"If something is really important, keep it in your underpants." -Mindy Thomas, aka Absolutely Mindy, on Kids Place Live, Sirius XM
With all of the hyper-political parody and cunning satire currently churning through every jaded channel of irate idiot boxes and addled adult podcasts, perhaps its time to take a moment to appreciate a very different kind of humor that has been quietly, but quickly reshaping the way that many American kids and their families laugh, learn, and listen to the world around them.
Mindy Thomas, aka Absolutely Mindy, starring the Recess Monkey video, "Flap Jacks"Meet Mindy Thomas, the magnetic maestro behind Sirius XM's Kids Place Live programming and the utterly enchanting spirit of early morning mayhem. As Absolutely Mindy, she helms the largely under-recognized Backseat Breakfast Club morning show on Sirius Channel 78.
The Satellite radio industry has raised its fair share of eyebrows in recent years, with subscription fees, corporate mergers, and complex debates about markets and musical rights, but now that the dust has settled somewhat, a number of exciting new outlets for all sorts of humor have arisen.
Among the most innovative and enjoyable of these forums is Kids Place Live, a channel devoted to family-friendly, G-rated kids programming that continues to surprise and delight with its frequently clever and often hilarious cast of affable characters and personalities.
More importantly, Kids Place live has almost single-handedly inspired an explosion of diverse and dynamic children's entertainment that rips through established genres and conventions with astonishing force. In fact, Kids Place Live has brought safe, fun, and rewarding radio back to children in ways that other interests, from Disney to NPR, could never quite muster. Not since the fabled days of The Lone Ranger, Little Orphan Annie, and Let's Pretend has kids' radio been so fun, loud, and different.
Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players perform one of the many musical curtains used in the Absolutely Mindy ShowMindy Thomas, Sirius' perky princess of screwiness, is a revelation of light-hearted, pixie-dusted glee and her affable address to both kids and adults is laced with a beaming, witty joy that captures both the thrilling wonder and the insistent anarchy of childhood.
Billed on the Sirius website as "a carousel of non-stop nuttiness," Mindy's Backseat Breakfast Club has inspired a newly imagined community of young listeners and bemused parents nationwide. Beginning at 7 am, carloads of freshly caffeinated drivers and briskly brushed offspring tune into Mindy, sharing in those last precious minutes of freedom and frolic before harsh institutional realities come crashing down with the dreaded school drop-off or deadlocked morning commute.
Not all parents are fans, and that's just fine, but there is no denying Mindy's intimate understanding of what makes children smile. More often than not, she takes her kooky cues from kids' own tastes and preferences. Potty humor and "Grosser than Gross" routines are common, but so are lengthy interviews with musicians, poets, and artists. Among her audience favorites are the outrageous "Birthday Missions" announced each morning in tandem with the Mission:Impossible theme and the "Breakfast Blasts Newscasts" featuring hilarious but relevant commentary from NPR's Guy Raz. The Absolutely Mindy Show also features its fair share of routine "healthy lifestyle" advice done up in wacky wrapping. These include Kira Willey's "Seatbelt Yoga Breaks" and the always astute book reviews by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of the YA Lunchlady graphic novel series.
Most importantly, though, Mindy and her media celebrate one primary theme: the absolute importance and limitless fun of Play and the multitude of benefits, inventions, and discoveries that arise from it. She constantly urges callers of all ages and listeners of every region to try new things, share wild adventures, and, even more frequently, admit to embarrassing fears, failures, and mistakes. Many of the most amusing are accompanied by a background of adult groans, chuckles, and gasps. Similar themes of fun and frantic comedy run through the shows helmed by Mindy's collaborators, including Jack Forman's Monkey House and Kenny Curtis' neurotic menagerie, the Animal Farm. In fact, Lorenzo the haphephobic llama has become something of a super-star equal to Bugs Bunny, Sponge Bob, or Rainbow Dash in the eyes of my own children and their friends.
Music itself has changed thanks to Mindy and her maniacal crew. Songs like Mike Phirman's hilarious "Who Makes the Breakfast?", Joe McDermott's "Kitty Fight", and Andrew & Polly's ridiculously catchy "Grapes" are now as familiar and famous among the playgroup set as Katy Perry hits or Disney tunes.
Mike Phirman's "Who Makes the Breakfast?" Joe McDermott's frantic "Kitty Fight" Andrew and Polly's infectious "Grapes" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69EGVrKUS24 Kristin Andreassen's "Crayola Doesn't Make a Color For Your Eyes" Chris Rice's full length epic, "Billy Joe McGuffrey" The Okee Dokee Brothers' river anthem, "Can You Canoe?" The Okee Dokee Brothers' revisit an American classic, "Haul Away Joe" The Okee Dokee Brothers' "Walking with Spring"Sure, Frozen 's "Let it Go!" and Vanilla Ice's tepid Teenage Turtle anthem are constantly reiterated to the delight of gazillions of kid listeners, but so are charming tracks like Kristin Andreassen's little known marvel, "Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes" and Chris Rice's "Billy Joe MacGuffrey." Longtime star of the children's charts, Laurie Berkner has hosted her own Kids Place Live feature as have the Aussie imports, the Wiggles. Most importantly for my own family, though, Absolutely Mindy's marvelous mixture of the eclectic and the iconic brought us all in touch with the remarkably fresh and environmentally empowering, Grammy-winning songs of the Okee Dokee Brothers, a goofy Bluegrass comedy duo whose rich folksy anthems have forever sealed our family's commitment to getting outside and explore the natural wonders of the nation.
Mindy's circus of sound, speech, and song on Kids Place Live might not delight every parent with its raucous address. The Backseat Breakfast Club will not speak to those adults who are too entwined within the sour spin machine of Bill Maher/Jamie Oliver/Stephen Colbert/Jon Stewart, or whatever splendorous smarm Andy Cohen and Jimmy Fallon hover over at the moment. What it does do, however, is keep us interested in the endless potential of childhood fun, hope, and happiness. When so much contemporary comedy is as factional, contentious, and combative as can be, the Absolutely Mindy Show is alive with mischievous innocence and family-focused frenzy. Now, that's a treasure well worth keeping in your underpants!