Happy Birthday to Me

Well, not me personally.  This site.

That's right, exactly ten years ago today I burst forth onto the kids music scene with these words (actually, these words, but whatevs):

Welcome to Zooglobble! It's my hope that this blog/website will become a reference site for great kids' music that parents can enjoy as well. If you like Ralph's World, Laurie Berkner, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Justin Roberts, among others, stop by on a regular basis for news, reviews, and goodness knows what else. It might take some time, but we'll build this up to something worth your time.

Thanks in advance for your time and patience.

Those 75 words launched a million more -- probably two million more.  Over the past ten years I've reviewed well over 600 albums, listened to probably close to 3,000 albums, featured hundreds if not thousands of videos, interviewed dozens of artists, and done lots of other things I can't count.

My life is different now than it was in 2004, and one such way is that I'm busier to the extent that I'm not going to try to count those things, my math-nerd tendencies notwithstanding.

Of course, the most important things that have happened over the past ten years as a direct (and indirect) result of my work on this site are difficult if not impossible to quantify -- bonds shared with family, friends made across the country, communities supported, joy felt.  Through luck and hard work I've had the opportunity to meet some great people, learn new skills, and have some amazing experiences.

Thanks to everyone who's made their way here over the past decade -- there are far too many of them to pick any one of them out except for my wife and kids who have indulged me in this hobby.  Thanks to musicians, readers, and all of you in this world who are supporting the creation of art for kids and families.  To paraphrase Richard Scarry, there are all kinds of musicians.  The best musicians record kids' albums.

Thanks, y'all, for coming to the party, don't be stranger 'round these parts, and don't forget your goodie bag on the way out.

You Get a Present for Spare the Rock and Zooglobble's Birthday

So ten years ago this week, this humble little website was born (more on that a little bit later this week).  And nine years ago earlier this month a humble little radio show, Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, first aired.  In that time, I've written hundreds of reviews and featured hundreds of reviews, while Bill Childs and his kids have played thousands of songs on air (and internet).  We've done lots of other stuff separately and together, and we each have new and exciting projects in the works, but my site has always been at the heart of what I do, and I'm sure Bill feels the same way about his show.

I thought it might be fun to celebrate both this site's birthday as well as Spare the Rock starting its tenth year on the air, something that might span a year's worth of time.  And, yes, Bill was very much onboard.

So we're pleased as punch to announce the first in a series of free kids music tracks for you to enjoy.  Bill and I are talking to some of our favorite kids' musicians, both those making music for kids even before we hopped onto the Internet as well as newer artists continuing to shake up the genre, asking them if they'd be willing to write a song to give away.

But in the spirit of collaboration Bill and I have often shared, we're asking them to write and record those songs with another kindie musician.

Our first track is called "When I'm Ten" and it's from Seattle-area bands and friends Recess Monkey and The Not-Its.  It's bit of a nod to the Not-Its' song "When I'm Five," but it's got a crunchiness (and slightly older perspective) all its own.  Recess Monkey bassist Jack Forman reports that "writing the tune with Drew [Holloway from Recess Monkey], Sarah [Shannon] and Danny [Adamson, both from the Not-Its] was totally organic - like we'd all been in a band for years."

Play the song below or download it -- for the next month only -- here.  [Sorry, the month has expired. Will the song ever resurface? Who knows????]

(Recess Monkey photo credit: Kevin Fry)

Lishy Lou and Lucky Too's Radio Show Hits NPR

If you tuned into NPR's All Things Considered today, you may have heard a review of Lishy Lou and Lucky Too, the latest album from Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band.  It's an album done in the style of an old radio show with some some sparkly modern songs to fill the spaces in between.

If you found your way here due to the review, welcome!  Plenty of great music (and videos, mp3s, interviews) to be found here from Diaz and many more artists, many of whom I've previously reviewed on NPR.

You can also find podcasts on kids music and kid-friendly Kickstarters, iOS app reviews, and much, much more (just look at the sidebar on the right).

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

Alastair Moock, Singing His Way Through on NPR

To those of you who heard my review of Alastair Moock and Friends' Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World's Bravest Kids, welcome.  (Here's the NPR link.)

Go here for more information on the album (or stream via the widget below).  You might also like a video from the album.   It's an album filled with empathy, sympathy, and a large dollop of humor.

And if you're new to the site, thanks for stopping by and feel free to explore some more great kids music. 

Hey, There, NPR Listeners Who Like Paul Spring

If you happened to listen to NPR's All Things Considered this afternoon, you might have heard a review of Paul Spring's Home of Song , a wonderful debut kids music album from the Minnesota singer-songwriter and wondered who this Zooglobble guy was who reviewed it.

Well, you found me. 

Welcome, thanks for stopping by.  Tons more great music for families here -- just check out this main blog as well as the bar to the right.  For you podcast listeners out there, feel free to check out my podcasts Kindie Week in Review (weekly -- usually -- updates of kids music developments), My Other Other Gig (interviews with kids music folks about non-kids-music things), and Bake Sale (family-friendly Kickstarter and crowdfunding projects), all available on iTunes and elsewhere.

Enjoy, and thanks again for listening (and reading). 

Kindiefest: All Things Kindie (and Pizza)

Details on the annual kindie confabulation known as Kindiefest are coming together and for those of us "in the biz," as none of us "in the biz" actually say, it looks like another great weekend of gabbing, listening, and eating.  (The pizza is not a joke.)

The full set of panels and panelists have been announced, and I think for the musicians making a living (or hoping to) who attend, you're bound to find a panel or four worth your time.  While some panels appeal to the creative entrepreneur in me ("Managing Self-Management Kindie Style"), as a non-kindie musician, I'm most looking forward to the broader items -- the "KindieTalks," for example, featuring Laurie Berkner, Dean Jones, and WXPN's Robert Drake doing TED-talks-style presentations.

Plus, I have three words for you: Ella Jenkins keynote.​  I am seriously geeked for that.

​So, yes, I am attending once again.  I'll be curating/presenting a video session currently titled $9.99: Kindie Music Videos in the Age of YouTube​.  It'll feature, well, kindie music videos of both recent and, er, vintage vintage.  I'm really looking forward to putting that together and showing it at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where the conference is moving to this year -- the better to hold its 2 expanded days of panels and workshops.

I'm also looking forward to the Saturday night artists' showcase, which features a lot of artists I've never seen perform live. ​I'm particularly eager to see Stephen Cohen, Ratboy Jr., and Dan Zanes performing with Elizabeth Mitchell, and I'm always curious to see whose performance ends up surprising me.  And while they haven't yet announced the Sunday public concert lineup, based on which artists have been announced as attending the conference whose names haven't appeared on a panel or Saturday night, I think that's going to be out of sight.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in the kindie field.  There are friends, of course, like Jeff and Mindy, and all the Kindiefest braintrust, whom I look forward to talking with.  And while as a reviewer, I tend to consider my relationships with musicians as different from "friends," it's hard not to get jazzed by being in the presence of so many creative (and, usually, funny) people.  And music.

​So if you are involved in making, presenting, or selling music for kids, I encourage you to register.  And say hello.  And come to my presentation.