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Archive for the ‘Dan Zanes’ Category

Maxwell Eaton III–The Flying Beaver Brothers: Birds vs. Bunnies (2013)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adventure, Allan Sherman, Children's Books, Dan Zanes, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Kids Corner, Maxwell Eaton III, Ratboy Jr., Sara Hickman, Short Books, The Board of Education, The Doubleclicks, The Plants, Trout Fishing in America on January 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

bbbSOUNDTRACK: KIDS CORNER Top Ten of 2013 (2014).

kidsEvery year I’m curious to see what the kids who vote for Kids Corner music will pick as their top ten.  It is usually reliably silly.  But this year I have to say I was a bit disappointed in their selections.  Here’s the Top um, Eleven (two were tied of tenth) from 11 to 1.

  • Allan Sherman – You Went The Wrong Way Old King Louie
  • Dan Zanes – Turn Turn Turn
  • The Plants – Aziphrale
  • Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – Thingamajig
  • Shine And The Moonbeams – Bully Bully
  • Trout Fishing In America – My Sister Kissed Her Boyfriend
  • Weird Al Yankovic – The Saga Begins
  • The Doubleclicks – Worst Superpower Ever
  • Ratboy Jr. – Champion Of The Universe
  • Sara Hickman – Radiation Man
  • The Board Of Education – Why Is Dad So Mad?

I am especially surprised by Allan Sherman as I can’t imagine that too many kids would enjoy that song (which is funny if you know your history, but not really otherwise) and while I love Dan Zanes, “Turn Turn Turn” is not exactly a rollicking fun Top Ten song.  I actually dislike “Bully Bully” and while I love Trout Fishing in America and like “My Sister,” it’s certainly not their best song (and this list isn’t just new songs obviously).  The rest of the list is quite good, though.

And it’s a great choice for number one.  But next year, kids, more silliness!

[READ: January 1, 2014] The Flying Beaver Brothers: Birds vs. Bunnies

We were unreasonably excited to see that there was a new Flying Beaver Brothers book out!  We loved the first two quite a lot, so any return of Ace and Bub is a good thing.  But to also have the return of a nasty villain is quite nice too.

Yet it’s not all the same faces, because this time there are birds and bunnies causing havoc with our heroes.

Bob and Bob (the penguins who get a brief cameo) are rebuilding Beaver Island and Bub and Ace are heading there in a boat.  But a storm rages and makes them crash.  They walk around an island where they are quickly captured by an angry bunch of bunnies who accuse them of being bird spies (those are real?).  Indeed, the birds have been playing a  very loud sound that hurts the bunnies ears and makes them go underground.  So the bunnies are fighting back with a wind machine that makes the birds leave the sky.  Both of these machines were funded by a mysterious fellow named Wally (unbeknownst to the others). (more…)

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Adam Blade–Beast Quest: The Golden Armor #7-12 (2008

Posted in Adam Blade, Adventure, Children's Books, Dan Zanes, Fables, Fantasy, Fears, Magic, Short Books, Supernatural, They Might Be Giants, Threats on September 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: OUT WITH THIS KIDS MUSIC MONTHLY PODCAST (2012).

I am bummed to have literally just discovered this cool podcast.  Each month Out with the Kids plays some ten songs that are kid-friendly.  They’re not all “kids songs” but they are kid friendly.  And it’s a fun way to learn about new music that kids may like.

The blog was started by Jeff Bogle, and he does proper DJ intros and outros (fortunately no “Morning Zoo zaniness”).  The songs are often connected thematically, and he plays a diverse collection of music (for his October podcast, I’d heard of none of the artists before, which is great if all of your kids music awareness comes via Dan Zanes and They Might Be Giants (nothing nothing nothing wrong with them, I love them both) or, heaven forbid Kidz Bop.

So, check him out, and subscribe via iTunes.  What have you got to lose?

[READ: August 2012] Beast Quest 7-12

I wasn’t all that excited to continue this series.  I liked some of the things in the first books, but I was on the fence about whether to continue.  But Clark enjoyed the series, so I figured I’d continue (but hopefully not do all 72 books).  Well, I was pleasantly surprised by this next series.  Although the formula is still in place, Adam Blade played around with the ideas a little bit and made them much more interesting.  Rather than having to rescue beasts who were turned evil, this time, Tom, the 12 (!) year old hero, must go in search of pieces of the golden armor.

But a step back first.  After competing the first 6 quests, Wizard Aduro shows Tom and Elenna the beautiful golden armor that resides in a special room in King Hugo’s castle.  But when they get there they discovered  that the armor has been stolen (in the prologue we see how the  armor was stolen and we know it was Malvel’s doing).  As Book 7 takes off we learn of Tom’s new quest–to find all of the stolen pieces of the armor which are now being guarded by beasts that Malvel has created.  It was kind of fun wondering what the six pieces of armor would be.  They turn out to be a helmet, chain mail, a breast plate, leg armor, boots and gloves and each one gives Tom a special power. (more…)

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Dan Zanes (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, February 20, 2012)

Posted in Aimee Mann, Dan Zanes, Dar Williams, John Doe, Lou Reed, New Brunswick, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre on March 11, 2012| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: February, 20, 2012] Dan Zanes at State Theatre

President’s Day was Family Day in New Brunswick.  And despite the bitter cold, we had a nice time walking around, seeing the Philadelphia Zoo exhibit and, most of all, seeing Dan Zanes.

We have loved Dan Zanes since we were first introduced to him (like everyone else–as soon as we had kids).  I knew that Zanes was in the Del Fuegos, although (even though I lived in Boston for many years) I’d never heard them.  I have since listened to them but found them to be lacking, especially compared to Dan Zanes’ solo stuff.

So Dan Zanes has been releasing children’s albums for a number of years, now.  He has access to some pretty high-profile guests (his album Night Time features Aimee Mann, John Doe, Lou Reed and Dar Williams).  But even without the high-profile guests, the records are fun, warm and very inviting. (more…)

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Tony Abbott–The Secrets of Droon: Books 1-12 (1999-2001)

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Dan Zanes, Demons, End of the World, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Ghosts, Harry Potter, Magic, Mystery, Soccer, Supernatural, Threats, Tony Abbott on January 23, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DAN ZANES-“Wonderwheel” (2002).

This track comes from Zanes’ Family Dance album and from the For The Kids compilation.

Dan Zanes is a wonderful troubadour of kid’s folk rock.  The funny thing about many of his songs, like this one, is that it’s not really a kid’s song–there’s nothing about the lyrics that says “only children will like this.”  It’s just a generally happy song that is safe for all ages.

The song opens with a simple accordion melody and is about riding a wonderwheel (I’m not sure what that is actually–a ferris wheel?).  The melody is great and there’s a nice female vocal harmony.  The song reminds me of a poppier, happier version of a Richard and Linda Thompson song.  It feels olde, like a classic song that people have been singing forever, and yet it’s brand new.

Dan Zanes is going to be playing a show around here in February and I’m pretty excited to go.  He’s one’s of my favorite kid’s music makers.  His songs are clever and catchy and never pander to the lowest common denominator.

[READ: November and December 2011 and January 2012] The Secrets of Droon, Books 1-12

Every night, my wife and I read picture books to my kids before bed.  Once in a while I would read chapter books to my son (they’re usually a little too much for my daughter to focus on). Clark is 6, Tabitha is 4.

We had been reading The Magic Tree House (which both kids love) and then I hit upon The Secrets of Droon.  I knew of the series from the library, but I didn’t know a thing about it.  I thought that Clark might read it himself, but he asked me to read that first book to him (it may indeed be too much for him to be able to read and fully enjoy).  I’m glad he did, because it has begun a special evening ritual for us.

We try to read three or four chapters of a Droon book a night.  And he really follows along well.  There are times when he guesses what will happen, and he certainly remembers more about what happened than I do.  Sure there are a few things he doesn’t quite get–some of the books in the teens are, if not intense, then certainly mind-boggling: I don’t think a 6-year-old can really grasp time travel or the apparition of a character who has disappeared, but he certainly likes the good vs evil story and he thinks that Neal, the comic relief, is really funny.

We started with Book 2 (Book 1 wasn’t at the library), and continued through Book 6 before going back and reading #1.  He thought #1 would be boring because we’d gotten so far beyond that already, but even that book was good–and filled in a few questions that I had.

There are 36 books in the series (as well as 6 Special Edition books (we haven’t read any of those yet so I don’t know what that means)).

The first twelve books form a kind of arc.  I suppose it’s official as an arc (at least it seems to be in all of the official info about the series), because a problem runs through all the books and is then solved.  However, there’s no real mention of it as an arc in the books, the kids “finish” that task, but simply continue to go back for a new adventure in Book 13.

So, just what is this series about? (more…)

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Greg Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days [#4] (2009)

Posted in Aimee Mann, Children's Books, Dan Zanes, Dar Williams, Del Fuegos, Jeff Kinney, Juliana Hatfield, Lou Reed, Summer, Video Games, X on October 23, 2009| 1 Comment »

wimpy4SOUNDTRACK: DAN ZANES-Night Time (2002).

zanesI’d only ever heard of Dan Zanes as the guy from the Del Fuegos (who probably got the biggest boost of their career when Juliana Hatfield sang about them in “My Sister”).  But once we had our first child, everyone told me to check out Dan Zanes’ “kids” records.  Night Time is one of our favorites.  It’s often played at night (obviously) as a good bedtime CD.

There a few rousing tracks on it but mostly it works as a mellow disc, perfect for winding down the day.  Zanes’ “kids” music is absolutely not just for kids (well, one or two tracks certainly are), because he uses his rock roots to play good roots rock (and folk).  Another fun thing about this disc (and most of his discs, in fact) is that he has a whole host of cool rock people to sing with him: Aimee Mann, John Doe (from X), Dar Williams and Lou Reed!

So, while you get a few traditional kids song (“Pay Me My Money Down,” “Rattlin’ Bog”) you also get a few traditional songs that work well for kids, but are fun for adults to sing along to (“Side by Side,” “What a Wonderful World,” “So Long (It’s Been Good to Know Yuh)”).  There’s also originals by Zanes (the fantastic “Night Owl,” “Smile Smile Smile” and the gorgeous closer “Linger for Awhile”) and some nontraditional songs (Zanes likes throwing in “world” music titles) like “Que Fortunidad,” and “Siyahamba”.

And it all sounds great.  There’s a horn section on a number of tracks, bringing a very rich texture.  But he also uses solo guitar or even mandolin.  And Zanes’ voice sounds fantastic.  He’s slightly gruff sounding, but in an endearing way.

I don’t know if I ever would have listened to these discs if it weren’t for having kids; but even if you don’t have kids, don’t let the “kids” label scare you away.

[READ: October 17, 2009] Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

I was thrilled when this book came in the mail.  (Yes, we do order some books to keep).  I’ve enjoyed the whole series quite a bit, and there was so much hype about this book (it was ranked #1 at Amazon.com!) that I was very excited to get it.

This book’s title is something of a double meaning.  Dog days of summer, and also the animal itself (a dog features in several panels).  And so yes, the story takes place over Greg’s summer vacation.

The first half of the book I didn’t find quite as enjoyable as I wanted.  It’s not bad by any means, but a lot of the conflict from the other books is absent.  Because it’s summer, there’s no school conflict and for reasons that aren’t explained, Rodrick isn’t really in the story that much (maybe he’s on tour with Löded Diper) [which, yes, is still funny].  And Greg has a fight with Rowley, so they don’t speak for a while.

In many ways these are exciting developments because there’s a lot of newness in the storyline.  But, like a soft pillow, I missed my favorite conflicts! (more…)

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