Video Friday - $9.99 by caspar babypants

Well, I'm back. I'm not sure if you missed me or not, but here I am again. It's been so long that I have not kept up well with all the new kids music videos out there. So "bear" with me here. Oh, that was an awful joke because here I am to tell you about an oldie but goodie video by the very fine Mr. Chris Ballew. Or chris ballew as he would write. No, he'd probably say caspar babypants. Anyhoo, this is my family's all time most favoritest song by caspar. It's the story of a little bear who is loved most dearly until the day that he becomes an old bear. Then he goes on a journey of sorts until one day he ends up with a new little kid to love. It's the age old story of toys. At least that's what Toy Story has taught me.

I don't know why my family loves this song so much, but I can tell you we are definitely not the only ones.  If there is such a thing for Kindie music, this song appears to have earned a cult following.  According to the YouTube comments, this video and/or song appears to be played quite often at your local Chuck E. Cheese.  Apparently every patron of Chuck E. Cheese loves this song.  I wouldn't know since I refuse to step one tiny toe in there.  However, I do know that when caspar came to Olympia and played at the local independent toy store Wind Up Here, there were tons of kids and parents there.  And when he played this song, there was not a single parent who did not sing along.  Truly.  You can't say that about every kids song.  I can't say that about every kids song.  There are lots that I love, but I don't know all the words.  I am proud to say that I know every single word to the song, $9.99.  

So, watch this video that caspar created along with daughter Josie and then tell me why I love it so.  Because I just can't figure it out.  My 7-year-old tells me every time we listen to it that he likes this song, but good luck getting a 7-year-old to explain why he loves or hates anything.  "I just do".  That's the answer.  I suppose you don't really need at reason.  If you love it, well then, that's enough.  I love it.  So there.


Happy Friday, everyone.  Take some time today to appreciate something simply because you love it.  You don't need a better reason than that.

By the way, caspar was at Wind Up Here in late October to promote the release of his third album, This is Fun!  If you didn't know, or haven't got it yet, go out and get it! It's every bit as awesome as the first two!

Video Friday - Blah, Blah, Blah by Hullabaloo

I've featured a video here on Video Friday before by Hullabaloo and ever since then I've been wanting to share this one too. This video cracks me up and even my son says that he loves it. Of course it's not too surprising that his favorite part is the "blah, blah, blah" chorus. I think it's pretty fun too. I guarantee it's going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day, (probably when your boss shows up at your desk to talk about something important.)

At my house there are many occassions when the grown-ups and the kids just don't seem to speak the same language. I confess that on more than one occasion I've said to my son, "I'll I heard was blah, blah, blah." You know it happens. Then again, it works both ways. More than once I've told my son to do something, or Dad rattles off some long, complicated list of tasks, and all we get back is a blank stare. Dad and I turn to each other and say, "All he heard was blah, blah, blah." Yup. Then again, I've noticed that the cats are not immune to it either. In fact I think that pretty much all they hear is, "Blah, blah, blah, Lily.  Blah, blah, blah, Dragon." In one kitty ear and out the other.  If your household is anything like ours, you'll love this video too.



I seem to be seeing a pattern here lately on Video Friday where I have to show more than one video.  I was catching up on some of my Zooglobble today when I saw this video.  It was too funny not to share.  Have you ever watched the show Time Warp on the Discovery Channel?  My husband and I used to be addicted to it.  If you've ever seen the show then this next video will be oddly familiar.  The song is by The Okee Dokee Brothers and features a clip from Time Warp.  It's a short video, but once you watch it, you'll want to watch it again and again.  It's so much fun.  Here is Water Balloon  by the Okee Dokee Brothers.



One last thing.  I just discovered today that the Hipwaders mentioned me on their Facebook page last May!  Wow!  How cool is that?  Pretty darn.  Thanks so much for the mention, Hipwaders!!!

Happy blah, blah, Friday, blahddy, blah, blah, blah, everyone!

   

Video Friday - Pool Party by the Aquabats

No doubt if you are a fan of Yo Gabba Gabba, you've seen this video at least once.  Front man MC Bat Commander (AKA Christian Jacobs) is a co-creator of the show and this version of their popular Pool Party song was toned down and made a little more kid friendly for the show.  I love it.  My kids love it.  Heck, everyone loves a pool party! 

My sister has been emailing us with her family's adventures in Hawaii recently, and this video makes me think that maybe they would have been safer staying home and having a pool party instead.



While searching for this video, (I've had various versions of it on my channel all along, but for some reason Nickelodeon or YouTube keeps pulling it) I found another video for the song.  This one uses the original version of Pool Party in which only the cool kids are invited and there's lots of mention of cute girls in swimming suits.  However, it uses clips from the Peanuts cartoons and honestly, I don't think kids even listen to the words. My son loved this version and it's pieced together really well so I love it too.



This is my favorite line:

 Holy guacamole, we've got chips, so come on take a dip, cuz my pool rips! 

Try yelling that out at your next party and see if it doesn't raise the bar there a little bit.

Happy Friday everyone!  Super killer (wading) pool party at my house!

Video Friday - Jet Pack by Recess Monkey

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus.  We moved to our new house and life sort of got in the way for a while.  Blogging was put on hold.  But, I'm back with lots of stuff to share and hopefully I'll get some time to write it all down.  Lucas and I took a trip to Seattle for the big "Share the Music" concert at Freeway Park and I took tons of pictures and made lots of notes so that you could all pretend that you were there with us too.  It was a great concert and we stuck it out until the very last note was played.

Recess Monkey has been putting out videos like crazy since they've just released their new album, The Final Funktier.  We got a copy of the CD at the Share the Music concert, which just so happened to be their CD release party too.  Can I just say that the CD is *AWESOME*!  Seriously, I thought that they'd have a really hard time topping their last CD Field Trip.  The two are now rivaling each other as my favorite Recess Monkey album.  I just can't decide which one I like more.

So, to celebrate the fact that I'm finally back to blogging again, and Recess Monkey's CD release, and the fact that summer has finally hit the Pacific Northwest, here is the video for Jet Pack.  I'm sure you'll find it as fun and catchy as my family did.  I wonder how many families will be setting out for yard sales in search of vacuum cleaners to turn into their own jet packs?



I'm also giving you a video bonus at the end to help make up for all the missed Fridays that I didn't post.  Yes, it's another Recess Monkey video, but this one is a little different.  They don't sing in this one.  What!?  They don't sing?  Nope.  Sorry, there is no singing.  Ah, but there is music.  Elevator music in fact.  Space Elevator music.  And let me just say that the video is HILARIOUS and that Jack has some awesome acting skills.  Why, you'd almost believe that Mayor Monkey (MayMo) really did . . . well, you'll just have to watch the video to see what MayMo did.  I love Drew's total indifference to Jack's hysteria at the end.  You'll see.  Watch it, it's fun.



Happy Friday Everyone!  I hope today finds you in a sunny, warm place with lots of room to run and let your imagination go wild!

Video Friday - Video Two-fer

I have so many videos that I want to share with everyone that sometimes it's hard to choose just one.  Sometimes even though I love a video and want to share it, it might be an older one and I opt to show a newly released video instead.

This week though, I'm saying the heck with all the new releases and let's enjoy some older videos just because I like 'em and they are appropriate for this time of year.

First up is Recess Monkey's Sack Lunch from their 2009 album, Field Trip.  I know I talk Recess Monkey all the time, but hey, it's cuz they're good and I like them and they make good videos.  (And I'm secretly hoping that they'll get wind of my blog and send me free stuff for promoting them.  HaHa!  Just kidding. Not really!)  Here's what I love about this song and video:

1. Drew dressed as a giant paper bag parading around the Mall in D.C. and posing for pictures with tourists.
2. The chorus, sack lu-unch! sack lu-unch! sack lu-unch! sack la la la la la la la lunch!!!
   
3. The line, I'm kinda squished, is somebody leaking in here?
   
4. The fact that no matter how many times I hear this song I still think Drew is saying, They get drunk drivers to honk along.  Yeah, I know he says truck, but my brain refuses to hear this.
   
5. The choir harmonizing at the end of the song is just so awesome.
   

Who knew you could make such a sweet song about such an everyday item?  Wednesday night when I was making Lucas's sack lunch for his first ever kindergarten field trip, this is the song that played in my head.



Next up is Caspar Babypants' Monkey River off his debut album, Here I Am!  Again, I know that I talk about Caspar Babypants a lot, but that's because he's good.  His songs are good, the videos are good, and I secretly wish he'd come back again and leave a nice comment like he did the first time I wrote about him.  (Just kidding.  Not really!)

This video stares his daughter Josie in a monkey mask running through Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.  It's very Planet of the Apes but in a funny and cute way.  I just love watching her skipping through the park without a care in the world, rubbing her little chin as she gazes at all the animals and the flabbergasted humans, and nearly running into trees as she tries to see through the off-set eye holes in the mask.  She really did a fantastic job as "wee monkey girl".  It makes me smile every time I watch it.



Lucas's class went to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, not Woodland Park, but I still thought about this video the entire time we were there, wishing that wee monkey girl would pop-up at any moment.

It was a really fun day and judging by the fact that there were at least four other schools there that day, I'd say that this is prime field trip time.

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you enjoyed this special video two-fer post.  If you're headed out on a field trip today or even next week, I wish you clear skies, tons of fun, and maybe even a quick glimpse of wee monkey girl.

Don't forget that you can see both Recess Monkey and Caspar Babypants at the upcoming Share the Music Concert.