Bright Spaces

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Raffi seems to be the driving force behind Bright Spaces, a benefit album whose proceeds will be distributed by the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children for homeless kids living in shelters. Out of the 16 tracks here, the ubiquitous children's music superstar contributes four, including one of his most memorable, "All I Really Need." And in an inspired moment, Arlo Guthrie joins his late famous father, Woody, for a father-son duet of "This Land Is Your Land," the other American national anthem. With songs by Sweet Honey in the Rock, the delightful Jessica Harper, John McCutcheon, singer-activist Si Kahn, David Mallett, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, and others, Bright Spaces generates its own special brightness and sheltering warmth. Along with the theme song from Arthur and Friends by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Bright Spaces features a funky and unforgettable call-and-response gospel version of "Old MacDonald" by Jane Sapp's Dream Project. From Sapp's great We've All Got Stories, this cut alone is worth having for kids and adults. --Martin Keller

Bright Spaces, Music, Various Artists, Bop, Calypso, Children's Collections, Children's Folk, Children's Stories, Childrens, Contemporary Folk, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Folk-Rock, Political Folk, Pop, Progressive Bluegrass, Sea Shanties, Sing-Along, Singer/Songwriter, Traditional Bluegrass, Traditional Folk

Bright Spaces, Vol. 2
Average customer rating:
Bright Spaces, Vol. 2
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Bright Horizons
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Compilations | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Folk Music | Children's Music | Styles | Music
Sing-A-Longs | Children's Music | Styles | Music
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Bright Spaces

You Are My Little Bird

The Monster in the Backpack: Candlewick Sparks

Nicky's Jazz Lullabies

You Are My Sunshine

ASIN: B000H9I14G
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Tracks:

When You're Smilin' - The Deighton Family
Little Sack Of Sugar - Elizabeth Mitchell
Raccoon And Possum - Mike, Peggy, Barbara & Penny Seeger
Jane And Louisa - Two Women At Lopinot, Trinidad
The Glendy Burk - David Jones
Merzidotes - Session Americana
L'cha Dodi - Craig Taubman
Dance Around - Woody Guthrie
Soy Del Pueblo - Flor Del Pueblo
Hopalong Peter - David Grisman
Jump Up - Dan Zanes With Astrograss
Little David Play On Your Harp - Sweet Honey In The Rock
Give It A Kiss - The Wingdale Community Singers
Blackbird Get Up - The Johnson Girls
Waltzing With Bears - Bok, Muir & Trickett

Album Description

Bright Spaces 2 is a very special compilation of tracks personally selected by Dan Zanes of his favorite family music to benefit Bright Spaces: play spaces for children in crisis created by Bright Horizons Foundation for Children. Bright Space playrooms provide a place to play for more than 5,000 children in crisis each month.

"Let's call this a musical scrapbook. In it you'll find a sea shanty, a West Indian waltz, a few Woody tunes, a Jewish wedding poem set to music, an old time nonsense number, a lyrical rock and roll song, an updated spiritual, a couple of forties pop standards, and many more melodic moments. All of these artists and songs have been meaningful to me in one way or another during the decade since my daughter was born. As I entered the glorious and ever-changing realm of family music there was so much inspiration in the air. All I had to do was reach out and grab it! And here is some of it, just for you." --Dan Zanes

Average customer rating:

Good travel music
what a nice compilation
Guaranteed to put you in a good mood!!
Not just for kids
Fabulous for the whole family!

Bright Spaces
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Calypso | Caribbean & Cuba | International | Styles | Music

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Compilations | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Folk Music | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Stories | Children's Music | Styles | Music

Sing-A-Longs | Children's Music | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Traditional | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music
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Bright Spaces, Vol. 2
You Are My Little Bird
Folksongs & Bluegrass for Children
Beethoven's Wig 3: Many More Sing-Along Symphonies
For The Kids

ASIN: B000056CCW
Release Date: 2001-01-09

Tracks:

Arthurs Theme Song - Ziggy Marley And The Melody Makers
Bling-Blang - Arlo Guthrie
Something In My Shoe - Raffi
Bossa By The Numbers - The Crawdaddys
Old MacDonald - The Dream Project
Moonlight - Cathy Fink
Everything Grows - Raffi
This Land Is Your Land - Woody Guthrie
Garden Song - Dave Mallett
Still The Same Me - Sweet Honey In The Rock
If I Ran The World - John McCutcheon
This Happy House - Jessica Harper
All I Really Need - Raffi
Talk To Me - Cathy Fink
One Glass Of Water - Si Kahn
Goodnight Irene - Raffi

Amazon.com

Raffi seems to be the driving force behind Bright Spaces, a benefit album whose proceeds will be distributed by the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children for homeless kids living in shelters. Out of the 16 tracks here, the ubiquitous children's music superstar contributes four, including one of his most memorable, "All I Really Need." And in an inspired moment, Arlo Guthrie joins his late famous father, Woody, for a father-son duet of "This Land Is Your Land," the other American national anthem. With songs by Sweet Honey in the Rock, the delightful Jessica Harper, John McCutcheon, singer-activist Si Kahn, David Mallett, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, and others, Bright Spaces generates its own special brightness and sheltering warmth. Along with the theme song from Arthur and Friends by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Bright Spaces features a funky and unforgettable call-and-response gospel version of "Old MacDonald" by Jane Sapp's Dream Project. From Sapp's great We've All Got Stories, this cut alone is worth having for kids and adults. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews:

Good travel music.......2007-06-16

This is a good CD of travel music that does NOT drive my husband nuts. We call it the 'Arthur' CD, as the first song is the Ziggy Marley song that is the credits song for the PBS series ("And I say HEY! What a wonderful kind of day...") I appreciate the mix of artists and 'listen-able' music. PLUS it's for a good cause. A CD that my first grader and 3 yr old both like to listen to. And it doesn't make daddy crazy.

what a nice compilation.......2007-02-20

Nice selection of songs. A pleasure to listen to.
Too bad the CD 2 is not as good as this one (too "folk / country" for my taste...)

Guaranteed to put you in a good mood!!.......2006-11-07

This is my favorite CD right now; it has been since I bought it more than a month ago. And I'm a grown-up! I love the songs by Ziggy Marley, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Raffi, and (most of all) Cathy and Marcy. All those warm fuzzies *and* your money goes to build safe and enriching play spaces in shelters for homeless families.

Not just for kids.......2005-02-26

What a great cd to have in your collection. As a preschool teacher this cd is a staple in my classroom. It is also good to have in the van at all times. It is a wonderful collection of songs by some wonderful artist. My favorite song is the version of Old MacDonalds farm. The songs are fun and exciting. Not to mention the proceeds help out children living in homeless shelters. This is a must have for anyone!

Fabulous for the whole family!.......2004-07-30

We got this CD as a gift for my 2 1/2 year old and now buy it to share with all his friends. The music is so upbeat, and the variety keeps you singing through the whole CD. Even my newborn loves it! And the plus is that proceeds go to Bright Horizons so you feel good suppoting it, too. Highly recommended for everyone with young kids.

Average customer rating:

The gloomier side of shoegazer
sweet whirlpool of delicious chewy noise!
5 stars!
This is the best in spacerock

Skies A Crossed Sky
Bethany Curve
Manufacturer: United Circle
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Ambient Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Rock | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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You Brought Us Here
Gold
Flaxen
Monster Zero

ASIN: B00000G4BB
Release Date: 1996-03-01

Tracks:

vanish
rest in motion
troly
spacirelei
terpsichore
door 2416
mot juste
follow from swallow
brighter still
sandblaster
grend shanka
serene and smiling
almost perception

Album Description

atmosphere, arrangement, sound, layering, and noise

Bethany Curve creates flowing soundscapes that'll make you feel as if you're floating above the clouds. Great music to space out to late at night. This disc was often compared to The Cure, Lush, Ride or Slowdive.

Customer Reviews:

The gloomier side of shoegazer.......2007-03-06

Even for an old shoegazer fan like me, Bethany's Curve's music with it's downright melancholic and ominous sounds and largely unintelligible lyrics, takes some getting use to. It was this website that led to my "discovery" of Bethany Curve (BC) after I had previously discovered the much more accessible band Voyager One, (V1) when I was trying to find other bands in the shoegazer genre. While both V1 and BC owe much to The Verve, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, and perhaps early Pink Floyd, BC is the much heavier band -- think the Cure's "Pornography," as opposed to The Verve's "Storm in Heaven," which is more V1s style. With BC, as opposed to V1, I really had to listen several time before I truly "got it." But I'm glad I persevered.

BC's debut, "Skies A Crossed Sky," contains long slowly developing atmospheric songs, with infathomable (perhaps pretentious) titles such as "troly," "grand shanka," "spacirilie," and "terpsichore." On the inside of the cd cover are the following apropos words: "atmosphere, arrangement, sound layering, noise." After the listed 13 songs conclude, the band does some real experimentation which could be part of a multi-sensory exhibit at the Whitney Museum (ala The Stone Roses at the conclusion of "Seconds Coming"). But stick with this album -- it works.

The first track "Vanish" sets the stage for all that follows. Gloomy swirling melodies with lots of distortion and feedback. "Troly," and some other tracks provided an odd Eastern European feel. With the best song on the album "Spacerilei," the band rocks a bit with a heavy drum beat surrounded by the usual distorted minor-key guitar chords -- truly a remarkable song.

Track five (terpsichord) could be something that early Catherine Wheel might have done. Track seven ("Mot Juste") a short instrumental, sounds almost reminiscent of the intro to U2s, "Where the Streets Have No Name," whereas the following track ("Follow from Swallow") oddly combines the feel of early Pink Floyd with what Interpole would sound like years later.

According to I-tunes, the 12th track ("Serene and Smiling") is one of the bands most downloaded tracks, probably because it's a little less murky than the others ( but still on the depressing side). Interestingly, the band's last song (that's listed) "Almost Perception," is easily the most accessible. In fact, it sort of reminds me of Oasis -- which, believe me, is quite a departure from the rest.

A terrific debut for an extremely intriguing band, and a nice counterpoint to Voyager One. The work of both bands must be explored by every shoegazer fan.

sweet whirlpool of delicious chewy noise!.......2006-06-30

having been in a shoegazing mood lately, i found myself surfing the web for some purveyours of that pedal drenched noise that seems to quench a very thirsty part of my soul. i had run through my catalogue of usual suspects..MBV, slowdive, JAMC, and my personal faborite, ride. i wouldnt say i got tired of them, more like they made me hungry for new stuff, just to see if the torch had indeed been passed.

i was aware of some of the next generation of shoegazers...nu-gazers, if you will (although lets hope our scene never produces a fredo like fred durst...hence, my fear of "nu" anything...) starflyer59 are a good example of really old school sounding dream pop. i really like autolux as well, and while i dont necessarily think he's a direct descendant of the shoegaze line, ulrich schnauss has kind of grown ion me. my wife played his record as we went to sleep pretty mucn nonstop for a couple months. anyway, i felt the need to dig deeper, and stumbled across bethany curve. i checked out a song on itunes, then another, and before you know it, i had downloaded their entire catalogue.

if you ever had a sweetspot for shoegazing, this is a must have band in your collection. solid pop numbers sit alongside dreamy atmospherics, and the result is a lulling, almost trancelike seductionand it is this swirl of sound, fast and propulsive followed by longer, more ambient numbers, then another poppier bit just to snap you from your trance.

the dreamier numbers use layer of effects and washes of sound over lush vocals buried deep in the mix. the pop numbers use chiming guitar chords as the solid center for catchy melodies and propulsive baggy beats, then they swaddle that in the same cottony, billowing layers, and voila...you have a perfect dream pop concoction.

the band they immediately reminded me of was kitchens of distinction, or maybe curve (which, given the name of the band, i have ton think is no accident). i think their melodies are stronger than either of those two, if you were to take simply \ the chord progression and hooks, and remove the approach , the melodies recall a lot of early emo, a la, saves the day or jets to brazil. again, that is only in the notes on the page or played on the instrument. they both share the taste for minor key dirge-y hooks. that similarity stops there, however...no need for any punk aggression or soaring vocal lines. bethany curve are content to set the bait, drp the line and sit and wait for the listener. once theyve got you, though, theyve got you!

as i said, i downloaded their entire catalogue, and have had it playing on repeat for a few nights now, i decided to give the records the attention they deserved and listen to them in order. this, being the first, has obviously had the longest to soak in, and it does its best to set the bar very high for the rest of the band's output. having sampled the catalogue before taking a serious bite, there is no apparent dropoff in the quality of the bands output. i am really looking forward to exploring the worlds of dreamy sound inside these lusciously dense songs.

i withhold that 5th star simply b/c i believe they can make an even greater record.

5 stars!.......2000-09-06

If you are a fan of swallow, MBV, and Lush, you'll love this CD.

This is the best in spacerock.......2000-09-06

I just got this CD. Super soaring guitars and amazing songs. Highly recommended.

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