A Kindie Christmas, The Hipwaders (Hip Kid)

Not everybody who pitches music to the site has read every word generated in the past, yet I'm occasionally surprised when something arrives here that isn't quite within the Mistletunes parameters. In this case, I've noted in the past that we don't do much with kids' music. Of course, kid music has over the past decade or so become a genre unto itself, as a wide-ranging cast of musicians discovers targeting the little ones can be lucrative. So when The Hipwaders sent me their 2009 Christmas disc without specifically telling me they were a kiddie band, I was a bit concerned, at least until I listened to it. Considering I've enjoyed kid-themed albums by bands like Barenaked Ladies and They Might Be Giants, I've established that the dividing line should be whether adults would be embarrassed to listen to the music on their own, and on this disc, The Hipwaders manage to land on the right side of the not-embarrassing line. Some of their gags, like "Santasploitation," are, after all, a bit over the heads of anybody who wasn't alive in the 1970s. I could see parents getting a little sick of this if they let their kids play it over and over, as it's relentlessly upbeat. Nevertheless, there's plenty of rock/pop crunch on such things as "Wake Up," "Yes, It's Christmas" and "Tinsel and Lights." "It's Wintertime" lays down some white-boy soul grooves, "Santa's Train" is an old-school country train song without the angst, and "Christmas Vicuna" has a slightly tropical groove set to a story of a vicuna that takes Rudolph's place at the head of the reindeer team. Good work, and the kids should dig it too.