Kids Music. Punk Music. NPR. (And Me.)

To those of you finding your way to this website courtesy of my NPR review of punk music for kids, welcome.  I cover a wide range of music here -- from punk to classical to indie-pop -- (almost) all of which is appropriate for kids and families.  There's plenty of coverage of The Boogers here (just search on that name here); less so of Play Date -- they're much newer -- but there's always this interview with Greg and Shanti.

In any case, thanks for stopping by.  You're welcome to also join me on Facebook, Twitter, and via mailing list, among many other options.

Radio Playlist: New Music October 2012

Once again, I'm posting a Spotify update for some new music (see a playlist from a couple months ago here).  It's limited, of course, in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list.  Also, whereas I used to be able to post songs from albums that haven't been officially released, that's no longer an option.

Check out the list here or go right here if you're in Spotify.

**** New Music October 2012 (October Kindie Playlist) ****

Aaron Nigel Smith & One World Chorus – Man Gave Names

Barry G and The Dream Jam Kids – The Captain Was A Monkey

Hot Peas 'n Butter – Dream Away

Charity and the Jamband – Loving Kindness

Mister G – Ahorita

Alphabet Rockers – Dynamite

Hullabaloo - Look At You

Ozomatli – Moose On The Loose

Ben Rudnick and Friends – Love Is a Superpower

Elena Moon Park – Tum Tum Chuen

Radio Playlist: New Music July 2012

I'm trying something a little bit different this time around with these radio playlists -- instead of posting an update to my Live365 station as I did for June, I've posted a Spotify update.  It's limited, of course, in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list (though I do have a list of stuff that would've posted had it been there -- see the end).  

Check out the list here or go right here if you're in Spotify.

**** New Music July 2012 (July Kindie Playlist) ****

Stephen Michael Schwartz – California Grey

The Cat's Pajamas – Funky Bears

Elizabeth Mitchell – Little Sugar

They Might Be Giants – Violin (Bonus Live Version)

Richard Younger – Barefootin'

Lunch Money – Gingerbread Man

Randy Kaplan – They're Red Hot

Playtime Music – Row Row Row Your Boat

Ozomatli – Flip Flap 

[the non-Spotify list]

The Zucchini Brothers - Crazy Life

New Raspberry Bandits - Fine Country

Professor Banjo - John Henry

Forest Sun - Trampoline

Radio Playlist: New Music June 2012

Time again to update the Zooglobble radio station, covering assorted tracks collected this spring.  You can see my April 2012 playlist here.

This playlist airs in the mid-afternoons (West Coast time), but if you can't listen in the afternoon, the tracks are scattered throughout the day, too. The listing below is in alphabetical order; the on-air play order is totally random (due to Internet music restrictions).

"Handbone" - Big Don (Big Don's Brand New Beat)
"Oh My Dog" - Billy Kelly (Oh My Dog)
"Come With Me" - Dan Dan Doodlebug (Dan Dan Doodlebug)
"May The Trail Rise Up To Greet You" - Dave Stamey (Putumayo Kids Presents - Cowboy Playground)
"Fortunate Mistake" - Dog On Fleas (Invisible Friends)
"I Used To Think" - Duke Otherwise (Creepy Crawly Love)
"Your Body Is A Zoo" - Ellen And Matt (It's Love)
"Ice Cream Sunday" - Groovy David (Kiddie Lounge)
"Swingin' Little Duck (Alexander Calder)" - Hope Harris (Picasso, That's Who! and so can you!)
"My Neighborhood" - Johnny Bregar (My Neighborhood)
"I Like Summer" - KBC (Milk Money)
"Raised By Trolls" - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke (Here Comes Chuckers)
"Alphabet City" - KinderAngst (KinderAngst)
"Itsy Bitsy Spider" - Kori Pop (Songs For Little Bean)
"Lines And Dots" - Lucky Diaz And The Family Jam Band (A Potluck)
"Elephant Shrew" - Michael Hearst (Songs For Unusual Creatures)
"Happy Place" - Mista Cookie Jar & The Chocolate Chips (Ultramagnetic Universal Love Revolution)
"Rad" - Play Date (Fun Fun Records Sampler)
"I Could See (Magically)" - Recess Monkey (In Tents)
"give it away" - renee & jeremy (a little love)
"Evening Star" - Steven Elci & Friends (Crayons In A Box)
"Put 'Em Away (Featuring Marty Beller)" - Sugar Free Allstars (All On A Sunday Afternoon)
"Benjamin Franklin" - Yosi (Benjamin Franklin)
"Oh My!" - Your Imaginary Friend Your (Imaginary Friend)

Kindie-Chartin': Kids Place Live's Top Songs of 2011

Last year I reviewed the most popular songs of the year on Sirius-XM's Kids Place Live radio show. It was an imprecise attempt to gauge the popularity of artists and songs on a national level. Given that the show has nearly 17,000 fans on its Facebook page, its listenership is not small. Almost every weekend, the channel broadcasts its "13 Under 13" show, a Casey Kasem for the kiddos which counts down the week's top songs. As noted last year, the list is not totally objective -- there is a subjective nature to the list which takes into the station's directors' sense of buzz, for example, associated with each song. There's a practical limit to the number of times the station can play a song in a week without annoying its audience through oversaturation, a limit which may not totally reflect the demand for it via listener requests. Having said that, there does appear to be a rational relationship between the rankings and actual airplay. For example, the most recent "13 Under 13" had the Board of Education's "Why Is Dad So Mad?" at #1, Keller Williams' "Mama Tooted" at #7, and Caspar Babypants' "Sugar Ant" at #14. The total number of airplays (excluding double-counts) for the week that roughly corresponds to KPL's week, according to Dogstar Radio, was 25, 16, and 13, respectively.

Radio Playlist: New Music April 2012

Time again to update the Zooglobble radio station, covering assorted tracks collected in early spring 2012 (or late winter, depending on where you live here in the States).  You can see my February 2012 playlist here.

This playlist airs in the mid-afternoons (West Coast time), but if you can't listen in the afternoon, the tracks are scattered throughout the day, too. The listing below is in alphabetical order; the on-air play order is totally random (due to Internet music restrictions).

Áine Minogue - "William's Lullaby" (Close Your Eyes, Love - Lullabies Of The Celtic Lands)
Alison Faith Levy - "Detours" (World of Wonder)
Bobby Susser - "Any Time of Day" (Wo!)
Candela y los Supremos - "Avutarda" (Minimúsica Vol.3 "Els animals")
Caspar Babypants -"Stompy The Bear" (Hot Dog!)
The Ditty Bops Beluga - "Whales" (Jelly For President - Yes We Jam)
Gaye Adegbalola  - "The Sunshine Shake" (Blues in All Flavors)
Gustafer Yellowgold - "Midsummer's Son" (Year In The Day)
Hand Aid - "Felt Around the World" (single)
Keola Beamer - "Pupu Hinuhinu (Shiny Shell Lullaby)" (Instrumental Dreamland)
Matt Clark - "When Will We Get There?" (Magic Cardboard Ride)
Miss Gail and the Jumpin' Jam Band - "Paint the Sky" (Quiet Time)
The Okee Dokee Brothers - "Can You Canoe?" (Can You Canoe?)
Orange Sherbet - "Delicious" (Delicious)
Papa Snow - "Brand New Alphabet" (Junior Jukebox!)
The Pop Ups - "Box Of Crayons" (Radio Jungle)
Rolie Polie Guacamole - "This Land is Your Land" (Houses of the Moly)
Story Laurie & Friends - "Apple Tree & The Bee" (Groovin' In The Garden)
Sugar Free Allstars & Recess Monkey - "Working Together" (single)
Adriana Maciel - "Samba Dos Animals" (Brazilian Playground)