Kids and Family Music Awards
It’s hard to add much to the love that Chicago popster Justin Roberts received for in 2010, with coverage in the New York Times and Time. But here’s my best try: Liam Davis’s production just keeps getting better, the band sounds more and more cohesive all the time, the lyrics remain spot-on, and it is, easily, his best record to date.
Set aside the fact that Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti, the compilation put together by Dean Jones and Bill Childs is a benefit album supporting the Haitian People's Support Project, which supports nutritional and educational programs in orphanages, schools, and temporary shelters throughout Haiti. Set aside the fact that the album is pretty much the first family-music-by-family-musicians benefit album ever in which many "new school" family musicians (and a few "old school" musicians) came together quickly on this project. Even if none of that were true, the music alone is very, very worthy, with lots of great songs. Many families -- both those who listen to the album, as well as those many miles away -- will be touched by this effort. -- Stefan Shepherd, Zooglobble
Elizabeth Mitchell is one of the best family musicians working today. Her voice is pure, her song selections eclectic, her arrangements deceptively simple, and all of the performances sublime. This record features a number of guest artists -- Dan Zanes, Levon Helm, and the Mekons' Jon Langford among them. It is simply wonderful. Her version of Bill Withers's "Lovely Day" (with daughter Storey singing) is perhaps the, pardon the expression, loveliest thing I have heard this year.
The fab trio of teachers from Seattle is at it again ... Recess Monkey's latest CD The Final Funktier's mix of funky, pop, beatbox and even a funny little skit gets us all bopping and singing along in the car. Despite the punny title of the CD, this funky band are a continually flowing fountain of great music and creativity.
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is the first great hip-hop artist for kids, and I still think he’s the best. This second record is just ridiculously good. Deft rhyming, positive messages, sly humor, and great sampling add up to a record that’s not just terrific hip hop for kids, but terrific hip hop, period.
With their newest album Take It Outside, the Twin Cities' own The Okee Dokee Brothers have been taken out of the jewel case and have earned a permanent spot in our car. I'm in love with the bluegrass-y, fun and can't get enough of the exploration of topics that are not the standard material for kids' songs, eg, I cannot think of another song that has the word "Antidisestablishmentarianism" in it. These guys give us a toe-tappin' good time with their folksy take on the world.
Outside Voices is the debut album from the Brooklyn duo of Jacob Stein and Jason Rabinowitz, who record as The Pop Ups. Sometimes it's Motown, sometimes it's Death Cab for Cutie, it's seriously great and totally for kids, with no compromises for the adults listening in. This album is winning in every way and nothing less than the kids music debut of the year, an inventive mix of beats and melodies that will tickle the eardrums of young and old alike. -- Stefan Shepherd, Zooglobble
The Connecticut-based band Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem has been making music stringband music for a good decade now, but Ranky Tanky is their first album specifically targeted at families. It's a big stew of songs familiar and not, "traditional" and "un." The first 4 songs -- Cat Stevens' "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out," traditional tune "The Green Grass Grows All Around," the Meters' "They All Ask'd For You," and the pop novelty hit "Purple People Eater" -- illustrate the band's omniverous, genre-disregarding approach to music. They just find good songs and give them new life. Ranky Tanky is one of those disks destined to be listened to long after the kids have grown out of their size 1 shoes. Though you were always sort of part of this family music world, we'll wish you a formal welcome, Rani -- hope you stick around for awhile. -- Stefan Shepherd, Zooglobble
The girls and I would love to have membership cards for The New Explorer's Club! Card or not, we think that everyone should consider becoming a member too! This recent release from Maine's Flannery Brothers have got us up and grooving and ready to make our own discoveries. Encouraging imagination and adventure with their fun musical stylings, we love to be a part of the club!
Randy Kaplan is one of family music's most inventive storytellers. The fanciful stories sprung from the conjoined heads of Shel Silverstein and Bob Dylan are Kaplan's calling card, and he's very, very good at them. There's a trio of Ezra Jack Keats-based songs about two-thirds of the way through the disk which are particularly sweet and while Kaplan writes wonderful lyrics, he also writes some great musical bits and he and his producer Mike West give the album a natural, expansive sound. The Kids Are All Id is Randy Kaplan's best album yet, and shows Kaplan's greatest strength -- his ability to listen to and interact with the kids who are his audience and to turn that into stories in song. -- Stefan Shepherd, Zooglobble
