***Rhythm Child***

Where can you go for one-stop shopping to find a John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize-winning song (2005), two Children's Music Web Award-winning tunes (2004 & 2005), and an XMKids Radio #1 hit (2007) ? Hey, you don't have to go any further than Drum Circle Sing-A-Long, presented by the Rhythm Child Network.

Norm Jones and his wife Heather founded Rhythm Child in 2003 to "promote creative expression and cultural exploration" through drum circle workshops, interactive music classes, and live concerts. Drum Circle Sing-A-Long is an aural representation of their mantra, and is full of beats, rhythms, and melodies that'll keep your little ones moving.

The CD kicks off with "Jammy Put On," Grand Prize Winner in the children's category of the 2005 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. This funky adaptation of "The Hokey Pokey" about getting ready for bed is more likely to get kids up and dancing than to settle them down for a night's sleep! Next is the very poppy "Learn from Nature," a sort of kid-friendly description of the science of biomimicry.

Two story songs are then featured: dig the very cool drum sample and tremeloed guitars in "Bird & the Dragon" and the slow jam of the Isley Brothers-inspired "The Story." Hand drums and percussion dominate an updated "This Little Light," and the electrofunk version of "Five Little Monkeys" is one of my favorites on the disc.

"How Much Farther" is an amusing tune about the frustration of being stuck in the car on a family trip, based on the structure of "Oh My Darling, Clementine." The album ends with a rhythm-heavy remake of "Kumbaya" and instrumental versions of "Learn From Nature" and "5 Little Monkeys."

If your little ones are into rhythm and drums, check out Drum Circle Sing-A-Long, a great CD for classrooms and family music collections.

***Mike Mennard***

Feelin' particularly swashbuckling today? Well, Mike Mennard has just the thing for you! Pirates Do the Darnedest Things is his swaggering, silly, singalong collection of tunes dedicated to a rogue's life on the sea. Historic tunes, originals, and classic covers are tied together by short skits, limericks, and goofy jokes, all celebrating the joys and trials of being a pirate.

Mennard kicks off his fourth kids' CD with a roll call of pirates in the title tune, followed by "Yo Ho Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)," the old theme song from the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions at Disney. Silliness ensues with "ARRH!" "Buccaneer Singing on Broadway," "Ramsey the Pungent Pirate," and "Silly Willy Walla Walla Wary," in which the land-bound buccaneer laments that "it's tough to be a pirate in Nebraska."

Another highlight is the great tune "Captain Blake," with music by Mennard and lyrics by Kelsey Hulsman, an elementary school student who won Mennard's inaugural Pirate Poetry Contest. And check out the funky medley "Early in the Morning/Blow the Man Down," the mostly a cappella version of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest," the homesick ode "Fiddler's Green," and the sweet "Pirate Moon."

Hey, it's only 358 days until the next Talk Like a Pirate Day, so start collecting your pirating stash with Mike Mennard's Pirates Do the Darnedest Things.

More Yo Gabba Gabba!

Jimmy Eat World posted a sneak peek of their video "Beautiful Day," scheduled to be aired on today's episode of Yo Gabba Gabba! Great pop song, and cool flying dogs and cats.

Jimmy Eat World-Beautiful Day-Yo Gabba Gabba

Yo Gabba Gabba!

The second season of Yo Gabba Gabba! premiered yesterday and rave reviews are already coming in. Brobee celebrated his birthday, and how better to rock the party than have The Ting Tings cover "Happy Birthday," a tune originally recorded by Altered Images back in '81.

Like DJ Lance Rock says, "Listening and dancing to music is AAAWESOMMME!"

***Nikolai Moderbacher***

You'll have to pardon the crappy photography, but I wanted to give you an idea of the concept of this CD package, lest you think I had inadvertantly posted a white square. Remember back in 1987 when Sammy Hagar ran a contest to let fans name his latest album? Turns out I Never Said Goodbye was the best they could do ... Anyway, Brooklyn-based music instructor and wood artist Nikolai Moderbacher goes one better by allowing each listener to create the cover art for their own copy of his kids' album Tabula Rasa.

Niko's music is sonically similar to Mr. David's style: eclectic with out being weird, and simple while being memorable. Check out especially the wittily-titled "Chew, Chew Train," the alphabet nonsense song "ABACA," and the ode to boo boos, "Au." And dig the charmingly odd arrangements in "Take Off the Crumbs," not a far throw from those that The Who's John Entwhistle was so fond of ("Boris the Spider," "Fiddle About").

The loping "Wake Up" sounds like a low-key Daniel Lanois production, and "When I Was a Baby" is a great 3/4 - time rewriting of the classic "Cotton Fields." Dance along with the samba-influenced body part identification game "Baby Baby," and the Mediterranian-flavored tribute to the "terrible twos," "No, No, No." Then settle down for the day with a quiet version of the traditional Austrian lullaby "Haidschi Bum Baidschi."

Moderbacher recruited fellow Music Together instructor Rachel Friedman to help out with the vocals on half of the songs, and his wife Pyeng Threadgill on one. Moderbacher even utilized the rhythm section from his wife's jazz combo on several of the tunes, and all the songs have a great recorded-at-the-same-time-in-one-room sound, giving the whole project an intimate, personal feel. Super kids' debut that's perfect for the whole family.

Justin Roberts' Greatest Hits?

I was putting together an artist profile about Justin Roberts over on the About.com site, and I started looking through his albums ... man, that dude has lots of good songs! Which led me to wonder: if you were to compile a Justin Roberts greatest hits album, what songs would you pick?

Would you go heavy on his earlier James Taylor-influenced CDs, or choose more tunes from his later Fountains of Wayne/Blink 182-sounding albums? Sure, you would include tunes like "Our Imaginary Rhino," "Pop Fly," and "One Little Cookie," but what about lesser-known album cuts?

Limit your theoretical CD to 12 songs, with maybe one bonus track. Lemme know what you think ...

***The Spanglish Wrangler***

I first reviewed Will Thomas' collection of bilingual kids' tunes back in May, when it existed only as mp3s on his website. Now that Spanglish Sing-Along has been released as a physical CD, complete with awesome revamped cover art and a slightly different, less clunky title (formerly The Spanglish Wrangler Sings Bilingual Songs for the Whole Family), I thought I'd repost an edited version of the original review. And Bill Childs, over at Spare the Rock, gave Will a cool little writeup in the July issue of Parenting magazine, as well.

Here ya go:

'Will Thomas' bilingual tunes for kids are fun and funny and witty, and, most importantly to adults, stand up to repeated listenings. While Thomas has recorded grownup albums at Birdland Recording Studios in Town Creek, Alabama (very close to my hometown), he laid down the basic tracks for Spanglish Sing-Along at his home studio in Miami Beach.

You can practice your Spanish vocabulary by inference in the song "Emociones;" while "(They Call It) Spanish Monday," based on T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues," helps you brush up on the days of the week. "Desayuno Boogie" is a celebration of breakfast, while the swampy funk of "Broccoli" describes a girl's love of that vegetable.

"Eres Mi Vida" is a Spanish-language version of "You Are My Sunshine," and the story of "Cucaracha" is set to the music of Earth Wind and Fire's "September." "Bailla Pollito" is a funny little tale about a reluctant dancer, while "I Love My Dog" is a little reminiscent of the old classic "Down By the Bay." Additional vocab practice is provided by "Gator and Bee" and "Bear's Picnic," directions en Espanol on the former and present tense verbs on the latter ("I sing, canto, y'all sing, cantais", etc.).

Thomas' intimate, downhome, bluesy performance and playful songwriting style make this collection a perfect teaching tool in both the classroom and at home. You're not smacked in the head with ridiculously bombastic production, and the lyrics don't make kids (or adults) feel like dunces. This is a great project from an artist who is a welcome addition to the kids' music world.'