One lovely day in November, an email popped up in my box, asking me if I’d be interested in reviewing the new CD and DVD release from Gustafer Yellowgold.
This was not your average kids CD. With adjectives like “minimally animated” and “Yellow Submarine meets Dr. Seuss,” I had to read on.
“Gustafer lives out an explorer’s life in a slightly psychedelic version of the Minnesota woods, where he resides in a cottage with his menagerie of friends, including a pet eel, a tuxedo-wearing pterodactyl, and a dragon named Asparagus who inhabits the fireplace and loves corn on the cob. For recreation, Gustafer enjoys jumping on cake.”
Do you see why I kept reading?
The email went on to tell me that Gustafer Yellowgold’s most recent release, Mellow Fever, featured guest artists Pat Sansone and John Stirratt from my favorite band, Wilco, as well as Lisa Loeb. I love when my fav performers do kids stuff. Makes me feel a little better about the tacky entertainment I have to endure these days.
Things I Liked
- The music is, well, musical. Not ‘sing-songy’ or tacky or too childish.
- The DVD is full of trippy graphics that are totally chill, dude.
- This DVD/CD in particular is mellow. I personally think that toddlers are fed too much high-energy everything and I like to introduce Piper to different kinds of music. Mellow Fever’s slower music and graphics still stay interesting to her – at least as long as a 13 month old can stay interested.
Things I Didn’t Like
- Admittedly, I think it’s kind of too mellow. Piper got bored. It needs a few more upbeat tunes. But then it couldn’t be called “Mellow Fever,” could it?
- That’s it. I like the CD/DVD otherwise.
You can preview some of the videos and listen to some of the tunes on Gustafer Yellowgold’s website,
About the author: Andi is a working mom of a toddler and 9-year-old stepson. She's a Florida-based Cheesehead with a passion for frosted animal crackers. Read more from this author.
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