Video: "Potato Leek Soup" - Django Jones

It's been awhile since Django Jones released their 2014 album D Is for Django, but not too long ago they released a video for one of my favorite songs on the album, "Potato Leek Soup," a brief but earnest power ballad promoting, well, potato leek soup.  (Think of it as the savory version of The Verve Pipe's "Cereal", I guess.)

Anyway, the video features real potato heads and, even better, leek puppets.  I'm serious, folks, it's worth 90 seconds of your time to see leek puppets sing.  (Also, stick around for the closing credits.)

Django Jones - "Potato Leek Soup" [YouTube]

Best Kids Music of 2014: Top 30 Songs

I know.  This is madness, right?  Trying to come up with a list of my 30 favorite songs from the past year? Completely. Nuts.

But that's what I'm willing to do for you, dear readers.  More so than a list of albums or debuts or videos, however, 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.  Tender lullabies have to do more work to stand out in my (or your) memory if you've heard literally thousands of kids' songs over the past year.

But regardless of how different my list would next week (or late in the evening), these 30 songs are among the best that kids music offered us in the past year.  ("Year," as always, defined as Oct. 1, 2013 through Sept. 30, 2014, though that's harder to stick to given the prevalence of singles which might have been released on either side of that window.  Deal.)

Also, these are in alphabetical order -- if you think I'm going to attempt to rank all these, you're even more nuts than I am in deciding to pick them.

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!

Bears and Lions - "Pancakes"

The Laurie Berkner Band – "Fireflies"

Caspar Babypants – "The Girl with the Squirrel in Her Hat"

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – "When I Grow Up"

The Dirty Sock Funtime Band (w/ Laurie Berkner) – "We're in Love"

Laura Doherty - "I'm a Little Fish"

Django Jones – "Counterpoint"

Gustafer Yellowgold - "Toothloser"

The Hipwaders – "Kings & Queens"

Charlie Hope – "Harmony" (feat. Elizabeth Mitchell)

Hullabaloo – "Like a Bird Must Feel"

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

Randy Kaplan – "Not Too Young for a Song"

Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights – "Food Fight"

Josh and the Jamtones – "Green and Spakkled Frogs"

Luscious Jackson – "Hula Hoop"

Walter Martin - "Hey Sister" (feat. Kat Edmonson)

Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips – "My My My"

The Not-Its! - "When I Fell (The Scab Song)"

The Okee Dokee Brothers - "Through the Woods"

The Pop Ups - "All These Shapes"

Raffi – "Love Bug"

Recess Monkey - "Smooth Sailing"

Red Yarn - "The Fox"

Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could – "Just Say Hi!"

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – "Imaginary Friend"

The Short Films – "The Mysterious Okapi"

Ben Tatar and the Tatar Tots – "The Grape Jam" (feat. Spare Parts)

Danny Weinkauf – "Oh No Oh Yeah"

The Whizpops! – "Sea Turtule"

Best Kids Music of 2014: Top 10 Debuts

Continuing on with my look back at 2014 (or Oct. 1, 2013 though Sept. 30, 2014, or thereabouts), let's turn our attention to debuts.

The notion of "debut" is a difficult one, particularly in kids music, because one often hears music from artists who've been around for a long time recording music for adults who dip their toes into the kiddie pool.  Is that a debut?  My answer has tended to be "no."  So albums from artists like The Short Films and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir, albums I clearly loved, weren't considered for this list, because I got no sense that those artists viewed those albums as the start of a career (or even career sideline) making music for families.  Same goes for albums by Luscious Jackson, Zee Avi, and MC Frontalot.

Or what do you do about artists like Dan Flannery and Steve Lee, who recorded kids' albums already with the Flannery Brothers and, er, Steve Lee?  Well, you disqualify albums recorded as Danny Lion and Yumzah which would've potentially made this list.  And Rainbow Beast?  I just didn't know what to do with that group of folks recording music written by a rotating set of kids.  So I omitted them.

Luckily, the list of ten albums below are still fine introductions to kids music from artists I've got a pretty good feeling might come back for round 2 -- at the very least they went to the trouble of creating a new band, right?  So here are my top 10 favorite debuts, listed alphabetically.

 

BearsAndLionsWereAClubInTheWoods.jpg

Bears and Lions - We're a Club in the Woods (review) - "Jangly, southern-fried guitar-pop songs about jumping out of airplanes, man's best friend, and PAN! CAKE! SWEEP! STAKES!  (Just listen to "Pancakes" all the way through, trust me.)"

EdieCareySarahSampleTilTheMorning.jpg

Edie Carey & Sarah Sample - 'Til the Morning: Lullabies & Songs of Comfort (review) - " 'Til the Morning is an album of love songs, just like all lullaby albums should be, and beyond that it also has a feeling of things fitting just so, its songs of comfort also comfortable."

DjangoJonesDIsForDjango.jpg

Django Jones - D is for Django (review) - "Songs like "Counterpoint," which manages to be about counterpoint the musical term and counterpoint the metaphorical concept while being mostly in counterpoint, demonstrate heart and humor and (natch) tight harmonies."

IntroducingJellyOfTheMonthClub.jpg

Jelly of the Month Club - Introducing… (review) - "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."

WalterMartinWereAllYoungTogether.jpg

Walter Martin - We're All Young Together (review) - "Whatever cool-points Martin may have lost by wadding into the kid's music world, the playful and sweet nature of this new album shows he doesn't care one bit. He feels very much at home."

RedYarnTheDeepWoods.jpg

Red Yarn - The Deep Woods (review) - '"Mr. Rabbit" has an almost desperate urgency while "The Fox," which brings together "The Fox," "Midnight Special," and "Go Tell Aunty Rhody," is absolutely gorgeous.  This is a folk revival, in all the many meanings of the word "revival."'

AndresSalgueroUnoDosTresConAndres.jpg

Andres Salguero - ¡Uno, Dos, Tres con Andrés! (review) - "From "Los Colores" (a mellow bachata, popularized in the Dominican Republic) to "La Clave" (a percussion-driven -- of course -- Cuban/Puerto Rican salsa tune), Salguero samples Latin America's rich musical heritage."

BenTatarTatarTotsFood.jpg

Ben Tatar and the Tatar Tots - Food! (review) - "But like a good bowl of mac'n'cheese, when done right, this style of kids music can be very satisfying.  The multi-instrumentalist Tatar plays in a number of bands throughout Chicago, and the level of production is excellent, with Tatar handling a lot of duties, but also bringing in his friends to fill out the sound."

DannyWeinkaufNoSchoolToday.jpg

Danny Weinkauf - No School Today (review) - "You don't have to be a They Might Be Giants fan to appreciate this album (though TMBG fans are most likely to go nuts for this), just a fan of nicely-crafted, occasionally goofy, kid-pop."

TheWhirlygigsGreetingsFromCloud9.jpg

Whirlygigs - Greetings from Cloud 9 (review) - "Greetings from Cloud 9 definitely has a retro sound, but it's not burnt in amber, either.  For families looking for a mellower kindie sound reminiscent of those Taj Mahal records (or perhaps a little bit like fellow New Englander Alastair Moock), this Whirlygigs album is worth exploring."

Radio Playlist: New Music May 2014

As we head into Memorial Day, we move into one of the big times of the year, kids' music-wise, just before summer.  Lots of great songs to choose from.  (You can see the April 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.

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

**** New Music May 2014 (May 2014 Kindie Playlist) ****

The Okee Dokee Brothers – Through the Woods
shad weathersby – Yellowstone / Henihco'oo'
Mr Kneel – C.L.E.A.R. (feat. Jonny 5)
Father Goose – Keep Your Head Up (feat. Danger D)
Suzi Shelton – It's a Beautiful Day
Django Jones – Counterpoint
Danny Weinkauf – Oh No Oh Yeah
Little Miss Ann – Follow Me
Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – El Cucuy (feat. Ruben Ramos)
Koo Koo Kanga Roo – Fanny Pack
Walter Martin – Hey Sister

Weekly Summary (4/28/14 - 5/4/14)

Itty-Bitty Review: D Is for Django - Django Jones

The band Django Jones was born out of the folk-pop band Girlyman -- then on hiatus, now defunct, Girlyman was known in part for its tight harmonies and sometimes sweet, sometimes goofy songs and live shows.  The trio -- Doris Muramatsu, Nate Borofsky, and JJ Jones -- turned to Kickstarter to raise funds and attention for their album, and the result, D Is for Django, is formally released this week.

Inside the good 53-minute album is a great album of maybe 30-35 minutes or so in length.  Songs like "Counterpoint," which manages to be about counterpoint the musical term and counterpoint the metaphorical concept while being mostly in counterpoint, demonstrate heart and humor and (natch) tight harmonies.  "Jack of All Things," about a personal muse, and "Smallest Breed," about Django Jones (the band's namesake, a Chihuahua), effectively convey big thoughts and emotional learning at a kid's level.  "Breakfast" is a goofy folk riff, dorky and catchy.

But for me the skits between many of the tracks (which sound a lot more awkward than they would done loosely live) and some of the more obvious "kid" songs like "P-O-P" (about popcorn) and "Bigfoot" sit a little flat next to those tracks.  The band may have been trying to make a "kids album," but the album works best when the songs aren't obviously aiming for that target -- they can write good enough songs, sweet or silly, and need not try so hard to please that demographic. The kids'll come along for the ride.

The album will appeal most to kids ages 5 through 8.  It's a fun debut from the trio, and I hope that this foray into music specifically for the younger set won't be their last.  There are enough wonderful tracks that even though I didn't like all of them, the scale is safely in the band's favor.  Definitely recommended.