This song is also on the WXPN Kids Corner CD. Ozokidz is related to the band Ozomatli, who I don’t know all that much about.
The music in this song is very upbeat reggae with the main melody done on kazoos (I suspect this is all one person, but i don’t know for sure). There’s also some kids’ instruments playing along. The beat is fast enough that I might consider this ska.
This song is a lesson about germs. It begins by telling us how to prevent germs from causing us trouble (washing your hands, mostly). The second half talks about how some germs—some bacteria—are good for us (bacteria is rhymed with healing ya). But certainly the most memorable part of the song is when he rhymes food with poo (and the song stops so a tiny voice can say “ew, he said poo”).
The message is a good one, and the delivery method is more fun than anything else. Although it seems a little half-baked of an idea to me.
[READ: August and September 2013] The Underworlds series
I was delighted when I saw that Tony Abbott had a new series and I couldn’t wait to start reading it to the kids. T. has been asking me to read the Droon series to her like I did for C. But it is such a long series that I was happy to find something shorter to start with. It turns out that this Underworlds series is aimed a little older than Droon. It gets pretty dark, and I was a little worried about some of the concepts in it (the Underworlds are the realm of death after all–and hmm, she has been talking a lot about death lately…). But in pure Tony Abbott fashion, this was an exciting series where nothing less than the fate of the world is at stake. And there’s humor as well (although somewhat less than in his other series). But what really sold me on this series was the way he uses classical mythology (accurately) to generate the basis and conflict of this story.
And even better than using these mythologies, Abbot merges them so that the different cultural underworlds run into each other and even join forces. It is a great way to learn some mythology if you don’t know it (there are handy maps of the Underworlds) or to gain a more in-depth understanding of the mythologies. By the end of the series, the kids will have encountered the Greek, Norse, Egyptian and Babylonian gods of the Underworld as well as some of the major scary guys that come out of the Underworld. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE PLANTS-“Monster Under My Bed” (2013).
I found this song on the WXPN Kids Corner 25th Anniversary CD (WXPN plays it a lot, and it’s a good Halloween song).
The song opens up with a lot of horns—a kind of horn solo section. When the actual song melody starts it has a vaguely spy theme feel, although the main verse is a little sillier.
Lyrically, the song is all about the real concern that there is a Monster under the singer’s bed. The song is fast and bouncy—especially the verses, so you know it’s not meant to be too scary. But then the song slows down and we get the big surprise of what the monster actually is.
The song is pretty funny. And the final verse—”monsters are nothing but make believe” is a very satisfying one.
[READ: October 12, 2013] Goofballs #2: The Startling Story of the Stolen Statue
I didn’t love the first Goofballs book, but I really enjoyed this one a lot. It’s possible I was a sleepy dad while reading the first one or maybe it suffered from first book in a series stiffness. But this new book hits its stride and doesn’t stop until the end. What I especially liked about this book was that it knows its audience. So it is a detective mystery, but the mystery isn’t too complicated, nor are there tons of impossible to figure out clues. While I don’ think any kids would figure out who did it (I didn’t), the trial and error of figuring out the culprit is what’s fun.
It is Badger Point School’s 100th anniversary and there is going to be a huge party which includes the unveiling of a statue of the first principal. Everyone is very excited.
Until the principal went to look at the statue and discovered that under the tarp that was covering the statue was not a statue at all—it was a stack of chairs.
Well, the Goofballs are on the case (without even the principal asking them). They start finding clues—a broken pencil, a scrap of paper that say HEES GRATE (we had fun guessing what that could mean) and even a splash in the school’s pool. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE AMOEBA PEOPLE Kickstarter Campaign (2013).
If you don’t know Kickstarter, it is a site for creative types to raise money for projects. On the whole, the site seems to work, although of course there have been failures as well. For a detailed look into Kickstarter, check out this Fast Company article, the crux of which says that artists’ projects like films and CDs seem to work quite well, whereas more technologically sophisticated projects seem to be prone to glitches. I have funded three projects on Kickstarter–I have not seen results from them yet, because none of them are due before the end of the year. Thus I can’t guarantee the success of any of them (most of my pledges were quite small).
All of this is a caveat that while I am endorsing this campaign, please don’t take my word for its awesomeness or its reliability or anything like that–if you don’t think it’s a good idea I won’t try to persuade you otherwise. But if it seems like a worthwhile investment (and they don’t charge you unless the whole thing is funded), then I’m happy to point this out. And, the nice thing is that unlike some campaigns, in this case the “gift” you get for pledging is a CD, something they already have, so there’s no issue with the items not being made.
So what the hell is it? To quote the campaign:
We are creating the greatest MUSICAL SCIENCE PROGRAM ever produced on Earth. We are asking for your help to fund PHASE ONE.
We are trying to raise $4,000 dollars to help us shoot a 10-minute “sizzle reel” which we will use to pitch our TV show idea to humanoid programming executives.
We have already recorded the music, enlisted the help of musical thespians to fill all the roles, built a massive computer console for the set and now all we need is some human currency to shoot and edit it. We are calling this first step toward television PHASE ONE.
Our series will have a strong emphasis on geology and the earth sciences as well as cosmology, biology, and the stories behind some of the greatest scientific discoveries in human history.
The premise: The Amoeba People, musical ambassadors from the planet Crouton, have been sent to Earth to investigate the source of radio signals sent from that planet. Their mission: to gather scientific data about Earth and its inhabitants and to transmit that data back to Crouton in the form of über-awesome and highly danceable songs.
Not heard of The Amoeba People? Well, that’s hardly surprising. They are a children’s music band from California, whose song “Cosmology, Your Futon and You” is wonderfully smart and funny. I’m a fan of their stuff and I’m excited at whatever this sizzle reel might result in. So check out their campaign, and if it sounds appealing, chip in. And if it sucks, I apologize, but they should apologize more.
I brought this book home for the kids and wound up enjoying it quite a lot myself. It was only after reading it that I realized it was from the awesome Oni Pres.
The story starts with a squat green amphibian-looking creature waking up on the beach. Some humans find him and start wondering what he is . But before he can answer them he is excited to feel that he is on dry land! The excitement is short-lived because the kids really need to know what he is. We learn that he is named Mermin. He seems friendly enough so the kids start playing with him. But when he punches the beachball it goes rocketing up into space. Which the kids think is awesome.
Shortly after, when one of the kids goes in for a swim, a shark chases after him. Mermin sees this and comes to the rescue, kicking the shark in the snout. Before swimming away the shark talks to Mermin—he knows who he is–and says that the whole village is looking for him. (more…)
All the time that I had been seeing David Almond’s name I had been thinking of Marc Almond. I don’t know how common a name Almond is, but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think that it is not a very common name. Or to think that a singer might become a writer. However, looking at photos of David, it is clear that he is not Marc.
I knew that Marc Almond was the singer in Soft Cell (you know, “Tainted Love”–which I didn’t realize was a cover), but I haven’t followed him at all since then. His name has cropped up on songs from time to time, so i knew he was still singing and that he sounded mostly the same (a bit more glammy). When I did a search I found this utterly fascinating video.
Almond has always had a strong, powerful voice. And as his solo career has moved along it seems to have gotten even more operatic. He can hold long notes and he can really belt those notes out.
“Glorious” is no exception, with the chorus being a big anthem. What’s interesting is that the verses which are fairly simple keyboard notes have a slightly minor chord feel to them giving the verses a vaguely sinister feel. I don’t know if that’s intentional (I feel not given the big chorus, but I sense it). Despite all of the bigness and the disco ball video, this song is surprisingly not that catchy. It certainly has a fun chorus, but the music itself is not instantly hummable.
But I have to respect Marc for that elaborate costume.
[READ: September 29, 2013] Mouse Bird Snake Wolf
I’ve known David Almond for a while but I’ve never seen his children’s books before. I got this mainly for McKean’s art, which is as weirdly beautiful as ever.
Almond has apparently written a few children’s books and I rather assume that they are all kind of dark and “older” like this one.
The story starts in a world long ago and far away with three children, the eldest Harry, the middle one Susan, and the young one Ben. There were marvelous things in the world but the children felt that there were gaps–things missing.
Then we see the gods (I love that the world below is in vibrant color and the gods are in shades of gray). The gods were so pleased with all of things they had created (and they were indeed wonderful) that they basically sat around on their clouds praising themselves, drinking tea and eating cakes.
But the children are unhappy with things–there’s too many unsettling empty spaces. They shout their concerns, but the gods ignore them. Then, one by one, the children begin imagining things that ought to be there. (more…)
My friend Jay just introduced me to this band. I’m surprised I didn’t know them since they have been on Touch & Go Records and now Temporary Residence, two labels that I like.
He didn’t suggest any particular songs to start with, but this was the first one that came up with a search.
Over a simple guitar line a quiet voice sings near-whispered lines. The bridge moves up an octave or so, but keeps the gentle sway of the song. The chorus adds an angular dimension to the vocals but doesn’t change the gentle guitar melody–it’s an interesting example of contrasts working well together.
It’s a very pretty song and what I like about it is that based on just this one song, their other songs could go in any direction from here–more angular, more mellow, even heavier. I’m looking forward to hearing more from them.
[READ: September 29, 2013] The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Clark brought home the second book in this series (Darth Paper Strikes Back) and seemed to enjoy it. I didn’t really know anything about the series so I decided to check it out, especially since we enjoyed Angleberger’s other books so very much.
This is a fairly simple story of some kids in 6th grade. Tommy is a sort of uncool kid. He’s shy and has no luck with girls. He’s not picked on (I liked that this story never got really nasty), but he’s certainly not a cool kid or a jock. He’s the perfect underdog character. For this book, he is assembling a case file about Origami Yoda.
Origami Yoda was created by Dwight. Dwight is a weird kid. We hear from his neighbor that she used to see him digging holes in his back yard and then sitting in them for hours. Dwight doesn’t seem to care about much–he wears crazy clothes, doesn’t do great in school and, weirdest of all, he wears an origami Yoda puppet on his finger. Seemingly all the time (possibly even in the bathroom).
But the thing is that people have been asking Yoda questions and he (well Dwight, with the worst imitation of Yoda ever) answers them. And, weirder still, the advice seems to be very good. Which is especially weird because Dwight is not very smart and doesn’t seem to follow any of the advice that Yoda gives to others. So what gives? (more…)
I had seen the cover of this book in the library almost every time I went in. I loved it but I wasn’t sure if the book was too old for the kids (it’s rated 8 and up, but it turns out there’s nothing too intense that my 5 year old didn’t love it too (she didn’t get it all, but she liked it). Angleberger is best known for the Origami Yoda series–I haven’t read it and frankly without knowing anything about it, the entire concept of the series baffles me. But I enjoyed this book so much that I may have to dive into the folded paper series too.
This audio book was read by Jonathan Todd Ross and Jessica Almasy. And while I liked Almasy, I really enjoyed Ross’s two sections–there was something about is style that really appealed to me.
This is the simple (albeit complicated) story of a boy whose friend buys a fake mustache. In the town of Hairsprinkle, young Caspar lives with his parents who believe in wholesomeness—in other words, they don’t have a TV. Nor do they believe in an allowance—material goods are not so good. But every year Caspar’s aunt gives him a couple hundred dollars to by something frivolous. And this year, Caspar has his sites set on a man-about-town suit. Not just any cheap suit, but a very nice tailored, man-about-town suit (this phrase, repeated throughout the beginning of the book cracked me up. I’m sure my kids didn’t know what it meant but it made me laugh every time it was used). After buying the suit, he went to the Heidelberg Novelty Store to buy the Heidelberg Handlebar #7—a glorious fake mustache which is made from real human mustache hair (ew). With suit and mustache, Caspar looked like a short man-about-town. And the citizens of Hairsprinkle were impressed
The main character and narrator of the story is Lenny Flemm, Jr. Lenny is something of a loser and his only real friend is Caspar. Turns out that he himself is responsible for giving Caspar the extra ten dollars that he needed to get that mustache (they had raised the price). When Lenny goes shopping with Caspar, he is excited not to buy a suit or a mustache but to buy a sticky grabber hand (for $1). The lady at the desk, Sven, is hilarious (and Ross’ voice for her is dynamite).
That night a bank is robbed—by a short man in a man-about-town suit. And the next day Caspar gives Lenny his money back, with a lot of interest. Then another bank is robbed. And then another. The next time Lenny visits Caspar’s room, there are stacks of gold bars against the wall. Lenny decides to call the police, but they don’t believe him—Caspar is a boy, they are looking for a man. But now that Caspar knows that Lenny is onto him, he tries to make trouble for Lenny.
But before Lenny can prepare for this, there is a new player in town—Fako Mustacho—a man who plans to save the town, the country, the world, from itself. Fako Musatcho is a short man with a glorious mustache and a suit—not a man-about-town suit, mind you, but a different kind of suit. And it seems that whenever Fako speaks, people automatically listen–including the mayor who agrees to step down because she can’t catch the bank robber. Except for Lenny who seems to be the only one who can see that Fako is really Caspar. So, what is a kid with no friends supposed to do?
Call for help from Jodie O’Rodeo, of course. Jodie is the star of the now cancelled kids show The Jodie O’Rodeo Showdeo. On the show she sang and did trick riding stunts. Turns out that she can really do them (the stunts, not the singing) and she also knows that Fako Mustacho is a kid wearing a mustache. By the middle of the book, when Part 2 opens, we hear Jodie’s side of things (in the audio book this is where Jessica Almasy takes over). Interestingly Jodie and Lenny meet because Lenny is dressed like Jodie O’Rodeo (long story). Lenny always thought she was cute (and was embarrassed to say so) but the show has been off the air for a few years and Jodie is really cute now. And she still has her horse, Soymilk. And she wants to help Lenny save the world! (And she thinks Lenny is cute, even though it’s weird because he is dressed like her).
Once the two begin working together, hijinx ensue and the story gets very exciting indeed. Whereas Lenny is a man of words, Jodie is all about action, and there is a ton of it (most of it very funny indeed). By the time they free themselves from Fako Mustacho’s henchmen, Fako has the whole world hypnotized and, since it is an election year, he has them all hypnotized to vote for him as the President of the Unites States. It’s going to take nerves of steel, great horsemanship and perhaps a sticky grabber hand to stop the plans that are afoot (including the other plan to assassinate Fako should he become president—don’t forget, he is only Caspar in a fake mustache).
This story was so funny. It is riddled with absurdities and hilarious asides. The situations are preposterously simple and yet also dangerous. All throughout there were wonderful jokes, hilariously silly set ups (they fall into a vat of oozing slime) and preposterously funny foolishness—who doesn’t love when no one can see the bad guy but one kid?
I enjoyed this book so much I insisted that the kids only listen to it when I was in the car. And it did not disappoint.
As I said earlier I loved Ross’ reading. He was very very funny (and reminded me at times of John Hodgman’s deadpan delivery–absurdity always works best in deadpan). And his pronunciation of Fako Mustacho made me laugh every single time. Jessica Almasy’s reading was also really good (I don’t want to give the wrong impression). It’s just very different—Jodie’s story is more exciting than Lenny’s while it is still funny, it’s not as absurdly funny as Lenny’s (although Almasy does a great job with the different character voices as well).
Here’s trailer for the book (ha). I feel compelled to point out that the “its” in the trailer should have an apostrophe, but at least they didn’t put one in where it didn’t belong, which is so much more common. I also didn’t realize the book had illustrations (that’s the trouble with audio books).
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I am sold on Angleberger and am not only preparing to read the Origami Yoda books, but I can’t wait to get the audio for Horton Halfpott: Or, The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M’Lady Luggertuck’s Corset. The fact that it also has a crazy subtitle means I like it already.
Incidentally, Angleberger has also written under the pseudonym Sam Riddleberger and I hear that his The Qwikpick Adventure Society is quite enjoyable too.
SOUNDTRACK: WHITEHORSE-Live from Mountain Stage (May 16, 2012).
Whitehorse is opening for Barenaked Ladies on the current leg of their tour (we’re going to see them in October). I hadn’t heard of them. Turns out Whitehorse is the duo of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. They are from Canada, which may be why they are touring with BNL–because they’re not very funny or very upbeat.
They play four songs in this Mountain Stage show. I really like “Killing Time” which has a very alt-country feel—McClelland’s harmony vocals are great on the chorus, which has a very low down dirty feel. I particularly like the lines:
Pimms in the cooler and daughter in the yard Playing California strip croquet
And
Tongue is a sharpened razor Little miss know it some But get her alone she cries I wanna go home Oh, this little piggy plays dumb.
They have some good stories too, like the one about “Emerald Isle” which is about Luke running a marathon in Ireland. His Irish mother, who had never been to Ireland, flew out to meet him at the finish line and his wife, Melissa, flew in from Australia as well. There are more great harmonies in this song which, while mournful has a wonderfully uplifting feel. “Night Owls” is a very slow ballad which, while lyrically interesting, is a little too slow for my tastes.
For the final song, Melissa explains that the two of them had been playing solo and then they got married and still played solo. And then they decided to join forces. “Broken One” was a song that Luke wrote for his ex-girlfriend (and it is mean); Melissa says that she fixed it for Whitehorse. It’s a pretty standard country song with a honky tonk feel. It has a great blow off line: “You gotta have a heart to have a broken one.”
There’s something about Canadian Country music that I like so much more than American country music. I wonder what that is.
[READ: August 24, 2013] Wilderness
I recently stumbled upon this book at the library. I was only vaguely aware that Doyle had written a children’s novel, but there it was on the shelf. This is not a young child’s book, which is kind of a shame. I know my son would love half of the book, but I didn’t think he was ready for the other half.
The two parts of the story are about different members of the same family. The father, Frank, is the same. He married a woman quite young and they had a daughter. When the daughter was about 4 years old, the father and mother realized they could no longer live together. After some fights, the mother left for America. Where she stayed. Gráinne, the daughter, is now 18 and she is a sullen, angry teenager. Her dad is still okay, but most of the time she wants to treat him like he’s not. But he seems okay with that and gives her space. The crux of her story is that her mother has decided to come back after all these years. And Gráinne now has to deal with that.
Her story is a little mature, (especially for my 8 year old son), and she has some pretty harsh things to say about her parents, (which I hope he doesn’t have yet).
The other half of the story concerns her half brothers, and I know my son would love this part. Conveniently, the two stories are easy to demarcate–the ones with the boys are named Chapter 1 etc, the one with Gráinne are named things like The Bedroom, The Bus etc. So I did consider telling him to read just those parts. But maybe I’ll just wait. Anyway, her half brothers, Johnny and Tom, belong to her dad and her stepmom, Sandra. Sandra loves her boys and her husband and even Gráinne–most of the time. But lately Gráinne has been a little much. And Frank has encouraged Sandra to take the boys and go on a trip, just with them. That will let her focus on the boys and give him some time with Gráinne. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RALPH’S WORLD-Green Gorilla, Monster & Me (2005).
I remember being pretty excited about this album because it was Ralph’s newest album after Clark was born. And it was fun to have a “new” children’s album (they were of course all new to us since we hadn’t bought any children’s music before but the fact that Ralph was still putting new stuff out was good news).
And so it will always be cool (and has a couple of my favorite Ralph songs). And yet, overall it’s not quite as exciting as some of the other ones.
“Dance Around” is a fun upbeat song that should get everyone moving as each verse gets progressively more energetic. This would certainly be a favorite. “Hideaway” sounds like any jangly pop song on the radio—even lyrically it’s not really geared to kids exclusively. This could have had crossover appeal. “Red Banana” is a fun song full of absurdities—catchy and wonderful. “Guitarzan” is a song I never much liked, although this version is a bit more fun than the original. Nevertheless, it’s so much longer than the better songs, that I get tired of it pretty quickly! “Me & My Invisible Friend” is sweet song about having an invisible friend, but I find that I clearly like the more upbeat songs like “Old Red #7” a cool song about making and racing a car.
“River Flow” is a fun travel song, but “Liesl Echo” is our favorite Ralph’s World song of all time! We even named our cat Liesl Echo. in honor of the song. Ahhh. “Monster” is a wonderfully funny song about a “scary” puppy. It’s on a song like that this Ralph’s details shine. “Tim the Boy” is actually about a series of kids who are contrary and refuse to change their minds. The end shows how being so stubborn never works out quite as they wanted. “I Don’t Wanna” is a great punk song (gentle punk of course, but in the spirit of The Ramones). It’s all about saying you don’t want things because you have to do some work to get them (I don’t want dessert, I don’t want to watch TV). It’s very fun to sing along to.
“Tower of Blocks” is about the man on the moon, but it pales in comparison to “Yum! Yuk!” which is just fun to sing a long to and gets very silly by the end. “Swingset” ends the album in a rather generic way—which reminds me more of the kind of music that Ralph’s adult band plays. So the highs on this disc are pretty great, but there’s a bunch of songs that don’t really grab me. This was actually Ralph’s last disc on beloved indie label Minty Fresh before he made the jump to Disney.
[READ: July 21, 2013] The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man
Since I’m a fan of Michael Chabon, I’m including this children’s book since we read it this past week.
I’ve enjoyed most of everything I’ve read by Chabon, and I know he has a connection to the comics world. So a children’s superhero book seems like an obvious hit.
And it is a clever idea. Awesome Man talks about all of the things he can do (fights bad guys has cool powers), but also talks about the frustrations of being a super hero. Awesome man gets mad and wants to break things, and sometimes he needs to sit on his bed and relax to calm down. So the secret identity is not too hard to figure out. Indeed, the idea of the narrator imaging a super hero identity is cool and fun.
But if the secret identity is pretty easy to figure out, I guess it is therefore not really astonishing? And that’s just one thing that’s a little unsatisfying about this story. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RALPH’S WORLD-At the Bottom of the Sea [Second Half] (2002).
I split this disc into two because there were so many songs on it. But the second half is just as fun as the first half.
“Baseball Dreams” is all about dreaming to be a pro baseball player (specifically a Chicago Cub, which is endearing). “Sunny Day Rainy Day Anytime Band” is one of my favorite Ralph songs. It’s a rocking rollicking song. Super catchy and I find it in my head a lot. “Fly Me to the Moon” is a charming take on the classic song (with mandolin). And “Baa Baa Black Sheep” is the children’s song, slowed down and very mellow.
“Malcolm McGillikitty” is a fun original which is all about the psychic cat (he knows when we’re going to the vet, and when you’re coming home). It’s a very funny original. “The highlight of the second half of the disc has got to be “What Can You Do with Your Baby Brother” It is a great kid-friendly rendition of “What Can You Do with a Drunken Sailor.” And it offers great advice about things you can do to torment your little siblings when your parents aren’t looking. Very funny. “Bean Soup and Rice” is a fun sing along because of the Buh Buh Buh Buh Buh Buh Beans line and for the nonsense about what you might eat. “Many Things to Know” is a mellow album closer, which I actually didn’t even remember. I guess I tend to tune out the mellow Ralph songs, because I feel like a kid’s album should be all up or all mellow.
So there it is, a great children’s album–fun for kids and adults with a wonderful variety of styles for kids to delve into.
[READ: July 20, 2013] Squish #5
Why was this book better than #4? Because this one has a video game in it! Well, that’s not exactly why, but as a parent who is struggling with a child who really like a video game a lot, it was comforting to see a story in which the video game doesn’t triumph (no matter how much fun it actually is). And, as I mentioned in #4, there was a lot more dialogue here, which is always a lot of fun.
All of Squish’ friends are playing a game called Mitosis! (Who says video games can’t be educational? Or comic books?). There are few wonderfully drawn screen shots of this 8-bit game (the kitten bonus is hilarious). It’s not really relevant how you play the gamer (I’m not sure I could tell), but suffice it to say that levels must be defeated. And once Squish sees Pod plying his game, Squish spends the money he was saving for some Super Amoeba comics (say it ain’t so!) to buy his own Mitosis game. The scene where Squish sets foot in the video game store for the first time was just like the first time we took our kids to Game Stop. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RALPH’S WORLD-At the Bottom of the Sea [First Half] (2002).
I’m splitting this disc in two parts because there are seventeen tracks on it. This is one of my favorite Ralph’s World records. There’s something about the collection of originals and covers that is always varied, always interesting and lots of fun. (Most Ralph’s World records meet the same criteria, but this one seems to have overall a better collection of songs). Which is kind of interesting as it is his second kids album.
“At the Bottom of the Sea” is a fun bopping song (with fast lyrics and a slide guitar!). “Honey for the Bears” is a countryish song that is very fun to sing along to (even if it seems factually questionable). “The Coffee Song” is also fun to sing along to (what is it about spelling songs that make you want to spell along?). Even though none of us drink coffee in the house. “Surfin’ in My Imagination” is, yes, a surf rock song (this album is a nice introduction to different styles of music).
I had the theme from “Harry’s Haunted Halloween Circus” in my head for days before I could remember what it was—it’s a kind of clarinet and tuba riff, slightly off but also mesmerizing like circus music. I really like it. I don’t think I ever really listened to the lyrics which are quite “spooky.” “The Banana Splits Song” is always super fun, whether it’s by Ralph’s World or The Dickies (who are goofy but not really for kids). “18 Wheels on the Big Rig” was introduced to me by Trout Fishing in America, so I always think their version is best (even if they do it live exactly the same every time). Ralph’s version is good, but just not quite as good as TFiA. “Clean My Room” is a blues, which I don’t particularly like (I’m nt a fan of the blues, although this one is funny). The first half ends with “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Ralph’s version has some extra verses and a whole new scenario as well as a very amusing (to adults) punchline.
The second half will come tomorrow.
[READ: July 20, 2013] Squish #4
Somehow I didn’t even know that there were two new Squish books out. Hoorah!
Although this particular volume felt a little slim to me. Not in the size, but in the content. In this book, Squish joins a soccer team. His team is terrible, compiled from a mishmash of players, many of whom are simply, terrible. The coach tries to get everyone excited (blah blah blah) and then Squish is promoted to Captain of the team (because someone volunteered him).
The problem here is that in the book, it is the captain who makes all the decisions regarding the plays and players. Which is nonsense at that age. I realize of course that this is fiction and a children’s book and a comic book and that the story wouldn’t coalesce if he wasn’t captain, but it puts a crazy amount of pressure on poor Squish.
The other problem is that it’s a story about sports. Sports stories always stink because you either win or you lose. And, in an underdog sports story you lose a lot and then you win. It’s pretty unavoidable. Although the Holms do a nice twist on it at the end. But really, most of the book is just scenes of them losing–which sells short the usual snappy dialogue. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: OZOKIDZ-“Germs” (2013).
This song is also on the WXPN Kids Corner CD. Ozokidz is related to the band Ozomatli, who I don’t know all that much about.
I Just Read About That... 