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.

Happy Birthday to Me!

OK, not me specifically -- this site.  That's right, in 2004, eight years ago today, I put my cyberstake down in the ground and said I was going to start writing about kids music.

And then I promptly went silent for another couple months.

But then I started posting all the reviews I'd written over the past 2-3 years, and eventually artists started e-mailing me out of the blue offering copies for possible review, then NPR called, yadda yadda yadda, and now kids music is a big deal (again).

I've had fun writing this site.  If I had to guess (now that the site is spread out over a number of different categories, it's more work to total), I'd guess that I've written maybe 2,800 posts and published more than a million words on kids music.  That's a lot of time to spend writing about anything; add to that the time spent listening to family music, and, well, there's a reason I'm not really up on the latest TV.

Anyway, writers and creators always say they write and create for themselves, and that's true, but most of them -- including me -- like to know that they have an audience reading or listening in.  So thanks for the time you've spent reading, and thanks, too, to the musicians and others who've spent time creating and asking me to give their art a try.

And it wouldn't be a birthday party without a small goody bag, so I'm running an instant contest -- enter your name below by 9 PM West Coast time tonight, August 27, 2012, and I'll randomly select one person to win a free CD (I have a wide array of good, new disks for your enjoyment).  If you want to say how you found this site, that'd be great, but not necessary.  Thanks for reading and playing!

So, the New Sarah Lee Guthrie / Johnny Irion Kids' CD Is Pretty Good...

GoWaggaloo_sm.jpgAside from a few scattered mentions, there's been relatively little news regarding Go Waggaloo!, the upcoming kids' album from Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion. Well, now that the album's got an official cover (there to the left in near thumbnail sizing), a press release, and a release date (October 27), you're probably going to hear quite a bit more about it. Still not impressed (many albums, after all, are released with, you know, an album cover, press release, and on an official date)? Well, it's being released on Smithsonian Folkways (perhaps you've heard her labelmates such as Ella Jenkins, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, or Elizabeth Mitchell?). Oh, did I mention Sarah Lee Guthrie is Woody Guthrie's granddaughter, and she records new music for three of her grandfather's lyrics, a la Mermaid Avenue. Did I mention that Pete Seeger plays on the album? Well, there's another reason I'm particularly excited...