***Max's Family Band***

When you first pop Max's Family Band into the CD player, the first thing you think is, "Man, this is like Broadway music for kids!" Well, it's not a coincidence: Gary and Yvette Negbaur have years of musical theater experience as both composers and performers, and they translate their talents into their kids' music debut album Max's Family Band. Inspired by the antics and day-to-day life of their son Max, the Negbaurs composed 15 songs for and about him that all parents can relate to, and some tunes will even get a giggle out of the grownups.

"Gobbledygookster Baby" is full of fun words, "One Sock Octopus" is entertainingly silly (hey, made me laugh!), and when it's "Haircut Time," what better style to sing about it than barbershop quartet? Dig how the swingin' verse of "Grandma Time" jumps to a doo-wop chorus, then try to follow the piano/vocal runs on "Picky," and dance to the hand jive boogie of "Rockin' Zebra."

Check out "The Color Medley," a four-song mini epic that utilizes Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles psychedelia, some Chicago blues, a little New Orleans shuffle, and a taste of hot Salsa to musically describe yellow, blue, green, and red. And on the songs "I'm Glad that You've Discovered M" and "Hello Mr. Diaper Hello" you can practically feel the heat from the footlights! Both songs would make perfect preschool stage productions, complete with tiny dancers and singers.

Max's Family Band is cute, catchy sing-along entertainment for your youngest music lover.

It's a shame...

...that a bland product like The Jonas Brothers' Lines, Vines and Trying Times has massive advertising dollars behind it and hits #1 on the Billboard Charts, while a brilliant effort like Cathy Heller's Say Hello to the Sun remains relatively unknown. Both albums are aimed at the pop music-lovin' preteen crowd, but Heller beats the big label machine at their own game, hands down. Get the word out, people: there's awesome music out there for kids!

• Read a full review of Cathy Heller's Say Hello to the Sun
  
• Read a full review of The Jonas Brothers' Lines, Vines and Trying Times
  

Yo MJ

I've always been kinda cynical. I mean, nothing just blew my mind, ya know? Well, when I watched this live in 1983, this.blew.my.mind. It was truly one of the few times in my life that I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Crank up the volume and try to dance along at home.

This is for my friend Brad Breath.

Best Kids' Music of 2009...

...so far! There are *lots* of great kids' CDs out this year, and I've pulled together a few of my favorites that have already hit the record store shelves. You can check out my list of Best Kids' Music of 2009 over at About.com, and then let me know who you think should be included on the year-end list.

Nuff Said...

***Apple Brains***

With the innocent enthusiasm of Jonathan Richman, the eclectic inventiveness of Mr. David, and the general kookiness of The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Apple Brains bursts upon the kids' music scene with their debut album Get Fruity!!

L.A.-based Allen Bleyle is the brainy apple behind Apple Brains, and his free-for-all, lo-fi, indie rock style is a refreshing addition to the children's music world. Get Fruity!! is a concept album of sorts, with every track highlighting fruits, vegetables, water, and healthy eating in general. But this isn't a preachy, stick-in-the-mud, instructional album by any means: Peanut Butter and Jelly show up as characters who tell the story of how they met; a little girl carries around a mango like a baby; a little boy weeps at the wonderfulness of tomatoes. Far Out!

Get Fruity!! kicks off with the sunny anthem "Apple x3," which begins as a cheerful ode and ends as a manic scream-along, followed by the awesomely weird story tune "Peanut Butter and Jelly How They Met Song." A wobbly melody line carries "Water the Loveliest Beverage," a tune that's half informational and half tribute, then comes the ridiculously catchy (and informative!) rave-up "Ba-na-nas."

The hyper-enthusiastic sing-along "Lots of Different Colors" describes the many hues of fruits and vegetables, while "The Stone Fruit Salute" celebrates peaches, plums, cherries, and apricots with a waltzing carnival-like sound of pump organs and slide whistles. The indie pop "Growing Like Crazy" features a kazoo/keyboard sound effects solo while describing the things that help us grow, and a laid-back island groove carries the mango-worshiping tune "A Mango is a Precious Egg to be Cherished."

The bilingual "Frutero" describes looking for something good to eat while walking around Los Angeles, while the brilliantly Ween-like "Tomatoes are So Wonderful That They Make Me Want to Cry" is pretty much what the title tells you, a tune that definitely needs to find its way onto The Dr. Demento Show. The entire album features guitar work by Kyle Thomas, highlighted by the goofy acid rock of "Wonder Worm," while the key-shifting "Each and Every," a song about seeds and plants, ends the album with a laugh-out-loud verse courtesy Lucia Turino.

Now, all these songs might seem a little silly, but Bleyle is serious about his enthusiasm for good eating. Check out his gushing blog post about Adam Leith Gollner's book The Fruit Hunters, and find out how it was the inspiration for one of the Apple Brains songs. And Bleyle gets indie cred with the roster of musicians used on Get Fruity!!: members of The Devil Makes Three, Feathers, Pretend You're Happy, and Witch (Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis' side project) help sing and play on the album.

Bottom line: in a perfect world Get Fruity!! would be a massive hit on college radio stations, with its dadaist lyrics, overdriven vocal recording, stick-in-your-head melodies, lo-fi aesthetic, and generally earthy vibe. And I think our similarly musically open-minded little listeners will dig it, as well. One of the best kids' albums of 2009, and definitely one of the most unique!

***The Sippy Cups***

Psychedelic rock and roll for kids? Look no further, just jump into The Sippy Cups' Time Machine!

Check out a full review of The Time Machine by The Sippy Cups over at About.com.