Super Wiggles Rocket Into Another Decade

Some day, somebody in Australia will write the definitive story about The Wiggles. The children's music supergroup has juggled personnel over the years, undergone more than its fair share of turmoil and controversy, lost a major American television contract (with Disney), yet still perseveres as one of the most well-known kids acts of the 21st century. Their latest CD, SUPER WIGGLES, shows they are still a force to be reckoned with.

The latest turnover occurred when Emma left the troupe and was replaced by Ethiopian-Australian Tseshay Hawkins as the "new Yellow Wiggle." The fact that a dancer replaced the "ballerina" color just emphasizes that the Wiggles have morphed into a brand over the decades, with the next generation of cast assuming the established traits of their predecessors. For instance, Purple Wiggle Lachy inherited Jeff Fatt's exaggerated narcolepsy (i.e., "Wake Up Lachy!").

After four decades of music, filmed segments, and international touring, the Wiggles have become adept at bending their material to "market tastes." It's not disingenuous to say the band has become completely woke, with a rap break on "Is There A Superhero Around?" a perfunctory song about safety ("Put Your Life Vest On"), and tunes that celebrate diversity ("Super Ballet Man" and "Sing Together"):

Some people like to kick a ball
Some people like to play with dolls
Other people like to go shopping
Everyone together, let's all sing

For a concept album aimed at very young children, SUPER WIGGLES can declare victory for delivering on its stated promise. The collection introduces the group to new listeners, as well as revving up their existing fan base. There's also a new Fruit Salad TV YouTube series featuring even more newer faces. The Wiggles keep movin' on (with their updated Big Red Car) and that's just super.

SUPER WIGGLES is available at the band's website, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and Amazon.

Here is the video for the band's song, "Sunflower Power":

Ben's Playlist - Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Stars – Ants Ants Ants
Only One for Me – Danny Weinkauf
Relive This Song Again – Greg Lato
Truth (ft. Kelli Welli, Mo Phillips, Saul Paul) – Aaron Nigel Smith & Red Yarn
Superpowers – Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
When February Comes – Justin Roberts
I'm an Optimist – Dog On Fleas

Twinkle Time Gets Animated for PBS

For more than 10 years, children's music recording artist Twinkle Time (aka Alitzah Weiner) has cultivated a larger-than-life persona. Now her peppy, upbeat character is entertaining kids as the co-host of "Sound Snatcher and Twinkle Time," on PBS's WQLN in Pennsylvania. The interstitial shorts run between the channel's regularly-scheduled kids programming, such as CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG, CYBERCHASE, and DINOSAUR TRAIN.

Sound Snatcher and Twinkle Time on PBS

Literacy educators Heather Kenny and Laura Robbins devised a phonemic awareness program to teach smaller children to read using using sounds. A couple of years ago, they teamed up with the animation team at Mark Lumer Productions to create "Sounder and Friends," about a raccoon who uses colorful visuals and sounds to teach basic literacy skills. "The animation house reached out during the summer of 2020 asking if I was interested in collaborating," Alitzah explains. "Our conversations evolved into a spinoff series featuring Twinkle Time interacting with Sound Snatcher."

Although Alitzah and producer/husband James Dallas were not given carte blanche, they had significant input on the finished segments; something they did not expect when working with an established animation company. "The situation was so amazing," she says. "I actually got to write the material and direct my vision of where we wanted the live action to go."

The concept of "Sound Snatcher and Twinkle Time" is simple – a cat stuck in a tree is transformed into a kite to be rescued, or a bow in Twinkle's hair is turned into a bone to be used as a birthday gift. "It's another way to teach character-building in different languages and inspirational methods through song and dance," she adds. "And I got to contribute educational-based programming for PBS."

Originally, six episodes were developed, but producers opted to cut them into two-part stories, varying from 35 to 95 seconds. PBS is not inferring that small children have short attention spans, but this isn't GONE WITH THE WIND. "Right now, the interstitials are playing throughout the day on WQLN, which serves Erie County as well as parts of New Jersey," Alitzah says. "They are also rolling out on the national PBS.ORG site."

Due to the programming schedule on WQLN, the segments air multiple times during the day. Eventually, all 12 episodes will be uploaded to the PBS Kids website and made available to other public broadcasting stations across the country. Starting on August 1, the episodes will drop one at a time on the Sounder and Friends YouTube page. "So yeah, look for Sound Snatcher, that cute little raccoon, and me with orange hair," Alitzah laughs.

Here is the Sound Snatcher and Twinkle Time episode, "Give A Dog a Bow":