I figured that sharing a song called “childhood” by a band called “Kidsø” would be the perfect opportunity to share something about my own childhood. But upon further reflection, I realize that if you’ve been reading this long enough, you already know more than enough about my childhood.
You know about my childhood bedroom. You know about my childhood Christmases. You know about the cassette tapes that my family listened to on long road trips. You know the bizarre imagination game my brother and I played intermittently for years.
But before this post turns into the blog equivalent of a flashback episode, let me give you one quick childhood memory that I haven’t told you:
I must have been something like 9 or 10 years old, and my family was visiting Ottawa; the nation’s capital. Not sure why we were there, but there was some kind of big celebration going on, so let’s say it was Canada Day.
The memory is hazy, but I remember there being a big crowd of people in an outdoor space, and there was music playing. The crowd had formed a big circle around a central place where people were dancing. Not a dance battle or anything, just a half-dozen people or so who felt the desire to dance.
And then, out of nowhere, I decided I was going to dance too. And not normal, clap-your-hands-and-move-your-feet-slightly dancing. I decided I was going to full-on breakdance and blow these people’s minds.
Did I know how to breakdance? No. No I did not.
But I wasn’t going to let that detail stop me. I hit the floor (pavement) and did some kind of dance that must have looked like a fish’s movements when it lands on the floor of a fishing boat, but with arms and legs instead of fins.
The crowd parted further, to give me more space / to protect themselves from my flailing body. I think they were cheering, but that sound may also have existed solely in my head.
I mention this in the context of this song because it’s the last memory I have of the complete inhibition that is one of childhood’s treasures, and that uninhibited joy is one of the primary emotions evoked by the music of German house duo Kidsø.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. It’s hard not to love a song that incorporates a group of kids singing on the playground. I don’t know the exact story behind the sample here, but it’s as catchy as it is heartwarming.
2. Many of the melodic and percussive elements – the finger piano, the glockenspiel – are instruments that just emanate childhood.
3. The slow-down at the end is like a music box running out of steam.
Recommended listening activity:
Learning a new hand-clapping game.