My new little son is only about 8 weeks old, but already has definitive tastes in music. Nat King Cole is probably on top of his list of current favorites, but he also likes this kinda weird Loreena McKennit (sp?) disc that 2x6 recommended. KebMo, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Bob Marley also elicit smiles and cooing. He likes Mozart, but not Handel, and the Flight of the Valkyries made him scream and cry.
Got any other suggestions for making baby happy?
ohhhh, the Clash, the Clash, the Clash
everytime I here them it makes me act like a baby! (I guess that's not quite what you're looking for)
Loreena McKennitt is highly listenable stuff! Your kid has great taste! She's like Enya without the guilt, i.e. you're not constantly asking yourself why you like it.
my little girl LOVED luther vandross, old and new.
Mark, all discerning babies love Ravel's Mother Goose. I'll add that they really dig Anna Moffo singing love songs and lullabies on RCA 7831.
Yeah, I just can't bring myself to listen to Enya any more. But I do need to pick up some Loreena CDs. Just not the one with the godawful depressing song about the highwayman on it. Ag! Just shoot me, already!
Get em started out right. Go get some Eminem and Pdiddy
HA YAH RIGHT!
Put on some floyd and get em off to a good start.
Don't forget Mahler, too. HAHAHA...
I have the Clash's Greatest Hits, but Lil' Jake hasn't heard it yet.
I have P.F.'s Dark Side of the Moon and Collection of Great Dance Songs, but I think that music is more likely to kill brain cells than stimulate neural pathways.
Luther Vandross sounds intriguing. He's the guy that does the Colt45 commercials right?
John, thanks for the tips. I was just thinking today about seeing what he thinks of Ravel's Bolero. Might be time for another run to the music store.
After my kids were toddlers (they're 9 and 6 now), we almost always queued up some Mozart for them at bedtime. No harm. Now that they are old enough to express a preference, of the things they get exposed to, they do exhibit peculiarly diverse inclinations.
They (predictably) seem to like pop music, including Barenaked Ladies and Jimmy Buffett. They have (much to my dismay) not yet embraced the Blues appropriately. My 6 year old son is a fiend for progressive rock (Yes, Genesis, Floyd, etc.). They both get subjected to jazz standards on a continuous basis.
Music is so cool.
In terms of "family" or "children's" music, the biggest hit in our household for many years (boys now 7 and 8) has been Joe Scruggs. He's wickedly funny and the albums are well produced to boot. Our favorites are "Bahamas Pajamas" and "Ants." I've listened to a few of his earlier albums but found that they did not hold up nearly as well. "Peter, Paul and Mommy" and Pete Seeger's "Birds, Beasts, Bugs, and Little Fishes" have also withstood the test of time.
Adult music: Enduring favorites include Chuck Berry, anything by The Byrds prior to the departure of David Crosby, anything by Johnny Cash ever, and Marty Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads." Surprisingly, The Beatles and Elvis have yet to make much of an impression. Anything jam-oriented (Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, etc.) is right out, as is crooning (Dad's love for Mel Torme is a running household joke, like it used to be on "Night Court"). Coltrane met with this incredulous inquiry: "Do you actually LIKE that music?"
Pink Floyd killing off brain cells? If that was the case, I'd have none left. The only way Floyd causes brain damage is if you use a psychopharmacologic accompaniment!
Damn, I love using big words.
Mark
big will,first off,congrats on the baby,my wife orders videos from a website called-one step ahead-they have videos with things that will keep your babies interest.and they use classical music for the backround....some classical some slipknot,some megadeath....you know,mix it up a little....good luck...ron
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Damn, I love using big words.
Anything to prove to yourself you've still got some gray cells left, eh?
I think I still have more gray cells than gray hairs, but the gap is shrinking every day!
Mark
I see we got sidetracked and didn't answer your question with respect to very young children in particular. My memories of those distant years are already hazy--could I still change a diaper in my sleep? I'm not sure--but I do remember one album that we listened to over and over again at bedtime, and which I actually grew to like more rather than less over time. Our copy long ago vanished, but I think it was "Disney Babies: Lullaby." It ends with a perfectly heartbreaking vocal/acoustic bass duet of "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes." (There is also a similarly titled but different "Disney's Lullaby Album," which I haven't heard.) Here's the link at amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000001M0Z/ref=m_art_li_1/103-5473838-5761455?v=glance&s=music
As the kids get older, the "Disney Classics" series come in handy, too.
P.S. Approach Raffi with great caution. The kids may like it, but you probably won't.
Gray hairs are much better than less hairs.
I tried to use Kind of Blue to calm by son's colic when it would rev up lo those few months ago...not that it worked, but it was worth a shot.
That aside, there's a fantastic Naxos CD available with Carnival of the Animals, Peter and the Wolf, and The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Our little one LOVES Carnival of the Animals.
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Gray hairs are much better than less hairs.
As I always say, I don't care if they turn gray as long as they don't turn loose.
Mark
Id say that the Pink Floyd/ roger waters stuff would promote the growth of brain cells alot more than kill them. Its music that makes you think. Its music you can enjoy. Since i started listening to it, my vocabulary has increased. Since roger writes with words that arent commonly used as other artists who only have a limited vocabulary.
I would have to second the nomination for the Bare Naked Ladies, these guys always seem to have so much fun with the songs and it comes thru on the disc's...
Here are some that we really like, but are probably more for toddlers than infants. Each features familiar, upbeat, kid-friendly classic tunes.
Michael Feinstein - Pure Imagination
Keb Mo' - Big Wide Grin
Tony Bennett - The Playground
While my comment about Floyd killing brain cells was certainly facetious, I generally want to avoid music that will "trip you out". Probably wouldn't harm him, but those dreary negative messages in Pink Floyd lyrics certainly won't help.
That evil plump purple thing is not coming near my kids!
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dreary negative messages in Pink Floyd lyrics certainly won't help.
Suppose im just not hearing some negative subliminal messages? I dont know of many negative messages in floyd lyrics.
Animals is not exactly a happy album. The Wall isn't either. Dark Side of the Moon is about the things that drive people insane. I'm a huge Floyd fan, but their lyrics can't really be described as uplifting.
might not be uplifting but i wouldnt say they are negative.
I agree that they are not inherently negative. On the other hand, they are not very positive either, sung from a downtrodden or depressed perspective.
School sucks. Life sucks. I'm going crazy. I'm lonely. The establishment is evil. They took my daddy from me. Mom was over-protective. You never talk to me. People are lemmings. People are greedy.
I don't know of any really positive PF songs, but there are some hopefule ones, at least. Division Bell has one (Lost for Words), and so does Momentary Lapse of Reason (Learning to Fly).
If your objective is to introduce the kids to classical music, I have had mixed success with the "Kid's Classical" series.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000212C/qid=1068043470/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/103-5507591-8176625
My 20 yr old son visited briefly, and asked to take the cds back to college with him. As the younger ones (8 and 14) are not interested, they went off with him. BTW, he played piano for about 8 years.
DMX and Slayer. I want my child to be culturally diverse
Girl coming first week of February.
Frank
Hahaha hard RAP and hard ROCK! Nice.
DMX quit though didn't he? After his cd Grand Champion [which is good; not great enough for a final work though], I believe he is just concentrating on acting now.
A couple of "educational" CDs that have worked for my kids (early elementary school age):
(1) Tom Chapin, "Mother Earth." Good introduction to environmentalism, without the unbearable sappiness of "Baby Beluga" (Raffi).
(2) For American history, Johnny Cash's concept albums. All are packaged together in Bear Family's 4 CD compilation called "Come Along And Ride This Train."
I guess I said this earlier, but... My daughters always love Disney's Fantasia DVD (both the original and 2000), ever since they were little. An excellent introduction to classical music for ALL ages.
Don't forget about "Peter and the Wolf"! Great way to learn about different instruments and storytelling through wordless music.