Do you know what I hate? Children's music.

[Mr. Plumbean]

Yes, there are few good albums -- Keb Mo's, TMBG's. I actually quite like Jack Johnson's soundtrack to Curious George. But any attempt to set up a Pandora station for the boy devolves into the endless series of strident kindergarten teachers singing mini lectures about saying please and washing behind your ears. I am sure that no child on the planet wants to hear this. Why do such songs exist? Is it parents thinking that their kids need propaganda at every turn?

If I could halfway play and sign I'd put out an album called "Get dirty, be rude, and misbehave" in the style of AC/DC. It would be terrible for kids but at least I could stand to hear it.

[Jaledin]

I'm with you. My nephew had a shot at getting indoctrinated with kick ass Aretha (she was his favorite) and everything else good, but my sister and his grandmother seem hell-bent on playing all that bullshit "go to bed, sleepy time" baloney sausage BS. Well, my sister's up the pole again and keeping the young one busy with preschool and stuff, so I guess I had my shot when I'd babysit him once a week.

That crap is horrible! How the fuck are kids supposed to know good music if they don't fucking hear any? The kid was even getting pretty good at hearing what key music was in and everything -- not because I'd make him sit down and give him lessons, just cause he liked to play around with all the little black and white buttons. Maybe it wasn't his thing, but he sure did like grooving to good sounds.

[Mr. Plumbean]

My kid is only one but he has great taste. He's bounced around to the Beatles, CCR, and the Kinks, but starts screaming when his mother watches Glee.

[Ken S.]

We gave our 12 year old an iPod Touch for Christmas. She filled it up with Attack Attack, Black Veil Brides and Otep. I'm too old to be able to tell if she has good taste or not.

It's true, most children's music sucks, but so does most children's entertainment of any kind. I'm immersed in it all day every day. When everything is pitched at a 4 year old level it starts to make you nuts after a while. I thing an effective version of Hell would be to get stuck in a world where the only entertainment is children's entertainment.

Having said that, I will also say that I do get a kick out of Yo Gabba Gabba. Songs like "Don't Bite Your Friends," and "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" have good messages. Plus the show gets some guest appearances from legit acts, like the Ting Tings, Mos Def, Jack Black and others.

[Mr. Plumbean]

Proof that it doesn't have to suck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HmkLu24w2o

[Ken S.]

I can't even count how many times I've heard that song in my house. I can't be objective about it.

[leafrog]

Recess Monkey is a band playing music for kids in Seattle. They're all elementary school teachers (the cool kind), and are awesome, upbeat, rocking and grown ups like them a lot, too. They performed at an event for my school last year, and were a big hit; lots of shakin' butts.

[eleanorigby]

The Muppets used to do good music, and Sesame Street had some good songs back in the day (70s-80s). Dunno about now. I liked the Ernie and Bert tapes my kids had-it was kiddy fare, but not smarmy.

I also liked Joanie Bartels stuff, but I think that won't fly with you... What about Tom Chapin? He does some good stuff--Big Blue Marble. It's mostly folk, but you can listen to it. It's a far cry from Barney (or whatever iteration is the modern day Barney).

[Mr. Plumbean]

My boy basically likes upbeat, lively music and he likes short songs because he has an attention span of about 45 seconds. I think that's what children's music should be. Some classic rock and reggae fills the void. It's so cute when he dances.

[Mr. Plumbean]

Originally Posted by Ken S.

I can't even count how many times I've heard that song in my house. I can't be objective about it.

Andrew Bird is the best musician I've ever seen perform. The talent isn't that obvious until you see him in person. He's amazing.

[Ken S.]

You've seen ME perform, so that's really saying a lot.

All I've seen of Andrew Bird is that "Dr. Stringz" tune that plays in a constant loop on Noggin. It's hard to tell how good of a musician he is from that because he doesn't really play much, and when he does, he's just strumming basic chords. Any youtube videos?

[Mr. Plumbean]

Loads. Many with crappy audio from concerts, but just search for his name.

[bufftabby]

Apple Brains are pretty cool, and I also like Farmer Jason far more than an adult with no children should. If they're old enough to learn about nutrition, Marilyn Manson can always sing to them about the food pyramid.

[Guinastasia]

Kidz Bop makes me wanna barf.

[Solfy]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Kidz Bop makes me wanna barf.

And of course my sproggen are in love with it.
But Youngest got an iPod for Christmas, so now I don't have to hear it!

[jali]

Dey were tayn in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey were nighn in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey were ahyt in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey were se'em in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey were six in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey were figh in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey were fo' in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey were three in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey were two in da bayd an' da liddle one sayd
Roll ovah, roll ovah
So dey all rowed ovah an' one fell out
Dey was one in da bayd an'd da liddle one sayd
Goo'Night!

[Rhythmdvl]

Medeski Martin& Wood: Let's go Everywhere.


You're welcome.

[Marlitharn]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

Kidz Bop makes me wanna barf.

Blargh. I saw a commercial for them that included a snippet from Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" a few years ago. I've always wondered how they bowdlerized that "Happy that my breasts are small and humble" line, 'cause I'm pretty sure no one wanted to hear that coming from a bunch of 10 year olds.

[McNutty]

Even TMBG's "No!", which has a lot of great songs by children's music standards, devolves into the preachy kindergarten teacher crap. "Robot parade" is fantastic. "Don't cross the street in the middle in the middle in the middle in the middle in the middle hey why do you have a gun in your mouth" is not.

For the most part, we try to just listen to regular music with the nugget, although you gotta gravitate toward stuff you know doesn't prominently feature the F word and whatnot. The other day she said, "mista bobaleema" to me out of nowhere, which was obviously a reference to this song, which immediately made me wonder how many swear words are in it and associated songs.

[Salambo]

That's creepy, Nuts; I recently found some of my old music collection (burned onto a CD, how about that?) and I've been playing that exact song for the past few days. Heh.

So far, I've just been playing my stuff for the little one, but she only knows a couple dozen words and hasn't figured out how to make requests yet. She boogies down to pretty much anything, as long as it has a beat.

My own parents got me a few Disney records and a couple of Mini Pops cassettes, which I had little interest in. I couldn't sing you any of those songs today. I did like my Smurfs stuff, but oddly, so did my dad. If he hadn't enjoyed it as much as he did, I probably wouldn't have cared. I mostly liked what he liked. I'm hoping Salambit heads in a similar direction, because let's face it, I'm just that cool.