For the Kids Too!  (Audio CD) 
by Various Artists

Of the many remarkable things about the follow-up to 2002's For the Kids CD, maybe most remarkable is its daring. Here's a disc with a spirit of adventurousness. Instead of relying on a parade of star power for its swagger (and its sales figures--Sarah McLaughlin, Tom Waits, and Barenaked Ladies went a long way toward explaining the success of the first installment), Too! plucks from an indie playing field that appeals with a below-the-radar, bubbling-under kind of cool. To that end, San Francisco-based acoustic idol Matt Nathanson gamely covers Prince's whimsical "Starfish & Coffee," Canada's Paper Moon memorably asks that you check your "Attitude Toward Cuttlefish" at the door, and Shivaree gets your house party (or car-seat party, or playroom party) shaking, in its somnolent way, with "Everybody Came." A sprinkling of big names--They Might Be Giants, Matthew Sweet--stud the proceedings, but mostly this disc is about discovery. It's also about good deeds: Where the first disc benefitted VH1's Save the Music Foundation, proceeds from Too! go toward the Lili Claire Foundation, which helps those born with neurological disorders. -Tammy La Gorce