'Round here, the civics geek inside of me would like to think that everybody celebrates February 14 as Arizona Statehood Day, but I know that it's primarily Valentine's Day just as it is in the rest of the country. Unlike the frenzy of winter holiday songs, however, the kids music community hasn't necessarily jumped in recorded a whole bunch of songs for Valentine's Day. But for those families and kids for whom that Transformers Valentine's Day tattoo just won't fit the bill, here are a few songs for you...
DidiPop might have been the first to offer up a new Valentine's Day song this year -- it's called "Happy Valentine's Day." (Note: Unlike Christmas songs, it would appear that "Valentine" is a required word in the title of Valentine's Day songs.)
DidiPop - "Happy Valentine's Day" YouTube]
The February installment of Jeremy Plays Guitar's monthly free song of the month series is, unsurprisingly, Valentine-themed. (It's even called "Valentines.") That means bows and arrows!
OK, not really. It's more about making Valentine's Day cards. Listen to or download the song here.
And, yes, there's more...
Video: "My Valentine" - Recess Monkey
Ahhhh... Valentine's Day, the day when little boys' thoughts turn to that of Transformers Valentine's tattoos to distribute to their preschool friends. And thoughts of fish.
Or maybe that's just Recess Monkey for that second part. Just in time for Valentine's Day, the band's released the first video from their eagerly anticipated June 14 release Flying. It's called "My Valentine," and it's an ode to a fish. It features ukulele and some nifty big band assistance from Johnny Bregar and Dean Jones. What's not to love?
Recess Monkey - "My Valentine" [YouTube]
Interview: Recess Monkey
Longtime readers will know that we're big fans of Jack Forman, Daron Henry, and Drew Holloway -- AKA the Seattle trio Recess Monkey -- here at Zooglobble HQ. Great songwriting, engaging live act, down-to-earth guys, not-entirely-overbearing handpuppet band manager, the band's got it all. They're busy busy busy all the time -- they're recording their next album with producer Tor Hyams this month while probably planning even more cool stuff with the Seattle-based Kindiependent collective -- but still found time to answer a few questions. So without further ado, please enjoy.
Zooglobble: What were your earliest musical memories?
Jack Forman: I remember going on long road trips around Indiana, listening to Beatles and Johnny Mathis 8-tracks with my parents. I think Anne Murray was in there too. My mom was always extremely musical, and my dad thought he was, so they encouraged me to try instruments out.
Daron Henry: My first musical memory is listening to "Here Comes the Sun" while sitting on my grandparents' kitchen counter. I think that I was 4. As a kid I was always dancing...so much so that my first grade teacher called me "The Dancing Bear" after a Captain Kangaroo character.
Drew Holloway: I'll never forget the look my Dad gave me when we came out of Record Revolution in King of Prussia, PA with a copy of Van Halen's 1984. I begged him to get the record after watching "Jump" on MTV hundreds of times. He must have seen potential in my augmented air guitar (playing a broom up on our couch) that helped him overlook the striking cover! My father's finger tapping on the dashboard to the AM radio hits we listened to on the way home from baseball practice and his openness with his record collection (The Beatles, Beach Boys, Jim Croce and Chet Atkins) are truly etched as early musical memories for me.
Video: "Kids' Table!" - Kindiependent
Kindiependent continue to kick out the kids' themed supergroup jams. First it was "Vagabond Worms", and now it's "Kids' Table!," featuring Recess Monkey, Johnny Bregar, and Keeth Apgar from The Harmonica Pocket. Banjos, keyboards, trading verses, and a funny punch line. Apropos if you (like me) are starting to plan a big Thanksgiving get-together. Download the song at the Kindiependent home page. (Link to the video after the jump.)
The Ketchup Report, Vol. 2
I optimistically titled my first attempt at a generic roundup of Volume 1, but, hey, here's Volume 2! All the news too small for its own post, super-sized for you.
-- As previously noted, Tor Hyams was developing a new podcast and the first episode of Kindiecast premiered last weekend. Thirty minutes, 8 songs -- stream or download it here. (And today the website notes that Recess Monkey has another batch of songs ready to go, but those guys write songs in their sleep, I think.) Anyways, iTunes podcasting will be happening shortly...
-- Speaking of Hyams, Frances England's Mind of My Own (produced by Hyams) is released Nov. 9th and she's got a lot of new stuff associated with the release. This weekend she's got a new show on Sirius-XM's Kids Place Live (check there for details), she's selling artwork, and, while I have a vague memory that Frances told me about these "Creative Family Challenges" contests, the first one is now here and embedded below:
-- Speaking of upcoming albums, The Baby Grands release their new album The Baby Grands II on Nov. 16, and today only they're running a deal on Plum District's Atlanta site to get that and their debut album for just $9 plus shipping... I like the creative thinking on getting their music out in front of a wide audience...
-- To complete the upcoming album trifecta, The Boogers' second album Let's Go! comes out Nov. 23rd and they're letting you have one of the energetic album's best tracks, "Otto's Orange Day," for the price of an e-mail address. Go here to grab it.
-- The Deedle Deedle Dees' Lloyd Miller will be recording his November sing-a-alongs in Brooklyn for a new album to be released soon. For free. Woot!
-- Gustafer Yellowgold has a blog. Yes, a blog.
Listen To This: "Vagabond Worms" - Kindiependent
Attention rest of the country, Seattle's Kindiependent collective has just raised the bar again. I'd heard that Caspar Babypants, Recess Monkey, and the Harmonica Pocket jammed one recent Sunday. The result - "Vagabond Worms" - is even better than I anticipated. Update: Download the track at the Kindiependent website!
Caspar Babypants, Recess Monkey, The Harmonica Pocket - "Vagabond Worms" [YouTube]