Be Mindful with These New Albums

There are so many great things about being a kid including the freedom to run, to explore, and let your imagination run wild. But there are lots of hard things about being a kid too, not the least of which is being filled with emotions from the highest highs to the lowest lows and not knowing how to handle them. This can make everyday life difficult under normal circumstances and almost stifling during overwhelming events like a pandemic. That is why I’m highlighting two albums this week – one to help children express how they are feeling and another to help them find a calm, peaceful place inside themselves.

A Mind of Your Own by The Bright Siders is the result of a musical collaboration between child psychiatrist Kari Goff, M.D. and Americana songwriter Kristin Andreassen and released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. The ten original songs on this album feature a talented group of guest stars including The War and Treaty on the opening track, “The Song About Songs” which explores all the reasons why people sing songs, Oh Pep! on the retro pop “You Do You” about being yourself because you’re cool just the way you are, and Kaia Kater on the country vibe “Forever Friends” that acknowledges how difficult it is to move and make new friends while still holding your old life in your heart. The remaining songs on the album explore what to do with feelings of anger and sadness and how to deal with being bullied. Even though the songs cover a variety of musical genres, they work well together with the exception of “Bully This” which has an aggressive punk feel to it. While this works well as a single and perfectly pairs with the empowering message of standing up to a bully, the tone is jarring when listening to the album in its entirety. Skits are sprinkled throughout the album as lead-ins to many of the songs and follow-up extension activities called “Try this at home…” are included in the liner notes. A Mind of Your Own‘s overarching message of acknowledging your feelings and dealing with them in a constructive manner is one that we all need to hear, no matter what our age.

Follow up the music of The Bright Siders with the nine quiet, gentle tracks of Yoga Dreamland from Putumayo Kids.  Created by musician and yoga instructor Seán Johnson and Putumayo founder Dan Storper, this collection features beautiful music from around the world including songs from India, Senegal, Poland, Japan, and Ireland as well as a Latin American lullaby and a Tibeten meditative piece. With songs ranging in length from 2:oo minutes to 5:30 minutes listeners can pick and choose which tune best fits their needs. A 24-page booklet accompanies the album and showcases children doing a variety of simple yoga poses that will help to prepare their minds and bodies for bed. Yoga Dreamland is set to be released on March 5. Join Yoga Dreamland co-curator Seán Johnson on March 13 at 7:00 pm ET for a special Facebook live yoga event (https://www.facebook.com/Putumayo) for children and their families to celebrate the release of the album.

NEW Children’s Music Label – 8 Pound Gorilla Records

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a Youth Services librarian in a medium sized suburban library. A couple of weeks ago, the relevancy of CDs came up in a networking group of children’s librarians. The question was – are the children’s music collections in public libraries still being checked out? Roughly 90% of the respondents said that even before the pandemic folks had stopped checking the music out and that they had either already removed their music collections or were in the process of doing so. Even though streaming music and viewing music videos on YouTube are on the rise, I still found myself surprised by this, especially since our music collection still sees a lot of use. Shortly after that, a call went out among youth library staff in a national networking group looking for songs on a certain theme. The majority of the suggestions made were songs by artists who have been used in programs for years and years. Both of these discussions raised the questions for me – How do we get library staff to move beyond the old standbys? And how will our families learn of new, exciting, diverse performers with songs that don’t sound like stereotypical children’s music, if we don’t introduce them through the physical CD or our programs?  That’s where 8 Pound Gorilla Records comes in.

A division of the Nashville based 800 Pound Gorilla Media, 8 Pound Gorilla Records is the first foray into children’s music by company founders Ryan Bitzer and Damion Greiman. Employing custom marketing strategies, unique digital branding and analytics-driven audience-building tactics Bitzer and Greiman hope to bring this under-served genre into the spotlight. As Bitzer notes, “There’s a veritable treasure-trove of talented artists around the world making high-quality, family-oriented music that remains largely unknown to mainstream audiences. 8 Pound Gorilla Records is building a platform for this genre that will bring increased awareness and opportunities for these talented performers. We’re partnering with the best independent kids’ musicians on the planet to help build a community of music and joy for families everywhere.”

And just how are they finding these kids’ musicians? With the assistance of the incomparable Kenny Curtis, of Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live fame. In his role heading up the A&R curation at 8 Pound Gorilla Records, Curtis’s depth of children’s music knowledge aided in putting together an impressive initial roster of artists including GRAMMY-nominated SaulPaul, Latin GRAMMY winners The Lucky Band, Frances England, Elliott Park, Genevieve Goings, and GRAMMY winner Tim Kubart, as well as Mike Phirman, Erica Rabner, Rabbit!, Raii & Whitney, DJ WillyWow and Australia’s Formidable Vegetable. If this is just the initial roster, I can’t wait to see who they will add next!

While the fate of the physical album still remains to be seen, the arrival of this new label signals a broader recognition of the value of children’s music. As educators, librarians, and artists, we’ve known for years how amazing and powerful children’s music is; it’s time for the rest of the world to know it too.  Welcome to children’s music 8 Pound Gorilla Records! We’re glad you’re here.

 

“Black People Who Changed the World” performed by Miss Jessica

To continue celebrating Black History Month, let’s visit Miss Jessica’s World, a new YouTube channel of lively,engaging videos that feature books, music and an appreciation for a variety of cultures. Today, I’d like to highlight Miss Jessica’s video “Black People Who Changed the World” a fun combination of music, dance, and spoken word that spotlights dozens of Black people from throughout history. Miss Jessica breaks the song down into segments, each featuring a different collection of people including  – musicians, authors and scientists, athletes, actors, freedom fighters, and a U.S. President (it’s clear that Miss Jessica is a big fan of this guy!) and Vice President. Those mentioned in the song span history from Jesse Owens to Amanda Gorman.

In addition to photos of each person mentioned in the song, all of the lyrics appear across the bottom of the video in an easy to read font and the pacing of the song is just right, allowing for listeners/viewers to catch each name as it goes by. Throughout the video Miss Jessica performs a fun dance during the chorus which will definitely get viewers up and moving. Take a listen, try out your dance moves and celebrate. It’s Miss Jessica’s World and you’re going to enjoy being in it! 

“Black Women in History” performed by Fyütch

Fyütch is an incredible one-of-a-kind performer. He’s the master of the theme song remix, a social justice artist, an entertainer who combines music and visuals in new, inclusive ways (ASL plus a slow jam = awesome!) and family music performer. Last fall he debuted the fantastic “Indigenous Peoples Day Song for Kids” and just two weeks ago premiered his newest family music offering – “Black Women in History” which features Rissi Palmer and Snooknuk. 

One of the things that elevates the song and video “Black Women in History” is that rather than focus on women that we are all familiar with, Fyütch instead chooses to weave lesser known, but equally important, historical figures like Fannie Lou Hamer, Juno Frankie Pierce, and Claudette Colvin  into the song’s narrative. Not only does Fyütch weave them in, but he draws a line through history showing how the groundbreakers paved the way for today’s amazing women. A great example of this is highlighting Rebecca Crumpler, the first Black woman with a medical degree followed by the first Black, female veterinarians and ending with Dr. Kizzy who helped create the COVID-19 vaccine. Photographs of each woman mentioned in the song appear throughout the video. The lyrics are displayed on the screen in an easy to read manner that adds to the depth of the song by ensuring that listeners don’t miss a single thing. Enjoy this tour through history then ask your local library to help you find more information about these awe-inspiring women!