The dynamic duo known as Koo Koo Kanga Roo continue to make catchy, amusing pop songs for children. Their latest video rocks and raps to the chorus of "It's too hot" for "Hot Sauce." You can grab a look and listen right here:
Family musician Ashli St. Armant (also known as Jazzy Ash) has released an Audible original in the style of a Nancy Drew book – "Viva Durant and the Secret of the Silver Buttons" is told through the eyes of brave young black girl (enthusiastically narrated by Bahni Turpin). The book is free for Audible members through December 1. You can grab a sample of the book here. Or watch the trailer below:
Showing posts with label Audible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Audible. Show all posts
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
The Pop Ups Rev Take a Jukebox Journey Through Time
My kids are more voracious listeners than voracious readers. Remarkably, they would prefer to hear music than play videogames – which means our Wii system has become horribly antiquated. Regardless, books are still a staple of their education. And audiobooks from musicians are an interesting new twist. The Pop Ups (Jacob Stein and Jason Rabinowitz) are the latest to embark on such an endeavor, with their JUKEBOX JOYRIDE launching on Audible a little while ago.
Unlike their CDs, which can be digested in under an hour, JUKEBOX JOYRIDE will take most of an afternoon, or several weeks if you go chapter-by-chapter at bedtime (like I did with my son). So I apologize for the delay between release of the audiobook and my review.
JUKEBOX JOYRIDE follows 12-year-old twins Jules and George as they travel through time to find their Uncle Bob, a renowned ethnomusicologist (the study of music). An avid concertgoer, Bob used a magic music box to pingpong through his favorite venues (such as New Orleans in the 1920s). But there's a villain, and a chase, and peril, etc. It's a jaunty, well thought-out adventure. If your child enjoys the "Magic Treehouse" series, just envision those books with a hefty musical component, courtesy of the Pop Ups.
In addition to the Pop Ups themselves, voice talent includes Noel MacNeal (Bear in the Big Blue House) and Carly Ciarrocchi (formerly of Sprout TV). It's a heady jaunt, so be prepared to answer many questions about different eras of history and specific genres of music.
JUKEBOX JOYRIDE is available from Audible (an Amazon company).
Here is the "making of" video for the audiobook:
Unlike their CDs, which can be digested in under an hour, JUKEBOX JOYRIDE will take most of an afternoon, or several weeks if you go chapter-by-chapter at bedtime (like I did with my son). So I apologize for the delay between release of the audiobook and my review.
JUKEBOX JOYRIDE follows 12-year-old twins Jules and George as they travel through time to find their Uncle Bob, a renowned ethnomusicologist (the study of music). An avid concertgoer, Bob used a magic music box to pingpong through his favorite venues (such as New Orleans in the 1920s). But there's a villain, and a chase, and peril, etc. It's a jaunty, well thought-out adventure. If your child enjoys the "Magic Treehouse" series, just envision those books with a hefty musical component, courtesy of the Pop Ups.
In addition to the Pop Ups themselves, voice talent includes Noel MacNeal (Bear in the Big Blue House) and Carly Ciarrocchi (formerly of Sprout TV). It's a heady jaunt, so be prepared to answer many questions about different eras of history and specific genres of music.
JUKEBOX JOYRIDE is available from Audible (an Amazon company).
Here is the "making of" video for the audiobook:
Monday, February 04, 2019
Brighter Days on UWS With Gustafer Yellowgold
There's a reason it's called the Gustafer Yellowgold Show. Creator Morgan Taylor leads a quartet of performers accompanied by videos that interact with him. With the lyrics on-screen, audiences can participate by singing any, or all of the songs – provided they're old enough to read.
Morgan brought his troupe back to New York's Symphony Space for the 14th year in a row, making him the titleholder (Tom Chapin used to hold that distinction) for consecutive appearances. An eager crowd seemed familiar with their favorites, and were amused at the newest songs, including "Hot Malt Eagle," from Gustafer's number one Audible.Com kid's audiobook, "I'M FROM THE SUN."
Our history with Gustafer dates back to 2007, when we made a trek to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. The draw was honestly old Pink Panther cartoon as well as the live Gustafer Yellowgold performance, which wound up being a turning point in seeking out live children's music around New York City, such as the Long Island Children's Museum and other venues. While we've returned to the AMMI, they have stuck with mostly recorded programming for kids and sunsetted live music.
Morgan is fiercely protective of his content, and rightly so. When your currency is self-produced videos, the last thing you want to see online are multiple copies of live performances, drawing away from your own material (which includes links to live shows and merchandise). For that reason, you'll need to click through to his YouTube page to see full videos.
The Peter Jay Sharp Theater remains a comfortable, relaxing place for family shows. While you always gamble on crying children and poopy babies, we seem to have hit a good patch at Symphony Space. Upcoming shows include a singalong to the Dick Van Dyke classic film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Saturday, February 10 and 123 Andres on Saturday, February 17.
Morgan brought his troupe back to New York's Symphony Space for the 14th year in a row, making him the titleholder (Tom Chapin used to hold that distinction) for consecutive appearances. An eager crowd seemed familiar with their favorites, and were amused at the newest songs, including "Hot Malt Eagle," from Gustafer's number one Audible.Com kid's audiobook, "I'M FROM THE SUN."
Our history with Gustafer dates back to 2007, when we made a trek to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. The draw was honestly old Pink Panther cartoon as well as the live Gustafer Yellowgold performance, which wound up being a turning point in seeking out live children's music around New York City, such as the Long Island Children's Museum and other venues. While we've returned to the AMMI, they have stuck with mostly recorded programming for kids and sunsetted live music.
Morgan is fiercely protective of his content, and rightly so. When your currency is self-produced videos, the last thing you want to see online are multiple copies of live performances, drawing away from your own material (which includes links to live shows and merchandise). For that reason, you'll need to click through to his YouTube page to see full videos.
The Peter Jay Sharp Theater remains a comfortable, relaxing place for family shows. While you always gamble on crying children and poopy babies, we seem to have hit a good patch at Symphony Space. Upcoming shows include a singalong to the Dick Van Dyke classic film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Saturday, February 10 and 123 Andres on Saturday, February 17.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Gustafer Yellowgold Books a New Trip From the Sun
Is there life elsewhere in the galaxy? From the perspective of somebody under four feet tall, the answer might be "yes, on the sun." That makes complete illogical sense if they are familiar with Gustafer Yellowgold, the creation of New York-based musician/performer/illustrator Morgan Taylor.
Created wayback in 2004 in a fit of whimsy, the little "sunling" fell to Earth and began having adventures (with his pet eel, among others) in a series of enchanting multimedia shows (one of which we witnessed at the Museum of the Moving Image in 2007). What was not to like about fanciful children's music accompanied by lyrics-subtitled videos? Ben (then 6) was singing "I'm From the Sun" pretty much the entire drive home.
From there, Morgan produced a series of CD/DVD releases, a 2017 Grammy-nominated CD (BRIGHTER SIDE), and now an Audible exclusive children's audiobook, an origin tale entitled "I'M FROM THE SUN." The nearly-four-hour story also includes all the songs (13 brand new ones and three reprises, produced by Wilco's Pat Sansone), which serves as a separate entity altogether.
Judging the music by itself, Gustafer Yellowgold has remained a perennial favorite of Ben's (it's perfectly coincidental that Gustafer's older brother is also named Ben). Despite the age gap between Ben and his younger brother, the kids are both looking forward to bonding over Morgan's creation at his February 2 performance at Symphony Space (tickets on sale here). The tunes on I'M FROM THE SUN include the title track as well as the War-soundalike "Low Rider" inspired "Hot Malt Eagle," the trippy "Ellen Lemon," and the anthemic closer "Feel Your Shine."
It took my younger son Matt and I quite a while to wade through I'M FROM THE SUN. Thirteen chapters (at one chapter a night, on average) broken up over several weeks, even at 1.25x speed, took some time. The story is a prequel to the "Gustafer on Earth" material, centering on the Yellowgold family's tenuous finances running a raisin carvery, Gustafer's secret dislike of raisins, and a climactic race as part of the Tiger Face holiday festival. Along the way, Morgan delivers messages about finding your own voice, bullying, and personal responsibility.
To this point in time, Gustafer Yellowgold has been a one-man operation. While that works well in a stage setting, it was initially challenging to separate the distinct voices of the many characters – all voiced by Morgan. But the story is engaging, the puns are tolerable, and we even listened to the final race and aftermath in one setting, at Matt's request. So I'M FROM THE SUN clearly hit its demographic in that regard.
Morgan gives himself at "out," as the audiobook ends with a cliffhanger that will segue into another DVD/CD or a second audiobook. Either way, Gustafer Yellowgold lives to see another day, another incarnation, and to jump on more cakes (it would take too long to explain). The sun has yet to set on the Yellowgold empire and youthful audiences should be prepared for more post-ecliptic epics.
I'M FROM THE SUN is available exclusively from Audible. You can get tickets for The Gustafer Yellowgold Show at Symphony Space on Saturday, February 2 from Symphony Space.
Here is the video for "Hot Malt Eagle" from the new Gustafer Yellowgold audiobook, I'M FROM THE SUN:
Created wayback in 2004 in a fit of whimsy, the little "sunling" fell to Earth and began having adventures (with his pet eel, among others) in a series of enchanting multimedia shows (one of which we witnessed at the Museum of the Moving Image in 2007). What was not to like about fanciful children's music accompanied by lyrics-subtitled videos? Ben (then 6) was singing "I'm From the Sun" pretty much the entire drive home.
From there, Morgan produced a series of CD/DVD releases, a 2017 Grammy-nominated CD (BRIGHTER SIDE), and now an Audible exclusive children's audiobook, an origin tale entitled "I'M FROM THE SUN." The nearly-four-hour story also includes all the songs (13 brand new ones and three reprises, produced by Wilco's Pat Sansone), which serves as a separate entity altogether.Judging the music by itself, Gustafer Yellowgold has remained a perennial favorite of Ben's (it's perfectly coincidental that Gustafer's older brother is also named Ben). Despite the age gap between Ben and his younger brother, the kids are both looking forward to bonding over Morgan's creation at his February 2 performance at Symphony Space (tickets on sale here). The tunes on I'M FROM THE SUN include the title track as well as the War-soundalike "Low Rider" inspired "Hot Malt Eagle," the trippy "Ellen Lemon," and the anthemic closer "Feel Your Shine."
It took my younger son Matt and I quite a while to wade through I'M FROM THE SUN. Thirteen chapters (at one chapter a night, on average) broken up over several weeks, even at 1.25x speed, took some time. The story is a prequel to the "Gustafer on Earth" material, centering on the Yellowgold family's tenuous finances running a raisin carvery, Gustafer's secret dislike of raisins, and a climactic race as part of the Tiger Face holiday festival. Along the way, Morgan delivers messages about finding your own voice, bullying, and personal responsibility.
To this point in time, Gustafer Yellowgold has been a one-man operation. While that works well in a stage setting, it was initially challenging to separate the distinct voices of the many characters – all voiced by Morgan. But the story is engaging, the puns are tolerable, and we even listened to the final race and aftermath in one setting, at Matt's request. So I'M FROM THE SUN clearly hit its demographic in that regard.
Morgan gives himself at "out," as the audiobook ends with a cliffhanger that will segue into another DVD/CD or a second audiobook. Either way, Gustafer Yellowgold lives to see another day, another incarnation, and to jump on more cakes (it would take too long to explain). The sun has yet to set on the Yellowgold empire and youthful audiences should be prepared for more post-ecliptic epics.
I'M FROM THE SUN is available exclusively from Audible. You can get tickets for The Gustafer Yellowgold Show at Symphony Space on Saturday, February 2 from Symphony Space.
Here is the video for "Hot Malt Eagle" from the new Gustafer Yellowgold audiobook, I'M FROM THE SUN:
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