Four Minnesota-made songs that deserve a walk down Sesame Street
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One thing Sesame Street has always done well—besides the whole teaching kids to count and read thing—is music. Over four decades, the show has attracted a sizable number of hip musical guests to jam with the Muppets, from Stevie Wonder to R.E.M. to Leslie Feist. In honor of the show's 40th anniversary this week, The A.V. Club assembled a few songs by local artists that might find a place in the Muppets' educational neighborhood.
Cloud Cult, "2x2x2"
Craig Minowa's songwriting has always had a strong streak of optimism and innocence that wouldn't be out of place next to Elmo, even while his chief inspiration has been the extended grief and loss his family went through after the death of his son Kaidin. He's also a bit of a numerological buff, repeatedly using various permutation of his favorite number, eight, in his lyrics and even his album titles—epitomized by "2x2x2," from 2006's The Meaning Of 8. That's perfect for a show that specializes in constructing sketch after sketch around basic letters and numbers.
How to get to Sesame Street: Recast the second verse to remove the death imagery ("grow Christmas trees from tombs") and focus instead on the chanting chorus, which repeats "this is the meaning of the number 8, 8, 8, 8, 8..." Future generations will forever remember the number as both spooky and beautiful.
The Plastic Constellations, "We Came To Play"
Indie-punk combo Plastic Constellations would be a natural fit to guest on Sesame Street, given that its members were kids themselves when they formed in 1995, not to mention that they repeatedly displayed a love for dragon-related make-believe over the years. Their last show before an "indefinite hiatus" in 2008 featured confetti explosions and dozens of cardboard swords that were handed out to the audience. Plenty of TPC songs have that child-friendly combination of self-confidence, optimism, and unbridled good times, but "We Came To Play," from 2004's Mazatlan, also has the perfect title.
How to get to Sesame Street: The chorus already has a line about lacing up your shoes, but further playdate prep could easily be added, not to mention some lyrics about sharing and/or good sportsmanship. Also, add more counting. Yelling "1-2!" just isn't enough.
Triangle, "Back To Squares"
Amanda Warner and Brian Tester teamed up in 1998 to meld laptop beats and synth dabblings with guitars, and the result was catchy, brainy electro-pop. But Triangle was not long for the Twin Cities: It packed up and moved to Oakland, Calif. a few years later. Triangle's minimal but memorable output was marked by bubbly basslines and repetitive, hypnotic song structures. And kids love repetition.
How to get to Sesame Street: A couple of years ago, the show did the impossible when it turned James Blunt's keening "You're Beautiful" into the clever "My Triangle." Cranking out another shape-focused song from source material that's considerably less awful, like this tune from Triangle's 1999 debut EP, would be a snap.
Dosh, "Um, Circles And Squares"
Drummer and loop artist Martin Dosh creates ethereal, layered soundscapes out of a gradual buildup of percussion, keyboards and, in the case of this song from 2006's The Lost Take, the moody violin of his longtime collaborator Andrew Bird.
How to get to Sesame Street: Completely instrumental and fairly unhurried and deliberate in its pacing, "Circles And Squares" might be a tough one to match up with the usual high-energy, comic Muppet sketches. But the show also makes time for more abstract animations like the counting video shown below; a freeform cartoon of floating shapes would go perfectly with this song.
