Best Children's Music of 2007

by Sarah Bardeen

Okay, we know that "best children's music" might sound like a bit of an oxymoron. But children's music is undergoing a renovation these days, and it's time we celebrated it! Things started changing when former Del Fuego Dan Zanes made a pact with the devil, erm, that is, Disney and brought his literate, inter-generational folk to a wider audience. The process of kids music-hippification was furthered along by the wonderful For the Kids compilation series, which has brought the music of Jolie Holland, Tom Waits and Robyn Hitchcock to the pint-sized set. And we can't leave out They Might Be Giants, whose Here Come the ABC marked the band's tacit acknowledgement of their natural fan demographic.

But what about the best albums of 2007, you ask. Well, for starters, did you know that Andre 3000, the wild child of hip-hop duo Outkast, released a children's album?

We're not messing with you. Spinning off from his Cartoon Network show Class of 3000, the man released an album that probably most accurately reflects what kids actually want to hear these days. It's weird and smart, and best of all, it's fun to listen to.

Here, in no particular order, are a few more new and noteworthy albums for the discerning parent -- and adventurous kids

Father Goose, It's a Bam Bam Diddly
This former dancehall emcee is a Dan Zanes protégé and has collaborated on some of Zanes' most memorable tracks. Goose, aka Rankin Don, describes his role on this album as the spice that ties the songs together. He doesn't take center stage, but instead invites in everybody from Sheryl Crow (yawn) to reggae's Sister Carol and Screechy Dan to explore classic Caribbean kids songs. The most beautiful moments are the least commercial ones: when he invites Haitian artist Gaston Jean-Baptiste to sing a Creole song, you'll probably find yourself near tears after Goose's introduction. Also, the kids like it. One downside -- no train songs, though "Flying Machine" nearly suffices.

Sweet Honey in the Rock, Experience 101
Universally lauded, this is kind of a bizarre release -- moving beyond granola and into rainbows, moonbeams and soy nuggets territory. But just because it's good for you doesn't mean it has to taste bad, and despite a few mis-steps (it's not fun to learn about a country's exports) Experience 101 has enough transcendent moments to warrant putting it in heavy rotation.

Renee and Jeremy, It's A Big World
Rumor has it that Renee and Jeremy's album was on the short list for a Grammy nomination. They didn't make the cut, and it's too bad. This kind of delicate music can help kids calm down and center -- and help parents slow down and remember why they got into the parenting gig in the first place.

Los Lobos, Papa's Dream
"Papa's Dream" takes a bit more concentration than a younger kid can offer, given the amount of narration between the songs. Nonetheless it's a strange, enjoyable and intriguing ride that sends a bunch of fictional kids to Mexico in a hot air balloon and features very folksy renditions of classic kids songs like "De Colores."

Recess Monkey, Wonderstuff
The band's double-entendre name was enough to make us fans, but their dreamy, jangly pop pushed us over the edge. Is this really for kids? It sounds like Marc Bolan was reborn as a devoted parent. My husband says it's "wimpy" but I say it's neo-British Invasion. You'll love it, trust us.

Buck Howdy. Chickens
We're still lamenting the lack of fart jokes (a mainstay of previous albums) but Buck Howdy did so well with this album of chicken-fried kiddie country that we're prepared to forgive him. Howdy teamed up with BB, his longtime collaborator, and the male-female vocal mix is very engaging.

Ella Jenkins Catalogue

Smithsonian Folkways pushed all of this classic children's singer's albums to digital last year. Jenkins' diction is impeccable, her politics unassailable, and her heart so generous it comes through in even a rendition of "Baa Baa Black Sheep." Ella Jenkins is the rock of Gibraltar in this genre; if you haven't heard her, you must. Such clear-eyed moral vision rarely emanates from children's music.

Not Necessarily New, But New To Us

My favorite discovery of 2007 (and I'm a bit behind the times) was Elizabeth Mitchell, of Ida fame. Her three children's albums (also on Smithsonian Folkways) are revelations -- delicate acoustic folk introductions to the American songbook that make for great quiet time music. We also have to commend the Asylum Street Spankers for their funny name and good album -- and give a shout-out to San Francisco kids-edelic rockers the Sippy Cups.

And of course I have to end with my kid's current favorite dance song, an oldie but a goodie: the Dubliner's "Mountain Dew." Yes, it's about moonshine. Yes, it features Shane MacGowan's slurred vocals. But we have a post-bath dance party to this song every night (or an Irish cultural indoctrination moment, take your pick) and we're not tired of it yet. Give it a spin.

Looking for more cool children's music? Check out the definitive blog on children's music, Zooglobble.

Further Listening

Father Goose It's A Bam Bam Diddly
Andre 3000 Class of 3000
Ella Jenkins Growing Up With Ella Jenkins
Sweet Honey in the Rock Experience 101
Recess Monkey Wonderstuff
Renee and Jeremy It's a Big World

Posted by: Sarah Bardeen
Permalink: Best Children's Music of 2007
Posted on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:20:10 -0800

Final Dispatch from Vegas

by Sam Chennault

Vegas is strange and scattered. It’s a place where replications of Michelangelo’s David are propped against endless rows of blurry, bleeping slot machines. It's a city of dreams and nightmares, and for me, the VMAs were more the latter than the former. I was supposed to cover the red carpet action for Rhapsody and score a few interviews for our system, but our new partners at MTV thought it was appropriate to assign me the fire exit beat, and I ended up being sandwiched between a reporter for the Eskimo Wire Service and about three dozen 240-pound, 14-year-old girls who had climbed on top of slot machines and spent the evening shredding their vocal chords.  The noise that emanated from their gourds every time a d-list celeb boy toy strolled by could’ve sliced diamonds, and my ears are still ringing from their shrill adoration.

I’ll give the numbers: out of the 120 credentialed press outlets on the scene, MTV prioritized us at 113. But it was probably for the best – waxing sycophantic to Kid Rock and Steve-O isn’t really what I do best, and the entire red carpet scene reminded me of some unholy collusion of Day of the Locust and My Sweet 16. Perhaps in the coming years, VH1 will capture this zeitgeist and develop a show about celebrity obsessed tweens with torrett syndrome and gambling addictions. I can only hope.

But hey, at least they didn’t get me drunk, slap some  two-piece on me and throw me on stage so that the entire world could laugh at me. I never thought I’d say this, but poor Britney. Why are people acting surprised that the talent-deficient monument to teen sex who we erected in the early part of this decade turns into slightly pudgy, 25-year old crazed has-been? She’s obviously beyond controlling herself, and she’s not smart enough to understand the narratives surrounding her, so somebody close should’ve stepped in and stopped this debacle.  It’s incredibly sad, really, and I only hope that Britney retreats back to the Louisiana backwoods where she came from and leaves this vicious game to the new generation of young meat.

Anyway, here are some pictures that I managed to snap from my  station:

Mistah FAB

Panic at the Disco

Baby (aka Lil Wayne's Daddy)


I hope you know who these two guys are

Steve-O

Anyway, peace out Vegas.

Posted by: SamChennault
Permalink: Final Dispatch from Vegas
Posted on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:06:07 -0700

The V In VMA

By Tim Quirk

OK, so Chris Brown jumping from table to table was the musical high point of this year’s VMAs. I wasn’t in the Pearl Theater itself, but friends who were insist that watching Chris and co. fly through the air was actually more impressive in the room than it looked on TV – even cooler, apparently the production lady who talked to everyone during commercials was saying stuff like, “All drinks off the tables!” and “Don’t stand up, or you will be decapitated!” just before Chris Brown blew everybody’s mind and washed the sad aftertaste of Britney thrusting her hips while surrounded by good dancers out of the nation’s collective, gaped mouth.

But my own personal high point came courtesy of Kid Rock. I have no idea if what he said was merely bleeped, or edited out of the broadcast entirely, but it was one of those priceless moments of honesty bursting through posturing that pop music specializes in.

Here’s what happened, at least in the live feed those of us who weren’t quite special enough to get tickets to the Pearl Theater but who knew someone who knew someone who could get us into the Rain nightclub where Linkin Park played saw. Seth Rogen was doing a running bit about the Best New Artist award, which basically highlighted all the embarrassing one-hit-wonders who’ve been nominated for this award in the past. So he introduces Kid Rock as a past loser of the award, and asks Mr. Rock how failing to win the award has affected his life. And Kid Rock’s five word answer was this:

“I eat p*ssy for breakfast.”

It’s a pretty profound response, if you think about it (really: take a minute or two and think through everything he might have meant – if you stop at, “I’m a boorish dumbass,” you’re right, but you’re also not thinking hard enough). Those five words (along with Sarah Silverman’s stretched-mouth impersonation of Britney’s nether regions) took the sex that’s implicit in most pop music and said, “Let’s stop pretending we’re talking about something else.” 

Apparently Kid Rock and Tommy Lee got in a fight over Pamela Anderson later on in the evening, so that fight and Chris Brown and how medicated Britney looked will probably be the things we all talk about when we talk about the VMAs for the next few days. But before that happens, I wanted to put in a plug for Kid Rock’s potty mouth, since sometimes the things your demented grandma says during Christmas dinner that everyone immediately pretends they didn’t hear turn out to be worth pondering for a bit.

Posted by: Tim_Quirk
Permalink: The V In VMA
Posted on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:17:05 -0700

Eve Has Ugly Knees

By Tim Quirk

There’s no lack of things to do in Vegas during the VMAs. Hell, there’s a multiplex in the Palms (don’t believe the glowing reviews of 3:10 to Yuma; it’s like that Jon Lovitz “Acting!” character from SNL starring in a Pierce Brosnan-era James Bond flick, only with cowboy hats – but if you have to see it, see it in the multiplex at the Palms, where the ludicrousness of the film is at least mitigated by the total over-the-topness of everything going on outside the safe, dark, silly theater).

Things going on outside that theater include happening parties you need special wristbands or revealing dresses to get in to. Since I always travel with both, I was one of the lucky hundreds who got to enjoy the open bar at Rain while we waited for Eve to come out and show us her paw print tattoos and sing us her “new single featuring Sean Paul” even though Sean Paul wasn’t there. 

I wish I had something insightful to say about that song, but all I could think about while she performed was how ugly her knees are. Honestly, we’re talking nightmare-inducing protrusions of asymmetrical cartilage and flesh. Have you ever stared at an unstained wood wall or ceiling and become obsessed with the way a particular set of knots look just like an evil old man’s eyes, to the point where you’re convinced those knots are alive and are hypnotizing you and instructing you to go kill squirrels?

Eve’s knees are a lot like that. 

Maroon 5 are playing tomorrow’s happening party. I am hoping they don’t wear shorts.

Posted by: Tim_Quirk
Permalink: Eve Has Ugly Knees
Posted on Sat, 08 Sep 2007 00:55:01 -0700

Everybody In the Pool

by Garrett Kamps

Gracious and wonderful friends, greetings from Las Vegas, land of the $7 Budweiser. Having just filled my hotel bathtub with ice, diet soda, and what made Milwaukee famous -- avast these casinos! ne'er should a law-abiding American be gorged for plain old diet soda, let alone cheap beer -- I'm ready to tell you about my first day here. Don't get too excited. Or do, because, while I didn't see Britney slip on a banana peel or Fall Out Boy doing the Humpty Hump, I did walk through the lobby of the Palms, locale of your 2007 VMAs, and from the way the klieg lights are strewn like so much Xmas popcorn, with technicians running to and fro setting up jib arms and coating things in plastic (?), it appears as if Martin Scorsese is planning one of his eight-minute-long takes in there. Barring that, there must be a Macy's Day Parade's worth of A-list mugs preparing to trip the light fantastic 'round these parts. God knows they've got the security for it.

The other thing I did today was hang out in the Rhapsody Cabana at the Palms' super swanktastic pool as DJ A-Trak kept a bunch of scantily clad hard-bodies shaking that which makes their money. Rumor was that Suge Knight was cruising around, but I missed him because I was too busy scratching my head as A-Trak flipped the umpteenth version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" that I've heard in a hip dance mix of late. Look, those of us who've had a true appreciation for the songwriting prowess of the Bay Area's second  highest selling band have had it with the hipster embrace of said band in the wake of a popular TV program. But I digress. Tomorrow is another day, one that includes a performance by Peter Bjorn & John poolside, as well as Robin Thicke and Maroon 5 playing the House of Blues. And there's more, but I have to go get ready to see Snoop Dogg.

Posted by: Garrett Kamps
Permalink: Everybody In the Pool
Posted on Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:06:43 -0700

What The Hell Is Up With The Blog?

By Tim Quirk

That’s what a bunch of friends and random strangers have been asking me lately. So I figured I should explain.

As you maybe already knew, or have probably figured out by now, Rhapsody recently partnered with MTV Networks, and this year’s Video Music Awards are something like the coming out party for our new venture – we’ll be advertising Rhapsody on a scale we’ve never attempted before, starting this weekend (I’m actually typing this in Vegas, at the Palms, where the event will be taking place on Sunday, and where you can’t walk two feet without bumping into some VMA ad – both the key to my room and the Do Not Disturb sign have this year’s VMA logo emblazoned on them, as do the blackjack tables in the casino. But hey – Vegas is not about being subtle).

Anyhoo, we’ve been doing some VMA coverage on rhapsody.com, and that coverage includes a blog about the event (you can check it out here), and we figured folks who read the staff blog might want to see those posts, too. Our new buddies from MTV’s “Buzzworthy” blog have been contributing items about who’s gonna be performing and what they’ve been caught smoking recently, while your humble Rhapsody editors have been using various nominees as starting points to drive new visitors deeper into the Rhapsody catalog. I’m kinda loving Rachel Devitt’s posts along those lines.

So the tone’s a bit schizophrenic for now, but it’ll calm down in a couple days, and in the meantime we’re figuring out how to get this blog integrated more tightly with rhapsody.com – we hope to take what we’ve done on that VMA blog page and extend it throughout rhapsody.com, so hip-hop posts get directed to a blog in the hip-hop section, jazz posts go to the jazz section and so on. But everything will always be viewable here, since this is basically the mothership.

 Thanks for bearing with us while we experiment. And here’s my favorite version of Viva Las Vegas ever.

Posted by: Tim_Quirk
Permalink: What The Hell Is Up With The Blog?
Posted on Fri, 07 Sep 2007 20:28:14 -0700