Bill at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child totally made my day today by posting that Luscious Jackson, one of my favorite bands from the 90's (the time when all my knowledge of cool music ends) is getting back together to make an album of kids music! Heck ya! And so to celebrate, I neglected to make my kids' lunches this morning and we did what we always do when we hear some kick tushie Luscious - we jumped on the bed and danced and were late for school. Hey, some things are important in life. Gotta have priorities.
My kids are just about to grow out of being able to listen to MY Luscious Jackson - pretty much completely inappropriate for kids, lyrically. Though, since Annie starts taking her clothes off as soon as she's strapped into her car seat after preschool, Naked Eye is her song. And I sing "hear me now, I'm an Alien Mother" instead of Alien Lover - even though that song's really no big deal, either.
Max, at six is now starting to want to know what every song means, so I'm psyched that we're going to be able to give him his own LJ record to listen to and we can still rock on and dance party - without having to explain Jolene On the Freeway (or is that Kostars? Whatev.). YipeeSkip.
And we get to go hang at the beautiful Park Chalet in Golden Gate Park here in San Francisco and hear Enzo and Charity Kahn this weekend with my family and friends and beverages. What could be funner? I am a very happy girl.
Phil here, with a post about my favorite band, The Beatles. They are also, thanks to me, my son's favorite band. It didn't take much effort on my part to convince him of the greatness of John, Paul, George and Ringo.
All I had to do was play a couple of songs. The best one to start with, of course, is Yellow Submarine. That's almost a no-brainer when it comes to children. Both my kids fell in love with that song the first time they heard it. Oh, and they love the movie too. I've made several Beatles mixes for my son, and he is happy to declare that "The Beatles are the greatest band in the history of the world!"
No, you are not going to hear any Beatles songs in this post. You've heard them all anyway. What you will find below are songs that are Beatlesque, or that which have a sound that is obviously inspired by The Beatles... Songs with strong melody, quirky or positive lyrics, orchestral flourishes and the like. I've sought these out to make mixes for the kids since they enjoy this style so much. It wasn't hard for me to find so many Beatlesque tunes... my collection is naturally full of them. The Beatles were the first rock band I ever started listening to, and now my kids can say the same.
First, a few songs from a disc called Two Lips by Dan Castellaneta. If that name sounds familiar, then you must watch The Simpsons. Dan is the voice of Homer, Krusty the Clown, Barney Gumble, and so many other characters. He's also a singer who loves The Beatles...
Next, a group of studio musicians who got together to share their love of The Beatles. The Vinyl Kings recorded their "love letter" to the Fab Four in the form of A Little Trip and had so much fun (not to mention success) with it that they released a follow-up disc last year, Time Machine. These songs are from the former...
Next we have Jon Brion, a singer who is becoming better known for his film scores and his producing skills, having worked with artists such as Aimee Mann, Dido, Evan Dando, and Rufus Wainwright. When he does step in front of the microphone, his songs always have a Beatlesque sensibility to them. These tracks are from his scores to the films I Heart Huckabees and Punch-Drunk Love...
Last, Candy Butchers, a power pop band led by singer-songwriter Mike Viola. In a better world these guys would be superstars. All they've done is release three near-perfect albums of thoughtful, intelligent, and catchy songs, but they're always mentioned as "the guy who sang That Thing You Do in that movie." Here are tracks from their CDs Hang On Mike and Play With Your Head... I must warn you, the song "Sparkle!" is incredibly infectious...
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).
Hi! Another guest blogger here. I'm Phil, from A Family Runs Through It. First of all, a huge thanks to Clea for letting me share some of the songs that my kids and I enjoy. We love music in my family. My iPod's permanent place is in the kitchen, where it's constantly cranking out tunes from groups like The Beatles, XTC, Split Enz, Death Cab For Cutie, Iron & Wine, Ralph's World, and John Denver. Yes, we have eclectic taste in music.
My 8-year-old son has developed most of his musical tastes based on what I play for him. But there's one TV show that seems to have influenced him quite a bit... Scooby Doo. I never realized how much music was in those old Scooby Doo episodes until we started watching them together. He got hooked on the original series from 1969 when he was about 4 years old, and then recently fell in love with the new series, What's New Scooby Doo? which also features a surprising amount of cool music. There have also been new movies released every year for the past six or seven years, including a brand new one, Pirates Ahoy! In other words, you could spend a small fortune buying up all these Scooby Doo DVDs. I know, I've done it.
But on to the music from this classic cartoon... You all know the original theme:
But do you remember Davy Jones singing "I Can Make You Happy" in the Mystery Mask Mix-Up episode?
Or Jerry Reed singing "Pretty Mary Sunlite" in the Don't Fool with a Phantom episode?
The music in those old episodes from the late 60's and early 70's were nothing compared to the tunes that have been accompanying the Mystery Gang lately. Here are songs from both the What's New Scooby Doo? TV show and the recent full-length movies. My son loves all of these and specifically asked me to buy them to make a mix CD for him.
Someone does a great job of picking the songs for these cartoons, especially during the monster chase sequences. My son used to have me rewind those scenes just for the music, but now he has all of these tunes on one CD which I fully expect him to wear out.
Hey everyone, It's Zak from The Two Mirrors. I'm humble enough to realize that I am NOT Clea and this will only suffice as a guest post over here at (sm)all ages. As you all know I love this site and hope to help hold down the fort for Clea while she is away. There are more of us guest bloggers out here who will be stepping in. But I just wanted to share a little something that Aiden and Anna are into right now.
Cursive are an amazing band. You know this and I know this. Know why shouldn't our kids know this. I guess that is pretty much Clea's theme. Anyway. Cursive has a new record out called Happy Hollow and it is brilliant. Recently, Aiden, who is still in his rocking out phase discovered the track Opening the Hymnal/Babies. He absolutely loves it. And I think your kids will too. Providing they like to rock. Plus Tim Kasher gives the adults some brillant lyrics that just may give you chill bumps too. Below is a sample of the lyrics that I'm speaking of...
Baby, baby, baby This world must seem So immense compared to the womb, And baby baby, Your head must seem So much smaller than you assumed Your whole world Seems to center around you Be easy to make the mistake That maybe you’re why the world was made,
Baby, baby, baby, You learn so fast, You seem to carry a special gift Maybe you’ve been given To this world to make a difference
Such delusions we all struggle with But the beautiful truth of it is This is all we are, We simply exist You’re not the chosen one I’m not the chosen one But we don’t need anyone Let’s not choose anyone
Just something of note: As I go on my "vacation" (yeah, um, sure) several guest bloggers are stepping in. They have been instructed to post whenever they get the urge. You'll see their names pop up over there to the right in the next couple of days. Say howdy. Comment and often and tell 'em what a great job they're doing.
I'll hopefully be back in a few weeks... Till then, I personally leave you with a few random tracks.
So I told you I was gonna cover the Disney stuff, I threatened and here I am.
Disney Bossa Nova billed as Brazil's Legends of Bossa Nova Perform Disney Classics. I found this, and one other Disney covers CD in the used bins fairly recently. This is the better of the two and while it ain't great it does have a few truly delicious tracks, namely from Brazil's Joyce. Joyce has been playing guitar and singing primarily bossa nova since the late 60s. Some of her stuff was marshmallow fluff, but then again, she has put out much enjoyable music as well. Her tracks on this CD are all good. She has four total and frankly, the others on the CD are not worth your time. But her tunes are grand. Her cover of "Bibidi Bopidi Boo"from my daughter's favorite princess movie, Ciinderella, is just delightful and infinitely better than the original.
I also picked up Simply Mad About the Mouse. Now I knew this one was gonna be bad. No make that BAD. It's from 1991 and features En Vogue (Someday My Prince Will Come), Bobby McFerrin (Siamese Cat Song), Soul II Soul (Kiss the Girl) and yes, Michael Bolton (A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes.) Like I said, BAD. And yet still, I felt compelled to buy it (and it was only a buck!) I thought I'd check out the Gipsy Kings track, the Harry Connick Jr. track even the Ric Ocasek one. But um, yeah, no. The only one worth sharing is this and it's not that it's good. It's just, well, funny.
The best Disney tribute record wasn't so much a tribute or cover, but rather an "interpretation." And that would be 1988's Stay Awake. I bought this on vinyl when it came out pre-motherhood (mostly because I was a huge Tom Waits fan.) And I got it again on CD several years back. Every song is weird and wonderful and probably not all that enjoyable for the kids because it has this dark Brechtian edge because it is a Hal Wilner Production. But you'll probably dig it. I highly recommend this CD, it's still in print and I'm just giving you a smattering here. Other artists included are Garth Hudson, Yma Sumac, NRBQ, Bonnie Raitt, Suzanne Vega, Syd Straw (remember her anyone?) Natalie Merchant with Michael Stipe, Los Lobos, Ringo Starr and the aforementioned Tom Waits.
Finally, a little preview action of what Halloween can potentially offer us. These two tracks are direct from the Haunted Mansion, I think the one in Disneyland. I hear them and I'm right there in the sinking chamber...
Tuesday and I have gone and embarassed ourselves once again, totally low-browing the Contrast Podcast with our gibberish and song. The theme? Hand-clapping, which I had once believed if included in a song, inherantly and instantly made said song kid-ready but alas, the Podcast has proven me wrong. I don't mean it's not great, it is great, but seriously, many a song not for kids. But you're not a kid, are you? So nab it, listen, enjoy, clap along. The Contrast Podcast: Handclapping
One of my earliest posts, which I'm quite sure many of you missed, was on hand clap songs. There are so many, I swear, I could have a Handclap Blog, if there were in fact 8 or 9 days in a week and I could live on less than 8 hours sleep. So I'm gonna re-post my handclap songs from February of this year, sans my song for the Contrast Podcast. For that, you must go listen to the cast. There are so many more that come to mind that if I get a kick in the pants or a gush of wind round my back, perhaps I will post. If not, look for a Disney Gone Mad post next.
Hey, you know what? The Lovely Mrs. Davis did a little self promotion and she went and got me mentioned in the San Fran Chronicle's Babby Blog too. Bless her ever-loving heart. Check out her great site if you haven't already and of course, see the mention!
Oh Heather. Can I go one post without mentioning her? Apparently not. The Fuel / Friends blogger has got a Paul Westerberg song from the latest kids' movie, Open Season. Honestly, I downloaded it today, but haven't given it a spin. Let me know what you think. I think it is hilarious that Ben Folds and Paul W. and such are being asked to craft songs for kids' movies. We're all growing up and holding jobs of importance in the music and movie biz. Well not me per se. Just us, as a generation. Me? I'm writing books that don't get enough promotion but geez, they're swell.
Got me an email from a reader named Bryan who has opened up a little web store selling kids' CDs and DVDs that are in line with much of what we cover here. The store is cute for sure. It's called Pokey Pup.
Sorry for my abscence. I am just trying to get you all used to the idea that I won't be here much for awhile. Keep checking back though, I think we may have some lovely guest posters and maybe a few surprises. Or, maybe not.
Oh and feel free to let us know in the comments what your favorite handclap song is and maybe we can do a reader-suggested handclap post instead of that crazy Disney one.
I have a lot today. I couldn't post yesterday... I just didn't have anything profound to say and thought Heather at Fuel did a lovely job. I will say this: Five years ago yesterday, I had a one month old. I was whacked out from no sleep and a nice bout of post-pardum and I watched it all unfold on TV real time with her perched on my lap because even though I was on the West Coast, I had been up watching yet another string of Saved by the Bell re-runs and then, we were interupted with the news. And in my haze all I could think about was hate. I hated myself and cursed myself because I thought I had done the unthinkable: brought a helpless child into this f-ed up world.
I think the state of the world is worse even, and I still have freak outs about the future, but my child brings me infinite amounts of comfort and joy. This is so freaking cheezy, but so very true. Because with her, in her, I have regained my hope. It's fledgling but ever-present. I think you have to with the little ones around.
Now on to funnier things:
Morrissey. On a kids' show. Circa '85. No, make that two TV shows.
This first one is Morrissey and Johnny Marr (with Sandie Shaw!) on the UK kids' show, Charlie's Bus.
And the second is another UK kids' show called Datarunners. This one is pretty surreal, the kids interview Morriseey and Johnny Marr and then sing a couple of words from "This Charming Man."
I don't know about the Smiths for Kids... what do you think? I mean, any good music can be enjoyed by children, I think, but the droning, the lack of energy, the schtick, I just don't know.
I do however like the Dream Academy's instrumental version of "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" from yes, the Ferris Bueller soundtrack. Why it's so dreamy. So here you go:
There was Radiodread, the Easy Star All-Stars reggae versions of Radiohead's OK Computer. And now there is the lullaby versions of Radiohead. I wasn't gonna write about the Rockabye Baby stuff because, as you may know, I don't dig on the infantizing (is that a word? infantalizing? infantasizing?) of today's modern rock for the little ones. But you could argue this is a slight bit diff. I mean, it ain't KidzBop. But still, I'd rather listen to the original (although I readily admit the original is probably scary for the kids.) And well, I Guess I'm Floating went and posted on it and now I feel I sort of should. But yeah, I'd rather listen to the original, best of all, the stripped original by the original. But what about the O' Riley piano version?
FYI - There will also be a crunk tribute to Radiohead forthcoming. Yeah, okay. And another reggae dub tribute. And the originator of radiohead covers: Christopher O'Riley. Sure his songs aren't lullabies (they get a bit intense) but I think those could work nicely for the kids, actually, maybe. And on a side note, do your kids use the word "actually" a lot? Man, my daughter loves that word and she mostly uses it correctly.
Guest Post: Zak's Kids (of Two Mirrors) August Picks
Hello (sm)all ages readers. It’s your old (by old I mean I’m old—keep reading and it will make sense) friend Zak from The Two Mirrors. And once again Clea was kind enough to let me donate my kiddies favorite tunes from August.
I once read an interview with Cameron Crowe and the interviewer asked him if he kept a diary. His response was no, but that he made a mix tape (remember those?) every month to remind him of what was going on in his life for that month. I always thought it was an extremely cool way to tell the story of your life—through music. And interestingly enough, these five songs kinda tell the story of August for my family. Hope you enjoy.
Ben Folds—Still Fighting It So I turned 30 on August 5th. Yeah it was tough for me, but here I am thirty years old. Anyways, about four days before my birthday, Aiden was walking around singing this song. And I just figured he and my wife, Amy, had been listening while I was at work. Anyway, August 5th arrives, and my lovely wife, she is so good to me, had made me a DVD of all these pictures from my life. You know one of those tear jerkers you have to watch in front of all your friends. Good Stuff. And she had the pics set to this song. So little Aiden and Anna have watched the DVD tons of times and they walk around singing this track.
Voxtrot—Rise up in the dirt So a few days later, Anna and my wife, were cleaning out my car. Did I mention how good they are to me? And I came outside to see what was going on and there they were in the driver’s seat both rocking out to this song. It is a mental image I hope to never loose. It was so special to see them enjoying this song by themselves. Good stuff.
Broken Social Scene—7/4 Shoreline And my little Aiden is still in his rocking out stage. I have tried to curb his appetite to enjoy the more subtle side of music and this song is about as close as I can get. It’s an amazing track and I am so excited that Aiden’s taste in music is what it is.
Arizona—Splintering So I’m slipping one of my favorites in here too. My little ones are really getting into this song though. You guys should really be listening to Arizona. They are making some of the most creative and exciting music I have heard in a long time. Aiden just loves when this song starts to really rock at the end. He just runs around and dances and shakes his little head.
The Lovely Feathers—The Only Appalachian We all went to the local museum of modern art for a community art project last weekend. They had this enormous picture of Marilyn Monroe (in Andy Warhol style) that they had the whole community paint. The picture above is Aiden and I doing our best to not mess up the whole project. Anyway, Aiden LOVED it. He still talks about it. And on the way home we rocked out this, one of his new favorite, track. It is a wild song—really fun though. Take a listen.
Another stellar list from Zak's kids. Thanks so much, I didn't know those last two songs at all till Zak sent them over red rover. My kid is gonna love the Lovely Feathers song: I mean energetic counting and a chorus that frantically says, among other things, "We'll take off our pants, kiss the corn and dance..."
Some random songs, truly random, for this welcome Thursday.
There are many REM songs that are good. And most of those are good for the whole family. This one has been featured on a children's comp or two. My daughter's favorite REM song though, is "Superman."
James Kochalka Superstar is a childlike recording artist whose songs you would think would be ideal for kids except most of them have at least a little profanity. This one, I don't think (but I don't promise) doesn't. He's from Vermont, he's a cartoonist and painter too and he's kind of funny in that totaly dorky fourth grade way.
Maya Angelou is famous for many good reasons. This 1956 album cut isn't one of them. Not that it's bad, it's just a little novelty bit that is catchy and throwaway. But I like it and the kids will have fun singing the word "Barbados" in a funny accent. Maya's own fake Caribbean accent was apparently put on for the tropical band she sang with in San Francisco when she was very young.
What can I say about LL Cool J? He's cool, still, and he can't live without his radio.
This Loretta Lynn track is so catchy, so sing-song singalong. From the Jack White produced Van Lear Rose CD. I saw it on somebody else's "family" music tape and thought, "Oh yeah."
The voice is Karen Perls and it's pretty for sure, but for some inexplicable reason, it has something more. More. There is radiance and awe and a little fireflies worth of magic. Wistfulness and a soft ache. Even something a little exotic. And I'm not normally taken with music this delicate. There is such beauty in these simple songs, songs you and I already know, that if and when i'm in need of a musical glow these songs totally fulfill. Her husband Don is the guitarist. We can't know such things, but you get the sense there's is a peaceful home. And if these sorts of things matter to you, Sufjan is a fan. So is Joni Mitchell.
It all sounds like this, calming and soothing and gorgeous. The whole CD is available on eMusic, so you can go download it now, as your free 25 tracks if you are so inclined. And Daddy's, you got to hear the song "Bye-Lo."
And greetings new readers! I am SITE of the Week over at Much More Than A Mom. Thank you Nicole for the kind words and allowing me to say a few words about my favorite subject: me!
Pee Wee's Playhouse inspired me from the moment I laid eyes on it. I loved it, and not just for its wacky what are they on? schtick, but for the how did they get this on? chutzpah and ever more simply, for the zany love of it all. What a total kid's pleasuredome, it truly made me feel like a goofy child, in a good way. A few years later, when I co-owned this store called Wonderama in downtown San Diego (before gentrification set in) we made purty pennies selling Pee Wee toys. Seriously, they were our most popular items (the Archie McPhee boxing nuns were oddly a close second.) A few years after that, I actually got face to face meetings with MTV and Nickelodeon and pitched a Playhouse meets "2 Hip 4 TV" (remember that?!) type TV show. They were right not to give it to me. (Not that I would have starred, jeez, I freeze up when anyone looks at me twice. ) Still, it was a fabulous idea, but I don't know that I had the real guts to pull it off. But I think of that period of my life as Pee Wee time. (Either that or Ahmet time.) Now they're out on DVD and re-running on Cartoon Network and I'm still wondering, how the hell did they get this on the air?
EW ran a 20th anniversary article and I love how show writer John Paragon who was Jambi the Genie thinks he got his catch phrase from listening to so much Zappa. And besides, as he says, "heiney is just a funny word."
The theme song was Mark Mothersbaugh-penned with Cyndi Lauper singing.
Back to this now. Does anyone remember 2 Hip 4 TV? Seriously. Red Hot Chili Peppers played in a bowling alley. El Vez. The Del Rubio Triplets. A pre-teen Ahmet Zappa? Pre-Remote Control Colin Quinn. Saturday morning variety show aimed at teens (although what teens were listening to the Del Rubio Triplets?) Like 1988, I believe. Freaking genius show. I can find pretty much next to nothing on this show. I can find no one who has actually seen it. I still dream of it... if it weren't for a brief Wikipedia entry, I'd think I did dream it.
I have posted MP3s for sampling purposes. Many are old school and not available on CD. But some aren't. Some are current. Support the bands you like by buying their CDs, seeing them live, wearing their tees. I'm gonna leave songs up for about a week or so. Then, poof. If you own the song and object to it's placement here, by all means, let me know. I'm happy to remove.
