Trazan & Banarne

When Mr. Dante Fontana was kiddie Dante Fontana this was the show he watched. I hope this explains some things.

Uploaded by erikbe99

Janyse - The Magic of Think

Magical Voice Productions

Imagine, as a parent, helping your child form a robust and resilient identity and allowing your child to define his or her own values based on his or her own upbringing. Perhaps the gift that follows such acts is an individual with the ability to resist both the conditioning of modern marketing and majoritarian societies and the pressure of some peer groups that may not have his or her own best interests at heart. The Magic Of Think presents a host of artistic lessons designed to encourage our children to take solace and confidence from a remembrance of the uniqueness of their individuality. Singer/songwriter Janyse was inspired by her participation with the Make a Wish Foundation as a part of her role with the hit children’s show Ed, Edd and Eddy.

While listening to the CD, I was able to experience a rare aspect of personal nostalgia in the form of remembering the dreams of my youth, which seem to slip with every passing year. To become UN Secretary-General, write a world-renowned collection of poems, or simply “farm” alternative energy, you name it, the limits of my dreams were only confined by the breadth of my imagination. And I suspect the same is true of my nieces and nephews and of the millions of youngsters across the planet who are more familiar with being united with their peers than any other generation in human history.

Janyse seems to want to remind those adults charged with shaping and nurturing our inheritors that it is not simply the possibility of youth but the revitalized dreams of us who are farther down the path of life that must be cherished and continually maintained. The peppy and upbeat songs on The Magic Of Think deal with courage, friendship, and happiness. These are values and concepts that we, particularly in the Western world a la “the pursuit of happiness” or “the courage to be,” are invoked to cherish early on in our lives.

I will conclude with my personal favorite from the CD, it’s the fourth track entitled “Hero” and its most touching words are: “If I could be somebody, I know who I would be exactly... I would be the hero... find the hero inside.” True, noble wishes and a challenge to us all to ensure that youth strive to do good while remaining faithful to what is most true to them.

Review by Brandon Copeland

Bramble Jam - Move Your Boots

Delwin Studio

I have memories of listening to tapes of children’s music as a child, and even at such a young age, being hyper-aware of the overly simplistic and sometimes condescending nature of the songs. If only I had Bramble Jam to listen to. Their album Move Your Boots is a delightful mixture of music and vocals with integrity, fun, easy, and repetitive verses, in addition to lyrics that highlight everyday events of a child’s life that are both on a child’s level and relatable for parents.

Jason Kern, Jessie Griffiths, Asa Brebner, Jay Janney, and Pam Manning produced, wrote, and performed the pieces on this album, and the end product evidences their collective musical knowledge. The album explores different styles, from country to folk to reggae. Their vocals are straight-forward and often include complex harmonies, while the instrumental component is stable, skilled, and devoid of cheesy uses of Celeste or xylophone I used to associate with children’s music. Their website states that this album has “no preservatives or high fructose-modified-hydrogenated anything. It's real music that parents (or grandparents) and kids can just listen to and enjoy.”

The lyrics often include repetition that children can quickly latch on to, learning counting, patterns, and memorization. “Going to a Party,” for example, is a fun song that counts and lists different groups going to a party, including goats, monkeys, and kids. “Too Tall Small” is a silly song in the spirit of a limerick, with plenty of repetition and a focus on rhyme. “Five Little Piggies” is a play on the “little piggie” game that also features counting and repetition.

Other songs are fun and relatable to parents’ experience. Every parent can chuckle at “Pancakes,” which features the voices of a tired mommy and daddy awoken too early by children who want homemade pancakes; they pass the duty back and forth to each other, claiming the other has superior breakfast-making abilities, down to toaster-pastry making. “Mommy’s Lost Her Marbles” is an in-joke of sorts for working parents, whose Sunday nights precluding another week can be hectic; the joke that mommy “lost her marbles” is lost on the child, who narrates the song.

Songs like “Big Brother Blues” deal with issues children commonly deal with, like sibling rivalry. The lyrics are positive and empower each child listening to be proud of their own abilities. “Jack Came Back” details the worry one can feel when the family pet runs away or is hurt.

This album is quite an accomplishment, and I recommend it to any parents wishing to expose their children to music that will speak on their level without giving up musical integrity.

Review by Cristin Colvin