Monday Morning Smile: "Light As A Feather" - Cat Doorman

Light As A Feather cover

Typically these Monday Morning Smiles focus on tracks that weren't conceived as kids music, but I thought this track was just the thing needed for a sunny spring Monday morning.  It's "Light As A Feather," in both title and effect, and it was released last December by Portland's Cat Doorman, with help from fellow musician and artist Alexis Gideon.  You can not only stream the track below, but all proceeds from buying the track (just $1) will go towards Save the Children's Syrian Refugee Fund.

Win win, all the way 'round.

Best Kids Music of 2015: Top 30 Songs

Developing a list of my 30 favorite songs from the past year is probably the most foolish ranking I attempt here every year.  The number of albums to consider is large, but it is finite.  Multiply that number of albums by 10 or 12, however, to consider the number of songs, and we're talking thousands of songs to consider.  And, as I noted last year, a list ranking favorite songs is "ephemeral, subject to the whims of a particular moment.  More than that, it probably tends toward the poppy, upbeat, and lively."  I feel confident, though, these 30 songs, listed alphabetically, are among the best that kids music offered us in the past year.  ("Year," as always, defined as Oct. 1, 2014 through Sept. 30, 2015, though with particular songs no doubt that range should be considered more guideline than firm window.)

Anyway, I've combined these into a handy Spotify playlist found at the bottom of this list (click here if you're already in Spotify).  Enjoy!

"If a Sandwich Was a Sandwich” - Turkey Andersen

"Grapes" - Andrew & Polly

"Use a Contraction" - The Bazillions

“Owl” - Big Block Singsong

 "Sad Baby” - Caspar Babypants

“La Golondrina” - Sonia De Los Santos

"Cuantos Tacos (The Taco Song)” - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

“Loving Cup” - Cat Doorman

"Kitty Wampus" - Duke Otherwise

"Action, Friends, Action" - Funky Mama

"Tomorrow Is a Chance to Start Over" - Hilary Grist

"Cakenstein" - Gustafer Yellowgold

“It’s Gotta Rain (If You Want a Rainbow)” - The Harmonica Pocket

“If I Were a Bird” - Charlie Hope

"Sloop John B. (feat. Jesse Wagner)" - Josh and the Jamtones

"Breakfast Club (feat. Carly Ciaricchio)" - Tim Kubart

“To the Woods” - Molly Ledford & Billy Kelly

"Hello, Goodbye, Shalom" - Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights

"The Start of Things” - Alison Faith Levy

"Refreshments On Neptune” - Todd McHatton

"The Way We Gets Down” - Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips

“Together” - Moona Luna (feat. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo)

"Give Some, Get Some” - Papa Crow

“Indoor Picnic” - The Pop Ups

"Turkey in the Straw" - Red Yarn

"You Were Meant To Be" - Renee and Friends (feat. Glen Phillips)

"I Like to Ride My Bike” - Rock 'n' Rainbow

"Minnesota" - Rocknoceros

“All I Want” - Vered

"Get Happy" - The Verve Pipe

Itty-Bitty Review: Calling All the Kids to the Yard - Cat Doorman

Calling All the Kids to the Yard

Calling All the Kids to the Yard

A little more than a couple years ago, Portland, Oregon artist and musician Julianna Bright gave the world her Cat Doorman alter ego and a fantabulous debut album.

Now she's back with Calling All the Kids to the Yard, the first of 4 digital-only EPs Bright plans on releasing in 2015.  And based on the 12-plus minutes on these first 4 tracks, we're in for a treat.

All the hallmarks of that debut -- the tumbledown organic folk-rock sound, the fully-felt emotions, Bright's enthusiastic vocals -- reappear here.  If the first album's theme was of individual expression, the songs here focus more on the world outside.  "Loving Cup" starts out with a slow acapella chorus, then moves into a rocking meditation ("I'm ready as I've never been / To slow my breath and to take in / All the world's wonders, all its kin / I start to see you.").  "Wake Up" features funky organ, crunchy guitar, hand claps, and an encouragement for the listener to "reach out" and pay attention to the world.  After the title track, the album closes with the least-lullaby-ish verson of "All the Pretty Horses" I've ever heard.

You can stream (and download) the album, most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 9, here.  Fans of the debut album will definitely find more music here to their family's liking, but this should appeal to a broad range of Zooglobble readers and kindie fans.  If possible, I like this even more than the debut.  Definitely recommended.

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

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

Best Kids Music of 2013: Top 25 Songs

It has been too long since I posted a list of my favorite songs of a year.  2011, to be exact.

Oops.

(I already said how embarrassed I was about that.)

Following up on my list of Top 10 kids music debuts in 2013, here's my list of my 25 favorite (or best, depending on your perspective) kids' songs on albums released over the past year ("year" defined as between November 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013, to match the Fids and Kamily Awards this year).  I should note that some of these songs have been floating around for a few years now (the Trout Fishing and Shine and the Moonbeams songs), but have only now found themselves on a proper release.  One could do much worse than to put all 25 on a mix CD or iTunes/Spotify playlist.

Hey, wait, I've done that!  Here's the link (go here if you're in Spotify).  See the end of this post for the embedded stream.  By the way, songs not on Spotify are marked with an *

In any case, picking these 25 songs was tough, tougher than in most previous years, I think.  I had another 15-20 songs I was seriously considering for this list, and on another day, my mood would have struck me differently and at least a couple of those songs would be on here.  But I'm pressing the "publish" button today.

Top 25 Kids Music Songs of 2013 (listed alphabetically by artist)

"Similes and Metaphors" - The Bazillions (Heads or Tales)

"When Pigs Fly" - Sandra Boynton (performed by Ryan Adams) (Frog Trouble)

"Thingamajig" - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band (Lishy Lou and Lucky Too) -- I know, I know, the album was released on Oct. 1, 2013 and so technically speaking shouldn't be on here.  But come on, this was song was awesome.  And there was a single, so that's what I'm hanging my hat on...

"Lonely Girl" - Cat Doorman (The Cat Doorman Songbook)

"It's Not Fair To Me" - Bill Harley & Keith Munslow (It's Not Fair To Me)

"Dinosaur" - Lori Henriques (The World Is a Curious Place To Live) *

"Wag More" - Boxtop Jenkins (You're Happier When You're Happy)

"Take You Into My Arms" - Joey No Knows (Color This Album)

"Nine O' Clock Behind the Jack Rabbit" - Josh & Gab (I'm Not a Bully!)

"You Made Me a Sock Monkey" - Billy Kelly (AGAIN!) *

"Have You Ever Been Jealous?" - Alastair Moock with Rani Arbo (Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World's Bravest Kids) *

"Let's Skateboard" - The Not-Its! (KidQuake!)

"High 5 Your Shadow" - Ratboy Jr. (Champions of the Universe)

"The Deep End" - Recess Monkey (Deep Sea Diver)

"Recess" - Justin Roberts (Recess)

"Bully Bully" - Shine and the Moonbeams (Shine and the Moonbeams)

"Home of Song" - Paul Spring (Home of Song)

"Song Without a Rhyme" - SteveSongs (Orangutan Van)

"Duermete" - Heidi Swedberg and Friends (My Cup of Tea)

"The Late, Great Nate McTate" - Trout Fishing in America (Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers)

"Here Comes My Friend" - Underbirds (Underbirds)

"Scavenger Hunt" - The Verve Pipe (Are We There Yet?)

"Stay True" - The Watson Twins (Pioneer Lane)

"Bigga Bagga" - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke (Please To Meet You)

"Honeybee" - Dan Zanes & Elizabeth Mitchell with You Are My Flower (Turn! Turn! Turn!)

Best Kids Music of 2013: Top 10 Debuts

Every year I wonder whether there are going to be any musicians who decide to turn their attention to making music for kids, and every year I am not disappointed.  It's a silly attitude to take on my part, because doing these sorts of follow-up looks back at the year gives me hope and tells me I should stop wondering, that right now somebody I've never heard of -- and who may never have heard of these artists or any of the other artists on this site -- is for the first time recording music for kids and families that's going to be great.

Here are my top 10 debut albums from 2013, with "2013" defined as being "between November 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013," coinciding with the Fids & Kamily 2013 voting year.  Sometimes debuts drop through the cracks thanks to the slow pace of reviewing, so albums like Vered's Good Morning My Love and Helen Austin's Always Be a Unicorn (which were October 2012 releases, and so just miss the November 1, 2012 starting point) somehow didn't make my list of top debuts from from 2012, either.  And of course, there are post-September 30, 2013 albums like Red Yarn's The Deep Woods and Introducing Jelly of the Month Club that I would not be surprised to see on this list next year.

One other caveat -- there some debuts from experienced kindie folks who made music with new friends. Debuts from Underbirds, Todd & Cookie, and more might very well have made this list were it not for the fact that those participants, artists like Todd McHatton, Morgan Taylor, and Mista Cookie Jar, aren't new to the kids music world.

So here they are, in alphabetical order. It was hard picking the list this year -- there were a couple albums that I thought would make it but somehow got squeezed out by all the other wonderful talent here.  Which must mean that there are a lot of musicians who think that trying their hand at making great music for kids is a worthwhile endeavor.

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Cat Doorman

The Cat Doorman Songbook

Review - "reminds families of the worlds and possibilities that lie outside our door, if only we're willing to see them and create them ourselves"

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Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble

I Like Everything About You Yes I Do!

Review (Coming Soon!) - Old-school rhythm, with soul to spare.  It doesn't sound a lot like most of the other albums on this list, and that's one of its strengths.

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Chris Doud, Willy Tea Taylor, and More

Color This Album

Review - "It's a romp through a world of animals and imagination, and the long-awaited (spiritual) sequel to the classic Bloodshot Records album The Bottle Let Me Down."

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Lesley and the Flying Foxes

A Day in the Life of a Boogaleeboo

Review - "It's got a sense of wide-eyed wonder at, and celebration of, the human experience."

Boxtop Jenkins

You're Happier When You're Happier

Review - I"f you're going to title your album "You're Happier When You're Happy," you darn well better deliver an album that makes listener happy (or happier).  And on his debut, floppy-eared Boxtop Jenkins, the creation of singer-songwriter Franklin Bunn and producer Glenn Matullo, do indeed."

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Martykins & Friends

Martykins & Friends

Review - "I suppose any album gutsy enough to feature a song called "The Funky Lumberjack" had better be willing to follow through and, you know, be kinda funky.  Surprisingly enough, that song, off the debut album from bassist Martin McSweeney is, well, kinda funky."

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Pointed Man Band

Swordfish Tango

Review - "A combination of Tom Waits and Shel Silverstein, the Beatles and Parisian cafes, the music smells of hardwood floors and flannel and wood construction blocks."

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Shine and the Moonbeams

Shine and the Moonbeams

Review - "While it's not really the first R&B and soul album in kids music, it's the first that got the sometimes insular "kids music world" excited."

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Paul Spring

Home of Song

Review - "Home of Song is an ode to books and stories, and to the families who nurture them."

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The Watson Twins

Pioneer Lane

Review - "a tiny jewel of an album that will give the listener a warm, fuzzy glow…"