YO GABBA GABBA!

Our whole family has been really sick for the past week with a nasty chest cold. Jackson coped by watching too much Nick Jr. and we stumbled upon Yo Gabba Gabba! in the process.

We actually had been exposed to this surreal play-based psychedelic freak-out a few months ago when we saw all the character dolls featured in a Portland anime collector's shop on Hawthorne Blvd. Although my first thought upon seeing the colorful pop-eyed things was, what fresh hipster hell is this?, Jackson was immediately drawn to these creatures. "What are they? Why is he green with two faces? What's her name?" he said, picking up the flower-headed Foofa. At the time I had no idea. Now I do.

Started by indie-rock dads and hosted by DJ Lance Rock, Yo Gabba Gabba! heavily features most every genre of pop music ever created by mankind. The 24-minute episode we saw today had enough hip hop, old skool rap, beat box, techno and power pop to edify most ex-musicians trapped at home with their short-attention-span toddlers. Songs covered the concepts of not throwing things at your friends, being careful with sharp objects and the importance of jumping up and down.



I was only going to show one of these but it's hard to resist the overwhelming magnitude of "Party in my Tummy." Beware! Repetitive phrasing ahead.