Peter Alsop‘s SONGS TO CHEW

Listen To The Beet

    Today, for your audio pleasure, we'll LISTEN TO THE BEET, as our 'Song To Chew' from my 'Grow It At Home' album.  I entered this song in a contest put on by the L.A. Unified School District where the winning songs would be included in a CD compilation, to be distributed to all the elementary school kids in Los Angeles, to get them to eat and enjoy more vegetables!  My motivation to write usually comes from some life lesson I learned.  I figure, if it's helped me get some clarity about things going on around me, why not pass this information along to kids and families who might find it useful too!  But this song, was a challenge, until I decided to have it sung by 'The Beet' himself!  We'll look at the steps I took in writing this song, because the better we understand our creative process, the better we become at "doing what we do!"  And we can avoid some of the pitfalls where we used to get stuck!  Unfortunately this song was NOT one of the finalists in the food song contest.  I have no idea why not!  Personally, I think it's a masterpiece!  Check it out and see what you think!  I’m Peter Alsop, and I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ My most recent album = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

If It Doesn’t Have Me

    Our Song To Chew this week, 'IF IT DOESN'T HAVE ME' was written by my buddy Bill Harley.  It's from our “In The Hospital" album that helps kids understand more about hospitals and doctors and nurses, and builds compassion for other kids and people who have medical difficulties.  The original inspiration for this project came from two wonderful pediatric nurses, Diane Grimm Gates and Penny Pefley.  They suggested a number of topics that would make great songs.  We got together with Bill and together won the 1989 Parent's Choice Award for Best Children’s Recording of the Year!  When a child has to be away from familiar places and people in their lives it's hard on them.  The younger a child is, the more painful the separation from parents, family, and home.  The feelings generated by this experience can develop into a sense of loneliness, isolation, depression and sometimes, "problem behaviors" such as refusal to eat, difficulty sleeping, or being uncooperative.  Kids need to know they're important to others and that they're missed, but not forgotten when they're not there.  This album has helped tens of thousands of children and families over the last 34 years.  If you have any ideas about more funding to help get this album into more hospitals and into the hands of kids and families who need it, please get in touch with me at peter@peteralsop.com.  I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now! 
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

Sometimes Si, Sometime No!

    Today our Song To Chew' is SOMETIMES SI, SOMETIMES NO!  from my 'Grow It At Home' album.  It's originally from a DVD I made for the Loma Linda University Medical Center in San Bernardino, California.  We made a video with my songs and stories to entertain andeducate the families of their patients.  Most of their patients are families from local neighborhoods in San Bernardino, that were loaded with violence and drug dealers, gang shootings and bar fights.  The kids live with domestic violence and prostitution right there where they live and go to school.  We wanted to help families learn some skills to help them cope with what they have to contend with every day.  It's difficult to make clear and simple sense out of the complex patterns and experiences we have growing up.  This is where our "Sometimes Si, Sometimes No!" philosophy comes in.  When we understand that life continually has its ups and downs, it becomes clear that there's no point in 'giving up!' As the song says, "that's the way of life!"  The way to a better life is to keep on looking for new solutions!  When we keep trying, things change! Doors open and expose us to ideas we would not have seen if we had given up!  This is how we build the skills we need to survive difficult times.
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

Poop Goes The Weasel

    Our SONG TO CHEW this week is POOP GOES THE WEASEL.  I wrote it to help parents engage their little kids in the process of getting toilet trained.  When I perform this song live, I use a weasel or otter hand puppet to demonstrate as we sing together.  Laughing at poop and fart jokes and anything to do with the toilet seems to appeal much more to guys than to girls.  We probably think they're funny because we're not supposed to talk about this stuff, but it's mostly grown-ups who made up that rule!  Adults are embarrassed and uncomfortable around this subject, but kids seem to love it!  Even if little girls think farting is funny, they almost always grow out of it, but boys still think it's a riot even when we get to be old men!!  I know this song has had an impact in the world.  Lots of parents report that this is their kid's favorite song!  I got a cel phone call from an upset Mom in Florida, who called to complain that she had her son and his friend in the car on the way to pre-school, when "Poop Goes The Weasel" came on the radio.  The boys laughed so hard that her son wet his pants in the backseat! She had to take them home to get dry clothing, before taking them back to school.  She suggested I put a warning on the album to let parents know that this kind of thing may happen in their family too!!  Subscribe to my podcast and I’ll see you next week with another ‘Song to Chew’! 
~ Listen/subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast anywhere you get podcasts or =
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ My most recent album = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads
 

The Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa and God

From my “Chris Moose Holidays” album, our SONG TO CHEW this week is THE TOOTH FAIRY, EASTER BUNNY, SANTA & GOD.  They're all stories that most of us have heard since we were little.  Each of them a bit mysterious and none of them willing to simply show themselves, to prove to us that they're real.  They require some level of belief.  We've seen hints of their existence; a dollar under our pillow, an Easter basket at the end of our bed, or Christmas presents under our tree on Christmas morning, (maybe some cookie crumbs from the cookies and milk we left for Santa on Christmas Eve.)  Each of them a source of great expectations and at times, ... the cause of great disappointments.  Today, we'll chew on the idea that when a story has some spirit that touches you, ... you can hold it in your heart and make it true.  I'm Peter Alsop.  Follow this podcast, and I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’!
~ Listen/subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast anywhere you get podcasts or =
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ My most recent album = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads
 

No Excuse T’Use Booze

   Our 'Song To Chew' this week, is NO EXCUSE T'USE BOOZE from my “Stayin' Over” album.  There are an estimated 5.3 million kids under the age of 17 in this country who have a serious drinking problem.  When I wrote this song, 'Honky Boy Pete' popped into my mind, told he was a 'recovering alcoholic' and he wanted to talk to the kids, if I didn't mind.  He explains some of the down-side things that happen when kids and other people drink booze to medicate their painful feelings.  One out of four kids in the U.S. currently live in alcoholic homes, and less than one out of ten gets any information about how to cope with pressures that exist in these homes.  There aren't simple answers to fix things for these kids, but I know that when kids feel 'loved', they find it easier to like themselves.  Unhappy kids who use alcohol to medicate painful feelings, are following examples set by unhappy adults.  Most grown-ups admit that drinking "booze" is not a healthy habit, and yet millions of us still choose to drink alcoholic beverages rather than pick up a glass of water.  As Honky Boy says, "Sometimes life’s a drag, an’ it’s tough t’be a kid, but you’ll make it fine without drugs an’ booze, lots of other people did!" I’m Peter Alsop.  Thanks for stopping by.  I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now! 
 
~ Listen/subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast anywhere you get podcasts or =
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ My most recent album = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

High Standards

    Our SONG TO CHEW this week, HIGH STANDARDS, was written by my dear friend Bob Blue.  This song was part of my conference presentations and part of my personal story.  Our parents who love us, want us to do the best we can, but sometimes they forget that kids need time to play and relax and explore our relationships.  Getting straight 'A's' in school, doesn't mean we know how to have a happy and meaningful life.  This song models how forgiveness and humor can help us heal and find a healthier story than a repeating self-narrative of "I'm never enough."  We each deserve to be loved for just being alive, regardless of the 'things' we do.  What we do, is NOT who we are.  And when we chase 'perfection', we learn to become "human doings" instead of "human beings".  When we forgive ourselves, we can begin to move ahead in our lives.  I'll see you again next week, with another ‘Song to Chew
~ Listen/subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast =
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ My most recent album = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

Let ’Em Laugh

    This week's 'Song To Chew' is LET 'EM LAUGH from my "Take Me With You!“ album.  One of the toughest things we face as humans is being laughed at and 'shunned' or ridiculed by others.  Usually, the 'butt of the joke' is someone who appears or acts differently than most people.  There's never a good excuse to single someone out for ridicule, especially for differences over which they have no control; like their race or size or their disability or sexual orientation.  And sometimes, we're the 'different person'.  So when other people do this to us, it says much more about their own fears of being rejected, than it does about us!  I wrote this song to model for kids and adults how other people's laughter and teasing can be 'reframed', when we understanding that most of those folks have to look outside of themselves for their sense of self-worth.  That's why other people's opinions of them are so important to them.  It takes a much stronger 'sense-of-self' to look inside, and NOT follow the crowd, and know that 'who we are, and what we're doing is okay!'  I'm so glad you stopped by.  I'll be back again next week with another ‘Song to Chew'! 
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://peteralsop.podbean.com  or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads