“Every book is a children's book, if the kid can read.”
—Mitch Hedberg
It’s a funny joke—and not least because it’s so obviously wrong, right? I mean, for certain, there are books that are NOT appropriate for kids.
Same with music. From 2004 through 2009, I co-hosted (with one or both of my elementary age kids) a “Children’s Music” program on community radio, back in Central Illinois. The radio station had volunteer DJs (called “airshifters”) who each championed their own format. There was a blues show. An old-time folk/country show.
There was even an avant guarde show that featured non-musical “music” like recordings of moose calls and clanking machinery…what can I say? They let that dude have his show on at a very late time slot.
But anyway, for well over five years (263 times, if memory serves) every Saturday morning we’d go down to the station and do our thing.
The thing was—it wasn’t just children’s music. We were a ‘No Barney, No Raffi’ zone. None of that infantilized nonsense. It was anything and everything, as long as it was age-appropriate (no explicit sexual reference, drug references, and such). We’re talkin’ Doctor Demento meets Mister Rogers. Truly “anything goes” radio: for example, we might cut in, in the middle of a song, and start singing along. Or we might do a running commentary (to make fun of it, it if warranted) on it.
People liked it. One particular pledge season we were the second-best “donated to” show at the station.
We did bits. We did mock promos. Here’s an old script for one. My oldest son was 6 when we started, but he was precocious…I was typically the straight man. (NOTE: I looked it up: He was actually seven years old on this episode)
7: “This portion of [our Christmas Special] is brought to you by ELVES. Thaaaaaat's right, ELVES. ELVES. Short and sweet and they've got pointed feet. ELVES. They're jolly and industrious. And whether they're cobbling shoes or fighting orcs, they're handy in a pinch. ELVES. originally from Norse mythology, one elven king was named Alf, who ruled a land called ALFHEIM but later went on to even greater glory starring on a popular television sitcom. ELVES. In Finland, they're called "Huldefolk"…”
Me: “Wait, Son, are you Finnish?”
7: “Almost, Dad. Just a few more…”
You know. Like that.
But, as for musical playlists, ours was (bar none) the most eclectic at the station. And why not? All genres were possible (as long as we stayed age appropriate). I remember, one time, we played in order:
√ “Morning Lullabies”, Ingrid Michaelson;
√ “Take You Back”, Frank Stallone (from the “Rocky” soundtrack);
√ the classic “Superstition”, by Stevie Wonder; and
√ “Spider-Man Theme (Junkie XL Mix)”, by Michael Bublé
at which point Master D—the most experienced airshifter at the entire station, who’d been napping in the great room—burst into the booth and yelled at us:
“Man, you know how to throw down!!”
Truly one of my favorite memories. And it was made all the more sweet because it was something I was doing with my son.
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So, why mention this here? Well, our foundation is yet another family endeavor (my younger son, and even my wife would even take part in the radio show, eventually—and the entire familiy is on the Board of the Foundation, natch).
But, it turned out: the story of our radio show wasn’t over. You see, another family decided to do the same thing on a different station in the same town. It was still a non-profit station, but (we’d become low-level celebs in our small town, people would recognize our voices at the grocery store, etc) another family, a man and his two daughters tried to do a similar show.
But, as with so many things, they learned the wrong lesson: the father was an activist and so he used the show to introduce his activism, and not music per se or any specific cultural norms, to his little girls.
The girls were also elementary age (one was a pre-teen, I think). So, they would routinely start talking about criminal sexual behavior, war in Palestine, whatever the hell struck the Dad’s fancy. Whatever was the hot-button news topic of the day.
Even then, I could see the tension—yes, we have to educate our kids. But, let’s give them room to be kids, first, for a while.
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I sometimes still think about that activity (our show) and contrast it with what families are doing now since the advent of social media.
We’ve all seen how society has been atomized—Family members around the house, kids on the playground, people on the bus—all staring down at their phones, ignoring the humans around them right there in THE REAL WORLD™ (a little thing I’m attempting to rebrand as the “Realternet”—you know, so maybe the kid’ll get interested...pass it on).
But, just as an example, there was absolutely nothing that I was doing there at the radio station that any parent couldn’t do now, with today’s technology. What a wonderful activity: sit down with your kiddo, make a playlist, and record yourselves doing a show!
But how many of us today use technology like that? Or do we mostly use it for distraction, or just for a repeated dopamine rush?
No, today, the platforms use us, we don’t use them. We are the playlist. We provide the data to the algorithms. We provide the content for their other users.
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And that’s still what’s at the heart of Media Literacy. Back when I was a kid, Media Literacy meant understandning that, on Saturday mornings watching TV, I was the product—not the breakfast cereal on the commercial. My eyeballs (and my parents’ money) were being packaged and sold to advertisers.
Well, now the technology has leapfrogged forward. Say hello to the algorithms. Now we are not just the product, we are the tools. Inherently addictive cycles of dopamine injection, repeated over again and again, to extract whatever data or attitudes that the companies who own the platforms might require from u$.
When congress made inroads a few weeks back towards a national TikTok ban, the platform mobilized and, using its algorithms, it prompted its users (along with some misinformation), to get people of all ages (including kids), to flood the US Congress with pleadings to hold off. Of course, these messages also included threats of harm, as well as many young folks threatening self-harm (suicide) and the like.
This will be the theme of this newsletter moving forward. How can we co-exist with the algos? And I mean, AT LEAST, as equals—and maybe even (this is aspirational, I know) put them back in their proper place, supporting us in our cool and important endeavors.
NOTE: Those of you who want, please put in the comments below a playlist that you and your kids (and they can be grown ones, mind you) have co-compiled. Let’s have fun, people!
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A Few Other Tidbits
√ Happy Erase Self-Negativity Day (April 10th). I can think of no more positive thing to share, esp. in keeping with the song theme, than this!
√ Upcoming Topics:
What’s Reality Ever Done For Me, Anyway?
What’s the Deal with Pre-Teens and Tech? (gradual interview with Dr. Marc A.)
Progress. Is it real: Yes? No?
Lived Experience versus Experiential Lessons
Thanks, everyone. Take Care!
_Mark