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And The Song Goes
Wisconsin Poncho, Dude, don't you know?
Wisconsin Poncho, That's where we go
For mac & cheese helmet, pizza cape
Colby chaps so nicely aged

Gustafer Yellowgold's new album/DVD Infinity Sock is a beautiful piece of art. Gustafer is the brainchild of musician/illustrator Morgan Taylor. He writes and performs all the songs in addition to drawing the animation for the DVD. Since this is his fourth release, but first to me, I had to do a bit of research on what exactly encompasses Gustafer’s world. Here’s what I was able to find out: Gustafer is an alien creature who came to Minnesota from the sun and his world includes his best friend Forrest Applecrumbie, a pterodactyl, and an eel named Slim. How’s that for creative?

All the songs pieced together tell a single story about a “journey in search of the toe-end of the longest sock in the universe.” There is no skipping tracks on Infinity Sock. It’s an album you listen to from start to finish. Musically, most of the songs have a laidback, psychedelic acoustic vibe.

"Cheddar" is a song about a smitten kitten who also happens to know the words to T-Rex’s "Bang a Gong". (See parents, there are plenty of moments on this record for you to enjoy too.) The song "Beehive" features Pat Sansone and John Stirratt of Wilco.

Fellow Wisconsites listen up: one of the standout tracks on the album is "Wisconsin Poncho", a song about a store that only sells clothes made of cheese, such as bleu shorts, masks of brie, mac ‘n cheese helmets and colby chaps. My daughter can’t get enough of this song. At the dinner table, she’ll randomly just start singing “Wisconsin Poncho, dude, don't you know?” for no apparent reason other than she loves the song.

Here's a quick snippet of Wisconsin Poncho:



For more on the background of how the entire animation process works, check out this great interview by Jeff Giles at Dadnabbit.

Infinity Sock is a creative gem. It’s currently sitting at #1 on my top albums of 2011. It’s going to be hard to knock it out of that slot.

Rumor: Gustafer will be in Madison in June. I'll keep you posted.

CD: Infinity Sock
Artist: Gustafer Yellowgold
Audience: 2-8 yr olds
Sounds Like: The NY Times called it The Beatles meets Dr. Suess.
Buy from: http://gustaferyellowgold.com/

Tracklist:
1. A Sock Runs Through It
2. Slim Gets In 'Em
3. Infinity
4. Beehive   
5. Snake Proms
6. Cheddar   
7. Wisconsin Poncho
8. Question Marks   
9. Sock of Ages   
10. The Sock Reprieve