For the second year in a row, the folks behind the annual Fids and Kamily Music Awards (inspired by the Village Voice’s long-running “Pazz and Jop” Critics Poll) have been gracious (or foolish) enough to allow The Rock Father to join their ranks as one of 27 judges tasked with determining the best in Kids and Family Music for the year. It’s the only award program that I support for Kids and Family Music, as I don’t put any value in the programs that require artists to pay for a submission or “seal.” For 2013, the voting was moved up to include family music releases that were released between November 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013. Most people (including a lot of people in the family music realm) don’t realize just how much music is released during the course of a calendar year… and this year was MASSIVE. And much of it was really good, which made determining the winners a very difficult task. Each judge submitted a ranked list of their top 10 albums for the year, and today the results are in…
The Top 13 albums of 2013 as chosen by Fids and Kamily Voters:
1. Justin Roberts – Recess (The Rock Father Review)
2. Frances England – Blink of an Eye
3. Alastair Moock – Singing Our Way Through-Songs for the World’s Bravest Kids (The Rock Father Review)
4. Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell – Turn Turn Turn
5. Shine and the Moonbeams – Shine and the Moonbeams (The Rock Father Review)
6. Recess Monkey – Deep Sea Diver (The Rock Father Review)
7. The Not-Its! – Kidquake (The Rock Father Review)
8. Dean Jones – When the World Was New
9. Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke – Pleased to Meet You
10. Justin Roberts – Lullaby
11. Lori Henriques – The World Is A Curious Place to Live
12. Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band – Fantastico!
13. Lloyd H. Miller – S.S. Brooklyn
Selections from all 13 of these albums can be heard on this week’s installment of SPARE THE ROCK, SPOIL THE CHILD by Bill Childs. Stream it below, or via this link.
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Honorable Mentions (unranked):
- Bill Harley & Keith Munslow – It’s Not Fair To Me
- Caspar Babypants – I Found You! (The Rock Father Review)
- Cat Doorman – Songbook
- Heidi Swedberg and The Sukey Jump Band – My Cup of Tea
- Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights – Bandwagon (The Rock Father Review)
- Mister G – ABC Fiesta
- Paul Spring – Home of Song (The Rock Father Review)
- Tim and the Space Cadets – Anthems for Adventure
- The Verve Pipe – Are We There Yet?
- Trout Fishing in America – Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers
In addition to these 23 CDs, there were another 32 albums receiving at least one vote, making a total of 55 albums receiving one or more votes from the Poll’s 27 judges. Among them were a dozen debut albums — from artists that had not previously released family-oriented music.
The Top Six Debut Albums (unranked):
- Cat Doorman – Songbook
- Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble – I Like Everything About You, Yes I Do! (Review)
- The Ohmies – Morning Wish Garden
- Paul Spring – Home of Song
- Shine and the Moonbeams – Shine and the Moonbeams
- The Watson Twins – Pioneer Lane
There’s a lot of great stuff out there that you won’t find unless you’re looking for it. Keep you browser peeled to The Rock Father and I’ll keep sharing some titles worth checking out.
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