Photo Courtesy of Ziggy Marley
The most adorably awesome thing ever happened a few days ago when a group of children from The Silverlake Conservatory of Music filmed their unorthodox cover of Ziggy Marley’s “I Don’t Want to Live on Mars.” The single, originally off of Marley’s most recent album Fly Rasta, is one of the more energetic tunes on the album. This arrangement slowed down and split up the single to serve the many different young voices on display. The results speak for themselves
The Silverlake Conservatory of Music was created in by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea in 2001. Since its inception the non-profit organization has provided children in the Los Angeles area with affordable music education. Marley is no stranger to children’s music; many of our readers may know his work for the Theme song of Arthur, the PBS cartoon based off of the books of Marc Brown. The Reggae singer voiced his enthusiasm via his website by posting “A big thanks to all the kids involved, and especially for SCoM conductor S.J. Hasman for working so hard to make this possible. We couldn’t have done it without you!” I’m sure Marley enjoys any press for his album, but it’s especially rewarding if it comes from the voices of children.
Silverlight teaching music to students at a low rate is extremely laudable, but it’s even more impressive that Reggae, a tragically ill-explored genre, was chosen for the performance. Too often music classes lack the tenacity to teach beyond the standard genres and established tunes of the past. That music is extremely important, but strictly adhering to it limits a child’s understanding of the wide world of music.
Marley is currently in the middle of a national tour that extends all the way into November. Tickets can be purchased right here.
The video of the children’s choir can be found right here. Pay special attention to the center boy’s dance moves at the 30-second mark. Maybe Ziggy should take some notes!