So here's the first installment of my quixotic attempt to produce a list of the Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time.
In general this list is supposed to produce a list of songs familiar to a wide range of kids, at least in English-speaking North America. (OK, I realize that's not quite so wide.) As we approach #1, the songs are more likely to be "classics," recorded multiple times, and familiar enough to people for them to join in singing spontaneously. Which is not to say that more recent and more recording-focused tunes won't make the list, just that they're probably more the exception than the rule.
And remember, if you haven't entered the contest to pick the top five, go do so now.
Without any further ado, then, here we go...
50. "Bicycle" - The Jellydots: Did I say this song wouldn't make this list? OK, I changed my mind. Of course, a lot of the Jellydots' tunes were written to help teacher guitar to kids, so maybe 20 years from now some 10-year-old kid will jam out on her own guitar to this. (Listen at the Jellydots' Myspace page.)
49. "Tricycle" - Lunch Money: "This tricycle / Was my brother's tricycle / And that's why it has / This dent in the fender." Lunch Money's debut Silly Reflection is a small gem of a CD and I could've picked any one of a half-dozen excellent songs here, but this one is the most accessible and relatable to kids and their parents. (Listen at Lunch Money's lyrics page for "Tricycle".)
48. "Car Car" - Woody Guthrie: Hard to believe this song is, what, 50 years old? Covered by Elizabeth Mitchell on You Are My Sunshine (with a "beep beep" that still makes us swivel our heads every time we listen to it in the car), it's still timely today. (Listen to a sample of Woody's version here.)
47. "Yellow Bus" - Justin Roberts: Roberts is one of the top 2 or 3 crafters of kids pop tunes working today. This track is a fine example of his folk-pop talent merged with his ample sense of humor -- kids and parents might not necessarily sing his music on their own all the time, but they'll definitely sing along. (Listen to a sample here.)
46. "Trot Ol' Joe" - traditional: An excellent example -- the first of many -- of songs that have been shaped through the years to fit slightly different melodies and lyrics. Also an excellent example of songs to combine with physical movements with toddlers. Love the "whoooooaaa, Joe" part.
Final note: Note the common thread here? Yes, all these songs deal with modes of transportation. No, the rest of the list will not be organized quite so neatly.
Wouldn't It Be Great If There Was A Video About Tricycles?
Why, yes, yes it would. Frances England's got herself a spiffied-up website and a video and slideshow to boot. Now if only Lunch Money and the Jellydots would jump in with videos for their awesome three- and two-wheeled songs...
Welcome Interstate Managers, er, Salon Readers
Welcome to those of you finding us because of the Salon article on "kindie rockers". (Welcome also, as always, to people looking for downloads of and lyrics to "Great Big World," from Hoodwinked. I still can't help you with those, despite your insistent pleas.) Thanks, Salon, for the link, and for posting some fabulous mp3s from said rockers. (Scott Lamb's article is worth sitting through the Honda ad non-subscribers will have to watch in order to read the article -- it's a nice summing up of the current state of kids' music.)
If you're new to the site, I encourage you to look around -- links to other kids'-music-related blogs as well as to every full album review (including Justin Roberts, Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, and Milkshake) can be found on the right. If you're wondering what to get that 4-year-old nephew for his birthday, check out my page of album recommendations by age. I treat kids' music the way any parent who really likes music would -- with my own set of interests but with an understanding that perhaps not every song off Spoon's Gimme Fiction is going to appeal to my 5-year-old (let alone my 1-year-old).
There's so much great kids' music being made, and not just by the rockers mentioned in the article who have made their way to kids' TV screens. Dig in -- you're bound to find something you and the kids in your life will really like.
Saturday AM edit: You know, I could actually help readers "dig in" if I specifically mentioned a few artists and albums that readers might not be familiar with if they're only sticking to the TV/Noggin crowd. No disrespect meant to the Noggin crowd -- Zanes, Roberts, and TMBG, in particular, are all among my favorites kids' artists -- but these four albums are tremendous, too.
Silly Reflection, by Lunch Money (review)
If You Ever See An Owl, by the Terrible Twos (review)
Fascinating Creatures, by Francis England (review)
Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World DVD, by Morgan Taylor (review)
Crosseyed and Painless
David Byrne recently posted a few thoughts on the past, present, and future of album art. Byrne's main point? We shouldn't necessarily mourn the loss of album art (which was often designed without the artist's input) with the rise of the iPod et al. Bryne posits a future in which recorded music is free while graphic designers develop ways to entice those listeners to pay for other stuff (merchandise, etc.) associated with the artist. (Thanks to Stereogum for the original reference.)
What does this have to do with children's music? I don't know whether many children's music artists spend much time considering album art. Even if they do (and they probably do), the results often doesn't show that. Raffi's early albums, while pretty darn good, could hardly be considered to have great album art. Those covers are pretty good compared to some I've seen. Aside from the Wiggles, who have very consistent art direction (THE WIGGLES! SMILING! FUN, BRIGHT COLORS!), there aren't a lot of kids' artists whose art direction I love. Dan Zanes is a conspicuous exception (it helps if your brother-in-law is an artist), and there are some other exceptions, too. (The packaging of Lunch Money's Silly Reflection is fabulous, for example. By the way, do you have that album yet? Why not? Go!)
I think much of children's music is trapped behind packaging that screams "you, the adult, will tolerate this and that's all." And I think that may explain partially why certain albums do or don't do well. Flipping through the small kids' music section at your local Borders... what are you going to choose? If you're trying to decide what to give as a gift for your niece's 4th birthday, what are you going to choose? How about looking at covers online? (Yes, I realize that, considering the current plainness of this website, this is a bit "pot-calling-the-kettle-black.")
While bad album art won't always win (Raffi's CDs are still very popular), it takes an awesome album to overcome that art. While Byrne may be right that album art in general may fall by the wayside, I think that day is further away for kids' music than for most music.
And just because I dig the Talking Heads, here's a page with some Talking Heads audio samples. The obvious choice for this site is "Stay Up Late," a funky tune from Little Creatures, but how can you not listen to something from Remain In Light? Go have fun.
What's your favorite children's music album cover/packaging?
This Week: Coast to Coast to Coast
This week at Zooglobble, we're going from LA to New York (with a review of Dan Zanes' Catch That Train!) and back again. See -- we exhibit both East Coast and West Coast Bias! (I can do the Chicago thing -- Justin Roberts and Ralph's World -- only so often. Though there are more reviews coming from those two, too.)
Also, it's been just over a month since the NPR interview that sent many of you here. Thanks again to everyone who's read, commented, e-mailed, or linked here. Also, many thanks to all the artists who have sent me their CD or DVD. I'm still working my way through them all, and while I won't review all of them here, I've got a lot of reviews (and other things) lined up in the weeks ahead.
Finally, here are links to a few posts in case you missed 'em the first time around.
Frances England's Fascinating Creatures -- review, interview
Lunch Money's Silly Reflection -- review
Bruce Springsteen's We Shall Overcome (The Seeger Sessions) -- review
Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World DVD -- review
Anne Hathaway's "Great Big World", from the Hoodwinked Soundtrack -- review. Goodness, there are lots of people wanting lyrics and mp3s for that song. (Too bad I don't actually have the lyrics or mp3s.)
Thanks again for reading.
Review: Silly Reflection - Lunch Money
I think the best way to introduce this review is by talking about how much stuff our daughter has. I'm not talking about massive amounts of overblown toys and games. I'm just talking about her stuffed animals, which almost crowd her out of her bed. Or her My Little Ponies, which she decorates with her ponytail holders. Kids' lives are defined as much by objects and things as they are by people -- favorite books, favorite clothes, favorite foods.
Children's music tends to focus on feelings (I'm happy! I'm sad!) or concepts (numbers, letters). But Silly Reflection, the late-2004 debut album from the South Carolina-based trio Lunch Money, draws its inspiration from kids' stuff. Trains ("Caboose"), roller coasters ("Roller Coaster," natch), umbrellas ("Umbrella") -- these are the things that fascinate kids because they've never seen such things before. Singer/songwriter Molly Ledford likes to use similes to describe these things in ways concrete ("I'd like to introduce the caboose / Last in line, red like a stop sign") and a little more abstract ("Umbrella, you're quite the little magic trick / You start off looking like a stick / But with a little rain / You bloom like a flower"). And here is a sampling of the words used on the album: "vamoose," "esprit," "ukulele," "amphibians," and the phrase "thick as thieves." These are not typical kids' music words.
But it's the music that I really dig -- it's very Kill The Moonlight-era Spoon with some Yo La Tengo and Shins mixed in. Wonderful melodies with the barest of instrumentation which make the small musical flourishes -- trumpet and double bass and fingersnaps and handclaps -- stand out that much more. It's hard for me to pick out a favorite song, but I love the way the wistful melody and harmonizing in "I Want A Dog" mixes with the longing lyrics of a child wanting a dog before getting too old (and constantly changing her mind as to the dog's name). All that, and it's wryly amusing, too. ("I look at the paper, but it's really not up to me / I'll just have to hope and look longingly.")
At 22 minutes long, Silly Reflection is short but sweet -- there isn't a bad song on the album. Lyrically, it will hit home most for kids age 3 through 7. But it really is one of those children's music albums you will find yourself playing when the kids aren't around. You can listen to three songs off the album here -- they're fairly representative of the CD, so if you like those, you'll like the rest of the album. You can buy the CD from Lunch Money direct or from the usual online suspects. Highly recommended.
