Look Around You!

Look around you. Look around you. Just look around you.

Have you worked out what it is you're looking for? Yes, that's correct. Because, if you're anything like me, you're at your wit's end trying to figure out exactly how the pop record charting system is compiled. It seems to be a quite complicated process; much too complicated for the likes of you and I, and our simple brains.

Luckily for us, the clever folks at Look Around You, quite possibly one of the most ingenious comedies on the telly today, were on the case - and have put out this Special Report that documents, in fastidious detail, the inner workings of the Royal Pop and Rock Association (or ROPRA) and how, after the Post Office Tower fiasco of last year, they've fixed the problem with the pneumatic tubes.

I'll let Sir Alan Rees do the talking here. Enjoy.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

No, it's not an anthem from the Ramones ("Gabba Gabba Hey," anyone?). It is, however, one of the most original and interesting (and, for want of another adjective, trippy) children's television shows, like, ever. Created by Scott Schultz and Christian Jacobs (the lead singer of The Aquabats), Yo Gabba Gabba! (is that fun to say, or what?) is currently in its third season on Nick Jr. Why am I writing it up in this blog, you might ask? I'm happy to give you the answer: It's the music. Yo Gabba Gabba!, while staying true to its missive of treating children with respect (something so very few children's programming does these days) with powerful messages of respect, self-esteem, health, and strong familial relations and friendships, features incredibly colorful characters and musical guests who might have come straight from a Coachella line-up (which is appropriate, seeing as the cast members of Yo Gabba Gabba! made appearance at the last Coachella Festival in Indio, California). MGMT? Check. Ting Tings? Check. CHROMEO, Jack Black, Elijah Wood, Of Montreal, Ladytron? Check, check, check, check, and CHECK. Throw in some crazy puppets designed by KidRobot (one of which, a giant red cyclops named Muno, resembles a crazy *ahem* sex toy) and a cheerfully insane MC with a giant ghetto blaster named DJ Lance Rock, and you have something that, if I had children, I would rabidly watch with my little rug-rat. But what's cool is you don't have to have kids to enjoy what Yo Gabba Gabba! is all about, you really don't. Frankly, give me a glass of California Zinfandel and a magic cigarette, and I'll happily watch for hours.

But don't take my word for it. Watch the zaniness for yourself and let the barely-controlled kiddy-crazy wash over you like a Kool Aid acid bath.

For instance, here's CHROMEO extolling the virtues of clean hands. A VCB, indeed, good sirs!

... And, here's Ladytron, telling children that "mysteries can be very fun ... for everyone," and how it's cool to "use your mind." Good advice!