Video: "Washington, D.C." - The Not-Its!

It's easy to make green screen technology look kinda good, but not really.  Or I don't know, maybe it's hard.  In any case, I often look at kindie-budget-level green screen technology and think, "meh."  (Maybe I've been spoiled by one two Marvel movies.)

That's why I think "Washington, D.C.," the brand new video from Seattle's The Not-Its! from their Are You Listening? album, works deceptively well.  It takes all those almost-but-not-quite settings and jettisons them for silly backgrounds.  Want to see the band be there, Forrest Gump-like, at the meeting of President Nixon and Elvis Presley?  Or be chased by a bunch of kid-CIA agents through the Oval Office as President Obama calmly reads?  Then this video, celebrating our nation's capitol and citizens' role in the political process, is for your family.  (They'll probably miss the President (Bill) Clinton joke, but that's probably for the best.)  It's slightly cheesy, but in the context of the video's script, it's pitch-perfect.

And if you dig the song -- I think you will -- grab a free download of the track below...

The Not-Its! - "Washington, D.C." [YouTube]

Video: "Me on the Map" - Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Still image from Brady Rymer's "Me on the Map" video

Nothing fancy about this brand new video from Brady Rymer -- just a well-done video with shots of Rymer playing music by himself, making music with kids, and roasting marshmallows in the woods, fields, and beaches near his Long Island home.  A great match for the celebration of home --think Springsteen at his happiest -- from Rymer's latest album Press Play.

(Don't think he's gonna catch many fish with his mandolin, though.)

Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could - "Me on the Map" [YouTube]

Video: "Two Trees, Old Friends" - Molly Ledford & Billy Kelly

This video for "Two Trees, Old Friends," the sweet and wistful song from Molly Ledford & Billy Kelly's incredible album Trees is... well, I hesitate to describe it too much, because you and your kids will only get one chance to see it for the first time, and I firmly believe in the power of wonder and awe.

And I think that's what you might feel when you see this for the first time.

(Tip of the hat to Fort Psych, the Atlanta-based company who put together the video, and Lyon Forrest Hill, who directed and designed it.)

Molly Ledford & Billy Kelly - "Two Trees, Old Friends" [Vimeo]

Video: "Love Light Shine" - KB Whirly feat. Mista Cookie Jar

So for those of you needing a little positivity and sunshine as we head towards the short, cloudy days of winter, I present to you KB Whirly and Mista Cookie Jar teaming up for a bicoastal jam.  A little soul, a little hip-hop, and a bunch of flowers, this brand-new single will make you and your kids feel allllllll right.

KB Whirly feat. Mista Cookie Jar - "Love Light Shine" [YouTube]

Video: "Cousin Party" - Karen K (World Premiere!)

Karen K -- AKA Karen Kalafatas -- doesn't make a lot of videos, but when she does, they're slick and they're fun.  Consider "(I Woke Up) In a Firetruck," which delighted a bunch of firetruck-obsessed preschoolers and their families and, as a result, she won the 2014 KidVid Tournament.

While that song and video featured her band the Jitterbugs, for her next album, The Blue Bike Chronicles, she's going solo.  She's also pitching her songs at an older audience, the sometimes underserved-by-kindie pre-tween population.

Today I'm pleased to be world-premiering one of the songs and videos off the forthcoming album.  It's for "Cousin Party," which turns up the music full Nashville.  The video, too, is just as slick, and features lots of party mischief by a cavalcade of cousins.  Good, poppy stuff all around.

Karen K - "Cousin Party" [YouTube]