Ben's Playlist - Monday, February 1, 2021

'Cause I'm A Man – Tame Impala
Winter Bird / When Winter Comes – Paul McCartney
White Whale – Kepi Ghoulie
El Corazon – The Lucky Band
Clown Shoes – Ratboy Jr.
What Kind Of Fruit – Dean Jones
That Thing You Do! – Billie Joe Armstrong

Quick Hits: Purple Fox Promotes Confidence; Billy Kelly in Orbit

In his 1997 film "Life Is Beautiful," Roberto Benigni cannot bear the thought of destroying his son's innocence and pretends the Holocaust is merely a game being played to silly actors. The title was juxtaposed against the absurdity and horror of the reality of the film's contents. In a similar fashion Purple Fox and the Heebie-Jeebies are back with their new album, CONFIDENCE VOLUME 1 and its first video "Life Is Good."

San Francisco's prime band delivering funk and jazz for preteen listeners, Purple Fox spent their pandemic quarantine contemplating positive family values and individual character traits. Their CD deconstructs the elements of self-worth, from "I Am A Friend" to "I'm Happy With Myself" to album-closer "I Can Do It." The theme is fleshed-out in the tune, "My Hero Is Me (V.I.P.):

Why, who is your hero?
My hero? Who I look up to? Who I want to be?
Well, my hero is me. No really, I’m always thinking of how 
I can be a better person, the best that I can be.
Strive for greatness.
You know, aim for the stars so I can make it over the fence

Purple Fox fits right in with the West Coast groove sound personified by Los Angeles' Mista Cookie Jar. I would have added Grammy winner Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, but he migrated back to the East Coast in late 2020. Give your kids a funk fix and a shot of righteous self-worth with their latest release.

CONFIDENCE VOLUME 1 is available from Purple Fox and the Heebie-Jeebies' website, Soundcloud, Amazon, Bandcamp, and Apple Music.

Here is the video for 'Life Is Good":

Do you wake up in the morning, pondering the existential question, "I wonder what Billy Kelly is doing?" Have your kids logged off their remote science classes and poked you with sharp sticks, asking, "When is Billy Kelly recording more children's music?" Do the neighbors follow you down the street at a socially distanced pace, shouting, "Billy....Kelly....Billy....Kelly?" Of course not. None of those things happen (unless perhaps you're Mrs. Billy Kelly). 

But wait there's been a Billy Kelly sighting and it didn't take as long as Hailey's Comet. The point to my spatial metaphor is that he's recorded the music to a series of silly science songs called BILLY KELLY'S PLANETARY PROMENADE. Each song has an accompanying video crafted by Portland media maven Mike Bennett. The large cartoon renderings of the solar system’s main features are currently on view as an installation of Bennett’s artwork on Portland, Oregon’s Mississippi Avenue.

You can purchase the entirety of BILLY KELLY'S PLANETARY PROMENADE from Amazon (13 songs totalling eight minutes). In the meantime, here's the orbiting enchilada:

Upbeat New Videos from Brady Rymer and Father Goose

 How do you perpetuate peace, harmony, and inclusivity during a global pandemic? If you're Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, you grab your gear and shoot a socially distanced video in a public Park in New York City (one walking distance from my father's apartment, in fact).

Brady has a bucket list of songs he periodically dips into and "Let's Make a Better World," an Earl King/Dr. John cajun classic, definitely fits as modern mood music:

Society has no priority
We're all one part of a whole
When people scream and shout
You hafta hear 'em out
Everybody is a beautiful soul

On Saturday, February 20 at noon ET, Brady will livestream a special concert with British kid's musician David Gibb to promote their 2020 release, "Songs Across the Pond." The duo will play live from their homes in Oxfordshire, UK and New York, NY – covering their own material as well as from the other's catalog (neither Brady nor David will reveal their selections in advance of the show). General admission tickets are $16 and meet-and-greets are $25. Click here for more information.

Enjoy the video below, featuring Brady with band members Claudia, Seth, and Liz:

Father Goose continues to extend his footprint into children's house party music with the new kids empowerment tune, "I Can Make it." Getting your act together and being your best self is the theme, and Goose is supported by Etcetera, iRiE Goose, Danni Ali, David Allan Rivera, and Grammy winner Lucy Kalantari. 

"The song is meant to inspire us to be grateful for life and live it to its fullest on our own terms," Goose explains. "The chorus tells us all to live your life, live it well, let your dreams be big and your actions louder." 

Vaccines offer a glimmer of hope for live concerts to return late this year (and more certainly in 2022). In the meantime, watch the fanciful fantasy in the video below:

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, January 27, 2021

The Moment – Tame Impala
Seize The Day – Paul McCartney
Manic Monday – Billie Joe Armstrong
It's a Miracle – Dog On Fleas
You Can Get It If You Really Want – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
What Girls Do – Stacey Peasley
Boy with a Hole in his Heart – Danny Weinkauf

Quick Hits: Weekends For Kids Radio; Tunes With Tim

Welcome to the third week of 2021 and the world of children's music continues to expand and evolve. There is a controversy around the Best Children's Recording for the Grammy Awards that resulted in three of the nominees declining consideration, leaving Justin Roberts and Joanie Leeds vying mano-a-womana for the honor. Meanwhile, the broadcast has been delayed for two months due to California COVID protocols, so there will only be more discussion of the topic between now and then.

My opinion – for those who care – is that you bring more people to the table by accepting the nomination, and, if you win, making a statement to the widest audience at the ceremony. By removing yourself from the award process, it's a sign of protest but won't give you a voice at the award presentation. Okay, stepping off the soapbox.

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Bob Harrison hosts the weekly kids' music program "Weekends R 4 Kidz," which is broadcast at 9:03 AM and again at 2:03 PM at KLDL/Los Angeles. You can also click through their website to find the program. Among the artists on his first shows of 2021 were Tom Paxton, Shirley Temple, The Story Pirates, and Bruce Springsteen. You can listen to the station live on Radio365.

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Tim Bredrup (Tunes With Tim) has released his second collection of kids' tunes, WE'RE ALL HUMAN. It's a collaborative effort featuring music written by Tim, his sister Kate, and their aunt Jenny. The hip-hop tune “PBJ,” glorifies the virtues of peanut butter and jelly. A Chicago native, Tim celebrates the animals in the city's Lincoln Park Zoo on “Ziggy Zaggy Zoo.” And you can find a thru-line to the works of Randy Newman on “Let’s Get Ready to Go.” You can purchase WE'RE ALL HUMAN through Tim's website and Apple Music.

Here's a recent video of Tim performing the Stevie Wonder classic, "Sir Duke":

Celebrating Black Women in History; Pointed Man Band, iRiE Goose

Musician and social justice advocate Fyütch has released “Black Women In History,” a new song that calls attention to (as you might imagine from the title) impactful and powerful Black women throughout American history. The somberly-titled track features artists Rissi Palmer and Snooknuk and focuses on "herstory" throughout the centuries. Current honorees include Stacey Abrams, Kamala Harris, and Dr. Kizzmekia “Kizzy” Corbett. Past figures are Fannie Lou Hamer, Claudette Colvin, J Frankie Pierce, Rebecca Crumpler, Jane Hinton, and Alfreda Webb. The track dropped on Monday, January 18, 2021 (Martin Luther King Day). The video is here and the song is below:

FYÜTCH · Black Women In History (w/ Rissi Palmer & Snooknuk)

Dan Elliott, the mastermind behind Pointed Man Band, wrote most of his songs on a spinet (piano without the lowest and highest keys) from Winter & Co. As the pandemic grinds on, Elliott decided to commemorate this instrument with its own song. "Winter & Co." is the first single from the band's upcoming EP, Dreams (release date February 12). The phantastical imagery that Dan creates is evident in the song's chorus:

Turning the bright lights on
Light up the sky like the moons and the sun
So turn the bright lights on and we
Aim for the stars cause that’s who we are

Click here for a video teaser. The peppy, poppy tune is available for listening here:

 

Father Goose, the King of the Dance Party, is producing music at a voluminous pace these days. I've realized it's not as difficult these days due to teleconferencing tools and cloud recording software. Plus Goose surrounds himself by a cadre of like-minded funkmeisters, including his own son iRiE Goose. The younger Goose returns with guest artist Vic Ross for "Skraaata Ta Ta Tar." If you ever wondered what would have happened if Musical Youth was produced by Def Jam Music, look no further than iRiE Goose. Here's the new video:

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, January 19, 2021

All Star – Andrew & Polly
Lo/Hi – The Black Keys
Lazy Boy – Franz Ferdinand
Inkpot – Kepi Ghoulie
El Corazon – The Lucky Band
I Think We're Alone Now – Billie Joe Armstrong
Fanga Alafia – Aaron Nigel Smith

Ben's Playlist - Monday, January 11, 2021

Lost And Loving It – Kepi Ghoulie
The Kiss Of Venus – Paul McCartney
Grandmaderation – The Okee Dokee Brothers
Clown Shoes – Ratboy Jr.
Boo Boo – Stacey Peasley
Village d'Ãtoile – Dog On Fleas
Got to Get You Into My Life  – Tragedy

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Lost And Loving It – Kepi Ghoulie
I Spy – Ants Ants Ants
Taco Tuesday – The Lucky Band
Shine A Little Light – The Black Keys
Finally – Franz Ferdinand
Make It Happen – Stacey Peasley
Just One Look – Linda Ronstadt

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Stars – Ants Ants Ants
Even When.... – Ratboy Jr.
Summer's Here – The Bazillions
Humans Are Still Evolving – Dean Jones
Word Association – Dog On Fleas
Perfect Day – Danny Weinkauf
It's A Wonderful Life – Kepi Ghoulie

Ben's Playlist - Monday, January 4, 2021

Afternoon Walk – The Okee Dokee Brothers
Helicopter Leaves – Ants Ants Ants
Reality In Motion – Tame Impala
People Watching – Dean Jones
Go – The Black Keys
I'm an Optimist – Dog On Fleas
Cut the Cheese – Danny Weinkauf