Cool New Album: Weezer, My Morning Jacket, OK Go Perform On ‘Muppets: The Green Album’

You know the scene. You’re on a family road trip – or even just chilling out in the kitchen – and you put on some Neil Young to set the mood. “Elmo!” yells your two-year-old. “Wiggles!” pleads your five-year-old. “Justin Bieber,” they say in unison (no, really, my two-year-old knows – and likes – “Baby”). What to do?

Soon you can throw on Muppets: The Green Album – a “tribute” album with bands like Weezer, OK Go and My Morning Jacket covering Muppet classics. The album comes out August 23 but NPR is streaming the album this week. I checked it out late last night and I’ll admit it: I had a total “moment” listening to Weezer’s rendition of “Rainbow Connection” (featuring Paramore’s Hayley Williams).

You know those kids’ songs you want to belt out on the top of your lungs but you don’t just in case somebody’s watching? (For me, it’s “Puff The Magic Dragon” – gets me every time. Don’t tell anyone.) Well, this is an entire album filled with such songs that’ll remind you of your own childhood. Songs such as “Our World” (performed by My Morning Jacket) and “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along (Matt Nathanson) have a total bonfire vibe that’s sure to satisfy you and your kids.

This is family listening at its finest.

(Photo: NPR.com)