Good Kids Music

[Caseyelan]

I play Julianna LOTS of reggae. Lots of alt country. Lot's of ramones etc.....


But what KIDS music do you recommend?
I like the They Might be giants kids stuff.
I love raffi.


Should I skip kids music and keep her on a healthy diet of Marley?

[RAAMONE]

the wiggles

[Caseyelan]

the wiggles

srsly?


That shit looks HORRIBLE.

[JerseyRich]

I LOVED the Jackson 5 when I was a little kid.

There's something great about little Micheal Jackson that gets a kid's butt shakin'.

Give em a try.

[JerseyRich]

Don't forget Neutral Milk Hotel. ;)

[sailor]

tmbg rule. can't stand raffi, think he's a kid toucher. there a kids music channel on cablevision (722?) which the lad seems to enjoy.

[Caseyelan]

Don't forget Neutral Milk Hotel. ;)

lewl.

[Caseyelan]

tmbg rule. can't stand raffi, think he's a kid toucher. there a kids music channel on cablevision (722?) which the lad seems to enjoy.

Raffi was my fave growing up.... So hearing it again just rules.

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas!!!

[RAAMONE]

srsly?


That shit looks HORRIBLE.

of course not

i've actually sat down and watched whole eppisode of that just because it is so horrible

i guess it just amazes me that adult men would subject themselves to that

give it a watch...its worth it

[~Katja~]

it won't mean much, but I play a cd to Lukas that was from my childhood still on a vinyl record back then. It is a mix of a story and music and it is called "Der Traumzauberbaum" (roughly translates to the Magical Dream Tree).
There are two main characters and they get leaves off a tree and every leave has a different color and different emotions and respective style of music to it... dark and mean to rock n' roll to a bit more classical tunes... but really really sweet.

I find he really loves to sing the ABC son though, so I think the simple tune of it and the fact that most childrens songs are built around that same tune seems to stick to his mind.

He does love all kinds of music though, rocks and bops to my xm music playing as much as to the Backyardigans, Wonderpets and music on sprout and Noggin.

So I think just mix in a few typical kids tunes and keep your music as well cause it balances out.

Oh, another thing I find interesting is the Little Einsteins. They teach kids the classic tunes, rhythm and also a little bit about the composers. I think it's great when they later can recognize a classic tune and know who wrote it.

[El Mudo]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7d/WillieNelsonSpirit.jpg/200px-WillieNelsonSpirit.jpg


Its never too early to learn about lovin' and losin'

[drjoek]

My kids liked Joanie Bartels (http://joaniebartels.com/) shes worth a listen there are some song samples on her myspace (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=159125200)

[JerseyRich]

For Relaxation...

MMJ- At Dawn

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410F5EC24QL._SS400_.jpg

[RhinoinMN]

My kids love the silly Beatles songs ie.

Yellow Submarine
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Mean Mr. Mustard

They also like a lot of Johnny Cash.

Good call with the Reggae.

[Crazy Jen]

http://www.drjean.org/ she is a child therapist that puts together this really great way of teaching kids the world around them
http://www.jackhartmann.com/products_cd.php this guy is great he puts some funk in the Itsy Bitsy Spider

but if you are looking for something a little different
http://www.nippazwithattitude.com/punkrockbabycd.html (http://www.nippazwithattitude.com/punkrockbabycd.html)
My Punk baby is the way to go:devil2:

[~Katja~]

the only problem I find lately with listening and singing to the music on xm is that it's not always clean and now with him being able to talk I am worried he may repeat it at the daycare. We usually sing in the car when I pick him up and he tells me when I am allowed to and when I have to stop and it's his turn.

But in general I think it's great to keep them exposed to non-childrens music.

[LaBoob]

I grew up with a lot of Disney song tapes. My sis and I still know all the words to this day. I also grew up with a LOT of books on tape, classics like Tom Sawyer, Gulliver's Travels, Alice in Wonderland... Julianna might be too young to understand the words, but it's definitely something to think about to get her imagination going at a young age. I will be raising my kiddies with lots of books on tape, definitely.

[Caseyelan]

I never thought I would say this...

(I must be old)

But top 40 music doesn't raise any real language issues with me.... What bothers me is the amount of sexual innuendo and obvious Girls are meat bullshit.

I don't want my kid to hear that so young.


This post made me sound like a tipper goreite.

[RobotPilgrim]

Tom Chapin. We played it for our kids, they loved it. Start off with "Family Tree."

[RhinoinMN]

I never thought I would say this...

(I must be old)

But top 40 music doesn't raise any real language issues with me.... What bothers me is the amount of sexual innuendo and obvious Girls are meat bullshit.

I don't want my kid to hear that so young.


This post made me sound like a tipper goreite.

You don't sound old. The stuff that was played on top 40 when I was growing up was not as obvious as it is now.

[KnoxHarrington]

I played my baby neice and nephew Brian Eno's ambient stuff, such as Music for Airports and Apollo, and they loved it. Good "time to chill" music.

[Freakshow]

my niece and nephews were fond of Black Sabbath, I was told. I think some AC/DC and Led Zeppelin too.

you can find a lot of adult bands playing children's music:

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there was a whole album of schoolhouse rock songs by 90's artists (blind melon, folk implosion, better than ezra, ween). might be something cool for the kids?

[badorties]

try jack's big music show on noggin, it's a great source for kids music

laurie berkner seems to be a god among the pre-school set

the rockabye baby (http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/web/page.asp?pgs=products) CDs are great, my (9 month old) son loves:

http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/web/images/products/9603.gif
http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/web/images/products/9609.gif
http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/web/images/products/9622_lrg.gif

we also play for him a lot of woodie guthrie, some wilco, luna, a little yo la tango, clancy brothers, johnny cash and the pogues

[Knowledged_one]

Katy Perry - I kissed a girl

That way she wont be handing out smokers to guys by age 13

[sailor]

I never thought I would say this...

(I must be old)

But top 40 music doesn't raise any real language issues with me.... What bothers me is the amount of sexual innuendo and obvious Girls are meat bullshit.

I don't want my kid to hear that so young.


This post made me sound like a tipper goreite.

the videos are worse.

[KingGeno]

Can't go wrong with PFunk and Motown. Blues Brothers should be a staple.
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[Thebazile78]

You don't have to watch the Wiggles to get into their music ... it's infectious and little kids love it (our nieces loved the Wiggles when they were 1 and 2) ... kind of like Raffi. They don't stink, but if you've already got Raffi, what more do you need? Everybody needs to Shake their Sillies Out!!!

There are a whole slew of "for kids" CD's and crap out there ... personally, I'd go with "Classical Baby" in addition to your routine of the Bob Marley reggae, Raffi and TMBG (who I love anyway) ... there's something about "Baby Einstein" that just rubs me the wrong way, like the way "Sesame Street" changed after the powers that be "discovered" that kids were learning something while watching it (ugh) and how it's more the Elmo Show than it is Sesame Street.

My brother Gerald and I both loved The Magic Flute when we were kids, but we're weird ... I'm pretty sure some of its themes are part of any "Classical Baby" CD of Mozart tunes.

I'm also partial to any classical recordings by Deutch Grammophone ... especially their "Mad About ..." series that we used to check out of the library.

Lastly, my high school choral director used to say that he'd read somewhere if you put your baby to sleep while they're listening to Mozart, they will wake up happy in the morning. I've never tested this, but I've given Mozart CD's to expectant/new moms with no reported ill effects ... and a love of music is a priceless gift to ANY child. Who cares what you're playing for/with them??????

[Tenbatsuzen]

Liz and I saw a "childrenized" version of Led Zeppelin when we were in Wal-mart or Target a few months ago.

There's also a Jack Johnson's curious george soundtrack.

[spadanko]

Jack's Big Music Show!!

[Thebazile78]

Liz and I saw a "childrenized" version of Led Zeppelin when we were in Wal-mart or Target a few months ago.

There's also a Jack Johnson's curious george soundtrack.

Someone already mentioned the "Rockabye Baby" series .... there's one for Zep, Radiohead, the Ramones, U2 (M&M got this one at her baby shower over the summer) ...

Oh and I almost forgot to mention Peter, Paul and Mommy and Peter, Paul and Mommy Too ... which are among my favorites. But that's because I'm a tree-hugging, granola-eating, hippie-wannabe. (But I shower and wear shoes, not sandals and patchouli.)

And Peter Yarrow just released a picture book version of Puff, The Magic Dragon with a CD recording that features his daughter on the cello or something like that. (I was gonna buy it, but then I remembered we were moving and wouldn't have anywhere to put it for a while.)

[hydee]

Casey I don't know if it's been suggested or not but the Barenaked Ladies just put out a kids album recently.

My niece and Nephew love it.

http://www.bnlmusic.com/snacktime/

[Piuki]

Lucy gets more of our music than "kid" music, though we have checked out Jack's Big Music Show and she loves it. I also would put on Baby Einstein DVDs when she was a wee little lass to expose her to classical. Her Daddy will tell you she loves Clutch. I think she prefers Dave. And I totally want to check out that BNL for kids--Mommy loves the Ladies!

In a pinch, Sprout usually comes in pretty handy, too.

[PD]

I never thought I would say this...

(I must be old)

But top 40 music doesn't raise any real language issues with me.... What bothers me is the amount of sexual innuendo and obvious Girls are meat bullshit.

I don't want my kid to hear that so young.


This post made me sound like a tipper goreite.

no it makes you a responsible parent; you aren't telling others what to do - just parenting your kid.

One key is to make sure whatever you intentionally expose your kids to is something you don't mind - since if they like it you will hear it OVER and OVER and OVER.

Raffi was always good. I think Tom Chapin also put out some kid music.
In addition you should consider exposing them to some classical music.

[Furtherman]

There was a kids record I use to play all the time on my parent's record player.

I do not remember the name of the record, however it had a train on the cover, going down a hill surrounded by farm animals. I'm pretty sure the train had a face (and it's not the recent PBS one that Ringo did - this was around 1976 or 77).

One of the songs went something like this... "they'll be cows and chickens and lots of pigs to feed... we'll sing old MacDonald and let's be on our way.... we're off to the country, off to the country, oh what a lovely day..." CHOO CHOO!


To this day, that song still pops into my head.

It's a curse.

Maybe if I knew what it was, or if I could hear it again... it would go away. But I fear I will never know. And just as recently as Monday, and up until the day I die, that song will pop into my head as I'm walking down the street.


So, whatever you play for your kids. KEEP. It may save them from going mad.


*loads gun*

[GreatAmericanZero]

I like the They Might be giants kids stuff.


i made the horrible mistake of putting "They Might Be Giants" on my artist tuneselect on my inno

I like their stuff so when i heard them on FRED i added them..now my inno is "beep"-ing constantly with a kids station playing "They might be Giants"! I don't know how to remove it.

And on XM, everyday at noon they play a "They Might Be Giants" song on the kids station. Whenever Ron & Fez start, i hear the "BEEP" to tell me its on

[underdog]

MGMT.

You should also play Julianna some Yelle, that way she can learn French while listening to awesome music.

[Bellyfullasnot]

My kids listen to everything now, but a few years ago I wanted to get a way from the "infant lullaby" stuff. Go to the Imix section of I tunes and put in "kids sing along."

Some of it is more tolerable than it may seem. Three years later and I barely hit the
"kids" playlist on the Ipod. Marley and Van Morrison were also on shuffle when needed.

[Caseyelan]

MGMT.

You should also play Julianna some Yelle, that way she can learn French while listening to awesome music.

I got that yelle album.....

I put it in the ol Ipod.

I fast forward whenever I get it on shuffle.

It's annoying.

Must remember to get rid of it today.

[Bellyfullasnot]

The Itunes search sucks. The Imix is in the first row of 64-84. Hope it helps.(Kids Sing a Long)

[realmenhatelife]

My friend with a kid really likes Dan Zanes.

[burrben]

dylan

[Devo37]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c395/Devo37/devo20.jpg

they're never too young to learn.

[paulisded]

A couple of things I've heard that aren't too bad:

Jason Ringenberg: A Day At the Farm with Farmer Jason. The leader of Jason and the Scorchers doing songs about farming. Actually, it's better than it sounds.

Ralph Covert has a few children's albums. He used to front the Bad Examples, a Chicago power pop band.

Dan Zanes from the Del Fuegos has reinvented himself as a kid's music guy, and people like Lou Reed, Aimee Mann, and John Doe make appearances on his discs.

There was also a disc from a few years ago where Dylan, Springsteen, and others covered kid's songs.

[JustJon]

the only problem I find lately with listening and singing to the music on xm is that it's not always clean and now with him being able to talk I am worried he may repeat it at the daycare..

XM has both XM Kids and Radio Disney, so there are a couple safe options if you do want to put it on.

[spoon]

I always go with movie soundtracks, echoes living room concert series cds and other instrumental based music such as Four Tet, Sigur Ros and of course classical music.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/78/29/07e5eb6709a0bb56d03e2110.L.jpg
http://www.echoes.org/graphics/cdcovers/Resonance-LRC13-324pix.jpg
http://www.yawam.info/images/albums/grandes/four_tet-rounds.png
http://drumtom.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/sigur-ros.png

[keverlast]

The Sesame Street Collection is Awesome

[Caseyelan]

The Sesame Street Collection is Awesome

I love those damn songs.

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[Tall_James]

The soundtracks to Grease and the Sound of Music are pretty popular right now with my daughter. Beatles were always played when my daughter was Juliana's age.

However, this is the first kids CD that I first started with for my kids:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-AtuIbzQL._SS500_.jpg

NRBQ is one of the most awesome bands out there...period. This is a fun and clever album and my kids loved it when they were very young. I loved it too since they are one of my all-time favorite bands.

[paulisded]

When my son was four, he loved Neil Young's "Fuckin' Up" and Ween's "Push the Little Daisies".

[DarkHippie]

The Wonder Pets FTW!!!!!!!!!!

[~Katja~]

The Wonder Pets FTW!!!!!!!!!!

I hated it but it's so damn catchy and annoying at the same time

[mikeyboy]

The Wonder Pets FTW!!!!!!!!!!

:wallbash:

[underdog]

I got that yelle album.....

I put it in the ol Ipod.

I fast forward whenever I get it on shuffle.

It's annoying.

Must remember to get rid of it today.

I can't believe you hate the french.

[Tall_James]

:wallbash:

X 2

[Devo37]

how about some nice ambient-esque Plastikman:

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[Tall_James]

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[IMSlacker]

Robert Schneider from Apples in Stereo just put out a kids album as Robbert Bobbert & the Bubble Machine.

Click here to listen to "We R Super Heroes" (http://cdn.stereogum.com/mp3/Robbert%20Bobbert%20And%20The%20Bubble%20Machine%2 0-%20We%20R%20Super%20Heroes.mp3)