Sharon Van Etten turns her hand to children’s songs with a tune for the US television show Yo Gabba GabbaLand!

I’m not sure anyone records more guest vocals than my favourite female singer Sharon Van Etten. It seems like she knows everybody and everybody wants her to sing with them. And who can blame them?

Her latest endeavour is an odd one: a song for an American children’s television show – an animated musical show called Yo Gabba GabbaLand! that’s named, I discover to my joy, after The Ramones’ chant.

And not just a song, but an educational song about healthy eating, called Rainbow Of Fresh Food. 

I’ve never heard of the Nickelodeon show (or its predecessor Yo Gabba Gabba!) so I’ll just quote from its website, which tells me it’s hosted by a cute kid called Kammy Kam (orange clothes, purple glasses), introducing live-action segments featuring five friendly costumed toys”.

After each main segment, a short clip is shown that shows a kid dancing around, which seems to be designed to give Magas a heart attack. According to the website: ” The kid, aka Male/Female/Non-Binary/Genderfluid: boy/girl, says his/her/they/their name, followed by “I/We/They/He/She Like(s) To Dance!”.

The toys are: Muno (a red cyclops), Foofa (a pink flower bubble), Plex (a yellow robot), Brobee (a little green broccoli bee/forest creature), and Toodee (a blue cat-dragon). In between them are lots of animated sketches and songs. 

For Shazza, being asked to do a song for the show – guest musicians are regularly featured – seems to have been a big thing. Not least because she has a child of her own, a son who must be eight or nine by now. “It feels like a dream that I got asked to record a song for the new Yo Gabba Gabba” she says.

“I was given a demo and lyrics and was told I could record it in any style of my choosing. I wheeled in my constant collaborators and friends, Zach Dawes, Courtney Barnett, Michael Harris, and Stella Mozgawa to help me flesh out a Mazzy Star inspired version for this special episode about the powerful qualities of eating healthy food.

“I love the concept of this show, combining educational programming, art, music, and humor to a program(me) that can be enjoyed by all generations. This felt like a much needed moment of happiness and sunshine I wanted to share with you all. Sending love.”