Thanks, again, Tim!
Intro: Last summer, I acquired two neices. They're really my cousins' kids who were just-over-three and not-quite-two, but we decided that "uncle" was a lot easier to explain to them. Somewhat innocently, I asked if they wanted some music, since I have been making tapes/CDs for my nephew for years and have a great deal of children's music (see previous entries). "Sure," they said mildly befuddled, not really knowing what to expect. Most music for infants is pretty boring for adults, especially when played as often as little kids demand. I set out to make mixes that kids would like that wouldn't drive the adults crazy, so both mother and daughter could listen over and over.
So while the prime audience was the kid, this was for the mom as well. I wound up with four CDs worth of songs. They each got a set of all four, and reports back indicate that they love 'em, and play 'em a lot. I'm only going to talk about one of them here, but if I get enough requests I'll go on to review the whole project. Heck, it's about time for another one or two, since I have even more kids music now.
I bent the rules a little with the first one for Toby, the youngest neice, since there are a few songs that are aimed at little kids. Still, after a few years of listening (and talking) baby talk, I figured the moms wouldn't mind. Here's the tracks, discussion to follow.
1. Dandelion - Gary Rosen 3:49
2. Going to the Zoo - Peter, Paul & Mary 3:09
3. Baby Elephant Walk - Henry Mancini 2:43
4. Three Is A Magic Number - Schoolhouse Rock 3:13
5. We're Gonna Shine - Fred Penner 2:50
6. Bumps A Daisy - Teletubbies 2:53
7. Drummers Drumming - Dr. Seuss 1:09
8. El Condor Pasa - Ch'uwa Yacu Bolivia 4:11
9. Feed The Birds - Mary Poppins 3:48
10. First Lullaby - Bill Staines 2:34
11. Sounds of Words - Special Music Company 3:14
12. I Have You - Connie Kaldor 2:36
13. Early - Pat Travis 3:46
14. Michael Row The Boat Ashore - Disney 2:28
15. My Heart Would Be A Fireball - Fireball XL-5 1:08
16. Oh Dear What Can The Matter Be? - Disney 1:37
17. Polly Wolly Doodle - Burl Ives 1:55
18. Mana Vu - Brave Combo 4:17
19. Old House - World of Music 1:09
20. Tra La La Song - The Banana Splits 1:24
21. Russian Slumber Song - World of Music 1:18
22, Seven Days of the Week - Special Music Company 1:16
23. Stella Stegasaurus - DinoRock 2:37
24. Teletubbies Say Eh oh (Again Again Mix) 5:38
25. The Sound Song - World of Music 1:52
26. On Top of Spaghetti - Tom Glazer 2:39
27. The Super Supper March - Dr. Seuss 1:15
28. Pumpernickel - Barney 1:34
29. Cake For Breakfast - Greg Lee 3:05
Dandelion is a great beginning song, with a gentle opening and female chorus. "How do you know it's really Spring?" asks the song, then answers: Dandelions. A dash of French (dandelion="lion's tooth"). I put other PPM songs on the other CDs, and Going to the Zoo is a good introduction to them; bouncy, with a kids chorus. Start with two songs about subjects that kids and adults can relate to. Baby Elephant Walk is a nice instrumental from Mancini and segues from the zoo and contains the word "Baby" in the title. Every mom of a certain age gets misty-eyed about Schoolhouse Rock, and Three Is A Magic Number was the first and is still my favorite. Perhaps learning to multiply by three is a bit young for a two year old, but it's a great song and you might as well start on the math now. We're Gonna Shine is repetitious but uplifting, with a chorus in French. Kids love Teletubbies, and Bumps A Daisy is a great instrumental (presumably a dance) with fun noises and giggles all the way through. Though the lyrics are credited to Dr. Seuss, Drummers Drumming is a mostly a cappella counterpoint of people singing the drum parts ("rattle tattle rattle tattle need a little rattle tattle...") with a snare and minimal instruments complimenting the voices.
The Simon & Garfunkel version of El Condor Pasa has almost nothing to do with the song from the Andes, and this pan flute instrumental has no lyrics. Still, it's a great song and the adults will compare with the more familiar version. Meanwhile, Feed the Birds is not only my favorite Disney song (and Walt's too, while he was alive) and is another entry point for mother and child to appreciate at different levels. Maybe the kid will eventually see Mary Poppins; I hope so. One lullabye is followed by First Lullabye. A slower song with a chorus in French; I like having songs in other languages for kids, though this mix is a bit heavy on the French; I get into Spanish and Icelandic on other CDs. I used a lot of Bill Staines in these mixes. This is followed by one of the few songs that aren't really for adults. It simply goes through the alphabet and gives examples of Sounds of Words. Still, it's a nice little song that you can sing along to and may help a kid learn to talk. I Have You is a mother's soothing words to her child; gentle and loving. Early, a Greg Brown song, is an uplifting tale of a midwestern town, giving a sense of place to a child.
Started in on the classics with the next sequence. The Disney version of Michael Row Your Boat Ashore, sung by kids, is the best one I have that's pitched to a young audience. This is followed by the first song where I get to be a bit subversive: My Heart Would Be A Fireball, the closing song to the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation show from the mid-60s. Fireball XL5 may not hold up, but the song is still great and the kids get a dash of science fiction. Maybe the adults remember the song fondly too. I was raised on Burl Ives and other folkies, and this version of Polly Wolly Doodle (with the Ray Charles Singers) goes waaay back. Perhaps a bit overproduced, but what the heck. Mana Vu, in Hebrew, is a tranquil Israeli dance to a Yemenite step (claims the liner notes). This is followed by a short spiritual about tearing down and building a house; a call and response with a pastor-like deep voice and kids chorus. Another indulgence: The Banana Splits show was pretty dumb, but I loved the music, including the theme, the Tra La La Song. After some nearly incomprehensible lyrics, the Russian Slumber Song is an instrumental giving the feel of the music from that country. The Seven Days of the Week is another one that's mainly for little kids, but is good enough that adults can get by it. Then a great bouncy dinosaur song about a shy Stella Stegasaurus, another slightly subversive song to perk an interest in the subject. (The kids sing: "Stella/please tell a/nice fella/like me. What was the world like/in One Hundred Million BC?") From dinosaurs back to the Teletubbies. This is their theme but in a longer remix. Kids who watch the show will like it, and even the repititive nature of the song is handled well enough for the adults. Maybe that will hold for The Sound Song, the last of the little kid tracks that adults would just as soon skip.
I end with four food songs. Yum! Tom Glazer, who died a few months ago, sings and teaches a kids chorus On Top of Spaghetti. For how subversive this song is, even adults remember it fondly. Dr. Suess' dinner plans may not be to your taste, but the Super Supper March is enormously fun. Adults may hate Barney, but he pops a good song or two including Pumpernickel, about various kinds of breads. The Greg Lee song you're probably most familiar with is Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and Cake For Breakfast is off that CD. ("Last night I dreamed about cake for breakfast. Two big pieces just for me. They're standing there on a paper platter, covered with a doily.") Bouncy and upbeat, about sleeping and eating cake. It's such a subversive song that the track before it is an apology. Adults will love this song as much as the kids.
That's enough for this week. This is the youngest-pitched CD I've ever made. The other CDs in the set don't have the little kid songs and I get to be even more avuncular with song selection. I've played DJ long enough that making mix tapes is fun, and I get to play with my CDs! Playing DJ for two different audiences at the same time is trickier, but that's part of the fun as well. Whee!
By the way... my mother has a copy of this CD. Hi Mom!
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here, and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio here (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air, and I'm collecting extra-weird stuff for a possible CD compilation.
People gather to form a drawing similar to Picasso's Mother and child on the Venice Beach in Santa Monica, California, May 11, 2003. Around a thousand people took part in the event to mark Mother's Day.
Photo by Paul Kibbey
Former President Bill Clinton greets graduates at the end of Syracuse University's 149th Commencement in Syracuse, N.Y., Sunday, May 11, 2003. Clinton was the keynote speaker.
Photo by Kevin Rivoli
Honorary Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant holds up a cupcake as he celebrates his 80th birthday with friends, from left, Red Buttons Mickey Rooney and Jan Rooney, Saturday night, May 10, 2003, in the Hollyood section of Los Angeles.
Photo by Mark J. Terrill
Afghan women purchase burqas at a roadside shop in Kabul, May 11, 2003. Women were forced to wear the all-enveloping burqa during the five year rule of the fundamentalist Taliban regime, which was toppled by U.S.-led forces late 2001. But despite the departure of the Taliban, many women in the cities and countryside still wear the burqa even though there is no restriction on them from the present U.S.-backed government.
Photo by Kamal Kishore
This precious sculpture called 'Saliera' by Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini of the 16th century was stolen from Vienna's Art History Museum in the night of Sunday May 11, 2003. The rare goldsmith piece is estimated at a value of 50 million euros.
Down in Laguna there's an annual art festival that includes 'The Pageant of the Masters', where great art is recreated on stage. About 20 years ago, my cousin took part in the pageant, portraying the female character on this
now stolen 'Saliera'. Some links about the pageant:
Pageant Of The Masters - Program 2003 (9 July - 29 August)
Some Background
Stunt man Gary Connery performs a BASE jump from Nelson's Column, which is draped with a poster of the spiritual leader of Tibet the Dalai Lama, in Trafalgar Square in London, May 9, 2003. The spectacle took place as part of a protest organised by campaigning group Act For Tibet against China's occupation of Tibet.
Photo by Russell Boyce
