Yo Gabba Gabba on CD Is Awesome (Album Due Oct. 20)

We can have a long debate over the merits of Yo Gabba Gabba the TV show, but there's little doubt that it's exposed a bunch of preschoolers to a lot of artists that normally would have little exposure to a bunch of preschoolers. The Shins, Yo Gabba Gabba, Mates of State -- the list is long (and kinda cool). Now comes word (via Pitchfork) that Filter US will be releasing a Yo Gabba Gabba compilation entitled Music Is Awesome on October 20. It'll be both a CD and iTunes release. To some extent, it overlaps with the iTunes exclusive compilation released last year. But at 21 tracks in length, including stuff from Chromeo, Of Montreal, and the Shins that weren't on that release, there's a fair amount of new material. Track listing after the jump.
YO GABBA GABBA!: MUSIC IS AWESOME! Track listing:

1. YO GABBA GABBA! Theme
2. YO GABBA GABBA! - Party In My Tummy
-- 3. THE SHINS - It’s Okay, Try Again
4. YO GABBA GABBA! - I Like To Dance
-- 5. MONEY MARK - Robo Dancing
6. YO GABBA GABBA! - Get The Sillies Out
-- 7. BIZ MARKIE - Biz’s Beat Of The Day #1
-- 8. CHROMEO - Nice ‘N’ Clean
9. YO GABBA GABBA! - Try It, You’ll Like It
-- 10. THE ROOTS - Lovely, Love My Family
11. YO GABBA GABBA! - Don’t Be Afraid
-- 12. I’M FROM BARCELONA - Just Because It’s Different Doesn’t Mean Scary
13. YO GABBA GABBA! - Bubbles
-- 14. OF MONTREAL - Brush Brush Brush
15. YO GABBA GABBA! - Nice & Easy
-- 16. THE LITTLE ONES - Hey, Won’t Somebody Come And Play
-- 17. WEIRD SCIENCE - Go Crazy Remix
-- 18. YO DAZZLERS - You Can’t Always Get What You Want
-- 19. MARK KOZELEK - Bedtime Lullaby
20. YO GABBA GABBA! - Goodbye Song
21. YO GABBA GABBA! Closing THEME

Kids Music Fights H1N1 Flu

That's right, folks, nothing like the onset of the cold and flu season as an excuse to watch two excellent kids music videos.

The first is "Nice 'N' Clean," and it's from Chromeo, a band that you will not typically listen to with your kids. But Yo Gabba Gabba has a way of getting folks to do all sorts of songs you wouldn't expect. This song is all about washing your hands, and has a funky synthesized video to go along with the funky synthesizers. There's no embedding, but it's worth going here and watching it with the kiddos.

And then, yeah, you have to do the elephant.

The Jimmies - "Do The Elephant" [YouTube, also on the forthcoming Trying Funny Stuff DVD]

Hey Nice Lady, Have You Seen Dan Zanes?

Dan Zanes will be on this year's Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. 5:30 Eastern time on Monday. That's some sort of barrier broken, to be sure, regarding kids music in pop culture.

The Fresh Beat Band Is Fresh, I'll Give 'Em That Much

What's that, parents? Your kids want to watch yesterday's episode of Nick Jr's new show The Fresh Beat Band and you don't have a DVR?

Well, it's iTunes to the rescue -- they already have the 3 episodes shown yesterday and today (Stomp the House, Stick Together, Doggone It!) available for sale, just $1.99 each.

I'm guessing that a lot of regular readers won't care much about this, but I do think it shows just how quickly the TV landscape has changed in a few years. Jack's Big Music Show? Just 4 episodes on iTunes, the ones on the Let's Rock DVD. But now even these shows for kids are being treated like The Office.

Obviously, I think this is a great idea. Why should I have to wait for the next Biscuit Brothers DVD when I could download the episodes immediately from iTunes? But I've heard from assorted musicians that iTunes isn't necessarily the fastest in responding if your name isn't "Hannah" or "Montana." Makes me the think that finding the best independent music/shows for kids is a niche that Kidos could nicely carve out for itself. (But I still want my Biscuit Brothers on iTunes.)

Video: "Nature" (Live @ Kidzapalooza) - Band of Horses

I know, I already posted one Band of Horses live video from the Kidzapalooza stage from this Saturday's Lollapalooza. But this might be my favorite song from the video uploaded thus far. Not only that, but the band says that this song, "Nature," will be on Yo Gabba Gabba!'s upcoming Season 3. Not sure humidity in a Chicago summer is awesome, but this song might be.

Band of Horses - "Nature" (Live at Lollapalooza 2009's Kidzapalooza stage)