For a long time I was obsessed with the Sesame Street episodes of yore, before everything got dumbed down all to Hell (thanks, Elmo). Why weren't the best moments in children's television being celebrated? The recent DVD releases of Sesame Street Old School were a boon to my childhood nostalgia, and now internet television station Hulu.com (which is how I catch most of my shows these days) has uploaded a slew of new and classic Sesame Street clips.
Update: If Hulu doesn't work for you (sorry, those of you outside of the US), then there is also the Sesame Street YouTube channel! They don't allow embedding, and stealing the video clip is a no-no, so I provided the link for the YouTubes as well whenever I could - plus a bunch of bonus YouTube links at the end of the post.
Here are a few favorites, starting with an appropriately grumpy holiday song. (YouTube)
Speaking of Oscar, here he gets a visit from the Man In Black. (Not on YouTube, but try this one instead)
The Ladybug's Picnic. This song is stuck in my head to this very day. (YouTube)
Indeed, the cartoons that helped fill the time between Muppet fun were as trippy as you remember. (YouTube)
A classic that is hard not to love.
The legendary Martian visitors. (More of them on Beware of the Blog here)
Grover the waiter. Made me want to enter the service industry.
The King of Eight, sung by Jim Henson. (YouTube)
MORE Sesame Street clips via YouTube:
The beloved Pointer Sisters' "Pinball Number Count"
Neil Patrick Harris has got shoes - a highlight from the new season
Grover meets Stevie Wonder (and here he is performing "Superstition" as the kids go wild)
Two legends meet: Bert and Ernie and the Martians
Inappropriate! Bert and Ernie's Water Sports
Herbie Hancock, state of the art
Cookie Monster riffs on the Beatles with "Hey Food"
Super Grover!
Doin' the Pigeon
Some of my favorites are still missing from Sesame Street's official sites, but with the huge vault lurking at the CTW, here's hoping that more starts to surface. Until then, if you want to see the Count's dirty counting song, there's always those non-official YouTubers. Viva la interweb!
And in case I didn't make it clear in my intro, I blame the likes of Elmo for ruining the Street. Take this, Elmo.
You know that the Jazz Numbers vocals are from Grace Slick, right?
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Jazz_Numbers
And that the Pointer Sisters did the crazy pinball machines?
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Pinball_Number_Count
Posted by: Andy Lester | December 16, 2008 at 12:03 AM
Being in a position to watch Sesame Street everyday now due to fatherhood, I don't think it's been dumbed down in any significant way. Elmo is only a twenty minute show-within-a-show at the end and is specifically geared toward toddlers. I had tremendous fear of what I would find in these Elmo-tainted eps, but what I've found has been mostly of the same quality as what I remember with slightly less focus on the characters I loved when growing up.
Posted by: | December 16, 2008 at 06:51 AM
The King of Eight (or should I say Rowlf the Dog?) has some smooth flow in his raps.
A couple of FMU DJs have played the audio of the "We all live in a capital I" cartoon, which was quite beautiful and haunting to hear across all these years.
I also was overjoyed to learn recently that Sesame Street cartoon foes Letterman and the Spellbinder were voiced by Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, respectively. (The narratrix? Joan Rivers!)
Posted by: Listener James from Westwood | December 16, 2008 at 07:36 AM
Another reason to hate Hulu. Sorry I don't live in the United States....
hurrumph
Posted by: protogenes | December 16, 2008 at 08:37 AM
Additional reasons to hate Hulu: they seem to be pulling some of the clips as we speak.
Posted by: K | December 16, 2008 at 12:38 PM
None of the Sesame Street clips have been pulled, in fact there are a few more clips up today than yesterday on the Hulu site. That said, many things on Hulu have "expiration dates", which is fine, except for the fact that these dates aren't clearly noted so sometimes it comes as a shock. As for non-US readers...sorry about that. International copyright rules are such a pain in the ass.
Posted by: Account Deleted | December 16, 2008 at 02:07 PM
OK, I tried the rubber ducky clip again, and rather than a "not available" notice I see the clip. I suppose the servers get overloaded at certain points in the day....
Posted by: K | December 16, 2008 at 11:05 PM
Sesame Workshop has its own YouTube channel now, so I get the feeling that they Get It.
Posted by: EasyEW | December 17, 2008 at 05:59 PM
Fuck Hulu. Use somthing else, please.
Posted by: William | December 19, 2008 at 06:51 AM
Try the Sesame Street YouTube channel linked in the comments above if Hulu doesn't work for you, and look for your own favorites. Because I prefer not to "fuck" things. My penis is a sacred tool.
Posted by: ResidentClinton | December 19, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Ooh, I have always loved the song "Nasty Dan," especially for Oscar's comments throughout.
If you're having a hard time watching the old Ses St clips on hulu, you can also rent old Ses St from Netflix. I did, and a good time was had by all.
By "all" I mean "me."
Posted by: Wendy del Formaggio | January 06, 2009 at 05:26 PM