Mother’s Day is a special day! It’s a celebration of time spent watching, playing and growing with your little ones. Maybe you are getting a special homemade card that says “I LUV U MOM” or a kiss and a super duper leg squeeze from a little person (or two) who is just about as tall as your knee. Whatever the case may be, mom’s rock!
Speaking of mom rockstars, Beth Benz-Clucas of Sugar Mountain PR put together an awesome playlist featuring some of serious kindie talent. The best part? Starting today you can DOWNLOAD THE SONGS FOR FREE. But hurry because they are only downloadable for about a week. Although, the playlist will be available to stream beyond then.
Music has been a major “bonding agent” for me and my daughter and to have a collection of great music to share with her is already making Mother’s Day that much sweeter!
Please note that, according to Soundcloud, the download function works only on computers and laptops. Mobile devices and tablets ONLY allow for streaming of all of the songs.To Download, go to soundcloud and highlight the track you’d like, then click the download icon to the right.
The artists that make this playlist rock are:
“Motorcycle Mom” – The Not-Its! (from their upcoming album Raise Your Hand)
“Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?” — Amelia Earhart
Having a daughter who is bright, strong-willed (read: confident), and fearless has taught me so much. She is small but curious and constantly seeks answers to greater things. One of the many questions that frequently perplexes her is why there are more boys doing things than girls. Some of those things include plumbing, construction, being president, space exploration, even ninjas. And, don’t even get her started on why boys don’t take the girl’s name when they get married or why every classic princess story ends with the princess marrying the prince (or, as she would say, “yeah yeah then they get married, blah blah blah”). I wish I could say that I had a part in provoking this charge in her, other than a result of a crazy combo of genetics, but I don’t. She is a thinker and a seeker and I love that about her. At 5-years-old anything is possible whether you are a boy and especially if you are a girl! As I listen to her questions, sometimes in awe, I try to answer as best I can to the tune of empowering her to follow her passions and to be the one that makes a change.
So this all ties into the fact that it’s Women of Aviation Worldwide week! First, I must say that I am a fan of the site A Mighty Girl. In summary, “The site was founded on the belief that all children should have the opportunity to read books, play with toys, listen to music, and watch movies that offer positive messages about girls and honor their diverse capabilities.” They posted the Amelia Earhart quote, featured at the beginning of this post, on their Facebook page which subsequently inspired my thoughts above.
Secondly, there’s always room to celebrate with a song! “8000 Feet” by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band was inspired by Amelia Earhart. I present it to you in honor of The First Lady of Flight and all the other mighty girls who are seeking out their dreams, whether it is actually flying 8000 feet in the sky or ambitiously seeking out greater things on the ground. It’s awesome!
“8000 Feet” can be heard on LDFJB’s most recent release, Lishy Lou and Lucky Too. You can preview the entire album here which I absolutely suggest. It’s brimming with vibrancy, life and as much wonder about the world as my little mighty mouse has. Lishy Lou and Lucky Too is also available via iTunes.
Happy Valentine’s Day! And like any other holiday, or really any day, your ears deserve musical treats. So, below you will find a Spotify playlist containing some tracks we are spinning. Since not all of the songs are on Spotify, you can find additional tracks below the playlist in the form of videos, links, and FREE DOWNLOADS!
There’s a whole lotta love here so get ready to turn it up!
Dean Jones, check. Trombone, check. Adorable furry friend, check! I’m sold! Bonus:The good people of Dog On Fleas would like to share their love with fans of all ages by offering a flea, er, free download. If you download this track in February, and send Dog On Fleas a message with your email address, they will send you a bonus track!! As in… buy one, get one flea. Or you can go to their Facebook page and message them (and like them while you are there).
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Laura Doherty – “In a Heartbeat”
I love the disco break in the middle of this song. The beats are good, Laura’s voice is gorgeous and the photos breathe love.
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Alex Mitnick of Alex & The Kaleidescope Band has been a dad for almost a year now. In awe of his son, Miles, Alex was inspired to write the song “Feelin’ Fine” to celebrate Miles’ first Valentine’s Day. It’s also a sneak peek into Alex’s upcoming album entitled Love Songs For My Baby. As a special gift for Valentine’s Day, Alex is also offering a free download of this song.
Mariana Iranzi – “Valentine’s Day Song” A bi-lingual valentine’s song with bold color, fun puppets and a beautiful translation.
Lyrics translation:
“I have a heart so big like the sun
beats like a drum
I have a heart without sorrow nor resentment
sing like the nightingale
I have a heart open like a flower
dance with emotion
I have a heart full of hope
I want to give you all my love”
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Poochamungas – Valentine’s Day I unfortunately can’t embed the player here but I can tell you that the song is a fun one and the tone accurately expresses the experience of spending time making cards on Valentine’s Day. http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_19910031
The other day I was talking with a close friend who sighed as she said that she is sadly probably one of the few people who still buys physical copies of albums. She even still seeks out vinyl. A woman after my own heart! As we were talking, I asked her if she uses any streaming music services like Pandora or Spotify since I like to understand how people find Kids music. She said, rarely, but if she does use any services it’s Spotify for the convenience of its playlist feature. Curious, I went to check out Spotify’s Browse feature which, according to Spotify, contains “expert playlists for every mood and moment.“
As I was scrolling through the “Kids” section, passing familiar categories such as Folk, Sing-Alongs, and Lullabies, I stumbled upon one that was intriguing. Enter the Hipster Youth playlist. The Hipster Youth playlist contains a large selection of top kindie artists like The Verve Pipe, The Pop Ups,The Okee Dokee Brothers, Gustafer Yellowgold, Recess Monkey, Justin Roberts, Big Bang Boom,Ralph Covert and Dan Zanes among others. There is also some Yo Gabba Gabba representation, of course! Despite it being an excellent playlist filled with “hip and indie kids music” (note: The Goo Goo Dolls with Elmo and The Spin Doctors somehow make an appearance) the actual naming of the playlist is what caught my eye. Since it is a Spotify generated list (some lists are generated by Spotify members), I wrote Spotify to see if I could get more information on how the name of the list was chosen. As suspected, I was pointed to the help text which states that “Spotify Browse adds the human touch to our recommendations, creating a three-dimensional approach to music discovery. Between your friends, our personalized recommendations and real music experts, it’s the perfect formula to ensure you’ll always have the right music for every moment.”
While I wouldn’t necessarily identify myself or my daughter as a hipster (although I did buy her shiny gold leggings from American Apparel and joyfully exclaimed that she looks like a hipster), I have to admit that the label is catchy. Although, I’m not sure how many artists or listeners would identify with it. I like to think that in many ways it reinforces the coolness of this genre and makes me feel even more grateful to be a part of a thriving musical community made up of artists that value independent thinking, appreciation of art, creativity, intelligence, and clever wordplay. All of which you will find among the tracks below.
I checked in with Jack Forman of Recess Monkey on what he thought of being a part of a playlist called Hipster Youth: “[hipster youth] definitely makes me think of little kids with handlebar mustaches. So I guess that means I like it? There’s some chagrin in the family corner of the music world about media people who write the “FINALLY there’s music for kids!” article. I understand the frustration: we’ve all been at this for a long time. But really, whatever you want to call this kind of music we all make, it’s still extremely niche and most people don’t get it until they see one of our bands in person, watching their kids connect at a show, or really spending time with a record. All that being said, I think every time someone breathes new energy into the definition (kindie, hipster, etc.) is just that many more people who may discover it. But I think the bigger story here is Spotify will pay all of these artists, Recess Monkey included, a laughably small royalty. Sure, music discovery is an important part of being a career musician… but what Spotify is doing is downright criminal. At least hipsters aren’t thieves!”
To reinforce Jack’s statement, if you like what you hear, I would urge you to support these artists by checking out their sites, seeing them live, purchasing the songs and even a full album from media outlets like iTunes, CDBaby and Amazon. While Spotify is convenient, it provides a fractional financial “thank you” to artists. Besides, there really is no substitute for the real thing.
Halloween is almost here! Whether you are in the process of making your own costume or carving the baddest jack-o-lantern on the block, a Halloween soundtrack is a must! Below is a spooktacular playlist featuring a brilliant mix of artists! And don’t miss two great videos from The Pop Ups and Trout Fishing in America to go along with it.
It’s heating up here on the West Coast and we’ve been spending alot of time in the car searching for cooler places. As such, we have been racking up a list of some summer songs that take our minds to a better place and off the scorching introduction to summer.
Below is a Spotify playlist of just some of our favorites. It includes old and new tunes we hope you’ll enjoy.
Summer is a comin’ and having a soundtrack to go with it is an absolute must! The good news is that from now until June 1 you can download 13 rockin’ Kindie tracks for FREE. Normally, I would be wary of the number 13, but in this case I can honestly say 13 is a magic number!
Presented by BunchFamily and cleverly curated by Beth Benz-Claus, this list ebbs and flows like a fine mixtape (or digital playlist, in this case) should. You’ll find a variety of styles some of which include Americana, good ole Rock n’ Roll and even some Soul. Check the list and download now before time runs out!
“Wander Round the World” – Key Wilde and Mr Clarke from Pleased to Meet You
“Train Song” – Charlie Hope from I’m Me
“Outshining Nomads” – Dean Jones from When the World Was New
“Slow” – Trout Fishing in America from an unreleased album due out this summer.
“Hard Travelin'” – Alastair Moock (featuring The Okee Dokee Brothers) from an unreleased album due out this summer.
“She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain” – Johnny Bregar from Putumayo Kids American Playground “Honk Honk” – The Monkey Bunch from Power to the Little People “My Green Kite” – Peter Himmelman from My Green Kite “Let’s Skateboard” – The Not-Its! from KidQuake! “Kilimanjaro” – Shine and the Moonbeams from unreleased album due out this summer “Turn Around” – Cat Doorman from Cat Doorman Songbook “Fruit Jar” – Justin Roberts from Pop Fly “Down at the Sea Hotel” – The Secret Mountain
Happy New Year! It’s that time of year again and I am feeling a little more reflective than previous years. As the new year approaches, for me, things like a connection to our world, togetherness and balance keep coming up.
As such, I wanted to put together a list of music that conveyed these feelings. The list below manages to do that, in addition to evoking a sense of hope and joy. I hope you enjoy them with your family as you reflect, snuggle together and prepare for a fresh start in 2013.
SteveSongs – “Our World”
Families may be familiar with Steve Roslonek as “Mr. Steve,” co-host of PBS KIDS preschool destination. “Mr. Steve” typically appears in a short musical segment called Music Time with SteveSongs which airs before shows like Curious George, Clifford, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, among others. In addition to his PBS affiliation, Roslonek is an award-winning children’s musician with several of his own albums under the moniker of “SteveSongs.”
Just in time for the holidays, Roslonek recorded a song called “Our World.” According to Roslonek, “The song was inspired by a PBS request for a wintertime song to go with their digital holiday card. The card pictured Grover showing a child the moon and stars on a snowy night.” Roslonek certainly upholds the image he was inspired by with lyrics like “Last night the moon rose high in the winter sky/shining 240,000 miles/to light a path for you and I/snow fell like star flakes/and time/went flying by/thats why I know/and it always will be true/that the time I have/is better spent with you.” It’s a great song that you might just want to hear all year!
“Our World” is available to the general public as a FREE DOWNLOAD through December 31, 2012. After December 31, 2012, fans can digitally download “Our World” from SteveSongs’ official site.
Bonus: Roslonek’s eighth CD, Orangutan Van, is set to release on January 29, 2013, but fans can purchase it ahead of time, online, at http://stevesongs.com.
Vanessa Trien and The Jumping Monkeys – “Let Your Light Glow”
Receiving a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award for their October release, Bubble Ride, Vanessa Trien and The Jumping Monkeys are back with a holiday song called “Let Your Light Glow.” Available as a FREE DOWNLOAD directly from their official site, “Let Your Light Glow” was written by Jumping Monkeys’ friend, Julie Rama Winslow and performed and recorded by the group. The song contains Trien’s beautiful voice along with the harmonious accompaniment of the rest of the group. According to Trien and the Jumping Monkeys, “The song is meant to honor the changing of the seasons and to celebrate light, warmth and connection to the people around us.”
African Treehouse – “Holiday Time is Here”
African Treehouse is an ongoing project to bring African music to kids around the world. It’s the brainchild of the SAMA (South African Music Award) winning team of Graeme Sacks and Erika Strydom. “Holiday Time is Here,” with its “World Music” accents, talks about the different ways of celebrating the holidays between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This song reminds me of the excitement I felt growing up while watching clips of people around the world celebrating as their own clocks hit midnight. “Holiday Time is Here” is an inspiring song, offering educational insights for children with a festive vibe.
The song can be sampled and purchased through the Bandcamp widget below.
Gustafer Yellowgold – “New is the New Old” and “Fa And A La”
Morgan Taylor, the mastermind behind Gustafer Yellowgold, a creature from the sun, recently released a couple of holiday videos from his 2012 release, Year In The Day. The 11-song CD/DVD set contains videos for each of the songs on the album. A Year In The Day celebrates various holidays throughout the year starting off with “New is the New Old,” which welcomes the New Year. The last track, available only for the month of December, “Fa And A La,” is a warm, harmonic ode to the holiday season, as well as gathering with friends and family. You can view both videos below and sing along as the lyrics are displayed throughout the song. Year In The Day can be purchased through the Gustafer Yellowgold store, as well as other regular media outlets.
Charity and the JAMband – “The Light”
Every month fans of Charity and the JAMBand can enjoy a free song directly from the band’s official site. This month’s song, “The Light,” sounds similar to a lullaby. I selected “The Light” for its soft beauty and the powerful message. After reading Charity Khan’s intentions and feelings about this song, I realized that this song could bring a sense of peace and love to all of us as we reflect on this year and prepare for the upcoming new year. I believe Khan’s summation speaks the most beautifully in the following snippet taken from her site:
“The song is called The Light. The theme is that light itself (whether in the form of twinkly tree lights, flickering candle-fire, the sun or stars) is central to every culture’s winter holiday. And it universally symbolizes purity, a hope for peace, a desire for awakening and transformation, and the amazing opportunity we’re given to recognize the basic human goodness in one another — the opportunity to lay down our fear, judgement, and illusion of separation and come together, in love, as one. For deep down, everyone wants to love and be loved. The experience of sharing love brings us our greatest joy, and the fear of separation from love is the source of our deepest pain. This truth is at the heart of all that is both tragic and transformative about humanity. And it carries within it the path to a peaceful world.”
You can read more in-depth about “The Light,” sample and purchase it here. The song can also be streamed and downloaded through the Bandcamp widget below.
Happy holidays everyone! I previously published a post recommending some holiday albums that were worthy of bringing cheer to your ear(s). I also promised to post a Part 2 with the hope of getting it out before Christmas. And even though that day has come (where does the time go?) for many of us, there are others that are still celebrating. So, in the spirit of the 12 days of Christmas, other ongoing holiday celebrations, or to add even more joy to the season, below are a few more suggestions that we’ve been enjoying and know you will too.
Big Bang Boom – The Holidays Are Here
Coming off their most recent release, Because I Said So, the North Carolina trio managed to whip up a batch of some original holiday tunes just in time for, well, the holidays! The 5-song EP contains all original tracks done in Big Bang Boom’s signature style which always carries an honest-to-goodness message or two worth a few smiles and giggles. Even though Christmas Day is here, it feels especially nice to be reminded that “the spirit of the holidays doesn’t have to happen once a year,” as the song “It’s the Holiday Season” suggests. It’s a short song that suggests activities like going ice skating, big hill sledding and sharing a meal as ways to keep up the momentum of the holiday spirit throughout the year. Even Santa gets his own theme song in “That’s Just Christmas,” a fiddle ridden funk hoedown number with a bit of soul. Yes, all of that! The Holidays Are Here is a great album to take with you throughout the year. You can listen to the album at Big Bang Boom’s official site and then download it along with their other albums at CDBaby.
The Jimmies– Mama Said Nog You Out
Mama Said Nog You Out is a 13-song collection of rockin’ holiday jams. Ashley Albert, the frontwoman and crafty songstress for The Jimmies, sings songs in the spirit of the entire holiday season. Each song has a ton of character with catchy hooks that will have you reciting lyrics well after your kids have gone to bed. In particular, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” a novelty back in the day, once again sounds fresh as it’s sung for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. There’s even a song for those that celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, dubbed “Chrismukaah.” I particularly enjoy listening to the light and fluffy sweetness of Albert’s voice in the dreamy sounding “It’s a Marshmallow World.” Heavily endorsed by the Fruitcake Defense League (as noted on the album’s cover), Mama Said Nog You Out is sure to fill you with all kinds of delight. Available for digital download through Amazon, as well as, other media retailers.
Todd McHatton – ChristmasSongs
Todd McHatton, known for his psychedelic kindie pop, offers fans an ever-growing list of holiday tunes. The list was started in 2009 with a new song added in 2010 and 4 new songs added in 2011. This year’s track, “I Think I’m a Christmas Bunny,” is an adaptation of McHatton’s wildly popular single “I Think I’m a Bunny,” featuring Marvy Monstone (our favorite furry purple monster who thinks he’s a bunny). Although the majority of songs are related to Christmas, “Put The Star On Top,” mentions the fact that some people celebrate Hanukkah, as McHatton’s daughter informs Marvy while she is drawing a Menorah. McHatton’s gentle voice accompanied by thoughtful lyrics and groovy sounds brings lots of charm to this holiday mix. The 11-song collection can be sampled and purchased for $1.99 through the Bandcamp widget below.
Turn up the holiday cheer with these 10 holiday and seasonal songs. Whether you are going on a trip or bringing the fun into your own home you will definitely find cheer among this timely list of tunes!
This, my friends, is the right list for the job.
Happy holidays!
Credits include the following (provided by SoundCloud)
SteveSongs – “Our World”
Vanessa Trien and The Jumping Monkeys – “Let Your Light Glow”
African Treehouse – “Holiday Time is Here”
Big Bang Boom – The Holidays Are Here
Todd McHatton – Christmas Songs
Kids Can Groove 