Deedle Deedle Dees Rocket Through History

History is making a comeback! The hottest ticket on Broadway is Hamilton. Among the hottest online sites is Epic Rap Battles of History. One of the hottest TV shows is Drunk History. And who was cultivating this trend way, way before any of these Johnny Come Latelys? Lloyd Miller and the Deedle Deedle Dees, that's who.

Last year, Lloyd embarked on his "Singalong History" series with GLORY! GLORY! HALLELUJAH!, which centered on the Civil War and that tumultuous period in our country's evolution. This followed the Dees' three CDs that began their travels down the passageways of time. Volume 2, THE ROCKET WENT UP! further advances their brand with a veritable pinball machine's worth of content, from legendary magician Harry Houdini to Typhoid Mary to swimmer Diana Nyad. I guffawed out loud at "I Remember You, Lucy," a song that sounds like a love ballad until you realize it commemorates skeletal remains.

Über-producer Dean Jones helms the disc, guaranteeing further hijinks. Rachel Loshak, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, and others make guest appearances and contributions. Thomas Edison attempts to out-rank Nikola Tesla (Skidoo) on "Tesla V. Edison" (and fails):

Edison: I'm the inventor the whole world will remember.
Tesla: Whatever you say, boss. Here's what's funny – 
You don't have friends but you do have money.
Edison: Yeah? Well at least I'm not a neat freak.
Tesla: Clearly. Did you change your pants this week?
Edison: The world won't even know who you are.
Tesla: I don't know. Have you seen my new car?

Miller and fellow Dees Chris Johnson and Ely Levin have a deft sense of what kind of history kids might enjoy, or ways to engage them through song. "Dissolve" takes on the difficult topic of Nobel Prize winners melting down their medals while the Nazis were on the march. Indeed, there's even a horn section. Another rap tune, "Ada Lovelace," quickly delivers some girl power to the woman who wrote the first computer program. And kids get their say on the quirky "Stephen Hawking, Can You Fact-Check This?"

The CD was a long time in coming (five years) and the band issues a statement of purpose on "This Is For You," delivering a positive affirmation of their goals. This is driven further home in "Super Strong," talking about personal achievements such as public speaking and recovering from surgery. The Dees overriding sentiment is that history does not have to be dull or dry; these were people and times that can come alive in contemporary terms (hence rap). Healthcare workers dealing with Ebola and Zika even get their own anthem, "Every Time I Stand Up (I Feel Like Falling Down)." Shakespeare said, "What's past is prologue," which kinds of indicates that our best days – and the coolest songs about our past – are still ahead. Strange dees, indeed.

THE ROCKET WENT UP! is available from the Deedle Deedle Dees' website, CDBABY, Amazon, and iTunes.

Here is the video for the song, "Houdini":

Vered Targets Newborns (Never Fear, It's All Good)

I don't want to say that Vered Benhorin has never been on our radar. Her first CD for newborns, GOOD MORNING MY LOVE, happened to reach our ears just after our younger son, Matthew, had "aged out" of her listening audience. Her latest CD, HELLO MY BABY, renews her enthusiasm for engaging the parent/new child connection via music therapy.

As Vered explains, "Research in developmental psychology shows that the first two years of life are critical for a baby’s emotional and social development. How ‘in tune’ we are with our babies can predict the child’s ability to regulate emotions, cope with stressors, and create fulfill."

Reading her Baby In Tune website, followers come off as disciples or converts. Vered has developed a methodology and her CDs allow parents-in-training to bring her program into their homes. The concepts are simple – "Grandparents," "Cooking," and "Peekaboo," just to name a few. The title track is NOT to be confused with the famed Michigan J. Frog number. The title track is "Hello," not the Adele song. And you can even enlist Vered (for a fee) to personalize the song for a specific child.

I don't want to suggest that Vered can be bought, literally. But it's important to buy into the concepts that she's expressing. And she's got a whole lot of top-shelf support staff on her side, led by uber-producer Dean Jones. HELLO MY BABY brings together an Okee-Dokee Brother (Justin Lansing) and a Nightlight (Joanie Leeds). Not to give anyone short shrift, Jon Samson and Rachel Loshak's names also jumped out at me.

Vered knows that parents want. In the closer, she sings "All I want is to sleep seven hours." Hey, my younger son just turned FIVE. That's about how many hours a night that I average with my eyes closed (luckily he chose to nap yesterday, so we all collapsed for a wee bit). Singing along with Vered takes on a larger meaning for some parents – these songs are meant to be sung TO children, to inspire them to song along and to sing back. For music-loving adults, there can be no greater joy than those small moments. On those occasions, a dad really does want to say "Hello my baby, you've arrived."

HELLO MY BABY is available from Vered's website, Amazon, iTunes, and CDBABY.

Here is the video for "Something Other Than a Mother":

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, July 17, 2014

Lose My Mind – The Wanted
Anybody Got A Watch? – The Dirty Sock Funtime Band
Kangaroo! – Alex & The Kaleidoscope Band
Blink Of An Eye – Frances England
The Bicycle Song – Eric Herman
Together We Can Fly – Danny Weinkauf
Little Cloud (Featuring Rachel Loshak) – Joanie Leeds And The Nightlights
Snaggletooth – Dean Jones
Sittin On A Cloud – The Whirlygigs

Joanie Leeds Your Kids onto Musical Bandwagon

You can judge an artist by several standards. Does the current work stand by itself? How does it compare to the artist's previous work? Is it "best of breed" against other artists in that genre? Also important – will the kids like it? Then there's the whole issue of whether or not the material is either too cutesy or conversely, too mature for its intended audience.

Have you constructed your checklist? Great! No pressure! Let's go!

This month, NYC chanteuse Joanie Leeds returns with her fifth studio CD, BANDWAGON. We've seen Ms. Leeds perform at a past Kindiefest event. She and her band, the Nightlights (including recent husband Dan Barman, giving hope to drummers everywhere) are a tight, professional ensemble. A lifelong music fan (and musical theatre major at Syracuse University), Joanie strives to please her audiences, young and otherwise.

[CRANKY OLD MAN WARNING] As a children's music reviewer, I flinch at being too critical. Many of these CDs are labors of love or Kickstarter projects with legions of dedicated supporters. In full disclosure, we donated to the production of BANDWAGON. When I hear an earnest tune like "Helmet," about bike safety or "Bed," where Joanie's inner five-year-old begs, "Please don't make me go to bed," I instinctively want to skip to the next track. Until I hear Matt ( 2 1/2) start singing along with the CD. Then I remember, those songs are not meant for me. Duh.

The stuff that's more for parents are tracks like "Little Cloud," featuring (Mrs.) Gustafer Yellowgold Rachel Loshak and especially "Family Tree," a duet with the incomparable Jonatha Brooke. It's a thrill to hear new music from Jonatha, who is working on a new musical. The ladies sing about the nature of families, small and extended:

100 years ago, there lived some people I didn’t know.
They didn’t mean much to me ‘till I found out about my family tree.
Just like a tree, my family has deep roots. And just like a tree, it grew from the trunk.
And just like a tree, it spread out like branches. And just like a tree, it needs love.

Apparently the Senate passed some legislation about children's music because BANDWAGON is another CD produced by Dean Jones, the man who never sleeps. It must now be illegal to hire anyone other than Jones to produce your children's CD. Under his direction, the 15 songs float by from "Are We There Yet" to "Nightlights." I do wish the quirky "UFO" had two lines of resolution. It's a nice concept but came off as an incomplete thought to me. A health-oriented version of Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" (here called "Nutritious") fares much better.

Dean Jones and Justin Lansing from the Grammy-winning Okee-Dokee Brothers appear on the title track, an upbeat countrified number from the south of Brooklyn, I'm presuming. It would be cliché to end by saying, "Just get up get up on it," so I won't. I'll return to the checklist and say that BANDWAGON fits nicely into Joanie's past body of work. It also stands as a pleasant addition to the current crop of summer releases. And best of all, the kids (our kids anyway) like it as much as we do.

BANDWAGON is available from Joanie's website, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is the video for "Nutritious." Throughout the month of June, Joanie will be uploading videos for each of the 15 songs on BANDWAGON to YouTube. Check them out!