Hi, Jen!
OK, have you tried kindie rock, or are you just smiling and nodding like I'm completely nuts? I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it looks like I beat them to the punch, but I did not make this term up. It's the new wave of kids indie rock-- the iPod playlist for the under-10 set.
Right about now is when I would usually be rubbing it in that I was hand-selling Dan Zanes-- the darling of the genre-- years before he won a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Children's Recording. But he sold out and has been on Playhouse Disney for quite awhile now. So much for his, "Hey kids, throw away your TV!" philosophy. So giving him a hot link is all he's going to get here. Well, OK, and his own paragraph. Grumble.
Others on my must-hear list* include The Asylum Street Spankers, Devo 2.0, Enzo Garcia, Gustafer Yellowgold, The Jelly Dots, Justin Roberts (pictured above), Laurie Berkner, The Sippy Cups, They Might Be Giants, and Uncle Rock. Good places to purchase or see reviews for children's music that won't make you gnash your teeth include:
And, for a bit of news, according to Zooglobble, Barenaked Ladies is currently working on their first album for kids. It should be out in Spring of 2008. Woo hoo!
* I'm not promising that each of these are indie labels. I think you should listen to them anyhow.
7 comments:
I too love Gustafer Yellowgold.
I know you said that you can't guarantee indie, but I just must add (with a lot of bitterness thrown in) that TMBG has sold out to the big D as well.
Ugh.
I don't see it as selling out, but instead getting some great messages and music to folks that might otherwise not ever come in contact with their music. I mean, let's face it, what better distribution/publicity center is there in children's entertainment than the Mouse?
I didn't even realize TMBG was putting together music for children until I liked the theme song for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse enough to find it on iTunes.
I am glad to know that The Asylum Street Spankers have at least one more fan out there. I think they are awesome and hilarious!
I don't think it's selling out for TMBG either, to be completely honest. But I do in the case of Dan Zanes. His entire plug was "Throw away your TVs, kids!" Yet as soon as he gained some amount of stardom his tune changed to "Throw away your TV, unless it is I who is featured upon it, kidlets." That seems wholly disingenuous to me.
I have given some thought to your comment about Dan Zanes, and I still won't hold it against him. I think that many children are plopped down in front of a tv by an adult who isn't really thinking about other things to do with them. Dan Zanes segments are very up and moving and dancing with all sorts of people and music. If he can get some adults thinking about other ways to play with and entertain children using this very well-used medium, I won't fault him. Instead, I see it as a way to enter the lion's den, so to speak.
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