Contemporary Artists Take on the Muppets in The Green Album

This Thanksgiving, the Muppets will burst into theaters for the first time in years. It’s a joyous occasion for folks like me who are so fond of Kermit and his chums. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen concentrated efforts to put the Muppets, now a Disney property, more firmly back into the collective consciousness. Expertly executed viral videos have been the primary means of restoring the Muppets to their former glory and demonstrating that they have as much to offer adults as they do kids.

One of the last great pre-movie efforts is The Green Album, a collection of Muppet covers by modern musicians. As I’ve never been much for contemporary music, my familiarity level is pretty low, but this album has the capacity to reach thousands of fans of each of these singers or groups, and even those who don’t know any of the specific artists involved might be curious enough to investigate. It’s a hip experiment that transcends genres, which is kinda what the Muppets themselves are, so it’s quite fitting.

Muppet Show Theme Song - This song, instantly recognizable to anyone who ever saw the Muppets’ variety show, is performed by OK GO, and it’s trippy. Starting with the series of melodious beeps that seem to be designed primarily for dogs’ ears, this band gives us a version of the song that is inventive but not particularly pleasant to listen to. Still, it’s obvious they’re having a lot of fun, and that’s doubly true when you watch the video.

Rainbow Connection - I prefer this track, which starts off with gentle harp accompaniment and birdsong as Weezer’s lead singer slowly sings Kermit’s iconic meditation. Hayley Williams takes over in the second verse, and her rendition is equally heartfelt as the banjo moves into prominence. The two harmonize on the bridge and for the rest of the song, and the result is very pleasing, though I prefer the soft accompaniment of the beginning to the electrified rock sound of the almost-end. The very end winds down with an echoey piano rendition of the chorus that hearkens back to the opening.

Mahna Mahna - This nonsensical song performed by The Fray is pure fun and silliness, as it always has been. The “doo doo doo doo doo”s sound virtually identical, as does the steady percussion. The piano and clapping add a bit of a different flavor, as does the slightly reworked scatting of the beatnik main character.

Movin’ Right Along - Alkaline Trio, a band I’d never heard of before, takes on this Muppet Movie road trip anthem. It’s very heavy on the electric guitar with a bit of piano here and there; there’s definitely a hard rock sound to it. It captures a sense of exuberance and adventure, and the banter makes it extra fun, though it’s a bit too electric for my tastes.

Our World - I’m pretty sure I never heard this song before, but I like it. With the banjo, synthesizer and lovely harmonies, My Morning Jacket presents a song of optimism, singing about all that is good in the world and expressing hope that it is changing for the better. I especially like the heartening “Some say our world is getting too small; I say, with kindness there’s room for us all.” A very nice track that exemplifies Jim Henson’s ideals.

Halfway Down the Stairs - Amy Lee, another artist unfamiliar to me, gives this simple song, performed by Robin and based on an A. A. Milne poem, a rather eerie flavor. I could do with a little less of a techno-ish sound, but her voice is quite lovely, and it still seems like a sweet assertion of finding one’s own place in the world.

Mr. Bassman - This Electric Mayhem song featuring Scooter as an eager fan gets a fun rendition here thanks to Sondre Lerche. I love the plucky bass strumming throughout, particularly at the beginning and end; I’m not wild about the electrified middle portion, but I still like the singer’s enthusiastic tone, which is well suited to Scooter’s excitement. Very peppy.

Wishing Song - In this case, I’m pretty sure I have never heard the song or the performer before. The Airborne Toxic Event sings the song with an angsty edge, and there’s so much distortion at play that it’s hard to understand what they’re singing half the time, but when the words are clear they are nice, and the song comes across as sincere, first bemoaning what is missing from the speaker’s life, then celebrating what is present.

Night Life - This Great Muppet Caper song is performed by Billy Martin and Brandon Saller of the band Atreyu; I’ve never heard of either, but if Saller is in a band named after a character in The Never-Ending Story, his presence here seems to make sense. Honestly, this is probably my least favorite track because it’s just so loud. At one point, one of the guys says, “Hey, you don’t have to play so loud,” and I was really hoping it might quiet down a bit after that, but no dice. I do, however, enjoy the extended drum solo toward the end.

Bein’ Green - Andrew Green, yet another artist unfamiliar to me, takes on Kermit’s other most iconic song, and like Rainbow Connection, it’s mellow and melodious. The mild percussion and banjo are well suited to his reflective vocals that ramble easily over the lyrics. I think my favorite part of the song is when he whistles to the accompaniment of fiddle and banjo. Tied with Rainbow Connection for my favorite track.

I Hope That Somethin’ Better Comes Along - This piano-heavy Kermit and Rowlf song about romantic aspirations gets a nice legato treatment by Matt Nathanson. I’ve never heard of him either, but I really like this rendition. His voice has a pleasant tone to It and, backed by that piano and softly ooh-ing voices, sounds very nice indeed.

I’m Going to Go Back There Someday - Rachael Yamagata get the final track on the album, which is a meditative song from Gonzo as he wonders about his origins. There’s some beautiful back-up harmony here, and the instruments have an appropriately celestial sound to them. I especially like the flute solo toward the end. Again, I’m not familiar with Yamagata, but she has a husky, haunting voice that is well suited to the soul-searching theme of this song.

In most cases, I would much prefer to just listen to the original versions of these songs, but it’s fun to see what modern musicians have chosen to do with these songs. Hopefully, those who are more inclined to enjoy contemporary music will be drawn in by the list of artists but impressed enough to check out the original versions and fall in love with the Muppets all over again – or even for the very first time.

David Benedictus Grants Pooh Fans a Return to the Hundred Acre Wood

"Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred." So entreats Christopher Robin in the final chapter of The House at Pooh Corner. Eighty years have now passed since A. A. Milne penned that stirring plea, and David Benedictus has taken it upon himself to see that this promise is honored, at least after a fashion. For us, Christopher Robin is closing in on a century, but for the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood, he's only been gone a few months. Time has little meaning in the Wood, its chief measure being changes to the lad Pooh and his friends love so dearly. For both dragons and Pooh Bears live forever, but not so little boys. He may be doing it slowly, but Christopher Robin is growing up. This reality sets a wistful tone for Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, but in the joy of reunion, the sense of melancholy seeps through only occasionally.

The book hints strongly that Christopher Robin is keenly aware of the change in his circumstances, while Pooh and Piglet have vague suspicions. While they savor Christopher Robin's return, they sense a greater degree of maturity, and neither can quite forget his long absence, as the rest seem to do fairly quickly, or be entirely assured that he won't leave again. The book takes place over one golden summer in which Christopher Robin appears to make a conscious effort to cram in as much fun as possible, knowing that another nine months or so of boarding school awaits and unsure of what sort of person he will have become by the time of his next extended visit.

I came by knowledge of this book from an unlikely source: Saturday Night Live. Seth Meyers mentioned the book's release during the Weekend Update segment, announcing that there would be a new character, which set him up for the distasteful punchline that this was a replacement for Eeyore, who had decided to do away with himself. Eeyore is just as gloomy as ever in this book, his sense of sarcasm as sharp as the thistles he craves, but of all the characters, he seems to benefit most from the arrival of spunky Lottie, an otter. Perhaps a fresh pair of eyes is just what is needed to draw Eeyore more deeply into the affairs of the rest of the forest. The others are so tired of being shot down that they hesitate to make friendly overtures to him anymore, but Lottie has the right mix of optimism and stubbornness to lift Eeyore out of the doldrums now and again.

The book has ten chapters, and while certain scenes focus on only one or two characters, most are ensemble efforts, effectively drawing in not only the major players, who also include Rabbit, Tigger, Owl, Kanga and Roo, but oodles of Rabbit's Friends and Relations. Consequently, there are many busy scenes in which characters essentially talk over top of one another, their personality quirks allowing for some very funny dialogue. I don't think there was a single chapter that failed to make me laugh out loud. Benedictus has a wonderful feel for these fluff-filled friends, and he imitates Milne's style so effectively that it's easy to almost forget Milne didn't write it himself.

Meanwhile, Mark Burgess does an admirable job with the full-color illustrations. The mimicry isn't quite as precise in this department; I don't think I would ever mistake these paintings for Ernest Shepard originals. It's mostly in the faces that a slight difference is apparent. But they are very well done nonetheless, enhancing the book on nearly every page, with one massive two-page spread toward the end of the book and a new map of the Wood on the inside of the cover. Because the book is meant to be set less than a year after The House at Pooh Corner, there's an old-fashioned sense to story and illustrations alike, with a gramophone and Latin lessons some of the more noteworthy antiquities. The book also has a distinctly English feel to it, especially during the chapter in which Christopher Robin teaches all of his friends how to play cricket. Moreover, a chapter about the formation of a Hundred Acre Wood Academy reminded me of Harry Potter with its talk of headmasters and prefects.

Benedictus gives each of the main characters moments in the spotlight. Hyperactive Roo often rambles, while Kanga has a tendency to let her maternal instincts extend beyond her own son; she especially has a knack for reining in Tigger. Rabbit remains a fussbudget, which leads to his extensive woodland census project, a source of amusement to me since it reminds me so much of Hurley's similarly poorly-received attempts at the same on LOST. Meanwhile, in one chapter reminiscent of his attempts to cure Tigger of his bouncing, he hatches a rather mean-spirited plan to dissuade Owl from writing his uncle's biography, as the exercise makes the bird excessively cross. Never one to squelch creative impulses, I found that chapter somewhat sad but was pleased to see acknowledgment from some of the others that Rabbit's idea might not have been too kind. Owl's pomposity is on full display whenever possible, facilitating some of the book's funniest moments, and though Christopher Robin usually humors him, there are times when even his patience is tested by Owl's self-importance.

Though Christopher Robin is the impetus for the adventures in this book, Piglet remains Pooh's most constant companion, which is scarcely avoidable now that they share a home. Piglet is as jittery as ever, both excitable and timid. While the book is pretty episodic, a longer story arc, wrapped up in the predominant theme of change, or lack thereof, is Piglet's concern that Lottie's arrival will diminish him. In chapter four, Piglet is secretly disappointed when he does something heroic but Pooh overlooks it in favor of Lottie's contributions; in the eighth chapter, he receives dramatic reinforcement of Pooh's respect for him.

Pooh himself is as obsessed with honey as ever, a preoccupation that leads to more than one adventure this time around, and though he is kind, he sometimes fails to notice the needs of others. At other times, however, he is surprisingly attentive, as when he worries that he may be offending the bees by taking their honey all the time without asking, and he also concocts a clever plan or two over the course of the summer. Most of all, Pooh is reflective. For a Bear of Little Brain, he certainly does a lot of thinking, and scattered throughout the book are five Hums of his composition.

Even better than the Hums themselves are the ruminations on the poetic process. There's this, from the first chapter: "...a hum is all very well as far as it goes, and very well indeed when it goes for seven verses, but it isn't a Real Hum until it's been tried out on somebody." Then, at the end of the eighth chapter, comes the admission that made me laugh more than any other single moment in the book, partly because I can relate so well. After reciting a Hum containing a rather dubious simile, Pooh confesses, "But it wasn't really like a fish, only I couldn't think of anything else and then I ran out of time, and sometimes it's best to have something not quite right in a hum so that everybody can say: 'Humph! I could have done it better myself.'"

To this bit of self-deprecation, Christopher Robin responds, "I couldn't have," and while I'm a little bemused by the decision to publish an authorized sequel to the Pooh novels after all these years and hundreds of unofficial books, I find this conversation particularly fitting for the book itself. Just as Pooh seeks to honor Piglet with his humble hum, Benedictus pays homage to the world Milne created, and I think he does a better job of it than even he might be quick to admit. All of the characters feel incredibly authentic, and they weave in and out of simple adventures with clever twists and perfect comic timing, with just a hint of somberness more likely to be noticed by adults than children.

"Are you really going to write us new adventures?" Christopher Robin inquires of the author in the introduction. "Because we rather liked the old ones." Thankfully, if you rather liked the old ones too, then I expect you will find these new ones a rare treat indeed.