Posts tagged canadian

Cancon in the Kids’ Music Blogosphere

March 11, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , ,

As if I’m having trouble finding time to catch up on postings with this whole parenting thing…all these other parents are actually MAKING albums, and I can’t seem to pull together time to say a few words to say how awesome they are. I also need to step up my game now that I’ve been reaching out to bands putting out kids’ albums, falsely promoting myself as some kind of Kids Music blogger.

There are some really great Kids Music blogs coming out of the states – like Zooglobble.com, which pumps out so many postings my Google Reader account is about to collapse, and Kids’ Music that Rocks, whose tagline is “Music for kids that doesn’t make adults want to rip their hair out.”. Exactly. Those guys totally rock \m/

So I’ve been digging around to beef up the Cancon in the Kids’ Music Blogosphere, and am very excited to have connected with a few bands out west in British Columbia who are sending me some CDs. And since CDs are as obsolescent to me as fax machines and phone books, I’m going to share the love and give them away to lucky readers. Yeah baby, that’s right…free stuff. Good music. Free stuff.

So new material to come…the usual suspects that pop up all over the place will still make it in (i.e. Justin Roberts and Ellis Paul to come up next), but stay tuned for some down-home Canadiana!

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Barenaked Ladies – Snacktime!

January 11, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , ,

200px-Snacktime I think most of what these guys do make for great family listening, but their kids’ album is pretty fab. And we’re not the only ones to think so – Snacktime! (Amazon.comand Emusic.com) reached #10 on Canadian charts and peaked at #61 on the Billboard 200. Its release in May 2008 was unfortunately followed by Steven Page’s drug-charge incident in July, which I had heard forced the label to limit its promotion over the summer. When the Ladies came to Ottawa for a show, they did have a kids matinee as part of their tour (we weren’t sure that at seven months Boo would have gotten much out of it, so we didn’t make it).

Musically, it features the usual, infectious upbeat pop that the Ladies are known for. But unlike many kids albums, there’s just so much variety in the sound throughout the album. Each song is so different from the one before it, and there really is something for everyone – jazz, pop, rock, bluegrass…it even gives a nod to bands like the Pointer Sisters and REM.

The lyrics are clever and hilarious, especially songs like “7,8,9” (use “8” as a verb”). I’m a fan of non sequiturs and the absurd, so one of my favs is “I can sing”

I can sing, I can sing, I can sing better; I can knit a scarf but can’t knit a sweater; When I’m underwater I couldn’t get wetter; Never go swimming in a mohair sweater

There are a few great tunes that have a little more content to them, like “Allergies” and “Bad Day”, which, for older kids, would be a great way to start important discussions. “Food Party”, on the other hand, targets the younger set of ankle-biters, with a whole bunch of food hanging out and jamming together, debating their various characteristics (Sour is a bit of a jerk).

One of the nice things about this album is that it’s filled with Canadiana – How often does Labrador get featured in a pop song? There’s also the “Canadian Snacktime Trilogy”, which is an homage to the Gordon Lightfoot’s “Canadian Railroad Trilogy”. You’ll also get to find out what snacks are loved by Canadian icons such as Sarah McLauchlan, David Suzuki, and Gordon Downie. I know – you’re on the edge of your seat!

This is such an easy album to listen to – it’s imaginative, it’s clever, it speaks to kids and parents, it’s just fun all around. A must for your collection.

Note – It also comes with a companion book, but since we purchase all our music online in MP3 format, we didn’t get a copy.

Check out the video for “7,8,9”

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