Ben's Playlist - Monday, April 15, 2013

Green Green Rocky Road – Randy Kaplan
Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
Workin' Kid – Milkshake
Buy Nothing Day – The Go! Team
Flat Stanley – Play Date
Go Plane Go – Kira Willey
Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin 
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees
Alligator – Mary Kaye       
How To Eat A Cloud – Ratboy Jr.

Those Pesky Food Allergies! (new podcast)

I ate everything I wanted to until college.

Then, as a result of avoiding dairy for 10 days to stave off excess mucus during a bad cold, I developed a lactose intolerance.

Things steamrolled from there.

And now my kids have food allergies as well.

Nature or nurture or nuts?

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Hooray! I Smell a Ratboy Jr.!

Two guys can make a lot of noise.

I know this first-hand (from being a kid) and (from being an adult) listening to Ratboy Jr.'s new CD, CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE. Tim Sutton and Matty Senzatimore like to get children up and moving. Dancing, shaking, singing, clapping. In other words, participating in the experience. And that can get pretty loud.

But don't think the CD isn't educational. The guys are fully aware of their moral responsibility to youth and provide solid lesson plans, such as "How to Eat a Cloud" and "Pretend Your Hand's a Puppet."

Ratboy Jr. also are not afraid to ask the hard questions. For instance, in the song "Upside Down":

What would happen if the world were upside down?
Would it make my smile look like a frown?
Would the fish fall out of the sea?
Would my pockets always be empty?
What would happen if the world were upside down?

The song mentions how Lionel Richie sang happily about dancing on the ceiling. And we get a chorus of that tune.

Mostly produced by Dean Jones (Dog on Fleas), CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE is 15 tracks of kid-friendly whimsy and byplay. The duo wonder "Where Do Monsters Go (After Halloween)?" and herald the wonders of the "Guitar-Pickin' Chicken." No wonder they've found and kept a satisfied following in the upstate New York's Hudson Valley.

I put a rush on this review because once I opened the CD, Ben had already asked me twice, "Where's Ratboy Jr.?" High praise indeed, that the 12-year-old couldn't wait for an adult to finish with the serious analysis so he could use it for its intended purpose – juvenile entertainment.

CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE is available at the band's website, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is the video for "Guitar-Pickin' Chicken":

Ben's Playlist - Friday, April 12, 2013

Delicious – Orange Sherbert 
Sunny Christmas – Renee & Jeremy
Set Fire To The Rain – Adele 
Swinging on a Star – Zak Morgan
Rocketfuel – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
I Am A Scientist – Mates Of State
Fart Like a Pirate – Papa Crow
Mammal  – They Might Be Giants
Love Factory – Mary Kaye     
We Are All One Kind – Jambo
Birthday – Milkshake

No Language Barrier for Latin Dreamland

There's a fine line I walk with world music. While I don't consider myself innately xenophobic, I do miss many of the intricacies and differences between similar, yet disparate foreign cultures. That can be frustrating and annoying, especially when I scan other reviews by people who marvel at the natural tonality or native charm of these performers.

Having dug myself into a hole, let me state for the record that Putumayo Kids' new CD, LATIN DREAMLAND, is a fine compilation of songs. The company has collected recordings representing artists from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Peru. The 10 tracks range from traditional classics to reinterpretations of famous fables.

Pamela Rodriguez (Peru) sings "Cunita de Hielo (por Triste)," about the children of the South who sleep in cold climates and need their mothers to keep them warm:

Sleep my child, sleep

In your little cradle of forgotten memories

Dream, my child, dream

That an angel is bringing you warmth

Now that's COLD.

Brazilian Reginaldo Frazatto Jr. sings "A Jardineira (A Gardnerer)," a song first recorded in 1938 at a much faster tempo for Carnaval. In the song, a female gardener mourns the loss of one of her flowers. The singer tells her, "Don't by sad, my love, you are much prettier than the flower." Somehow I can just picture a Brazilian saying that, only as a pickup line.

LATIN DREAMLAND clocks in at a swift 28 minutes, which is to be expected from children's lullabies. The production is lively and full (listen to some tracks on headphones) with orchestrations that will go over the heads of most young children. Still, you don't need translations to convey the mode and magic that these performers bring to these songs.

LATIN DREAMLAND is available from the Putumayo website, Amazon, and iTunes.

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, April 11, 2013

Your Sweet Baby Blues – Johnny Angel Wendell
Turning Tables  – Adele
Last First Kiss – One Direction 
Clap Your Hands – The Time Outs
Vote or Don't – They Might Be Giants
Superman – Glee 
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees 
Just Not Me – The Hipwaders
No, No, No – The Little Rockers Band  
Bus Ride – Mary Kaye  
Rainbow –  Milkshake

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Red River Valley –  James McMurtry       
Makin' Wickey-Wackey Down in Waikiki – The Moonlighters
Chickens and Dinosaurs – The Ukulady
Jingle Bells – Renee & Jeremy 
Wimoweh –  Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
In A Timeout Now – Randy Kaplan 
Tell Me A Lie –  One Direction
Rolling Down the Hill   – Mary Kaye    
Busy – The Not-Its  
Worms – Dog On Fleas

Celebrate Earth Day With Magic (Bus)

Earth Day is coming!

Are you prepared? Who really is?

I'll tell you who's prepared – this year, close to one billion people will participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

To get your kids in the right frame of mind for Earth Day, Scholastic is releasing THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS: ALL ABOUT EARTH. The DVD features three all-new, previously unreleased episodes of the long-running Emmy-winning science adventure series, plus a bonus episode, "The Magic School Bus All Dried Up."


Episodes include "The Magic School Bus Goes to Seed," where the class' garden is going to be featured on the cover of Plant It! Magazine, but Phoebe's garden plot is glaringly empty; "The Magic School Bus Blows its Top," which explains volcanoes and shows Ms. Frizzles class how the earth makes islands, and "The Magic School Bus Goes on Air," about the mysteries and miracles of air pressure.

For more information on this title or any other Scholastic Storybook Treasures release, visit Newkideo.

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele 
Chasing Pavements – Glee
I'm Dreaming – Randy Newman 
Little Things – One Direction
Free To Be You And Me – Vanessa Trien & The Jumping Monkeys
I Love Music (feat. Wordsmith) – Rhymezwell  
Bag of Dreams – Steven Courtney
Come To California – The Hipwaders
Pizza pie – Nick Cope

Cena Victorious at WrestleMania 29, Now We All Suffer

Another WrestleMania is in the books.

The Undertaker chalked up another victory (that's 21-0 if you're still counting).

HHH broke his two-year losing streak. After staying behind the scenes since last August, he returned to sabotage next year's main event (but I'll get to that later).

Meanwhile, Antonio Cesaro, one of the WWE's standout performers, could not even get a spot on the pre-show.

But one thing remained constant. Since 2005, the face of the company (John Cena) was in a dominant position on the card. In fact, when the show signed off, The Rock had seemingly endorsed Cena, the man who had defeated him in the main event.

WWE was happy. Women and children were happy. Pay per view distributors were happy. Local merchants were happy. Independent wrestling promoters and wrestlers who booked and grappled on "tagalong" events in the vicinity of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey were happy.

There was just one thing wrong with this rosy picture. John Cena has not one new damn opponent under the sun to wrestle. Brock Lesnar? Beat him last year. Randy Orton (soon to turn heel)? Spent a whole year fighting him. Big Show? Their matches go back to the curtain jerker at WrestleMania 20. HHH? Beat him in the main event of WM22. Wade Barrett? They did that as part of the Nexus feud. Sheamus? Been there, done that. The Miz? Spent six months ruining him. CM Punk? Done as the setup for Mania this year, as well as the latter half of 2011. Etc., etc.

Unless Mark Henry's victory over Ryback was the setup for challenging Cena, there are precious few "new" options for the WWE's golden boy. And that's a problem for all of us, as well as for them (Cena already faced Ryback in a three-way with Punk last winter).

Rock vs Cena was touted last year as "Once in a Lifetime" and made so much money that the WWE felt they had to redo the match in 2013, this time with a title at stake. But it exposed an underlining weakness in the promotion's booking…the ability to get behind a performer – any performer who is not Cena – and stick the proverbial "rocket up their keister."

The WWE is attempting to turn Alberto Del Rio into a new Latino babyface superstar. Unfortunately, the same booking over the past 18 months made Del Rio virtually worthless to Latin audiences. But they are pulling out all the stops and feeding him second-tier opponents like Jack Swagger.

But where were the other babyfaces positioned on the WM29 card? The Miz (who got a main event victory over Cena courtesy of the Rock two years ago) was relegated to the pre-show. Sheamus and Randy Orton were gone after the opening match, beaten by the Shield and then laid out by KO punches from the Big Show. Ryback (perhaps leading to a heel turn) put over the aging powerlifter, Mark Henry. Vince does love those big men. Discounting senior citizens HHH and the Undertaker, that left Cena as the primary babyface victor to the general public.

Last year, HHH pushed the bookers to give his pet project (Sheamus) a rocket push with an 18-second victory over Daniel Bryan for the World title. Bryan was talented enough to stretch the feud for another two months. But Sheamus (the same age as Cena) never cracked that glass ceiling and plunged back into the opening match on this year's card.

Orton has been "there and back" for 10 years. Two drug failures have put him in an interesting position. The company had Randy as their "1A" babyface behind Cena. But Orton never clicked to the general public as well as Cena nor grabbed as many media appearances. And one more drug failure is a mandatory one-year suspension. So Orton has shot himself in the foot in that respect.

The WWE suffered through a "lost generation" of babyfaces a few years ago, due to the departures of Ken Kennedy (nee Anderson), MVP, and Bobby Lashley. The latter sought to pursue his MMA dreams and the first pair were plagued by injuries and fights with the creative team. Anderson went to TNA and has added nothing. MVP chose a different path and traveled the world, but could he be a difference-maker? He wasn't in three-plus years of tenure prior to exiting.

Every time I hear about "long-term" plans for a superstar, I know not to hold my breath. Where's that Dolph Ziggler title run? Whatever happened to John Morrison? Kofi Kingston was two blown moves away from main eventing PPVs.

Now there are rumors that the two top matches at WM30 – in 2014 – will be The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker vs. John Cena. Splendid. Wonderful. Let's keep those four guys far, far away from the title matches and attempt to build up guys who can main event in 2015 and 2016 and beyond.

WWE needs to choose three or four guys. I'd say Ziggler, Barrett, Bryan, and Cesaro. And consistently book them over everybody else. Because after 2014, the Rock is gone. Cena will have headlined on top far longer than Hulk Hogan's reign. Undertaker may finally have hung it up. Steve Austin will be 50. The one-shot novelties and hot-shot angles may not cut it anymore. The promotion may have to back up their biggest show of the year with actual wrestling talent and a good storyline.

Are they up for the challenge? I'd like to think so. But it's going to take some courageous booking and turning a blind eye to ratings some weeks. When all is said and done, it would be great if CM Punk could fulfill his "last wish in wrestling" and headline WM31 against a super babyface who is NOT John Cena. The WWE just has to get their act together and begin building that babyface tonight on RAW.

Play Ball! (new podcast)

It seems hard to believe that I first played rotisserie baseball in 1988.

It seems harder to believe that I played rotisserie baseball for the next 20+ years.

It seems hardest to believe that the past two years, when I've tried to RETURN to rotisserie baseball, I've been thwarted.

That story and more is herein.

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Wrong Turn Down This Avenue, KIds

Putting words to music, that's what it's all about.

When the music is 100 years old, or even more, that's another story. Or is it?

We've been fans of the Beethoven's Wig series for years. The songs introduce children to the composers and get across their styles and why "classica music is kinda important."

The question remains, is there enough room in the genre for a second (or third) version of that product? Short answer, not for us.

From the first song on WHATEVER I WANT TO BE, the new CD from Young Avenue Kids (YAK), we were non-plussed. The wife commented, "This is on Beethoven's Wig." Well, of course. It's a classical tune. But aren't there OTHER classical tunes that could have been chosen? Or are the YAK brain trust (Ilana Melmed and Stephan Cohn) blissfully unaware that someone before them did this same thing?

The gimmick here is slightly different – there are children singing along the lyrics. But in some cases, those lyrics are merely words that rhyme that in no way these kids would have thought of. For instance, this couplet from "William Tell Is So Sweet":

Let's shake our bodies head to toe
Remember Barry Manilow?

Doubtful any of the kids singing the song had a concept of who Manilow was until they Googled him. If you're pitching this as a CD by kids for kids, that's just sloppy songwriting. Even Matt (who is 2), asked us to turn off the CD after five tracks.

If you want to judge for yourself, you can find Young Avenue Kids on their Website. The CD will also be available on Amazon in May.

Ben's Playlist - Monday, April 8, 2013

Turning Tables  – Adele 
Little Little Baby  – The Harmonica Pocket
Millions of Things  – Like Totally!
What'd I Say  – Ray Charles
Let's Be Friends  –  Jambo  
Let 'em Know  – Milkshake 
Sacagawea  – The Deedle Deedle Dees
Explore, Learn, and Protect  –  Jeff Wolin 
Miss Elephant's Gerald  – The Pop Ups

Ben's Playlist - Friday, April 5, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele 
Days That End In "Y" – Kepi Ghoulie  
Heroes – Glee  
Love Song – Sara Bareilles
Kindhearted Babysitter Blues – Randy Kaplan
Electricity Man – Karlee Dean and Bill Goffrier
Tip Toe Thru the Tulips – Milkshake  
Cake in a Cup – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries        
Robots On the Dance Floor – Rhymezwell        
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants 

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, April 4, 2013

no matter how far  – Justin Roberts
Turning Tables  – Adele
What'd I Say  – Ray Charles
Monkey Love (Featuring Caspar Babypants)  – The Harmonica Pocket
Beach Party At High Altitude  – Jeff Wolin
Washing Machine  – Milkshake
Everything Has Changed  – Taylor Swift Feat. Ed Sheeran      
Frog  – Artichoke   
Mammal  – They Might Be Giants

Today, Mary Kaye Stays Cool as a Cat

This week, I shall be reviewing Mary Kaye.

No, I'm not talking (or linking) to the cosmetics company. I'm talking about Maine-based childrens recording artist Mary Kaye. She recently released her fifth CD of original tunes, TODAY I WAS A CAT. All artwork is by noted illustrator John Klossner, who does the comics for Computerworld (a publication I'm familiar with through my day job in software).

A longtime educator and performer for young audiences, Mary Kaye writes from a child's perspective on many of her tunes. For instance, on the title track:

Today I was a cat.
In a tiny spot I sat.
Where the sun shines through the window and it warmed me.
I curled up in a ball.
I didn't do anything at all.
The house made quiet sounds in harmony.

"Love Factory" and "Underwater Wade Parade" typify the album's gentle, somewhat silly theme. In the latter, Mary Kaye envisions a selection of aquatic antics as she sticks her head in the sea. Will it get water-resistant kids to dunk their heads? Who knows, but it's worth a try.

Mary Kaye straddles the niche between folk and alt-rock. I looked for a musical comparison for the occasions when Mary Kaye rocks out. In what may seem like a stretch, I thought about Patti Smith during "Rolling Down the Hill." And believe me, I can't even picture Patti singing the song. Matt (who is 2) enjoyed singing along with "Alligator," with its chorus of "Uh-oh Oooh."

Mary Kaye is definitely not the cosmetic company. And her music goes deeper than a powdery or latex layer on your skin. Her songs get into your head, which improves your aesthetic. That trumps cosmetic any day.

TODAY I WAS A CAT is available at Mary Kaye's website, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele 
Can't Keep Johnny Down – They Might Be Giants
Your Sweet Baby Blues – Johnny Angel Wendell       
a wild one – Justin Roberts
Delicious – Orange Sherbert 
The Christmas Song – The Raveonettes
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
First Day of School  – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries  
Busy – The Not-Its 
El Jefe – Mexican Institute of Sound 

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Lullaby Arms – Johnny Angel Wendell   
Over Again – One Direction
Let's Go  – Matt & Kim 
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants 
We Just Wanna Have Fun – Milkshake  
Lose My Mind – The Wanted
Kidquake! – The Not-Its 
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees
Begin Again – Taylor Swift     
Ice Cream Soup – Jambo

In Sickness and In Health (new podcast)

I had a rough couple of days this week, healthwise.

It made me think (of course) about the various times that an illness has been passed between myself and my wife, then between our older son and us, and more recently our younger son and the three of us.

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Ben's Playlist - Monday, April 1, 2013

Turning Tables – Adele 
What Will You Ever See? – Lunch Money
Are You a Mirror (...Or a Window?) – Quiet Company
Good Time – Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen 
Ho Hey – The Lumineers  
You Gotta Hold It – The Hipwaders
Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin
Mammal – They Might Be Giants 
OK By Me – Johnny Angel Wendell      
I Almost Do – Taylor Swift      
I'm Your Boyfriend Now – They Might Be Giants

Johnny Now Singing With the Angels

Talk about nine lives.

Johnny Angel Wendell started playing garage pop in the 1970s with his band, The Thrills.

Apparently, while I was attending Queens College in the 1980s and DJing at WQMC Radio, his band the Blackjacks had an indie hit, "That's Why I Always Dress in Black."

Wendell moved on to other pursuits (writing a column, hosting a talk show, acting work). After a 15-year recording hiatus, he has released a new CD, IT! The sound is still "in the garage," somewhat reminiscent of Little Village.

The disc hit my desk primarily due to two songs featuring his kids. "OK By Me" is a midtempo rocker with a chorus of "I love you more than you'll ever know" and the children responding, "It's OK by me." The following track, "Lullaby Arms," is a sentimental ballad abut having your children grow up too soon. With my older son just turning 12 (and gaining 16 pounds in one year) and the younger one now 2 1/4 and becoming more independent by the day, it's a somber lesson.

I don't mean to downplay the rest of the CD. You can go to Johnny's BandCamp page, hear samples, and judge for yourself. It's got a bluesy feel and Johnny clearly wants to harken back to his garage days.

You can get IT! from his Web page or through Facebook.

Ben's Playlist - Friday, March 29, 2013

Summer Love –  One Direction
Public Skool –   The Travoltas
Worms –  Dog On Fleas
Come To California –  The Hipwaders 
Ride In My Little Red Wagon –  Willie & The Wheel 
Shakin' Shakin' –  The Little Rockers Band 
Carry On  –   fun.
I Think I Can  –   Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries   
Go Plane Go –   Kira Willey    

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, March 28, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
Swinging on a Star – Zak Morgan
Up All Night  – One Direction
Millions of Things  – Like Totally!  
I Love Music (feat. Wordsmith) – Rhymezwell       
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights 
Thank You and Goodnight  – Uncle Rock
Full Tilt – The Not-Its
Blue Underwear   – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries
Superman – Glee   

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Winter Wonderland – Renee & J eremy
Crazy crazy dinner lady – Nick Cope
Turning Tables – Adele
You're On Fire – They Might Be Giants 
Participation Trophy – The Not-Its
Hide & Seek – Princess Katie & Racer Steve
Mammal – They Might Be Giants 
Rocketfuel – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo 
Blue Underwear – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries     
They're Red Hot – Randy Kaplan  

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Bunny in the Moon – DidiPop
Last First Kiss – One Direction
National Fossil Day – Jeff Wolin
Bag of Dreams – Steven Courtney 
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants
Grumpy Boy – Steve Songs 
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees 
I Knew You Were Trouble – Taylor Swift
Candy Shop – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries  
El Jefe – Mexican Institute of Sound

Toilets in Training (new podcast)

Name one experience that we all share but don't remember.

Or don't choose to remember.

But we relive it through our children to great triumph.

Yes, it's time for toilet training. Not for me, for my son!

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Ben's Playlist - Monday, March 25, 2013

Balloon Fest – Ozomatli
Whole lotta fun – Nick Cope
Electric Fever – Free Energy
Birthday – Milkshake  
Anything Could Happen – Ellie Goulding
Change of Heart – Steve Weeks 
Worms – Dog On Fleas
Mammal – They Might Be Giants   
Cool Watermelon – Ethan Rossiter And The Jamberries    
Red – Taylor Swift 
Chloe – Grouplove

Rossiter Ripe With Music Lessons

You've heard the old saying, "Those who can't, teach."

Of course that's completely backwards. Those who can, teach.

For Ethan Rossiter, teaching was a no-brainer. Just ask any of the students in his eighth grade class in Massachusetts.

But the performing bug kept gnawing at Rossiter, who finally succumbed and recorded an album of original tunes (for adults) as Ethan Rosster and the Hartwells. Not satisfied to relax on his laurels, he next turned his attention to childrens music.

His newest venture, Ethan Rossiter and the Jamberries, is so farm-fresh that its only web presence is on Facebook. The group's sound on MAGIC WATERMELON skews a bit southern, with an emphasis on acoustic guitar with a bit of harmonica here and there (check out "Cake in a Cup").

As you might expect from an English teacher, there are plenty of literary references, from "Miss Mary Mack" to "Mr. Brown" (based on the Dr. Seuss tale, "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You"). Matthew (2 years old) immediately began following along with the animal sound commands. You also get "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," the second time in two months the song has been covered (although Miss Nina turned it into a rap).

Rossiter's lyrics take some unexpected turns. On "Blue Underwear," a boy's briefs get accidentally flushed down the toilet.

Now I could call the plumber to look inside the pipes.
Or the electrician – wait a minute, he deals with lights.
Call the contractor or the subcontractor, too.
But I'm not sure exactly what they do.

I'll get on my bike and start cruising downtown.
There's a police officer. I'll ask him if he's seen them around.
Mr. Officer, have you seen my blue underwear?
The fancy ones with the monkeys dancing everywhere?

The title is a little misleading, as the song on the CD is "Cool Watermelon" and not "Magic Watermelon." But hey, what's a little bit of misdirection? By the eighth grade, most kids learn that not everything is black and white. And Rossiter and company seem mostly interested in holding the attention of a younger set of listeners (K through 5th grade). By not spreading the sugary stuff on too thick, the Jamberries hit their target.

MAGIC WATERMELON is available through the band's Facebook page, CDBABY, Amazon, and iTunes.

Ben's Playlist - Friday, March 22, 2013

Don't Dream It's Over  – Glee
Let 'em Know  – Milkshake 
I Am A Scientist  – Mates Of State
Ho Hey  – The Lumineers 
Vote or Don't  – They Might Be Giants
Sacagawea  – The Deedle Deedle Dees
Mammal  – They Might Be Giants
Holidays   – Princess Katie & Racer Steve
State Of GracevTaylor Swift   
Superhero You  – Steve Songs
I Would   – One Direction

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, March 21, 2013

Jingle Bells – Renee & Jeremy
Why is the sky blue? – Nick Cope 
Turning Tables – Adele
Walk or Ride – The Not-Its
Twirl! Twirl! Twirl! – Mr. Leebot  
Groovy Day – Jambo 
Brilliance – The Underbirds  
The Plumbing Song – Weird Al Yankovic  
Catch My Breathv Kelly Clarkson
Wimoweh  – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights 

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Little Little Baby – The Harmonica Pocket 
My Old Pajamas – DidiPop
Sunny Christmas – Renee & Jeremy
The Scientist  – Glee 
Chasing Pavements – Glee
Try it – Milkshake
Worms – Dog On Fleas
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants
Stand Up – Kira Willey    
Talkin' Bout Love – The Little Rockers Band      
This Is the New Year – Ian Axel

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Exactly Where I Want To Be – Grenadilla
Ayo – Play Date
Turning Tables – Adele
Makin' Wickey-Wackey Down in Waikiki – The Moonlighters
Just Be – Walt Wilkins
Squeeze Please – Yello
Buy Nothing Day – The Go! Team    
No, No, No – The Little Rockers Band      
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights 

That Old Time Religion (new podcast)

I grew up in the Jewish faith and have belonged to a number of temples.

I tried to record a podcast relaying some experiences without denigrating religion.

Shock: It didn't happen that way.

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Ben's Playlist - Monday, March 18, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
Change of Heart  – Steve Weeks      
I'm Dreaming – Randy Newman
Here Comes Peter Cottontail – The Hipwaders
They're Red Hot – Randy Kaplan
Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin
Heroes – Glee 
Shake It Off!  – Uncle Rock
Shakin' Shakin' – The Little Rockers Band     
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants
More Than Me – Milkshake

A Little Rock is the Way to Roll

Teaching music and learning music are two different things.

I had a slew of music teachers, both in school and at various summer programs.

However I was from the pre-"Music Together" era. if my mother did take me (and my younger siblings) to any of these programs, I have grown too decrepit to remember the experience. Side note: If you go to their Web site, Music Together is celebrating 25 years. I am almost twice that age.

Anyhoo, Chris and Jessie Apple met while teaching preschool music classes in New Jersey. They married and formed the Little Rockers Band as a way to further promote music education outside the traditional classroom setting.

The group just released its second CD, PLAYING IN THE BAND (which comes with cool Colorforms versions of the band that can be adhesed to the stage on the inner CD jacket.

Little Rockers have noble intentions and easy to digest lyrics, such as "Blame It On My Sister":

Some times I get in trouble and my mom gets really mad.
But I just can't help myself, I don't think that I'm being bad.
That's why I blame it on my sister.
Won't hear my parents yell.
She's just a little baby
And I know that she would never tell.

Matt (who's two) immediately took to "Shakin' Shakin'," although the wife and I both noticed the AC/DC guitar chord progression from "You Shook Me All Night Long." An homage, perhaps? The band has posted a video for the song, which was shot at the Jersey Shore, later ravaged by Hurricane Sandy.


The Little Rockers sing about how love is the greatest thing in "Talkin' Bout Love." A close second would be love of music and how it binds a family and a community. If you get a chance, help share a little love. That's today's music lesson from the Internet.

PLAYING IN THE BAND is available from the band's Web site, CDBABY, Amazon, and iTunes.

Ben's Playlist - Friday, March 15, 2013

Delicious – Orange Sherbert
The Scientist – Glee
Turning Tables – Adele
Are You a Mirror (...Or a Window?) – Quiet Company
I Wanna Party – Hot Wings
Chickens and Dinosaurs – The Ukulady
Hot Shot – Princess Katie & Racer Steve
Full Tilt – The Not-Its
Clap Your Hands – The Time Outs
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
Workin' Kid – Milkshake

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, March 14, 2013

At The Zoo – Simon & Garfunkel
I Just Had an Idea – Elska
Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
Don't Dream It's Over – Glee
What'd I Say – Ray Charles
Kiss You – One Direction 
I Am A Scientist – Mates Of State
National Fossil Day – Jeff Wolin 
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants  
The Family Song – Preschool Of Rock

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Winter Wonderland – Renee & Jeremy
My Old Pajamas – DidiPop   
Sunshine – Vered
count them as they go  – Justin Roberts 
Water – Ozomatli 
Anything Could Happen – Ellie Goulding   
Superman – Glee   
Mammal – They Might Be Giants
Worms – Dog On Fleas   
Love Song – Sara Bareilles

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Turning Tables  – Adele
Good Dreams Come True  – DidiPop      
Are You a Mirror (...Or a Window?)  – Quiet Company
Let 'em Know  – Milkshake 
Pizza pie  – Nick Cope
Let's Go  – Matt & Kim
Just Not Me  – The Hipwaders 
Celebration  – They Might Be Giants
Chloe  – Grouplove

My First Car (new podcast)

My first car was a piece of junk.

No, my parents didn't buy me a jalopy.

In fact, it was my father's car (and our family's secondary vehicle) until he turned over the keys when I went to college.

So why was it a piece of junk? Believe me, it didn't happen overnight.

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Ben's Playlist - Monday, March 11, 2013

a wild one – Justin Roberts
Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
Bunny in the Moon – DidiPop     
Ride In My Little Red Wagon – Willie & The Wheel
Come To California – The Hipwaders  
Electricity Man – Karlee Dean and Bill Goffrier
Groovy Day – Jambo  
They're Red Hot – Randy Kaplan 
Junior Ranger – Kirshel Augustine
Fart Like a Pirate – Papa Crow  

Ben's Playlist - Friday, March 8, 2013

What Will You Ever See? – Lunch Money
Counting Backwards – Throwing Muses
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees
Tell Me A Lie – One Direction  
Walk or Ride – The Not-Its 
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Polka – Trout Fishing In America 
We Just Wanna Have Fun – Milkshake 
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants 
Thank You and Goodnight – Uncle Rock 
Here Comes Peter Cottontail – The Hipwaders
Flat Stanley – Play Date 
Crazy crazy dinner lady – Nick Cope 

DidiPop Says Goonight, Bunny in the Moon

There's got to be something in the water.

First Justin Roberts records a CD of lullabies. Then Caspar Babypants announces that his next recording will be lullabies. And now, DidiPop (Deborah Poppink) has released BUNNY IN THE MOON, her collection of original childrens night-time songs.

Scratch that, there's probably nothing in the water. But there's got to be something in the warm milk.

Los Angeles-based musician/music instructor Deborah Poppink headed into childrens' music after the birth of her two daughters (both of whom appear on this CD). The motivation for the recording came from her family's evening routine, which involves letting the kids naturally "wind down" until they are relaxed enough to go to bed, if not immediately to sleep.

BUNNY's Act One moves children through the bedtime routines – "Bathtime," "My Old Pajamas," "Brush Brush," "I Love You Mommy," and the response, "Good Night My Love."

Act Two gently lifts listeners into bed, for a series of acoustic and classically-twinged tunes with influences of Bach, Chopin, and Mozart. The title track assures youngsters that their parents are always with them, even when they can't see them. For instance, in the moon or the sky:

Honey I'm the twinkle in the stars
When you're lonely, and want to hold me.
Just make a little wish and I'll be right where you are.
Honey, I'm the twinkle in the stars.

BUNNY IN THE MOON is the perfect antidote to every post-dinner period when adults are two steps ahead of children (i.e., nearly asleep) and need to flip the script. The innocent question, "Want to hear some music?" now has a delightfully narcoleptic solution. And you never thought that was possible, did you?

BUNNY IN THE MOON is available from DidiPop's website, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is the video for her song, "The Cool Alphabet Song":

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, March 7, 2013

Makin' Wickey-Wackey Down in Waikiki  – The Moonlighters
no matter how far  – Justin Roberts 
Turning Tables  – Adele 
Delicious  – Orange Sherbert
Electric Fever  – Free Energy 
Little Things  – One Direction
Participation Trophy  – The Not-Its 
Vote or Don't  – They Might Be Giants
Heroes  – Glee 
Wimoweh  – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights 
Try it  – Milkshake

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Jingle Bells – Renee & Jeremy 
A Road Song  – Fountains Of Wayne
Why is the sky blue? – Nick Cope
Kindhearted Babysitter Blues – Randy Kaplan
Mammal – They Might Be Giants
Busy – The Not-Its 
A Little Breath In – Preschool Of Rock
We Are All One Kind – Jambo 
El Jefe – Mexican Institute of Sound  
Summer Love – One Direction 

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
I Just Had an Idea  – Elska
Swinging on a Star – Zak Morgan
Ride In My Little Red Wagon  – Willie & The Wheel 
Let's Be Friends – Jambo   
Whole lotta fun – Nick Cope 
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants
Over Again – One Direction
You Gotta Hold It  – The Hipwaders      
Brilliance – The Underbirds       
Hide & Seek – Princess Katie & Racer Steve

Ben's Playlist - Monday, March 4, 2013

Turning Tables – Adele
How Can I Sing Like A Girl? – They Might Be Giants
On the Greener Side –  Michelle Shocked
In A Timeout Now – Randy Kaplan 
Kidquake! – The Not-Its
Rainbow  –  Milkshake
Spicy Kid  –  Lunch Money
Celebration – They Might Be Giants 
Gaia She Knows – The Hipwaders   
Public Skool – The Travoltas

Thanks for Nothing! (new podcast)

Sometimes you can't get credit for doing something.

Other times, people want credit for doing nothing.

Or they want credit for suggesting that you NOT do something, when it's something you were PLANNING on not doing.

Got it straight?

No? Then listen up.

Plus the return of old Cohen/Aubrey comedy bits with JOIN THE MARINES.

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Hipwaders See No Need to Hold It

The Hipwaders know it's not nice to be a tease.

Keeping that in mind, they have been (slowly) releasing tracks from their upcoming CD (whatever it's called) on a series of CD singles.

The latest pair arrived this week and they're at turns insightful and delightful. The first, GAIA SHE KNOWS and HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL, exhibits two sides of a coin. According to band founder, songwriter Tito Uquillas, a six-year-old girl named Gaia approached me after a show and wanted to know if the band had recorded any songs about saving the Earth and/or not using pesticides. "Apparently, she had just attended a school assembly for Earth Day and was interested in the topic," Tito said. "The idea of a young girl named Gaia, which means Earth Goddess wanting to save the planet was too good of an idea to pass up."

The resulting song has a soft, southern rock influence (is that a steel pedal guitar or slide guitar I hear?) instead of what could have been expected from a San Francisco-based troupe. There's also a self-explanatory extended version.

The "B" side is a faithful recording of PETER COTTONTAIL, one of the most popular Easter tunes for more than 50 years. Wikipedia reports that songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins asked Gene Autry to record the song after the success of Autry's Christmas music. The tune peaked at number five on the pop charts in 1950. The Hipwaders play it straight and there's nothing wrong with a new version of any holiday song that can be played outside of December.

The second disc features two more originals,YOU GOTTA HOLD IT and JUST NOT ME. These are behavioral songs, instructing kids on what is going to be expected of them in the real world. YOU GOTTA HOLD IT talks about bathroom etiquette. Simply put, if you're on a long road trip or somewhere with unsanitary conditions, listen to what the man is singing:

Thoughts of school bring distrust,
Bathroom stalls you dare not touch.
One kid in was never seen again, 
Word to the wise, you better listen my friend,
You gotta hold it.

JUST NOT ME serves as a warning to parents that you can only push a kid so far. The protagonist can be dressed and fed and dragged anywhere, but don't expect him to be happy about it. In fact, as the song states, "I won't go kissing aunts or grandmas, that's just how it is."

I have yet to hear a Hipwaders song that I didn't either approve of the message or didn't immediately feel like singing along with. During the almost-two-year gap since their last CD, THE GOLDEN STATE, many bands have tried to fill that niche of upbeat power pop. Luckily, the Hipwaders are back to show them how it's done, even if it's only a few songs at a time.

The Hipwaders new CD singles are available at their Website, Amazon, iTunes, and CDBABY.

Ben's Playlist - Friday, March 1, 2013

The Christmas Song – The Raveonettes
Little Little Baby – The Harmonica Pocket 
Green Green Rocky Road – Randy Kaplan  
One of a Kind – Milkshake
Shake It Off!  – Uncle Rock  
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees
Just Be – Walt Wilkins
Vote or Don't – They Might Be Giants
Full Tilt – The Not-Its
Holidays – Princess Katie & Racer Steve
Crazy crazy dinner lady – Nick Cope 
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, February 28, 2013

a wild one – Justin Roberts
Turning Tables  – Adele
I'm Your Boyfriend Now – They Might Be Giants
Mr. Blue Sky – Billy Kelly & The Blah Blah Blahs 
Balloon Fes – Ozomatli
Carry On  – fun. 
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights 
Charligan – All
Last First Kiss – One Direction
The Family Song – Preschool Of Rock 

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Sunny Christmas – Renee & Jeremy
Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin
Did You Feed My Cow? – Ella Jenkins 
Ice Cream Soup – Jambo   
Bag of Dreams – Steven Courtney 
Up All Night – One Direction  
Born To Roll – Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis      
Sunshine – Vered 
Mammal – They Might Be Giants
Worms – Dog On Fleas  

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, February 26, 2013

I Wanna Party – Hot Wings 
Turning Tables – Adele
Beach Party At High Altitude – Jeff Wolin
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights 
Groovy Day – Jambo
Kiss You – One Direction
Walk or Ride – The Not-Its
Pizza pie – Nick Cope 
Squeeze Please – Yello     
You're On Fire – They Might Be Giants   
Free To Be You And Me – Vanessa Trien & The Jumping Monkeys

Ben's Playlist - Monday, February 25, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
If You Want a Mustache  –  Space Balloons
Participation Trophy – The Not-Its
It's Not Fair to Me – Bill Harley And Keith Munslow
Twirl! Twirl! Twirl! –  Mr. Leebot
Can't Keep Johnny Down – They Might Be Giants 
I'm Dreaming – Randy Newman 
Butterfly –  The Nields
Birthday – Milkshake  
Ho Hey – The Lumineers   
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees

Nice Haircut (new podcast)

How many haircuts in a lifetime?

How many haircuts while you still have hair?

Why does it take longer to get a haircut, the less hair you have on your head?

These questions (two out of three, anyway) are asked this week.

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New Swagger In WWE Title Picture

Maybe the pot affected his common sense.

Who knows.

But WWE performer Jack Swagger picked a heck of a time to be speeding...while in possession of marijuana.

On its most recent PPV, Swagger bested five other competitors in the "Elimination Chamber" to win a WrestleMania 29 championship match against World heavyweight titleholder Alberto Del Rio.

Jack Swagger and manager Zeb Colter.

The next night on RAW, Swagger and manager Zeb Colter (Dutch Mantel) issued another anti-immigration rant, meant to aggravate Del Rio and build heat for their face-off.

On Tuesday night, following the taping for Smackdown (which airs on Fridays on SyFy), Swagger got in his car and headed off – very fast and apparently very high. Cops pulled him over and charged him with speeding, possession, and DUI.

WWE could have immediately written him out of their plans for WrestleMania, as they had two days to rework Smackdown before it aired. They did not.

Swagger is not out of the woods, however. WWE has in the past used a possession charge to strip a titleholder of his belt (Rob Van Dam). On the other hand, Randy Orton allegedly smoked dope in the building where WWE was taping shows and was never penalized. And WWE Dvia Cameron was arrested for DUI last year and attempted to bribe the police officer. She, too, is still on the active roster.

Swagger should be punished by WWE for his actions. Perhaps he's blown his chances at winning the title any time in the near future. However he is certainly hotter (media-wise) then at any time in his career. And on Monday night, it will be interesting to see how the live crowd reacts to him, knowing his current situation.

If WWE wants to capitalize on the arrest and turn it into some kind of positive, I would propose the following scenario.

Swagger and Colter come to the ring. Swagger wears a suit. He takes the mike and says something like this:

First of all, I want to apologize for my actions last week.

By driving while impaired, I could have seriously injured other motorists or pedestrians.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me just say... It wasn't my fault.

I love professional wrestling.

I have always loved professional wrestling.

But it's hard.

Hard to learn, hard to compete, hard to become the best.

It's mentally hard and physically hard.

To become the best, you have to put wrestling first. So mentally, you turn off your life. And you turn off any physical pain.

Last year, I suffered a back injury. But I wanted to prove that I was the best, so I turned off the pain until I couldn't turn it off any longer.

During my time off, I found ways to treat the pain in my back. And I put my life back together.

When I was ready to reclaim my spot, I returned to the WWE and entered the Elimination Chamber and won. It was one of the greatest nights of my life.

Did I have any pain in my back? Sure. But I could turn it off.

A few nights later, while I was waiting backstage, a package was delivered to me. There was no return address, so I should have just thrown it away. But I didn't.

Inside was a note saying, "This will help your back pain."

The note was taped to a plastic envelope containing medical marijuana.

I'm not ashamed to say that I have used medical marijuana in the past. Like I said, I suffered from a legitimate back injury and I had a legal prescription.

However, I had no prescription for this medical marijuana and I was in a state where medical marijuana is not legal.

Long story short, you all know what happened.

Whoever sent me that package set me up. Somebody backstage in that arena waited until I had that package in my hands. Then they watched me leave the building and they waited and they called the cops. 

Like I said, it wasn't my fault.

As Zeb Colter says, there are people in this country who don't belong here. And there are people here in the WWE who don't like what he says. They don't like the truth. They want him gone, and they want ME gone.

Well, all they're going to get is the apology you people just heard. 

Alberto Del Rio...I have people investigating that package. And if I find out that you sent it, or that you know who sent it, there will be repercussions.

Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez

I don't mean just beating you at WrestleMania and taking your title.

I mean taking your passport, and your livelihood, and sending you back where you belong. Out of the WWE, out of this sport, out of this business, out of this country.

At this point, Swagger should be looking into the camera with his back to the ramp.

Alberto Del Rio runs from the ramp and attacks Swagger, ripping his suit off. As Colter tries to interfere, he is tackled by Del Rio's sidekick, Ricardo Rodriguez. Officials have to come to the ring and separate the men.

Working the arrest into storyline, Swagger stays a heel. By accusing Del Rio of being complicit in his arrest, he adds heat to their feud. And if everything works out, "the authorities" can come forward at a later time and reveal who DID frame Swagger, leading to the next feud.

Or the WWE can just punt, and take Swagger out of the title match. They didn't change Smackdown, so clearly they're waiting to see the public reaction. Well, here's my reaction. Your move, booking committee.

Miss Nina Looks Out for the Kids

First impressions can be deceiving.

I was going to write off Miss Nina as just another children's music performer, not on par with an Audrarox or Princess Katie. Then I took a closer look at the liner notes. Nina Stone is "all about the kids," as she puts it.

"It's common nowadays for performers to tailor their children's music to reflect the parents' musical tastes," she says. "But honestly, I'm a passionate advocate for children. I believe some of the power [of music] is lost if the performer is bent on producing carbon copies of adult music packaged for little ones."

Now dem's fighting words!

Instead, Nina turns her perspective to the preschool set and uses some literary references on her new CD, SHA DOO BE DOOP. "The Brown Bear Rap" incorporates the Eric Carle/Bill Martin classic into song. "Wild Things" pays tribute to Maurice Sendak.

Considering her audience demographic and mission statement, songs like "Wash Our Hands" and "Ridin' In My Car" are no surprise. The rocking "Angry Song" validates the emotions that kids feel when things don't go their way:

This is my angry song
When everything is going wrong
I'm mad and sad and full of steam
And all I want to do is yell and scream

SHA DOO BE DOOP may not be groundbreaking but it does offer easy themes, gentle encouragement, and positive reinforcement, with a dash of rock on the side.  A former Gymboree instructor, Brooklyn resident Nina currently teachers music and is expecting her first child. I expect some lullabies to follow in the future.

SHA DOO BE DOOP will be available on April 16 from Miss Nina's website, Little Monster Records, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is her video for the song "Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands":

Ben's Playlist - Friday, February 22, 2013

Jingle Bells – Renee & Jeremy
What'd I Say – Ray Charles
Days That End In "Y" – Kepi Ghoulie
Millions of Things – Like Totally!
Grumpy Boy – Steve Songs
Just Be – Walt Wilkins
Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart – Fountains Of Wayne
Try it – Milkshake   
Tell Me A Lie – One Direction  
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, February 21, 2013

Vote or Don't  – They Might Be Giants
Miss Elephant's Gerald  – The Pop Ups
Worms  – Dog On Fleas
The Owie Song   – David Tobocman 
I Would  – One Direction
My Eraser  – Bill Harley And Keith Munslow
Thank You and Goodnight  – Uncle Rock
Let's Go  – Matt & Kim  
Carry On  – fun. 
Washing Machine  – Milkshake  
Mammal  – They Might Be Giants

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
Swinging on a Star – Zak Morgan
Chasing Pavements – Glee
Rainbow – Milkshake   
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees
DeeDee Taught Me How To Count – Kepi Ghoulie
Anything Could Happen – Ellie Goulding      
Electricity Man – Karlee Dean and Bill Goffrier       
The Family Song – Preschool Of Rock

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Turning Tables – Adele
The Christmas Song – The Raveonettes
What Will You Ever See? – Lunch Money
Summer Love – One Direction 
Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart – Fountains Of Wayne
Anything Could Happen – Glee   
One of a Kind – Milkshake    
Lose My Mind – The Wanted
Hot Shot – Princess Katie & Racer Steve

Ben's Playlist - Monday, February 18, 2013

Exactly Where I Want To Be – Grenadilla 
count them as they go – Justin Roberts
A Road Song – Fountains Of Wayne 
Ride In My Little Red Wagon – Willie & The Wheel
I'm Your Boyfriend Now – They Might Be Giants
Counting Backwards – Throwing Muses
Junior Ranger – Kirshel Augustine
Rocketfuel  – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Groovy Day – Jambo
More Than Me – Milkshake
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights 

Communication Breakdown (new podcast)

I suffered through a few communication breakdowns this one.

One involved getting an updated prescription for additional physical therapy.

The other concerned the reimbursement for transporting our son to and from school during the current school bus drivers' strike.

An explanation of the phenomenon and how I dealt with both instances.

Listen and learn!

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Ben's Playlist - Friday, February 15, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
Bag of Dreams – Steven Courtney
In A Timeout Now – Randy Kaplan
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees
Mister E – Zak Morgan
Good Time – Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen 
Full Tilt – The Not-Its
Workin' Kid – Milkshake         
Up All Night – One Direction

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, February 14, 2013

Makin' Wickey-Wackey Down in Waikiki – The Moonlighters
How Can I Sing Like A Girl?  – They Might Be Giants
Participation Trophy – The Not-Its
Superhero You – Steve Songs
Explore, Learn, and Protect – Jeff Wolin   
Mr. Blue Sky – Billy Kelly & The Blah Blah Blahs 
Shake It Off! – Uncle Rock
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights
Tip Toe Thru the Tulips – Milkshake         
Worms – Dog On Fleas
Spicy Kid – Lunch Money

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Planes, Trains and Automobiles – Henning Ohlenbusch
Days That End In "Y" – Kepi Ghoulie
Accentuate the Positive – NRBQ 
Turning Tables – Adele
You Look Good in the Rain – Uncle Rock 
The Owie Song – David Tobocman
I Am A Scientist – Mates Of State
Junior Ranger – Kirshel Augustine 
Fart Like a Pirate – Papa Crow 
Catch My Breath – Kelly Clarkson   
Let 'em Know – Milkshake
Zou bisou bisou – Gillian Hills
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants   

Hey Cabbie! (new podcast)

The school bus drivers strikes is finishing its four week.

During that time, I've had to take the railroad and taxis to get my son to school.

Here are some stories about riding in cabs during the past month.

Plus a washing machine update, a PT update, and some notes on my ongoing eBay saga.

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Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Ayo – Play Date
Free To Be You And Me – Vanessa Trien & The Jumping Monkeys
The Plumbing Song – Weird Al Yankovic
The Scientist – Glee
Set Fire To The Rain – Adele 
Mammal – They Might Be Giants
Busy – The Not-Its
Water – Ozomatli
We Just Wanna Have Fun – Milkshake     
This Is the New Year – Ian Axel      

Ben's Playlist - Monday, February 11, 2013

a wild one – Justin Roberts
Miss Elephant's Gerald  – The Pop Ups
They Don't Know About Us – One Direction
Come To California – The Hipwaders
Chloe – Grouplove
If You Want a Mustache – Space Balloons
Sacagawea – The Deedle Deedle Dees
Whole lotta fun – Nick Cope
National Fossil Day – Jeff Wolin   
Millions of Things – Like Totally! 

Is This the Final Straw for Milkshake?

Baltimore's own Milkshake are back with their fifth CD, GOT A MINUTE?.  And they are seriously considering making it their final CD as a band. Why? They're growing up.

What, you say? But they're adults. How can adults grow up?

In order to explain, I'll need to digress from the band for a minute.

From my experiences, there are three types of children's musicians:

1. Beloved veteran – Raffi, Bill Harley
2. Dedicated pro – Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner
3. Intriguing newcomer – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Billy Kelly, Joanie Leeds

The figurative "graveyard of children's recording artists" is littered with one album wonders, who thought it would be an easy market to conquer.

On the adjacent property fall those artists who recorded for a finite period of time, and then stopped to deal with real world issues or to segue into other areas of the business.

Berkner started her career a decade ago, prior to having children. Now she's started a family and renewed her motivation to maintain the mantle of one of the most requested children's recording artists.

Like many musicians, Roger Day entered the children's recording arena when his kids were fairly young. As he told me once, "My earliest songs are the simplest, motion-type songs." As his children grew older, the concepts in his recordings became more sophisticated. In fact, his most recent CD, Why Does Grey Matter?, is a concept album to teach kids why education is important.

Like Day, Milkshake's Lisa Mathews and Mikel Gehl's children appear on their recordings. It's family music in the literal sense. As the kids become part of the music, they are captured at that age forever. The music turns into a time capsule. But the people move on. And the four year distance since their last CD, GREAT DAY, is a chasm in a child's life.

According to Lisa and Mikel, Milkshake was conceived almost as an organic part of their kids' childhoods. Each recording fit the developmental stage of their children's lives. Now that the kids are hitting their teen years, do they really need to be singing "Clap My Hands"?

GOT A MINUTE? works on two levels. First, it anthologizes the band's early one-minute recordings for PBS KIDS and adds another 20 short, zesty songs. Second, it encapsulates the group's spirit as if to remind you, "This is Milkshake – remember them."

The band sings about odd jobs ("Workin' Kid Blues"), recycling ("This Is Our Earth"), and pollution ("Washing Machine"):

If the world could fit in my backyard
Well, keeping it clean wouldn't be so hard.
So that's why I say
We all have a part to play.

You also get a jaunty cover of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips," best known as a novelty tune made famous by Tiny Tim. Once again, a one-hit fluke changes from kitsch to hip as it travels through the looking glass to a new generation.

Likely Lisa, Mikel, and their crew have more to say. They may have outgrown the vehicle known as Milkshake but their followers are also growing up. There's a difference between growing up and moving on. Take a little time to enjoy Milkshake while they're still with us.

GOT A MINUTE? is available on March 26 from the band's website, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is a video of one of their PBS KIDS songs, "It's My Birthday":

Ben's Playlist - Friday, February 8, 2013

Sunny Christmas – Renee & Jeremy
Turning Tables – Adele
Why is the sky blue? – Nick Cope
Thousand Years  – Christina Perri      
Little Little Baby – The Harmonica Pocket
On the Greener Side – Michelle Shocked
Turtle Up, Turtle DownvJeff Wolin       
Worms – Dog On Fleas
Same Mistakes – One Direction

Ben's Playlist - Thursday, February 7, 2013

Some Nights – Glee
Set Fire To The Rain – Adele  
Green Green Rocky Road – Randy Kaplan
Let Me In – Zak Morgan
When Can I See You Again – Owl City
Twirl! Twirl! Twirl! – Mr. Leebot 
Beach Party At High Altitude – Jeff Wolin        
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Polka – Trout Fishing In America       
Wimoweh – Joanie Leeds & The Nightlights

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, February 6, 2013

easier to do – Justin Roberts 
Turning Tables  – Adele
Gingerbread Man – Lunch Money
Chickens and Dinosaurs – The Ukulady
Butterfly – The Nields
Good Time – Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen
Burning Coffee – They Might Be Giants
Junior Ranger – Kirshel Augustine       
Electric Fever – Free Energy    
Lose My Mind  – The Wanted

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Exactly Where I Want To Be – Grenadilla
Makin' Wickey-Wackey Down in Waikiki  – The Moonlighters
Don't Speak – Glee
The Plumbing Song – Weird Al Yankovic
Grumpy Boy – Steve Songs
Worms – Dog On Fleas
Mammal – They Might Be Giants
Hideous Sweater – Bill Harley And Keith Munslow      
Love Song – Sara Bareilles    
Thank You and Goodnight – Uncle Rock

Ben's Playlist - Monday, February 4, 2013

Set Fire To The Rain – Adele
Kindhearted Babysitter Blues  – Randy Kaplan
Explore, Learn, and Protect – Jeff Wolin      
Bag of Dreams – Steven Courtney
Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin
Heart Attack – One Direction  
Stop at a Mom N' Pop – Uncle Rock 
Celebration – They Might Be Giants  
Give Me Back My Hat  – Bill Harley And Keith Munslow        
Spelunca Funka – Dee Dee Graves      

Laundry Man (new podcast)

My mother decided I should start doing my own laundry when I started college and continued to live at home.

Here are my mostly self-taught memories from that period and beyond.

(Spoiler alert - Something happened 36 hours after recording this podcast that will necessitate an epilogue next week.)

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Wide Open Spaces Beckon Junior Rangers

I don't recall Yogi Bear's nemesis, Ranger Smith, doing much singing.

Ranger Jeff Wolin is another story. On SONGS FOR JUNIOR RANGERS, Wolin wrote and/or musically arranged, performed, and coordinated the production of 19 original songs about a wide variety of national park themes, resources, and geographical locales, as interpretive learning tools to help diverse youth connect with the national parks.

Wolin accompanies himself on guitar and performed the songs across the country at a variety of Park Service and Department of the Interior special events. As the idea of producing a Junior Ranger music album began to take shape, he started collaborative partnerships between his Colorado park (Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument) and the Washington Office, the National Park Foundation, Eastern National Cooperating Association, and New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.

Make no mistake about it – there's a wide variety of music on the disc (from surf guitar on "Beach Party on High Altitude" to rap on "Wapiti Hoppity"). However the agenda is education and bringing new, young, open minds (and bodies) into the wild blue yonder of our American national parks.

A whole cadre of artists, from Trout Fishing in America (aptly named and positioned on the CD) to Aaron Nigel Smith participated in the project. Their enthusiasm comes through clearly and (thankfully) not too earnestly. TFIA's song, "Thaddues Kosciuzcko Polka," celebrates the Polish-born patriot who helped win the American Revolution:

Now he and Thomas Jefferson share the same views...Thaddeus Kosciuszko
Were created equal a self evident truth...Thaddeus Kosciuszko
The Declaration of Independence spells it very clear
And it is said that when Thaddeus read it, he was brought it tears. 

There's almost too much to cover on the 20 tracks in the collection, which is billed as Volume 1 of who knows how many. Lyrics are included in a booklet with spectacular nature photogaphs, and you get a map copy of the Junior Ranger Game.

If you have a hankering for nature, or want to get your kids to appreciate the world around them (and not just the mall and skate park), here's a (forgive the pun) natural way to introduce the topic. SONGS FOR JUNIOR RANGERS won't give you poison ivy, won't attract mosquitoes, and just might teach your kids about the great outdoors.

SONGS FOR JUNIOR RANGERS is available through the eParks website, Amazon, and iTunes.

Here is a video for "Explore Learn and Protect" featuring Ranger Jeff: