Every afternoon, Alice and I boogie down to some music. Michael Jackson, Charles Aznavour, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Sigur Ros, Manu Chao, Beastie Boys...you name it!Once in a while, I let her "choose" a vinyl from my dad's small collection. Who knew that my father was into Jimi Hendrix? Alice loves to look at our turntable! John, Paul, Ringo and George get their butt kicked regularly as Alice inevitably smashes the turntable cover with her dirty little hands.
However, I would like to know about any good music that is a bit more targeted to babies...but that is still enjoyable to adults. Does it exist?
note: I already listened to a few tunes on the Rockabye Baby web site but I must admit that I have mixed feelings about the entire concept. Is it lame or cool...still not sure!
18 comments:
We love Rockabye Baby. They are lullabies, but with tunes you recognize. So they're not overly obnoxious to you, and babies love it. So I say it's cool!
That being said, just keep listening to what you're listening to. I make Alexa listen to "real" music much more than lullabies. Lullabies are for bedtime.
We do the same in our household, Neil Young and Bob Dylan are favorites. As for something that's actually targeted at children, check out Holly Throsby. She's an Aussie singer/songwriter who has recorded a children's album. It's very kind to adult ears, Gus loves it and so do I! Jess x
We love Elizabeth Mitchell here - very folky - http://youaremyflower.org/.
I once wrote on the topic here: http://www.anneemall.net/blog/2011/05/what-moon-songs-do-you-sing-your-babies/
But I also have to find singers in French who make music for children that is not annoying.
As a giant music snob, I've done a fair bit of looking for good, fun, non-condescending kids music and by far the best I've found is Dan Zanes. He's got a couple of DVDs out too which is nice because it lets kids see people playing the musical instruments and singing.
elsa loves the jackson 5. rockin robin in particular at the moment! or the tweet tweet song as she calls it :) music is brilliant and i think getting straight in to the adult stuff is fine. although i do remember they might be giants doing some kind of cool stuff for kids...must look it up. an every day boogie is a must in our house too! x
Good music is good music I say!
I agree with Linda on Elizabeth Mitchell- she has an album with your name written all over it:)
http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-My-Little-Bird/dp/B000GKZN9M
We played a lot of the Rockabye Baby music for Mia when she was a newborn, but we don't listen to it much at all now that she's a bit older. She loves to listen to most of the stuff I listen to (I'm a big Beatles and classic rock fan too). I also agree about Elizabeth Mitchell; we have 3 of her albums and they are terrific! Frances England is good, and if you're looking for something little more "worldly," the Putumayo Kids (http://www.putumayo.com/kids/home) cds are great!
oh man, this is cool.
i second the putumayo kids recommendation. luke likes it (he likes everything) but, more importantly, i like it. they even have a quebec cd!
I've never done "children's" music with my Ziggles, but will definitely be checking out some of the above links - such a great post, thanks!
When we want to boogie, we just put the radio on to a 70s music station. For quieter times, I've found that Joanna Newsom, Andrew Bird and Belle & Sebastian go down well.
Dan Zanes! Laurie Berkner! For lullabies, "The World Sleeps" is WONDERFUL and she still loves it at 14.
Anything you can sing along to is wonderful--we used to make up operas in the car..."Now we're going shoooooooo-ping.....and the light turns reddddddd..."
Enjoy!
In France there is this great collection of books/CDs with world ("comptines", "berceuses", etc). The books are pieces of art on each page. The music selection is fun, sometimes melancholic, it reflects very well cultural specificities (like african songs talking about death (interesting topic on its own)). It's also great as it has texts in original language, translated into french and transliterated, so one can sing along with languages he does not know. And most important it is enjoyable for parents as well.
A friend gave our eldest son Jennifer Gasoi's cd "songs for you" for his first birthday. We now have three children and we still listen to this cd. I think it is so great because there are different styles of music, so you don't get as tired of it. Here is a link, http://sparklingproductions.com/flash.html
Enjoy!
My daughter is 19 now - but I still remember we loved The Persuasions - On The Good Ship Lollipop. In fact, I still listen to it once in awhile! They are an amazing acapella group.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S58UE0/ref=dm_sp_alb
Also, loved Woody Guthrie. He is classic!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S9AO90/ref=dm_att_alb5
Alic is going to have THE best taste in Music!
Lalie particularly loves dancing (flapping her arms like a bird) to fleetwood mac!! :)
P.S - Welcome back... I hope your back is on the mend?! x
I second the Beatles and my little one is very partial to Queen and Miles Davis.
However for the most wonderful children's music in French you can't go past Swiss singer Henri Des. His songs are whimsical, sweet and oh so endearing. Lots available on Amazon France -- some at very reasonable prices -- but a bit more expensive anywhere else.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2WybkvlVhQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOPlbHfQRUs&feature=relmfu
He has been going quite a while now but is simply wonderful. We have about 7 discs.
Katie
Laura Veirs just made a wonderful album with children's songs called 'Tumble Bee'
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