Monday Morning Smile: "Dog" - Nat Johnson

If I didn't already have a sparkly and cheerful video lined up last Monday morning, I totally would have posted this video from British singer Nat Johnson.  It's for the song "Dog" from Johnson's forthcoming album Neighbour of the Year, and if this doesn't end up on the inevitable tweaking/re-release of Putumayo's Animal Playground, then somebody (could be them, could be me) isn't doing their job right.  The gentle folk tune nails the desire for pet companionship, as do Fettle Animation's felt-ish drawings.  (And if you can't wait for the album, buy the single here or on iTunes.)

Nat Johnson - "Dog" [YouTube] (h/t: Lori Henriques)

Monday Morning Smile: "Hockey Monkey" - The Zambonis

I was going back through my archives and was surprised to find that I've never posted this video on the site (or if I have, I have very poor website indexing and searching skills).

It's the classic song from James Kochalka and The Zambonis, "Hockey Monkey." The animation (and song) was used for the Nickelodeon animation show KaBlam!, but really I'm posting it because 1) the NHL playoffs are underway, and 2) it's never not an awesome song.

The Zambonis - "Hockey Monkey" [YouTube]

Monday Morning Smile: "The Importance of Kindness" - George Saunders

Unlike the last time I posted a clip that set the words of a commencement speech to some interesting visuals, this clip is a fully vetted and authorized one.  It's a small portion of George Saunders' commencement speech at Syracuse University in May 2013.  The fact that it's essentially an advertisement for a book version of that speech makes it no less beautiful and thought-provoking in the way all good commencement speeches should be.

Monday Morning Smile: "Helium Harvey"

A little imaginative helium-based humor from Daniel Savage for your Monday morning.  It's beautiful and utterly delightful, though I still snicker at the way the helium makes the titular character's pants fit.... less than optimally.

"Helium Harvey" [Vimeo]

Monday Morning Smile: "Fountains of Wayne Hotline" - Robbie Fulks

This is not exactly kid-focused -- OK, it's not kid focused AT ALL -- but I was introduced to this song a couple weeks ago via NPR's consistently entertaining Pop Culture Happy Hour and fell in love instantly.

Power pop?  Check.

References to Fountains of Wayne, a band I adore?  Check.

Nerdy, metatopical song about songwriting?  Check.

So what if it's not kids music?  It's from Robbie Fulks, favorite of kindie artists such as Justin Roberts.  And besides, all my readers whose kids grew up listening to so much awesome pop-rock have got to start learning the basic structures of songwriting somewhere, right?

(Also, please get the Pop Culture Happy Hour feed into your podcast routine forthwith.)

Monday Morning Smile: "The Lion" - Benjamin Scheuer (Escapist Papers)

This is a beautiful song, the title track, as it were, from a new autobiographical stage show from Benjamin Scheuer.  Scheuer's show The Lion will get its American premiere in June, but the video for this song performed by Scheuer and his band Escapist Papers has already won awards.

I would note that the song lyrics feature murder and death and sickness amongst animals.  But so does Babar.  In spite of that, it's probably the most uplifting song you'll hear all week, and the animation from Radish Pictures is gorgeous.

Benjamin Scheuer (The Escapist Papers) - "The Lion" [Vimeo]