Peter Alsop‘s SONGS TO CHEW

Latest Episodes:

What If? Oct 28, 2022

Show notes

This week our SONG TO CHEW is "WHAT IF?" When we don't understand what's going on around us, we create stories to explain what might be going on! And that's when our over-active imaginations take off and amplify our worst fears. This process can stop us in our tracks and make things worse! So, this song takes a look at how we can change our stories, and our reactions, and learn how to 'respond' instead of 'react'. Most of us don't like to admit that we're scared, (especially us men and boys), but the stories we tell ourselves about what's going on, are often much more frightening than the reality of the situation! So how do we stop feeling frightened? Instead of dwelling on our fears, we can lighten things up with some humor to help us get through what's going on. It's true! The stories that scare us, or disempower us, or push our 'buttons', can be changed! We can actually learn to pause, look at what's going on around us, and then respond in a more balanced way. When my brain is full of fear, I'm not thinking straight, but if I can think of silly or ridiculous things to inject into my story, I make myself laugh, and that simple change helps me see options that I never would have seen, if I'd stayed locked in my fears! And it's something we can practice doing! Just because something's serious, doesn't mean it's not funny! I’m Peter Alsop. Please let your friends know about this podcast, and I’ll see you 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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

New Games Oct 21, 2022

Show notes

Our SONG TO CHEW today is called NEW GAMES, from my “Pluggin' Away” album. Almost all games we play in this world of ours are competitive, and it would be great to change that, so we have more choices about ways we can collectively play together. Most games are designed with very clear rules, structured so players can build skills in outsmarting or outmaneuvering each other in order to win. A big part of growing up is testing ourselves to see what we can do. We compare ourselves to others and we feel great when we see that we measure up. Losing can be a big disappointment though. Most of us pick ourselves up afterwards, and try again. Some of us, though, have been disappointed so often that we stop trying. That's when competition can be most harmful. Sometimes winning isn't so much fun either! Especially when the game has one winner and all the rest of the players can feel like 'losers', ... right?! Some of us learned that working hard at play is the only way to play, and winning is the only thing that matters, when actually, that isn't play at all, it's work! Remember, if it feels like work, it probably IS work! Cooperative games teach us skills for getting along with each other. We learn to set healthy boundaries and take care of ourselves by having fun! We learn communications skills and experience the joy of caring friendships and creative problem solving for the fun of it, not out of fear that we'll lose. We need support and encouragement and safe places to learn new skills. I’m Peter Alsop. Thanks for stopping 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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

Letter To Mr. Brown Oct 14, 2022

Show notes

Our SONG TO CHEW this week, LETTER TO MR. BROWN, is from my “Take Me With You” album. When I wrote this in 1986, there was a backlash going on because so many child sexual abuse cases were coming out in the news. Everyone who worked with children; teachers, boy scout leaders, choir directors, even parents became very careful about not touching children at all, unless it was absolutely necessary, because they were afraid, they might get in trouble. This song helps us talk openly about the effect these kinds of fears have on us. It models healthy, and safe ways that adults might touch children as we physically help them go through their day. Our kids need to know that they're important, loved and cared for, and touching them lets them know that in a very powerful way that no words can quite convey. Kids need safe touching, because when they're not touched appropriately, they're even more susceptible to inappropriate touching! Lots of other questions come up as we discuss these ideas with our children, so I hope you will take the time to do that. And it's always okay for a parent to say "I don't know the answer to that question. Let's think of some ways we could handle it, so it will be safe for you." I’m Peter Alsop. Please subscribe to this podcast and invite your friends. I’ll see you again 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://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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

A Friend Like Me Oct 07, 2022

Show notes

Today our SONG TO CHEW is called A FRIEND LIKE ME, from my 'In The Hospital' album. The idea came from two nurses at Seattle Children's Hospital, Diane Grimm Gates and Penny Pefley. I asked my buddy Bill Harley to join us, and we won a Parent's Choice BEST CHILDREN'S ALBUM award that year. We included a booklet full of helpful notes about how the songs and stories help school-age kids and families who spend time in a hospital. I visit Bill, and we exaggerate some of our scary concerns by 'enlarging them' to be much bigger than possible. Our silliness minimizes the 'hospital fears', and the laughter creates a balance for the loss of control a child feels being away from home and school. The importance of a patient's affective state has only recently been recognized by traditional allopathic medicine as being a critical factor in people's ability to recover. This album has helped tens of thousands of children and families over the last 33 years. A BIG 'Thanks!' to Bill, Penny and Diane for their wonderful work , and thanks to you for listening! If you have any ideas about how we can get this album into more hospitals and to kids and families who need it, please get in touch with me. I’m Peter Alsop. I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’. Bye for now!

~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = https://peteralsop.podbean.com or at

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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

Hyperactive Sep 30, 2022

Show notes

This week’s SONG TO CHEW is called HYPERACTIVE, from my “Pluggin’ Away” album. This song is a satire. The chorus says "Sugar's good for me and you!", but the verses point out that refined sugar is not healthy for our bodies. Kids understand satire, and know that sugar is not healthy for them. They have heard their parents say it a million times, "No! You've had enough sugar!" This song is actually a way for children to relieve some of their stress and frustration about the parental limitations they've had to deal with! You can sing-along too if want! We are all indoctrinated by advertising messages that subliminally encourage us to use sugar, by equating sugar with love and approval. We call our loved ones Honey Bun, Sugar Pie or Gum Drop. We give See's Candy and Whitman Samplers as Valentine gifts. We reward ghosts and goblins on Halloween by giving them candy 'treats', to 'ward off their threatened 'tricks'. The Easter Bunny brings chocolate eggs and marshmallow bunnies to little Christians because Jesus loves them? And on Christmas, when Santa delivers toys, we reward that Jolly Old Elf by leaving him Cookies with sweetened Vanilla Oatmilk to wash them down. I'll let you examine the connections between sugar and love in your own religious and family ceremonies. There's more to chew on when you listen to the entire podcast. I’m Peter Alsop. I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’. Bye for now!

~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = 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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

If I Was In Charge Sep 23, 2022

Show notes

Our 'Song To Chew' today is IF I WAS IN CHARGE. Have you ever seen someone do something, and you thought to yourself, "I think I could do a little better than that!" Even when we were kids, we could see grown-ups around us messing things up. We could have handled it! Except that when we grew-up and we finally had a chance to be in charge, we found out things are a lot more complicated and difficult than we thought they were! My daughter Willow sings with me on this song. When we find ourselves in charge, with power and authority over other people, it can 'go to our head'! As Willow says, "That’s awful! What’s happening to me!!? If I was in charge, I might start to change, and start acting like I’m a big deal!" The idea of 'being in charge' brings up a ton of other questions for us to 'chew on'. "Do you like to be in charge?" - "Why?" - "Do you think kids should be in charge of things?" - "Why do you think most groups have leaders?" - "Do you think becoming a leader can change someone's behaviors?" - "What kind of things do you want a 'leader' to do?" The list goes on and on! Thanks for stopping by! Please subscribe or follow my 'Songs To Chew’ podcast. I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song To Chew'. Bye for now!

~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = 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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

You Are My Spoon Sep 16, 2022

Show notes

Today's SONG TO CHEW is written and sung by Amy Fix. 'YOU ARE MY SPOON' is part of my "Ebenezer's Make Over" album; a feminist version of Charles Dickens' classic, "A Christmas Carol". His story is actually a 'make over' about how crochety Ebenezer Scrooge changed his stingy ways after being visited by three spirits during the night. I use that story along with songs from the feminist men's and women's movements to awaken Ebenezer to the errors of his sexist and patriarchal ways! With songs from my friends Holly Near, Amy Fix, Geof Morgan, Charlie Murphy, Fred Small, Romanovsky and Phillips, and others, along with actors and sound effects, we created EBENEZER'S MAKE OVER. Amy's love song is part of Scrooge's visit to his childhood, where he's reminded that as a young man, he fell in love, but didn't know how to fit with his sweetheart very well, so they broke up. "She wanted me to be a 'spoon', but all I knew how to do was be a fork!" ('Spooning' is when we cuddle in bed with someone else, both facing the same direction.) This song generates the question, "how do we learn to be comfortable with people who are different than we are?" Scrooge learns that if we can share some of our essential 'humanness' with others, we open the door to get to 'know' them better. And that's just one of the ideas we'll chew on today. Please click the link, and follow this podcast. We'll do it together again next week, with another SONG TO CHEW! Bye for now!

~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = 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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

I Need A Hug Sep 09, 2022

Show notes

Our SONG TO CHEW this week is "I NEED A HUG” from my “UH-OH!” album. When we get older, we're not supposed to need as much 'emotional support' as we did when we were kids, but there are lots of us walking around who 'just need a hug' to help us keep going! It's a physical message that we're loveable, and that we're doin' okay! It's called reassurance. All over the world different cultures and religions have their own different rules and regulations that load up the simple hug with all sorts sexual implications and complications! It's true that human sexual attraction and insensitive male aggression are powerful forces in our social interactions, and we want to make sure that everyone feels safe when we get a hug, so these rules are made to help people feel safer about hugging and touching each other; about who can and who can't and for how long and how tight and where and when. I think that's great, but the best rule of all is to ask someone if they'd like a hug, before we give them a hug! And remember that if we need a hug, it's up to us to go to someone who feels safe, and ask them for a hug! I’ll be back next week with a 'virtual hug' for you all, along with another ‘Song to Chew’. Bye for now!

~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = 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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

Roots And Wings Sep 02, 2022

Show notes

Our SONG TO CHEW this week is 'ROOTS AND WINGS' from my “Grow It At Home” album. I took the imagery from watching trees and birds in nature. In order to 'stay in balance' as we move through our lives, we need to be 'realistic and grounded' at times, (roots), and still be creative enough to sail out on the wings of our imagination. Of course, it's only possible to pass these skills on to our children, if we adults have these skills in 'balancing' things in our own lives. Some of our 'tools for living' get passed on through our teaching, but I think it mostly happens when we model them with our behaviors! Many grown-ups have thought, "Oh my! I've turned into my mother! (or my father!)" We learn our parent's lessons from living with them! And sometimes that's wonderful, and sometimes, not so wonderful. So, as we realize that our parent's lessons may not always work so well for us, it's important to watch and listen and see how our kids manage what we pass on to them. We want to be available to help them shape what they've learned from us about 'balancing life', but we may not be able to help them make adjustments. The best we can do is to 'be available', because like us, they will work it out for themselves in their own lives. That’s plenty to ‘chew on’ for today. I’m Peter Alsop. Thanks for stopping by! I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’. Bye for now!

~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = 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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe

I Can If I Wanna Aug 26, 2022

Show notes

This week our SONG TO CHEW is from my “Pluggin’ Away" album. It’s called I CAN IF I WANNA. The chorus is 'call and response' with a little character we call the 'Neggy'. It's that little 'voice' inside us that undermines our self-confidence and says "you'll never accomplish what you're trying to do!" It's different than hearing 'an opinion' from someone who thinks we ought to change something so it will work better. When we hear Neggy comments that are not helpful, like "that will never work!", or "there's no point trying that!", or "you're going to fail for sure!", those kinds of opinions 'squash our hope'. That's our Neggy talking! Most of us have heard negative messages before and we've survived. It's important to realize that when we hear people around us, tell us again and again and again that we're not capable, we begin to internalize those messages and say them to ourselves! And it takes lots of positive messages to counter-balance the negative ones we've learned to accept, so I hope you sing-along with us really loud, so you know that 'you can if you wanna!!" I'll be back next week, with another ‘Song to Chew’. Bye for now!

~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = 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

Get full access to Peter Alsop’s Substack at peteralsop.substack.com/subscribe