Ok, caveat lector – I get most of my cool music from Clea these days, so … This isn’t pop, but I think it’s pretty rad. I think if you listen, you’ll like it anyway.
When Max was littler, he used to love to classify things. He was a little OCD about it. He’d tell us what kind of music we were listening to all the time. “Daddy, this is jazz” or “this is blues”. At first we thought his precociousness was cute. Then it got really annoying. Whatever, boy. Just listen and enjoy.
I don’t remember when I first heard Moondog’s music, but it feels like it fits into so many different categories, any of which my kids love. He did so many different things. Moondog (Louis Hardin) was born in Kansas in 1916 and spent much of his adult life making music on the streets of NYC. As you listen, you can hear some of the cool percussion instruments he invented. You can also hear the Native American influences of his youth on the Plains, street noises of the city, animal sounds, waves crashing…. He’s got a freedom that kids still have to use whatever is around and whatever sound appeals. Free lyrics when he uses them. He’s also very strict with the rules, though, like kids can be and like jazz and classical music are.
We love to listen to the words and try to hear all the animals in Enough About Human Rights!. It’s not always easy. We love to pick out the sounds in the others. And sometimes we like to just listen and enjoy.
These are off the newish compilation Moondog (The Viking of 6th Avenue) (2006).
Enough About Human Rights!
Rabbit Hop
Lament 1 'Bird's Lament'
Viking I
Chaconne in G Major
Learn more about Moondog
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