Thursday, September 30, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Friday, October 1, 2010

For Pete's Sake - The Monkees
Ruling Me - Weezer
The Thing That Helps Me Get Through - Michael Franti & Spearhead
So So Happy - Debbie and Friends
RC Cola and a Moon Pie - NRBQ
Some More S'mores - Charity and the JAMband
Green Submarine - Flannery Brothers
Smiles & Laughter - Modern English
Alphabet Soup - Tom Chapin
Flaming Pie - Paul McCartney

More new Weezer!

New Michael Franti!

Old Monkees!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, September 30, 2010

Dream City - Free Energy
When I'm Five - The Not-Its!
Guitar Was the Case - Mono Puff
Run Away - Weezer
cleaning_windows - Van Morrison
Kansas City Octopus - Clementown
Gelt Melts - The LeeVees
Sugar Hiccup - Cocteau Twins
Sound of Sunshine - Michael Franti & Spearhead
Trick or Treat - Justin Roberts
Little Parrot - Matt Clark

A slew of new stuff leads off this morning's list.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, September 29, 2010

There Is No Away - Uncle Rock
Brave New World - Weezer
The Rhyming Circus - Ralph's World
How Much Is That Doggy in the Window - Primate Fiasco
Pee Keeps Our Insides Clean - Pete Yorn
This Old Man - Lucky Diaz
My Doorbell - The White Stripes
They All Asked For You - Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem
Watch Where You're Goin' - Renee & Jeremy
Crow - Joe's Backyard Band

Be prepared for several brand new Weezer songs, since we just got the HURLEY CD!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Green Teeth - The Zucchini Brothers
White Light - Wilco
Cookies and Milk - Frances England
Wonderful World - Daddy A Go Go
Surfing USA - Beach Boys
Strange Magic - Electric Light Orchestra
Heigh-Ho - Los Lobos
Teach Your Children Well - CSNY
Beautiful Day - Ziggy Marley
We Go Duck - Justin Roberts

Ben moved "White Light" to Tuesday this week because he was "switching things up."

The '60s return with CSNY and Beach Boys.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Monday, September 27, 2010

Hello Hippopotamus - Laura Doherty
Browns Ferry Blues - Robbie Fulks
If Not For You - George Harrison
If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out - Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem
The Climb - Miley Cyrus
Lucy and Tighty - Okee-Dokee Brothers
Joshua's Treehouse - Starfish
Favorite Things - John Coltrane
Sleepoverland - Justin Roberts
My Brain - Mose Allison
Superhero - Tim and the Space Cadets

Ben also prepped his next playlist CD for his friends tonight. I'll post that when I start burning copies.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Friday, September 24, 2010

When Life Gives Me Lemons - The Boy Least Likely To
Mind of My Own - Frances England
The Mighty Worm - Ralph's World
First Dance (Feat. Usher) - Justin Bieber
California - Luna
Coconut Woman - Karl Zero & THE Wailers
Walkin' the Cow - fIREHOSE
Crow - Joe's Backyard Band
The Galax Sea - Recess Monkey
Nun Gimmel Heh Shin - http://www.theleevees.com/

Welcome to Ben's playlists, Justin Bieber.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Hebrew-Speaking Bear - Randy Kaplan
Home - Michael Franti & Spearhead
Bicycle - Frances England
Chag_Purim - Purim Jews
Love and Hope - Ozomantli
Sugar Hiccup - Cocteau Twins
Stronger Than Me - Amy Winehouse
Spider-Man - Chris McKhool
Have You Ever - Brandi Carlile
Superball - Magic Kids
Shake! - Flannery Brothers
La La La (I Love You) - Egg

A funky Thursday.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Diving in the Deep Blue Sea - Monty Harper
Sliver - Casper Babypants
Dishes - Joe's Backyard Band
Spanimals - The Jimmies
Bein' a Kid - The Zucchini Brothers
Cardboard Box - Justin Roberts
Are You Gonna Eat That? - Keith Munslow
Home - Dreyer Family Band
Beautiful Day - Ziggy Marley
My Name Is No - Starfish

Just noticed we have six songs from Jungle Gym in iTunes.

Wiping Out Bland Kid's Music

SqueeGees Target Healthy Lifestyles

We first heard The SqueeGee's "Nala the Chihuahua" on Bill Childs' Spare the Rock radio show a few years back. Ben loved the singalong chorus but we never spent the time to listen to the lyrics. As with most kid's music, as long as the kid is happy, the adults are happy. But it took the arrival of their re-issued CD, "Meet the SqueeGees," for us to sit down and realize the message behind the song - namely


"A puppy from the pound...

No longer wears a frown...

Aren't we glad we found her?"



But that's the insidious (can we use that term in a positive manner?) thing about the light pop sound of the SqueeGees - the songs work their way into your head and then you realize there was more to them.



The Los Angeles-based trio has regrouped with original members Samantha Tobey and Rich "Shaka" Sherwood being joined by former Rilo Kiley bassist Pierre de Reeder. Their CD is experiencing a second coming of a sort on September 21 with a national exclusive release through Target and Target at iTunes.

The music, geared for preschoolers, gently hits on some of the themes mined by Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer. There's the environment ("The Elements of the Earth"), healthy eating ("Apples, Oranges, and Peaches"), and even the Internet ("The Ol' WWW"). The song "Jonathon the Tree" took on extra meaning for us this week, as hundreds of trees were toppled by the tornado in our region.

I could really do without another song about driving in the car ("Rules of the Road"), but hey, it's still a novel experience to people without their own driver's licenses. Same with bubble baths ("Bubbles"), but call me cranky.

It all comes back to, um, singalongability (my spellcheck just blew up). That translates to, the ability of listeners to sing along and later grasp the concept of the material. The SqueeGees pass the singalongability test. In that manner, they certainly hit the target.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Alien In My Nose - Trout Fishing in America
Big Heart - Frances England
Lonely Days Lonely Nights - The Bee Gees
Kansas City Octopus - Clementown
Sack Lunch - Recess Monkey
Counting On A Friend - The Bazillions
Imagination - Peter Himmelman
Things You Want - The Hipwaders
Funplex - The B-52s
Unicorn - Dr. Dog

Debut of new Frances England music.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Monday, September 20, 2010

White Light - Wilco
It Makes You Feel Good - Renee & Jeremy
I-D-E-A - The SqueeGees
Art Car - The Hipwaders
How Do You Build a Robot? - Recess Monkey
Band-Aid - Matt Clark
Dinosaur in My Backyard - Hullabaloo
Speak the Truth - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Starman - Golden Smog
My Brother The Ape - They Might Be Giants

Two quotes from Ben: "It's Monday - White Light by Wilco" and "Wilco is on Twitter."

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Friday, September 17, 2010

Dream of You - Alan Wolpert
Super Sonic Rocket Bike - Bazillions
Ivan The Terrible - The SqueeGees
Go Waggalo - Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family
I Eat Kids - Radioactive Chicken Heads
Dance This Mess Around - The B-52s
Baby Kangaroo - Joe McDermott
It's Not Fair - Einstein's Monkey
They All Asked For You - Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem
Little Robot - Human Tim + Robot Tim

So we lost our triple play for 48 hours.

Friday, September 17, 2010

We'll Be Back!

The New York area tornado knocked out our cable, phones, and Internet access. Thankfully we still have power, so we don't have to evacuate like some of our neighbors.

Should be back to posting as usual by next week.


Here's a view of our house. Nice, hmm?



Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, September 16, 2010

Hyper Enough - Superchunk
Hideaway - Ralph's World
Blue Bear - Lucky Diaz
Cities With Seagulls - Joe's Backyard Band
Rock and Roll - The New Standards
Don't Stay - Laura Izibor
What Is A Mammal? - Marais & Miranda
Lemonade - Butterflyfish
Sing About the Sun - Dog on Fleas
Cardboard Box - Justin Roberts
I Just Want to Have Fun - Of Montreal

Rocking in the AM!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Dance From Outer Space - Billy Kelly
If Mama Had Four Hands - Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family
Do The Turnout - Deedle Deedle Dees
Walk Don't Run - The Ventures
Obsessed By Trucks - Justin Roberts
Send Me On My Way - Rusted Root
Be Yourself - Grenadilla
Welcome to the Jungle Gym - Mr. Saxophone
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John
Crash - Primitives
High Hopes - Primate Fiasco

From the Primitives to Primate Fiasco this AM.

Ben seems to be into Primate Fiasco these days.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Cat Came Back - Monty Harper
Band-Aid - Matt Clark
Meet Me Halfway - The Black Eyed Peas
Everything Is Music To Me - Jonathan Samson
Solartopia - Pete Seeger
Back To Black - Amy Winehouse
How Much Is That Doggy in the Window - Primate Fiasco
I Can't Let Go - The Hollies
The Rhyming Circus - Ralph's World

Amy Winehouse, Ralph's World, and Pete Seegar return to the playlist for the first time in quite a while.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Monday, September 13, 2010

White Light - Wilco
Where Does The Sun Go At Night? - Dorothy Collins
Antmusic - Adam & the Ants
Things Change - Hullabaloo
Coconut Woman - Karl Zero & THE Wailers
Spork - Keith Munslow
Shpilkas - Bunny Clogs
Me & My Invisible Friend - Ralph's World
Under The Sun - Dan Zanes
Sound of Sunshine - Michael Franti & Spearhead
Everybody's Got Their Underwear On - Billy Kelly

If it's Monday, it's got to be Wilco's "White Light."

And just in time for a back to school playlist.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Friday, September 10, 2010

Heigh-Ho - Los Lobos
Periodically Double Or Triple - Yo La Tengo
At the Timeshare - The LeeVees
Rubber Biscuit - Supersuckers
I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing - New Seekers
Are You Gonna Eat That? - Keith Munslow
The Little Old Lady - Jan and Dean
Some Pieces - King Pajama
Crow - Joe's Backyard Band
Joy - NoMeansNo
Caboose - Lunch Money
Green Submarine - Flannery Brothers

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, September 9, 2010

I Feel Like Going Home - Yo La Tengo
Spitting Seeds - Under the Tree Music
Muppets/Mahna Mahna - Primate Fiasco
Don't Dream It's Over - Sixpence None the Richer
Kansas City Octopus - Clementown
Creep - Scala
Roam - The B-52s
Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon
(You're Not) The Boss of My Brain - Tom Chapin
Clocks - Coldplay

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Dance This Mess Around - The B-52s
Everyone Everywhere - Baze And His Silly Friends
Velveeta Girl and Squatsy - Bunny Clogs
Boom Boom Pow - The Black Eyed Peas
Roundy Round - Monty Harper
Trick or Treat - Justin Roberts
Percy on Pluto - The Nields
Sugarcube - Yo La Tengo
Smiles & Laughter - Modern English
Look Both Ways - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
So What 3:34 - Pink

Monday, September 06, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Autumn Sweater - Yo La Tengo
History Never Repeats - Split Enz
I Eat Kids - Radioactive Chicken Heads
Happy Place - Milkshake
Every Day is a Summer Day - Keith Munslow
Dinosaur in My Backyard - Hullabaloo
Cookies & Milk - Royal Order of Chords and Keys
Springtime, It's My Favorite - Billy Kelly and the Blah Blah Blahs
Rough and Tumble - The Fuzzy Lemons
High Hopes - Primate Fiasco

As summer rolls to a close, Ben chose some seasonal selections.

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Monday, September 6, 2010

White Light - Wilco
It Makes You Feel Good - Renee & Jeremy
Hello Hello (Good Morning) - Dustin Type
I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas
Love Plus One - Nick Heyward
Even Numbers - They Might Be Giants
Things You Want - The Hipwaders
Man On The Moon - R.E.M.
One Day Soon - The Sippy Cups
Tripping Down the Freeway - Weezer
Big Kite - Flannery Brothers
Look, Look! - Steve Weeks

Home!

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Ben's Playlist - Friday, September 3, 2010

Turn Your Body Around - Monkey Monkey Music
Sing Like a Sparrow - Dean Jones
The Boogieman - Keith Munslow
Comfortable - John Mayer
Tommy Got In Trouble - Bazillions
Trading Squirrels - Recess Monkey
Rise and Shine - Board of Education
Brand New Haircut - Billy Kelly
Pee Keeps Our Insides Clean - Pete Yorn
Blue Bear - Lucky Diaz
Joy - NoMeansNo
Love Me For Who I Am - Brady Rymer

We will be on vacation this weekend, so Ben did his Friday playlist to act as a "musical wake up" that can stream through our hotel's alarm clock speakers.

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, September 2, 2010

We missed Wednesday because I was at the U.S. Open...

Sorry, here's tomorrow's

A Taste of Honey - Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
Sound of Sunshine - Michael Franti & Spearhead
Secret Handshake - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Hey Soul Sister - Train
Boogie Monster - Recess Monkey
Seven - They Might Be Giants
Undone (The Sweater Song) - Weezer
My Lucky Day - Bruce Springsteen
Wheels On the Bus - Primate Fiasco
Diving in the Deep Blue Sea - Monty Harper