Picking my favorite kids music videos gets harder every year. I've picked 25 here, but featured at least 3 times that number on the site (a figure which itself is a culling of many more videos). There are another half-dozen videos that easily could have made this list were I to make it, say, tomorrow.
You'll find lots of old standbys here, but also videos from new bands and bands who don't spend nearly as much time with their video editor.
Here, then, are my 25 favorite kids music videos from 2011 (2011 defined roughly as March 1, 2011 - February 29, 2012 -- I'm just assuming nothing else definitively worthy gets released in the next couple days or so). I'm offering up my (ranked) 10 favorite videos, with another 15 (unranked) honorable mentions. [The complete playlist can be viewed at the end of this post.]
1. Caspar Babypants - "Mister Rabbit" [YouTube]
Don't get me wrong -- I love's Chris Ballew's DIY videos, finding them models of the form. But his occasional (and ongoing) collaboration with New Zealand's Mukpuddy Animation has already produced a couple fine videos, including this, my favorite of the year.
2. Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band - "Blue Bear" [YouTube]
Another near-perfect melding of song and visual style.
The Minneapolis band hasn't produced a bad video yet.
4. Elizabeth Mitchell - "Ong Tal Sam" [YouTube]
Dreamy, oh so dreamy.
5. Dog on Fleas - "Do You Wanna Know My New Dance Step?" [YouTube]
You might be forgiven for wondering if I was ever going to pick a live-action video for this list. Well, here's the first of many.
6. The Pop Ups - "Balloon" [YouTube]
Balloons. Puppets. The Pop Ups. Can't find anything to dislike about this.
7. The Not-Its - "First Kid in Outer Space" [YouTube]
A nifty blend of animation and live-action stuff. Plus, shouting "hey, hey, hey!" along with the video is always fun.
8. Renee & Jeremy - "Share" [YouTube]
An entirely different animation style from their hypnotically beautiful "It's A Big World" video, but just as appealing.
9. Steve Weeks - "Bartleby Finkleton Will Not Take a Bath" [YouTube]
I'm probably drawn to the visuals here -- Weeks playing guitar in the bathtub, standing outside of the dumpster while trash comes flying out.
10. Rocknoceros - "Early Worm" [YouTube]
This is such a delightfully off-kilter song with a video to match.
Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically by artist)
Beethoven's Wig - "My Little Chicken" [YouTube]
Laurie Berkner - "Party Day" [YouTube]
Doctor Noize - "Noun Town" [YouTube]
Jim Gill - "Living Inside of a Jar" [YouTube]
Gustafer Yellowgold - "Pancake Smackdown" [YouTube]
Imagination Movers - "Everybody Sing" [YouTube]
Billy Kelly - "That Old American Flag" [YouTube]
Todd McHatton - "I Think I'm a Bunny" [YouTube]
The Mighty Buzzniks - "To the Moon" [YouTube]
The Okee Dokee Brothers - "Antidisestablishmentarianism" (Readeez-Style) [YouTube]
Mike Park - "Animal Park" [YouTube]
Princess Katie & Racer Steve - "Sand in My Sandwich" [YouTube]
Rabbit! - "Magic" [YouTube]
Recess Monkey - "Flying" [YouTube]
Brady Rymer - "Love Me For Who I Am" [YouTube]
