Video: "How Great Can This Day Be" - Lori Henriques (World Premiere)

It is no secret I'm a big fan of Lori Henriques, both of her music, as well as her videos.

Well, Henriques has a brand new album out today, her third solo kindie album.  It's called How Great Can This Day Be, and I'm tickled pink (and green, and yellow, and, oh, you'll see) to offer you the world premiere of the album's title track.

Once again she's teamed with her brother Joel Henriques to produce a memorable music video to accompany her music.  Appropriately for the jazzy, horn-accompanied pick-me-up of a song, Joel's stick puppets of brightly-colored shapes on simple backgrounds (referencing the album cover) look like they're enacting purely non-verbal storytelling from the '60s.

Lori Henriques is excited because her album is releasing the day that Sesame Street is celebrating its 45th anniversary.  One of the best compliments I can pay to this video is that I think the song and visuals would have fit well on the show at just about any point over the past 45 years.

Lori Henriques - "How Great Can This Day Be" [YouTube]

Video: "Chris Moose" - Bobs and LoLo

I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet -- what am I doing posting a Christmas video?  Well, although I'll have more Christmas and winter holiday coverage after Thanksgiving, I did want to note the release this week of Wave Your Antlers, the first release on Nettwerk (!) from the British Columbia-based duo Bobs and LoLo.  The first single is "Chris the Moose," and its chorus is one of those that has wedged its way into my brain so that at random times I'll silently hear "It's Chris Moose / Chris the Moose."  The song and video are silly holiday fun.

Bobs and LoLo - "Chris Moose" [YouTube]

Video: "Armando Armadillo" - Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke

A new album from the punk-Americana duo Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke is always cause for celebration.  So, let's celebrate the recent release of Animal Tales, the duo's latest album, filled with songs celebrating, well, animals.

And by "celebrate," what I mean is "watch the first video for the album."  It's for "Armando Armadillo," the ballad with an appropriately Mexican sound for the tale of the Texan/southwestern animal.  The video, of course, features illustrations from the Wilde, whose drawings are all over their music (and many other things).  And after you watch the video -- kids, ask your parents to tell you about the game "Frogger."

Plus, for a limited time download the track for free here!

Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke - "Armando Armadillo" [YouTube]

Halloween 2014 Kids' Songs

Nothing like a last-minute roundup of holiday-related music, right?  If you want a much, much larger list, head here for a massive list of kid-friendly Halloween music, but here's a roundup of videos and tracks for your streaming pleasure. Blast it out your front door speaker at the trick-or-treaters Friday night.

As a bonus, I'll give you a Spookglobble rating -- 1 is for everyone, 2 is mildly scary (but should be fine for all but the most sensitive -- think slightly worrisome for a 3-year-old), and 3 could be scary for some kids.

Bears and Lions - "Halloween Is Finally Here": No PANCAKE! SWEEPSTAKES!, sadly, but it's good to have B&L music in any form, even seasonal.  Spookglobble rating: 2

Eric Herman - "Monster League Baseball" [YouTube]: It's a comedy sketch about, well, monsters playing baseball.  Spookglobble rating: 1

The Hipwaders - "Pumpkinhead" [YouTube]: As the band says in the description for the video, this is a cautionary tale regarding the dangers of too much Halloween candy. Perhaps play this for your kids before they go out Halloween night?

Mista Cookie Jar and the Chocolate Chips - "Halloween Every Night" [YouTube]: Surf-hop? MCJ's sound is sui generis, and this song commemorating both trick-or-treating and the cultural trappings of the holiday, is a mashup like everything else they do. Spookglobble rating: 1.7.

The Flannery Brothers - "Robot for Halloween" [YouTube]: Happy, joyful song about creating a Halloween costume. (I think you can guess what kind of costume). Bonus: download the song (and two others) for free! The song's a year-old, but some of that candy may be, too.  Spookglobble rating: 1.  (h/t: Cool Mom Tech)

Jazzy Ash - "Monsters": Gentle strut disproving the entire existence of monsters.  Spoilsport!  (Just kidding!) Spookglobble rating: 1.1

Charity and the JAMband - "Halloween": Another costume-celebrating track, celebrating all sorts of costumes. Also free for a limited time. Spookglobble rating: 1.

Joanie Leeds - "Confusing Costume": As someone who went as a "Black Hole" complete with a picture of Maxmillian Schell last year, I can relate.  Spookglobble rating: 1.

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]