Again, There Is Only One Song Necessary for Groundhog Day

I know, the whole shadow thing's already been done today. I don't even care what happened (which is what happens when you live in Arizona). You just need this. It's awesome on February 2nd and October 2nd. And all dates in between. (Yes, I wrote essentially the same thing last year. Kinda meta, eh?)

Listen To This: Steve-n-steveN (or, Steve Burns and Steven Drozd)

UniVsOcto.pngToday the Flaming Lips are releasing their latest studio album, a two-disk set entitled Embryonic. Seems like it's as good a time as any to start talking about Steve-n-steveN, the collaboration featuring Blue's Clues star-turned-indie rocker Steve Burns and multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd from the Flaming Lips. This collaboration's been talked about for a while (the songs have been posted for awhile, too), and given Burns' and Drozd's previous foray into music for kids, the fact that it's getting closer is Good News For All Involved. The "About" description sums up the 6 songs on the Myspace page thusly:
One day, while searching everywhere for Princess Rainbow, a lonely unicorn named Steve Burns met a magical musical octopus named Steven Drozd in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. "Hi," said Steve to Steven. "I like writing stories about outer space, wizards, and feelings." "That's cool," said Steven to Steve while playing a bass guitar, Micro Moog synthesizer, and two Stylophones simultaneously. "I like to make brain burning musical soundscapes. Maybe you could add your stories to my music." "Okay", answered Steve, "let's always do that right here in Oklahoma and never in New York City." And that's just what they did... for all us children.
Songs about poop, facts, unicorns, and octopi. Basically, it's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (already one of the best not-kids-albums that's really a kids' album) meets preschool. And, yeah, it really sounds like that. Totally worth 20 minutes or so of your attention. (Thanks to Cormac at Kids-Tunes for the reminder.)

KidVid Tournament 2007 Quarterfinals: "I Hog the Ground" (1) vs. "Tricycle" (2)

Round 1 wasn't enough -- now the popular videos start going head-to-head. Round 2 of KidVid Tournament 2007 kicks off with the final in the Lead Belly Region, pitting the #1 seed "I Hog The Ground (Groundhog Song)" from Steve Burns and Steven Drozd against the #2 seed, "Tricycle" from Frances England. Vote in the comments below. Rules: Video with most votes wins. One vote per e-mail address, please. Votes due by Thursday 11 PM-ish East Coast time. [Note: As always, sorry about just showing links instead of embedding the videos. I'm trying to keep the playing field relatively level here -- if I can't show both videos here (i.e., they're not both on YouTube and clearly placed there at the artists' request) I'm only going to show the links for both of 'em.] "I Hog The Ground (Groundhog Song)" - Steve Burns and Steven Drozd When the more-accessible version inevitably gets removed (again), go to Jack's Big Music Show player to watch. Currently it's the video that plays whenever you go to the page, but if it's not the case later, just roll over the picture of a balding guy with the "I [Heart] Ground" shirt and click. "Tricycle" - Frances England To view this video, click on the YouTubed version here.

KidVid Tournament 2007: Day 1 Recap

Well, Day 1 of Zooglobble's KidVid Tournament 2007 is in the books and while there was no equivalent of the VCU upset over Duke, we already have a slight upset -- John Lithgow's #3 "Ya Gotta Have Pep" winning out over Laurie Berkner's "Farm Song". In the other matchup, #1 seed Steve Burns and Steven Drozd's "I Hog the Ground" handily beat a #4 seed, Farmer Jason's "Forest Rhymes." Today's contests are a pair of 2-vs-3 matchups: Frances England's "Tricycle" going up against Sir Jerry's "Bees, Butterflies and Bugs" and Gustafer Yellowgold's "I'm From the Sun" against AudraRox's "I Hope My Mama Says YES!". Go forth and vote there by Saturday noon-ish East Coast time. And if you haven't yet voted for the as-yet-unfilled 16th video slot, go here and do so. (And, yes, "Pieces of 8ight" is already in the other 15 videos.)

KidVid Tournament 2007: "I Hog The Ground" (1) vs. "Forest Rhymes" (4)

The first competition in KidVid Tournament 2007 pits the #1 seed in the Lead Belly Region, "I Hog The Ground (Groundhog Song)" from Steve Burns and Steven Drozd against the #4 seed, "Forest Rhymes" from Farmer Jason. Vote in the comments below. Rules: Video with most votes wins. One vote per e-mail address, please. Votes due by Friday noon-ish East Coast time. "I Hog The Ground (Groundhog Song)" - Steve Burns and Steven Drozd In spite of the Viacom-YouTube lawsuit, the video is still available there if you know where to look. When that inevitably gets removed (again), just go to Jack's Big Music Show player. Currently it's the video that plays whenever you go to the page, but if it's not the case later, just roll over the picture of a balding guy with the "I [Heart] Ground" shirt and click. "Forest Rhymes" - Farmer Jason Click here to view on Rhino's website or on the larger YouTube screen.