You should check out Italiakids.com. They coordinate with many organizations dedicated to the arts in Italy with the hope of encouraging parents to attend more off the beaten track experiences of Italian culture - (think music, dance, theater). It’s a great place to check for current kid friendly music/arts events when in Italy. The mission is to provide good information to international families traveling to Italy. Italiakids are friends of Jitterbug – which makes them smart and hip!
We have been amassing great kids music from all those artists writing for the little ones – so we have decided to launch Jitterbug Radio. Go and listen by clicking on the Jitterbug Radio button here. The music plays in random order for now. Play a couple songs, leave it playing in the background, fill the air at birthday parties and playdates….. keep the music in the air! Let us know what functions you crave on Jitterbug.
Jitterbug is happy to announce a partnership with Sonicbids. They are a website that help artists get gigs and promoters find the right bands. Sonicbids has over 150,000 artists and 14,000 plus music buyers of all kinds, including promoters, licensors, and festival programers. Artists writing music for kids have a chance to submit music directly to jitterbug – helps the artists get more exposure and helps jitterbug get more quality music and videos! We are very pleased to be working with Sonicbids. They offer artists a very elegant and easy to navigate Electronic Press Kit (EPK) which allows you to send audio, photos, biography, video…. to all those interested. If you are a serious artist that wants to expand, we recommend you look into how Sonicbids can help you reach your goals.
“Cranberry Sauce Flotilla”…. hmmmm, odd title – This is the name of the latest Dog On Fleas video, which happens to be having its world premiere (indulge us!) right here on Jitterbug! Strange group of words Cranberry Sauce Flotilla – well I am told by a trusted authority that it’s all about making up secret codes; like a secret language only kids can understand; like changing meanings of real words: “cranberry sauce” means “hide behind the couch”. It will all make sense once you see this new video….. Another good one from our latest featured artist Dog On Fleas. enjoy
It always astounds me how music has this uncanny ability to sustain, enhance, alter, even express our moods and behavior. As our little girl gets to know more music, I see the correlations building between her moods and her choices of music at that moment. When she’s all jumpy, she may point to Dance Like An Animal ; sleepy her favorite is Greek Lullaby ; calm mood brings about Don’t Be Afraid of the Dentist. You get the picture…
To state the obvious, music is a healthy thing to use for molding an atmosphere or experience – for kids as well as adults! To use a great line from this excellent NYTimes article – in our quest to “civilize the object of our affections” (i.e. our kids!) – music is a great helper in creating and achieving an experience. Now go and enjoy jitterbug!
A bit off topic from kids music – but creative anyway. Have you heard about the Google/Life photo archive? Google has archived millions of photos from Life magazine and made them searchable and viewable – many for the first time. Sitting and browsing through photos with my little girl – I am surprised and delighted with her curiosities. One question leads to another and all-of-a-sudden we are talking about history, clothes/fashion, decades, memories, earth – when the phrase “but why?” comes out of her, I answer it by finding another photo – and the thread continues. I must say, having a pile of photos to search from that mostly come from people with an eye sensitive to composition, story and journalism is a real pleasure. Start exploring by clicking here…
Like many parents my wife and I try to limit our daughters access to television. One of the first shows we allowed her to watch was Jack’s Big Music Show. And it was “love at first site” for everyone. The guest artists were innovative and fun, the music fantastic and the Producers just “got it.” This is truly a “kindie” show that also has mainstream appeal. In fact, truth be told it was probably Jack’s Big Music Show that sparked the interest in kids artists and ultimately creating Jitterbug.
Unfortunately, the current episodes on Noggin are re-runs as it only had two seasons. But even the re-runs entertain regardless of how many times we watch.
Bravo, Spiffy Pictures including David Rudman (the Producers of the Show)!
If you have not seen it, check it out on Noggin. Maybe I should get around to checking out Spiffy’s current show, Bunny Town. Something tells me I’ll still miss Jack.
At first I thought that once a child saw a music video, there was no going back to simply listening to music without a video – while on the computer. The visual stimulation would be too intoxicating and the need for moving image would be demanded. Well, this is not the case – Don’t get me wrong, my daughter loves to watch the music videos, but if I click on a song, I encourage her to give it a chance. Without fail, within 30 seconds, it she likes the song, she listens all the way through. If she doesn’t like it (the kids are astoundingly discerning even at this tiny age) we click away; but if she likes it, video or straight music does not matter. Some of her favorite music only tracks currently are from ScribbleMonster, Spanish Wrangler, The Jimmies… This encourages us at Jitterbug to accept and seek music from all these artists – and if they have a video, that’s a bonus!
Well for the last weeks, “growth” has been the word of the day almost everyday for me. Artists we’ve contacted (and those who have contacted us) to be involved with Jitterbug have grown. We have been busy growing the list of bloggers, media contacts, anyone who might be involved in the kid music niche – want to be sure the people who should know, do know about jitterbug. Growing the user-base of the site as well as managing the growth of future expansion and offerings has kept us constantly exploring. We have some exciting ideas (at least they excite me…). And finally, the time I have available is not growing, but it is offset by watching my 3 year old’s musical taste grow; as jitterbug gets more variety, she points, clicks, demands with increasing fervor at the new offerings – attitude growth I guess….
I’m thrilled with the latest featured artist on Jitterbug – The Jimmies. They are based out of New York and their recordings have smart lyrics and a great energy to them. Visit them on Jitterbug here, or check-out their fantastic world here. Enjoy the Spanimals!
You should check out Italiakids.com. They coordinate with many organizations dedicated to the arts in Italy with the hope of encouraging parents to attend more off the beaten track experiences of Italian culture - (think music, dance, theater). It’s a great place to check for current kid friendly music/arts events when in Italy. The mission is to provide good information to international families traveling to Italy. Italiakids are friends of Jitterbug – which makes them smart and hip!