Ben's Final 2021 Playlist - Wednesday, December 29, 2021

The Moment – Tame Impala
The Kiss Of Venus – Paul McCartney
You Are Magic – Triple Rainbow
It's a Miracle – Dog On Fleas
put this monkey to bed – Caspar Babypants
New Pair Of Shoes – The Bazillions

Kid Pan Alley Lets Kids Write the Songs

The conceit of Kid Pan Alley is sheer simplicity – why believe that only adults can write song lyrics with any level of depth or emotion? KPA founder Paul Reisler spent 18 months during the pandemic helping children work through their fears, concerns, and dreams to construct the songs on the project's latest CD, MAYBE BY NEXT YEAR.

It's not just coronavirus that affected kids over the past year-plus. They addressed climate change ("The Day the Stars Reached the Earth" featuring Natalie Zuckerman), celebrating our own lives ("Small Things Make a Difference" featuring Michael Lille), and even adoption ("I Think I Blinked" featuring Billy Jonas).

Kids' favorite Randy Kaplan, a frequent KPA contributor, polished the quirky "Tear My Mask (To Pieces)," with a protagonist eager to get back some sense of normalcy. The heartbreaking "Staring Out My Window" is every child's ballad of the lost year of companionship and routine. The aforementioned "I Think I Blinked" deals with adoption so quickly that you might miss the key lines on first listening:

I've known it all along
That's why I wrote this song
I've seen the pictures on the wall
I knew I didn't look like you at all

Kid Pan Alley is not just about granting children access to their feelings. The KPA project is intended to demonstrate that careers in the performing arts are a viable future (these are also welcome concepts to music, acting, and singing instructors around the country). With schools cutting aid to arts programs, KPA reinforces the necessity of educating well-rounded children by motivating all of their potential interests. MAYBE BY NEXT YEAR delivers songs written by kids for kids that can also teach their parents a lesson or two.

MAYBE BY NEXT YEAR is available on Kid Pan Alley's website, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Here is the video for the song, "Staring Out My Window":

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 27, 2021

Reality In Motion – Tame Impala
Helicopter Leaves – Ants Ants Ants
That's My Style – The Bazillions
Go – The Black Keys
Taco Tuesday – The Lucky Band
Doppelganger – Dog On Fleas
toy boat – Caspar Babypants

Ben's Playlist - Wednesday, December 22, 2021

All Dressed Up For Christmas – Adoraborealis
Fanga Alafia – Aaron Nigel Smith
Shine A Little Light – The Black Keys
spoky baby – Caspar Babypants
I'm an Optimist – Dog On Fleas
Buenos Dias – The Lucky Band
Finally – Franz Ferdinand

Adoraborealis Dressed In Their Holiday Best

What to do once you've hit the heights as a children's music performer, had your group become the house band on a popular kids tv show, and then found yourself perplexed by a pandemic? For Brooklyn musician Mike Messer, the choice was to segue into a new group – Adoraborealis – and release a brand new holiday tune, "All Dressed Up for Christmas."

Messer's previous group, the Dirty Sock Funtime Band, was an early obsession of my younger son. One year the kid even dressed for Halloween as Mr. Clown, an integral part of the group's live (and recorded) performances. But there's been a lack of new material or even live shows for a number of years. Sadly, my son has declared himself "immune" to whatever charms children's music once held for him.

This is a situation that plagues all performers who specialize in children's music, as your audience grows and evolves at a steady clip. Messer's solution was to sidestep the Funtime funk and move into a new realm. With that decision, Adoraborealis arrives with its pleasant Christmas song and a lyric video. "All Dressed Up for Christmas" is all about the colorful outfits that people sport to show their holiday spirit, and the love and care that demonstrates for other people in their families and communities:

I’m so weary of dreary but when you're here
We are nearly a rainbow on snow
It’s a miracle
Come here and curl into me
All of the way ’til and through Xmas Day

Every year, musicians struggle to find a new angle for December festivities, regardless of religious belief. Messer has liberated his sartorial selection and hopes it will become a perennial favorite.

You can find the tune on Spotify, Bandcamp, and Amazon.

Here is the lyric video for "All Dressed Up for Christmas," produced by animator Jodie Ray Charity:

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, December 21, 2022

Apples on the Sun – The Harmonica Pocket
Lazy Boy – Franz Ferdinand
Loving & Kind – Aaron Nigel Smith
Lo/Hi – The Black Keys
awesome blossom – Caspar Babypants
Anything Can Be A Hat – Ratboy Jr.
Tear My Mask – Randy Kaplan

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 20, 2021

The Less I Know The Better – Tame Impala
Sand Song – The Harmonica Pocket
Inkpot – Kepi Ghoulie
Clown Shoes – Ratboy Jr.
I Spy – Ants Ants Ants
Village d'Ãtoile – Dog On Fleas
05 supersonic motorcycles – Caspar Babypants

Story Pirates Blast Off With a Wormy New Years Eve

I'm not a fan of worms. I called it a cheap publicity stunt when Elmo's pet wormy Slimy got serenaded by Tony Bennett ("Slimy To the Moon"). But worms made significant contributions to the environment and play an important role in our ecosystem. They are now making inroads into our living rooms and seeking to connect with our children. Grooving grub DJ Squirm-a-Lot is hosting the Story Pirates' second annual New Year's Eve Party ... from the moon (what is it with worms and outer space?). 

Just like a traditional Story Pirates live performance, this interactive improv adventure will involve story creation, songs, games, and special guests from their podcast. DJ Squirm-A-Lot promises to launch the biggest fireworks display ever viewed – explaining his decamping to the moon. The Story Pirates insist that the party will not be interrupted by DJ Squirm-A-Lot's arch-nemesis Yorma the Ice Dragon. But you know how ice dragons can't stand missing a festive gathering.

Because mom and dad may have different plans for midnight, this New Years Eve event is starting at 3 PM ET on Friday, December 31 (A family pass costs $15). There's also a three-day Story Pirates' virtual Creator Camp experience from December 29-31 for $75 which includes the New Years Eve event. During the pandemic (and into 2022 as kids 5-11 now qualify for COVID vaccinations), the Creators Club helped keep nascent minds firing on all cylinders with livestream workshops, radio shows, and podcast bonus activities. The fourth season of their podcast launched last fall and is available on major streaming platforms.

You can find all the information about the New Years Eve event at the Story Pirates website.

Did I forget to mention Story Pirates Radio? The show airs on YouTube. The first episode of "Story Pirates TV" aired in November. Stop kicking yourself if you missed it – I've embedded the video right here:

New Stuff from Oot 'n Oots, Claudia Robin Gunn, and BIRDIE

Have you ever wanted to frolic in the forest whilst singing about the importance of treating others fairly? This "do unto others" attitude is embodied in the song (and new video) from the pride of Canada, the Oot 'n Oots. "The Golden Rule" comes from their recent collection, PONDEROSA BUNCHGRASS AND THE GOLDEN RULE and features the entire band (the Cipes family) surrounded by lush, sepia-toned greenery. The CD heralds back to the mellow-minded 60s tones of Donovan (with a hint of the Byrds thrown in). "The Golden Rule" is a stylistic combination of modern and throwback fun, as you can see by their video:

Traveling in another direction, New Zealand children's recording artist Claudia Robin Gunn has posted a new video for her gentle, winsome song, "Kids In Autumn." The tune springs from her recent collection that features a little blue penguin as his family segues from season to season. Assisted by animator Katrina Maree, Claudia and Little Wild Music deliver original children's material that native New Zealanders can enjoy, while also being exported to the rest of the world. Here's the video:

California musicians Teresa Gasca-Burk and Gary Burk started playing in a rock band together more than 20 years ago. As they started families, they regrouped to write and perform children's music as BIRDIE, recording their first CD in 2003. They've come out of the pandemic with several new songs, including "Come Out And Play" and "You're Awesome," which features a singalong chorus that dares you not to participate, especially on a long car ride. The duo promotes "positive fun" for a complete family experience and has released a new CD, I CHOOSE HAPPY. Find the music of BIRDIE on their website, Spotify, and Apple Music. Here is the band doing a live performance of their song, "Rainbow":

Ben's Playlist - Monday, December 13, 2021

Stars – Ants Ants Ants
Nest – The Harmonica Pocket
'Cause I'm A Man – Tame Impala
Oh Cookie – Ben Tatar and the Tatar Tots
old cookie – Caspar Babypants
Lost And Loving It – Kepi Ghoulie
It's a Miracle – Dog On Fleas

Quick Hits: Strawbitty Yops, Jackie B and the Mini Band, and Ruth and Emilia

Inclusion means everyone, and Strawbitty Yops are all-in. Woody Hill and Cindy Haws-Rice have made music together for nearly 20 years. The Austin, Texas duo are all about songwriting that empowers children and makes them part of the process. Strawbitty Yops (just try googling that term) is a queer-identified family band featuring them, keyboard player Jimmie Estrada, percussionist Salina Estrada, singer Melanie Rose, and Cindy's kids Autumn and Theo. Their new holiday song, "Winter Magic," talks about the delights of sharing an annual family celebration and all its traditions and festivities. You can download the song from Amazon or Apple Music. Here is the video:

Speaking of interactive children's music, New Zealand singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow devised Jackie B and The Mini Band during the lockdown, featuring seven Wakatipu kids aged 7 to 10   innovative musical “lockdown” project by New Zealand-based international singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow has inspired a Christmas collaboration with a group of young Wakatipu singers from Southwest New Zealand. Their original eight-song EP is coming in January from 8 Pound Gorilla Records. In the meantime, we have their first single,"It's Christmas." Truly an international recording, the vocals were recorded in St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Arrowtown, the backing music was recorded and produced in Nashville, and the entire track was mastered at Studios 301 in Sydney, Australia. You can download the song from Amazon, Apple Music, or Spotify.

I confess that real-world responsibilities (such as running a book sale with 30,000 items) precluded me from doing a ton of writing just prior to Hanukkah, so I missed promoting Ruth and Emilia's new video for their "Dreidel Sing Along," featuring Ruth as a dancing dreidel. But even as the holiday has passed, you can still view the song throughout the holiday season! You can grab the song from Amazon or Apple Music and the video is below.

Divinity Roxx: Ready Set Go for Anything

You can't easily fool kids (unless we're talking about Santa Claus, but let's not go there right now). What I mean is, they can tell the difference between cereal that tastes good and cereal that's good for them. The same principle goes for music – if you feed your kids a constant stream of basic super-positive, super-motivational songs, they're going to reject them sooner or later. To address that dilemma, you need a solution that delivers upbeat themes without tasting like medicine. May I present Divinity Roxx, your contemporary antidote to generic, genial children's music.

Divinity spent five years touring and performing with Beyoncé and has produced three albums of music for adults. Her first collection for kids, READY SET GO! dropped this month. No stranger to catchy bass lines, Divinity has a strong affinity for the kind of things that kids enjoy, such as "Saturday," which she emphatically declares is "the best day of the week," assisted by actress/signer Yani Marin. The Alphabet Rockers guest on "Just When You Think," reminding listeners that they're stronger when they "conquer the monster, and don't quit."

The pandemic was a mostly negative one-way drain on families and especially children, who could not always comprehend why they couldn't resume regular activities. READY SET GO! seeks to rebuild confidence and empowerment as kids begin coming out of the darkness (thanks to sensible parents and vaccine mandates, etc). "Be Yourself" advises that "you can't be nobody else." Brooklyn's Fyütch guests on "Feeling Good" with a bulletin that kids "light up a room like a halogen" when they have positive energy. Being surrounded by love is the theme of the multi-lingual "Love Love Love" with Latin Grammy winner 123 Andrés.

The world can be challenging and it's the job of responsible parents to ensure that kids blossom into happy, mentally healthy adults. Divinity Roxx gives your home a friendly dose of beat-driven power pop rock with READY SET GO!

READY SET GO! is available from Divinity Roxx's website, Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Here is the video for Divinity Roxx's song, "Ready Set Go":

Leeds Takes Holiday Lead; Organic Xmas From Formidable Veg

Grammy winner Joanie Leeds is feeling festive as winter approaches, having recorded three different songs with diverse collaborators. She and fellow PJ Library alumnus Josh Shriber (of Josh and the Jamtones fame) duet on the dance-inducing "Like A Maccabee," which should be lighting up the SiriusXM Hanukkah Channel this month. 

Fyütch sings on "Winter Wonderland," the holiday chestnut that gets a fresh coat of hiphop for 2021. It's also the first of a promised collection of Christmas tunes written by Jewish performers that's slated for release next year (by the way, "Wonderland" was not written by Irving Berlin – it's by Richard Smith and Felix Bernard). 

The topic of Christmas Eve is covered by Leeds and fellow singer Cheryl B. Engelhardt on "Till Midnight," which is all about trying to stay awake on the final countdown to family excitement, hot chocolate, and a roomful of presents. It's a bouncy paean to childhood and the days when Santa may (or may) not actually exist.

Look for all three songs on Joanie Leeds' website, Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Conscious conservationists Formidable Vegetable are also producing environmentally-friendly holiday music. The 8 Lb Gorilla Records artists from Down Under want families to remember that holidays generate much waste, from leftover food to wrapping papers. Keep your children upbeat without spoiling the mood, while promoting recycling and protecting the planet. The band has released "All I Want for Christmas Is Used," with lyrics that endorse a genuine, climate-friendly sentiment:

Edible, homemade, or original
Something indelible
Doesn't need to be physical
Renovate, compatible, for a planet that is liveable

Keep your children upbeat without spoiling the mood, while promoting recycling and protecting the planet. Formidable Vegetable cares – and shares – their wishes for a sustainable future.

Grab "All I Want for Christmas Is Used" from the band's website, Amazon, and Spotify.