Halloween 2014 Kids' Songs

Nothing like a last-minute roundup of holiday-related music, right?  If you want a much, much larger list, head here for a massive list of kid-friendly Halloween music, but here's a roundup of videos and tracks for your streaming pleasure. Blast it out your front door speaker at the trick-or-treaters Friday night.

As a bonus, I'll give you a Spookglobble rating -- 1 is for everyone, 2 is mildly scary (but should be fine for all but the most sensitive -- think slightly worrisome for a 3-year-old), and 3 could be scary for some kids.

Bears and Lions - "Halloween Is Finally Here": No PANCAKE! SWEEPSTAKES!, sadly, but it's good to have B&L music in any form, even seasonal.  Spookglobble rating: 2

Eric Herman - "Monster League Baseball" [YouTube]: It's a comedy sketch about, well, monsters playing baseball.  Spookglobble rating: 1

The Hipwaders - "Pumpkinhead" [YouTube]: As the band says in the description for the video, this is a cautionary tale regarding the dangers of too much Halloween candy. Perhaps play this for your kids before they go out Halloween night?

Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips - "Halloween Every Night" [YouTube]: Surf-hop? MCJ's sound is sui generis, and this song commemorating both trick-or-treating and the cultural trappings of the holiday, is a mashup like everything else they do. Spookglobble rating: 1.7.

The Flannery Brothers - "Robot for Halloween" [YouTube]: Happy, joyful song about creating a Halloween costume. (I think you can guess what kind of costume). Bonus: download the song (and two others) for free! The song's a year-old, but some of that candy may be, too.  Spookglobble rating: 1.  (h/t: Cool Mom Tech)

Jazzy Ash - "Monsters": Gentle strut disproving the entire existence of monsters.  Spoilsport!  (Just kidding!) Spookglobble rating: 1.1

Charity and the JAMband - "Halloween": Another costume-celebrating track, celebrating all sorts of costumes. Also free for a limited time. Spookglobble rating: 1.

Joanie Leeds - "Confusing Costume": As someone who went as a "Black Hole" complete with a picture of Maxmillian Schell last year, I can relate.  Spookglobble rating: 1.

Itty-Bitty Review: First Songs - Danny Lion

FirstSongsDannyLion.jpeg

Dan Flannery may be best known in the kindie world for being half of the well-loved duo the Flannery Brothers, but he has an alter ego as a dandelion-brandishing lion superhero.

Wait, what?  I must've been confused by the album cover.

The Flannery Brothers aren't defunct by any means, but Dan has taken his master's degree in Child Development and job teaching preschool classes and music and turned that into Danny Lion, his very preschool-focused music alter ego.  His debut DL album First Songs from late last year is a half-hour and a dozen songs of genial silliness for your favorite preschooler.  Super-simple -- there's a song about having a "Banana on the Head" that is exactly about that -- but that's the point (and the charm) of the album.  The instrument list includes ukulele, bass, and cajon, and… well, that's it, really.  It's just songs like and "Puppies in Cars" and "Dance Happy" which will, well, put a smile on your and maybe even Pharrell's face.

The album will appeal to kids ages 2 through 6.  You can listen to the whole album here.  This is simplicity done right -- letting the humor and happiness shine through.  Definitely recommended.

Newborn: Danny Lion (AKA Dan Flannery)

I usually reserve this "Newborn" series for artists fairly new to the kindie scene, but while the name Danny Lion is new, there's a fair bit of experience behind it. 

Chiefly, it's Dan Flannery, who as half of the Flannery Brothers with his brother Mike, has put out a handful of kids music albums over the past few years.   Unlike a lot of kids musicians, whose music's sweet spot age-wise tends to creep up slightly over time, in this new project Flannery moves the other direction, pitching his music at a slightly younger crowd, pretty much exclusively preschoolers.  Flannery reports that the songs were written while he was teaching preschool and getting a master's in child development.

But we're mostly just interested in the music, and the tracks you can listen to right now are simple (ukulele, bass, cajon, and that's it) and a whole bunch of fun.   That's good enough for me.  If you like the simple arrangements of toddler favorites like Caspar Babypants, or Old Town School of Folk Music Wiggleworms CDs, I think this merits your attention.

Weekly Summary (4/15/12 - 4/21/12)

I'll be making my way to Kindiefest later this week, and as I'm prepping my presentation for Saturday afternoon, time to post here will be at a minimum.  Still, I added quite a bit of stuff over the last 7 days...

Blog: ​ Pointed Man Band Kickstarts Itself / Video: "Bunny in the Moon" - DidiPop / Interview: C.J. Pizarro (Mista Cookie Jar)

Videos: "Jackie Robinson" - Ellis Paul / "Whistling Song" (Live) - Cat Doorman / "Banana on the Head!" - The Flannery Brothers / "Rocketbox" - Umigo (feat. Bootsy Collins)

Listen to Music: "Kevin from the Internet and Lady Tomato" - Chicken Weebus / Chocolalala - Mister G

Free Music:  None this week...

Kids Music Reviews: None this week...

Upcoming Releases: You should be eager for late spring / early summer

Kindie Week in Review: Episode 12: Kindie on Ice

My Other Other Gig​: Hello, iTunes!

Weekly Summary (3/18/13 - 3/24/13)