Quantcast
Music
cover art

Various Artists

Yo Gabba Gabba!

(iTunes; US: 14 Oct 2008)

When it comes to entertaining children—regardless of medium—a performer must pertain to one very strong and true rule: never, ever, condescend to your audience. Though it’s true with any art form, it’s even more appropo for the pre-school set, because if you can’t keep the attention of a five-year-old, then you’re not doing your job right. Part of the joy of Nick Jr.‘s Yo Gabba Gabba! is that the show never looks down on its audience of children/causal college stoners—DJ Lance Rock and his various life-sized monster friends seem to be having fun right along with you, which, perhaps, is why the show has been able to cultivate guest turns from everyone from Elijah Wood to Jack Black without batting an eye. The show’s first (and certainly not last) soundtrack features indie-rock approved darlings like the Ting Tings and the Roots stopping by to contribute some new original songs. As cool as that sounds, however, some of the songs on this iTunes-only soundtrack don’t work without the visual components of the show to match, particularly with YGG! originals like “Party in My Tummy” and “I Like to Dance”, which—though replete with modern blog-rock dance beats—lose a bit in translation.  Some of the guest artists also manage to deliver turns that are either forgettable (The Little Ones’ “Hey, Won’t Somebody Come Out and Play”) or frightfully fluffy (the way-too-cute “Be Nice to Animals” by the Salteens), which is a crying shame given that the Roots, Tahiti 80, and the Ting Tings manage to deliver some great, striking originals. The best songs, however, tend to be the more melodic YGG! originals like the synth-heavy “I’m So Sorry” and the spastic “Get the Sillies Out”, which almost sounds like a stand-in song for the Jellyfish Band from Spongebob Squarepants.  Yet the real stunner?  Mark Kozelek’s sweet, gorgeous acoustic original “Bedtime Lullaby”—a perfect closing number for a quirky, fun, and condescension-free little soundtrack.

Rating:

Evan Sawdey began contributing to PopMatters in late 2005 after contributing for years to his college newspaper The Knox Student. Evan became the Associate Interviews Editor for PopMatters in the summer of 2008, and then the full Interviews Editor a year after that. Since joining, Evan's work has been quoted/featured in a wide array of publications including SLUG Magazine, The Metro (U.K.), the Gulf Times, Soundvenue Magazine (Denmark), and multiple national newspapers. Evan has been a guest on WNYC's Soundcheck (an NPR affiliate), was the Executive Producer for the Good With Words: A Tribute to Benjamin Durdle album (available for free at GoodWithWordsAlbum.com), and wrote the liner notes for the 2011 re-release of Andre Cymone's hit 1985 album A.C. (Big Break Records) as well as the re-release of the JoBoxers' 1983 debut album Like Gangbusters (Hot Shot Records). He is a current member of The Recording Academy. He resides in Chicago, Illinois. You can follow him @SawdEye should you be so inclined.


Media

Yo Gabba Gabba! -- Party in My Tummy
Comments
Now on PopMatters
Busted Headphones: Hip Hop Es Mi Cultura
Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth (Reviews) [Mon, 3:25 pm]
‘The Artist’ dominates BAFTAs (PopWire) [Mon, 9:01 am]
Your Anti-Valentine's Day Playlist. (Mixed Media) [Mon, 8:30 am]
  1. 'Nebraska': Bruce Springsteen's 'Heart of Darkness' (Columns)
  2. The 10 Greatest Shakespeare Film Adaptations of All Time (Short Ends and Leader)
  3. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 1: From 13Ghosts to Friendly Fires (Features)
  4. Not-So-Central Casting: Kevin Smith and the Birth of the Reality Podcast (Features)
  5. The 10 Greatest Movie Spies Ever (Short Ends and Leader)
  6. Bored This Way: The 54th Annual Grammy Awards (Features)
  7. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 2: From the Go! Team to the Phoenix Foundation (Features)
  8. Slipped Discs 2011 - Part 3: From Real Estate to Youth Lagoon (Features)
  9. Lana Del Rey: Born to Die (Reviews)
  10. The Top 15 Madonna Singles of All Time (Sound Affects)
  11. Get Off of My Cloud!: 'Collecting' Music in the Digital Age (Features)
  12. Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas (Reviews)
  13. Google and the Production of Curiosity (Marginal Utility)
  14. Carole E. Barrowman’s Authorial Journey to Hollow Earth (Features)
  15. Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth (Reviews)
  16. “Don’t Let Me Fall”: Hip-Hop in the Age of Austerity (Features)
  17. Tower Songs: Townes Van Zandt (Columns)
  18. Black Bananas: Rad Times Xpress IV (Reviews)
  19. Paul McCartney: Kisses on the Bottom (Reviews)
  20. The Gay Ole Countryside (Columns)
  21. Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks (Reviews)
  22. Nick Cave’s The Death of Bunny Munro: A Rock Star’s Midlife Crisis or Valid Literature? (Features)
  23. Rating the Performances at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards (Mixed Media)
  24. Counterbalance No. 67: John Coltrane’s 'A Love Supreme' (Sound Affects)
  25. A Look to the Past, An Insight Into the Present: The Use of Gender in 'Mad Men' (Features)
  26. The 10 Best John Coltrane Solos (Sound Affects)
  27. A Tale of How Great Journalism Became Revisionist History: Grambling State U Football (Columns)
  28. Chairlift: Something (Reviews)
  29. Mark Lanegan Band: Blues Funeral (Reviews)
  30. Mitt Romney Can Reside at Today's Proverbial 'Downton Abbey'... Newt Gingrich Cannot (Features)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements
Ratings

10 - The Best of the Best

9 - Very Nearly Perfect

8 - Excellent

7 - Damn Good

6 - Good

5 - Average

4 - Unexceptional

3 - Weak

2 - Seriously Flawed

1 - Terrible

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.