"Tails" - Red Yarn Puppet Band

Artist: Red Yarn Puppet Band 

Song: "Tails" 

Album: N/A

Description:  Though the spacy, almost otherworldly sound Red Yarn brings to the traditional folk song would have sounded just fine on his debut album The Deep Woods , this video actually predates (and doesn't appear on) the album.  For that reason alone, it's worth mentioning.  But also: puppets.  Six puppeteers strong.  I can't be the only getting Emmett Otter flashbacks...

Source: YouTube 

"Opposite Friends" - The Little Rockers Band

Artist: The Little Rockers Band 

Song: "Opposite Friends" 

AlbumReady for Rockin'

Description: A little bit old, but I re-watched the video recently and thought the use of the fake splitscreen and the constant (simple) costume and prop changes made what could have been a fairly standard thing into something a little more polished.  Plus I appreciated the Arizona shout-out. 

Wait.  That wasn't an Arizona shout-out? 

SourceYouTube

"Gaia She Knows" - The Hipwaders

Artist: The Hipwaders 

Song: "Gaia She Knows" 

Album: N/A

Description:  For the video for this slower Americana-tinged tune about a six-year-old girl wanting to encourage a more ecologically sound lifestyle, the band and animators Planet Sunday wisely shift gears from the blockier, funnier animation style they typically employ to softer line drawings, with a less finessed visual composition.  It matches the song very well and is, in spots, plain lovely.

Source: Vimeo 

"Brand New Friend" - The Jelly of the Month Club

Arist: The Jelly of the Month Club 

Song: "Brand New Friend" 

Album: Introducing, The Jelly of the Month Club 

Description:  If you had told me that there'd be a new kindie band featuring, among others, a couple folks from Sublime, the musical bits in my mind would not have sounded anything like this song, which is a jazzy bit of roots and an infectious "wawa-wawa-wawa" chorus in parts.  And the video features green screen technology and animated animals, which can sometimes be a warning sign, but here is just charming.

Source: YouTube 

"Brush Brush Brush" - Of Montreal (from Yo Gabba Gabba!)

Artist: Of Montreal

Song: "Brush Brush Brush" 

Album:  Yo Gabba Gabba: Music Is Awesome

Description: An oldie (relatively) but goodie.  The song is cute enough on its own, a zippy, danceable ode to dental hygiene, but really it's the dancing animation courtesy of Kangaroo Alliance that makes this Yo Gabba Gabba bit darn near irresistible.

Source : YouTube

"Smiley Face Sticker" - Mr. Palindrome

Artist: Mr. Palindrome

Song: "Smiley Face Sticker" 

Album: Smiley Face Sticker 

Description:  The title track from bi-hemispherical singer Mr. Palindrome (he's based out of Australia, but has spent time here in the States) is soulful in an Elton John sort-of-way; the video's chief allure is the inventive re-purposing of daily objects (e.g., the swim noodle microphone, the anthropomorphized hair dryers).

Source: Vimeo

"I'm Gonna Light Up the World" - Lloyd H. Miller

Artist: Lloyd H. Miller

Song: "I'm Gonna Light Up the World"

Album: S.S. Brooklyn 

Description: Lloyd Miller's first solo album, S.S. Brooklyn , is out today, and he gets his dance on in this mellow video for "I'm Gonna Light Up the World," the sweet first single from the album.

Lloyd's got better moves than me.

Source: YouTube (via Time Out New York Kids