Call me a word nerd.  I love when someone has the ability to swirl language around to make something both true and funny.

So, yeah, I’m also a sucker for a good pun.  It takes a pretty bad one to make me groan and roll my eyes.  But if it’s delivered well with the right mix of wit and humor?  I fall apart at the seams with chuckles.

With a title like Buy One Get One Flea, Dog on Fleas’ latest album speaks to that side of me that likes to be pun-ished.  Get it?  Oh, never mind.

It’s hard not to like this band.  With their unfettered energy, bold and varied instrumentation and imaginative writing, Dog on Fleas is a band you can rely on to deliver music chock full of smart, fun and unique ideas.  Their eighth release is no exception, but certainly exceptional.

At the helm of Dog on Fleas stands Dean Jones, a Grammy Award winning producer who may unequivocally be the golden child of the independent children’s music scene.  His endearing voice draws you in, and before you know it, you’re tapping your toes and crooning along to lyrics like “I must be a genius, because I love you.”

My favorite songs on Buy One Get One Flea showcase the band’s humorous and skillful art of language and musicality.

For starters, “Palindrome” provides a fantastic introduction to a literary tactic.  My son loves palindromes and tries to find them everywhere, so this song really resonated with him.  Shortly after the standard “Mom” and “Dad” ones are presented, more complicated scenarios, like short sentences are tackled.  You know what I have to say to that?  Wow.  See what I did there?  BOOM, palindrome!

“High School Reunion” isn’t really a song, per se, as there’s no distinct and repeatable melody, but it satisfies my word nerd essence.  Basically, it’s a bunch of guys standing at a reunion pointing out old friends, which really becomes a riff on funny names like Sam Wich or Dan Singmachine.  And I love the genuine sound of these guys cracking each other up.

Instead of millionaires or billionaires, Dog on Fleas propose the idea of reveling in being loaded with hundos in “Hundredaires.”  This is an economic class structure that I could maybe classify as, say, if I curbed my Target spending a little.

One of the many things I love about Dog on Fleas’ latest album is the sheer variety of musical instruments used.  Strings, woodwinds, brass instruments, kazoos along with traditional band instruments. And is that a glockenspiel or maybe even a theremin that I hear?

Sure, it could sound like a disastrous cacophony, but mastered through Jones’ production, it sounds more like a wicked good time.  Strongest in songs like “It’s a Ruse” and the instrumental “Over the Waves” and “Grand March from Aida”, the bizarre collection of instruments creates a rowdy, boisterously delightful environment.

Not only does Dog on Fleas make songs that stimulate the mind and the ears, but also the soul.  “Thinking Good Thoughts” is a great reminder for kids to think positive and not get so down and sullen.  Resiliency is key.   And the love song “I Must Be a Genius” just makes you feel good, inside and out.

Rounding out the album is “Pardon My Pajamas” (a lazy tune that could be our Snow Day anthem this winter), “Hinterlands” (a lopping travel song), “If I Were You I’d Give Me a Kiss” (pondering an interesting conundrum), “Herring’s Head” (a song that reminds me a bit of They Might Be Giants, with a hint of sea salt),  “I am a Sailor “ (more story than song),  and “Dry Beans” (an ode to the legume).

To celebrate this nugget of an album, I’m giving away one free copy to a lucky reader!  All you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter widget below by Friday, February 21 at 11:59pm EST. Open to contiguous U.S. residents only.

Dog on Fleas’ Buy One Get One Flea is available on Amazon, CD Baby and iTunes.

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I was provided a copy of this product for review purposes. All opinions are 100% completely my own.

I’ve decided to try an experiment in here.  Every now and then I find some music that I just want to get the word out about, so I’m trying out a new feature on the blog today.  In lieu of a full album review, I present to you:

Quick Sound Bites

Image credit: goce / 123RF Stock Photo

You know, music features brought to you like a Hershey’s Kiss – short and sweet.

First up, it’s Ella Jenkins’ latest release, 123s and ABCs.

The Smithsonian Folkways album by “The First Lady of Children’s Music” is the perfect album for those of you with small children who are venturing in to the numeric and alphabet world.

Jenkins has been making children’s music and teaching to young children for nearly half a century, and it shows.   Her easy lyrics and chants are delivered in a call-and-response way that allows your children to follow along, working on number and letter recognition, addition, and subtraction.  She tackles counting in English.  And in Spanish.  And Swahili!

The album also includes those classic “nursery rhymes” that I remember from my childhood like “One, Two, Buckly My Shoe” “This Old Man” and “One Potato, Two Potato” as well as the preschool staple “ABCs”

Listening to Ella Jenkins on 123s and ABCs is a lesson in active participation.  You really do feel like you’re in the studio with her.  Prepared to get schooled, my friend.

Ella Jenkins’ 124s and ABCs is available in stores, digital music outlets and from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on January 28th.

Photo credit: Will Avery

The second delicious bite of the day comes from Will Avery, another educator (and father) who writes music that puts the fun in funky in his latest project, Baby Gonna Holla.

I’m not going to lie.  This ain’t your traditional kiddie music.  Think of it as children’s music for the Phish or the George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic circuit.   His instrumental song “Yeah”, is a pretty groovy tune with a variety of instruments like the flute and horns.  And no, he didn’t forget the cowbell.

“Periodic Elements – Little Things (New)” – reminds me of the Beastie Boys album Check Your Head.  A song perhaps better suited for the older Elementary School crowd, it’s a tad long to hold a little ones attention.   But my older son liked hearing all the elements and what they do.

Find more about Will Avery and listen along to previews at www.yesnack.com.

I know, I said I wouldn’t be back here in a while. Unless…

I heard some great kid music I just knew you had to hear. And I have.  So I’m jumping on here quick to let you know about it.

This past weekend on a whim, we took the kids to see Disney’s new animated film Frozen.  It was fun, exciting, a great story line, lovely characters…and fantastic music.

Don’t get me started on how much I love Olaf the snowman’s dreamy “In Summer.”  I’ve been singing this in my best faux musical theater voice pretty much non-stop since we saw the film.  The kids pretend to roll their eyes and make their ears bleed, but secretly, I think they love it.
The soundtrack is so enchanting and moving that I didn’t even wait to get to my car in the theater parking lot before I had downloaded the whole thing on iTunes.

Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for musicals.  Maybe it’s because I hear songs and singing like this and regret not scratched that itch to try my hand at musical theater when I was younger.  Or maybe it’s because the songs are effortlessly woven in to a strong story line that sweeps me up in that warm Disney blanket of magic and wonder and amazement.  Seeing my daughter’s reaction, the large grin on her face and the twinkle in her eye throughout the songs makes the soundtrack even more enticing.

And who knew that the adorable Kristen Bell could sing?  Reading up on her, she went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for musical theater, and it shows in her strong vocals.  “For the First Time in Forever” and “Love Is An Open Door” are two delightful songs that provide a platform for Bell to shine.

But the song from the Frozen soundtrack that makes my hair stand on end, gets me choked up and then has me scouring the internet for local voice lessons is Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go.”

Sung as Elsa, the newly coronated Queen with a icy curse, she flees her kingdom for refuge and solace in the mountains.

I mean, come on.  It’s Idina Menzel.  I dare you not to feel something as she belts out this empowering song.  Rumor has it, this is  an Oscar contender for Best Song, and it should be.

Luckily for all of us, Disney has released this scene from Frozen for my kids to watch over and over and over again.  The animation in this scene is incredible, as you watch Elsa create a breathtaking ice castle with her newly tested powers.  It’s even my son‘s favorite scene and song from the album.

Enjoy!