Jeff Bogle discusses the power behind children’s music.
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And I still believe in the saints
Yeah, in Jerry Lee
And Johnny and all the greats
I still believe in the sound
That has the power
To raise a temple and tear it down
And I still believe in the need
For guitars and drums and desperate poetry
I still believe that everyone
Can find a song for every time they’ve lost
And every time they’ve won.
– Frank Turner “I Still Believe”
I’m of the opinion that music can change the world, that the words and sounds and emotions expressed with passion and honesty by earnest young men and women behind microphone stands, drum kits, keyboards, guitars and more can and does instill in a listener the motivation to positively impact their environment and community. I know I’m not alone in thinking that three chords and the truth can move mountains in modern society. Music has always had that power and always will. Frank Turner, the folk-punk Brit I quoted above helped inspire me in my early days as a runner last year, to the point where I was quoting him in loving texts to my uber-supportive wife while sweat dripped from every part of me. My world was changed for the better once again, and once again music played a big role.
Most rational people would agree that children too are viable agents of change in the world, with small but powerful voices capable of being a force for good. I see this every day as a dad of daughters who are never short on bright ideas for making the lives of others better. Young people often look for opportunities to lend a hand, literally and figuratively, to someone or a group of someones who society might have forgotten. From what I’ve seen, the philanthropy of children knows no bounds. Their lack of cynicism coupled with a wide-eyed idealism is exactly the catalyst needed to ask better questions of ourselves and of our leaders. So I ask you, why can’t kid’s music change the world?
As brilliant and progressive as modern children’s music is, and make no mistake about it, it is both brilliant and progressive in sound, context, and getting there in the diversity of the players involved, not many would think of kid’s music as world-changing. Heck, most adults still foolish don’t think it has worth from an entertainment standpoint. Changing the world is a hurdle not many kid’s musicians have tried to jump recently.
That said, there are a number of songs from the expanding library of modern indie kid’s music that could, in subtle ways, bring about positive change in the lives of the families listening at home. Personally, Justin Roberts’ exquisite “From Scratch” immediately comes to mind because in my utopian fantasy, more kids grow up with a fondness for and appreciation of home cooked food and family mealtime. Hearing (and smelling!) his tender ballad from age 3 through their entire childhood might just improve a young person’s world and the world of their future family. That can absolutely happen because music can absolutely change the world.
Knowing how to bake brownies and enjoying the process of making a vegetable risotto with a depth of flavor worth savoring without using boxes of mixes off supermarket shelves is a worthwhile goal, but what about bigger changes? Political changes? Policy changes? Does kid’s music have a seat at that protest music table? Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger have said yes a hundred times, but not too many modern family musicians are pushing those kinds of envelopes. Thankfully, that’s about to change.
A new song is set to be released that will up the ante on the political, world-changing capabilities of kindie music, essentially retesting the waters to see if kid’s music can indeed change the world in the 21st century. Mista Cookie Jar from Los Angeles and Karen K (of The Jitterbugs) from the northeast have joined forces on “Rainbow,” a for-charity kindie anthem that will immediately draw comparisons to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Same Love” in that, with a slick thought-provoking rap accompanied by a sweet female hook, it is also a song that reflects the position of those on the just, loving, compassionate, accepting, and tolerant side of history; a side that chooses to see boys and girls not as color-coded robots fated to follow a predictable path and also a side believing that the union of ANY two consenting people willing to commit to each other for an entire lifetime is a powerful and beautiful expression worth celebrating. Legally.
“One dream, one love for each and every color
every lifestyle, culture, every other
all in it together, shiney shine your little halo
love is the way so…I will be a rainbow, I will let my star glow
I can chase the darkness into the light
I will be a rainbow, I will let my love flow
I will chase the fear back into the night
I can shine so brightWe’ve come a long way with a long way to go
the road to rainbows ain’t paved with gold
it’s paved with hard work and lifetimes of struggle.”– Mista Cookie Jar & Karen K “Rainbow”
When “Rainbow” is released on June 3rd and hits the airwaves next month, starting with my very own OWTK Podcast (the song will be a part of the mega June episode which will go live on the morning of June 1st,) the world of kid’s music will once again attempt to change the world, and somewhere, Woody and Pete will be smiling.
This article originally appeared on Cooper and Kid.
Photo courtesy of original article.