As a parent who apparently falls into the "grupster" (sans Manhattan lifestyle and $400 jeans) and Gen X categories, I found many appealing aspects to the program. Hip hop; kindie rock; 8-bit video and other retro-style animation; a dancing robot; guest appearances or contributions by the likes of Mark Mothersbaugh, Biz Markie, Paul Frank, and Cornelius; the designer vinyl toy aesthetic and KidRobot; and a preschool target audience.
Of course, it's a bit appalling to acknowledge that I'm such a demographical cliché. And that my kid is the lucky beneficiary of my pathetic attempts to cling to my former East Village cred. Greg at DaddyTypes had an interesting comment:
For a parent trying to manage or mitigate his kid's corporate conglomerate cultural intake, it can create a lot of ambivalence. The idea that by trafficking solely in "indie" culture for your kid somehow lifts you and him above the spoonfed, mainstream consumerist fray--that there's now a moral difference, not just between Target and Kidrobot, but betwen Kidrobot and Giant Robot, for example--seems more like a hipster delusion. [Source.]
At any rate, yesterday's show featured two guest stars. Mark Mothersbaugh did a drawing segment, in which he sketched a potato bug riding a skateboard. Elijah Wood did the "Puppet Master" dance with the monsters (and looked rather Hobbit-sized amongst them).
In keeping with the food theme, there were musical segments such as "Party in My Tummy" (yeah, it's all fun and games, till the digestion starts!) and "Try It, You'll Like It" (DS is a yogurt junkie, so he didn't really get the point). Plus, segments about snack time, counting with food props, brushing your teeth, etc.
Interspersed with these segments were brief clips of different children (mostly girls) who claimed, "I love to dance!" The show was hosted by the ebullient DJ Lance Rock, clad in a stylin' orange track suit.
I'm bummed that the official website redirects to Nick Jr. as of yesterday, though. The old site had video clips, recent press, and other cool info. But for background info, see the article published by the NYT in its 12 August 2007 edition, or Yo Blogga Blogga, the show's production blog.
The show airs on Noggin (see the August TV Specials schedule) and Nick Jr. (10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET).
1 comment:
I share some of you ambivalence (which I suppose is inevitable). I hate to generalize about generations, but we "Gen Xers" are supposed to be anti-corporate and suspicious of all marketing. Well, at least we were. At least a few of us, anyway (see how this generalization is falling apart?).
Anyway, I too enjoy the show but it all seems so pre-packaged for our "demographic". How long before Toys-r-Us is filled with all sorts of Yo Gabba Gabba toys?
And really, the show doesn't hold a candle to the old Pee Wee's Playhouse, which was NOT marketed to death. I guess that was just a different era...if Pee Wee were to do a kiddie show today (impossible after the little incident in the movie theater) I'm sure we would see all sorts of toys, lunch boxes, games, clothes, shoes, etc. based on the various characters on the show.
Still, compared to most of the other garbage out there YGG is a breath of funky fresh air. I'm staying tuned.
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