Gotta Getta Yo-Gabba-Gabba

Whether or not you have kids, if you are a child of the 70s and 80s, you should take a peek at Nickelodeon's show, Yo Gabba Gabba.  

No, if you are a grownup, I'm not telling you to actually watch the show.  Instead you should listen for a minute. Created by members of the band Aquabat and the band Majestic, this show is a gem--with original music that isn't just catchy, but--good.  I mean, like (here's that 80s girl coming out again) GOOD.   

Get ready for a list to catch your interest: Think indie pop, showing strong influences from the music you may have loved in the 80s--think Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, New Order, Violent Femmes (cleaned up), Ebn Ozn, The The.  Now cross it with some more current electronic music like Winx or Bonobo, and some folksy music like the Decemberists, and Ida, and you've got what Yo Gabba Gabba is doing.  

Oh, almost--they are doing that with a DJ and some very strange looking pickle-type people. 

 

They dance and sing with kids on cardboard and felt sets, and it's got a home-made appeal.  Aesthetic aside (and I like the look, don't get me wrong), the themes for the shows are irony-free, and just plain innocent.   Songs like "Please/thankyou" and "Keep Trying, Don't Give Up" are earnest and likable.  

So I do not mind at all when this show is on--unlike Dora's repetitive ditties, these are songs I don't mind running through my thoughts during the day.  So it goes with the pickly-puffy characters.  Somehow I have been suckered into buying a few of the Gabba creatures already--and I have a "no character" rule for our home...hmmm.  Clever marketers.

Now they're featuring indie bands like the Postmarks in little clips.   I am, admittedly, on the wrong side of the demographic target for indie music marketing.  And I'm far from up-to-date on what's newest in music.   But I'm also old enough to recognize what is good in music.  The Postmarks get my vote.  And so they now are on my ipod, too.  Who says being a stay-at-home mom cuts you off from culture?