RANDY KAPLAN MR. DIDDIE WAH DIDDIE I don’t got the blues. I don’t know the blues. I’ve heard some from a house band in a Beale Street bar. I’ve walked past the B.B. King’s in NYC. That about sums up the extent of my American roots education. So yeah, I […]
RECESS MONKEY IN TENTS Tiny moments. I want nothing more than to recognize, rejoice in, and remember forever the tiny moments; to pick them out of air before they vanish into the ether, to scoop them from the mouths of babes, and to collect them all in a burgundy velvet […]
LUNCH MONEY SPICY KID You could almost see it. You could almost imagine pulling open one of those secret compartments on the side of a child’s jewelry box revealing the inside of that itsy bitsy space designed to hide away not much more than a stray fallen gem from an […]
SECRET AGENT 23 SKIDOO MAKE BELIEVERS You know the story of that Neil Young album? The one he made on his way out of a record contract, after an already tense album release; ’twas an LP meant to satisfy a requirement. Turns out, it wasn’t quite Neil Young-ish enough to […]
DOG ON FLEAS INVISIBLE FRIENDS Dog on Fleas is the quintessential American, 21st century all-ages kid’s band. They are hilarious — goofy but not cartoonish. They are raucous — musically punchy but always endearing, and oft genuinely tender. They incorporate a cornucopia of tasteful instrumentation, including a subtle electronic undercurrent, […]
MISTA COOKIE JAR ULTRAMAGNETIC UNIVERSAL LOVE REVOLUTION My oldest daughter is at that age. You know the one, when a young girl is usually overcome by the pop music pool’s shallow end. In fact, her 2nd grade class science song this year is set to the beat of “I’ve Got […]
**You heard the review on NPR’s All Things Considered, now read my take on The Okee Dokee Brothers’ Can You Canoe?** THE OKEE DOKEE BROTHERS CAN YOU CANOE? One’s relationship with their music collection is about as personal as it gets. I’m able to mark transformative moments in my life […]
ALEX & THE KALEIDOSCOPE BAND “I’M SO GLAD” Despite attending and enjoying their intimate indoor, air-conditioned Philly concert last year, an event most memorable because it occurred smack dab in the middle of an historically insane East Coast heatwave, there’s always been something keeping me at arm’s length from this […]
