Video: "Cakenstein" - Gustafer Yellowgold

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Nobody would ever deny Morgan Taylor's taste for the absurd in his Gustafer Yellowgold videos.  Shops featuring clothing made of cheese?  Jumping on dessert from on high?  So, yes, Taylor can get into Shel Silverstein territory with the best of 'em.

But this, friends, is by far the oddest video yet, and I mean that as high praise.  Who would think of writing a song called "CAKENSTEIN" using the '70s-iest of soft rock?  And then it all goes horribly (wonderfully) awry.  Pick up the single on iTunes here, but without a doubt, enjoy the video below.

Gustafer Yellowgold - "Cakenstein" [YouTube]

Video: "End of a Summer Storm" - Alison Krauss

I suppose the Sandra Boynton video that would make me happiest would be one that Boynton herself animated with her amusing anthropomorphic animals.  But that also wouldn't fit the mood of "End of a Summer Storm," the Alison Krauss-sung tune from Boynton's fine Frog Trouble album.  The video, directed by Keith Boynton, features a bunny on a mission -- it's a felt-y, puppet-y action adventure. (Sort of.)  Also dig the Swallows and Amazons reference.

Alison Krauss - "End of a Summer Storm" [Vimeo]

Video: "How Big" - Eric Herman

It has been a long time since Eric Herman has shared a video for the world.  Last week he released a video for "How Big."  The song, from his 2009 album What a Ride, is a big existential look at life and our place in the universe.

Herman could not have known how difficult the next few years would be for him; his wife Roseann passed away last year after battling illness.  He felt a deep need to finally create a video for this song nearly five years after first talking about creating a video.  The result, from animator Mario Marinkovic, is suitably big-picture for the song.  Somehow posting this in the wake of Pete Seeger's passing seems apropos.

Eric Herman - "How Big" [Vimeo; YouTube, too, if that's your fancy]

Monday Morning Smile: "There's a Platypus Controlling Me" (from Phineas & Ferb)

The show Phineas & Ferb is the secret musical weapon of kids' TV.  Oh, sure, Yo Gabba Gabba! and The Wiggles (and others) are musically-oriented, but the Disney Channel show sneaks in musical bits that are as tuneful (and usually funnier) as anything airing on the youngster channels.  Creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh write in many different styles, composer Danny Jacob brings it all together production-wise, and the result is, well, something like this.

I've told you about my secret appreciation for all things platypus, right?

Dr. Doofenshmirtz - "There's a Platypus Controlling Me" (from Phineas & Ferb episode "Brain Drain") [YouTube]

Video: "Turn! Turn! Turn!" - Dan Zanes & Elizabeth Mitchell with You Are My Flower

Yesterday we posted a video appropriate for the end of the calendar, Lori Henriques' "Another Good Year," so let's continue that trend.  "Turn! Turn! Turn!" isn't specifically a new year's song in the way Henriques' is, but in its celebration of endings and beginnings, of yin and yang, the switching from one calendar to another seems an appropriate time for a video of this classic song.  This version is from Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower and is the title track from Turn Turn Turn, their fine collaboration from this past summer.

Dan Zanes & Elizabeth Mitchell with You Are My Flower - "Turn! Turn! Turn!" [YouTube]