I have two songs going through my head: puh-puh-puh-puh “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga (I love the dogs at the beginning: they’re all, like, “What. Evs,” sniffing the air and almost YAWNING as a leather-clad, masked, dripping, intensely slack-mouthed woman comes crouching-and-posing out of the water)—and why don’t I just start a new paragraph for the other song going through my head, because I have lost my grip on this sentence and we might as well start fresh. I’ll wrap up by saying I liked the song better before I saw the video, which just about SPRAINS something trying to be sex-XAY.
The other song is “Be Happy,” from, um, Wow Wow Wubbzy. One of my kids came home from school with a two-episode disc (yay, marketing to children! through schools! without asking parents first!), and ALL FIVE kids were SILENT except for the LAUGHING. It was GREAT. I immediately put two more discs on my Netflix queue.
What I like about the show:
1. The SONGS. OMG, I would totally listen to a CD of them in the car, even if the kids were not with me. I thought at first they were sung by my boyfriends Angels and Airwaves, but no.
2. It’s PBS-ish even though it’s not PBS. It’s relationships/feelings/life, like Arthur and Clifford and Caillou.
3. Some of the life lessons are really good, such as “People are different, and they like different things and feel different ways.”
What I don’t like about the show:
1. Some of the life lessons are dumb. Example: “Be yourself and you will be a success at everything and everyone will like you!” Or the lesson in the song that’s going through my head, which is that the solution to being sad is to be happy instead. It’s so easy!
2. I find the characters’ voices a little irritating. Wubbzy, male, is voiced by the same person who does Emily Elizabeth’s goody-goody voice on Clifford. Widget, female, has what seems like a fakey, put-on accent (I’m allowing for the idea that it could be the voice actor’s actual accent, but if it is, it doesn’t SOUND it), and she says “little buddy” too often.
3. As with many children’s shows, the example set by the characters is “If you feel left out or hurt, sulk self-pityingly until people pay attention to you.” The characters say things such as, “SIGH, I guess they don’t need ME anymore” in re lifelong friends who have spent all of 10 minutes playing with someone else. Then they go off and sit sadly alone, but well within view so they attract attention.
Overall, I like the show. I’m buying both discs I linked to above, to give to Henry for his second (SECOND!) birthday in May, because at some point the cost of keeping them for WEEKS from Netflix ADDS THE HECK UP. And I’ve had Pirate Treasure on my Netflix queue for ages (it didn’t release until today, which is why it’s on my mind; also, THE SONG THE SONG THE CATCHY CATCHY SONG), and now I have to send a movie back pronto so I can get it.
Edited to add: “Pronto”? Who SAYS that?
I say it, that’s who!
i think that one of the characters is voiced by the same person that does Sandie Squirrel on Sponge bob. I’m not sure, but I think.
WWW is a show I feel confident to let Jake watch without previewing it first, so I just leave the room. I like that.
me too! ha!
Never seen that show though.
I’d never seen that video until just now either. My husband loves playing poker…I’m sure he’d appreciate the video for its…CARD references. Yeah.
Okay, I took the bait and I actually went and listened to/watched your two catchy songs.
Re “Poker Face”: Excuse me while I gag. (Is that why she’s called Lady Gag-a?)
Re “Be Happy”: I think it should be called “Be Annoying.” I agree, It’s SO EASY!!
They had this WWW game on Nick Jr.com a while ago that Brother was disturbingly addicted to.
Of course, this was when we were refusing to buy him a game system. So that could have something to do with it.
I am particularly partial to the Backyardigans songs. I think they are clever and have eccelectic style. *Ahem*
I find that show a little irritating too, but my kids LOVE it, so I try to deal. Their voices are WAY annoying, though.
I was afraid that since I’m so out of the mainstream as far as songs and videos, that I might find the Poker video more shocking than funny — low exposure, low tolerance, etc. I’m glad to say that found it absolutely hilarious. Can we say “overdone”?
The Be Happy song was cute — listenable without being too squeaky or bangy. Kids’ music has come a long way since Barney (which my two-year-old has just discovered, sigh).
Those dogs are pretty awesome. Wait until you have college kids that can watch whatever they want and they pick stuff that shocks you just so they can laugh at your naivety.
if only they knew.
Wow wow wubbzy is huge at my house.
Mommy just caved and downloaded the lady gaga album from iTunes. I just love it for the dance factor. My husband gave me an iTunes card so I still have 5.01 after that purchase and the kids dance to it too.
We LOVE Wubzzy! And that song is regularly on heavy-rotation in my head too!
I can’t believe that all the kids at the school got a WWW video. That’s a boatload of money somebody just spent!
Where on earth did you see an actual, non-rap/hip hip/porno video? I can never find them. Every time I turn on MTV (which, admittedly, isn’t often), it looks like the same video – slutty looking girls slathering all over this disinterested-looking guy who is singing something I can’t really understand, but I’m certain is demeaning somehow. Ugh. I would love to watch mainstream music videos!
Wow Wow Wubbzy! Wubbzy Wubbzy WOW WOW! Yeah, I sing that all the time..
I so did NOT realize that Widget was supposed to be female. Huh.
My husband and I love the “Don’t Lie” song on Wubbzy. We sing it to our kids all the time. “Don’t lie, don’t lie! Don’tcha blame it on the other guy!” Gotta love it.
I now officially have “Wow wow Wubbzy Wubbzy Wubbzy wow wow” in my head. :)
The Lone Ranger says…”Tonto”…
Okay, I trust you, Swistle, so I added one of those videos to our Netflix. After all, you introduced us to Simon’s Cat and we have watched those little videos a bazillion times.
I just set the DVR to record WWW this afternoon. Never heard of it, but must find ANYTHING that isn’t 1980’s Superfriends episodes.
I can’t believe that Henry is going to be two. Holy crap, other people’s kid just fly along and mine seem to age so slowly. I am ashamed to say that I am SO uncool that I do not know one Lady Gaga song but I do know who she is and what kind of watch she wore in her latest video, since it was in Entertainment Weekly. Also she said something about Feminists? Lastly, my kids don’t like WWW (damn them) so we don’t watch much of it but I am hopeful that they will get into it someday as it is on Noggin at a good time for us (i.e. 3:00 or 3:30 or something like that, when I am really, REALLY sick of them).
LUV Lady Gaga – don’t know who the heck WWW is (I don’t have little kids) but heck, I may ask my granddaughter, really soon – Pronto!
I think they used to say Pronto on Gunsmoke or something…just sayin.
i second what misty says about the backyardigans…they’re clever and oh my word, are they catchy. we have their “born to play” cd in the car and right now, i have a song in my head from their show about being reporters:
W-I-O-Waaaaaaaaaaah!
Corniest station in the naaation!
*ahem*
http://tinyurl.com/crl5qr
scroll down to listen…if you dare! :)
Thanks to you, I have been listening to that tuhtuhtuh-terrible song nonstop since last night. Am powerful before the onslaught of bad dance-pop-cheese. HALP.
heh. i kind of like lady gaga just because she’s SO over the top and ridiculous that it becomes kind of awesome. i mean, those outfits! crawling out of a pool in pleather! that’s so terrible it’s brilliant.
ps i definitely say pronto. does this mean all of us are lame together, or that since enough of us say it, it’s totally acceptable?
Laughing my ass off because that same damn song (and just that part of the song–puh puh poker face) has been in my head for days! And just when I think its gone, it pops up again! Haven’t seen the video, but I never see videos. Whenever I turn on MTV or VH1, its reality shows or other such stuff.
Give away alert for the book worm types. Go to http://www.spoonfulofsarah.blogspot.com for a chance to win.
My 2.5 year-old son loves WWW, but my feelings are mixed after trying to convince him last night that a growly gus (sp?) wasn’t in his bedroom
And I have to agree with the person partial to the Backyardigans’song. It gets stuck in my head for days!
The only song I have in my head these days is that McDonald’s fish commercial – which will stop airing soon as Lent is almost over!