Listen To This: "Free Bubbles" - Mista Cookie Jar (feat. Father Goose!)

"Free Bubbles" single cover

Good to have Mista Cookie Jar back to offer us more kindie music from about 15 minutes in the future.  This brand new track "Free Bubbles"  might make you feel a little irie, thanks to two of the most positive kids musicians -- that's saying something in this genre.  It's the L.A.-based MCJ himself, teaming up with his New York-based cross-country doppelganger Father Goose.

There's a little more (OK, a lot more) Auto-Tune on this track celebrating free bubbles (soap bubbles, but also more metaphorical bubbles) than Father Goose probably experiences when he plays with frequent collaborator Dan Zanes, but that's just the way that Mista Cookie Jar rolls.

Now, you may have already heard this song getting some airplay on your favorite radio/satellite radio/podcast, for a limited time, starting this first day of summer, you can download the track for name-your-own-price (including free!).  Just follow the link below, and even if you stumble upon this later this summer or the midst of winter, give it a spin for more summertime vibes.

Christmas and Holiday Kids Music 2016

It has been a comparatively slow season this year for Christmas and general holiday-themed kids music, at least compared to previous years.  But that doesn't mean we've been left with coal.  Hanukkah and Christmas are only a week away, so let's jump in!

First, there's the first holiday song from Charlie Hope -- she's released a jolly and bright rendition of "Up on the Rooftop."  For the moment, you can still download it for free via the Soundcloud widget below!

Charlie Hope - "Up on the Rooftop" [Soundcloud]

Lard Dog and the Band of Shy - Rudolph cover

If Hope's track offers a simple reminder of youthful anticipation, the following track from Lard Dog and the Band of Shy serves up a blast of Christmas rebellion.  It's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," but a version unlike you've ever heard before, mixing in "Wild Thing," the Ramones" and even "Dreidel, Dreidel" into the holiday classic.  I really like both Hope's and Lard Dog's tracks, but they are toooootally different strains of Christmas songs, y'all.  Anyway, grab the free download at Lard Dog's website.

And while I would not have expected "hard-rocking" to be the most prevalent holiday song type, with Annie Lynn's "I Kept Your Present," that is, in fact, the case.  What to do when you find the perfect gift... for you, not for the person you bought it for?  This song has the answer.  You can stream it on Soundcloud, but the better version by far is her video.  The hands slay me.

Annie Lynn - "I Kept Your Present" [YouTube]

I'm sure I've missed some of this year's holiday music made specifically for kids -- let me know if I have [Ed: I did! Thanks, Sagan, for the reminders and heads up!]

A modern, electronic take on some holiday music comes from the Bay Area's Liz DeRoche, AKA The Singing Lizard.  There's not much on her Holiday Party EP that is specifically kid-focused, but the arrangements are fresh and worth exploring, even if you don't happen to have any little ones around.

The Singing Lizard - Holiday Party [Bandcamp]

Speaking of modern takes on Christmas music for kids, Minnesota's Uncle Dox features some fast but laid-back rhymes on "Santa."  There's been some really good hip-hop music for kids, and some good Christmas and holiday music for kids, but I'm hard-pressed to think of many hip-hop holiday music for kids.  This fits in that small Venn diagram intersection for sure.

Uncle Dox - "Santa" [Soundcloud]

A mellower take on some Christmas songs comes courtesy of Father Goose, who gets Dan Zanes, Sonia De Los Santos and others to help out "Irie Christmas." As you might suspect from the title, his take on a few Christmas classics gets mashed together with a reggae beat.

Father Goose - "Irie Christmas" [Spotify]

While we're on the Spotify edge of the world, how about something new from Colorado's Steve Weeks?  It's been a while, right?  Well, if you're looking for a tender ode to family togetherness or the meaning of the season, whatever your spiritual persuasion, you won't find it here.  Unless, of course, "Decorate the Cat" is how you celebrate the solstice.  Maybe it is.  I'm not judging.  In any case, this is a pretty amusing song.  (Again, unless, you're very much anti-cat-decorating.)

Steve Weeks - "Decorate the Cat" [Spotify]

Moving on, then, back to videos and something slightly more sincere.  The video below comes courtesy of Sara Lovell.

It's for "Wake Up It's Christmas Time," and it's one of those Christmas songs that celebrates the Christmas season mostly cultural and not spiritually, but makes an effort to celebrate the "spirit of the season," as it were in a most welcoming and non-exclusionary way.

The video itself is pretty simple -- Lovell strumming her (tenor?) ukulele in the woods -- but as a vehicle for the song itself, it works just fine.

Sara Lovell - "Wake Up It's Christmas Time" [YouTube]   

You'll notice that these features have been very much in the Christmas realm, albeit secularly and culturally.  Luckily, we have at least one entry this year full-on celebrating Hanukkah, which, unbeknownst to me, is now 25% more festival-ly.  Let the Macaroons explain in their animated video for "10 Days of Hanukkah."

The Macaroons - "10 Days of Hanukkah" [YouTube]

Finally (he says, not sure what else might come down the pike), there's the latest Caspar Babypants album, Winter Party!.

Winter Party album cover

I'll be honest -- I totally forgot about this album.  I mean, I got it in, what? July? August?  It's, like, 110 degrees here then, and, well... I really have no excuse, but now we're here in December and we're smack-dab in prime holiday-listening music time.

Winter Party is every bit as delightful and whimsical as you'd expect a Caspar Babypants holiday album.  You can stream the entire album via YouTube below, but above that, how about his take -- nature focused as always -- on "The Twelve Days of Christmas?"

Caspar Babypants - "The Twelve Days of Christmas" [YouTube]

Anyway, the songs are a nice mix of traditional songs (including folk songs reworked so that they are holiday songs) and a few originals.  Having said that, the Christmas songs are reworked lyrically so that they're not specifically Christian in the spirit of inclusiveness, but that could throw people who are used to the original lyrics of, say, "Silent Night."

If that doesn't bother you, you'll find Winter Party to be lots of fun (and, frankly, even if you do, you'll be able to skip the couple tracks on which that happens).  I think it's definitely recommended.

Caspar Babypants - "Winter Party" [YouTube]

Radio Playlist: New Music May 2014

As we head into Memorial Day, we move into one of the big times of the year, kids' music-wise, just before summer.  Lots of great songs to choose from.  (You can see the April playlist here).

As always, it's limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums.  But I'm always keeping stuff in reserve for the next Spotify playlist.

Check out the list here or go right here if you're in Spotify.

**** New Music May 2014 (May 2014 Kindie Playlist) ****

The Okee Dokee Brothers – Through the Woods
shad weathersby – Yellowstone / Henihco'oo'
Mr Kneel – C.L.E.A.R. (feat. Jonny 5)
Father Goose – Keep Your Head Up (feat. Danger D)
Suzi Shelton – It's a Beautiful Day
Django Jones – Counterpoint
Danny Weinkauf – Oh No Oh Yeah
Little Miss Ann – Follow Me
Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – El Cucuy (feat. Ruben Ramos)
Koo Koo Kanga Roo – Fanny Pack
Walter Martin – Hey Sister

Itty-Bitty Review: Bear Hunt! - Josh and the Jamtones

Those of you who've seen Josh and the Jamtones in concert know that to call them high-energy is to underestimate the degree of enthusiasm they bring to a live gig.  The band Brings It.

You can hear a lot of that energy on Bear Hunt!, the third album from the Boston-area band.  The exclamation at the end of "Everybody Dance!" isn't window-dressing, it's a near command, and those kids who are still standing after that song probably won't make it through the next song, the just-as-energetic "Pirate's Life."  ("Snow Day" and the  similarly amped.)  The band gets an assist from occasional Dan Zanes collaborator Father Goose, an appropriate guest artist given the band's reggae and roots rock tendencies, on a couple tracks -- who knew "Swing Low" was a song about coming home from school?

I am not generally a big skit fan, and while Josh Shriber and chief musical collaborator Patrick Hanlin, generate quite a few laughs in their 4 skits that reenact in a skewed way the classic "Bear Hunt" song, devoting about 40% of their album's 44 minute run time to the skits takes away a lot of the energy generated by the songs themselves.  They felt more appropriate for live show banter.  (Judge for yourself, perhaps, by listening to the stream of four of the songs album, best for kids ages 3 through 7, below.)

Josh and the Jamtones are definitely a band to watch as their live shows have attracted a lot of attention.  The music on Bear Hunt!  doesn't try anything new, but is given a bit of flash and shine and if it doesn't make your family laugh, at the very least it's probably gonna make you dance.  Recommended

Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.