Yo Gabba Gabba!

Happy Father's Day tomorrow! Thank you to the fathers who bring their children to my class. It is great to have you there!

 There was an interview today on NPR of the creators of Yo Gabba Gabba, a popular music/television show for kids. Here's the link:
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/18/137205935/yo-gabba-gabba-tv-for-kids-and-music-lovers

Go to the link to see a video of The Roots performing "Lovely, Love my Family."

Here's the transcript:

June 18, 2011
Yo Gabba Gabba! began on the Nick Jr. TV network as a show to entertain and educate the pre-kindergarten set. But now, with its fourth season in production, the show's popularity is stretching demographic boundaries, in part because of its musical content. Popular bands such as The Killers, The Roots, The Shins and Weezer appear regularly, performing original songs in colorful costumes — and these psychedelic segments have snagged the program some older fans.
The show was created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. They tell Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon that when they got the idea, they were both new fathers who felt that there was something big missing from children's entertainment.

Enlarge Courtesy of Nick Jr. Scott Schultz and Christian Jacobs (bottom left and right) pose with characters from the show.

"We were thinking, 'Wow, there's so much more music that's not being represented here,' " Jacobs says. "We wanted to make something that we felt was a little more reflective of what we were into, and what our kids responded to at home — we were listening to all kinds of different music. And so we thought, 'Why don't we make a kids' show?' "
"We felt like we could take a band that we love and ask them to play a song that had lyrics kids would understand and relate to, and that kids would like it," Schultz says.
That logic has led the pair to book some guests, like rapper Mos Def or comedian Sarah Silverman, who don't immediately register as family-friendly. But Schultz says that most guests rise to the occasion once they're on set.
"We didn't want to pander to kids or talk down to them," Schultz says. "These people that aren't traditionally kids-show-friendly, when they come to the table, they bring sort of a fun awe. I guess they're in awe of being a kid again. We get to celebrate in this idea that we're being kids together, and we're just doing something that kids can relate to."
"[Rapper] Biz Markie was in the pilot," Jacobs says. "He said, 'I want to be Mister Rogers for kids,' and we were like, 'Of course you should be! Why not?' "
Still, Yo Gabba Gabba! was a gamble, and not just conceptually: Both Jacobs and Schultz took out loans on their houses to finance the show's early stages. Jacobs says he finally knew they were on to something during the second season, when they pitched hip-hop group and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon house band The Roots to appear on the program. The realization hit him during a conversation with drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson.
"I was telling him about the show, and he was like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' I thought, at first, that he was kind of brushing me off," Jacobs says. "Then he said, 'Christian, we watch the show every day at our house. We can't wait to be on.' I realized, wow, this show has touched a lot of people — people who have touched us."

June 18, 2011

Today we listened to:

"Azanga" track #1 from local group Shumba Ya Rira, the Lion that Roars, (Zimbabwe) by the Shumba Youth Marimba Ensemble. Recorded and mixed in Port Townsend, WA


From the liner notes: "Music and dance traditions have been deeply ingrained in Shona Culture from ancient time and are passed down from oral tradition. Much of shona music is based on the mbira, a hand-held ideophone with 22-28 metal reeds attached to a board that are plucked when played. The mbira plays a prominent role in many types of ceremonies, including traditional rituals for communicating with ancestral spirits. Some of the pieces on this recording draw upon traditional mbira music from Zimbabwe, and have been translated for marimba.
Marimbas are finely crafted xylophones made from hardwoods such as vermillion, mahogany and paduak. The keys are fine-tuned to reflect the tones played in African societies. Each key has a resonator which amplifies the sound, producing a unique musical effect --- from the clear, bell-like tones of the soprano to the deep, percussive tones of the bass. Marimbas are about five feet long, and their heights vary from two feet to more than five feet. The ensemble of instruments creates music that is exciting to listen to--and wonderful for dancing! The music has a universal quality that appeals to all ages and backgrounds."
http://www.shumbamarimba.org/

Mozart's Concerto for 2 pianos, K.365, 3rd movement

"Flying Machine" from Father Goose's It's a Bam Bam Diddly!

June 11, 2011

Today we listened to:

"Gahu" (Nigeria, Ghana) from Bakongo! Drumming Music for Dancers and played our triangles.

"Here we Go Zudio" performed by Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem from the album Many Hands, Family Music for Hati

One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
then I let it go again,
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
which finger did it bit?
The little finger on the right!

June 4, 2011

Today we listened to:
 "Kudi Kudi" from Bhangra: Original Punjabi Pop

Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 2 k. 417, 3rd movement

Preschool class also listened to:

Camille Saint-Saens' "Aquarium" from his carnival of the animals