I am not a "Beluga Grad," but for many reasons, I am an ardent fan of Raffi. I find the putdowns of his music to be sort of like putdowns of the Beatles -- sure, you can say it, but to somehow suggest that Raffi (or the Beatles) wasn't a) very successful, and b) very talented is to be c) very stupid lazy in your criticism. (We try not to use the word "stupid" 'round here.) People sometimes use Raffi and Barney interchangeably, which makes me wonder if they've ever listened to either of them.
Now, I totally get some of that criticism, and I am not a huge fan of Raffi's later work (especially as compared to his first three albums, which still get played at our house). But the man had a knack for simple but effective arrangements and, oh, that voice. In more recent years, Raffi has given up recording music for kids, and turned his attention to a variety of projects, including the Center for Child Honoring, a non-profit group Raffi founded "dedicated to advancing Child Honouring as a universal ethic, an organizing principle for societal transformation." I haven't enjoyed the music he's recorded recently very much, but the song he recorded in the wake of Egypt's social uprising, is, I think, a reminder of both his songcraft skills and his emotive voice.
Raffi - "Tweet Me Right" (The Cairo Tango) [YouTube]
Big Changes Afoot in Two Kindie Bands
In a move that stunned many kindie music observers, late last night the popular family music bands Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players and Recess Monkey exchanged their bassists. Under the terms of the deal, Roberts' longtime bassist Jacqueline Schimmel will head west to join Recess Monkey while founding RM bassist Jack Forman will head to Chicago to join the NR4NP. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Neither Schimmel nor Forman were immediately available for comment; their bandmates did not respond to press requests, either. Sources indicate to Zooglobble, however, that the primary driver in the trade was that Schimmel's contract with the NR4NP was nearing an end, and rather than have Schimmel potentially leave due to free agency, Roberts was looking to retain some rhythm section value.EMP Pop Conference 2011: A Brief Review
I got back from the 2011 EMP Pop Conference at UCLA late Sunday night, oblivious of who had won the Oscar statuettes being handed out just a few miles from where I spent the weekend. I've had a 15-year gradual slide away from movies, but that lack of interest felt particularly apropos relative to where I am with music, my interest there waxing as much as my interest in movies has waned. I am not the typical presenter at the Pop Conference-- I'm not an academic, I'm not a professional musician, and I don't think about or write or sell music for a living. (Not much of one, anyway.) As Chuck Klosterman said during his presentation (and I'm paraphrasing here), Pop Conference folks do not have anything resembling a normal relationship to music. Despite the fact that I've been writing about family music here for 6 1/2 years, I think my relationship with music is mostly normal. On the upper edge of "normal," perhaps, but normal nonetheless. (My wife might disagree.) All in all, I might have been closer to the UCLA students registered for the conference than the other presenters in terms of knowledge. But given that I have presented at SXSW and I'm going back to Kindiefest, I thought it might be useful to recap what I did this weekend so that my readers (many of whom I tend to think of as also being on that upper edge of "normal," if not beyond it) can see what it's like to be amongst a group of music obsessives for 48+ hours while listening to comparatively little music. I arrived in Los Angeles early Friday afternoon, greeted by rain, a long line at the rental car counter, and traffic that can only be described as snarled. The combination of rain, poor highways, Oscar-swollen traffic, and early Friday rush hour meant that it took about an hour to drive the 13-14 miles from LAX to UCLA, which meant that I missed the first set of panels. The basic structure of the panels remained the same throughout the weekend -- one moderator in charge of keeping time and asking questions in case the audience didn't have them, and three or four presenters who used Powerpoint or video or audio to help make their case. The moderators didn't always enforce time strictly, but there was rarely a time when I felt like the panel didn't have enough time. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect in putting together my own presentation, so I was glad to have the opportunity to hear (and see) others present their papers.
Video: "Dance Yrself Clean" - LCD Soundsystem (with Muppets)
OK, it's not quite the brilliance that was "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," but this is kinda funny. While that video was an official video for the band, this video for "Dance Yrself Clean" from the soon-to-be-defunct LCD Soundsystem is unofficial, featuring the Muppets (and Cookie Monster) playing a Beatles-like gig above a Brighton storefront. I'd quibble with some of the instrumentation (really, why not have the sole female muppet taking the Nancy Whang keyboardist role), but the slow burn of the track lets the muppets do various things.
Note: It doesn't reach Avenue Q levels of puppet inappropriateness, but they do go clubbing, Animal and Cookie Monster clearly have had too much to drink, and Kermit the Frog behaves rudely to Miss Piggy at the very end. So what I'm saying is: Watch it yourself before watching it with the kids.
[One other note: I'm heading out to LA for the EMP Pop Conference to give my presentation, "Pay Me My Money Down: Dan Zanes, They Might Be Giants, and the (Un)Surprising Resurgence of Family Music" on Sunday at 4:15. LA folks are welcome to stop by (if there's room).]
LCD Soundsystem (with Muppets) - "Dance Yrself Clean" []
A Blue Canary in the Outlet by the Light Switch. Really.
I don't do a lot that is not kids-music-focused here, but I think you'll understand why I've made an exception for this item. It's the Blue Canary Night Light, and, yes, it's an homage to They Might Be Giants' super-catchy "Birdhouse in Your Soul" from their album Flood. (An album which, I might add, was released more than 20 years ago. Pardon me while I feel old.)
But not only is it an homage, it's a darn fine nightlight. I am a happy customer, and it occurred to me that the Venn diagram of people who read this site and those families who might, for many reasons, want a Blue Canary Night Light could be sizable. I also liked simple statement on the website -- "We needed a night light for our daughter a few months ago, and really wanted a blue canary night light, but couldn't find one. So I made one!" That sort of attitude merited further investigation. So I got in touch with Brock Tice, the creator of the night light, who kindly answered a few questions. So read on to find out what it takes to manufacture a nightlight, Tice's favorite TMBG album, and a picture of the nightlight lit up while, yes, in the (OK, my) outlet by the light switch.
Zooglobble: When did you first hear Flood?
Brock Tice: I was introduced to TMBG when my sixth grade (read: around 1995 or '96, can't recall for sure) drama teacher did a class on the song "Birdhouse in Your Soul". I also heard "Particle Man" around that time on Tiny Toon Adventures along with their amusing illustration of the song. After that it was a while before I heard more of Flood, but in college with the advent of Napster I ended up listening to a lot more of that album. I also really loved "Why Does The Sun Shine", which is not on Flood.
Regarding the nighlight's creation, you written that you "needed a night light for our daughter a few months ago, and really wanted a blue canary night light, but couldn't find one. So I made one!" How long had you been thinking a blue canary night light would be a cool idea? (Was it since before your daughter was born?) What pushed the idea from "that'd be cool" to you investigating manufacturing techniques?
I had thought on and off since college (2000-2004) that a blue canary night light would be pretty cool to have, but from time to time I'd search the Internet and stores, and not find anything. A combination of having a daughter and wanting a night light for her in 2008, plus a second reading of Tim Ferriss' 4 Hour Work-Week inspired me to try building the light, with the eventual goal of selling it to others if it worked out well.
How long did it take you from concept to production?Monday Morning Smile: "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" - Hanson
Y'know, I've always thought that "MMMBop" was one of the great pop hits of the '90s. The Hanson tune was seemingly everywhere when it was first released, and more than a decade later, it still holds up -- it's one of the most hummable meditations on change and mortality ever released. Anyway, they released a new album this summer called Shout It Out. The lead single "Thinkin 'Bout Somethin'" isn't a kids' tune (the singer's girlfriend has done him wrong) but it's not inappropriate, it is catchy, and the video, well, the video is a bunch of fun. (And if it all just looks vaguely familiar, you're right.)
What I'm thinking about is why they decided that they wanted to apostrophize 2 but not 3 of the words in the song title.
Hanson - "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" [YouTube]
(After the jump, the song that kicked it all off. You know you want to hear it again.)
