Well, it's not family in particular, but there's only many family types you can describe in exactly 90 seconds. Or at least, in a bouncy pop tune. While it's not quite as incredibly awesome a tune as "We R Super Heroes," the animation for this video for "That's My Family" looks similar in places as the video for "We R Super Heroes." (Unsurprisingly, they share the same illustrator.) This tune's from Yo Gabba Gabba!, and, yeah, while it's an Apples in Stereo song, it sounds like a Robbert Bobbert outtake. Or vice versa.
The Apples in Stereo - "That's My Family" (from Yo Gabba Gabba!) - [YouTube]
Oh, and if you like Apples in Stereo...
Video: "Adventure Quest!" - The Jellydots
Here it is, folks, the first video for The Jellydots. Doug made good on his suggestion that his upcoming album Jelly Jukebox would be a lot more beat-based, and with this video for "Adventure Quest!" from the album, he's playing around with a younger doppelganger. It's a video every bit as funky (and fun) as the song itself.
The Jellydots - "Adventure Quest!" [YouTube]
Video: "Meet the Elements" (Live on Jimmy Fallon) - They Might Be Giants
I know, I just posted a video for this song yesterday. But. It's an awesome song, and if the moment at about 1:13 into this clip of They Might Be Giants performing the song on last night's Late Night With Jimmy Fallon isn't the "greatest moment in television history," as one YouTuber suggested it might be, it's pretty darn close.
They Might Be Giants - "Meet the Elements" (Live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) [YouTube]
Video: "Meet the Elements" - They Might Be Giants
I told you before how much I liked "Meet the Elements" from They Might Be Giants' Here Comes Science CD/DVD. The song is great -- the video, directed by Matt Eller and Bill Morrison of Feel Good Anyway (more details here) is perfect. Stop what you're doing and watch this.
They Might Be Giants - "Meet the Elements" [YouTube]
Video: "Can You Tell Time" - Rocknoceros
Making music that's truly for younger kids but has enough musical hooks for the parents is a lot more difficult than countless kids' music press releases make it appear. I've always appreciated Rocknoceros' skills in that regard, and they seem to be negotiating that fine line when it comes to their videos, too. Their latest video from their album Pink!, for "Can You Tell Time" doesn't quite have the scientific overload of a They Might Be Giants video, but it does the job as well as any sub-3-minute video could probably be expected to...
Rocknoceros - "Can You Tell Time" [YouTube]
Austin Kiddie Limits: Day 1 in Review (Part 1)
Day 1 of the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival is in the books, and what did we learn? Apparently leaving a little later, great weather, and threats of rain for the rest of the weekend makes parking in downtown Austin a lot harder to find. As opposed to getting downtown around 11 AM, we got there around 12:30 PM, and it took us a good 20 minutes to find parking. By the time we actually found a spot, walked to Republic Park, took the shuttle, got our wristbands, and found our bearings in the media tent, it was 2:00 PM. So, sorry, Stoosh! Our bad, Paul Green School of Rock All Stars (I've seen you plenty, though)! And really sorry to have missed The Telephone Company. Maybe Sunday, guys!
But even with missing half of Friday's Austin Kiddie Limits stage, we still had a good time. They've changed the layout this year, so that the stage is on the east end of the area, facing (north)west, and the whole layout seems shadier. Or maybe it was just the 74-degree weather. Anyway, we got there in plenty of time to see Milkshake take the stage. They put on a good 25-minute-or-so set, mostly stuff from their new album Great Day, along with some older material.
One of the things I like about AKL (and ACL in general) is that artists do feel the need to step up their game a bit. So I don't know if Milkshake normally brings a couple dozen inflatable baseball beach balls for "Baseball" (they probably do), or if the band brings graying wigs for "When I'm Old," but it just shows the band's trying. Also, Milkshake in particular, with six folks in the band, sounds good live on stage. Kids on the ground seemed to enjoy it.
Milkshake - "When I'm Old" (Live)
Milkshake - "Enemies" (Live)
After Milkshake was a brief set from K'naan, which I couldn't pay full attention to because I was shuttling Little Boy Blue from activity to activity (including green punk hairdo), but I really liked.
K'naan - "Take a Minute" (Live) (for what it's worth, there were a fair number of kids, despite what the uploader says)
Then Lunch Money. It's OK, guys, you do indeed rock. Lots of dancing and a good-sized crowd (for AKL, anyway). They're also getting really good at incorporating crowd participation into their songs. Here's a new(-ish) song, with a couple more familiar ones to follow:
Lunch Money - "Spicy Kids" (Live)
Lunch Money - "Are You a Rabbit?" (Live)
Lunch Money - "Roller Coaster" (Live)
OK, there's more to talk about, but it's time to head back to Zilker Park before the skies open up.
