Video: "Crew Cut" - Randy Kaplan

One of my favorite tracks from Randy Kaplan's fine album Jam on Rye was "Crew Cut," which details many hairstyles Kaplan had, dreamed of, or dismissed over his lifetime.  Like many of Kaplan's best songs, it's funny, literate, and a little bit wistful.

So I was glad to see that Kaplan enlisted the talents of animator Matt Kiel to create a video for the song, and the resulting video is just about a perfect match.  Hairstyles galore and a dead-simple concept.  Love it.

Randy Kaplan - "Crew Cut" [YouTube]

Video: "Rattlesnake" - Red Yarn

The revival fervor of The Deep Woods, Red Yarn's fabulous debut album, was heard most prominently in its production, which featured a cast of dozens.

So it's not really surprising that there are roughly a dozen puppet animals that make an appearance in Red's (AKA Andy Furgeson's) brand-new video for "Rattlesnake."  Joined by an enthusiastic Furgeson stomping, clapping, and of course singing along, it's very much in the spirit of the rest of the album.  And if the cast of characters puts you in the mind of a TV show, well, the video itself is part of a 22-minute TV pilot or mini-movie which'll get its premiere in December in Portland, Oregon.

Red Yarn - "Rattlesnake" [YouTube]

Video: "Bird in an Airplane Suit" - Caspar Babypants

One of the most brilliant songs on Caspar Babypants' new album Rise and Shine is the loopy "Bird in an Airplane Suit."  One concept -- what if an airplane was really, well, a bird in an airplane suit -- whisked along by Chris Ballew's crisp, simple arrangement and efficient lyrical work.

So I was happy to hear that he's created a video to go along with the song, and - joy! - it's every bit as simple, efficient, and brilliant as the song itself.  About a hundred Ballew-drawn illustrations later, it ranks right up there with "$9.99," which, long-time readers will know, is high praise from me indeed.

You might be wondering, scanning down the page, sooooo.... where's the video? Well, there's no embedding available for it, which makes me sad. (Not really.) But it's totally worth clicking that link in the next line. I wouldn't ask you to if I didn't think your family would get a kick out of it.

Caspar Babypants - "Bird in an Airplane Suit." [YouTube]

Video: "I Can't Feel My Face" - Gustafer Yellowgold

If somebody just listened to Gustafer Yellowgold's music with no visual accompaniment, they might find it to be catchy, pleasant to listen to, and, based on a couple songs, they might wonder if perhaps there lies a more absurdist sense of humor than occasionally peeks through the lyrics.

And if they watched the accompanying videos, they'd be absolutely convinced of it.

On the first single from the brand-new-out-this-week album/DVD Gustafer Yellowgold's Wisdom Tooth of Wisdom, the horn-filled song "I Can't Feel My Face" could be heard as a love song from the perspective of the lovestruck narrator.

Except there are these lines: "Pie just falls away / Can't bite with curtains."

Huh?  Where did that come from?

Just watch.  All will be revealed.

Gustafer Yellowgold - "I Can't Feel My Face." [YouTube]

Video: "Pretty Crabby" - Caspar Babypants

Me? I'm a big fan of Caspar Babypants. And a big fan of Charlotte Blacker.

And, as you might expect, a big fan of when the musician and the artist combine for videos.  (See here and here.)

So when CB and, er, CB get together to release a brand new music video, um, yes, I shall post it.  Blacker joins with Mark Taylor to create a another spiffily kinetic and knitted animation for "Pretty Crabby" off Caspar's brand-new album Rise and Shine!   My favorite bit is the crabby band.

Caspar Babypants - "Pretty Crabby" [YouTube]

Video: "Sea Turtle" - The Whizpops (World Premiere)

Montana kindie band The Whizpops have had an increasingly educational bent to their songs as their career has progressed and on their third album Sea Blue Sea (out tomorrow, August 19th), they tackle -- oh, I'm pretty sure you can guess the subject.  Ten songs about marine life (not just animals, because coral reef gets a song of its own), and one of the catchiest is "Sea Turtle."  Learning about the carapace has never been this much fun.

I'm happy to present the world premiere of the video for that track, created by Zooglobble favorites eg design.  The animated video packs in a lot of useful information, and its bright marine palette will draw in the youngsters.  And, yes, you will learn what a "carapace" is.

Photo credit: Bea Hufman

The Whizpops - "Sea Turtle" [YouTube]