Ten tracks of maternal kindie goodness from a variety of artists, courtesy of them and kindie publicist Beth Blenz-Clucas. The Not-Its, Lisa Loeb, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Brady Rymer, Danny Weinkauf (with Laurie Berkner), Zee Avi, the Okee Dokee Brothers, and Suzi Shelton offer up some mom-related tracks in time for Mother's Day. Includes tracks from forthcoming albums like those from the Okee Dokee Brothers, the Not-Its, and Brady Rymer, too, so even if you don't care about downloading because you've already supported some kindie musicians, there's some new goodness to enjoy as well.
Download the tracks for free by clicking on the individual track and then on "View track." But do it quickly, 'cause it's only up for a week or so!
(And, as always, please get your mom something besides free mp3s!)
Do you know I spend some time talking into a microphone?
No, not just an NPR microphone -- a much cheaper one. It's the microphone I use to record 3 different podcasts, and if you haven't checked them out, now is the perfect time as new episodes of each have gone up in the past 48 hours.
Finally, just about every week I give you the Kindie Week in Review -- "all that's news in the world of kids music and beyond," and do it in less than 10 minutes -- maybe 5 if you're listen on double speed. Tons of news in this week's review -- album releases, Kickstarters, and chart news, plus more. (Subscribe to the feed here: iTunes / http://zooglobble.com/kindie-week-in-review?format=rss).
If you're interested in kids music, I think you'll find at least one of these podcasts worth your time. Thanks for listening.
You wouldn't know it by reading this space, but there's been some holiday kids music released this Christmas/Hanukkah/winter-holiday-of-your-choosing season. Not as much as in years past, but enough stuff worth your time checking out (and my time writing up).
I'll be reviewing some albums in a subsequent post, but here are a few tracks to stuff in your kids' stockings.
Free Downloads
The Not-Its change gears and offer up a tender, acoustic... aw, who am I kidding? There are loud guitars, natch. It's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," not "Tip-Toein' Around the Christmas Tree."
Bari Koral offers up her take on the familiar gingerbread man tale with a zippy "Gingerbread Man."
Brady Rymer is spending his holiday season "Untanglin' the Christmas Lights," though the song seems way too happy for that frustration. Available here for the price of an e-mail.
It's not quite a Christmas (or Hanukkah or even Halloween or Arbor Day) song, but it feels appropriate for the season. SteveSongs gifts you "Our World" -- just click on this link to start the download process.
Streams
My favorite kindie Christmas song this year? Groovy David's "Sorry Santa!" has a funky groove and horns. Horns, people! (Hanukkah 2013 is, like, only 11 months away, so save "The Great Dreidel Tournament" 'til then.)
Randy Kaplan delivers a nicely understated version of the classic "Frosty the Snowman." With the harmonica, it's got a touch of Dylan. (Again, Hannukah 2013 playlist early addition? "Oh Hannukah")
Todd McHatton'sChristmas Songs started out as a mini-EP, then over the years became a full EP, and now at 11 songs, I think it's graduated to full album status. McHatton added another song this year, "I Think I'm a Christmas Bunny." Download the whole thing for just $1.99, and as an extra stocking stuffer download "Ooh Shiny" (appropriate for a season of gifts and ornaments) for free.
Other Stuff
The great Gustafer Yellowgold (opening for The Polyphonic Spree's 10th Anniversary Holiday Extravaganza in six cities this holiday season) has been running videos from his Year in the Day DVD all year -- check out the ever-awesome "Fa and a La":
Deciding to record an album inspired by spending time with students at a school for children with alternative learning styles, as Brady Rymer has done with his just-released album Love Me For Who I Am could have resulted in an album stickily sweet and boring to most listeners. But on this often rollicking album, Rymer successfully avoids both traps.
Rymer's strength here is his ability to craft in song the feelings of children who have autism or Asperger's. He moves way beyond sympathy and into empathy, the ability to understand the feelings of others. That's because many of the emotional characteristics particularly felt by those children are shared in varying degrees by the rest of the population. There isn't that much of a gap between the child resisting getting dressed (in "Who Wants To Wear Shoes?") and the naked child running around in Rymer's "Dilly Dally Daisy" from a few years back. "Picky Eater," "I Don't Like Change," "Tune Out" -- from the album titles alone, you probably know a kid who would identify, even if they don't register anywhere on the autism spectrum. I think a child who isn't autistic might not want to listen repeatedly because it's not written from their perspective, but I think few kids wouldn't identify with at least a couple tracks. In any case, it's the most empathetic kids album I can think of in quite some time.
Rymer marries those sentiments to his typical roots-rock sound. Once again he gets great support from his backing band, the Little Band That Could, producing a full-bodied sound with echoes of Mellencamp and Springsteen. I particularly liked "Squish Me Squeeze Me," which uses backing horns to great effect (and rhymes the word "anaconda" with "back of a Honda" in a completely non-gratuitous way). Rymer's duet with Laurie Berkner on the tender "Soft Things" is also worth repeated listenings.
The album is most appropriate for all kids ages 3 through 7, though that may be different for kids who actually have autism or Asperger's Syndrome. You can here the whole album at Rymer's website. That Love Me For Who I Am is highly recommended for families (or classrooms) affected by autism or Asperger's is terribly surprising. What is more surprising, perhaps, is that other kids and families would probably enjoy listening to the album (or at least a fair number of the songs) on a regular basis. Recommended.
Deciding to record an album inspired by spending time with students at a school for children with alternative learning styles, as 
