Sesame Street Cred

I just spent the last hour YouTubing Sesame Street songs because I occasionally get The Word is No stuck in my head and the more I sing it the more I realize that it's a really good song. Like, a song I would listen now by my own volition. Sesame Street was and is a purveyor of fine taste for the seeds. By bringing in current musical guests to perform their hits but changing the words to lyrics about counting or monsters, the young ones are ushered into the world of popular music with lyrics they can relate to the way we adults relate to Morrissey or Madonna (depending on your mood). The Street boasts bringing in acts like Stevie Wonder to perform Superstition and REM singing "Furry Happy Monsters", and more recently, Feist came in to sing 1,2,3,4 (monsters walking 'cross the floor). They also managed to incorporate more sophisticated varieties, such as Itzhak Perlman and YoYo Ma, and a refined artistic lesson in geometry to the music of minimalist superstar composer Philip Glass. Lastly (but not least-ly), the songs that were exclusively written for Sesame Street educate, entertain, and endure. I Got A New Way To Walk  is cool (especially when Destiny's Child did it), but the Pointer Sisters' Pinball Number Count is eternally funktastic and my personal favorite, The Word Is No sounds like a Cyndi Lauper song that never made it onto She's So Unusual. These jewels were an important part of my childhood musical lexicon and could be part the reason why I love a good hyper 80's synthesizer to this day. Below is the link to the YouTube The Word Is No. Listen and learn. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_celebrity_guest_stars_on_Sesame_Street