StevenSteven: Finally and Foreverywhere

StevenSteven Foreverywhere album cover

It started nearly a decade ago, when former Blue's Clues star Steve Burns and current Flaming Lips instrumentalist Steven Drozd stormed Jack's Big Music Show with "I Hog (the Ground)," which forever and for all time will be the best song for Groundhog Day.

Then, a couple years or so later, news surfaced that Burns and Drozd hadn't stopped singing about groundhogs but had, in fact, recorded an entire album together. They named their band Steve 'n' Steven.  (Yes, that post links to a Myspace page, which is an indication of just how far back this goes.)

And then: silence.

You can read this 2014 post about the first time the album was streamed, and you can hear the frustration in my text -- about time! -- and palpable excitement.  (Especially since that was in the wake of a video that has become over time one of my all-time favorites -- "A Fact Is a Gift That You Give Your Brain.")

And then (again): silence (again).

Steve Burns and Steven Drozd

Until the end of this September, when a brand new StevenSteven website and Twitter account popped up, with a psychedelic new video for "The Unicorn and Princess Rainbow" playing on the site.

Well, even Chinese Democracy finally got a release date, and the long-awaited StevenSteven (spelling updated slightly) album -- now titled Foreverywhere -- has an official release date: February 2017.

The band cites "Black Sabbath, Cephalopods, Grover, [and] Toy Commercials from the 1970s" among many other people and entities as influences and inspirations.  It'll definitely be one of those kids music albums that lots of folks both inside and outside the kids music world will be talking about next year.

As for me, I might be willing to be like the Unicorn in the 3 song "mini-EP" of sorts scattered as an arc throughout the entire album, waiting until the edge for forever to have the album released into the world.  (I have been like that, in kindie terms, at least.)  But I'm glad I've only got another 3 months or so.

Still from "The Unicorn and Princess Rainbow" video

Monday Morning Smile: "Princess" - Big Block Singsong

Yeah, I know that Monday Morning Smiles are usually not kids' music, but I'm pretty sure you don't need to be a princess, female, or wear pink to get a kick (in the rear) out of "Princess," one of the most awesome songs from the fairly awesome folks at Big Block Singsong.  (Really, they've got a CD and a DVD worth checking out.)  This video features a heavy beat, awesome vocals from Stacey Kay, and a dragon pulling a wagon.  What, exactly, is not to love?

Big Block Singsong - "Princess" [YouTube]

Review: Big Block Singsong Volume One and Big Block Singsong Greatest Hits

Big Block Singsong Greatest Hits

After I listened to and watched Big Block Singsong’s album (Big Block Singsong Greatest Hits) and DVD (Big Block Singsong Volume One) a couple times, my first question was “Why have I not heard of these before?”  I initially assumed that the fact it was a (relatively new) Disney Junior show meant that I was just out of the TV loop.

Turns out that the delightful series of 2-minute music videos date back to 2009, when Canadian illustrator Warren Brown and composer Adam Goddard (now Goddard/Brown) first unleashed Big Box Singsong, as it was then known, onto the world.  (No such thing as an overnight sensation, right?)  So I have nobody to blame but myself for not knowing about the videos until their move to CBC, Disney Junior, and Nick Jr. in the UK and inevitable worldwide conquest.  Now there are 59 videos, 49 of which are the Season 1 pile which provide the 24 songs drawn for the album and DVD.  I, for one, welcome our new big block overlords.

What’s the concept?  Each video episode is about 2 minutes long and features an animated rectangular block with big eyes and mouth singing about a topic, usually themselves.  “Monkey”?  A gray-brown block with long arms singing about all the things he’s going to do meaning that it’s going to be a “two-banana day.”  It’s almost a celebration.  “Octopus”?  A red-brown block with eight tiny dangling legs.  The songs run the genre gamut, from folk (“Monkey”) to AutoTuned funk (“Sleep”) to Smile-era Beach Boys (“Nose”) to Queen (“Junk Food”).  The lyrics have a light touch and a sense of humor, with very little didactic “do this” guidance.

Big Block Singsong Volume One DVD

The videos are inherently humorous (it’s a square monkey, after all), but the lyrics sometimes offer opportunities for visual jokes.  You don’t need the visuals to enjoy the music, but there are definitely some videos (“Sleep,” for one) that add an extra layer of enjoyment.  While there's a unified animation style, of course, the different video and song concepts mean that if your kid is bored with one song, hang on, there'll be an entirely different one on shortly.

The music and videos are most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 6, but both music and videos (especially the videos) will probably tickle the funnybone of kids (and adults) considerably older than that.  The album and DVD are each roughly 45 minutes in length (with the DVD available with a French-language option of course).  You can get a complete list of places to watch the videos here, which includes the kid-friendly Disney Junior page.

The most difficult question may be, “if I get only one, which do I get?”  Sixteen of the songs including “Nose,” Sleep” and “Mad” are on both the album and DVD.  The advantage of the DVD is that you get the visuals in a format that doesn’t require an internet connection.  The advantage of the album is that you get the incredibly-awesome “Princess,” a track which doesn’t appear on the DVD, and, potentially, portability via CD or mp3 player.  If you don’t need multiple languages on the video, the cheapest and perhaps the easiest combination might be to get the standard-definition version of the 24 videos on the DVD via iTunes for just $6.99 and download “Princess” as an individual mp3 track.

So, yeah, I’m late to the party, but better late than never.  Big Block Singsong is ten tons of fun.  After listening and watching, your kids’ll probably have a two-banana day, too.  Both the album and the DVD are highly recommended.

Note: I received an electronic copy of the album and physical copy of the DVD for possible review.

Video: "The Princess Who Saved Herself" - Jonathan Coulton

I briefly thought about not posting this, because by doing so I prove that I'm not infallible.  Because if I were​ infallible, I wouldn't be posting this video nearly 18 months after it originally went on YouTube.

​But then I thought, there must be others like me who haven't seen this either.  So I'm sharing.  It's for Jonathan Coulton's stone-cold (and incredibly popular) track "The Princess Who Saved Herself" from the fine Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti compilation​.

It's a fan video.  Not just any fan.  But a whole bunch of school students.  I don't typically like fan videos, but there's something about the match of the elementary school art juxtaposed against Coulton's whip-smart lyrics that warms my heart greatly.​

Jonathan Coulton - "The Princess Who Saved Herself" (fan video) [YouTube]​