Video: "PANORAMA" - Moona Luna (World Premiere!)

Summer is for many families a chance to travel and explore far and wide. Could be down the block or it could be in one of the world's great cities, like New York City.

Or, if you're Moona Luna in their latest video, it could be one and the same.

In this video for the title track from their latest album P A N O R A M A, Sandra Velasquez and her NYC-based bilingual band celebrate traveling by tooling around Governors Island, that small island located between the southern tip of Manhattan and Brooklyn that people pass on the ferry on the way to the Statue of Liberty. As you might expect from that description, there are a lot of familiar panoramic views (so to speak) in the video.

It's a fun video regardless of whether you're heading to the Big Apple this summer, and I'm glad to be offering the world premiere!

Moona Luna - "PANORAMA" [YouTube]

Video: "Press Play" - Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could (World Premiere!)

This new video for "Press Play" from Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, well, it just grooves along in so many different ways.

First, you've got the song itself, which bubbles along so happily. Then you've got the production design for the video, which has such a groovy '60s vibe that I half expect someone to come on in the middle and say "Sock it to me." And then there's the band members, many of whom look... oddly familiar. Rymer asks if you recognize any of the legendary musical icons represented here. (As for me, my favorite is the Mozart-by-way-of-Jerry-Lee-Lewis.)

In any case, this video for Press Play's title track is a treat and I'm pleased to offer up the world premiere here. All you need to do is press... well, you know.

Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could - "Press Play" [YouTube]

Video: "Beep Beep Beep" - Dan Vapid (World Premiere!)

Mike Park's Fun Fun Records keeps truckin' along with music for kids -- in this case, almost literally. The label's latest family release, its seventh, is from pop-punker Dan Vapid (who's also played in Screeching Weasel). The album's called All Wound Up, and I'm pleased to world-premiere the album's leadoff track and single, "Beep Beep Beep." It's barely a minute long, but I'd be wary of playing the song in a traffic jam for your favorite kindergartner lest she get too wound up.

Luckily, you're not driving while you're all watching a YouTube video, so you can just enjoy the sketching from Gilbert Armendariz.

All Wound Up is released September 9, but you can preorder it here today.

Dan Vapid - "Beep Beep" [YouTube]

Video: "Feufollet" - Katy Hobgood Ray and the Confetti Park Players

This is a video that's probably more appropriate for the last day of October than the last day of June, but no matter. It's for the song "Feufollet," off the album We're Going to Confetti Park. What is Confetti Park? It's a kid-friendly radio show and podcast featuring New Orleans culture led by New Orleans musician and producer Katy Hobgood Ray. Their first album features songs inspired by New Orleans and a children's chorus.

This song, "Feufollet," is a little spooky in a kid-friendly way, with the art and animation by Gustavo Wenzel and Santiago Germano a perfect atmospheric match. With swamps and flickering lights and danger of the will o'the wisps, watch this now... and bring this back out around Halloween.

Katy Hobgood Ray and the Confetti Park Players - "Feufollet" [YouTube]

Video: "Entomology" (feat. Liz Vice & Laki Karavias) - Big World Audio Theatre

It's new music from Big World Audio Theatre! That's right, the Portland, Oregon-based crew who gave us the big story of the Peculiar Tales of the S.S. Bungalow are back, with a look at the very small world of bugs.

Or, for those of you who like to use big words for small things: "Entomology."

The band's got a brand new jazzy, big band song about our 6-legged friends (or non-friends, depending on you or your child's attitude toward the bugs), with Liz Vice taking most of the vocal duties and Laki Karavias a small professorial part. Karavias also directed the very slick animated lyric video, one of the nicest kindie videos I've seen in a while. You can pick up the single on iTunes here, or just enjoy the video below.

Big World Audio Theatre - "Entomology" (feat. Liz Vice & Laki Karavias) [YouTube]

Video: "I Had a Rooster" - Red Yarn (World Premiere!)

Once you've woken up to a "Beautiful Day," what are you gonna do? Eat, of course! And so Red Yarn in "I Had a Rooster" visits all the animals on his farm, feeds them the greenberry tree, and all the animals are vocally responsive. (You know, "meow meow... neigh neigh...")

I really like the uptempo Red Yarn take on the traditional barnyard song from his Wake Up & Sing album, and his video once again features many puppet-y friends. My favorite this time is the horse jammin' out on the drums. Enjoy this video (directed by Jeff Speetjens and featuring a bunch of puppeteers) for "I Had a Rooster," world-premiered here!

Red Yarn - "I Had a Rooster" [YouTube]