," and "Happy." Sorry if the original vaguely worded heads-up from Viacom made me think it was a complete season set. It's not. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Hey, there's a song there...]
Yeah, yeah, I know there are some big fans of the show out there, but even cooler from my perspective is the news that October 14 will also see the iTunes release of a digital-only Yo Gabba Gabba! soundtrack.
That's right -- those of you with a desperate need to have "Party In My Tummy" available to you at a moment's notice in the car or during a particularly recalcitrant dinner experience will now be able to fill that need. For the rest of us, Mark Kozelek's great "Bedtime Lullaby" will do just fine. And because the album tracks will be available a la carte, you'll be able to pick and choose...
The full track listing after the jump.
New Biscuit Brothers in 2009
No secret that we're big Biscuit Brothers fans 'round these parts. Currently we're watching their Go Make Music Vol. 1 DVD just about daily, with Little Boy Blue asking constantly, "Watch tuba?" (one of the episodes is loosely tied around a tuba that is inexplicably producing high notes rather than low ones).
So it was with a "woohoo!" that I read in the Brothers' latest newsletter that they're working on new Biscuit Brothers episodes to air starting in early 2009. Not only that, they've produced Christmas and Holiday specials for airing this year. Perhaps a DVD for those of living in areas with PBS stations insufficiently clued in to start airing the show isn't far behind...
I'd also note that although I happen to think our soiree in Austin next weekend will be lots of fun (6 PM Saturday the 27th at Ruta Maya, just $5, hint hint), I'm also very impressed by the lineup the Brothers have put together for their Austin Family Music Festival the following Saturday, October 4th. Besides the Biscuit Brothers, the Festival will feature performances by Mr. Steve (aka SteveSongs), Lucas Miller, Super Pal Universe, and maybe coolest of all, Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison. Plus lots more.
So go to Family Music Meltdown a week from today and AFMF two weeks from today. Or move to Austin.
The Dorkiest Thing I'll Post All Week
I realize the week is early, and "dorky" probably covers a good third of my material here, but sometimes I get press releases that make me chuckle.
Your (and my) calendar might say that today is the first day of the month of September, but according to the folks at Sirius Kids Stuff, it's -- wait for it --
"Septem-Berkner!" Get it? Get it? Yeah, well, anyway, I laughed. Sometimes that's all it takes.
All month, the channel's featuring Laurie Berkner-related activities, including an in-studio performance. You can watch a video of "Victor Vito" here which makes me wonder if when Berkner's 60 she'll still have to play that song like the Rolling Stones are still playing "Brown Sugar" and "Satisfaction." I think I'd still rather watch Berkner.
Video: "Bedtime Lullaby" - Mark Kozelek
This is waaay too dreamy to start off the week with, but I can't resist. Compared to the rest of Yo Gabba Gabba!, which can seem like it's aching to be painfully hip, this video is a peaceful respite. The music is by Mark Kozelek, and it's sweet, but it's the appropriately dreamy and slightly surreal visuals from Lippy that make it worth 90 seconds of your time.
Review: OMG or LOL? Three Disney Disks
Let me start this review by suggesting that, for all its sins real or imagined, Disney Music purveys more original music for kids and families than any other label. It is possible to avoid a fair amount of that if you don't actually watch cable TV on a regular basis, but they put out a lot of music on a regular basis, and for all age ranges. Not to mention a back catalog the envy of just about anybody. How much you actually enjoy it all depends in part on your age, but I've got three recent Disney releases here, and at least one of them is worth your time.
I admit it. I'm old. Not, like, Social Security old, but old enough that if I use the phrase "OMG" I mean it ironically. I am old enough, however, to have a kid who, though she isn't quite out of the "kids music" phase yet, will start listening to music I haven't introduced her to.
So I understand quite clearly that the soundtrack to Camp Rock, the latest Disney Channel original movie, premiering on a gazillion different channels this week, is Not For Me. It is for kids just a little older than my daughter. They'll spend their own allowances on it, or maybe their parents will get it for them. And what they'll get is an attempt to duplicate the High School Musical magic, except this time in a slightly more rock-oriented retelling of Cinderella. The album features some tracks with Joe Jonas solo (he's got a leading role in the movie) as well as a Jonas Brothers track. There are some songs by 16-year-old Demi Lovato, who has the lead female role and seems to be Disney's leading contender for a Miley Cyrus with a less pop and more rock edge.
The songs are fine enough, and most of the songs won't drive you to change the station if you hear them on Radio Disney (OK, maybe "Hasta La Vista," ugh), but you're not going to remember them 15 minutes after they're over. There's nothing as memorable as "Breaking Free" or "Fabulous" or "You Are the Music In Me," all of which are decent pop songs. In the end, it's not really for me, but it never really was.
I admit it. I'm old. Not, like, Social Security old, but old enough that if I use the phrase "OMG" I mean it ironically. I am old enough, however, to have a kid who, though she isn't quite out of the "kids music" phase yet, will start listening to music I haven't introduced her to.
So I understand quite clearly that the soundtrack to Camp Rock, the latest Disney Channel original movie, premiering on a gazillion different channels this week, is Not For Me. It is for kids just a little older than my daughter. They'll spend their own allowances on it, or maybe their parents will get it for them. And what they'll get is an attempt to duplicate the High School Musical magic, except this time in a slightly more rock-oriented retelling of Cinderella. The album features some tracks with Joe Jonas solo (he's got a leading role in the movie) as well as a Jonas Brothers track. There are some songs by 16-year-old Demi Lovato, who has the lead female role and seems to be Disney's leading contender for a Miley Cyrus with a less pop and more rock edge.
The songs are fine enough, and most of the songs won't drive you to change the station if you hear them on Radio Disney (OK, maybe "Hasta La Vista," ugh), but you're not going to remember them 15 minutes after they're over. There's nothing as memorable as "Breaking Free" or "Fabulous" or "You Are the Music In Me," all of which are decent pop songs. In the end, it's not really for me, but it never really was.Radio Song
Hey, I can't find nothing on the radio / Yo! turn to that stationI mention the intro from REM's "Radio Song" as way of saying I'm glad that Bill pointed out John Boydston's comments last week on the XM Kids playlist. When I first read John's comments (which are every bit as wry as he is in person and on record) last week, the reason I didn't feel like posting something about it is, well, I don't think I agree. But Bill's comments made me go back and think about it a little bit more and... I still don't agree. First, a conflict of interest note -- both XM Kids bigwigs Kenny Curtis and Mindy Thomas are voters in the Fids and Kamily poll. Next, as for me, I've been a XM Radio subscriber for more than a couple years now. We really don't listen to it around the house much, but I flip between XM Kids, XMU (their "college indie rock" station), the Presidential Election station, and whatever else catches my fancy, usually as I'm going to and from my job. Given the comparatively brief snippets of time I hear the station -- maybe a half-hour a day, 5 days a week -- I'm not sure I offer complete coverage, but it is possible to track when artists appear on XMKids...
