Flaming Lips Is for the Children

… to paraphrase the late, great wiseman, Ol’ Dirty Bastard. A few months ago, I wrote a story about the rise of children’s music that is palatable for parents. Several other outlets have also done stories on cool “Kindie Rock.”

“Grown up” artists like Dan Zanes, They Might Be Giants and Jason Ringenberg have all found new careers in the kids’ music world, while Indie and Alternative acts have popped up on childcentric compilations like See You On The Moon (with the likes of Broken Social Scene and Sufjan Stevens) and The Colours Are Brighter, featuring Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand and The Flaming Lips.

I’ve always felt the Flaming Lips should get into children’s music — their songs often have a colorful sense of childlike wonderment (and their live shows have giant furry animal costumes!). Along with the Colours track, the Lips have made some recent moves that suggest a kids’ album might not be so far-fetched of an idea. First, there’s this, singer Wayne Coyne’s curious appearance singing a karaoke version of “We Built This City” with a puppet on the fantastically weird kids show, Pancake Mountain (what all TV shows should aspire to be like).

Then there’s this little gem, a rockin’ kids song from Steve Burns (former host of Blues Clues/current scruffy Indie rocker) and the Lips’ multi-instrumentalist, Steven Drozd. The clip is airing between shows on the kiddie cable net Noggin as well as on the cute Jack’s Big Music Show program on the same station. Parental warning: Make sure you tell your little one that Steve has a beard, no hair and no green striped shirt before viewing!

— Mike Breen

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