Video: "Twinkle Little Star" - Kori Pop

Sometime last year Songs for Little Bean album coverCanadian singer Kori Pop was asked to be a godparent.  So as a present to her goddaughter and her parents, she recorded an album of lullabies and children's songs.  One listen to the tracks and clips at the album's Bandcamp page will indicate that this is not a run-of-the-mill lullabye album.

But that's not why I'm featuring this video.

This video is why I'm featuring this video for her take on the kids' classic "Twinkle Little Star" (yes, only one "twinkle" in the title).  Directed by Kori herself, with a whole bunch of puppeteers, it is utterly captivating.

Kori Pop - "Twinkle Little Star" [YouTube]

Review Two-Fer: Putumayo's Instrumental Dreamland / Brazilian Playground

Instrumental Dreamland album coverYear in, year out, the Putumayo Kids offshoot of the main Putumayo label consistently releases a handful of well-curated albums of music from around the world and closer to home (if home happens to be North America).

From a reviewer's perspective, they almost do this too well -- if the quality varied more, it would be easier for us to note the outstanding ones, and ignore the misfires.  As it stands, they're inevitably all good, but it's hard for one to stand out and demand special attention.

I was reminded of this as I listened to the two most recent releases from the label.  There is nothing bad with Instrumental Dreamland, the latest in Putumayo Kids' "Dreamland" series.  You could give it to a parent at their wits' end in trying to comfort a wailing infant, and they would probably be grateful.  It's soothing, devoid of over-emoting vocalists, and peaceful -- a solid album of lullabies.  It is also somewhat superfluous amidst the sea of other lullabye albums available.  Because almost every song features a guitar (or at least some other guitar-like plucked instrument), there's a sameness to the songs that is frankly unusual for a Putumayo disk, which generally features more instrumental and stylistic diversity, even in its Dreamland series.  I even felt it was too Western-ized -- do we really need yet another cover of "What a Wonderful World?"  Kids of all ages (and their parents) will appreciate Instrumental Dreamland either at night or anytime a half-hour of quiet time is needed, but there's far less "need" for this album than most of Putumayo's disks.

Brazilian Playground album coverBrazilian Playground, on the other hand, is closer to a "typical" Putumayo Kids disk (if such a thing can be said to exist).  It features eleven songs from the Brazil's large and diverse musical heritage.  The album opener, "Alo... Alo," deftly mixes the traditional sound of the bossa nova with electronic beats, while the follow-up, Gui Tavares' "Pancada" has a mellow pop sound.  And Chico Cesar's "Mama Africa" sounds like it draws as much from reggae as anything from Brazil.  (My favorite track: Adriana Macel's bright, sun-dappled "Samba Dos Animais")

This is not an entirely new disk -- Putumayo released this originally in 2007.  For this re-release, Putumayo cut 5 tracks, added 3 new ones (Cesar's track, a jazzy "O Rio Tem Cachoiera" and a slow track at the end called "Anhanga), and re-ordered and remastered the rest. The three tracks are fine, but owners of the 2007 disk shouldn't feel the need to upgrade.  Kids ages 3 through 7 will be the ones most likely to dance along and enjoy Putumayo's typically solid work on the liner notes.  Brazilian Playground is Putumayo doing well at what it does well -- bringing a mostly unfamiliar sound to English-speaking America and presenting it in a sparkling light.  Recommended.

The Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time: Songs 1-5

Without any further ado, here they are, the top 5 kids songs of all time. (OK, a little further ado.) Previous entries Songs 6 through 10 Songs 11 through 15 Songs 16 through 20 Songs 21 through 25 Songs 26 through 30 Songs 31 through 35 Songs 36 through 40 Songs 41 through 45 Songs 46 through 50 (Oh, and I'll figure out the contest winner soon.) 5. "Lullaby" - Johannes Brahms: Yeah, I didn't really want to cover too many lullabies here, but this one is so common that it seemed churlish not to include it.  Our daughter calls it the "Doo doo doo" song, but we usually get bored of singing that sound to the familiar melody ("Lullaby / And goodnight / Something something and something..").  Try quacking the melody.  Not particularly soothing, but a fun bedtime routine nonetheless.  I am not going to link to the samples of Celine Dion's, Aaron Neville's, or Olivia Newton-John's take on the song, because I am going to make the blanket assumption that your child or niece or grandchild or random kid off the streets will prefer your version to what I assume is an incredibly overwrought version by an actual professional singer. 4. "Miss Mary Mack" - traditional: Sure, it's traditional (dates back to the 19th century at least), but I've always associated it with the first lady of American kids music, Ella Jenkins.  I was (pleasantly) surprised to hear my daughter singing it one day at home -- they're still teaching it in kindergarten, thousands of miles away from Chicago.  Hand-clappin', jump-ropin', rockin' out, whatever, it's still an simple tune with fun lyrics.  (You can hear a traditional version here, sample a Sweet Honey in the Rock  tribute here or a sample of Erin Flynn's half-traditional/half-revisionist take here.) 3. "Three is a Magic Number" - Bob Dorough: Like this was going to be anywhere else on this list.  Here's the thing about this song -- I've yet to hear a bad version of it.  Blind Melon?  Check.  The Jellydots? Check.  Jack Johnson blended the song with lyrics about recycling to energetic effect on "The 3 Rs."  It teaches math, it teaches history, and it's incredibly catchy.  (And if those YouTube and Myspace references aren't enough, here's the original.) 2. "You Are My Sunshine" - Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell: This is one of those kids' songs that's more popular, I think, because people don't bother singing the verses, which aren't necessarily full of unconditional love ("you have shattered all my dreams"), and instead sing the chorus.  It's not that the chorus is all sunshine and light, either, but it's close enough (or with a tweak or two, "and I love you more everyday..," completely innocuous).  And that melody -- so totally singable.  (You can listen to Davis' 1931 recording here.  You can also listen to Elizabeth Mitchell's version here -- click on "Sunshine," then "Listen.") 1. "ABCs/Twinkle Twinkle/Baa Baa Black Sheep" - trad. lyrics, music is a French folk tune ("Ah, vous dirai-je, maman") arranged by Louis Le Maire:  I really don't know what else to say here.  It's a melody that's been adapted to at least three classic songs, songs that are part of the English-language canon, really.  (Which isn't to say that other countries with other languages aren't familiar with it, either.)  People (including me) think that Mozart wrote the melody (he didn't -- he just adapted it.)  That song is so ingrained in your head that you can sing it over and over half-asleep at a 2 AM feeding.  There's no need for a sample -- go ahead and sing it to your kid, your friends' kids, whomever.  There is no other choice.  #1.

Review in Brief: Now The Day Is Over - The Innocence Mission

NowTheDayIsOver.jpgTake away the cover art of a child sleeping next to their stuffed animal, and there's nothing about The Innocence Mission's 2004 album Now The Day Is Over that would compel its placement in a kids' music section. Having said that, the collection of standards and other songs done in lullaby style was performed with kids in mind. The cover art fits. In a low-key jazz-influenced style, sparsely arranged and usually just with little more than guitar and bass to accompany her, singer-songwriter Karen Peris gives a hushed interpretation to the songs, lending to the dream-like quality of the recording. This semi-conscious quality is a good fit for many of the songs, such as "Stay Awake" or Henry Mancini's classic "Moon River" and extends to Don Peris' instrumental guitar work on Chopin's "Prelude in A" and Beethoven's "Sonata No. 8." The one original, Karen Peris' "My Love Goes With You," is a sweet lullaby, much closer to traditional lullabies than most of the songs on the 30-minute disk. One word of warning, though -- Peris' voice, though beautiful, has a distinct and somewhat nasal quality to it. I think most people will warm to it, but some might not. (Indeed, the songs I enjoyed less were the ones I'd heard hundreds of times before -- "Over the Rainbow" and "What A Wonderful World" -- and didn't think the Peris' distinct voice and rendition improved upon the original. The kids around you, of course, with no such baggage, won't care.) As a lullaby album, it's targeted for kids ages 0 through 5, though there's no reason why you won't put it on yourself when the kids are nowhere around and you need some peaceful music. You can clips at the album's CDBaby page. Now The Day Is Over is filled with a sense of goodness that families can find respite in in the course of -- or at the end of -- a busy day. Recommended.