Archive for January, 2010

CD Review: Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke, “Rise and Shine”

I’ve listened to more children’s albums than I can count, and I don’t think any of them have sounded less like a children’s album than Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke’s Rise and Shine. This isn’t a bad thing at all — in fact, each of these 10 songs is completely appropriate for children. It’s just that most kids’ music, no matter how skillfully or smartly it’s put together, sounds at least a little condescending — like adults trying to record songs kids will like — and Rise and Shine, in blessed contrast, comes across simply as a collection of music that ended up in the kids’ section through a series of happy accidents.

Again, this isn’t a matter of the subject material being over the little ones’ heads; Rise and Shine‘s songs deal with topics including pets, trucks, space travel, counting, and something called peekapoo. But Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke don’t pander with their arrangements, which are stripped-down, folk-flavored, and often totally rockin’ in the bargain — not to mention catchy, too. Rise and Shine is the kind of record you could listen to two or three times without realizing it was made with kids in mind.

Which is not to say the album lacks kid appeal; quite the contrary, as Rise and Shine is not only packed with ready-made favorites for the younger set (“Rattling Can,” which uses a brilliant, progressively lengthening “Old McDonald’s”-style chorus to describe the order of the universe, is at the top of my daughter’s list), but it comes bundled with a board book that illustrates many of the songs’ stories. The end result, as I can personally attest, is that your little ones will spend half an hour flipping through the book, completely mesmerized, while Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke entertain the whole family. Don’t go looking for Laurie Berkner levels of cuteness, but if your kids like a little genuine rock & roll in their musical diet, Rise and Shine is one to look for.

CD Review: Earthworm Ensemble, “Earthworm Ensemble”

Kindie bands don’t come much more aptly named than the Earthworm Ensemble, a huge, eco-friendly gaggle of musicians including members of I See Hawks, members of the seemingly ever-expanding Chapin family, and assorted friends and relations. (Seriously, 22 people are listed in the liner notes.) For all the talent involved, Earthworm Ensemble often feels more diffuse than it should; it’s a pleasantly shambolic album, one with countless charming folk and country touches in a genre that never has enough of them, but the songs tend to meander.

Still, the Ensemble has its heart squarely in the right place, and what it might lack in old-fashioned songcraft, the album makes up for with the sort of raw, homespun feel that’s been all too absent from kids’ music since Garcia and Grisman were in the studio recording Not for Kids Only. And for families interested in teaching their children about things like composting and gardening, it’s hard to argue with tracks like “That’s What the Earthworm’s For” and “Corn.” Children’s records don’t get much timelier, or more well-meaning, than this.

CD Review: Charity and the JAMband, “Party Like a Twinkle Star”

Most kids’ music doesn’t exactly sit at the compositional vanguard of popular song, and although the genre certainly boasts more than its share of virtuosos — now more than ever, in fact — it isn’t the type of music you turn to for instrumental chops. Leave it to an outfit calling itself Charity and the JAMband to try and change all that: Over the course of several albums, this San Francisco-based collective has added a whiff of patchouli and the crunch of granola to the Cheerios-predominated kindie landscape, and their latest, titled Party Like a Twinkle Star, might be their most adventurous yet.

A double-disc affair clocking in at over an hour and 15 minutes, Party offers 20 tracks, divided evenly between 10 uptempo numbers (“for rocking out”) and 10 gentle ballads (“for tucking in”). Charity and the JAMband are every bit as proficient at rocking out as you might expect, but it’s the lullabies that truly shine — Charity’s voice boasts an extra tinge of sweetness on the second disc, and although I wouldn’t hesitate to play the first disc during rowdy moments with the kids, I’d actually be happy listening to the second one when the little ones aren’t around. Hear samples (and buy the whole thing) at CD Baby.

CD Reviews: Music for Little People, “Pickin’ & Grinnin’” and “Love & Peace”

Music for Little People turns 25 this year, and they’re celebrating by releasing a pair of compilations that reflect their quarter-century dedication to helping parents entertain kids: Pickin’ & Grinnin’: Great Folk Songs for Kids and Love & Peace: Greatest Hits for Kids. Between them, you get 32 tracks from a pleasing variety of performers from across the kids’ music spectrum, and though they’re arranged thematically, both collections are similar enough — and they both include songs from so many talented artists — that either one will suit pretty much any family mood.

Both compilations include a number of kiddie giants — Raffi, who I hate, pops up on both of them — but you can expect plenty of surprises, too. Buckweat Zydeco and Bonnie Raitt appear on Pickin’ & Grinnin’, for instance, and on Love & Peace, you’ll hear Faith Hill, Sheila E., and AC/DC’s Brian Johnson (the latter popping up, along with some kids, on a sweeter-than-you’d-expect version of “If I Had a Hammer”).

All in all, it’s really entertaining stuff, and although the current age of mp3s, iPods, and burned CDs has left us less reliant than ever on label-curated compilations, both Pickin’ & Grinnin’ and Love & Peace are perfect for keeping handy in the car for long family car rides. They’re also great for educators (as my kindergarten-teaching wife can attest), or anyone who finds themselves responsible for wrangling a group of little people. You could seek most of this stuff out on your own, but really, any albums that collect songs from Taj Mahal, Pete Seeger, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Los Lobos, Maria Muldaur, Dan Zanes, Woody Guthrie — and many, many more — are worth celebrating, aren’t they? For any parent who’s building a kindie collection, these two CDs are a splendid way to start, blending time-tested classics and new favorites with style. Wonderful, just wonderful.

DVD review: “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs”

You can add Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs to the list of entertaining family films that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Funny, irreverent and sometimes emotionally resonant, this film, based on the children’s book by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett, is one of the few animated films that succeed without having the word “Pixar” attached to it. It’s no surprise that Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was hit in theaters last fall. Some cynics might say that because the film was in 3-D this accounted for the film’s popularity. They’re wrong because even without the 3-D effects, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a great movie.

Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live and Superbad) stars at Flint Lockwood, an inventor who dreams of changing the lives of the citizen of his tiny hometown, Swallow Falls, loctaed on a tiny island located under the letter “A” in the word “Atlantic Ocean” on world maps. Swallow Falls used to be the sardine capital of the world, until the world realized that sardines are gross and stopped buying them. After years of invention mishaps (rat-birds, a remote control TV that walks away from its owner) Flint has created a machine that will create food out of water. Sounds ingenious, right? Well, it would be if Flint wasn’t a bit of a doofus.

The day he wants to test his experiment, the machine rockets into the sky and gets trapped in the clouds. With the moisture from the rain, Swallow Falls is suddenly raining cheeseburgers and snowing ice cream. Much to the dismay of Flint’s stoic father (wonderfully voiced by James Caan), Flint is cheered a hero and it’s not long before the corrupt mayor (Bruce Campbell, smarmy as always) schemes his way into Flint’s life to use the machine for his own greed. When things go haywire and giant food threatens to destroy Swallow Falls and then the world, it’s up to Flint, a plucky weather girl (delightfully done by Anna Farris) and Flint’s monkey assistant, Steve, to find some way to shut down his machine.

As directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, these talented men and their team of computer wizards have crafted a delightful movie, assembling a wonderful cast that doesn’t include one single superstar (unless you include Mr. T- who kicks ass, by the way). Hader is perfect as Flint, a performance full of life and charm. Likewise, Farris is fun in the role of Sam Sparks, the weather girl. The two of them have great screen chemistry; the warmth they bring to their roles, along with splendid comic timing, make Flint and Sam characters you want to root for. As I said, Mr. T, as over the top, hard nosed police man (who has a soft side for his son) is brilliant. Also in the cast is Andy Samberg, and in small roles, Benjamin Bratt and Neil Patrick Harris.

The directors decidedly took the film in a cartoony direction, giving the animation a very fluid and lively look. As this was originally intended for a 3D experience, you can tell when objects were meant to pop things out of the screen at you; however these moments are not distracting at all. In fact, having only seen the film in 2-D I don’t feel like I was missing anything. The colors are vivid, the action exciting, the jokes are very funny (I laughed out loud along with my kids) and the sentimental scenes were not too sacchariny. Although the script’s themes cover ground already done in other films, the writing doesn’t feel clichéd. Everything feels fresh, like a hot meal coming out of the oven, or in this case, descending down from the sky thanks to a wacky invention. As I said in the opening, this is one movie the whole family can sit down and get watch together.

The 2 disc DVD comes with some nice features, not too many, but enough to keep you happy. The behind the scene featurette on making of the film was silly, but informative. More enjoyable was the featurette on the voice casting of the film, despite the fact that some of the cast were not heard from (how can you use Bruce Campbell and not have an interview with him?).  The DVD has a food fight game, which is cute, as far as DVD games go; deleted scenes; audio commentary;  and a pointless music video for Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) performing the film’s theme, “Raining Sunshine.”