Saturday, April 23, 2022

Daria and Esther Crow Celebrate Earth Day

I could go on and on about the importance of Earth Day and how sustainability is something that everybody needs to take seriously. But I'm writing about kid's music, which means you need to run the content through the perspective of a child; being neither vengeful, judgmental, or ominous. During a program for school children a few decades back, Daria (Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou) was asked to conceptualize a song for the occasion. She used the chestnut "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and reconfigured it with the help of her students into "We've Got the Whole World In Our Hands." Their vision included not only recycling and ecology but also family and community outreach. She then took the song and crafted it into a workbook that can be used in educational programs about Earth Day.

You can hear the song on Spotify and Apple Music. Here is Daria singing "We've Got the Whole World In Our Hands":


Another performer celebrating Earth Day is New York City's Esther Crow has delivered a timely video for her song, "Stuff." The concept is easy enough to understand… you don't need to be a hoarder to find your living space overwhelmed by possessions. As her song explains, responsibility means previously-read books and used shoes can be given away to make another friend's day:

I got stuff in my closet, I got stuff in my drawers
I got stuff to deposit at the local thrift store
So much stuff that I never even wore
So much stuff I can't fit it through my door
So much stuff I can't take it anymore

The video for "Stuff" showcases the Crow fam (including 8-year-old son Vincent) and the Strawbitty Yops, under the engineering prowess of Grammy Award-winning über-producer Dean Jones. The one thing we can all agree is that there's not enough quality children's music and Esther is diligently working to overcome that oversight.

You can hear "Stuff" on Spotify and Apple Music. Here is Esther Crow's video for "Stuff":

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