I got an e-mail from a kids' music artist asking the following question:
"I'm looking for some song ideas that people like you (you're basically a kidsmusicologist these days) have wanted to hear, but haven't yet heard on a kids' CD. I can always write more songs - but I really like to dig up obscure songs that few people have heard of and lately it seems like I'm having a hard time finding just the right song that hasn't been done by a million kids' artists."
Now, I must have been thrown off by the phrase "kidsmusicologist," because I completely misinterpreted the question. What the artist was looking for was, well, what they were asking for -- "that old song that your grandma used to sing to you that no one has heard for 35 years."
What I answered was something else entirely...
What I provided were song topics that really haven't been written at all. (Or they've been really obscure. Or they've been done in an overly educational way that proved painful to listen to in a non-educational environment. Or there's maybe one decent song and could certainly use some company.) Here's my (abbreviated) list:
1) Songs about emotions: There are great songs about numbers, alphabets, colors, but emotions are an important topic for preschoolers, and there really isn't anything I've heard that isn't completely didactic.
2) Songs about sports that aren't baseball: Admittedly, baseball is the most important sport ever, but you'd think soccer or basketball might deserve something.
3) Songs about pets dying: There aren't too many modern kids' songs that deal with "sad" or "serious" issues, but that's a topic that might be worth tackling.4) Songs about babysitters: I like Uncle Rock's "Rock 'n' Roll Babysitter," but, like I said, some songs could use some company.Clearly, my memory is failing me... plenty of such songs to go around.
So how about you? Are there long-lost songs you'd love to see re-worked? Are there song topics screaming for a song? Are there gaps waiting to be filled?
