music and kids

[checkersumthing]

So close friends of mine are expecting very soon, and if I haven't gushed about it enough, I'm going to be the godmother!!! And one of my godmother duties I have decided for myself is to make sure this kiddo gets good exposure to music. All kinds of music. My friends are very much pop radio fans, which is cool (I have a thing for pop radio while driving), and I'm going to try to present the music that I listen to on a more regular basis (rock/indie/folk/etc). I figure if I like it, and it isn't overly adult themed/profanity filled, it's good to go. I grew up in a household where we put on Santana records and danced, or Queen and sang along, or the Who and played air guitar. So music was always around me, and I want my godchild to have lots of music in his life too.

I know there are lots of kid albums out there too though, anyone have favorites? Or non kid album favorite you and your kiddos enjoy?

And if there's a thread already started I haven't found, point me in the right direction :)
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[Chiquita]

Non kid music is our favorite by far. MrC has made many great mixes for the kid. Mostly for going to sleep. His current mix includes Astrud Gilberto, Annie Lennox, The Bad Livers, and an all-time favorite with the kid a version of Lush Life!

You sound like an awesome godmother to be, have fun and congrats.

[Chupacabra]

My daughter LOVES to dance. She's been bustin' a move since she was really tiny. She will bop to anything with a beat, and even likes metal because she can bounce to it. Last night she was running from the living room where I was playing Paul McCartney to the kitchen where my husband was playing Sepultura. She loved it. My favorite is when we are outside and a car drives by blasting music and she starts to dance.
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[Crumb]

Trout Fishing in America is AWESOME kids' music that doesn't sound like kids' music. They're super cool. I even have one loaded on my iPod (The Truth Is Stranger Than Fishin'); it has my all-time favorite kids' song on it, "Prom Night in Pig Town."

The "For The Kids" compilations are excellent and have been in heavy rotation in the Crumb household for the past 5 years. Our favorite is "For The Kids Three," but we have and listen to all of them, and they're all great. (I will say that there's one song on #3, "The Lint Song," that we skip because it's...ugly.) Amazon has all of them, just search "For the Kids" and you'll see them.

The Barenaked Ladies and They Might Be Giants have awesome kids' albums, as well, if you want to stay in the pop genre.

I like making mix CDs for the Crumblette. In fact, I'm getting to make one to put in the goody bags for her 5th birthday...if you PM me your address I'll send you one. :)

[pinkie]

My uncle always gave me cool music for gifts, he felt responsible for my musical education and I have always loved him dearly for it.

I'm in charge of one of my best friends' son's comic book education. It's so great to pass on something you're really passionate to a child who's into it. I cried on his 13th birthday, in our religion you're an adult when you read Watchmen.
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You may have to sacrifice a bit of modesty in the name of badassery! -Knittykat

[knittykat]

[crookedtree]

My niece loves the Decemberists and the White Stripes. I also bought her a Pete Seeger album a couple years ago and she loves to come over and play with my banjo. I think her other grandpa, the one I'm not related to, has a bunch of musical instruments, but I'm pretty sure she's not allowed to touch them. So she thinks it's really cool when she gets to strum on my banjo.

I think They Might Be Giants is always good for kids.

When she and her sister are old enough, I'm sending them to Girls Rock camp. They have them all over. I went to the camper showcase this year and it made me cry it was so empowering.

When I was a kid, my dad wasn't into music, but my mom listened to a lot of Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, Billy Joel, Buddy Holly. Some of my fondest memories are of dancing around the kitchen with Mom to the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton Christmas album. I got showtunes and jazz from dance class. All influential to my taste today.

[mohawk]

I don't think kids really need to listen to kid music all the time. Sure I know every Raffi song by heart from my upbringing but we also listened to a lot of classic rock. My favorite song when I was 4 was a Doobie Brothers song. As long as it isn't hurtful to the ears (screamo) or disturbing lyrics (Rhianna!) all music is good for the soul :) But it looks like you already know and agree with that!

I play lots of:
-New Orleans jazz music (especially Kermit Ruffins and Trombone Shorty)
-Bob Marley
-Jack Johnson
-Beatles
-Elvis. She looooves Elvis.
-Led Zepplin
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[LooseyMama]

When #2 son was a baby and #1 was a toddler, I liked to play the soundtrack from The Committments movie. #1 son used to climb up the back of the couch to the CD player and hit the back button so he could hear Mustang Sally over and over and over again.

A bit later, we used to listen to Koko Taylor's "I'm a Woman" in the car on the drive to daycare. My two little boys would be groovin' to the blues in the back seat, singing, "I'm a W-O-M-A-N" until they realized what they were singing, and then they started singing it, "I'm a (pause) M-A-N" ... always made me giggle.

Fast forward to this year, when they're age 9 and 11, and we took them to their first real concerts: live music in an outdoor tent for the Lotus Festival. Now we listen to Movits nearly every morning while I'm making and we're eating breakfast.

http://youtu.be/sqwfDNzTYks
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[madgeylou]

i love lullatone and am making a mix for my niece's stocking this year. their latest album is called "soundtracks for everyday adventures." SQUEE

my niece also loves ska, and i can see a lot of kids digging it. "a message to you rudy!" so happy and boppy.

and also how about nouvelle vague? they do bossa-nova style covers of 80s new wave songs (mostly). here's them doing "love will tear us apart."
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Specializing in dresses and sanity

[Chiquita]

[rawrlie]

when my friend's daughter was little i made her a mix and had this awesome jaunt into kid's music which was really fun. i have two favorite kid's songs now. the first is "see you on the moon" by great lake swimmers, which is possibly the cutest song ever. it's apparently a track on an album of the same name which has a bunch of awesome [mostly canadian! bonus!] bands mostly covering kid's songs. whee.

second favorite is "what kind of cat are you?" by billy jonas. it references cat stevens and teaches kids awesome cat-themed vocabulary! this was the best video of it i could find, but, well, it was kind of adorable so whatevs.

bonus songs: "the monkeys are breaking out the zoo" by belle and sebastian, and my favorite tmbg song. yay good kid music! and congrats on your pending godmotherdom!
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[featherstoryaniweda]

I totally agree with Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley and Jack Johnson...those are the easiest, I mean I don't know any kid who hasn't liked those 3.

Other things I listen to with my kid...Joan Baez(spanish album), Tim & Jeff Buckley, she loves Imogen Heap & Nikka Costa... she also really likes Pj Harvey.

We also listen to John Frusciante, Mos Def and K-Os.

We listen to a lot of yogic music...Snatam Kaur and Baghavan Das and anything with numbers, counting or lyrics that sound like kiddie-fun, even though they might not be...any reference to singing, dancing or movements too.

David Bowie is awesome!
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[Lacey Marie]

Pete is a Ramones freak. Loves it all.

Of course he also loves GWAR (only the songs that aren't too terrible) and Lordi and Austrian Death Machine. Maybe my kid is weird.
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[jettesette]