Everyone is looking for synergies these days. Collaboration across genres and cultures has never been hotter. But can anyone top the moment Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker took to the stage at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, to join the Wiggles in an epic jam?
No chance. Here was Parker, electric guitar in hand, jamming along on Elephant, a song about an Elephant that the Wiggles covered, giving it big licks with a “fruit salad, yummy yummy” chorus.
And then they performed Hot Potato, too, turning that I-IV-V progression into a high-energy celebration of carbohydrates.
Good luck getting those hooks out of your head.
Children of all ages can learn something from the Wiggles. The Australian children’s TV institution is edutainment in a very real way, teaching the young ones that foodstuffs such as broccoli are rich in Vitamins F, U and N, and maybe giving us older viewers the chance to perfect our timekeeping, to play in the pocket with ‘the Wiggle Groove.’
Children’s entertainers nail the fundamentals – melody, timing and groove – and the Wiggles are the best in the business. Besides, the greatest songs have always had a simplicity to them that could work for children, too. That was part of the magic of Nirvana, not to mention the Beatles. And what child does not enjoy Metallica’s Black Album? Exactly.
After this successful cross-cultural exchange, who else should join the Wiggles onstage? Steve Vai and his Hydra? Malmsteen!? Joe Bonamassa for John Henry Goes to Nursery? Heck, Hot Potato would be putty in his hands.
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