Video: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" - Debbie and Friends

Things that I'm not a big fan of regarding the new video for "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" from Debbie and Friends: the sticks for arms on all but one of the human characters. Things I'm a big fan of regarding the video: the exaggerated cartoonish action and expressions, the human characters' "jazz hands," the brief "what happens after the story" vignettes that lend the traditional story a bit more shading. It's a big '70s soft-rock sound that may not be your cup of tea, but I think younger kids will be intrigued by the video. Debbie and Friends - "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" [YouTube] Debbie Cavalier, by the way, is in the studio recording the follow-up to Story Songs and Sing Alongs -- expect more story songs and some guest stars, too...

Video: "Hey-O" - Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck with Roscoe Orman

One of my favorite tracks off of Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck's new EP Rockin', Rollin' and Ridin' is "Hey-O," which features Roscoe Orman, AKA Gordon from Sesame Street. I suppose this would've been more appropriate last week when everybody was doing the whole 40th anniversary Sesame Street thing, but, oh, well, it's still cool watching Orman and Frezza trading lines from the song with enthusiasm (except for the part where, you know, it's supposed to be super-quiet). Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck with Roscoe Orman - "Hey-O" [YouTube]

Video: "I Count To Ten" (Live) - David Tobocman

I have a long day ahead of me, so I'm just going to repeat this mantra from one of my favorite David Tobocman tracks all day long. David Tobocman - "I Count To Ten" (Live at McCabe's) [YouTube] You'll have to wait a little while longer for album #2 from Tobocman, but Jewish faithful might be interested in his latest song, the fun "Hanukkah All Over the World," which you can listen to here. It's a catchy tune, but I think I'll stick to counting to ten today...

Book Review: "Kids Go!" - They Might Be Giants

KidsGo.jpgBooks are so 20th century, right? Then why do people insist on continuing to write them? Who knows, but in the case of They Might Be Giants, their proficiency in the non-book world has led them to Kids Go!, their second book. It's a song they wrote for PBS converted to book format featuring the illustrations of Pascal Campion, who's animated a number of their videos for their "Here Comes...." series. As a book, it's fine, really. While song lyrics written on the page can look odd, especially given the verse-chorus-verse nature of most songs, Campion's energetic line drawings with muted colorings help move the plot of the book, such as it is, along. And, hey, it comes with a DVD video that mimics, though doesn't copy, the book illustrations. But I think a lot of parents, excited to get another TMBG item to go along with, say, Here Comes Science, will be disappointed. For the same price as the book (if not cheaper), you can get an entire DVD and CD of TMBG music. Even compared to TMBG's previous book foray (Bed Bed Bed, which featured a 4-song CD), the package is a little lacking. (And isn't it a little weird to read a book about putting books down and jumping around?) The book will be of most interest to kids ages 4 through 7. You can buy the book just about anywhere -- here the whole song here or watch a minute's worth of the DVD video here. It's a fun and might make a neat gift for the They Might Be Giants superfan in your family's life, but most folks can probably hold off. Until they figure out how to package the Kindle text and iTunes video download for $5.

Video: "Ice Pack" - Recess Monkey

I don't know who had the more dangerous job here in the latest video from Recess Monkey -- Drew and Daron, for doing all those falls without the apparent aid of stunt doubles, or Jack, for rockin' the most ridiculous hair/stache combination since late '70s SuperSonics basketball. (Sorry, guys, that probably hurt.) Oh, and as I theorized just this weekend, this new slew of videos will be part of a new DVD due out this December. Most excellent. Recess Monkey - "Ice Pack" [YouTube]

DVD Review: Trying Funny Stuff - The Jimmies

TryingFunnyStuff.jpgAs a reviewer, I tend to dislike absolute statements because you never know what you'll hear or read or see afterwards that will cause you to regret your previous absolute. So with that in mind, let me say this with no "possibly"s or "maybe"s to get in the way: Nobody makes better kids music videos than the Jimmies. Nobody. Don't get me wrong, They Might Be Giants draw a lot of talent to their videos, Recess Monkey does a lot with a little, and folks like Gustafer Yellowgold and Readeez crank out a lot of great music via their primarily video-based format. And various artists might crank out an excellent video or two. But when it comes to creating those 3-minute videos we used to watch MTV for, the Jimmies consistently are the cream of the crop. It's no surprise, therefore, that the chief draw of Trying Funny Stuff, the new DVD from the New York band The Jimmies are the six videos on the set. "Do The Elephant," "Spanimals," "Cool To Be Uncool," "Bedhead," and "Taddy" are here (all available on their YouTube channel or here), along with the new-to-you video for "What's That Sound?," which is every bit as eye-popping as the other three (love the cloud dress). The production values Jimmies mastermind Ashley Albert and director Michael Slavens bring to the videos are pretty stunning -- they impress (and the songs they back up are pretty decent, too). They try lots of stuff, some funny and some just cool. The "behind-the-scenes" documentary starts out goofy, and I thought it was going to be one of those throwaway EPK documentaries, but maybe about five minutes in, you realize, hey, this is interesting, and not in a "interesting-for-the-parents, deathly-dull-for-the-kids" sort of way, but Slavens and Albert actually walk through how they created the effects for the videos and talk to kids rather than the adults. (Oh, and they run through a good dozen chicken-related puns in the span of about a minute, but they're not perfect.) The rest of the package is gravy. The karaoke setting for the videos, is cool, though I don't expect it'll get much use. And the concert video is fun, with the band rocking out in a New York auditorium, complete with guest banjo artists, gratuitous egg shaker solo, and Soaper the Scaredybot (you just have to see it). If you've seen the band in concert, then you know what to expect from the concert. They play songs both from Make Your Own Someday and the upcoming (at some point) Everyday's a Holiday. The DVD also comes packaged with a CD of the concert -- in other words, there's a lot of video and audio to enjoy. Kids ages 4 through 8 will most enjoy the DVD, which features nearly 90 minutes of video (besides the karaoke). You can buy the DVD here or at Barnes & Noble. To watch the Jimmies is to become a fan of the Jimmies. And sometimes you want to watch videos with your kids on something larger than a 3-inch YouTube screen. For those reasons alone, Trying Funny Stuff is worth your time. Definitely recommended.