It's mid-March, which means it's almost time for our nation to ignore work, significant others, and child-rearing responsibilities in lieu of watching people running and jumping around with orange balls in their hands on large televisions. Well, here at Zooglobble, we'd like to bring families together. By watching people running and jumping around with variously-colored guitars in their hands on small computer screens. So I'm happy to announce Zooglobble's first (and maybe last, depending on how well this goes) KidVid Tournament. That's right, over the next 2+ weeks, we'll be pitting 16 of the best kids' music videos from the past year or so head-to-head with readers voting to determine the best video of the year. Who was the selection committee which decided the 16 best? Well, it's a committee of one -- me. I picked videos that showed some level of production value and had a decent song. I stayed away from live cuts. I also was limited to picking videos whose complete versions are available on the Internet (so you Ralph's World fans can blame Disney for Mr. Covert's absence here). Here, then, are the seedings: Lead Belly Region: 1. "I Hog the Ground (Groundhog Song)" - Steve Burns / Steven Drozd 2. "Tricycle" - Frances England 3. "Bees, Butterflies, and Bugs" - Sir Jerry 4. "Forest Rhymes" - Farmer Jason Pete Seeger Region: 1. "Let's Shake" - Dan Zanes 2. "I'm From the Sun" - Gustafer Yellowgold 3. "I Hope My Mama Says YES!" - AudraRox 4. ???? Woody Guthrie Region: 1. "Willy Was A Whale" - Justin Roberts 2. "I Found It!" - Brady Rymer 3. "Toenail Moon" - Wee Hairy Beasties 4. "Polar Bear" - The Quiet Two Ella Jenkins Region: 1. "Pieces of 8ight" - Captain Bogg & Salty 2. "Farm Song" - Laurie Berkner 3. "Ya Gotta Have Pep" - John Lithgow 4. "Picnic in the Graveyard" - Uncle Rock Sharp readers will notice that I've listed just 15 videos. Well, in addition to you voting on the videos in general, I've left room for a "play-in" game for the #4 seed in the Pete Seeger Region. Who will be this tournament's Niagara? Well, that's up to you, too. To nominate videos, click here. The first two matchups will be posted later today. Come back and vote for your favorites.

As I discuss elsewhere, we're running Zooglobble's first KidVid Tournament over the next couple weeks or so. I'm looking to readers to pick the 16th video. (It's a play-in game!) Nominate your favorite(s) in the comments below. The video with the most comments will be picked, as long as the video conforms to the following rules (there are always rules, aren't there... it's a parenting thing): 1. The video has to be publicly accessible on the internet -- sites requiring registration to view the whole video will not be accepted. 2. The whole video has to be available (I call this the "Ralph's World" rule because the Disney website only includes 1-minute selections of his videos). 3. The video has to be from the past year or so. The song doesn't have to be, though. 4. Artists with a video already in the tournament (see list here) are ineligible for this final slot. I reserve the right to modify the rules above to account for things I'm not bright enough to anticipate. Deadline for nominations/votes: 8 PM West Coast time / 11 PM East Coast time Monday, March 19. Power to the people! (Or something like that.) Show me what I've missed.