The following post is by music reviewer Jennifer Brown.

This month you’ll be hearing a lot of love songs.  It’s that time of year, let’s face it:  Love is in the air!

While I hope you all take some time this month (and perhaps even more often than that) to tell the important people in your lives how much you love and appreciate them, I’m going to talk a little about another kind of love.

No matter what holiday is on the calendar or season of life we’re in, God’s love is always there for us and the details of our lives are important to Him.  One of the ways we try to remember this in our family is through some of our bedtime song collections.

We have a couple in particular that are time tested favorites that I want to share with you this month.
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The following is by music reviewer Jennifer Brown.

School is officially in.  For many of you, you’ve been in back-to-school mode for so long it no longer has that new pencil smell or feel.   If you need something to shake up your school days a little, then look no further than one of my favorite bands whose educational lyrics had me hooked way back at my first review:  They Might Be Giants.

Their latest release for children Here Comes Science was on my wish list for 2010, and it’s proven to be a terrific addition to our music collection! They Might Be Giants doesn’t disappoint with their brain powering lyrics.  This album’s collection of songs set out to expound our knowledge about the world of science. [Read more...]

The following is by music columnist Jennifer Brown.

So there was once a time when I prided myself on knowing all of the words to Ice, Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice–don’t judge me too harshly I was 12, it was popular and I had a lot of time on my hands.

Today, I know just about every word to Recess Money’s latest release The Final Funktier. I guess it’s still a matter of popularity, as ever since we popped this CD into our car I often get a request for “the space album.”

Recess Monkey

I’d never heard of Recess Monkey until this album arrived in my mailbox, but now that I’m a fan in my own right, I can see why this Seattle based group has had such success. 

The Final Funktier is their sixth album release; and this band, comprised of three elementary school teachers, has truly managed to capture the essence of this stage of life. [Read more...]

The following is by music reviewer Jennifer Brown.

This month I’m continuing my “wish list” series from January with Dance for the Sun by Kira Willey.  I purchased this album during the dark days of winter and it continues to be a source of brightness as the summer sun shines bright through my window as I write today.

Dance for the Sun

I was initially drawn to Dance for the Sun after hearing the song “Colors” which some of you may recognize as a Dell advertisement theme song.  I was pleasantly surprised that we love the rest of the album just about as much as “Colors”—an adorable song about expressing how you feel based on which color you are today.

I am still taken with the idea of being “bright and happy purple,” “chirping with joy green” or “hopping mad like a playground ball red.”

This song is a terrific example of how Kira’s lyrics are packed with vivid and descriptive imagery, and I almost always ask to repeat this song when it comes on in our car; it’s really that beautiful and captivating.

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