Music Is . . . Awesome?
Notes upon listening to Yo Gabba Gabba: Music Is . . . Awesome five times in the past two days:
- I had no idea what Yo Gabba Gabba was until the promo copy arrived in my mailbox on Wednesday. My cluelessness is due to the fact that (a) pretty much all my TV viewing nowadays is Hulu-based, (b) I don’t have kids, and (c) I don’t do drugs. However, after looking at the album cover and doing some quick internet researching – which mainly consisted of this article from Slate – I kinda want to do some drugs now.
- This album was clearly not made with me in mind. Half the songs on the album (11 of the 21 tracks) are attributed to Yo Gabba Gabba and consists of music that operates in a wavelength that hurts my cranky, old ears. Adding to my general confusion is the fact that a lot of these songs are clearly in need of a visual element to go with them. Would I enjoy songs like “I Like To Dance” more if I could see these . . . uh, things (?) busting out their dance moves? Wouldn’t hurt.
- Remember Bis? Scottish band, “teen-c power!”, shit like that? The Yo Gabba Gabba theme song sounds like Bis. I don’t know which party would be more insulted by that comparison.
- The song, ”Try It, You’ll Like It” is just creepy. My mind is way too perverse to process that song in any other way. “You’ll just have to trust in me / just give it a try”. DON’T DO IT, KID!! IT’S A TRAP!! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!
- Speaking of creepy, whenever the main dude starts a track by saying, “Hello friends”, his intonation sounds almost exactly like Stinky Wizzleteat from the “Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy” song. Let’s pause and listen to the greatest song ever written:
Ren And Stimpy – Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy
I will never tire of that song.
- Let’s get to the positives. The other half of the album is pretty damn excellent. Those remaining 10 songs feature a collection of bands doing some really good, quick children’s numbers, several of which work perfectly well outside the context of a children’s album. The Shins’ “It’s Okay, Try Again”, with it’s shuffling beat, banjo flourishes, and la-la-la’s, wouldn’t seem out of place on any of their albums. And “Lovely, Love My Family” by The Roots is absolutely beautiful – a song so life-affirming that it temporarily melted the cynicism from my dark, dark soul.
- And then there’s Chromeo. I must share this track – I . . . I just have to. I’m gonna post this for a very short time (like, a couple hours at most), then replace it with a YouTube clip. Grab it while you can, for it’s the best song ever written about washing your hands. It’s catchy as hell, too.
[UPDATE: I wasn't kidding about taking the track down after a couple hours. Enjoy the YouTube, which is actually a better way to experience the song.]
- While not reaching the heights of greatness as the three bands mentioned above, the remaining contributors to this album all turn in some fine work. For the uninitiated, these short tracks (only a few cross the 2-minute mark) provide a good introduction to bands like I’m From Barcelona, Money Mark, Of Montreal, and Mark Kozelek (whose “Bedtime Lullaby” is totally different from anything else on here). Only a 30-second lesson in beat-making from Biz Markie feels unnecessary. But, you know, it’s Biz Markie, and a little Biz Markie is always welcome. In fact . . .
Yeah.
- In conclusion, while the album is definitely not for me, I’m glad I heard it. There are a handful of terrific songs on here that will find a permanent home in my music collection. The remaining songs will be tucked away for possible future use, in case I ever have children. Or start doing drugs again. I think the latter is more likely to happen than the former.
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