Video: "Now Let's Dance" - Dan Zanes & Elizabeth Mitchell with You Are My Flower

With the impending release next week (August 27) of Turn Turn Turn , the album featuring kindie superstars Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower, the duo (?) has released another video for a song off the album.

While their video for "Now Let's Dance" doesn't feature the most joyful dog you'll see all year, it does feature a lot of kids dancing and playing instruments.  That -- along with the group's relaxed and happy recording -- is good enough for me.

Dan Zanes & Elizabeth Mitchell with You Are My Flower - "Now Let's Dance" [YouTube] 

Video: "Thingamajig" - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

Everyone who's heard "Thingamajig" off Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band's upcoming Lishy Lou and Lucky Too!  disk out October 1 has gone gaga, nutso, flipperteejiberty over the song celebrating words real and just off the tip of our tongues.

There is now a brand-spankin' new video to go along with the song, and it's just as bright and spangly as the song itself.  Not only is it a fine introduction to the album, it also appears that it's a fine introduction to a new TV show featuring Lucky and Alisha and the rest of the band.  Lishy Lou and Lucky Too has its own website, and the Google cache of the site reveals that it's a live-action TV show where they "live together in a magical treehouse with all sorts of friends and guests that visit them from time to time."  Consider me intrigued.  Feel free to spin the song (and download for free for the price of a tweet or a link until Aug. 24) here.

Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band - "Thingamajig" [YouTube]

Video: "Day You Were Born" - Frances England

Oh, this is something beautiful.  It's a stop-motion collage video for Frances England's "Day You Were Born" off her brand-new album Blink of an Eye .  The video is courtesy of the artist Antonina Clarke, and it captures England's aesthetic (and the song's tone) perfectly.  (Hat tip: Apartment Therapy , who world-premiered the video.)

Frances England - "Day You Were Born" [YouTube] 

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]