Hanukkah Music for Kids

Did you know that Hanukkah begins at sundown on Friday, December 11 this year? That's right, the Eight Nights of Light are approaching, so I've compiled a list of great Hanukkah music for kids over at About.com to help celebrate the season, from klezmer to pop, from traditional to silly remakes. Let us know if any other children's artists have released a Hanukkah CD and we'll add it to the list!

Thanksgiving Fun

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving! We had a blast trying to explain football to a three-year-old.

Friday Free-for-All # 22

After a brief respite, we're back with our weekly Friday Free-for-All!


King Pajama - Something Sweet

Brooklyn's Jason Blechman (piano) and Nina Zeitlin (vocals) team up as King Pajama to lay down some loungy jazz tunes tinged with blues, with help from Daniel Gould, Gerard Egan, and Tomas Cataldo on drums and guitar. Think The Brand New Heavies but with more coffee house swing than dance floor groove. Hey, Something Sweet made Jeff's OWTK Top 10 list for 2009!



John Jeffrey Hodges - Kiddy Dittys (A Kids' Album for Adults)

Straight outta Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan comes John Jeffrey Hodges, a musician with a long history of songwriting credits. His first family CD, Kiddy Dittys, will remind you stylistically of Bruce Cockburn or Peter Himmelman, but the thoughtful lyrics are about kids' stuff like bikes, parents (and parenting), imagination, feelings, and family time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking for an alternative to a turkey-full Turkey Day? Check out Todd McHatton's "The Happy Vegan Thanksgiving Song."

You might remember Todd from his popliciously psychedelic kids' album Grass Stained Twilight. Well, his Thanksgiving tune, sounding kinda like a Meat Puppets outtake, falls right in line with Twilight's cosmic pop vibe, and boasts a really cool lyric. Dig:

"The Happy Vegan Thanksgiving Song"
Animals gathered round the table / Singin' songs and holdin' hands

This is a decree for all the species / This is a celebration!

Wishing you all a Happy Vegan Thanksgiving

It's a celebration / With bears and birds and turtles and girls and boys and so much more

Celabrating the joy of living / It's what we're all here for

This is a decree for all the species / This is a celebration!

Wishing you all a Happy Vegan Thanksgiving

Please pass the yams! / Please pass the stuffing too / Please pass the garlic mashed potatoes / You say you never ate those? / Oh they're so good too!

Please pass the greens! / Please pass the pearl onions / You gotta try some / Pass some green beans and corn and rolls / Please pass the squash and cranberry sauce

Oh no, I'm already way too full!

Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack

A great soundtrack to what should be a great movie...check out this full review of the Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack.

Oh, and you can stream the entire album over at imeem.com.

New Addition to 'Halloween Songs for Kids' List

Here's another album of Halloween songs for kids to add to your collection, and boy, is it a good one. Think Goosebumps, Lemony Snicket, or Alvin Schwartz' Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark series, 'cept in musical form...check it out over at About.com.

The Circular Nature of Life

This was cool: recently we had lunch at a pub in the college town where we now live. My friends and I used to play awesome music in the most ridiculous manner imaginable at this very place, and lots of fun was had by all. On this day, my son and I took the stage in front of an imaginary, screaming crowd, and sang "My Bonnie," "You Are My Sunshine," and "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" into a kick drum mic. Rock and Roll.