I have one, and only one, complaint about this song: it’s over way too soon.

Just over a minute and a half for one of the most perfectly put-together power-pop confections I ever did hear? COME ON, MAN!

This enjoyed Most Favored Song status with my young ‘un back when she was little enough to admit to enjoying such piffle, and the kiddle-TV show Yo Gabba Gabba from whence it came just rocked her rapidly-expanding world. I haven’t checked with her lately, but at the ripe old age of not-quite-twelve now I assume this ditty is probably just too dopey and little-kiddish to be endured without at least a curl of the lip and a roll of the eyes. God forbid we even mention YGG, parts of which I could only get through myself by gritting my teeth until my jaw ached, but which DID feature some truly excellent bands on the regular, probably thanks to the show’s having been created and co-run by two guys from a decent So-Cal pop/punk-ish outfit yclept the Aquabats. Dig ye well this partial YGG list of distinguished guests:

Hosted by a character named DJ Lance Rock, the series featured a mix of live-action segments featuring all five cartoonist costumed-characters, Muno (a red cyclops), Foofa (a pink flower bubble), Brobee (a hairy little green monster), Toodee (a blue cat-dragon), and Plex (a yellow robot), and many short animated sketches and songs.

Famous musicians who have appeared on the show include Mos Def, Bootsy Collins, Ladytron, The Killers, Enon, The Clientele, Jimmy Eat World, Solange Knowles, Taking Back Sunday, Datarock, The Aquabats, Devo, Anne Heche, Joy Zipper, Of Montreal, Chromeo, My Chemical Romance, Weezer, Hot Hot Heat, The Faint, The Roots, Paul Williams, Mates of State, MGMT, Peter Bjorn and John, Trunk Boiz, The Shins, The Aggrolites, The Flaming Lips, Mya, Biz Markie, Blitzen Trapper, The Ting Tings, Money Mark, Mariachi El Bronx, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Erykah Badu. Other celebrity guests to have appeared include Jason Bateman, Jack Black, Andy Samberg, Melora Hardin, Tony Hawk, Elijah Wood, Sarah Silverman, Laila Ali, Bill Hader, and Anthony Bourdain.

Among the varied animation sequences during the show was Super Martian Robot Girl, designed by indie cartoonists Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer; the title character of that segment was voiced by Ariela Barer.

Okay, I remember SMRG being pretty cool now and then too, I admit.

Who knows, I may not be giving my own child enough credit when I say that Jimmy Eat World’s excellent throwaway number would be no more than an object of scorn and a source of blushful embarrassment for her today. I’m doing my damnedest to see to it that MJ is equipped with an ear capable of distinguishing musical wheat from chaff in all styles and genres, as well as trying to school her in identifying what it really is that makes good music good in the first place. So far, even some of the stuff she picks up from her mom which kinda leaves me cold—like, say, System Of A Down, for example—I can still see at least some merit in.

There’s a making-of vid for the Jimmy Eat World tune also, and it’s interesting enough to deserve its own spot here, I think.

Bless you, Jimmy Adkins and Co. Your music brightened my child’s early years, and put a smile on her dad’s grim old visage as well. Quite a respectable achievement for a song that clocks out at only 1:49, I’d say.

Hey, did I hear someone say The Aggrolites just now? That’s all the excuse I need to close things out with a nice little slice of old-school Bluebeat ska.

What the hell, here’s the SoaD song I find least…that is to say, it’s not all that…uhhh, it’s alright, I suppose.