Deep Woods Revival album cover
The folk music revivalist Red Yarn is back and for the first video from his new album Deep Woods Revival, he (unsurprisingly) brings a whole bunch of Portland-area folks -- and puppets -- for a singalong. "Bile Them Cabbage" will sound an awful lot like "Shake Those Simmons Down," but that's part of the beauty of folk music, how it bends to suit musicians' will.
Also, it's good for singing along with.
Red Yarn - "Bile Them Cabbage" [YouTube]
Aw, this is just such a sweet song. It's from Molly Ledford, multi-hyphenate extraordinaire. (You know, from Lunch Money! And Molly Ledford and Billy Kelly! And from Instagram and Facebook photos of her kids, who I feel should have a book deal or video deal or some deal from somebody because they're just awesome.)
At first she just wrote music for one puppet musical. But now she's gone ahead and done it again, which I think officially makes her a puppet musical expert. This time it's for the Columbia Marionette Theatre's production of the Russian folktale The Frog Princess.
Ledford's released a simple video directed by her husband and fellow Lunch Money conspirator Jay Barry that features Molly accompanying herself on the ukulele while puppeteer Mitra Salehi controls the Frog Princess marionette. In 86 seconds, they say so much.
Molly Ledford - "Frog Skin" [YouTube]
Three years ago, on April 1, 2012, I published one of my favorite all-time posts here on the site, the world premiere of "Felt Around the World," which was "We Are the World" for a new (puppet) generation.
Last year I reported that the world's greatest song performed by Fabricated Americans has generated more than $2,200 for St. Jude's. Contributions keep trickling in, and you can still purchase the track at CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon. Thanks to Recess Monkey, who coordinated the video and the musical contributions from our puppet friends, and folks who purchased the track and played it on radio both terrestrial and satellite.
This still makes me smile - hope it does for you, too.
Hand Aid - "Felt Around the World" [YouTube]
So of course Lunch Money had to make a video with Belle et Bête, the puppetry troupe with whom Lunch Money ringleader Molly Ledford made a space puppet opera (or is that puppet space opera?).
The two troupes collaborated on a video for "Gingerbread Man" from Lunch Money's fine 2012 album Spicy Kid. It's cute -- the titular baked good (based on Brandon Reese's album art!) leading some of Columbia's citizens on a chase around the city. I liked it.
Lunch Money - "Gingerbread Man" [YouTube]
It is no secret I'm a big fan of Lori Henriques, both of her music, as well as her videos.
Well, Henriques has a brand new album out today, her third solo kindie album. It's called How Great Can This Day Be, and I'm tickled pink (and green, and yellow, and, oh, you'll see) to offer you the world premiere of the album's title track.
Once again she's teamed with her brother Joel Henriques to produce a memorable music video to accompany her music. Appropriately for the jazzy, horn-accompanied pick-me-up of a song, Joel's stick puppets of brightly-colored shapes on simple backgrounds (referencing the album cover) look like they're enacting purely non-verbal storytelling from the '60s.
Lori Henriques is excited because her album is releasing the day that Sesame Street is celebrating its 45th anniversary. One of the best compliments I can pay to this video is that I think the song and visuals would have fit well on the show at just about any point over the past 45 years.
Lori Henriques - "How Great Can This Day Be" [YouTube]
The revival fervor of The Deep Woods, Red Yarn's fabulous debut album, was heard most prominently in its production, which featured a cast of dozens.
So it's not really surprising that there are roughly a dozen puppet animals that make an appearance in Red's (AKA Andy Furgeson's) brand-new video for "Rattlesnake." Joined by an enthusiastic Furgeson stomping, clapping, and of course singing along, it's very much in the spirit of the rest of the album. And if the cast of characters puts you in the mind of a TV show, well, the video itself is part of a 22-minute TV pilot or mini-movie which'll get its premiere in December in Portland, Oregon.
Red Yarn - "Rattlesnake" [YouTube]
Zooglobble
Zooglobble helps you find kindie music -- news, videos, mp3s, reviews -- for your whole family.
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