Justin Roberts - Jungle Gym
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CD Details
Artist: Justin RobertsEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2010-06-08
Music Label: CARPET SQUARE
Soundtracks:
- We Go Duck
- Sleepoverland
- Trick or Treat
- Sign My Cast
- Gym Class Parachute
- Obsessed by Trucks
- Cardboard Box
- Snow Day
- Never Getting Lost
- New Haircut
- Fire Drill
- 2 X 4
Music reviews of Jungle Gym
Music Review: Redefining the Genre of "Children's Music"
Rating: 5 Stars
I've been a fan of Justin for years. I don't have kids, but my friends do. And my childless status doesn't matter, because I'm a fan of great music and that's what Justin Roberts creates.
About 10 years ago, after a car ride with a friend and his toddler and seeing both sing along and have a great time to his catchy songs, I was hooked. Now it is the requisite gift for friends with children on the way. I purchase his catalog and just send it to the new proud parents with a note that basically says, "Kids' music doesn't have to suck. You can thank me later." My wife and I have done this at least 10 times and every single time the parents are grateful and quickly become fans, start attending Justin's shows and purchasing his latest releases.
I've always enjoyed his music from a songwriting standpoint and from his perspective on the subjects he tackles. Many have written about how much Justin understands the mind of a child and his ability to convey that mindset into clever, catchy tunes. This is true, but I have a slightly different take. Children are people and being a child is a shared human experience. No one is born an adult. The many awkward, rewarding, sad, exciting, scary and fun experiences of childhood that shape who we are as adults are not experiences we often hear about in songs. If these themes do appear in "adult" songs, it's often about child abuse (Suzanne Vega's "Luka") or some sort of Columbine style massacre (Pearl Jam's "Jeremy"). When simpler childhood subjects like learning to tie a shoe or learning to spell are heard in children's music, they are usually very annoying, repetitive and, well, childish.
I don't know who really likes this stuff - traditional children's music. When I was a kid, I hated "Old MacDonald," "This Old Man," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," and the other standards of the under 10 set. I was much more into the Who, The Beatles, Elton John and Simon & Garfunkel. I thought the Who's "Boris the Spider" and the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine," were children's songs - good children's songs. While I didn't quite relate to the lyrics of "adult" music, I loved the pop song structure.
My point is that Justin has always written children's music that does not insult the intelligence of children AND he's created songs that anyone, a child or an adult, can enjoy. The songs are well written, catchy pop songs that cover subjects from a child's perspective in a very original way. It's as if he's creating a level playing field - all good power pop songs do not have to be written exclusively about mature subject matter - and offering kids great music to which they can closely relate and deeply understand.
For example, "Trick-or-Treat," is a Halloween song. Most Halloween songs are about ghosts, goblins, witches and scary stuff like that. But Justin cuts through all of that and reminds everyone that, really, Halloween is just about free candy and lots of it. In addition, he delivers this message in a sugar coated piece of power pop perfection. If the lyrics were about a more "mature" subject, this song could be an indie rock anthem. But instead, it's an anthem for one of the greatest things about being a kid - Every year on October 31 you can dress up in a cool costume, knock on your neighbors' doors, say "Trick-or-treat," and be handed free candy.
Justin has always had a knack for writing kids' songs with colorful lyrics and a catchy pop twist. The big difference between this album and Justin's previous releases is that there are a few songs that sound nothing at all like what one would expect from children's music and, I'd argue, redefine the genre.
"Sign My Cast" is a piano ballad about a kid with a broken "limb," who is feeling down, but would feel a little brighter if you'd sign his cast. But it's deeper than that. There is a melancholy tone that somehow taps into the childhood tragedy that is a broken bone. Having experienced a couple casts as a child, I was reminded of how painful those times were. Yet, if you pay no attention to the lyrics, the song packs an emotional wallop and sounds nothing like what one would expect from a song that's supposed to be written for kids.
"2x4," the final song on the album reminds me of some lost 70s AM hit that the Beach Boys might have released, but didn't. This is the greatest example of where Justin blurs the lines between children's music and "adult" music. The lyrics are fairly vague. At first listen they are about climbing a tree (potentially to a tree house). But the song could easily be interpreted as an inspirational ode to achieving goals, ("But we're gonna go so high, up into the blue sky. . ."). Lyrically, there is very little that labels this tune a kids' song and musically, it is just beautiful.
The big idea that Justin Roberts understands clearly is that music is universal. Labeling a certain type of music as "just for kids," is kind of ridiculous. After all, everyone is either a kid now or has been a kid at some point in their lives. By creating the music he does, Justin creates music for everyone. By addressing issues that children have to face in their daily lives growing up, he helps them feel like they have a voice - "Hey, he's singing about me!" - which is rarely heard in popular music. For adults, the subjects addressed in Justin's songs provide a trip into the past, to simpler times. Yet they remind us that things weren't ever really all that simple (e.g. "Never Getting Lost") - simple is a relative term. I hope this album helps him break through on a massive scale. I hope Justin gets recognized as the great songwriter he is, not just the great childrens' music songwriter he is, just as Dr. Suess has been recognized as a great writer, who happened to focus his talents on writing children's books (that appeal to people of all ages). It's timeless music for everyone and the production, by Liam Davis(of Chicago's power pop kings Frisbee), is stellar.
I highly recommend this album to anyone with children and anyone who likes well crafted power pop. It is the best power pop album I have heard in a long time. I didn't address that aspect too much in this review, but if you like the Beach Boys, XTC, Jellyfish, Beatles, etc. you will definitely enjoy this. There are french horns, pianos, Moogs, chiming guitars, incredible drums and harmonies, unbelievable harmonies, throughout this album. Brilliant stuff on many levels. Listen and you'll know what I mean.
Description of Jungle Gym
Jungle Gym contains 12 original songs for kids and parents that ascend through the collective memories of childhood: from the joys of trick or treating and sleepovers to gym class parachutes and the magic stillness of snow days. The recording, produced by Liam Davis, features pounding drums, vintageguitars, strange and fanciful time changes, soaring vocals, and elegant
French horns. In addition to the music, the CD booklet includes vibrant paintings by Sarajo Frieden and sing-along lyrics.
Justin Roberts' last recording, Pop Fly, was named one of the 10 best children s CDs of the year by USA Today, NPR, and Amazon.com; while his 2006 recording, Meltdown, was named one of the best children s CDs of the past 30 years by Time Out Kids NY. Collectively, his children s CDs have won 5 Parents Choice Gold Awards and have been featured in the New York Times, People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and more.
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