Weekly Summary (3/31/14 - 4/6/14)

KidVid 2014 Tournament Semifinal #2: Karen K and the Jitterbugs vs. Duke Otherwise

As noted yesterday, the voting for the initial stage of the 2014 edition of the KidVid Tournament from my list of favorite kids music videos of 2013 has ended and the top vote-getters are (alphabetically)...

Duke Otherwise - "Brussels Sprout Shout!"

Frances England - "Day You Were Born"

Karen K and the Jitterbugs - "(I Woke Up in a) Firetruck"

Alison Krauss (via Sandra Boynton) - "End of a Summer Storm"

Yesterday featured England v. Krauss.  Today's Semifinal #2 features Karen K and the Jitterbugs' '70s-sitcom-aping video for "(I Woke Up in a) Firetruck " from Big Ol' Truck facing off against a dinner party dressed as if they might do some jitterbugging later in Duke Otherwise's video for "Brussels Sprout Shout!" from Creepy Crawly Love.

As always, the rules are brief and simple:

1) One vote per family.

2) Deadline to vote is 8 PM Friday night West Coast time.

3) Be nice, play fair, have fun, don't get obsessed with it.

With that, watch both videos and vote!

Duke Otherwise - "Brussels Sprout Shout!" [YouTube]

Karen K and the Jitterbugs - "(I Woke Up in a) Firetruck" [YouTube]

My Favorite Kids Music Videos of 2013

It's been a couple years since I last tackled the kids music video world.  After years of organizing KidVid Tournaments, I think I just needed a break.  Plus I was organizing a talk on great kids music videos and my video curation energies went there last spring.

That doesn't mean, however, that I've lost interest in finding great videos to share with your family, friends, and strangers in line at the grocery store.  In fact, I went back and looked -- across the site, I featured nearly 100 new videos.

It's a new year now and with that I have a little extra energy to give you a brand new list -- my favorite kids music videos of 2013 (-ish).  Let's define the video year as I have in the past -- new videos featured on the site between March 1 of the prior year and February 28 of the current year.  (So, March 1, 2013 through February 1, 2014.)  Let's also say only one video per artist (though there were a handful of artists I considered breaking that rule for).  As always, I'm interested in visual creativity, a decent level of post-production values (which doesn't necessarily mean expensive), and a really good song.

PS: Miss the KidVid Tournament?  Then I might just have something up my sleeve for you.  Stay tuned.

Without further ado, then, in alphabetical order by artist, my 25 favorite kids music videos of 2013.  Whether this is the first time you've seen some or all of these, or the tenth, please enjoy.

"Similes and Metaphors" - The Bazillions

"Stump Hotel" - Caspar Babypants

"Thingamajig" - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

(Oddly enough, removed from YouTube for violating its Terms of Service.  I've had similar problems with YouTube regarding videos I've had specific permission to upload.  I can imagine how frustrating it is for an artist.)

"Bunny in the Moon" - DidiPop

"Palindrome" - Dog on Fleas / Readeez

"Brussels Sprout Shout" - Duke Otherwise

"Midnight Sun" - Elska

"Day You Were Born" - Frances England

"Cakenstein" - Gustafer Yellowgold

"How Big" - Eric Herman

"Dinosaur" - Lori Henriques

"From You" - Charlie Hope

"End of a Summer Storm" - Alison Krauss (via Sandra Boynton)

"Spicy Kid" - Lunch Money

"Cocodrilo" - Mister G

"When I Get Bald" - Alastair Moock

"Snow Day" - Zak Morgan

"Skateboard" - The Not-Its

"Tambourine Submarine" - Recess Monkey

"Recess" - Justin Roberts

"Bigga Bagga" - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke

"Turn! Turn! Turn!" - Dan Zanes & Elizabeth Mitchell

Radio Playlist: New Music July 2013

Deep into the summer, it's time to post another Spotify update for new music (see the June playlist here).  As always, it's limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums.  But I'm always keeping stuff in reserve for the next Spotify playlist.

You'll notice that it's a little bit shorter than prior lists.  There's a story, actually, about how a few kindie artists are choosing to not  include their music on Spotify.  But that's a story for another time.

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

**** New Music July 2013 (July 2013 Kindie Playlist) ****

The Verve Pipe – Scavenger Hunt
Princess Katie & Racer Steve – Come On Out!
Groove Kid Nation – Kalimba
The Que Pastas – Sunglasses
Karen K and the Jitterbugs – (I Woke Up in A) Fire Truck
Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights – Are We There Yet?
JumpinJazz Kids – Hubert Hummingbird
Juvenile By Decree – The Muskrat and Alien

Weekly Summary (6/17/13 - 6/23/13)

Video: "(I Woke Up) In a Firetruck" - Karen K and the Jitterbugs

This video from the East Coast artist Karen K and the Jitterbugs starts out a bit slowly -- my first thought was, "well, that's nicely produced, but..." so when I say that you should give it a couple minutes before rendering a verdict, I speak from experience.  It's a simple kids' song designed for interaction with preschoolers, but it takes a while for the interactive nature to become clear.  It also gets funnier as it goes on.

Also: ask your kids if they get the pop culture reference the video's organizing structure is based on. 

Karen K and the Jitterbugs - "(I Woke Up) In a Firetruck" [YouTube]