Video: "Tell Me It All" - Frances England

Yay for new music from Frances England!   (Blink of an Eye , out on August 6.)  Just as cool, yay for new video from Frances England.

England doesn't produce many videos, though when she does, they're pretty striking (remember "Tricycle")?  This new video, for "Tell Me It All" off the new disk, is also memorable.  It's sweet and wistful (matching the tone of the song perfectly), but the thing most viewers will probably remember is the giant stuffed animal ("Big Ted," designed by Donna Wilson) with the jaunty sense of style and playfulness.

Frances England - "Tell Me It All" [YouTube] 

Video: "When I Get Bald" - Alastair Moock

I have a feeling that Alastair Moock's Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World's Bravest Kids is going to be one of those (unfortunately) few kids' albums that breaks into wider recognition.  In part, that's because of the album's inspiring story (Moock's young daughter is diagnosed with leukemia, Moock sings a lot in hospital, is inspired to record an album for families meeting the same challenges).  But it's also because the album is a) really good, and b) humorous as much as it is somber.

"When I Get Bald," the song, nails that tightrope, and so does the video. 

Alastair Moock - "When I Get Bald" [YouTube] 

Video: "Sail Away Ladies" - Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower

There isn't a lot to this video, which is a strength, really, when you consider the organic and unadorned nature of Dan Zanes' and Elizabeth Mitchell's music for families.   It's the two of them, plus the rest of You Are My Flower (Daniel Littleton and Daniel and Elizabeth's daughter Storey) playing the classic "Sail Away Ladies," which'll be on Turn Turn Turn , the new album featuring all of them (out on August 27.)

But the reason to watch (besides the music, which is lots of fun) is the Littletons' dog Yuki going absolutely crazy during the recording of the video.  He needs to come on tour, right? 

Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell with You Are My Flower - "Sail Away Ladies" [YouTube] 

Video: "(I Woke Up) In a Firetruck" - Karen K and the Jitterbugs

This video from the East Coast artist Karen K and the Jitterbugs starts out a bit slowly -- my first thought was, "well, that's nicely produced, but..." so when I say that you should give it a couple minutes before rendering a verdict, I speak from experience.  It's a simple kids' song designed for interaction with preschoolers, but it takes a while for the interactive nature to become clear.  It also gets funnier as it goes on.

Also: ask your kids if they get the pop culture reference the video's organizing structure is based on. 

Karen K and the Jitterbugs - "(I Woke Up) In a Firetruck" [YouTube]

Video: "Midnight Sun in the Arctic" - Elska

You'll forgive me if I don't get too excited about the onset of summer.  Just as those of you in colder climes don't tend to celebrate the start of winter (very much, anyway), I'm pretty muted about the summer solstice (this year on Friday the 21st), as we've already had some 110-degree days, and we'll have plenty more where that came from.

Having said that, I suppose I could be a little more charitable were I living in, say, Iceland, in which the land of the midnight sun is a bit cooler than here in the desert Southwest. 

So I'll just take the latest video from Elska as an opportunity to relax and imagine  myself cooling off.  It's for "Midnight Sun in the Arctic" from Middle of Nowhere  and, yes, it was filmed in the midnight hour(s) in Iceland.

Elska - "Midnight Sun in the Arctic" [YouTube] 

Video: "Spicy Kid" - Lunch Money

Is there any doubt I wouldn't  have featured the first video from Lunch Money?  I mean, after world-premiering the video as part of my review of great kindie music videos at Kindiefest?

Of course not.

So, yay, a video for "Spicy Kid"!  There are a whole bunch of influences here in this video directed by Jerry Stevenson (Mentos and The Blues Brothers  among them), but it's also totally Lunch Money.  Which is a very good thing.

Lunch Money - "Spicy Kid" [YouTube]