CD Review: Milkshake, “Great Day”
Milkshake – Great Day (2009, Milkshake Music) purchase from Amazon Milkshake isn’t just a band, it’s a budding media empire. Since rising from the ashes of Baltimore’s LOVE RiOT in 2002, they’ve become fast favorites of the indie kidpop world, releasing three well-received CDs (Happy Songs, Bottle of Sunshine, and PLAY!), a DVD (Screen Play, issued earlier this year), appearing all over the Noggin, Discovery Kids, and PBS Kids networks, and even spinning... Read More
CD Review: The Flannery Brothers, “Love Songs for Silly Things”
The Flannery Brothers – Love Songs for Silly Things (2009, self-released) purchase from Amazon I know we aren’t generally in the habit of giving bad reviews here — if we don’t think something is worth a dad’s hard-earned time and money, we simply won’t cover it — but the Flannery Brothers‘ Love Songs for Silly Things is a special case. As in an especially wonderful case. My house is a constant stream of kids’ music, and my... Read More
CD Review: Hot Peas ‘N Butter, “Best of the Bowl: Ingles y Español”
Hot Peas ‘N Butter – Best of the Bowl, Ingles y Español (2009, self-released) purchase from Amazon Bailando! As you might guess from the big “volume 5″ slapped on Best of the Bowl‘s artwork, Hot Peas ‘N Butter have been around for awhile — in fact, their bilingual music should be familiar to anyone who spends time on the Nick Jr./Noggin end of the TV dial. They’ve certainly earned enough success to pause for a reassessment of their... Read More
DVD Review: “Field Trips with Recess Monkey”
Recess Monkey – Field Trips with Recess Monkey (2009, Monkey Mama) purchase from Amazon Our love for Recess Monkey has already been well documented, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t alert you to the imminent release of Field Trips with Recess Monkey, a DVD companion of sorts to the band’s most recent album, the stellar Field Trip. For those not already in the know, Recess Monkey is a fun-loving, award-winning trio whose previous forays into kids’ music... Read More
DVD Review: “Pete’s Dragon — High-Flying Edition”
Pete’s Dragon (High-Flying Edition) (2009, Walt Disney Studios) purchase from Amazon Released pretty much smack dab in the middle of Disney’s lost years, 1977′s Pete’s Dragon generally isn’t the first movie people tend to think of when they talk about the studio’s classics, and for good reason — though it was noteworthy at the time of its release as one of the few live-action/animation hybrids to grace the silver screen (1964′s Mary... Read More
DVD Review: “The Tigger Movie — Two-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition”
The Tigger Movie: Two-Disc 10th Anniversary Edition (2009, Disney) purchase from Amazon Nobody raids the vaults like Disney. Even now, in the era of the DVD’s death spiral, most studios refrain from pathologically reissuing catalog titles — particularly those that were never terribly popular in the first place — but Uncle Walt’s house has always treated everything it’s ever done (or almost everything, anyway) like a timeless classic. Which is... Read More
DVD Review: “Race to Witch Mountain”
Race to Witch Mountain (2009, Disney) purchase from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray The first words out of my son’s mouth after we finished watching Race to Witch Mountain were, “That. Was. AWESOME!” I concur, Jacob, Race to Witch Mountain is indeed awesome. Disney’s remake/newest adaptation of Alexander Key’s book, Escape to Witch Mountain, is funny, full of some exciting action sequences, and has enough emotional appeal to make this movie well worth your time for the next... Read More
