Many months ago, I mentioned the Shins had recorded a new song -- "It's OK, Try Again" -- for the Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba!.
And then I told you that a video for "It's OK, Try Again" had been posted.
Well, for those of you who prefer to watch your kids' music videos on larger than iPod-sized screens, help is at hand. The Yo Gabba Gabba episode that actually features the video debuts on Friday, May 23rd in an episode titled "Imagine." (I doubt John Lennon had a hand in the episode.) Oooh, the Shins on a TV size of your choice!
And for those of who are OK with iPod-sized videos and who don't want to watch the show (or wait for it), watch the video here.
Video: "Good Day" - Tally Hall
I don't talk a lot about music that isn't specifically kids' music, but that guideline's never stopped me before from veering into stuff for the adults.
And so when I saw the video below for Tally Hall's "Good Day," I thought, hey, that's worth posting. For one thing, it's a really cool song. For another thing, it's a really cool video. The punchline to the video will probably go over your kids' heads, but the video and the song is pretty kid-friendly. Especially if you and your kid are able to process rapidly-changing cuts and about 8 different tempo changes.
"Good Day" is from Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, which is being re-released by Atlantic Records on April 1. (You can hear "Good Day" and more at their Myspace page.)
Now, I'm hardly the first person to the Tally-Hall-for-the-kids party (Clea mentioned this very song more than 18 months ago), but there really is a kids' music connection here...
Spare The Rock. Now With Twice the Rock.
I've been late in announcing this (mostly because I figure most people reading this are reading Bill's site, too), but Bill and Ella over at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child have made a big move to a commercial radio station, 93.9 The River in Massachusetts and Vermont. Well, "move" might not be the best verb, because they're still broadcasting on Valley Free Radio, but the fact that they're now also broadcasting on commercial radio puts them in pretty select company -- I'm only aware of Belinda and Hova at Greasy Kid Stuff who are doing rock (or rawk) shows for kids on a commercial station.
Good on them.
TMBG 123 XM
No, it's not the long-lost final verse of "ICU," it's shorthand for the announcement that They Might Be Giants will prresent, "1,2,3... TMBG!," an "exclusive" XM Radio event hosted and produced by John Flansburgh and TMBG.
It'll air Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 9 AM and 5 PM, and Sunday at noon. (All times Eastern. East Coast Bias, grr...)
I might be going out on a limb, but I think it has something to do with Here Come the 123s.
Sesame Street Goes Global, Musically
Yes, Putumayo Kids has a very full release schedule, with African Dreamland the next CD scheduled for release in March.
But it's their next CD that really has me jazzed.
In a recent interview Putumayo Kids director Mona Kayhan reveals what's to come:
"It's our first collaboration with Sesame Street — we're calling it Sesame Street Playground, and it has all their songs from all around the world. For example, you've got the "Rubber Ducky" song in Chinese or the opening song in Dutch."
Sound unheard, I wonder whether this is a better idea in concept than as an actual album, but if done properly, I think it'd be a pretty great global introduction for a lot of families.
Update: Apparently the Sesame Street CD's been pushed back to September. Just so you know...
Y'know, the obvious YouTube clip here is the Sesame Street theme song (seeing as Sesame Workshop's new video player doesn't have a clip available), but given the international flavor of this post, I thought I'd post Ozomatli's energetic reworking of the melody and the 2007 South by Southwest Festival.
Ozomatli - "Sesame Street Theme Song"
Yo Gabba Gabba Yo Gabba Gabba
The weeks of Christmas and New Year's are typically slow, news-wise, but a couple weeks ago, Nick Jr. announced that it was picking up Yo Gabba Gabba! for a second season. Production on 20 more shows starts in spring 2008.
I've been kinda torn about the show. On one hand, the collection of musical acts and guest stars has been pretty diverse. On the other hand, I can't help but think that without those guests and Mark Mothersbaugh's doodles, some people would be slamming the show for being super-obvious stuff for toddlers. I mean, really, "Party in my Tummy?" If it was anybody besides members of the Aquabats singing that, it'd probably be run out of cool town on a rail. Even though it's probably pretty age-appropriate.
So are you happy that, say, Low recorded a song and did a music video for them?
[Note: decent song, but that "Family Tree" is awfully undiverse for the 21st century, no? Doesn't look quite like mine...]
Or do you say, man, the Pointer Sisters recorded a song for Sesame Street 30 years ago and it was way cool.
