{"id":12,"date":"2009-11-30T10:42:47","date_gmt":"2009-11-30T17:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sparetherock.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2009-11-30T10:42:47","modified_gmt":"2009-11-30T17:42:47","slug":"best-of","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sparetherock.com\/wordpress\/best-of\/","title":{"rendered":"Best"},"content":{"rendered":"
For the past few years, I’ve helped produce the Fids & Kamily Awards, a consensus yearly best-of poll for family music. \u00a0Go check out the archives there for the winners; below, I’ve put my picks.<\/div>\n
2009:<\/div>\n
Here’s who I voted for, in order:<\/div>\n
1. Here Comes Science – TMBG<\/div>\n
2. Dizzy – Lunch Money<\/div>\n
3. Go Waggaloo – Sarah Lee & Family<\/div>\n
4. More More More – Bunny Clogs<\/div>\n
5. 26 Animals – Artichoke<\/div>\n
6. Panda Brain – Telephone Company<\/div>\n
7. Time Machine – Sippy Cups<\/div>\n
8. Field Trip – Recess Monkey<\/div>\n
9. Worser – Duplex<\/div>\n
10. Robot Dance – Mr. Leebot<\/div>\n
Some CDs I gave serious consideration to (in alphabetical order):<\/div>\n
Baze & His Silly Friends<\/div>\n
Ben Rudnick<\/div>\n
Billy Kelly<\/div>\n
Daddy A Go Go<\/div>\n
Good Ms. Padgett<\/div>\n
Gustafer Yellowgold<\/div>\n
Human Tim + Robot Tim<\/div>\n
John & Mark<\/div>\n
Laura Doherty<\/div>\n
Keith Munslow<\/div>\n
Laura Freeman<\/div>\n
Milkshake<\/div>\n
Not-Its<\/div>\n
Robbert Bobbert<\/div>\n
Rocknoceros<\/div>\n
Ziggy Marley<\/div>\n
2008:<\/div>\n
1. They Might Be Giants – Here Come the 123s<\/div>\n
2. Frances England – Family Tree<\/div>\n
3. Justin Roberts – Pop Fly<\/div>\n
4. The Nields – Rock All Day, Rock All Night<\/div>\n
5. ScribbleMonster – Songs with No Character<\/div>\n
6. Brady Rymer & the Little Band That Could<\/div>\n
7. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – Easy<\/div>\n
8. Recess Monkey – Tabby Road<\/div>\n
9. Barenaked Ladies – Snacktime<\/div>\n
10. Egg – Sunny Side Up<\/div>\n
Full list of consideration:<\/div>\n
Astrograss \u2013 Let Me Stay Up All Night<\/div>\n
Barenaked Ladies – Snacktime<\/div>\n
Brady Rymer – Little Band That Could<\/div>\n
Central Services Board of Education \u2013 Central Services Presents\u2026<\/div>\n
Dan Zanes – Nueva York<\/div>\n
Egg \u2013 Sunny Side Up<\/div>\n
Father Goose \u2013 It\u2019s a Bam Bam Diddly<\/div>\n
Frances England Family Tree<\/div>\n
Harmonica Pocket – Ladybug One<\/div>\n
Justin Roberts – Pop Fly<\/div>\n
Me 3 \u2013 The Thin King<\/div>\n
Medeski Martin & Wood – Let’s Go Everywhere<\/div>\n
Nields – Rock All Day, Rock All Night<\/div>\n
Peter Rundquist \u2013 Bug Feathers<\/div>\n
Princess Katie & Racer Steve \u2013 Fast & Feisty<\/div>\n
Ralph’s World \u2013 Rhyming Circus<\/div>\n
Randy Kaplan \u2013 Loquat Rooftop<\/div>\n
Recess Monkey – Tabby Road<\/div>\n
ScribbleMosnter Songs with No Character<\/div>\n
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo – Easy<\/div>\n
Terrible Twos – Jerzy the Giant<\/div>\n
They Might Be Giants – Here Come the 123s<\/div>\n
Trout Fishing in America \u2013 Big Round World<\/div>\n
V\/A \u2013 Funky Kidz<\/div>\n
Note that I wasn’t very methodical in tracking my thinking, so there may be CDs I thought about that didn’t get onto this list. And there were tons of other very good CDs that just missed a spot even on this list.<\/div>\n
2007:<\/div>\n
1 Freedom in a Box – Deedle Deedle Dees<\/div>\n
2 Mommy Says No! -Asylum Street Spankers<\/div>\n
3 It’s a Big World – Renee & Jeremy<\/div>\n
4 Have You Never Been Yellow – Gustafer Yellowgold<\/div>\n
5 Educated Kid – Hipwaders<\/div>\n
6 Have You Ever Seen an Owl – Terrible Twos<\/div>\n
7 Alphabet Songs Vol. III – Steve Weeks<\/div>\n
8 Calling All Kids – CandyBand<\/div>\n
9 Make Your Own Someday – Jimmies<\/div>\n
10 Play – Various Artists (DeSoto)<\/div>\n
Consideration:<\/div>\n
Adlerman, Danny<\/div>\n
Andre 3000<\/div>\n
Asylum Street Spankers<\/div>\n
Bent, Parker<\/div>\n
CandyBand<\/div>\n
Curious Glimpse (v\/a)<\/div>\n
Day, Roger<\/div>\n
Deedle Deedle Dees<\/div>\n
Ernie & Neal<\/div>\n
For the Kids 3 (v\/a)<\/div>\n
Garcia, Enzo<\/div>\n
Gustafer Yellowgold<\/div>\n
Gwendolyn & the GTG<\/div>\n
Himmelman, Peter<\/div>\n
Hipwaders<\/div>\n
Hullabaloo<\/div>\n
Jellydots<\/div>\n
Jimmies<\/div>\n
Jones, Dean<\/div>\n
McCoury, Little Mo<\/div>\n
McDermott, Joe<\/div>\n
Mr. David<\/div>\n
Nields<\/div>\n
Play (various artists)<\/div>\n
Princess Katie & Racer Steve<\/div>\n
Recess Monkey (Aminal House and Wonderstuff)<\/div>\n
Renee & Jeremy<\/div>\n
Robbi K<\/div>\n
Rocknoceros<\/div>\n
Rudnick, Ben<\/div>\n
Sugar Free All-Stars<\/div>\n
Terrible Twos<\/div>\n
Uncle Rock<\/div>\n
Weeks, Steve<\/div>\n
Weinstone, David<\/div>\n
2006:<\/div>\n
1 (tie)<\/div>\n
Frances England – Fascinating Creatures<\/div>\n
Jellydots – Hey You Kids<\/div>\n
3 (tie)<\/div>\n
Audrarox – Audrarox<\/div>\n
Justin Roberts – Meltdown!<\/div>\n
5<\/div>\n
Ginger Hendrix – Macaroni Boy Eats at Chez Shooby Doo<\/div>\n
6 (tie)<\/div>\n
Sippy Cups – Electric Storyland<\/div>\n
Rebecca Frezza – Tall and Small<\/div>\n
Dan Zanes – Catch That Train!<\/div>\n
9<\/div>\n
Baby Loves Jazz Band – Go Baby Go<\/div>\n
10<\/div>\n
Uncle Rock – Plays Well With Others<\/div>\n
I really liked the records by Elizabeth Mitchell, Brady Rymer, Charity and the JAMband, Wee Hairy Beasties, Enzo Garcia, Elizabeth Street, Eric Herman, Mary Kaye, Hipwaders, Yosi, Trout Fishing in America, Princess Katie & Racer Steve, and most of them were on various iterations of the list.<\/div>\n

For the past few years, I’ve helped Stefan from Zooglobble and, as of 2009, Gwyneth from Gooney Bird Kids, produce the Fids & Kamily Awards<\/a>, a consensus yearly best-of poll for family music. \u00a0Go check out the archives there for the winners; below, I’ve put my picks.<\/p>\n

2011:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As usual, I was part of administering and a voting member of the\u00a0Fids & Kamily Awards<\/a>\u00a0this year. \u00a0Follow the link for a full description, but basically: a bunch of people who pay attention to family music vote on their favorites with a weighted ballot, and the albums with the most points win. \u00a0It’s based on the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll. \u00a0Wayne Brady didn’t get any votes.<\/p>\n

As you know if you listened on Saturday,\u00a0Recess Monkey<\/a>‘s\u00a0Flying!<\/em>\u00a0won the top spot. \u00a0But I thought I’d also share what my picks were. \u00a0More than most years, I had a lot of ties, and relatively few huge spreads, so I’m just listing my top ten in alphabetical order by artist (though I’ll name my one favorite down below):<\/p>\n