The subject matter is something definitely dear and significant to me. And as is often the case, J seems to have totally nailed ’something’ which makes for a touching personal experience rather than just a load of words.

Musically, I agree with everyone who thinks the intro is fantastic. But I’m surprised no one has mentions the chorus; I can’t remember the last time I was so compelled to sing along to *any* song on the way into work in the morning.

Keep up the fantastic work, JC.

I think you do great work, and i’m really happy for you that you could quit your day job to do something you really love. I want your entire catalouge now, but i’ll have to get it bit by bit because i’m on a budget.
I hope I didn’t come off as a weirdo, I’m just big on supporting the artists.

Are you okay with fans just downloading the songs as they come out? Obviously you would probably prefer for them to buy them and support you, but it seems you are pretty relaxed about the whole thing.

I don’t think I had a mischievous indigo monkey in my collection though, and my bear’s a bit more brown than beige.

He doesn’t look so much “wise” but “cheerfully concussed,” though.

Hey, didn’t I see you on VH1’s music-documentary on the 90s yesterday?

I have a beige bear right here. A friend needed me to go to IKEA to get duplicate bears for his daughter in case something happened to her favorite toy. And, well, it was so cute I got myself one.

I didn’t watch most of the UStream, a little bit, but not enough to get a sense of the song. I think I like it better when you don’t know what the new song will sound like til it’s all done and unveiled.

Was great seeing you come out to the Twin Cities!

I suppose as long as the *spirit* of Beige Bear lives in all of our hearts then…

Aww! Who am I kidding??? I don’t know WHAT to believe! Nothing makes SENSE anymore!

@Molly: yes, 100 greatest songs of the 90’s or something like that. I have no idea what I said, but I tried to sound snarky and funny like they do on those shows. Felt kind of weird actually.

The lyrics on the info page says:
Mauve gets the bed just right
Instead of:
Mauve dog gets the bed just right

Was it a Teal cat or a Puce cat? Was it a mauve dog, or the color mauve itself that got the bet just right? Is it possible that somebody used too many monkeys?

I do concur, pics of the beige bear would be nifty!

people think it’s the robots, but it’s the beige bear that really holds the power.

This is why I listened to the song with a big grin on my face and a tear or three. Thanks, Jonathan.

Keep up the good work, and come to Louisville, KY, dammit!

Having also listened to almost all of the UStream, I really feel like I appreciate the layers on this song more than usual… maybe because I know what to look for, having seen them all laid down as you went.
I really like the main guitar riff, it makes a great hook, and that bass line just keeps going underneath, and it really works for me.

Oddly enough, even after hearing it so many times, I still really like the song, and do not find it boring at all…. though I totally understand why you maybe got there towards the end.

But taking a careful listen to this “new” track, I guess I felt it was maybe over-mixed, almost muddy at points. It seemed to come from the parts you added in that last session, especially the synth – which sounded cool as you were playing around with it, but just seems lost and rumbly underneath everything else in the final mix. I also really thrown by the added guitar on the bridge (which I must have missed when you put it in)… it’s a great riff on it’s own, and very JoCo, but it doesn’t feel to me like it fits with the rest of the song. Maybe that will change with further listens, I don’t know.

Even with those elements, though, I think this song rocks – and I haven’t even said anything about the incredible lyrics. Some songwriters show great insight with social commentary, but JoCo, you do it with stories about squid and mad scientists and bears… and it is just amazing how you can dig deep with stuff that might *seem* to be so fluffy. “Some monkeys misbehave because they’re sad” is now one of my favorite JoCo lines – joining a list that seems to have a lot of monkeys in it. (I promise not to start calling you “Monkey Man” – unless you like the idea, of course…)

Thank you for letting us into your creative world, Jonathan, and for sharing your gifts with us once again!

It’s extremely catchy.

“… I’m generally forced to make stuffed animals talk to each other for several hours each day.”

Dude, just wait for the tea parties. I want video.

well you nailed playroom politics very well.

I love the song. Keep making new stuff and I will keep listening.