What's the Name of that Song?
I was toodling around youtube the other day trying to find a Sesame Street song my sister had asked me to learn, and came across this.
I'd never seen this before, or heard the song, but I was pretty quickly captivated. The first thing that struck me was - Damn, look how young everyone is! In particular, Bob McGrath, whom we've all watched grow very very old, looks like a skinny teenager. But my wonder went deeper than that.
Look at the attention to detail in the actions and mannerisms of the actors in this video. With every motion, they genuinely look like people struggling with their stubborn memories, reaching tiny epiphanies, and reminding each other of more bits and pieces. If I was sitting around with a group of friends trying to remember how a certain song went, chances are it would look just like this.
Then there are the lyrics of the song. It's very well-written, clever, and, again, genuine. It really does sound like the things you would say as you try to remember a song. I was very impressed.
And then, I felt sad. This kind of quality work isn't seen in children's television anymore. In fact, I can't call to mind a single show that features human characters in this way - most of them are headed by Muppets, puppets, or freakishly painted people. Normal people, acting in genuine ways, are not "in" anymore, it seems. Probably because it's so much harder to find a marketing tie-in for an actual person.
Made me nostalgic for the simpler times, when Bob wore turtlenecks, Cookie Monster snarfed a lot of sugar, and Bert and Ernie felt no need to discuss their private lives.
Click to viewI'd never seen this before, or heard the song, but I was pretty quickly captivated. The first thing that struck me was - Damn, look how young everyone is! In particular, Bob McGrath, whom we've all watched grow very very old, looks like a skinny teenager. But my wonder went deeper than that.
Look at the attention to detail in the actions and mannerisms of the actors in this video. With every motion, they genuinely look like people struggling with their stubborn memories, reaching tiny epiphanies, and reminding each other of more bits and pieces. If I was sitting around with a group of friends trying to remember how a certain song went, chances are it would look just like this.
Then there are the lyrics of the song. It's very well-written, clever, and, again, genuine. It really does sound like the things you would say as you try to remember a song. I was very impressed.
And then, I felt sad. This kind of quality work isn't seen in children's television anymore. In fact, I can't call to mind a single show that features human characters in this way - most of them are headed by Muppets, puppets, or freakishly painted people. Normal people, acting in genuine ways, are not "in" anymore, it seems. Probably because it's so much harder to find a marketing tie-in for an actual person.
Made me nostalgic for the simpler times, when Bob wore turtlenecks, Cookie Monster snarfed a lot of sugar, and Bert and Ernie felt no need to discuss their private lives.