Previously » Part 1 » The ratio of music to audiobooks in ALSC Notable Recordings lists, and how youth librarians seem to gravitate toward book-based media. (read it)

If you’ve browsed my blog for at least ten seconds, you know how much I love, love, love kids’ music.  I get excited when I hear a great album or see a great show, and I think everyone should know about these things.  I’ve only been clued in to the field of family music since 2007—I vaguely remember the day when I had my there-must-be-something-better-out-there epiphany, and the ridiculous Google searches ^[1] that got me on my way—and I would love to facilitate that sort of discovery for others.  It was a major contributing factor when I started this blog:  subjecting my unsuspecting readers to the wonderful world of kids’ music.

By unsuspecting, I mean my original goal was for this to be a kidlit blog, with some music reviews thrown in for good measure.  Long story short, I don’t really fit into the book blogging culture.  I still blog about books—I have to, it’s compulsive—but writing about music is just as important to me now, and it’s the one area where I’ve received some marginal recognition.

So, my driving force is to let anyone and everyone know about the best in family music, but I’m realizing now that I also need to consider addressing other librarians.  So, the question becomes, how do I infiltrate my own profession?

Er, what I mean is, most children’s librarians have better things to do than sit around reading my blog.  Where and how will I reach my peers, and what’s the road to credibility?  Do I start with professional reviews? ^[2]  Presentations?  Research and publication?

I have over 31 years (that’s not a cringe, it’s a smile, really!) until I retire if I stick with my day job.  Maybe I’ll get to serve on the NCR committee at some point.  Of course, that means I’ll have to model the open-mindedness I hope others will have toward music by forging a love for audiobooks.  Stranger things have happened.

Audiobooks should seriously come with falsetto alerts.

Image credit:  “Music” by Flickr user Maciej Lewandowski, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 license.

^[1] Search engines like to deny it, but natural language counts for something.

^[2] What?  I can be professional!

In the interest of disclosure, I should preface this post by saying that I had a bad experience with an audiobook once.  (It pulled a knife on me in a dark alley…)  No, it was the fact that the narrator felt the need to read the female characters’ lines in falsetto.  This is probably undue punishment on an entire industry, but I’ve haven’t tried to listen to an audiobook since.

I mention this because I’ve been thinking a bit about the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) list of 2010 Notable Children’s [Sound] Recordings, which came out last month.  Of the thirty titles, only four are music CDs.  Two are Putumayo Kids releases, one is Recess Monkey’s Field Trip, and the other one is some Jewish lullaby album.  It’s a pretty typical ratio for music and audiobooks, and Field Trip is probably the most progressive “notable” to date, so maybe I should be applauding the committee for this step in the right direction.  But I’m not.

I’m not much for lullabies, but I like Putumayo Kids as much as the next guy, and I like Recess Monkey at least as much as the next guy.  But…these inclusions seem a little limited in scope.  I’m not suggesting that the NSR committee search high and low for every independently-released album each year, but I am convinced that they are suffering from one of two problems:  either the committee is largely unaware of this burgeoning genre of music, or they aren’t giving it enough credit.  I suppose, less cynically, I could also leave room for the possibility that neither statement is true, and instead it’s a case of disagreement among committee members.  It’s possible.

I’m sure it’s not appropriate to do so, but in my mind I’m extrapolating these committee decisions, year after year, as a reflection of the profession in general.  I mean, we’re librarians.  We like books.  It’s been the same story with videos—for years, about half of the Notable Children’s Videos titles are from Weston Woods. ^[1]  Theatrical releases aren’t eligible, but (as far as I can tell by the manual), anything else is fair game.  Weston Woods videos are all well and good, but after so many years of putting them on these lists, it’s hard to believe that they are still so “important, distinguished, and outstanding.”

I’m just speculating about the videos—I didn’t spend countless hours reviewing them, and I probably haven’t actually seen any of the ones on this year’s list.  But I do know a fair amount about kids’ music releases from last year, so I guess I should get back on topic.

Next up » Part 2 » Why not listening to audiobooks may hurt me in the long run, and what any of this has to do with why I blog! (read it)

^[1] For the uninitiated, Weston Woods makes short films out of picture books.  The animation is minimal, and very true to the original; the words are on the screen, just like they would be in the book; and the narration…well…the narrator typically has good diction, anyway.

Various artists.  We’re Not Kidding: A Tribute to Barry Louis Polisar.  Snail Sounds / Rainbow Morning Music.  2009.

I never could have guessed that I’d own an album by or featuring the Radioactive Chicken Heads.  It’s easy to be dismissive of a gimmicky band…I mean, you have to wonder how crappy their music must be if they think they have to look like this.  And yet, not only have they put together a tribute album bursting with talent and variety, but they’re also responsible for my favorite song on the album.

That song is “I Wanna Be a Dog.”  Now, that title should immediately call to mind the Stooges.  (If it didn’t, then you have required listening homework this week.)  Set that aside for a second, and take a look at this song’s lyrics:

I wanna be a dog, wanna wag my tail,
Chase cars and knock over garbage cans,
Bite the man who brings the mail.

Read the rest of the lyrics here.  Next, listen to how the song originally sounded.  Finally, call the Stooges back to mind, and fuse “I Wanna be a Dog” with “I Wanna be Your Dog.”

It happened on this album, successfully.

. . .

…I’m kind of surprised you’re still reading this.  If it were me, I would have opened a new browser tab to buy the album.  Or at least the song.  But you’re probably going to want the whole album.  Here are just a few reasons:

• “Don’t Stick Your Finger Up Your Nose” in Yiddish
• “Never Cook Your Sister in a Frying Pan” with a gospel ending
• A rap version of “When Suzie Sneezed”

Not to mention the other 56 tracks on the 2-disc set.  It’s a very hodgepodge album, but the tracks manage to fit cohesively, and it’s high quality throughout.  You can read all about the artists and their contributions, and hear more samples, on Polisar’s website.

other reviews:
Children’s Entertainment Examiner | Servings from the Cereal Bowl

Last Friday, Geraldine’s school had a “Hats for Haiti” fundraiser.  I didn’t send her with the dollar/hat for a few reasons, the main one being that they didn’t tell us where the money was going.  Regardless of the fact that it was only a dollar, I’m not going to give my money vaguely “to Haiti.”  The list of charities I’m willing to support is much shorter than the list of those I’m not comfortable supporting.

I had not taken the time to explain this to Geraldine, however, and she assumed that I was careless and had forgotten, which is all too often the case.  When I picked her up from school, she said she would remind me “next time it’s Hats for Haiti.”  Next time?  I asked if anyone had explained the purpose of the fundraiser to her class.  She said no, with an intonation that suggested no one had mentioned anything about it having an actual purpose.

I guess that explains the gimmicky nature of the fundraiser—you can convince kids to want to wear hats without bothering to explain anything else to them!  It reinforced my decision not to participate, but it also provided an opportunity (that I should have provided myself, in all honesty) to discuss the situation with her.

I started out by recalling what I had learned about earthquakes in an introductory course in high school…15 years ago (gasp!)…hoping I was more or less getting the information right.  I moved on to talk about what little I know about Haiti (in general), then gave a very broad overview of what happened:  “A lot of buildings collapsed, and a lot of people got hurt.”  Finally, I explained what the monetary donations were for, how it’s important to pick a charity equipped to provide the most help to the most people, and why I wasn’t comfortable giving money to Hats for Haiti.

She seemed receptive.

Then, yesterday, I overheard that the earthquake in Haiti had worked its way into their pretend play.  First of all, awesome.  I’m glad they’re tackling the big issues.  On the other hand, that led to Geraldine explaining the situation to Rhys, which meant paraphrasing the under-informed explanations I had given her.  It sounded pretty okay (i.e., she seemed to absorb a lot of what I told her), but clearly we need to take some time and expand our collective knowledge.

Reading Rockets posted an article in mid-January called “It Happened Over There: Understanding and Empathy Through Children’s Books.”  It’s a resource guide for using picture books to explain natural disasters, and contains a book list with fiction titles that explore Haitian culture and nonfiction titles that talk about earthquakes.  The plan is to work our way though a number of the books, both fiction and nonfiction.  We’ll let you know how it goes.

Hi there.

In case you were wondering where I’ve been, I’d like to report that I’ve come down with a (self-diagnosed) case of blogging impotence.  How it works is, I have a post that I want to write, and I sit down to write it, and after about two sentences I get completely blocked.  Even when I already know what I want to say.  Every day that goes by adds a little more pressure to perform, which is not helping things.  It’s also affecting my correspondence with people, which is almost worse.

I usually fall into a winter slump, but this is at least six weeks earlier than it usually starts.  I’m hoping this is something other than seasonal affective issues, so that I might be able to snap out of it.  Fresh air, sunlight, and exercise do seem like they’d hit the spot, though.  Winter’s no good for any of those things.

I hoped writing this would make me feel a little better.  Maybe I just need to give it a little time to take effect.

I won’t be far.

Well, we’re off.  Or, we will be at 1pm, anyway.  It’s going to be a long day, but I finally woke up without that panicky first-time-taking-kids-on-an-airplane anxiety, so I think we’ll be just fine.  I think the real relief for me is knowing I’m done with all the weird dreams.  No more “We forgot our luggage!”  No more “We’re going to miss our flight!”  And, most importantly, no more “Since when does the inside of an airplane look like the inside of a school bus?”  I actually love flying, but you wouldn’t know it from those dreams.

Aaaaahhh!!!  We’re so excited!!!

This is to say, we’re planning to unplug (for the most part) until January 4th.  Have a happy rest of the year, and we’ll be back in 2010!

Credits:
photo by my mom (she dressed them, too!) ; background ; font

Clement C. Moore was a cranky, uptight theologian—not the type of person you’d expect to write “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”  In fact, an argument has been mounted against Moore being the author, though some counter-arguments have been mounted as well.

Regardless, there was a poem written around the same time that was about Santa Claus, and it fit Moore’s cranky, uptight writing style.  It’s a poem for which no one would question giving him credit.  As for “A Visit,” who knows?  That’s what those old sods get for publishing anonymously.

Anyway, enjoy this little cup of Xmas cheer!

Old Santeclaus (1821)

Old Santeclaus with much delight
His reindeer drives this frosty night,
O’er chimney-tops, and tracks of snow,
To bring his yearly gifts to you.

The steady friend of virtuous youth,
The friend of duty, and of truth,
Each Christmas eve he joys to come
Where love and peace have made their home.

Through many houses he has been,
And various beds and stockings seen;
Some, white as snow, and neatly mended,
Others, that seemed for pigs intended.

Where e’er I found good girls or boys,
That hated quarrels, strife and noise,
I left an apple, or a tart,
Or wooden gun, or painted cart.

To some I gave a pretty doll,
To some a peg-top, or a ball;
No crackers, cannons, squibs, or rockets,
To blow their eyes up, or their pockets.

No drums to stun their Mother’s ear,
Nor swords to make their sisters fear;
But pretty books to store their mind
With knowledge of each various kind.

But where I found the children naughty,
In manners rude, in temper haughty,
Thankless to parents, liars, swearers,
Boxers, or cheats, or base tale-bearers,

I left a long, black, birchen rod,
Such as the dread command of God
Directs a Parent’s hand to use
When virtue’s path his sons refuse.

Someone should turn that into a song-poem!

And now, for my final XMSG offering, we have a collection of a half dozen videos to keep you warm on Xmas!  (In all honesty, this post came about because I forgot what part 9 of 10 was supposed to be, so I bumped the playlist up and cobbled this post together.  It’s a bunch of semi-random videos I just happened to think of.  Eh.  You get what you get, kids.)

Note:  If you’re reading this post on Google reader, you’ll want to click through to the permalink because, otherwise, it will look like a whole lot of nothing.

Billy Kelly – Glebells Jing!—

[Watch it on YouTube]

Readeez – A Visit from St. Nicholas—

[Watch it on YouTube]

Recess Monkey – Hot Chocolate—

[Watch it on YouTube]

Sesame Street – Oscar Hates Christmas—

[Watch it on YouTube]

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! – The Gift of Joy—

[Watch it on YouTube]

And your cringe-worth video of the season is……

When Bowie met Crosby!—

[Watch it on YouTube]

Warning:  While this is normally a family blog, this is not a family playlist.

It’s the annual dysfunctional family holiday get-together, and everyone is invited this year!  The drama is about to unfold.  Toes will be stepped on.  Fights may break out.  Folks will get drunk.  You may need to drive your second cousin to the hospital after he ODs in your bathroom.  And, for some reason, someone invited Mojo Nixon.

Oh, that was me.

This playlist mirrors any good dysfunctional holiday gathering.  It starts with an icebreaker, gets rowdy at points in the middle, and slows down toward the end, when everyone is a little tipsy.  A lot of these aren’t Xmas songs per se, as anything with the word “Christmas” in the title or lyrics, or anything tangentially related, was considered fair game.

This list has turned out to be my pride and joy of the Xmas music survival guide, so I hope you’ll enjoy it during your last-minute wrapping, hopefully with your drink of choice at hand.  Have fun!

• “Merry Christmas” – Wesley Willis
• “Carol of the Bells” – The Bird and the Bee
• “Blue Christmas” – Bright Eyes
• “River” – Joni Mitchell
• “Christmas at the Zoo” – The Flaming Lips
• “St. Stephen’s Day Murders” – The Chieftains feat. Elvis Costello
• “X-mas Song” – Fireflies
• “Father Christmas” – The Kinks
• “Christmas Wrapping” – The Waitresses
• “Christmas, Christmas” – Mojo Nixon
• “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” – Joey Ramone
• “The Christmas Song” – The Raveonettes
• “Space Christmas” – Shonen Knife
• “Christmas Is Going to the Dogs” – Eels
• “The Spirit of Giving” – The New Pornographers
• “My First Christmas (as a Woman)” – The Vandals
• “It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop” – Frightened Rabbit
• “Fairytale of New York” – The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl
• “King’s Crossing” – Elliott Smith
• “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” – Tom Waits
• “Mr. Mistletoe” – The Magnetic Fields
• “I Feel Like Going Home” – Yo La Tengo

P.S.  If you need help finding the unlinked tracks, and are ethically unfettered, I may or may not know a guy…so feel free to email me.