RopBop for the tots: Songs for the kids and kid in you

A few years ago I made my nephew a mix CD for Christmas that consisted of songs that are kid worthy. Songs that are catchy fun to sing along to and light and more importantly tolerable to listen to over and over. I included some songs from a disc I acquired that had Saturday morning cartoon theme songs done by popular artists. It is a great disc and if you find it you'll enjoy songs like Sublime doing Hong Kong Phooey, The Ramones awesome version of Spiderman or Violent Femmes covering a song from the Jetsons called Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah. I also included some obvious ones like the Beatles Octopuses Garden, The Troggs Wild Thing and Jump by Kriss Kross. I don't know how many people reading this have kids but here are some other jams that should please the youngsters and also help parents to keep their sanity.

This track is from a punk sampler called Short Music For Short People. It's not a kids album as the title may imply but it's 101 songs that are each no longer than 30 seconds. It's a fun CD with a wide variety and some great little ditties. You can get the album from Fat Wreck Chords. Wizo is also a German band, just an F.Y.I.
Wizo - The Count

You might recognize this tune form a recent Honda Insight commercial. The whole song is perfect to get kids thinking about what they want to be when they grow up and super catchy.
Great Lake Swimmers - See You On the Moon

This song was on the Juno soundtrack and is sung by Kimya Dawson who is one half of the Moldy Peaches, who are not this kid friendly. This is a really cute song though and I love the name Antsy Pants.
Kimya Dawson & Antsy Pants - Tree Hugger

Guess what color this song focuses on? Bright Eyes (a.k.a. Conor Oberst) is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. He's got the emo/indie/twangy thing down.
Bright Eyes - True Blue

The first time I heard this song was the first time I ever heard the White Stripes. This is back when there were still an up and coming band out of Detroit. I remember my ex-girlfriend played it for me on our way back home on a sunny but snow covered day, which was the perfect setting.
The White Stripes - We're Going To Be Friends

Singer for the Super Furry Animals, Gruff Rhys bring us into a child like dream with his lyrics and toy piano.
Gruff Rhys - Candylion

This is the grand finale right here! The Violent Femmes show us how to cover a kids song. It's fun, silly and rocking! Every time I hear it I have to play it again. It's like a treat for your ears.
The Violent Femmes - Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah (Means I Love You)

Because guitar solos are awesome

As odd as it may sound The Smashing Pumpkins and T-shirts seem to be a reoccurring theme in my life. The first time I ever became aware of the band was in my eighth grade science class. There was a girl named Angie who was the skater type, a crowd I was way to nerdy to be a part of, and she wore a t-shirt with the cover of Siamese Dream on it. I thought the picture was neat and the band name made me laugh. This was all well before they burst out of obscurity with the smash hit Disarm (which I had totally forgot about until writing this). Once that song hit I instantly went out and bought the album and wore the hell out of it. The next time I learned about Smashing Pumpkins from a t-shirt I saw a few years later in my high school art class. By now I knew who the Pumpkins were and I knew I liked their music but I didn't have many of their albums other than Siamese Dream. This kid had a purple shirt Pumpkins shirt that had lyrics on the back that I found to be fascinating for some reason.

soon, soon I'll be leaving
i hear all you're saying
i hear all you're failing
serve yourself
no one else can do for you like you
no one else fails like me
in my eyes i burn alive
fly like a bird
no more words just you and i
high in the sky

At the time I didn't know it was a song, I just they were pretty words on the back of a band shirt. That was all changed when I bought Pisces Iscariot. Not only does this song have a massive guitar solo that almost feels like a battle, but it is my all time favorite Pumpkins song. I love how it's beautiful and soft and then it becomes this epic chaotic fireball at the end. This song is worth the price of the album alone.
Smashing Pumpkins - Starla

I used to live next to this guy named Dice who was the most eccentric yet awesome dude I know. In fact if he was into the internet at all I am sure he'd dig this blog and probably loan me more CD's than I could carry. Walking into his residence was like walking into the best record store ever. Wall to wall music, and a huge selection of books that would make any pop culture fan drool. I can remember (well sort of) many times sitting in his kitchen smoking good pot, listening to great and sometimes not so great music and just talking about music and the Simpsons and the Cubs. If you asked about a band he would randomly disappear and bring you a stack of 10 different CD's to look at and would insist that you borrow them. Needless to say I thought he was pretty cool for an old guy. One day I a friend and I asked him about Dinosaur Jr and he let us borrow the brand new album they had put out. I really only had heard Without A Sound which had the song Feel The Pain on it. Chances are you might not recognize the song but I bet if you heard it you would be like "Oh yeah...this song." Anyway the singer J. Mascis plays a mean guitar, as an awesome smoked out croon and knows how to play some real 90's sounding alternative rock.
Dinosaur Jr. - We're Not Alone

Winner of the most awesome name contest goes to this next band, Dragonforce. If you don't own Guitar Hero 3 you should go and get it now because there is a song by them on the game that is sooooo much fun to play! If you have no clue who Dragonforce is I can sum it up in one word. shredal. You can combine two words into one right? Does that still count? This band features the amazing powerhouse of Herman Li and Sam Totman who, in my humble opinion, are not only the best but also the fastest guitar players in the world. If you like semi cheesy metal with high vocals, fast insane guitar solos, and apocalyptic fantasy songwriting then check them out. If not still check them out at least for the awesome guitar playing. Want to see something awesome? Look up Herman Li on you tube. Insane!
Dragonforce - Trail Of Broken Hearts

The Hold Steady are my second favorite band after the Stones. I have featured them here before, in fact I am pretty sure I featured them in my first post ever made on RopBop. For a lot of people this is a love-or-hate band. I am a fan because of the clever lyricism, awesome organ playing and for the sweet guitar licks that seem like the were ripped out of the rock and roll handbook. They Put on a good show too. This is a great song but every time I hear it I am always disappointing by the sudden cut off at the end. I could listen to the solo for at leas another five minutes if it continued to be that sweet. That's all I am really going to say because I am sick of typing, and I am a critic and a DJ.
Hold Steady - Most People Are DJ's

R.I.P. The King Of Pop

Michael Jackson passed away today in Los Angeles at the age of 50. I know people have mixed feelings on Michael but despite allegations have been made against him you have to admit one thing, the dude had MAD talent. I don't know everything and I don't feel like doing a whole life story so I'll just list a few of the hi-lights I remember. First thing first I have to go with where it all started, The Jackson 5. For me, no song will ever top ABC, or I Want You Back. Every time I hear those songs I am just a floored as I was the first time I heard it, which I can distinctly remember. Those two songs are so soulful every time I hear it I get so happy I could blow sunshine and rainbows out of every orifice. Then you have Off the Wall which was his first solo album and released in 1979. It featured the most hilarious picture of him and had one of the greatest dance floor burners "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough". Then you have Thriller which was not only a spectacularly spooky song, but also was ground breaking in music video history. Don't quote me on this as fact but I am pretty sure there was no cinematic mucis video like that before hand. I remember seeing that as a kid and being scared out of my wits at the sight of Michael turning into a werewolf. When I went to bed the night of watching that video I was sure I was werewolf Michael and his gang of zombies coming out of the woods in our backyard. I ran out of my room crying. Awesome Awesome Awesome! Then only to one up himself he did a little dance move called the moonwalk. Probably the coolest dance move ever done next to the Macerena (Of course I am totally being sarcastic there). The man was a dancing machine and pulled off every move flawlessly. You also have, Bad, the white glove, smooth criminal, the cloab. with Sir Paul on "The Girl Is Mine", Macaulay Culkin, P.Y.T, and billions of fans. I don't want to get into the negative aspects of his career but I do want to state a few things. I was lurking on various websites reading comments from people about his death and I was sort of pissed. There were some really nice things said and some truthful things said, but there were also some just plain uninformed and downright immature things said as well. People mocking other people by calling them pedophile lovers, saying they hope he burns in hell and other really unnecessary things. Here is how I see it all. He had a messed up child hood and family life, he grew up in the public eye his whole life, of course he is going to grow up all fucked up. I'll be the first to say that if he did what has been alleged of him then he will get his. I hope that the children at least feel some relief if in fact things did happen to them. However I would like to believe it didn't and will continue to call it as innocent until proven guilty. I'm not the one he has to answer to in the end. As Tupac said "Only God can judge me." So Michael rest in peace, you will be missed but not forgotten. Here are a couple go great Michael Jackson cover songs. Enjoy.

KT Tunstall - I Want You Back

The Last Dinosaur - Beat It

Speak Low - Thriller

Super Sweet Repeat Bonus Remix Song:
Jackson 5 - I Want You Back(Z-Trip Remix)

Cool points deducted and then cool points earned back

I have a confession to make that might just ruin all my credibility as a person who likes goods music. I am a fan of John Mayer. Not a super fan, but I do think he writes some pretty good songs. I it's lame, but he seems like an alright guy and obviously he's doing something right. I mean Daughters was a pretty neat song. Well if you liked that song even a little and are afraid to admit it I suggest checking out this song. I don't think it's released on any of his albums that I know of. I only have two and one of them is a live CD where this track comes from. This is a honest heartfelt song about leaving a long term relationship and moving on to the next, only to find out your new girl doesn't live up to your past girl. Seriously, give this song a listen.
John Mayer - Comfortable

I was looking at the pictures on Amy Winehouses Back To Black album and I thought "Man what a fox!" So I decided to look at more pictures of her on Google Images. I wish I hadn't. Regardless of the train wreck she is becoming I do love her music. She has that sultry soulful raspy voice that is so damn sexy. Her songs normally have an awesome beat that you can bump like it was a rap song, but I decided to go with a slow burner of hers today.
Amy Winehouse - Some Unholy War

One of my sources where I get my music is from Podcasts. There are a ton of music podcasts out there. Some are non-stop radio shows like The Aquarium Drunkard, or Pretty Much Amazing, some are theme shows like Coverville, and others like KEXP Song Of The Day give you a new MP3 everyday. This song came from KEXP and whats even better is that it is an AMAZING live version.
Phosphorescent - Wolves (Live On KEXP)


Hopefully everyone has heard or at least knows of DJ Dangermouse by now. If not he was the guy who made the excellent mash up of The Beatles White Album with Jay-Z's Black Album which was titled The Grey Album, clever ain't it. If you haven't heard it I suggest you stop reading this and get to searchin'. The reason I bring this up is because he has now collaborated with indie prodigy Sparklehorse. Together they have created a new album called Dark Night Of The Soul, which features original songs sung by Iggy Pop(The Stooges), Jason Lytle, Julian Casablancas(The Strokes) and James Mercer(The Shins) just to name a few. I have heard this album and it is 100% jaw dropping. Unfortunately there is some sort of label dispute going on where by law it is not allowed to be released. Well leave it to rouge Dangermouse to find a way to get it out. Basically what happened is that the album was leaked on the net. Oh, I forgot to mention that it also comes with liner notes that have a picture book done by Director David Lynch. You can buy the case and liner notes and they send it to you with a blank CD-R. I'm sure you can find all the information if you do a little searching. To wet your appetite here is a track from the disc featuring Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. Prepare to be amazed.

Dangermouse & Sparklehorse - Revenge (feat. Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips)

Mmmmm...indie treats

I updated the blog a little today. I got rid of the little kid header and made a more relevant one. The kid header was cool, but it was put there originally for testing so I could figure out how Blogger worked. Well I now know and decided to change it. I also did some color changes too. Hope it looks good. Today I decided to feature two bands that I have been into for the past few months. It's not brand new piping fresh, but I love it and I hope you will too.

Manchester Orchestra is going to rock you! This band is what every band should strive to be. This Atlanta, GA based band play high energy hook laden no holds barred indie rock with mature and poignant song writing. Which is very surprising for such a young band. Lead singer Andy Hull started writing songs while still attending High School and opted to be home schooled his senior year so he could compose and record in the studio. Eventually he started to collaborate with friends solidifying what became Manchester Orchestra. The band has an EP You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, But Brilliance Needs a Good Editor which gained fame around the Atlanta area and led to the bands first full length I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child. They also recently released their amazing sophomore album Mean Everything To Nothing where they got a chance to work with producer Joe Chiccarelli who has worked with bands such as The Shins and My Morning Jacket. I can not say enough great things about this band. Take a listen and I assure you will be addicted.
Shake It Out

I Can Feel A Hot One

I've Got Friends

Frightened Rabbit are a 3 piece band from Glasgow, Scotland who formed in 2004. It features brothers Scott Hutchison (guitar,vocals) and his brother Grant (percussion) and their friend Billy on second guitar. As their names suggests they play a blend of intimate indie rock with a nervously anxious sound. The lyrics have a sort of self deprecating air yet they wrap around you like a blanket letting you know there is some sense of security hidden in between the lines. As I said the music has a real down home almost earthy feel laced with bittersweet and haunting undertones. It's dark with out being utterly depressing and it's light with out being too cheery. Sort of like seeing the silver lining of a dark cloud. These are from the incredible album Midnight Organ Fight.
Keep Yourself Warm

The Twist

Old Fashioned

Uncle Monsterface will send spite towards sex in the city

It should come as no supprise that I love to make mixes. Be it for friends, for my Ipod, or just for fun, I'm a mix addict. I have literally spent 5 hours just hanging out with Itunes, listening to music, making mixes which I will either delete, or change in a week. However every now and then I get a great idea for a mix and I just add and subtract from it until it's perfect. I used to work as an assistant manager in a sort of ghetto work environment. By that I mean people didn't do what they were supposed to, or didn't show up or got into fist fights, etc. Not only did this keep me on my toes, but it was also very frustrating. On one especially crappy day I got an idea to make a mix that I could pop in to vent my frustration. I would fill it with angry, vengeful, you-piss-me-off, you-did-me-wrong, type of music. I called this mix "Send Some Spit Their Way." Here are two exceptional tracks. The first is by one of my favorite emo-punk bands Bayside. The first verse is so hardcore and the chorus is brilliant. the second is by the great John Fogerty, who was the lead singer of CCR. The song will rock your face off and then give you a karate kick to the stomach.
Bayside - Cold And Blue And Lifeless

John Fogerty - I Can't Take It No More

Here is the tracklist of the whole mix if anyone is interested. If anyone would like a mix like this or just a mix in general let me know.

Send Some Spite Their Way
01. Movielife - God, I Wish I Could Hate You (No Longer Available)
02. The Nobodys - Fuck You Too
03. Ugly Kid Joe - I Hate Everything About You
04. Husker Du - Never Talking To You Again
05. Broughes - I Ain't No Miracle Worker
06. Tool - Hooker With A Penis
07. Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff
08. Small Brown Bike - See You In Hell
09. Rage Against The Machine - Tire Me
10. Thursday - In A Car Crash
11. Korn - Children Of The Korn (feat. Ice Cube)
12. Exodus - Haters Ball (No Longer Available)
13. Scarface - No Tears
14. Stephen Malkmus - Darkwave
15. Fiona Apple - Sleep To Dream
16. The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me
17. Pulley - Havasu
18. Grade - When Something Goes To Your Head
19. Bayside - Cold And Blue And Lifeless
20. Fishbone - Lyin' Ass Bitch
21. The Rolling Stones - Please Go Home
22. Ray Charles - Hit The Road Jack
23. Save Ferris - Goodbye


I have to say that I am not a fan of the Black Lips at all. However I am a big fan of Wu-Tang and indie rock & rapper colabs. The Drop I Hold sounds like it was written on a drugged out hangover. I pretty much have to grit my teeth and tolerate most of this song until it gets to the awesome GZA rap, they don't call him the Genius for nothing. This song is kind of like an orange tootsie pop. The sucker part tastes gross, but you know that at the end there will be a delicious orange flavored tootsie roll that will make it all worth while.
Black Lips - The Drop I Hold(feat. Genius/GZA)


Last night I had the TV on while surfing the internet which happens a lot, but I wasn't really watching it and Sex In the City was on. See how I covered myself there? Seriously I don't make a point to watch it, but if it comes on I'll somewhat pay attention. Anyway, as they cackled away about their sex lives I wondered, what if there was a male version of Sex In The City. A bunch of guy talking about the girls they laid. Then I remembered that males do that already and there really isn't a need for a TV show. You can probably go up to a group of 20 something guys and sure enough in about 10 minutes you'll hear something sexual. The show would more than likely be too graphic to even show on HBO, it would have to be on the spice channel or something. It was sort of fun to think about though. Maybe if you edited the nudity and toned down the graphic language it might be worth it. I would imagine this song would be on the soundtrack. If you want to laugh check out the bands website, it's hilarious!
Uncle Monsterface - Kill Your Boyfriend! (No Longer Available, But This Is)