The Backyardigans

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Elow
Posts: 1924
Joined: Mar 02, 2020

by Elow »

Has anyone listened to the backyardigans songs on spotify, they’re pretty good. Or maybe it’s just because i watched it everyday, but like the music isn’t the bad. Or maybe i’m just crazy
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brtnats
Posts: 341
Joined: Apr 26, 2018

by brtnats »

There’s a Backyardigans that isn’t the kids tv show?!
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harrisonreed
Posts: 6479
Joined: Aug 17, 2018

by harrisonreed »

<YOUTUBE id="A_uR4jjessY">[media]https://youtu.be/A_uR4jjessY</YOUTUBE>
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harrisonreed
Posts: 6479
Joined: Aug 17, 2018

by harrisonreed »

I think my childhood had better music for kids shows:

<YOUTUBE id="UtVJdPfm0F8">[media]https://youtu.be/UtVJdPfm0F8</YOUTUBE>

Compare to kids show music for the same age group in Japan:

<YOUTUBE id="yJXUuu2lF7s">[media]https://youtu.be/yJXUuu2lF7s</YOUTUBE>
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Elow
Posts: 1924
Joined: Mar 02, 2020

by Elow »

[quote="brtnats"]There’s a Backyardigans that isn’t the kids tv show?![/quote]

Well, it is a kids show, but the music is pretty good. Listen to the 2005 album. It’s great, every song is like a different genre, there’s a funk tune and like a reggae and a big band chart plus some latin charts.
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Elow
Posts: 1924
Joined: Mar 02, 2020

by Elow »

<YOUTUBE id="uVAGjfFmFkw">https://youtu.be/uVAGjfFmFkw</YOUTUBE> I would just like to say that i am not crazy. I made this post before it blew up on tik tok and this video reassured me that i am sane
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VJOFan
Posts: 529
Joined: Apr 06, 2018

by VJOFan »

Absolutely watched this show with my kids and enjoyed the tunes. Another one out at around the same time that had a great score was the Wonder Pets. It was more like a little opera each episode but quite jaunty.

For these kids shows to work for any length of time there has to be some level of quality and something for the adults nearby to keep them from going completely insane.
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harrisonreed
Posts: 6479
Joined: Aug 17, 2018

by harrisonreed »

See, "castaways" is "ok", but I think what we are seeing is a sort of special effect where people are exposed to a genre of music that they have never heard before because of Tik-Tok, and they realize that the genre is actually pretty good. The fact that it's from a kid show surprises them so they think, "oh, this kids show is some genius thing".

Now, if the singer they used in the video you linked to recorded it, it would be a slightly different story. Then it's not just the music, but an outstanding performance of that music.

I couldn't listen to an album of kids singing like that without going a little loopy.
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jacobgarchik
Posts: 358
Joined: Oct 27, 2018

by jacobgarchik »

The Backyardigans music is co-written by Doug Wieselman, one the of the top clarinet/sax players in the New York avant garde scene.
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TriJim
Posts: 62
Joined: Mar 25, 2018

by TriJim »

For those interested in the musical roots and theory behind ''Castaways,' check out this interesting discussion by Adam Neely (YouTuber with over 1 million followers).

'Why Castaways is a Masterpiece in Songwriting:' <YOUTUBE id="uVAGjfFmFkw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVAGjfFmFkw</YOUTUBE>

Neely is a big supporter of Doug Wieselman and Backyardigans music and provides an interesting discussion of chord progression, melody, and genre.

edit - Sorry Elow - I just realized you posted the same YouTube link. My original link included a time reference and I didn't see the similarity until I removed the time code. Thanks for your original call-out of this interesting music.