Marsha Goodman-Wood’s newest music video: Why Can’t You Dance on Jupiter?

Marsha Goodman-Wood is a local musician who I’m fortunate to know personally through our children’s school. She’s generous enough to have shared her premiere of The Penguin Song with readers back in January and now she’s back debuting a new music video; Why Can’t You Dance on Jupiter?

Have you ever misplaced a moon? Or maybe just found 10 or 12 new ones lying around? Probably not. But scientists keep finding new moons of the planet Jupiter. 

This is a brand new video for “Why Can’t You Dance on Jupiter?” from Marsha Goodman-Wood’s 2012 Gravity Vacation album. This stop-motion animation video features the artwork of Judith Keller, brought to life by up and coming videographer Emily Bank.

When the song was released in 2012, scientists had discovered “at least 63 moons” of Jupiter, as the lyrics explain. But it turns out that finding and then confirming new moons for the giant planet is an ongoing process, and Marsha said it was “at least” that many moons because scientists knew they might find more.

If you’ve heard Marsha play live lately with her band The Positrons, you’ve heard that number climbing! And in July 2018, an astronomer named Scott S. Sheppard who works at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC announced the discovery of 12 new moons, for a current total of 79!

This new video for “Why Can’t You Dance on Jupiter?” notes before the song starts that the number keeps going up.  For the kids, it’s a nice example of how science changes over time as we learn new information.

Bambinos will want to dance along with the unique alien characters that Judith created and if you read along with the closed-captioning you’ll find some Easter eggs in the form of dance suggestions!

Marsha’s solo album Gravity Vacation debuted six years ago, but we’re happy to announce that she’s finalizing a new record with the band Marsha and the Positrons. You, dear readers, are the first to know that it will be released on November 16th!

Staying out there in the the solar system, the new record includes a song called “Hey Pluto” which is about Pluto’s change in status from a planet to a dwarf planet (and about not being defined by your labels). It also features several of Marsha’s trademark songs about science and how the world works, like “Positrons,” which explains this lesser-known sub-atomic particle the band is named after!

Save the date: You can see Marsha and the Positrons this weekend at Jammin Java. Get an early listen to these new songs on Saturday at 10:30am. Tickets are $8 (for everyone age 1 & up); or $25 for a family 4-pack. And meticulously updated scientific facts are free of charge!