Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Why am I posting pictures of Space Balloons playing at a birthday party for a three year old? I’m adding some visual spice to some friendly advice. If you are throwing a party for a kid you should hire Space Balloons. Hell, if you’re throwing a party for an adult you should hire Space Balloons.
On Balloononia, arguments are settled differently than they are here on earth. In this video, Space Balloons tell you how it’s done where they come from.
Kids music played at 11pm in a bar? Must be Space Balloons.
I have to admit I was quite excited that Space Balloons were performing as part of Uke-Arist II. I wanted to see what kind of nonsense this trio could stir up. I was not disappointed. There were songs about reading to mustaches, square grapes, hovercrafts full of eels, hug wars, balloons in lagoons, life on Balloononia and dessert for breakfast.
I laughed.* I cried.** I watched Richard Bouchard chase Navigator Joe around the bar with a giraffacrockasomethingorother.*** I took some pictures. I had a good time.
* I did.
** I did not.
*** This almost made me laugh so hard that I cried. Alas, I did not (see **).
Space Balloons
Hugs And Hovercrafts
2011
Big Little Guy woke up sick the other morning. He had a nasty fever, wouldn’t eat, and seemed bored out of his skull.
I picked him up, plunked him on my lap, and pulled up the Space Balloons website. He loves Welcome to Balloononia. Maybe their new Hugs And Hovercrafts double single would cheer him up.
I press play and the ukulele strums of “Hug War” start in. He listens intently to the song. He seems to be perking up a little.
“I want to hear the rest.”
“Hovercraft Full Of Eels” has the same sense of whimsy as “The Tale Of The Space Balloons”, a song that Big Bittle Guy likes quite a bit. As we’re listening I explain to him what a hovercraft is.
“Can it go on water, too?”
“Yes it can. It can go over land and water.”
He goes back to listening. When the song ends, Big Little Guy asks me to play it again. Space Balloons have once again enchanted him. He quickly learns how to play the song over and over again.
Mom comes home.
“Mom! A hovercraft is like a car, but it doesn’t have wheels! And it can go on land and water!”
Later that night, as I was emptying the dishwasher, a familiar tune popped into my head. I start to sing. Big Little Guy and Mom join me.
Floating in our hovercraft full of eels
Flying through the air ’cause it has no wheels
Really, really happy is how we feel
Floating in our hovercraft…
Where to get it:
Space Balloons
Welcome To Balloononia
2011
“Hey buddy, want to hear a song about mustaches?”
“Yeah.”
If you want a mustache you gotta take care of it…
That’s how it started. My five year old thought a song about feeding and reading to your mustache was funny. He liked it so much he made me play it over and over and over. I couldn’t even play the rest of the Space Balloons EP, Welcome To Balloononia, for him. He just wanted to listen to the song about the mustache.
Then he started singing it around the house.
I did eventually convince him to listen to “Grapes”. He liked it.
I had made it clear that we were going to listen to the whole record (all three songs clocking in at just over four minutes), so “The Tale Of The Space Balloons” came on next. Oh boy. This intergalactic tale of balloons, lagoons and monsoons captivated him. I can’t even tell you how many times we listened to this song.* I have video of him singing this song in the car. If my son was a member of The Recording Academy, “The Tale Of The Space Balloons” would win the 2011 Grammy for Record Of The Year.**
Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola, who also happen to be Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling (who sound nothing like Space Balloons) and integral parts of about a billion other projects (which vary in their degrees of Space Balloons similarity), seem to be onto something here. The kids dig it.
Where to get it:
* Well, actually, thanks to the wonders of the iTunes play count, I could tell you. Truth be told, I’m afraid to look.
** I predict “The Tale Of The Space Balloons” is a better song that whatever wins the actual award.