All the best kindie songs from the last month including this year's Grammy nominees, holiday hits, and a big collab!
Photo: Doctor Noize
Here is yet another look at the kindie scene and all the new songs and singles we had seen this month.
A few days before this article was written, the Grammy nominees were out and I was checking out two of the nominees under the Best Children's Album category. And two of the nominated albums really resonate that much. This article will also touch on the amazing discoveries in the genre last month, including a slew of seasonal songs.
To start things off, let's take a look at two of the nominated albums:
All The Ladies
(Joanie Leeds, various artists)
Photo: Joanie Leeds on Facebook
This really is one of the standouts in all the Grammy nominees in the Best Children's Album sector. Joanie Leeds is one of kindie's fastest growing names, having made nine albums and won several awards. She has joined forces with another rising kindie star, Grammy winner Lucy Kalantari to make this album paying tribute to the power of women empowerment.
Joanie and Lucy have recruited key female artists in the world of kindie including Lori Henriques (who performed for naturalist Jane Goodall), Lisa Loeb (who was nominated for a Grammy back in 2018) and Polly Hall (who forms the other half of the duo of Andrew & Polly)
In this album, they come together to celebrate the achievements and the struggles of the female community and encourages women to speak out, stay strong and break the stereotypes that have been associated with women.
One of my favorite songs in this album is one called "RBG" and here, Joanie sings about her admiration for the late, great US Supreme Court justice. I like the fact that she put all her passion and devotion for the notorious lawmaker. Another favorite song of mine in this album is called "If Girls Ruled the World", featuring Polly Hall of Andrew & Polly. It shows the vision of an all-female world and how girls can really be powerful leaders. I appreciate how they really aspire for a world that makes women stand up and be counted. My favorite of all the songs is "Beautiful" from Lucy Kalantari. It is for me, perhaps the best song from the entire album. I like that it tells women to appreciate the beauty they posses inside, be proud of it and not be let down be any negative words about them. Not to mention, the way Lucy sings this song, the message she is trying to impart, and how the lyrics are, it can easily be likened to Christina Aguilera's 2002 hit single of the same title.
All in all, this is a very moving and inspiring tribute to the power women can have to change the world, brought to you by some of kindie's best. No wonder it got nominated for a Grammy in the Best Children's Album category. You must hear this, it's gonna move you.
SPOTIFY LINKS: https://open.spotify.com/album/0oQP62JgwaH4FUTMoGKuCh?si=mS0dtsy2SzKcM2cAweouow (for the album)
ARTIST LINKS: http://www.joanieleeds.com/
Be A Pain - An Album for Young (and Old) Leaders
(Alastair Moock)
Photo from Facebook page of artist mentioned above
This album is at the same level as "All The Ladies" mentioned above, but this tackles different aspects of leadership and taking charge and fighting for causes that matter to you the most.
It covers very broad aspects of standing up and fighting back against things like discrimination, climate change, and corrupt and abusive leaderships. It also feels reminiscent of Guy Raz and his leadership podcast, "How I Built This"
One of my favorite songs from this is the title song, and it describes how much "pain" and negative responses that fighters such as Martin Luther King, Greta Thunberg, Billie Jean King, and the March For Our Lives activists had to go through to be heard. It resonates with me as many of today's fearless fighters are facing such struggles, including among others, the global Climate Strikes and the Black Lives Matter movement in America. It also is very relevant as the Grammy nominees in Best Children's Album have no key Black names, and it reminds the Kindie community to "be a pain"
Another favorite track of mine is called "Everybody was a Kid" and it shows that all great influencers of yesterday and today started young and dreaming of a better world at such a ripe age.
All in all, this album celebrates the power of standing up and always fighting for a better world and champions the spirit of game-changing leaders.
SPOTIFY LINKS: https://open.spotify.com/album/5nDOikFiHs1P1jJUv5YgTk?si=NTkz_RAgQEW-5ArzIaIHzQ (for the album)
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5NwLASbIjDj6FUgaEa1NMz?si=no-TK6OyQnylCAPOjUTY1A (for Alastair Moock)
ARTIST LINKS: https://moockmusic.com/
From the Grammy nominees, we now move on to two seasonal tracks.
I'm A Turkey
(The Pop Ups)
Photo from Facebook page of artist mentioned above
Thanksgiving came and went for folks in the United States like no other year. But Grammy winners and kindie powerhouses The Pop Ups wanted to lighten the mood as the pandemic caused the holiday to turn bleak.
Of course, if you've seen in my previous Kindie Hit List for Halloween, they make very upbeat pop-inspired songs that get kids to jump up and dance. This is no exception.
I really do love the effort that The Pop Ups had made to make Thanksgiving of 2020 less gloomy and lift the spirits of families. This song celebrates the fun of the holidays and mixes it in with some head-bobbing, hip-shaking, foot-stomping music. The perfect blend for not-so-perfect times.
And even if you live in a country that does not celebrate Thanksgiving, you'll fall for this tune!
Want more of The Pop Ups? Check them out on social media and on Spotify!
ARTIST LINKS: https://thepopups.com/ (website)
Up On The Housetop
(The Laurie Berkner Band)
Laurie Berkner and her band member, Susie Lampert
Photo from Facebook page of artist mentioned above
Of all the amazing kindie artists out there, I really love and admire Laurie Berkner. During the pandemic, she has done several virtual shows to uplift families who have admired her band and also lure in newcomers to her community (including me!) She's been very kind and appreciative of her fans now more than ever, giving them greetings and shout-outs to them during her Facebook Lives and liking some of the comments given on her Facebook. I consider myself lucky to have my posts and comments liked by Laurie Berkner herself and even requested a shout-out at her FB live a few weeks ago! (As in the live concert I referred to in my previous Kindie Hit List for Halloween) And also, after the spate of typhoons that have hit my home country, the Philippines, I sent a call (over Twitter) to the growing kindie artist community to give aid to those affected by typhoons Rolly and Ulysses, which have caused massive destruction. Laurie was one of those who listened, saying that she will ask her fans to donate to the Philippine Red Cross.
With all that said, I gotta say that she treated me well and almost always listened to my pleas and also liked every message and comment I send her.
But enough descriptions. I have to get to her holiday tune.
Her rendition of the seasonal classic "Up On The Housetop" is very fun to sing and dance along to, especially if you have younger children. or wanna re-live your innocence during this holiday season, when we are celebrating under social distancing.
It has all the upbeat fast-paced and very exciting quirks that Laurie Berkner has become known for. The song is very heartfelt and is something that kids and grown-ups can appreciate. It really adds a very special touch for kids who love Berkner and also gives a little spark of joy and fun in a season marred with uncertainty.
In other words, Laurie wanted to bring the merry back into Christmas this year, and that, I will admire upon for years to come.
Photo from Facebook page of artist mentioned above
Oh, and speaking of Laurie Berkner, after a string of Facebook Lives in the past month, she is having a virtual holiday concert this coming December 13th, US time. It features her former bandmate, Susie Lampert and she will be doing some picks from her holiday album "A Laurie Berkner Christmas" as well as other songs and will be virtually interacting with her fans with games and polls. Not to mention a virtual meet-and-greet session! Tickets cost around US$20 per family but there is a "need-based" option of US$10 for those struggling during the pandemic. The show happens on December 13th, Sunday at 12nn/5pm US Eastern, 9am/2pm US Pacific, 17:00/22:00 GMT, 6pm/11pm Paris, and on Monday, December 14th, at 1am/6am Singapore/Hong Kong/Manila, 2am/7am Tokyo/Seoul, and 3am/8am Sydney. Further details on her social media.
And while you're at it, why not check out Laurie's Christmas album?: https://open.spotify.com/album/69DRzzTTdQ4oPRv1a5sFcB?si=T6dMA7AIQ6ynepsGQm3Ddw
ARTIST LINKS: https://laurieberkner.com/ (Website)
Now that we have covered the holiday tracks, we now conclude with a powerful kindie collaboration!
Positive Energy
(Doctor Noize)
Photo from Facebook page of artist mentioned above
One of kindie's well-known names, Doctor Noize, has thought about something to bring the kindie community together and uplift their fans, sort of like a 2020 version of "We Are The World". Looking at issues like climate change and people becoming more environmentally conscious under quarantine. He also wanted to make something very upbeat to boost the moods of families and even the artists mentioned in this song as their in-person engagements have been called off due to the pandemic.
He decided to call on some of the finest names in the kindie universe, from Grammy winners to local superstars. They featured such names that you may recognize from my previous post about songs from Halloween and also names mentioned earlier in this post, such as Grammy nominee Joanie Leeds, Grammy winner Lucy Kalantari, my favorite podcasters and kindie duo Andrew & Polly, esteemed kindie songwriter Tim Kubart, kid's reggae songwriter Ziggy Marley (son of the legendary Bob Marley), kid's hip-hop leader Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, and emerging kindie powerhouse Lori Henriques.
This can also be likened to Lil Dicky's 2019 single "Earth". And the thing here is that they watered it down for kids very well that they managed to make it fun for families, that as they put coal under the label of "farts" and that it is a positive reminder: We can make a change for the planet. Not to mention the proceeds from each and every stream of this song go to causes like environmental awareness and remote learning.
Looking for an instant head-banging mood-booster? This is it!!
Not to mention his latest COVID-borne project, Homemade, is where this song is borne from and also is sort of an audio play based on the experiences of the artist and his family during the pandemic, having adventures in his head.... You MUST check it out if you love this song!
His website also lists down (FREE) resources related to the album: https://www.doctornoize.com/musical-recordings/homemade-album/
ARTIST SOCIALS: Facebook
ARTIST LINKS: https://www.doctornoize.com/ (Website)
And there you have it! All my kindie picks for the month of November! Hope you get to savor and enjoy the amazing sounds of these cool kindie artists! Support them while you can to make their holidays brighter!
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