Review: Big Block Singsong Volume One and Big Block Singsong Greatest Hits

After I listened to and watched Big Block Singsong’s album (Big Block Singsong Greatest Hits) and DVD (Big Block Singsong Volume One) a couple times, my first question was “Why have I not heard of these before?” I initially assumed that the fact it was a (relatively new) Disney Junior show meant that I was just out of the TV loop.

Turns out that the delightful series of 2-minute music videos date back to 2009, when Canadian illustrator Warren Brown and composer Adam Goddard (now Goddard/Brown) first unleashed Big Box Singsong, as it was then known, onto the world. (No such thing as an overnight sensation, right?) So I have nobody to blame but myself for not knowing about the videos until their move to CBC, Disney Junior, and Nick Jr. in the UK and inevitable worldwide conquest. Now there are 59 videos, 49 of which are the Season 1 pile which provide the 24 songs drawn for the album and DVD. I, for one, welcome our new big block overlords.

What’s the concept? Each video episode is about 2 minutes long and features an animated rectangular block with big eyes and mouth singing about a topic, usually themselves. “Monkey”? A gray-brown block with long arms singing about all the things he’s going to do meaning that it’s going to be a “two-banana day.” It’s almost a celebration. “Octopus”? A red-brown block with eight tiny dangling legs. The songs run the genre gamut, from folk (“Monkey”) to AutoTuned funk (“Sleep”) to Smile-era Beach Boys (“Nose”) to Queen (“Junk Food”). The lyrics have a light touch and a sense of humor, with very little didactic “do this” guidance.

The videos are inherently humorous (it’s a square monkey, after all), but the lyrics sometimes offer opportunities for visual jokes. You don’t need the visuals to enjoy the music, but there are definitely some videos (“Sleep,” for one) that add an extra layer of enjoyment. While there's a unified animation style, of course, the different video and song concepts mean that if your kid is bored with one song, hang on, there'll be an entirely different one on shortly.

The music and videos are most appropriate for kids ages 2 through 6, but both music and videos (especially the videos) will probably tickle the funnybone of kids (and adults) considerably older than that. The album and DVD are each roughly 45 minutes in length (with the DVD available with a French-language option of course). You can get a complete list of places to watch the videos here, which includes the kid-friendly Disney Junior page.

The most difficult question may be, “if I get only one, which do I get?” Sixteen of the songs including “Nose,” Sleep” and “Mad” are on both the album and DVD. The advantage of the DVD is that you get the visuals in a format that doesn’t require an internet connection. The advantage of the album is that you get the incredibly-awesome “Princess,” a track which doesn’t appear on the DVD, and, potentially, portability via CD or mp3 player. If you don’t need multiple languages on the video, the cheapest and perhaps the easiest combination might be to get the standard-definition version of the 24 videos on the DVD via iTunes for just $6.99 and download “Princess” as an individual mp3 track.

So, yeah, I’m late to the party, but better late than never. Big Block Singsong is ten tons of fun. After listening and watching, your kids’ll probably have a two-banana day, too. Both the album and the DVD are highly recommended.

Note: I received an electronic copy of the album and physical copy of the DVD for possible review.

Review: Gustafer Yellowgold's Wisdom Tooth of Wisdom - Gustafer Yellowgold

First off, no, that's not a misprint -- the sixth Gustafer Yellowgold album really is called Gustafer Yellowgold's Wisdom Tooth of Widsom. The extra "wisdom" is for, er, wisdom.

Yes, that's a deliberate pose our favorite yellow alien from the sun is striking on the DVD cover, as the story inside deals with his search for wisdom.

As creator Morgan Taylor has run out of the original batch of songs that made up the first few Gustafer DVDs, individual DVDs have become more unified in structure, songs organized around a single principle. Wisdom Tooth of Wisdom is the first DVD, however, in which I felt like there was something at stake in the story. Rather than just illustrating a personality quirk (e.g., "I Jump on Cake," still a classic GY song), the songs here help move along a plot that sees Gustafer struggle with giving up something that's important to him and what the true source of wisdom is. His external journey -- finding the source of the titular tooth -- is matched by an interior journey.

Of course, the heart of any Gustafer DVD is still the music, and it's every bit as '70s-soft-rock-with-a-hint-power-poppy as ever. (That's a good thing, natch.) "Telephone Called" is a bit of Broadway jangle-pop, followed by the fuzzed-out and hand-clapped strains of XTC heard in "It Suits You." (Yes, the DVD case suggests that XTC reference, but darned if it doesn't hit the nail on the head.) One of my favorite tracks, "Toothloser," sounds to me like Billy Joel at his early '80s narrative best, with "Secret Fox" a wistful follow-up. Other strong tracks in "I Can't Feel My Face" (shout-out to Billy Shears!) and "Yawn," the first song I've heard that actually tries to be yawn-inducing. The music might have some odd lyrical references if you're not familiar with the video, but the music isn't dependent on the visuals for your enjoyment.

As always, the animation -- featuring Taylor's own art -- is minimal, more moving picture book, but it's the most technically-proficient video yet, often beautiful to look at. (There's a scene near the end where somebody's recording a meeting on a cell phone, and you can see the characters on the tiny phone's screen doing exactly what the actual characters are doing.) The videos themselves have some nice jokes for the adult (or smart kid) to appreciate in addition to the broad humor in many of them.

The video is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 10. You can watch a preview of the 41-minute DVD here. The DVD includes a couple bonus features (a 6- minute guitar lesson with Taylor for his hit "Cakenstein" and a 20-minute documentary about the making of the DVD) and more importantly, a 30-minute CD with all 10 songs from the video.

Now that Taylor has been living with Gustafer in his head and on the screen for more than a decade, he's had some time to stretch what he's going with the character and his world. This is all to the good, and makes me that much more excited about the next Gustafer video, already in the works. The music is definitely recommended, as good as ever, and the DVD is highly recommended, the best Gustafer Yellowgold video yet.

Note: I was provided a copy of the DVD/CD for possible review.

Video: "Snow Day" - Josh and the Jamtones

Can a kids music video be called post-apocalyptic?

Should it?

All I know is that younger kids of tender heart (as judged by their caretakers) should probably be directed to another, mellower kindie video. As Josh of Josh and the Jamtones puts it in the comments to the YouTube video, "If you're kicking it with your little 2 year old baby sister who maybe prefers ponies and the color purple to polar bears with laser beam guns then you might consider telling them to scram. You know, in as kind a way as possible."

The animation is from Arsen Rudchenko, and if it's not on the forthcoming Bear Hunt: The Movie! DVD (out January 21), I'll be sorely disappointed.

Josh and the Jamtones - "Snow Day" [YouTube]

Video: "No Homework" - The Bazillions

I like to think of myself as liking a broad range of musical styles, but, yeah, powerpop! One of the most consistent kindie powerpop purveyors are Twin Cities band The Bazillions, and when you add their consistently great videos to the mix, no wonder there's all sorts of Bazillions videos up here in this site.

The latest video from the band and their partners at eg design is for "No Homework," and while it's school-inspired, it doesn't quite have the learning-first approach of some of their best-known classics. In fact, given that the song is called "No Homework," maybe it's learning last? Anyway, the video can also be found on their brand-new Rockin' Video Collection DVD, available on their website.

The Bazillions - "No Homework" [YouTube]

DVD Review Roundup: Gustafer Yellowgold, Readeez, and more

It's been a (comparatively) long-held belief of mine that DVDs generally don't change anyone's overall impression of an artist. If you love the artist, only a shoddy, over-priced video will sour you on their DVD, while the most competently produced visual version of music your family didn't like on CD still won't make it onto your TV or computer. With that in mind, here are 6 DVDs with a musical hook that may be worth checking out even if you're not completely familiar with the artists.

Let's start with the two best disks here, each from loooongtime Zooglobble favorites and each recommended without hesitation. Not surprisingly they're from artists for whom videos are an integral part of their music-making -- Morgan Taylor's Gustafer Yellowgold series and Michael Rachap's Readeez series. Gustafer Yellowgold's Year in the Day is the fifth CD/DVD set about the yellow alien from Minnesota by way of the sun. Its theme? Holidays of the year. As Taylor has gradually used up the songs he wrote many years ago at different times and started writing new songs, the DVDs have become more focused thematically, and this one holds together better than its predecessors. The songs are mostly the '70s (soft-)rock Taylor must write in his sleep, though he dips into more varied musical ponds, such as the electronica-esque touches of "Four Leaved Clover," written by Taylor's wife, singer-songwriter Rachel Loshak. Other highlights also include the spirited leadoff track "New Is The New Old" and sweet Valentine's Day song "Keep It Simple Sweetheart." While mostly uptempo, the album does nestle down into coziness with "Pumpkin Pied" and "Fa And A La," the final two tracks. The distinctive animation drawn by Taylor and lightly animated hasn't changed, either (see the YouTube channel for more). There's not a lot that's changed from pevious albums, and in the case of Year In The Day, that's a good thing.

There isn't a lot that's changed in the world of Julian and Isabel Waters, either. They're the animated father-daughter team at the heart of Readeez and their innovatively-titled third DVD, Readeez Volume Three: Knowledge is good. (I kid because I love.) Well, OK, there's a new character: Olivia Longlife, a librarian, who makes a handful of appearances. And it includes "Readee-Oh," Readeez-style videos for songs performed by other kindie artists such as Recess Monkey, Coal Train Railroad, the Okee Dokee Brothers, and Irish band the Speks.

But at its core, this video, like its predecessors, features songs about a minute in length (maybe more) on preschool-aged topics accompanied by minimally-animated videos. The songs and videos strike just the right balance of earnestness and whimsy and their brevity helps keep the more edu-ma-ctional songs from annoying the parent who may already know how to, say, eat properly ("Plate, Cup and Saucer"). The short length isn't surprising, considering Rachap's advertising background -- think of them as Pre-Schoolhouse Rock. (Watch Vol. 3 videos and many more.) As before, Readeez Vol. 3 isn't just good for you, it's, well, just good.

Beyond these two videos, here are four more worth exploring further.

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Spelunk the Funk!: Features a live show by the best kid-hopper in the business in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, drawn primarily from his Underground Playground album. Lots of guest vocalists and props to Skidoo's daughter, DJ Fireworks, who spends the whole concert on stage dancing and sometimes singing. Also includes a couple
Debbie and Friends - Story Songs & Sing Alongs: Debbie Cavalier has invested a lot of time (and, presumably, not a small amount of money) in making videos for her story songs with animation company Planet Sunday. All those videos (plus the fun "Hangin' Around") make their way to this disk, plus 2 live performances.
Eric Herman - The Elephant DVD: I would say that it features "The Elephant Song," a kindie-video classic (and YouTube viral sensation) and leave it at that -- because, really, that might be enough -- but there's other stuff on here. Ten more songs, live footage, 15 songs on a "jukebox" feature, and what might be the best kindie DVD bonus feature ever: Herman being interviewed by his daughters. Somebody get them their own show!
Spaghetti Eddie - Spaghetti Eddie! and Other Children's Videos: It's brief -- just 5 songs and 15 minutes in length -- and the videos are pretty simple, featuring green screen technology, animation, and kids running around. But for a relatively new kids artist, it's a decent-looking disk. Check out the YouTube channel for more.