As you read this, you’re probably getting ready to send your kids back to school (or possibly to school for the first time). If gas prices are affecting you the way they are us, that probably means more carpooling. And nothing helps the carpool like good music. (As an aside, the free podcast of the Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, at DoctorFloyd.com, is an utter hoot for all ages, but only airs about 10 minutes a week. You need more than that, and so the music below will help.)
Me 3 — The Thin King: Indie violinist, violist, and fiddler Jason Kleinberg, the main force behind Me 3, pitches the CD as “‘Yellow Submarine’ for the post-grunge era,” but I’d identify it as more of a combination of Jonathan Richman and Jack Johnson. The breezy CD has catchy melodies and lyrics that kids will relate to (in “Tulip,” he describes the titular flower as being “as pretty as my mom”), and some gentle irony-free humor (most notably in the trilogy of “Short Song,” “Shorter Song,” and “Shortest Song,” and the quirky “Spork”). The performances are just loose enough to feel welcoming but not sloppy, and Kleinberg’s voice is similarly accessible and warm, but it never feels like he’s singing down to the audience. And I haven’t heard better whistling recently than on “I Don’t Know.” Me3Music.com
Phillip Pelletier — One Night in Frogtown: This is a really cool book/CD combination put together by Phillip Pelletier. I admit to not having heard of Pelletier before this, but he’s done some pretty amazing stuff, including composing for Pixar, CBS, and more, and winning a pile of awards for various short films. A wide variety of Oregon-based musicians, ranging from opera to hip hop to soul, along with, well, some actual frogs, performs the music. The story follows a sax-playing frog as he wanders through various genres of music and finds it hard to make friends, as each of the various genres’ clubs won’t allow him to stay when they find out he also likes other kinds of music. Ultimately, (no surprise, being a kids’ book and CD) all turns out well, but en route,
he finds a way to harmony. I’m not a book or illustration expert, but the illustrations seem pretty gorgeous to me, and the message, while perhaps a bit obvious, is a good one.
FrogtownCentral.com
The Nields — Rock All Day, Rock All Night (two-disc set): The Nields sisters win the prize for the cleverest two-disc set idea of late: the first CD (Rock All Day) is the higher-energy dance-in-the-living room set of songs, and the second (Rock All Night) is for rocking kids to sleep — i.e., lullabies. Longtime fans of the folk duo need not be afraid, though — the Rock All Day iteration isn’t Dylan-goes-electric, and there are no massive stacks of Marshall amps. It’s faster paced and more full-band songs, and it’s a ton of fun, and there is occasionally an electric guitar (especially in the excellent “Who Are You Not to Shine?,” but it’s still fundamentally folk music — and it’s terrific. Their take on “Do You Know the Muffin Man,” with a gentle brass section providing an oompah background, highlights their sense of humor (and their banter), as does the “Living on an Organic Farm” update of “Old McDonald.” The second CD is, naturally, more about the remarkable interplay of their voices (and some guest vocalists), and the arrangements never get in the way of the vocals and melodies. Your kids (and perhaps you) will love to go to sleep to the second disc, and the carpool will love singing along to the first.
Nields.com
Bill Childs is a law professor in western Massachusetts. He and his kids produce a kids’ music radio show, “Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child,” weekly; check it out at SpareTheRock.com. Contact him at show@sparetherock.com.
