As I write this, we’re only a week or so out from what I hope was our last snowfall. Today promises to be a lovely spring day, with hints of actual summer around the corner. And so my thoughts turn to the music of summer.
I don’t mean music about summer – that exists, certainly, but often ends up feeling forced (“You will cheerfully frolic outside if you know what’s good for you!”) – but music that feels like summer, the songs you listen to with the car windows down or on your porch while you curse your landlord for the broken air conditioning. Think back, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. For me, the category runs from the Replacements and Us 3 to, for this summer, the Hold Steady and Fountains of Wayne.
The good news is that there’s summer music for kids, too. Below, a few albums that you and your family will enjoy all summer long.
The Deedle Deedle Dees: Freedom in a Box. I liked the Brooklyn-based Dees’ first record, Let It Dee, a bunch, but this new one is an instant contender for album of the year. They’ve retained their off-kilter perspective and their love for history (see TeachDDD.blogspot.com for teachers’ guides), but, more than on Let It Dee, Freedom in a Box seems to have more of a focus on songwriting first. From “Nellie Bly” (about the world-traveling reporter) to “Teddy Days” (a raucous tribute to Teddy Roosevelt), your kids will learn a lot while thinking they’re just having fun. And the banjo-filled “Major Deegan” is one of the best tracks I’ve heard yet this year (for kids or grown-ups), and you’ll dig it even if you’ve never driven the subject: NYC byways. Bring your CD player out in the yard and enjoy. TheDeedleDeedleDees.com
Gwendolyn & the Good-Time Gang: Get Up & Dance. The first time you play this CD, you might be a little thrown by the semi-cutesy vocals and relatively simple songs. But turn it on and watch your kids, and you’ll notice that they’re boogying almost immediately, and you might be getting down your bad self pretty quickly, too. The energy, the beat, the arrangements – sure, all of that is important, but the key thing for summer music is f-u-n, and the California-based Gwendolyn has buckets of that. Gwendolyn.net/gtg
Recess Monkey: Aminal House. No, that’s not a typo – it’s called “Aminal House.” The three teachers who make up Seattle-based Recess Monkey might be tiring of the word “Beatlesesque,” but from their sound to the Sgt. Pepper’s-inspired album cover, the comparison is apt. The nature-themed album is filled with humor, harmony, crazy-catchy melodies (especially “Aquarium”), and a fundamentally friendly feel. Frankly, I’m wary of skits on albums, especially with wacky voices, but even those work well here. RecessMonkeyTown.com
Ben Rudnick & Friends: Grace’s Bell. Rudnick is a Boston-area family musician with a familiar story – as parenthood began, his songwriting turned to songs for his kids. And that’s lucky for the rest of us, as his relaxed-but-never-sloppy music just feels right. There’s more than a little Grateful Dead influence here, both in the rambling style and the Americana reworkings of classic songs (from “Route 66” to “Hava Nagila”). The highlights of the record are the title track and a medley of “What a Wonderful World” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” covering the medley made famous by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. BenRudnickAndFriends.com
Other summer picks: Ellen & Matt (LA-based married duo, sunny alt-rock, EllenAndMatt.net); Ralph’s World (never-condescending smart music from the Bad Examples’ Ralph Covert, RalphsWorld.com); The Terrible Twos (power pop in the family persona of The New Amsterdams, TheTerribleTwos.net); Milkshake (danceable, singable fun from Baltimore, MilkshakeMusic.com).
Bill Childs is a law professor in western Massachusetts who still answers “Minnesota!” when asked where he’s from. He and his 8-year-old daughter 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 and tell him, other artists, he should know about.
