Kindie-Chartin': Kids Place Live's Top 13 Songs of 2012

One of my ongoing interests has been attempting to quantify the popularity of kids music, and I do that every week on my Kindie Week in Review show.  When it comes to kids music albums, the wide variety of charts I consider -- Billboard, iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby -- gives a decent overview.  No chart is perfect, but the variety does give some sense of relative popularity among broad range of audiences, from those who have never heard of the word "kindie" to schools and libraries, to folks like you or me.

When it comes to individual kids music songs, however, the charts do a poorer job.  The iTunes and Amazon singles charts are populated primarily with Kidz Bop renditions, songs from Disney animated movies released 20 years ago, novelty songs, and songs Amazon couldn't figure out where to place.  The only chart that does a decent job of actually charting kids songs, particularly kindie songs, on a national basis, is Sirius-XM's Kids Place Live's "13 Under 13" countdown.  It's a weekly look at the most popular songs on the satellite radio station.  And while the folks at KPL have described the chart as much as art as quantifiable fact, the chart does have a decent relationship to what is actually being played on the station.

I've finally had a chance to compile the data from songs that hit the charts in 2012.  Most of the delay is my fault (I'm already planning the 2013 chart and will be much more timely with that one), but some of the delay is due to the structure of this analysis -- it looks at every song that hit the 13U13 chart in 2012 (there were 50 in all), and sometimes those songs that entered in December 2012 didn't exit until March 2013.  A couple of the songs from the 2011 list of top Kids Place Live songs -- Keller Williams' "Mama Tooted" and Todd McHatton's "I Think I'm a Bunny" -- were charting on the KPL list all the way into June 2012.

This analysis would not be possible without the weekly work of Gwyneth Butera at the Kids Place Live Fans site, so thanks, Gwyneth!

My methodology is pretty simple -- I give each song on each chart points for their ranking, 13 for #1, 12 for #2, and so on down to 1 point for being at #13.  Obviously I could use other methods and weightings, but since the chart itself is not 100% based on plays, I think this is accurate enough.  What it does is make clear which songs were particularly popular.  As it so happens, there was a nice demarcation point between the top 13 songs and the rest of the batch.  So here, then, are the top 13 kids music songs of 2012.

#1: The Board of Education - "Why Is Dad So Mad?": While much of this chart will be presented in clumps of songs because the methodology is crude and it's not worth distinguishing between songs who might have differed by 1 or 2 points in total, it was clear was this Star Wars fandom-related riff by the Seattle band was the most popular kindie song of the year.

#s 2 through 4 (alphabetical):

• Afro Circus (from Madagascar): "Afro Circus"
• OzoKidz (aka Ozomatli): "Moose on the Loose"
• Recess Monkey: "Dancing Bear"

#s 5 through 9 (alphabetical):

• Randy Kaplan: "Don't Fill Up on Chips"
• Randy Kaplan: "In a Timeout Now"
• The Okee Dokee Brothers: "Can You Canoe?"
• SteveSongs: "Flat Stanley"
• Wunmi: "Rainbow"

#s 10 through 13 (alphabetical):

• The Aquabats: "Poppin' a Wheelie"
• Brave (i.e., from Brave): "Learn Me Right"
• Lunch Money: "Spicy Kid"
• Shine and the Moonbeams: "High Five"

Finally, listed alphabetically below are the top10  artists of 2012 on Kids Place Live as judged by total points, which could reflect a single massive hit or a couple good ones.  This is an even more imprecise measure -- some artists spend half their year on the charts with two or even three mid-range hits, not to mention the perennial favorites that get played once or twice a day -- but do provide some additional context.

• The Board of Education
• The Brave soundtrack
• Caspar Babypants
• Dog on Fleas
• Randy Kaplan
• Lunch Money
• The Madagascar soundtrack
• The Okee Dokee Brothers
• OzoKidz (aka Ozomatli)
• Recess Monkey

Radio Playlist: New Music October 2012

Once again, I'm posting a Spotify update for some new music (see a playlist from a couple months ago here).  It's limited, of course, in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list.  Also, whereas I used to be able to post songs from albums that haven't been officially released, that's no longer an option.

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

**** New Music October 2012 (October Kindie Playlist) ****

Aaron Nigel Smith & One World Chorus – Man Gave Names

Barry G and The Dream Jam Kids – The Captain Was A Monkey

Hot Peas 'n Butter – Dream Away

Charity and the Jamband – Loving Kindness

Mister G – Ahorita

Alphabet Rockers – Dynamite

Hullabaloo - Look At You

Ozomatli – Moose On The Loose

Ben Rudnick and Friends – Love Is a Superpower

Elena Moon Park – Tum Tum Chuen

Interview: Ulises Bella (Ozomatli)

For more than 15 years, the Los Angeles-based band Ozomatli have been mixing musical styles from around the globe (LA is the globe writ small), moving people's feet while sometimes addressing some pretty serious topics.  Now, with their latest album OzoKidz, out this week on iTunes and out everywhere else late September, they're bringing their mashup of styles to some younger fans.  I talked last week with saxophonist and keyboardist Ulises ("Uli") Bella (sitting, center, with the uke) about OzoKidz's origins, the difference in structuring their live gigs, and the old Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard.  (And, for a limited time -- i.e., Monday -- pick up a free download of the song "Trees" from the new album at the widget at the bottom of the page.)

Zooglobble: What are your first musical memories?

Ulises Bella: I think... my dad was a classical violinist -- he didn't make it into the Paris Conservatory, but he loved classical music.  So Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, those artists.  But also my mom's poppy Mexican music and Spanish music, which my dad likes.  They encouraged setting up my own stereo system.

I remember my dad driving me to Tower Records to buy the new Blondie album.

The famous one with the actual tower?

Yeah, the one on Sunset.  It was quite a trek, about 40-50 minutes drive.  In fact, they had their annex with the classical music section right across the street, so I'd go into the main one and my dad would go to the annex and I'd meet him there afterwards.

You had done some kid-friendly things before this, songs for PBS and the Happy Feet Two videogame, but how did you fall into this album in particular?

There are some songs of ours that resonated with young kids.  "My kids love 'Chango,' gets so energetic in the car," fans would tell us.  We'd do outreach, and some songs just resonated with the kids.

Then Mario Calire, our drummer, just threw it out there -- "have you ever thought about a kids music album?"  Among Mexican Americans, there's this well-loved musician, Cri-Cri, who's this super-iconic Mexican children's artist.  We wanted to make that sort of album, specifically for kids, but for parents, too.

Did you have specific goals in mind when writing the songs for the album?

We did a lot of brainstorming -- should it be themed?  Like "animals" -- everybody writes a song about a different animal.  But in the end it ended up being an eclectic collection, lots of energy, always dacing.  Some of the songs are educational - "Trees," "Germs" -- and some celebratory.  We ended up being ourselves.

Did recording it have a different feel from recording an "adult" album?

Totally.  We try to focus on our audience, and tried to remember the energy of childhood.  Adults have to be intoxicated or really let their walls down.  We'd have kids in there with us with the percussion -- they brought a light energy to the room.  There were different subjects, too, more lighthearted as opposed to Ozomatli, which deals with more global issues, heavier subjects.  It really was like kids play.

What are the differences between playing live for adults and for kids?

Again, it's about presentation and the energy level.  A regular Ozomatli set is 90 minutes long and features a lot of solos.  The OzoKidz shows are a lot more concise, have a lot more energy.  We involve the kids in every song, as opposed to the adult shows.

Do you like playing 45 minutes as opposed to 90 minutes?

A little bit?  Sometimes I'm just getting warmed up and then I have to come offstage!? [Laughs.]

Are you willing to mix in kids tunes in your adult shows?

That's actually a hotly debated issue in the band.  We'll play it by ear.  We want to keep the energies separate.  But if one of those songs really penetrates on radio or with an audience, who knows?

What preconceptions about kids music music were changed? Any proven true?

One thing that surprised me was the group of artists that have done this.  Why don't more bands do it?  Might not fit their image, maybe.  We're always down for the kids, it's part of what we do.  We all had mentors growing up who said you can do it too and so we're bringing it to the next generation.  I always think it's cool.

Did anybody think it wasn't cool when word got around you were doing a kids album?

Not one negative response -- they all said, "That's awesome."

What's next for the band?

We're hooking up with producer Matt Wallace for the next straight-up Ozomatli album.  We're on the road every weekend, doing both adult and kid shows.  Touring Australia, too.  We're really excited to see how people digest the album.

Photo credits: Christian Lantry

Radio Playlist: New Music July 2012

I'm trying something a little bit different this time around with these radio playlists -- instead of posting an update to my Live365 station as I did for June, I've posted a Spotify update.  It's limited, of course, in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list (though I do have a list of stuff that would've posted had it been there -- see the end).  

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

**** New Music July 2012 (July Kindie Playlist) ****

Stephen Michael Schwartz – California Grey

The Cat's Pajamas – Funky Bears

Elizabeth Mitchell – Little Sugar

They Might Be Giants – Violin (Bonus Live Version)

Richard Younger – Barefootin'

Lunch Money – Gingerbread Man

Randy Kaplan – They're Red Hot

Playtime Music – Row Row Row Your Boat

Ozomatli – Flip Flap 

[the non-Spotify list]

The Zucchini Brothers - Crazy Life

New Raspberry Bandits - Fine Country

Professor Banjo - John Henry

Forest Sun - Trampoline