Frances England has written me a song.
OK, she's written you a song.
You, there in the back with the Danish? Song for you, too.
Explanation? England's written "Oh, How You've Grown" and offered the tender song on her website for free as part of her Holiday Family Creative Challenge. Not only can you download the mp3, you (that is, the non-commercial you) can use it as the soundtrack to your own family holiday scrapbook -- she's calling at an "end-of-the-year visual postcard." You can see England's own video here -- sepia makes everything more nostalgic.
Frances England - "Oh, How You've Grown" [YouTube]
Share: "Gimme Some Pancakes" - The Boogers
Who doesn't love free pancakes? I love pancakes, especially the free ones! Warm, with a little maple syrup, maybe with some butter on top. (Or some peanut butter for variety's sake.)
And so I think that it's AWESOME that kids punk band The Boogers are offering their fans free pancakes for the price of an e-mail. I mean, how great is that? You give them your e-mail address, and they send you PANCAKES. All the way from Illinois!
[whisper, whisper]
Oh, it's not actual pancakes? It's a song about pancakes? Sigh. I mean, yeah, the new song rocks, and, yes, you can get "Gimme Some Pancakes" for the price of an e-mail. (And, yeah, Crusty and the crew are workin' on a new album for 2012.) But now I'm hungry.Share: Free Music from Caspar Babypants, Recess Monkey, The Not-Its (and more)
Big props to Amazon for continuing to offer free kids' music. A couple months ago it was Justin Roberts and Bloodshot Records, among others -- this month it's Burnside Distribution, who's offering a free 7-song sampler of artists whose albums they distribute. Because Burnside's based in Portland, OR, it's no surprise that the sampler's got a big Pacific Northwest tilt -- Caspar Babypants ("I Wanna Be a Snowman"), Recess Monkey ("Flapjacks"), and the Not-Its ("I've Got a Goat") have songs from their latest album on the list. The album also includes The Verve Pipe's deservedly beloved and over-the-top "Cereal" and Kimya Dawson's dorky and lo-fi "Bobby-O" from Alphabutt.
For those of you on the lookout for new music, the album does have a couple less-familiar tracks. One is "Tootsie" from Edukator Jr., a song with an Americana feel (which is a much different sound from the rest of the tracks on their Myspace page). No surprise, Greasy Kid Stuff was all over the album when it was first released a couple years ago.
The other is "Things That Can't Be Pets" from a band called Snack Trap. The track sounds like The Postal Service (if the duo had invited a female singer along).Share: Stream Laura Veirs' "Tumble Bee" on NPR
I think this is a first for NPR -- a children's music album streaming at their website. It's Laura Veirs' lovely album Tumble Bee, which is officially out next week. It's a half-hour of your time (and your kids' time) well-spent, maybe tomorrow or the rest of the week -- think of it as the antidote to the sugar rush they might just be on. Go here to stream the album.
(By the way, go here to sign up via Facebook for a free download of the title track.)Even More Halloween Songs and Videos
Like all good (or is it bad) scary movies, my original Halloween music post for 2011 spawned not just one sequel, but has, with this post, become a full-on trilogy.
Chuck Cheesman has offered up his Halloween song "Halloween Freak Out!" from his latest album Dancing With No Shoes On as a free download for the next few days (and, really, who would want to listen to it on, say, Nov. 2nd?). Note: actual freaking out during the song is minimal. The download is available at the the top of this page.
Baze and His Silly Friends are offering up a free download of their 2009 song "Scare Me, Scare You."
Number of times "scary" is in the title = 2. Actual level of scariness = 0.1 (but that's OK!)
Download the track here or via the widget below.
Baze and His Silly Friends are offering up a free download of their 2009 song "Scare Me, Scare You."
Number of times "scary" is in the title = 2. Actual level of scariness = 0.1 (but that's OK!)
Download the track here or via the widget below.
Share: Lunch Money's Original Friend
Ah, it's Grammy nominating time, and artists are doing as much lobbying as they can... in very subtle, non-obtrusive ways, because all that lobbying that movie folks do for Oscar votes is frowned upon by the Grammy folks.
South Carolina Lunch Money band is by no means the only artist to toot their horns (go here to stream another excellent album on the Grammy ballot), but their page letting you download the album for free is, like the album and the band itself, understated, witty, and generous. So go here and download Original Friend for free. And tell someone else about it, even if "Grammy" means "grandmother" to them. (Need more convincing? Read this.)
