Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, September 1, 2020

All I Have To Do Is Dream – The Everly Brothers
outside my window – Red Yarn
Music Train – The Okee Dokee Brothers
All Star – Andrew & Polly
With a Little Help From My Friends – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
Boy with a Hole in his Heart – Danny Weinkauf
fuzzy buzzy buzzing bug – caspar babypants

Ben's Playlist - Friday, August 28, 2020

 outside my window – Red Yarn

The Sun Comes Up Again – Jack Forman

If You Want a Song – The Okee Dokee Brothers

Summer's Here – The Bazillions

Lazy Boy – Franz Ferdinand

Village d'Ãtoile – Dog On Fleas

Quick Hits: Raffi Celebrates Frontline Workers, Pierce Freelon Ponders Fatherhood

You would think I have very little in common with Pierce Freelon. But that would just be a vacuous first impression. Yes, Pierce is a Black millennial living in the South. He's also a hiphop musician and multi-hyphenate. But he's also a father, and the songs on his new collection, D.a.D, touch on some universal concerns that cut across the racial, societal, and generational spectrum.

Fatherhood bonds men – there are times we all feel like we're not doing enough, and other times when the simplest action brings unexpected returns. Freelon (with his daughter guesting on "Daddy Daughter Day") chronicles his experiences raising a child, with messages of encouragement, positivity, and more. "Bubble" is about personal space, not coronavirus. But "help is on the way to make you safe" is definitely something we all need, moving forward into 2021 and beyond.

D.a.D is available from Pierce's website, Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Here is the video for the song, "My Body," featuring Rissi Palmer:

Raffi is the gift that keeps on giving, not only for children's music but also for children. His new single, "For All You Do," gives thanks to first responders and other frontline healthcare workers who keep the world moving during a pandemic. Written by Raffi, the song features children’s artist Lindsay Munroe and celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Proceeds from downloads and streams will got to Direct Relief, an organization dedicated to providing equipment and medication to health care workers around the world. A humanitarian aid organization, Direct Relief is active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay. Learn more about Direct Relief. 

You can purchase "For All You Do" through Raffi's website, Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music. Here is the video for the song:

123 Andrés Shares Friendship in Two Languages

Something contagious is in the air, and it's not coronavirus – it's activism. Many in the children's music field have caught it, and begun promoting multiple positive forms of intelligent civil community involvement. Once such performer is Latin Grammy winner 123 Andrés. His new CD, HOLA, AMIGO! revisits the title track of his first release, itself a response to a troubling incident from more than a decade ago. While using an ATM, Andrés saw someone had scratched off the Spanish instructions. He processed his mixed feelings – anger, confusion, frustration – into a song that's become a fan favorite at his concerts.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary "Hola, Amigo," 123 Andrés (now recognized as couple Christina Sanabria and Andrés Salguero) released new versions of “Hola, Amigo” in Spanish and English, along with nine more songs exploring the theme of friendship, in two languages. Sandwiched between two major political party conventions, HOLA, AMIGO celebrates diversity, harmony, and love. 

Guest artists include Cathy Fink (of Cathy and Marcy fame), Rissi Palmer, Uncle Devin, Little Miss Ann, Konshens the MC, Verny Varela, the Sugar Free Allstars, Rita Rosa Ruesga, Lea Morris, and Steve Denyes of Hullabaloo Band. Despite quarantine conditions, Andres has brought a "Rainbow" (a duet with Brooklyn's Suzi Shelton) of talent to his new collection.

You will certainly get a spine-tingling with songs like "Hambone," which takes a folks chestnut, mashed-up with "say their name" chants including Breonna Taylor, Ryan Stokes, Sean Bell, and George Floyd (ending with "I can't breathe") – timely and controversial for a children's music release. As I played it, Ben began chanting behind me, however unaware of the immense impact that these deceased individuals have had on our society. 

But wait, there's more – as Andrés has partnered with Scholastic to turn “Hola, Amigo” into a bilingual board book for families, with text in both Spanish and English. There may be better ways to spend your time or send a message right now, but Andrés and Christina know that kids take small steps, and little feet can grow up to make big impressions. Better make friends with them now. 

HOLA, AMIGO is available from 123Andrés' website, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Here is the recent episode of 123Andrés' video series,  focusing on siblings:

Quick Hits: 123 Andrés Hits the Beach, BeatBuds Hit Minds

The upcoming 123 Andrés' album, HOLA AMIGOS, has generated its second pre-release video for the song, "Beach." An enhanced lyric video, the song features performers Jazzy Ash and Aaron Nigel Smith (who has his own new album coming later this month).

Late August is considered the dog days of summer – with sheltering, homeschooling, cancelled camps, and a general lack of traditional seasonal pleasures, Andres, Christina, and friends attempt to inject some normality and implanted memories of the regular pleasures of the season. You can watch the recently-released video here:

The pandemic continues to bring out more artists with more socially conscious material. The BeatBuds are the latest to join the trend, with their new song, "I Have A Voice." The song drops on Friday, August 21. With Election Day coming in less than three months, now is the time to gently (or at least not that heavy-handedly) introduce the concepts of good citizenship, expressing your opinion, and that voting is a right, not a privilege. 

Similar to the Okee Dokee Brothers, Buds Jonny Jonah and Matty Shapiro tout a friendship that dates back to practically infancy (six years of age). They have decades of experience supporting and opening for mainstream groups, including The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Jet, Motley Crue, and Fallout Boy. In fact, their press sheet reads like a who's who of modern mid-venue rockers. 

The BeatBuds merged their talents in 2012 to create children's music and lay claim to more than 6,000 performances. They happily promote their connect to Scooter Braun (don't mention that name to Taylor Swift), who is helping to plot their ascension into the first tier of children's musicians. A Nickelodeon animated preschool series is in the works, with a post-pandemic 2021 debut pencilled in.

The BeatBuds conducted a series of livestreaming concerts that ended in June. Here's "Sunday Funday," a 45-minute performance:

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, August 18, 2020

 reasons for the seasons – caspar babypants

Sally-O – The Okee Dokee Brothers

Taco Tuesday – The Lucky Band

Flexible Brain – Ratboy Jr.

my own backyard – Red Yarn

Three Little Birds – Aaron Nigel Smith

Backstroke Raptor – Story Pirates

Ben's Playlist - Monday, August 17, 2020

Lost And Loving It – Kepi Ghoulie

One  – Aaron Nigel Smith

That's My Style – The Bazillions

Cut the Cheese – Danny Weinkauf

twist and pout – caspar babypants

What Kind Of Fruit – Dean Jones

Two Towns – David Gibb & Brady Rymer 

Aaron Nigel Smith Delivers Live CD with 1 World Chorus

Artists seeking to release material during the global pandemic have turned to recordings of concerts they did prior to the advent of coronavirus ending live performances. Aaron Nigel Smith had planned to document a March show at New York's Symphony Space and use tracks to augment a similar show at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Well, the best laid plans.... and so now we have AARON NIGEL SMITH & 1 WORLD CHORUS - LIVE IN LA.

The songs on LIVE IN LA cover Aaron's entire 20-year career, including favorites such as "Fanga Alafia" and "Everyone Loves to Dance." Aaron pays homage to the kindie movement with Pete Seeger's "If I Had A Hammer." There are also the classic tracks "Three Little Birds" and "Man Gave Names To All the Animals" and the reggae anthem "One Love," appropriate considering one of Aaron's previous CDs was a 1 World Chorus album comprised entirely of Bob Marley standards.

The 1 World Chorus is a planetary charity that seeks to deliver enlightening, empowering musical experiences to children. Aaron's son Zion sings in the Los Angeles branch and delivers solo performances on LIVE IN LA. More than 3,000 youth in the United States, Kenya, and Jamaica have participated in 1 World Chorus's group singing projects. Programs run in 4-10 week blocks, depending on school schedules and budgets. Each residency culminates with the participating schools coming together to sing in the name of peace.

The tunes – some qualifying as chestnuts after decades – are reinvigorated as sung with the enthusiastic 1 World Chorus. Aaron's band feeds off that energy and delivers an inspired performance. Until live venues become a reality in 2021, Aaron uses memories from 2019 to keep us focused on moving forward.

AARON NIGEL SMITH & 1 WORLD CHORUS - LIVE IN LA is available August 15 from Aaron's website, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Quick Hits: Earth Songs and Juicebox Jukebox For All

Holden Caulfield despised "phonies." The teen hero of "Catcher in the Rye" thought that adults talking down to him, or saying they understood his world than he did, were "phonies." Holden didn't understand that the road to adulthood is filled with good intentions that sometimes seem phony to kids. And that's where I sympathize with Holden, in regard to the upcoming MY EARTH SONGS from Lonnie Park and the Earth Band (a ponderous self-designation if there ever was one). 

A multi-faceted award winning multi-hyphenate, Lonnie Park spearheaded a virtual live UNICEF COVID19 relief concert for kids, featuring Grammy winners from around the country, including Ricky Key, Lucy Kalantari, and Jon Samson. Now the songs are being released digitally, with the proceeds going to UNICEF. Self-explanatory song titles include "Gimme Your CO2," "Born From the Land," and "No Hunger." Listening to MY EARTH SONGS, my impression is that many of the people involved in its creation have no idea there's a burgeoning children's music industry. But gosh darn it, they're doing something important, so they're going to reinvent the wheel with this project. Spoiler alert: They didn't. There's nothing spectacular about MY EARTH SONGS except it's monumental self-importance. 

MY EARTH SONGS is available on August 28 from the group's website and Apple Music.

Here is "My Thinking Cap" from the CD:

Dallas musician Bradley James Skistimas spent 15 years touring and recording under the pseudonym "Five Times August" and has been featured on the FOX Business Channel as an expert "Do-It-Yourself" indie artist. The father of three turned his eye on children's music and started to record songs and upload videos using the concept the Juicebox Jukebox.

Last year, the Juicebox Jukebox launched a live concert series dubbed “The Kindness Tour,” for schools, libraries, and festivals, featuring a blend of live music performance and video production. Bradley's Jukebox YouTube channel has collected more than 300,000 views. Several of the videos were collaborations with Texas Independent School Districts and were filmed inside elementary schools with principal, teacher, parent, and student participation. More were planned this year until the pandemic hit.

Despite the setbacks, the Juicebox Jukebox has compiled NOW HEAR THIS!, a collection of their most popular tunes.  The songs are written with preschoolers to second graders in mind, with "What's Your Favorite Color," "Thankful," and the Redbone-tinged "The Art Supplies" being standouts. NOW HEAR THIS! is polished, professional, and decidedly un-phony. Holden Caulfield would be unimpressed. But what does he know? He's not a first grader.

NOW HEAR THIS! is available from the Juicebox Jukebox's website, Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Here is the video for the Juicebox Jukebox song, "The ABC's Of You": 

Ben's Playlist - Monday, August 3, 2020

all around town – Red Yarn

Even When....  – Ratboy Jr.

Fanga Alafia – Aaron Nigel Smith

Fly Like A Bird – Dean Jones

Hope Machine – The Okee Dokee Brothers

twist and pout – caspar babypants

You Can Get It If You Really Want – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could