Ben's Playlist - Thursday, September 1, 2011

The Cave - Mumford and Sons
Goodbye, Bird - The Fastbacks
I Feel So - Box Car Racer
Jumpin' Beans - Frank Black
Octopus - Artichoke
Popcorn Tree - Music For Aardvarks Presents David Weinstone
Pretty Girls (Feat. Travie McCoy) - Iyaz
Safety Dance - Men Without Hats
Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
Uncharted - Sara Bareilles

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The City Grew Up Around Her - Caroline Herring
I Love New York- New York, New York - Glee
White And Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic
Ooh La La (Play Me That Song) - Baron Von Rumblebuss
Vacation - The Not-Its!
Ruling Me - Weezer
Someone Like You - Adele
Green Submarine - Flannery Brothers
I Meant To Do That - Jeremy Plays Guitar
Soft Things - Brady Rymer

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The Kid With the Butterfly Net - Graham Parker
Building of the Road - Caroline Herring
Hometown Glory - Adele
Knock on Wood - Amii Stewart
Song of the Passaic - Fountains of Wayne
I Don't Wanna Wait - Bill Harley
Craigslist - Weird Al Yankovic
Mind Over Matter - Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Candylion - Gruff Rhys

Ben's Playlist - Monday, August 29, 2011

The Wrath of Marcie - The Go! Team
I Love Food - The Not-Its!
First Love - Adele
Walking Wires - Radical Dads
I'm A Vampire - Roy Handy & The Moonshot
In My Blue Jeans - Rabbit!
When I Get Little - Dog On Fleas
In Wonder With the World - The Boogers
Sliver - Nirvana
Everybody Loves to Jump - Mike Park
Gee Angel - Sugar

Ben's Playlist - Friday, August 26, 2011

Good Morning Tucson - Jonathan Coulton
Wake Up Clarinet - Oran Etkin
Song of the Passaic - Fountains of Wayne
You've Got a Friend In Me - Bonerama
Bubble Test - Daniel Hales & the Frost Heaves
Time Out To Rock - The Not-Its!
Tommy Got In Trouble - The Bazillions
Party In the CIA - Weird Al Yankovic
Wrong Thing - The Hipwaders
Ooh La La (Play Me That Song) - Baron Von Rumblebuss
Worms - Dog On Fleas
Jumpin' Beans - Frank Black

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, August 25, 2011

For Pete's Sake - The Monkees
Drum! - The Deedle Deedle Dees
Soft Things - Brady Rymer
Octopus - Artichoke
I Love Food - The Not-Its!
I Got A New Friend - Ben Rudnick
Super Sonic Rocket Bike - The Bazillions
Your Favorite Book - Recess Monkey
Daydreams - Adele
Nemeses - Jonathan Coulton

Bens Playlist - Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
Walk Of Life - Ben Rudnick
Virus Alert - Weird Al Yankovic
Willy Won't - Debbie and Friends
Hey, Josie! - The Hipwaders
Green Submarine - Flannery Brothers
First Love - Adele
Let The Good Times Roll - Harry Nilsson
Lucy Lawcy - Keller Williams

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
Let Your Hair Hang Down - They Might Be Giants
Sliver - Nirvana
Loser Like Me - Glee
White And Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic
Apple Tree - Rabbit!
Candylion - Gruff Rhys
Mama Dont 'Low - Ben Rudnick
Hi 5 Dance - Flannery Brothers

Ben's Playlist - Monday, August 22, 2011

The City Grew Up Around Her - Caroline Herring
Burn It To The Ground - Nickelback
Section 12 (Hold Me Now) - The Polyphonic Spree
Birdsong - Steve Weeks
Check It Out - Casper Babypants
I Shall Sing - Grenadilla
What a Little Bit of Love Can Do - Jeff Bridges
Ferris Wheel - Kindercastle
I'll Be Waiting - Adele

Ben's Playlist - Friday, August 19, 2011

Dream - Blue Sky Riders
Say, Say, Oh Playmate - April Smith & The Great Picture
First Love - Adele
Jen - Stacey Peasley
Soft Things - Brady Rymer
It's Hard To Be A Kid - Daddy A Go-Go
Bluegrass for Breakfast - Okee-Dokee Brothers
You Might Think - Weezer
One Less Lonely Girl - Justin Bieber
Flying - Recess Monkey
Nemeses - Jonathan Coulton
Goodbye, Bird - The Fastbacks

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, August 18, 2011

I Love New York/New York, New York - Glee
Hail The Creatures - Dan Zanes
Daydreams - Adele
Craigslist - Weird Al Yankovic
Set Me On Fire - Spirits and the Melchizedek Children
Walking Wires - Radical Dads
Lucy and Tighty - Okee-Dokee Brothers
Happy - Dog on Fleas
Back To Black - Amy Winehouse

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The City Grew Up Around Her - Caroline Herring
Wake Up Clarinet - Oran Etkin
Virus Alert - Weird Al Yankovic
Hometown Glory - Adele
Ooh La La (Play Me That Song) - Baron Von Rumblebuss
Someone Like You - Adele
Snack Time - RTTs
The Rockford Files - Mike Post
Song of the Passaic - Fountains of Wayne
Come On Get Happy (Partridge Family TV Show Theme) - Daddy A Go-Go
Halo / Walking On Sunshine - Glee

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Flashlight - Fuzzy
The Daylight Strong - The Figgs
I'll Be Waiting - Adele
The Time (The Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
Little Parrot - Matt Clark
They Lady And The Tiger - They Might Be Giants
Knock on Wood - Amii Stewart
Polka Face - Weird Al Yankovic
Victor Jara's Hands - Calexico
Drum! - The Deedle Deedle Dees

Ben's Playlist - Monday, August 15, 2011

Wondered What'd It Be Like - Stan Ridgway & Pietra Wexstun
Jumpin' Beans - Frank Black
Things Behind the Sun - Nick Drake
Party In the CIA - Weird Al Yankovic
Celebration - They Might Be Giants
Dream All Day - The Posies
When We First Met - Hellogoodbye
I Love Food - The Not-Its!
Laser Show - Fountains Of Wayne
Born On the Bayou - Etta James
Sing Your Own Song - John Wesley Harding

Rocking Out in Lexington

Rudnick and Friends Bring Zydeco to Massachusetts

The year 2008 was a turning point for Ben Rudnick and Friends. The family-styled jam band's accordion player Mark Yacovone was moving to Mississippi (and leaving the group). Yacovone's final show was for Ben Rudnick and Friends' annual performance at the Town Green in Lexington, MA (site of their very first show). As a bonus, they were joined by saxophone player Rob Lee. What resulted is the new full-length concert CD, LIVE IN LEXINGTON: UNDER THE COPPER BEECH.

The Lexington Friday night concert series has existed for more than a decade. Ben Rudnick and Friends have played the venue since 2001, in front of crowds as large as 2,000 people. People gather on the historic Green with chairs and blankets and food and kids and balloons. "We like to say it's America at its best on a Friday night, sort of a Norman Rockwell image with a little tie-dye thrown in for good measure," Rudnick says.



A studio CD provides a snapshot of where an artist and his band happen to be at that precise moment in time. For Rudnick's CD, EMILY SONGS, Rudnick was engaging his young daughter in the writing and recording process. Some of those songs ("I Like Silver, I Like Gold" and "I Need a Hand") surface on LIVE IN LEXINGTON, where they resound more with his (grown) daughter still contributing vocals.

The concert experience is always different. The arrangements are looser, there are more musical references to songs from outside sources, and energy from the crowd definitely reverberates in the performances. Plus Rudnick and Friends roll out an eclectic collection of cover choices, including Dire Straits' "Walk of Life," Buddy Holly's "Oh Boy," and Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'."

The band infuses true New Orleans jazz and zydeco into traditional numbers "Jambalaya," "When the Saints Go Marching In," and even "Hava Nagila." You can tell that on this July evening in 2008, Ben Rudnick and Friends were in a happy place - figuratively and literally. And they've chosen 2011 to share their positive experience with all of us. "We're down to our last tune, which kind of probably upsets us more than it does you," Rudnick bemoans at the end of the CD. Well, at home, we can just hit REPLAY and relive the concert again.

Ben's Playlist - Fridaty, August 12, 2011

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) - Katy Perry
Sweet Harness - Sharks
Song of the Passaic - Fountains of Wayne
Wrong Thing - The Hipwaders
The Daylight Strong - The Figgs
Popcorn Tree - Music For Aardvarks Presents David Weinstone
Ridin' On a Pony - Dog On Fleas
Dream - Blue Sky Riders
Let Your Hair Hang Down - They Might Be Giants
Nemeses - Jonathan Coulton
White And Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, August 11, 2011

Up Up Up - Givers
Hey, Josie! - The Hipwaders
The Wrath of Marcie - The Go! Team
Someone Like You - Adele
Dancing Queen - Glee
Ferris Wheel - Kindercastle
Mighty Milo - Music For Aardvarks Presents David Weinstone
Flying - Recess Monkey
A Road Song - Fountains Of Wayne
Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, August 10, 2011

So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star - The Byrds
I'll Be Waiting - Adele
All The Best - R.E.M.
Onyonghasayo - Skankin' Pickle
Ruling Me - Weezer
TV - Music For Aardvarks Presents David Weinstone
You Might Think - Weezer
California Gurls - Katy Perry (Feat. Snoop Dogg)
You've Got A Friend - Me First & the Gimmie Gimmies
Action Hero - Fountains Of Wayne
Cocoanut Candy - Didi Pop

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Slumber Party - In The Nick Of Time
Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart - Fountains Of Wayne
Hometown Glory - Adele
When I Ripped My Pants - Spongebob Squarepants
Green Submarine - Flannery Brothers
One Love (People Get Ready) - Glee
Say, Say, Oh Playmate - April Smith & The Great Picture
Craigslist - Weird Al Yankovic
Gee Angel - Sugar
The Happy Whistler - Don Robertson
We R Who We R - Ke$ha

Ben's Playlist - Monday, August 8, 2011

What Colour Is Your T Shirt? - Nick Cope
Eat My Breakfast - Sara Hickman
Perform This Way - Weird Al Yankovic
Playtime for the Penguins - Mike Cooke
Cosmology, Your Futon, and You - The Amoeba People
Don't Worry About the Government - Talking Heads
Birdsong - Steve Weeks
A Little Green - Baze And His Silly Friends
Flapjacks - Recess Monkey
Bozmo's Breakfast - The Thinkers
High Five Hive - In The Nick Of Time
Hi 5 Dance - Flannery Brothers

Ben's Playlist - Friday, August 5, 2011

Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
Sweet Harness - Sharks
Virus Alert - Weird Al Yankovic
So So Good - The Good Miss Padgett
One Less Lonely Girl - Justin Bieber
Dance This Mess Around - The B-52s
Worms - Dog On Fleas
Come To California - The Hipwaders
First Love - Adele
Octopus - Artichoke

Florida's Nick Shows Sunny Side of Kid's Music

A Southern Regional Edition of Ralph?

And now the South. Children's music is being made all over the country (and around the globe). Florida-based Nick Deysher (aka In the Nick of Time) is Miami's version of Ralph Covert (Ralph's World). Nick has released his fifth studio CD, MAKING SILLY FACES.

A preschool music specialist and afterschool teacher for 4-7 year-olds, Nick certainly knows his youthful audience. His experience teaching students privately through age 75 gives him additional insight into musical tastes of all ranges. "Making children's music has been a natural thing for me because it's a lot like teaching, and I've been teaching - as a camp counselor, babysitter, music instructor, preschool teacher - since I was a kid myself," Nick says.



MAKING SILLY FACES reaches back to the themes of childhood - playing freely, relaxing, having fun, interacting with friends, and enjoying music. Every now and then, the real world sneaks in. "It's Easy Being Green" evokes recycling and ecology, while playing off the more famous similarly-titled song. And some kid's BS detectors might go off during a song called "I Tried It, I Liked It!"

There is not that much "Florida" or "Southern" specific content. Nick does mention in "Abajo/Arriba" that he has not learned many Spanish words in six years in South Florida. You would think he would try to include a song about maybe the Everglades or another state landmark if he's attempting to "go national."

I'm not saying that Ralph Covert performs in California and New York because "Baseball Dreams" talks about the Chicago Cubs. It's nice (and easy) to learn about a performer through hearing him sing about their unique surroundings. I can hear variations on "You've Got To Have Patience" from any artist. But if I heard a song about alligators in the backyard - then I'd know it was someone from Florida!

Nick (and his wife Tracey) have the best of intentions and AKING SILLY FACES succeeds in celebrating pop music, delivering a fast-moving 13-song set. When my whining and ranting is said and done, location does not really matter. I enjoyed Nick Deysher's pleasant voice on this CD. I would have enjoyed a distinctive voice even more.

UPDATE: After doing due diligence, I discovered that one of Nick's previous albums is entitled COCONUT GROVE. So my question about locality has been rendered moot!

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, August 4, 2011

Daydreams - Adele
When I Get Little - Dog On Fleas
I Want To Push Buttons - Lunch Money
Vacation - The Not-Its!
Your Favorite Book - Recess Monkey
Horse and Buggy - Kindercastle
Gee Angel - Sugar
Marry You - Bruno Mars
Say, Say, Oh Playmate - April Smith & The Great Picture
The Daylight Strong - The Figgs
Enough Is Enough - Lori Henriques

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The City Grew Up Around Her - Caroline Herring
Loser Like Me - Glee
Jen - Stacey Peasley
Burn It To The Ground - Nickelback
I Meant To Do That - Jeremy Plays Guitar
Tommy Got In Trouble - The Bazillions
Linus and Lucy - Asylum Street Spankers
Hometown Glory - Adele
Snack Time - RTTs
Back To Black - Amy Winehouse

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Dream All Day - The Posies
Great To Be A Kid - The Not-Its!
Stronger Than Me - Amy Winehouse
Hi 5 Dance - Flannery Brothers
Someone Like You - Adele
I Want An Alien for Christmas - Fountains of Wayne
Bubble Test - Daniel Hales & the Frost Heaves
Cocoanut Candy - Didi Pop
Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
Super Sonic Rocket Bike - The Bazillions