Video: "Rocketship" - Stacey Peasley (World Premiere!)

Sometimes all your kids -- or you -- need is a simple pop song with a cute video.  If that's you today, might I suggest this video for "Rocketship" from Stacey Peasley?  The song's a catchy and danceable guitar-driven number perfect for the closest kindergartener with a space obsession.  (Evidently there are a number of said kindergarteners, because Peasley reports it's the most popular track off her 2016 Marty Beller-produced album RSVP.)  When the song paired with the suuuuuupercute video from eg design based on illustrations from Jill Howarth, the whole package really, er... takes off.  [Ducks behind curtain to avoid thrown objects.]

Anyway, I'm happy to world-premiere this fun video!

Stacey Peasley - "Rocketship" [YouTube]

Video: "Cosmic Vacation" - Michael and the Rockness Monsters (World Premiere!)

Michael and the Rockness Monsters cover

It's super-cute-video time!

The self-titled debut album from Michael and the Rockness Monsters got its official release yesterday (you can get it from iTunes and Amazon if you're so inclined), and to celebrate they've released an adorable video for the song "Cosmic Vacation."

Seriously, this computer-animated trip around the solar system (and back) is candy-colored and super-sweet and will captivate the nearest preschooler at hand.  So I'm happy to be world premiere-ing here today.

Michael and the Rockness Monsters - "Cosmic Vacation" [YouTube]

Video: "Zar and the Broken Spaceship" - Dino O'Dell (World Premiere!)

If you haven't noticed, more and more kids' musicians are dipping their toes (or jumping in wholeheartedly) into the children's book pond.  One of the newest dippers is Kansas City's Dino O'Dell, who's coming out with a children's book based on his song "Zar and the Broken Spaceship" later this year in July.

I'm over the moon (and stars) to present the world premiere of the video for the book.  O'Dell notes that this weekend is the anniversary of the first human space flight, by Yuri Gargarin 54 years ago on Sunday, so that's as good a time as any to premiere this video (directed by Santiago Germano) about the first time O'Dell met the friendly alien Zar.  It's a fun song that speeds up slightly as it goes along, and if that doesn't amuse the kids, I'm pretty sure the turtle at the turntable will.  (It did me, at any rate.)  If you want to pick up the mp3, you can do so at iTunes and CD Baby.

Dino O'Dell - "Zar and the Broken Spaceship" [YouTube]

Video: "Los Planetas" - Nathalia

There are lots of reasons kids of various might enjoy "Los Planetas," the first video from Los Angeles-based Nathalia and the opening track on her new album Dream a Little: the self-empowerment message,  watching kids messing around with science experiments, the slight revenge plot, all done with high-quality production values.

But if I had to pick the most appealing thing about the bilingual pop song's video, it would be the offhand moments shown here -- the kids dancing, or just interacting with each other.

Nathalia - "Los Planetas" [Vimeo]

Video: "How Big" - Eric Herman

It has been a long time since Eric Herman has shared a video for the world.  Last week he released a video for "How Big."  The song, from his 2009 album What a Ride, is a big existential look at life and our place in the universe.

Herman could not have known how difficult the next few years would be for him; his wife Roseann passed away last year after battling illness.  He felt a deep need to finally create a video for this song nearly five years after first talking about creating a video.  The result, from animator Mario Marinkovic, is suitably big-picture for the song.  Somehow posting this in the wake of Pete Seeger's passing seems apropos.

Eric Herman - "How Big" [Vimeo; YouTube, too, if that's your fancy]

Monday Morning Smile: "Space Bruce"

I'm a sucker for a good platypus.  So, I present to you "Space Bruce," a short film from Mehdi Louala, Eva Navaux and Gabrielle Locre.  It'll take you and your kid 91 seconds to watch and I'm sure you'll both be amused at least once.

True story: This was a demo film for Gravity.

What?