If Only Oshkosh Made Bell-Bottoms

Around Christmas, I bought Tau the Sesame Street Sings box set expecting to get the very best of this famous series. Neither Dave nor I grew up with Elbow or Big Bird and we don’t have cable, so thought it best to find another way to introduce Tau to these characters.

The selection on this three-DVD set of classics seems pretty mediocre to me, but then hey, what do I know? I grew up watching* a frenetic bee and a half-blind worm. Tau seems to like them just fine.

In fact, he really likes some of the songs, especially Jellyman Kelly by James Taylor and Howard Johnson. Gotta love James Taylor’s moustache and — even though you can’t see his ankles — we assume, the groovy bell-bottoms. Got to get the boy some of those.

Another favorite off Sesame Street Sings is Baa Baa Bamba (sorry no clip) by Luis and a bunch of the muppets. Very cute song with various animal noise verses to the tune of La Bamba. Moo moo mamba … quack quack quamba — you get the idea. Little man started singing “baa baa baahaba!” in the bath last night, which was a first. The singing on his own, not the bathing.

And while we are on the subject of kid music, take a look at another Tau favorite. An animated Wheels on the Bus by a fake material girl called Mad Donna. Rock on!

In the same vein, check out these cool Flash nursery rhymes on the Mother Goose Rocks DVD, sung in the style of various artists: Old woman in a Shoe (Cher), Frere Jacque (Dave Matthews) and Three Blind Mice (Shania Twain).

My personal favorite is Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes done à la U2. Poor George can’t quite get the actions right but Oprah and Pope John Paul seem to be holding their own. Who knew kid songs could be so much fun?

* See this blog for more on seventies kids’ shows in the old country.