Radio Playlist: New Music October 2016

Near the end of October, and there's a whole bunch of music as the Grammy window comes to a close.  I've probably missed a few, in fact, but that just means next month's list might also be full of stuff.  (As for last month's list, you can list to that 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.

Check out the list here (or right here in you're in Spotify).

**** New Music October 2016 (October 2016 Kindie Playlist) ****

“Heroes” - Ted Leo

“Countdown Kids with Lucky” - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

“I’ve Got So Much To Give” - The Laurie Berkner Band

“Live in Colour” - Marlow & the MIX

“Bottom of the Ocean” - Todd Downing

“Zoo ’n’ Doo Dah” - Valerie Smalkin

“Aint Nothing Like a Friend” - Mauro Magellan

“You’ve Got Me” - Sara Lovell

“Dissolve” - The Deedle Deedle Dees

“Round and Round We Go” - Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys

“Hello Moon” - Jennifer Paskow

“Farm Animals” - The Alana Banana Show

“Senor Opuesto” - Nathalia

“Rolling Down the Hill - Justin Roberts

“How Can You Tell If It’s Going To Rain” - Andrew & Polly

Review Two-Fer: Mister G's "Los Animales" and Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band's "Adelante"

The first wave of Spanish-language kids music was essentially created by Jose-Luis Orozco and Suni Paz, who've been recording music in Spanish for young children for decades.  (They continue to do, and you'll be hearing more from them in the months to come, but not today.)

The second wave of Spanish-language kids music was in the late 2000s and early aughts when there were a number of Spanish-language albums whose primary purpose was to, well, teach Spanish.  Songs about counting, about animals, about... well, the things a 4-year-old might be learning about.  While some of these results were reasonably sophisticated in their production and songwriting, they often put the learning in the foreground, limiting their appeal if your family wasn't specifically trying to learn Spanish.

The third wave might have started almost concurrently with the second wave, but as opposed to the second wave, which has petered out, has gained strength.  Rather than using music primarily as a tool for learning a language, this third wave uses Spanish-language music and musical styles because... it's fun to sing and write in those genres.  Unsurprisingly, the results, musically, at least, have been better, as illustrated most recently by two releases from this summer.

Mister G "Los Animales" album cover

Mister G "Los Animales" album cover

The first of the two summer releases is from Massachusetts-based Mister G.  For Mister G (aka Ben Gundersheimer), his music has gradually taken on a more bilingual bent, and his latest album, Los Animales, is his third such album (to go along with three other albums which are primarily in English).

As you might guess from the title and cover artwork, this new album takes animals as its focus -- elephants ("Siete Elefantes"), frogs ("La Rana") and dancing ants (the excellent "Baila como las hormigas") all make an appearance along with other members of the animal kingdom.  Almost entirely in Spanish, some of the songs are simple enough lyrically that no translation is needed ("Siete Elefantes" is a counting song), but others need translation if you're not a Spanish speaker, so I hope that the lyrics and translations get posted to the website soon.  (Hint, hint.)

Musically, some of the songs, like the folk-funk of the leadoff title track, or the Americana bent of "Vamanos," have familiar musical textures, but Gundersheiemer and his co-producers Noe Benitez and Emilio D. Miler take full advantage of the trio's many friends in the recording community who make music in the Latin and Hispanic worlds.  Some of highlights are the soulful "La Rana" and "Una Jirafa en Mi Casa" and the salsa-drived "Baila como las hormigas" (roughly, "Dance with the Ants").   (You can stream the 22-minute album, most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7, here.)  Recommended.

Lucky Diaz "Adelante" album cover

Lucky Diaz "Adelante" album cover

As for the Los Angeles-based Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, they, too, have gradually discovered the joy of recording in Spanish.  Adelante is their seventh album, and third primarily in Spanish.  Their first Spanish-language album, ¡Fantastico!, featured re-translated versions of some of their shiny English-language pop hits (and was co-produced by Noe Benitez), while the follow-up Aquí, Allá featured original songs and a somewhat more traditional sound.  (I called the music on Aquí, Allá "indie-jano," or indie + Tejano.)

While I liked those two albums, Adelante, advances what Diaz is doing -- this album merges his unerring pop-hook sensibility with what happens to be Spanish-language lyrics.  "Piñata Attack" is already a big hit, and features a sneaky surf-rock guitar line from Diaz himself, but that's hardly the only earworm on here.  "Cuantos Tacos (The Taco Song)" deftly weaves Diaz's Spanish-language verses (featuring a lot of counting) with Alisha Gaddis' English-language counterpoints -- even if you know very little Spanish, her "That's a lot of tacos for a guy who wanted nachos" hook in the chorus gets the basic point of the song across.  There's some updated '70s electronic funk ("Aquel Caracol"), hip-hop ("Guacamole Boy"), and new wave ("Cantaba La Rana" -- again with the frogs!).

While it's not entirely in Spanish -- there's more mixing of Spanish and English, some songs do need translation if you're not a Spanish speaker, so I hope that the lyrics and translations get posted to the website soon.  (Hint, hint.)  The 34-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 9.  Definitely recommended.

The third wave of Spanish-language kids music is really the wave in which an English-language family puts on an album not because they want to learn Spanish, but because it's fun or helps the child grow in a global sense.  Both Los Animales and Adelante succeed on that score.  Los Animales is more for the younger listener, Adelante is more for the pure dance party.  I happen to like Adelante more, but that's mostly just personal musical preference.  I'd be happy to have either of these albums pop up in a record rotation.

Note: I received copies of both albums for possible review.

Review: Aqui, Alla - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

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Is there any stopping Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis, the couple at the heart of Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band?  The release a couple months ago of Aqui, Alla marked their sixth album in little more than three years.  That's on top of the TV show, the nonstop touring, and, oh yes, the Latin Grammy for for Best Spanish-language Children's Album for Fantastico!.

The answer, then, is probably no.

Unlike Fantastico!, which almost exclusively featured Spanish-language reworkings of their previous English-language hits, the new album features all new songs (plus "De Colores," because of course).  Diaz and Gaddis returned to team up with Gilbert Velasquez, who produced Fantastico!, and they somehow manage to merge Diaz' natural indie-pop sound with the sounds of Tejano music.  I mean, anytime you can bring in someone like Flaco Jimenez on accordion (on the leadoff track "Viva La Pachanga"), you just sit back and enjoy the result.  While most of the tracks are bouncy, danceable tunes, the album ends on a more mellow note, with the tender "Aqui, Alla" (about the multi-varied backgrounds of many Americans) before finishing with "De Colores," which isn't really a dance song (though Diaz et al. come close to turning it into one).

The one downside to the album -- and it's not going to be a downside for everyone -- is that the album comes with no way for the English-language speaker to bridge the gap between the music and their own experience.  For the Spanish-language speaker, of course, that's not an issue at all, but I found myself wishing that explanations of the songs in the promotional material were included in the album packaging.  You can enjoy the music without knowing a whit of Spanish, and yes, you can find lyrics and translations at Diaz' website -- but I think some of those families would enjoy it more if there were more of a guide right there with the CD.

The brief 26-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8.  You can hear the album here.

I love finding out what Diaz and Gaddis are cooking up next for families who love kids music.  The duo could have totally rested on their laurels with one Spanish-language album and left it at that, but they came back with Aqui, Alla, which is better in almost every way.  It gives me hope that a third album of their hybrid Spanish-language indie-jano (that's "indie" + "Tejano") will grace shelves and iPods at some point.  (And I'd encourage them to do even more to bring us non-Spanish dancers along for the ride.)  Definitely recommended.

Weekly Summary (1/13/14 - 1/19/14)

Lishy Lou and Lucky Too's Radio Show Hits NPR

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If you tuned into NPR's All Things Considered today, you may have heard a review of Lishy Lou and Lucky Too, the latest album from Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band.  It's an album done in the style of an old radio show with some some sparkly modern songs to fill the spaces in between.

If you found your way here due to the review, welcome!  Plenty of great music (and videos, mp3s, interviews) to be found here from Diaz and many more artists, many of whom I've previously reviewed on NPR.

You can also find podcasts on kids music and kid-friendly Kickstarters, iOS app reviews, and much, much more (just look at the sidebar on the right).

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

Kids Music in Kids' Museums (Interactivity 2014)

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I've spoken about kids music in a number of settings over the years, and while it's always nice to talk with fellow kids' music nerds, I get a particular kick from talking about kids music with folks who aren't as dialed into the kids music scene.

Which is exactly what I get to do in May, when the Association of Children's Museums hosts their annual Interactivity conference in Phoenix.  I've been booking kids' shows at the wonderful Children's Museum of Phoenix for several years now, and I helped them put together a panel for this year's conference, which they're hosting.  The panel is called "How To Rock YOUR Museum!" (see page 27 of the preliminary program) and so on Thursday, May 17 I'll be joining Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis from Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band and Jim Packard from the Long Island Children's Museum as well my main partner at CMOP and a local Music Together provider (from whom our family actually took classes).

I am really looking forward to sharing what I know about the world of kids music with who I believe are more than a thousand attendees at the conference -- no offense to the other sessions scheduled at the same time, but they should all attend our session.

And if you're planning on attending, stop by and say hello -- I'd love to meet a reader in person!