I was listening to the radio this morning, and I heard what may be my new favorite holiday song: The JimmiesNothin' For Christmas. It's a great song that features a non-recalcitrant girl/torch singer who is getting nothing for Christmas because she's been bad. She then lists her multiple sins, which are funny and hilarious. The background music is piano and a little punky, like a lot of the Jimmie's work.
Here are the lyrics of the opening.
I'm getting nothin' for Christmas
Mommy and Daddy are mad
I'm getting nothin' for Christmas
Cuz I ain't been nothin' but bad.
I cut my sister's long blond hair (somebody snitched on me)
I bacon wrapped my teddy bear (somebody snitched on me)
I dared my friend to lick my shoe
I tried to brush my teeth with glue
I died the family cat dark blue
Somebody snitched on me.
It turns out that it's not an original song, I just hadn't heard it before. I did a little research and found a lot of other people had covered it, including Eartha Kitt, Spike Jones, Shirley Temple, Reliant K, Smash Mouth, and a lot more. According to Wikipedia, in 1955 it was a million seller and was on the Billboard charts by 6 different artists! I don't know how I missed this song, but somehow I did.
I've listened to a few of the versions now, and what I really like about the Jimmies version is that it's not cutesy. It's about this girl who has accepted the fact that she has been bad, and she kind of likes it. (Probably because I don't have a daughter!)
The song is off of a holiday album of the Jimmies called "Mama Said Nog You Out" which features lots of traditional and untraditional holiday tunes.
I've been admirers of Andrew & Polly's work for some time. I hear them a lot on Kid's Place Live, and their work is kooky, fun, and original. I just got a hold of their new album Odds & Ends, and it collects a lot of the songs that I've heard over the last year.
Andrew Barkan and Polly Hall are a married couple that live in Los Angeles, where they work and perform. Andrew, originally from San Francisco, has been instrumental (yes, I meant that pun!) in all kinds of film music and scoring, working on the Smurfs movie, and has composed the scores for over 30 independent films.
Polly, originally from Arkansas, co-founded a music for interactive company in Brooklyn, holds an MA in Computer Music from Brown University, and is a former Suzuki violinist. Together, they have written music for Nickolodeon, lots of commercials, and they won the 2012 ASCAP Foundation Joe Raposo Childrens' Music Award for their first album Up and At' Em!
There's a great interview with them on ZooGlobble, where you can find out that among other things, they are parents of an 18 month old, that they met in college where they both sang for A Cappella groups, and that they lived in Providence in 2006 when I was doing Bright Night. I would have totally hired them for the New Year's Eve Festival, if I had known about them then!
Zooglobble, by the way, is a great resource for all things Kindie music. You should definitely be reading it!
The albumOdds & Ends is a collection of songs that they've written over the last 5 years. I've heard a few of them over the last couple of years. for a few years on Kids Place Live. They do really delightful cover versions of Ghostbusters, the Beatles song Here Comes The Sun, and the Dylan song Forever Young.
But it's their original songs that are the real winners. I especially liked their song Grapes, which has a Laurie Anderson meets kid's music kind of feel, with a lot of talking/story. It's funny and quirky and weird, and most importantly it's catchy. It caught my attention, anyway.
Most of their original songs are like that.
Here's the song Grapes on Youtube:
The album came out on Friday (although it apparently previewed in Los Angeles at a 1 year old's birthday party!) Awesome party favor!
Other than the album, their latest project together is a cool podcast for kids called EarSnacks. It's for kids, featuring kids, and has lots of interactive features, questions, and just some wacky stuff. Their latest episode is about all kinds of Balls (get your mind out of the gutter!) They play sounds of different bouncing balls, talk about boogers, which leads to a discussion of atoms, planets, and just about everything else. It's a fun hang out session with them. They produce a new podcast once a month or so. (And I believe it also airs on KPL.)
I was on my way to an event in NY last year when I heard this on the radio (Kid's Place Live, naturally) for the first time.
It appealed to me in a number of ways.
It's got a simple and infectious song behind it
It's got a kid talking to a monster in it,
It's got this wonderfully weird vibe that put my spidey sense into overdrive.
As soon as I heard it, I pulled the car over, whipped out my phone, and had to find out more about the song. Was it from a television show? And why don't I watch that show?
Todd is a musician and puppeteer and comic book artist who has created a whole raft of characters that sing, and his daughter is featured in this song, as a contrary girl who will not let the monster get away with thinking that he is a bunny.
I love this song for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it's a great example of creating art with your kids.
Here's a few of the lyrics. The exchange is between a purple monster and a young girl.
You know what? / What? / I think I’m a bunny... / But you're not a bunny, you're a monster / But I think I’m a bunny / Bunnies aren’t purple / I think I'm a bunny / You're not a bunny / I think I'm a bunny / You’re not a bunny / I think I'm a bunny... / No you're not / I think I'm a bunny / I don't think you're right/ I think I'm a bunny / You're not a bunny / You’re a monster... / But I might be a bunny / You know I could be a bunny / Yeah, I think I'm probably a bunny 'cause, you know, I've got these long ears, you know, and sometimes I like to have a carrot or something, you know Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/todd-mchatton/i-think-i-m-a-bunny-lyrics/
It's hilarious, it's heartwarming, and you should listen to it. Even better, watch the amazing handmade video that Todd and his daughter made.
