Listen To This (World Premiere): "I Can I Can" - The SqueeGees

It's been awhile since we heard from Los Angeles-based band The Squeegees.  Their first album, Meet the SqueeGees, was the longest introduction ever, as it essentially was released in different forms three different times.

But songwriters Samantha Tobey and Pierre de Reader and their band have a new album recorded, ready to be launched into the world.  It's called Veggie Soup, and I'm happy to present the world premiere of one of the new album's tracks, "I Can I Can."  The track's got a nifty singalong chorus targeted at your favorite 3- or 4-year-old.  Yes, I will be disappointed if there isn't at least one enterprising librarian or preschool teacher who doesn't choose to pair this song with a reading of The Little Engine That Could.

The band is hoping "I Can I Can" can also be translated as "We Can We Can" as they've launched a Kickstarter project to help crowdfund post-recording costs of the album.  (You've got  'til October 8 to join in if you'd like.)

Regardless of that campaign's success, you can enjoy "I Can I Can" right here.

Itty-Bitty Review: Jam on Rye - Randy Kaplan

Without a doubt, Randy Kaplan is a raconteur, good at telling stories.  He tells them through song rather than spoken word or on paper, but his characters and offbeat humor sometimes bordering on the absurd might remind you (in a very kid-friendly way) of, say, David Sedaris.

That storytelling drive is back in full effect on his fifth family album Jam on Rye.  I say that because his last album, Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie, featured bowdlerized versions of classic blues tunes.  I liked the album quite a bit, but in retrospect, the parody/homage format meant that it was less character- and quirk-driven.  In other words, less Randy.

Not so on the new album.  From a memorable shower door ("Ode to a Shower Door," which features a guest appearance from a past Kaplan character), to parental frustrations with a visit to a Mexican restaurant ("Don't Fill Up on Chips"), the new songs let Kaplan play with voices and characters to good effect.  One of my favorite tracks here is "Crew Cut," which wistfully recounts a series of different hairstyles.  His songs range from scatalogical humor ("Burpity Burp Burp Burp") to tender ("Not Too Young for a Song") to tender scatalogical humor ("Everybody Farts") -- you can tell that Kaplan's new status as a parent has given him a brand new well of material to work with.  Longtime Kaplan producer Mike West once again helps fill out Kaplan's guitar work with a full range of instruments.

The 46-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8.  You'll laugh, you'll cry -- OK, your kids won't cry, but you'll at least take a minute to appreciate the whirlwind of parenting.  Definitely recommended.

Video: "Call Me Mista Cookie Jar" - Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips

Los Angeles' C.J. Pizarro -- better known in the kindie world as Mista Cookie Jar -- seems to be nearly omnipresent these days, showing up on a number of different kindie artists' albums.

As for his own music, though, he's been a little more silent, save for the release of the first Todd and Cookie EP last year.  Why is that?  Well, in small part that's due to the fact that he's spent nearly a year hand-animating (along with the rest of The Chocolate Chips) his latest video.  It's for "Call Me Mista Cookie Jar" off his Ultramagnetic Universal Love Revolution album.

It's hard for me to say that anything that reduces the amount of MCJ music in the world is worth the wait, but this video?  Worth the wait.  Really beautiful retro-styled collages.

Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips - "Call Me Mista Cookie Jar" [YouTube]

Video: "Throw Me Something Mista" - Jazzy Ash (feat. Mista Cookie Jar)

Mardi Gras 2014 doesn't start for nearly a month, but Jazzy Ash is making sure you have plenty time to get your beads ready.  Her leadoff single from her brand new album Home (out this week) is "Throw Me Something Mista," a second-line inspired tribute to the New Orleans tradition of Mardi Gras parades and trinkets flung from floats.  The song and video feature fellow Southern California kindie musician Mista Cookie Jar.  Playing the role of the second-line band in the video: a bunch of kids strutting and hamming it up.  Fun.

Jazzy Ash featuring Mista Cookie Jar - "Throw Me Something Mista" [YouTube]

Itty-Bitty Review: Introducing: Jelly of the Month Club - Jelly of the Month Club

Another day, another album by a collection of artists best known for their music for adults.

Yes, it's possible to be a kids music reviewer jaded by news that members of Southern California-area bands like Sublime, the Ziggens, and more came together to record as Jelly of the Month Club.  Been there, done that, right?

But as I am constantly reminded in this neck of the musical woods, it's possible to be surprised by people, and their debut album Introducing: Jelly of the Month Club is a blast of energy from beginning to end.  There's a ska-punk feeling to a lot of the songs, of course (Exhibit A: "The English Language," which is Schoolhouse Rock by way of the Clash perhaps), but there are more diverse sounds, such as the mellower album opener, the strumming "Brand New Friend."  Some songs like "Tell Someone" contain lessons of a sort, but that's a song that namechecks Cheryl Ladd and Chaka Khan, to name a few, so clearly there's a playfulness that cuts through any overt "Learn. This." approach.   There are points at which I wondered who the songs were for (I sort of feel sorry for any kid who understands the CSNY reference on "Gone Squatchin'"), so it's possible that some kids might not care. On the other hand, I don't know if "Girlfriend" is really a kids' song (it was originally recorded by the Ziggens), but there's such gleeful joy, especially in the chorus, that kids'll probably hook into it immediately.  And there's a fart song, too ("Timmy Turtle Head"), so it's got that.

The album is probably most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 9.  You can stream some of the songs from the 35-minute album here.  Introducing: Jelly of the Month Club won't be for every family -- it all depends on how energetic and inner-7-year-old boy your family likes their music.  But there's a lot here to enjoy and dance along with.  Definitely recommended.

Review: Lishy Lou and Lucky Too - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

It is fun to see artists who initially just dip their toes into the family music pond dive in as they get more comfortable in their new waters. 

To extend the metaphor a little bit, when it comes to family music, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band have plunged in with scuba gear and a new houseboat.   Since releasing his debut EP Luckiest Adventure a little more than 3 years ago, Diaz has acquired a full-blown band, married dynamo Alisha Gaddis, and barely stopped to take a breath.

On their fifth and latest album, Lishy Lou and Lucky Too , the couple's energy is used to enliven the record's conceit, loosely structured around the "Lishy and Lucky Radio Show," which may soon be transitioning to a TV show.  The album features a cast of wacky characters (a time traveler, a traveling salesman, a nosy neighbor) united in their taste for bad puns.  The jokes told in the interstitial sketches may amuse your local kindergartner, but will likely generate groans in the adult set.

They sit somewhat uneasily here because they interrupt the true stars, the songs themselves.  Co-written by Diaz, Gaddis, and Michael Farkas, many of them are irrepressible pop hits.  "Thingamajig" is a top contender for the year's best kindie pop song, while "Pockets," about Farkas' character who only communicates via instrument, has a strutting feel.  (The theme song is pretty darn catchy, too.)  It's not solely uptempo -- "Goodnight My Love" is a tender lullaby with nifty guitar work from Diaz. 

The 35-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8.  On one level, the album is an introduction to an actual TV show Diaz and Gaddis hope to make featuring all the characters on the album, and I think that concept will work better there than it does here.  But on another level, with songs about Jackie Robinson and Amelia Earhart, along with the fabulous album closer "When I Grow Up," ("When I grow up / I won't close my ears / to things I may not want to hear"... "When I grow up / I'm gonna dream / farther than my eyes can see") the album is also a celebration of dreamers and doers, of taking chances like Diaz and Gaddis are doing.  On that level, the album succeeds fabulously.  Definitely recommended.

Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.