HSM3 on SNL

This fabulous spoof of High School Musical aired on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live over the weekend. (Warning: This is not one to share with your kids.)

Oh, and I heart Andy Samberg.



I have more thoughts on High School Musical coming later this week.

Clinched

We don't normally cover sports here, but the Chicago Cubs clinched their division last night., and there is much rejoicing around our house.

Friday Night Video

When you think back to the old variety shows of the 70's, did it get any better than Carol Burnett? I don't think so. If you doubt her brilliance even for a moment, take a look at this skit and song she did with the Jackson 5 in 1974 -- her music class singing "This Old Man" segues into "ABC-123" and a big, big finish.

Watch Them Watching TV

In searching for YouTube clips of certain kids' TV shows, I've come across a great many videos of babies and toddlers in front of the TV. Babies in bouncy seats giggling to Baby Einstein videos, toddlers grooving to the music on Yo Gabba Gabba -- many of these videos have hundreds or even thousands of views on YouTube.

I am fascinated by this. And kind of appalled. A YouTube search of "baby watching tv" tonight turned up 1,500 videos.

What motivates a parent to post video of their child WATCHING TV? Is that the most interesting thing their child has done? Really?

If so, I have two words for these parents: GO OUTSIDE. Seriously, there's a whole other world out there.

Do these people get a big reaction from the grandparents when they post these? "Oh, we just loved seeing the video of little Timmy watching Sesame Street. We're so glad you could share what he's been up to these days!" Is watching TV a milestone to be recorded like the first feeding of solid foods? Or the first time riding a bike?

Maybe these parents hoping for their children to be "discovered" and perhaps earn a spot on a kid's TV show. Do they think they have the next Nathaniel?

Many of these videos seem to be screaming "watch me!" judging from the number of tags added to them (making them easier to find via a search). I hesitate to post one here, because I'd rather not feed that monster, but this is a shining example.




It has numerous tags (cute, baby, toddler, infant, kids, child, children, asian, chinese, vietnamese, bumble chair, einstein), and it's had more than 13,000 views! Either this child has a few obsessive relatives who can't get enough of this 43-second clip, or this video has gotten some major exposure. Why? How? What are these parents trying to achieve here?

Can anyone enlighten me?


Cross-posted at Huxtabled.

I'm Not as Old as These Concert Tickets Make Me Look

My husband got us tickets to see the Hold Steady in November. He's seen them live twice. I've heard their CDs, but I don't get out much. This will be the first big (grown-up) concert for us as a couple in quite some time, and it got me thinking about the live music we've seen over the years.

If someone knew me strictly by my concert attendance over the last 15 to 20 years, I could easily be mistaken for a Baby Boomer. I've seen the Grateful Dead (numerous times), James Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Sting, Jimmy Buffet, Nanci Griffith, John Hiatt, Jefferson Starship/Airplane/Whathaveyou, America (that one was FREE, otherwise I would not have gone), the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. Sure, I've also seen some artists who would be considered more GenX -- like REM, Jill Sobule, the Indigo Girls, Lisa Loeb, They Might Be Giants (a kids' show, but still...), Everclear -- but overall, my concert experiences make me seem much older than I am.

And did I ever tell you about the time I saw the Statler Brothers?

My husband swears that once we find a reliable babysitter, we're going to make monthly outings into the city to see live music of my choosing. I've decided we need to get out and experience "what the kids are into" these days. I told him I want to go to shows where we're the oldest people there, shows like (and sadly, in an attempt to rattle off some artists and bands we should be checking out, the only name I could come up with was) Panic! at the Disco.

So who do you recommend?

Friday Night Video: A Beatles Flipside

The only place I've ever found this song (until tonight) was on the jukebox at a bar in our old college town. What would we do without YouTube? The visuals on this are just something a fan put together, but the audio is incredible. The further into the song you get, the more bizarre (and wonderful) it gets. So be patient. And enjoy "You Know My Name, Look Up My Number."

Kids' Music and Media Links for 9/20/07

Jack's Big Music Show: Let's Rock, the show's first full-length DVD will be out on October 23. Yippee!! The downside? It only has four episodes: Groundhog Day, Jack and the Beanstalk, How Mel Got His Groove Back, and Little Bad Wolf. Four episodes? From two entire seasons? There better be a box set on the way. Soon.


Did you watch the premiere of Kid Nation Wednesday night? I did.



Just in time (or in plenty of time, depending on your view) for holiday shopping, Nickelodeon is introducing a new line of licensed-character electronics, including a $59.99 Dora the Explorer digital camera and a $299.99 15-inch flat-screen Sponge Bob television. Retailers are being encouraged to stock the new merchandise alongside their higher-end electronics, because "these are sophisticated items and not toys," says the chief marketing officer from Imation, Nick's licensing partner.

Not toys? Sure. They're just very expensive things for your children to break. If these things show up on any Christmas wish list I see, the child in question is getting nothing but socks. SOCKS, I tell you!

Southern Culture With the Kids III: Baby Loves Disco

This weekend we went to our first Baby Loves Disco. I know what you're thinking....How is it possible that someone like Mrs. Davis, who is on the cutting edge of kiddie culture, has not yet experienced Baby Loves Disco?

Well, may I remind you that until six weeks ago, we were living in Ohio? Near Toledo, to be kind of vaguely exact.

Knowing that nearly every parent blogger within 30 miles of a major US city has been to BLD and written about it, I wasn't sure I would have much to say. But of course, I do. Because, you know, I love to tell you what to think.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this cultural phenomenon, it could best be described as a family-friendly afternoon dance party, in which a team of parents take over a nightclub (or other venue), cover the bars with a spread of healthy snacks, set up a "chill-out" area complete with comfy seating and changing areas, and book a local DJ to spin some fabulous dance tunes from the parents' younger years.

In short, it's brilliant.

Not only does Baby Loves Disco capture so much of what parents are looking for in family entertainment (music, movement, the flexibility to come and go anytime during the three-hour event, grown-up drinks, and snacks -- did I mention snacks?), it also creates an atmosphere that's "family friendly" in the way that our generation of parents has come to define it.

A generation ago, "family friendly" meant "absent of anything parents might enjoy outside the presence of their kids" -- no grown-up music, no grown-up food or drinks, no evidence whatsoever that the grown-ups here were ever anything but parents.

For parents today, "family friendly" means friendly for the whole family. Parents can be themselves, and so can the kids -- all in the same room at the same time. My husband can set down his beer and change our 2-year-old's diaper, while I dance (in my peep-toe platform shoes) to "Love Shack" with my 7-year-old. In the "chill out room" we can talk with another couple about old record stores while our kids play on the floor.

Although there were a number of sponsors present (ranging from Stride Rite to a local play-gym), BLD didn't have a corporate feel. And there wasn't an overwhelming "type" of mom, dad, or family there, as I had worried going in. The dance contest (about mid-way through) provided just enough structure, as well as adorable dog-tag medals for all the little dancers, and a few awesome prizes.

Relying primarily on word-of-mouth, BLD has already spread to more than 20 (mostly major) cities, and it seems to be thriving. The events are based on a simple model, and could be replicated in mid-sized or smaller cities with perhaps even greater response. In a major city like Atlanta, BLD is one of many options for families on a weekend afternoon. But in Des Moines, Iowa, or Birmingham, Alabama, or Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I think families would jump at an opportunity like this. So I hope the word of mouth is spreading to those places as well as to the big cities.

If the growth of Baby Loves Disco continues at its current pace, it could easily become a defining trend of our children's generation. Worst case scenario, it could lead to parents of our generation making ourselves welcome at all of our kids' school dances. But maybe after growing up with Baby Loves Disco, our kids wouldn't find that so horrific or unusual.

Oh, who am I kidding? Go dance with your kids while they'll still let you.

Disclosures: My family and I received free passes to Baby Loves Disco.

Kids' Music and Media Links for 9/16/07

Zooglobble has been live-blogging the Austin Kiddie Limits (and Austin City Limits) music festival and the Family Music Meltdown. Just reading about it all makes me want to turn up the air conditioning here. Bill and Gwyneth also have updates live from Austin. Wish I could have been there!

The Boston Globe has a great feature/interview with Rebecca Frezza.

Lisa Guernsey, the author mentioned in this post, has a fabulous blog.

Another great blog that I just added to the sidebar is Children's Media Consultant. The site is focused mainly on kids' television -- everything from Yo Gabba Gabba to High School Musical.

TV Might Not Ruin Our Kids After All, Experts Say

A debate about young children and television has been going on for as long as I've been a parent (and probably much longer). There are those who say that television is the root of all problems with kids these days, from obesity to ADHD to violent behavior to lower test scores. There are others who say that kids' television has never been better -- it's educational, it's interactive, it's teaching kids to count and read and be nice to each other.

The voice that's gotten drowned out in this ongoing debate is the voice of reason. The level-headed, "all things in moderation" stance, "no solution is perfect for every single child" stance, that really, truly makes the most sense. And this, I think, is where many parents stand -- somewhere in the middle. Not many issues are entirely black and white. And that includes issues about kids and TV -- what they watch, how they watch, how much they watch.

A new book by Lisa Guernsey, a New York Times reporter and a mother of two young daughters, goes into the gray area that the TV debate so often neglects. Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children from Birth to Age Five was released last week, and after reading this interview with the author at Salon, I'm off to get myself a copy. Guernsey questions many assumptions about kids and TV:

Salon: You debunk a lot of the popular beliefs about the bad things TV does to kids, for instance, the idea that when kids watch TV they turn into zoned-out "zombies," or catch attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]. What's the evidence that's not true?

Guernsey: Those were two things that I worried about a lot as a mom. There are no studies that show television causing attention problems. All we have is a link, an association. The more that I talked to experts on ADHD, I found a lot of reason to think that children who have attention problems are either more attracted to television, or their parents use the television more in their households.

I'm thrilled that this woman is approaching the "kids and TV" issue from a less extreme angle than so many of the experts who have shared their views and research recently. In the Salon interview, Guernsey discusses Baby Einstein, background television, obesity, and plenty more. She has some incredible insights (although I don't agree with everything she says in the Salon piece), and she has a unique and well-informed perspective. Let's hope her voice gets heard.


Cross-posted at Huxtabled.

Minivan Rotation: The Hipwaders

The Hipwaders' new release, Educated Kid, has already been met with some rave reviews, and the title track has shot to number three on XMKids Radio. That's HUGE! (By the way, you can go there now to request "Educated Kid" and help the Hipwaders overpower Hannah Montana and High School Musical on the XM charts.)

I loved the Hipwaders' last album, and I've always felt a strong connection with many of their lyrics. Songs like "Little Baby Brother" capture so well the joys and frustrations of siblings:

Little baby brother / crawling on the rug / looking so cute / I want to give you a hug.
Please don't break my toys / and I'll love you forever...

As the album title implies, many of the songs on Educated Kid are, well, educational. But educational in a loose, fun way. A great deal of kids' music (and television) struggles with finding the right balance of artistry, education, and entertainment. Too often, education gets weighted far too heavily, entertainment is close second, and artistry is left behind altogether, leaving us with an "edutainment" product rather than a work of art.


The Hipwaders (like a handful of other kids' bands/artists who have taken an educational approach to their music) have magically kept artistry front and center, reminding us that good music -- in and of itself -- can be educational. Yet among the fabulous guitar riffs and power-pop sound, they manage to slip in some important information about things like evolution, the Dewey decimal system, and geometry.

On a personal note, this album deserves special props for helping me to make the long drive from Ohio to Georgia this summer with two kids. And even after many repeated plays on that trip, it's still in the minivan, and still getting the "can we hear that song again?" shout-out from the back seat.

Hear more tracks or order your own copy of Educated Kid at CDBaby, the Pokey Pup, or other online retailers.

Disclosures: I received a promo copy of The Hipwaders' Educated Kid.

Guess Where I Went Today

What better place to have lunch with a friend from The Internet?



I had the meatballs.

Music Links for 9/10/07

Ginger Hendrix is working on a new record! Yea!

Way Out Junk has music from some old (really, really old) kids' TV shows -- Popeye, Rin-Tin-Tin, Mighty Mouse, and Howdy Doody.

Bon Ton has compiled an impressive list of women who write music blogs.

Cartoon Network's Issues with Food

Cartoon Network has been sending mixed signals lately on food for kids. It's a bit of a twist on the old "do as I say, not as I do" style of leadership -- more like "do as I say, and do this other thing, too" or "do as I say but then forget I ever said it."

In late August, this article in the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted CN's plan to support new nutrition guidelines from the Institute of Medicine (part of the National Academy of Sciences):

Even the Cartoon Network is jumping on the health bandwagon. Earlier this
month, the animation station, which features such cartoons as "Pokémon," "Baby
Looney Tunes" and "Batman," announced that starting in 2008, it will allow its
original characters to adorn only the packages of foods and drinks that meet the
IOM's nutrition guidelines.

The new IOM guidelines call for "no more than 35 percent calories each from fat and sugar and a maximum of 200 mg of sodium. Naturally occurring sugars in fruit are OK."

But just days after that article appeared, McDonald's launched their latest Happy Meal promotion -- Cartoon Network character toys from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Camp Lazlo, and Squirrel Boy.

I wanted all eight of the Cartoon Network Happy Meal toys for the boys, but there was no way I was going to take my kids (or even myself) to McDonald's eight times during the month of September. I've been making a semi-decent effort to cut down on our fast food intake here (especially after eating so much fast food, restaurant food, and convenience food during the few weeks when we were packing, moving, and unpacking), so I was torn. Really torn.

I must have those cheap plastic toys. My children's lives will not be complete without all eight of them. And we absolutely must get Bloo from Foster's. I will be the best mother in the world if I can produce Bloo. But I would be the worst mother in the world if I fed my kids all that junk. MUST GET THOSE TOYS!

I shared my frustration with my husband, who proposed the perfect way to beat the system: Buy the toys on eBay.



I got a whole set of eight toys -- new! -- for less than what it would have cost me to buy four Happy Meals, yet we don't have to eat a single chicken nugget or cheeseburger. Woot! They're on their way to us right now.

Problem solved, at least for us. Cartoon Network, it seems, still has some work to do in clarifying its stance on kids' nutrition.

Friday Night Video

Here is reason number 267 why we're loving Yo Gabba Gabba:

Kids' Music and Media Links for 9/7/07

If you're in the Austin area, you should know about the Family Music Meltdown, coming up on September 15. Stefan from Zooglobble and Bill from Spare the Rock have put together quite an event. And a really awesome poster. Look!

There's a fun new way to introduce your kids to the music of the Grateful Dead. Rock Band, a video game similar to Guitar Hero (both from MTV Games), will feature 18 original master recordings of Dead songs. The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Radiohead, the Foo Fighters, The Clash, and several other bands have agreed to have their master recordings included in the game.

I've been digging this set of photos on Flickr which shows vintage advertising and product labels for everything from Skippy peanut butter to Lilt home perms. It's interesting to see how much -- and how little -- has changed over the years. (via Scurvyann, Rocknroll Mum)

We caught the DragonCon parade in Atlanta last weekend, and it was spectacular!

Suzi Shelton Live at Southpaw

Exploring the world of kids' music, I've found myself drawn to artists who take risks. Artists who stand out. Artists with an edge. And over the last year, thanks to the media's growing interest in the kids' music scene and the number of new kids' releases, more parents have become aware of how "edgy" and "cool" and "hip" kids' music can be.

At times, it seems that artists are trying too hard in the edgy-cool-hip department. In some cases, the marketing angle of "we're so much cooler than the Wiggles" or "our music won't drive parents nuts" seems to have taken priority over any kind of artistic vision. A handful of kids' artists can pull off "edgy" -- AudraRox, The Candy Band, Uncle Rock --probably because it comes naturally to them. Many kids artists who attempt to become edgy end up looking as lame as a suburban 13-year-old who just discovered Hot Topic at the mall.

An upcoming DVD release from Brooklyn mom-musician Suzi Shelton got me thinking about how kids' artists are packaging and marketing themselves.

Aside from the fact that the DVD is a live performance at Southpaw (a Park Slope parent hotspot), there's not a lot about Suzi or this DVD that indicates an attempt to be "edgy" or "cool" -- qualities that seem to prevail in so much kids' music. Looking back at her 2005 CD, Simply Suzi, it's clear that she has taken a fairly safe road. Her influences are more along the lines of Faith Hill or Norah Jones, rather than Liz Phair or Deborah Harry. Yes, she refers to herself as a "kid rocker" on her website, but she doesn't cover Ramones songs or sport any tattoos (at least that we can see on the DVD). Suzi is definitely not punk rock. To some, she may even seem more mild than Laurie Berkner.

But you know what? Most parents aren't looking for punk rock for their kids. Many aren't looking for any kind of rock for their kids. (Sadly, some aren't looking for any kind of music at all, but that's another story.) You see, outside of this world of blogs and websites and the people who write them and read them, this world where parents have reserved domain names for their unborn children, this world where parents try to stay on the front edge of every new trend, there is the rest of the world. The real world. And most parents I know in the real world aren't that concerned with being hip and edgy, let alone with raising kids who are hip and edgy.

And I think Suzi Shelton knows this.

Whether this is an artistic choice or a marketing decision on her part (most likely it's some combination of the two), Suzi's choice to take the safe road is serving her well. Earlier this year, she was invited to perform at the White House Easter Egg Hunt. Suzi also has a deal with Gymboree, and has recorded two music-activity DVDs for them. My guess is that she's well-positioned to reach the Gymboree crowd (of which I am technically, kind of, a part), and she may be just the person to draw that audience further into the kindie rock scene.

Suzi Shelton Live at Southpaw is a super-entertaining kids' music DVD. Her original songs are sweet and catchy, and her expressive vocals serve the songs well. She's backed by a solid band --guitar, drums, bass, keyboard -- and a crew of pint-sized back-up singers called The Gumdrops. If you live in a place where your kids don't have many opportunities to experience live music, this will give them a taste of what's out there. The DVD is shot similarly to Dan Zanes' All Around the Kitchen, capturing much of the atmosphere of a live show:





Suzi Shelton Live at Southpaw will be released September 11, and will be available at CDBaby and at suzishelton.com.

Disclosures: I received a free/promo copy of Suzi Shelton Live at Southpaw from Suzi's publicist, and a free copy of Simply Suzi when I met Suzi at the Park Slope Parents CD release party (which happened to be at Southpaw).

Tuesday Ten: Kids' Shows I'll Miss

Having our sons five years apart has given us some unique perspectives on parenting. Five years in the world of baby and toddler gear is like an entire generation -- car seats, high chairs, strollers, toys -- so many things changed. The same is true of children's TV. Many of the shows Walter enjoyed as a 2- 3- or 4-year-old have already disappeared from TV, and I'm a little sad to think that Ralph will never know most of them.

Here are 10 kids' shows from Walter's early years that I already miss.


Fillmore (ABC/Toon Disney). This show about safety patrollers Cornelius Fillmore and Ingrid Third at the fictional X Middle School was like Law and Order for kids. There were only two seasons, and I've never found it on DVD, but occasionally we catch an old episode airing on Toon Disney.

Chalk Zone (Nickelodeon). Rudy Tabootie and his magic chalk could "cross over" into a dimension where everything ever drawn with chalk lived. He's a bit like Simon from the old 1970's cartoon, but the show is much sharper and fairly subversive at times. Great stuff, but sadly not on DVD. Yet.

Teamo Supremo (ABC/Toon Disney). Three early elementary students have super hero alter egos as Captain Crandall, Skate Lad, and Rope Girl. They protect their un-named state (always referred to as "the state") from a variety of villains and other threats, working closely with Governor Kevin (voiced by Martin Mull) and the police chief (voiced by Brian Doyle Murray). The very best episode of Teamo featured Tiffany Javelins (ha! get it? GET IT?), a teen-singer-turned-villain-turned-good-again.

Out of the Box (Disney Channel). Before Jack's Big Music Show, this was one of the best kids' music shows on TV, although there was a lot more than music. Tony, one of the shows co-hosts had some mad drumming skillz, and that always made it interesting.

Zoom (PBS). Yes, a new version of Zoom was still in production from 1999 until 2005. And while PBS has come up with some great new programming (Fetch with Ruff Ruffman is one of Walter's current favorites), this is a classic that will be missed.

The Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon Network). The Girls still have a presence on Cartoon Network, but there have been no new episodes since 2005. Fortunately, some of the early seasons (there are 6 in all) are coming out on DVD. And there's some fabulous music.

Rugrats (Nickelodeon). I know most people found this show incredibly annoying, but I found it rather fascinating. And Walter liked it for a short time. The parent characters were as much (or more) a part of the story as the kids. And while they were very Baby Boomer-ish, almost to the point of making me think I was watching an animated version of Thirtysomething, they were oddly compelling.

Mucha Lucha (Cartoon Network). Adorable animated children as masked Mexican wrestlers. Need I say more?

Book of Pooh (Disney Channel). At the time this first aired, the technology seemed very cutting edge. But it was actual bunraku-style puppetry (multiple puppeteers manipulating a single figure) that made it so visually interesting. The stories and the music were sweet -- sometimes too sweet -- but we loved it at the time. And we have a DVD of some of the early episodes.

Stanley (Disney Channel). Like Rugrats, one of the best parts of this show were the parent characters. Stanley's mom was a dentist and his dad was a work-at-home illustrator. We loved seeing a show with an at-home dad, especially since Walter experienced that in his very early years. Stanley ran from 2001 to 2004, and reruns still air on Playhouse Disney.