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Music for Kids that Doesn't Hurt Parents

4/29/2011

12 Comments

 
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Just in the past week or two, Fred V has discovered that there is music that is not sung by his mom that just might be worth listening to. This means that soon, there will be children's music in our house. This is the first medium that my husband and I have to sift through and make mindful choices for our son.
I have issues with a lot of children's music on the market today. A lot of it is insipid, pandering, and utterly obnoxious. Then, of course, there's the whole Disney can of worms. Avoiding, or at least trying to balance, gender stereotypes and enforcement of the status quo takes a lot of careful and thoughtful diligence.
For those of you who may have read the above paragraph and scoffed at my typical, first-time parent foolishness, I will say only that my mother raised two daughters who were neither tomboys nor princesses by making mindful decisions about the media we were exposed to and the context in which it was presented.
So I have begun the process of reflecting on my own childhood favorites, and discovering what's new and wonderful in the world of music for children.
My own hands down favorite is Raffi, Canadian musician and advocate for children all over the world. He has a pleasant voice and sings a combination of original and traditional songs, in French and English. We picked up two of his CDs at our library the other day and I'm pleased to be able to say I still like him.
My only new music discovery thus far was actually made by my sister. Hip girl that she is, my sister brought us one of They Might Be Giants' children's albums "Here Comes Science". TMBG was one of my favorite bands as an adolescent and I actually saw them live several times as a teenager, so I was thrilled to learn they were making music for kids now. V is not exactly ready to learn about science yet, but I think it's fun for him anyway.
Growing up, my TV watching was limited to educational programming almost exclusively and I LOVED learning through music. My favorite show, "Square One", on PBS, was all about math and had several math-themed music videos in each program. I can only hope that I can find such quality programming for V when he's old enough to watch any TV.

I would love to hear about your favorite children's musicians. What do you like?
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12 Comments
Mutti
4/29/2011 12:17:17 pm

Thank you Ansley. I love you and I love what wonderful parents you and IV are for my grandson.
I still love Raffi.
You sing a song and I'll sing a song and we'll sing a song together.
What could be better?

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Suzy Grindrod
4/29/2011 12:27:08 pm

Hi, Ansley. First of all, I have a ton of respect for your mom, and often use her as a sounding board/clearinghouse on parenting my teen/young adult daughters as they navigate the halls of East High and beyond. Not surprised at all that she was a mindful parent of young children. I have to chuckle at the angst I had: for instance when my 3 year old daughter announced that Santa WAS going to bring her a Barbie or when my other daughter went through what we affectionally called her "French whore phase" of dress. Music, however, was easy. Raffi, of course, although not as a steady exclusive diet. We also loved John McCutcheon's album "Howjadoo", Priscilla Herdmann's "Daydreamer", and Madison singer Stuart Stotts. That's just the dedicated kids' music. The REAL music -- and what my kids still love? The Beatles (and A Hard Day's Night is an excellent movie for kids as well), Emmylou Harris, Steeleye Span, and the all-time family favorite South African performer Johnny Clegg. (Last week we all went to Minneapolis as a family to see him in concert. It's a joy that we can all still share this at ages 15, 22, and 51!) Good luck! -- Suzy

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Suzy Grindrod
4/29/2011 12:29:05 pm

Oops. *affectionately* I DO know how to spell.

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crystel
4/29/2011 12:56:59 pm

my kiddos love music. raffi, we just found tmbg, i used to listen to that john mccutcheon record! and tom pease, kid's music from amherst (i used to babysit his kids!) also there are rock-a-bye remakes of rocknroll music into instrumental lullabies...you have your ac/dc to metallica but also bjork or pearl jam and lots more...they are so fun.

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becky link
4/29/2011 01:26:13 pm

my kids liked Hee Haw. What can I say?

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Ansley Knoch link
4/30/2011 12:39:23 am

thank you all so much for your wonderful suggestions!
mutti- you're welcome, i love you too.
suzy- i can't wait to get my hands on these musician's work! although, i must admit, i'm already a johnny clegg fan from way back (and i actually sang on 1 or 2 of stuart stotts' albums!) good point on the grownup music- there are so many artists who appeal to everyone.
crystel-thank you for the tom pease reminder, i love him! (but had completely forgotten about him...) i'm excited to find these rock-a-bye remakes!
becky-i can see V being a hee haw guy too...

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Rosy
4/30/2011 06:44:34 am

Dan Zaines, Putamayo for kids, Barenaked Ladies did a fun kids' CD, as did Lisa Loeb recently...lots of cd's available at the public library for your perusal...as well as Pandora.com. Good luck!
Rosy
Oh! Just remembered...Linda Rondstadt did a lovely CD of kid's lullabies but the name escapes me...but included on it was a truly new version of "We Will Rock You". Check it out!

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ariel
4/30/2011 06:52:25 am

hazel really likes some gogol bordello, though i gotta watch out for swears, and of course Kimya Dawson and Moldy Peaches has some good stuff.
Ashley Eriksson is someone i found out about cause they use her song for the end credits of Adventure Time, and her other stuff is pretty great.
hippie music goes over great with kids, i find- judy collins, old leonard cohen, joni mitchell, beatles of course. we sang it more than listened to it, though, when i was little.

and i haven't tried it on babies, but what about classical instrumental stuff? bach's cello suites or chopin or the like?

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really interesting coot
5/1/2011 02:56:31 am

"I will say only that my mother raised two daughters who were neither tomboys nor princesses by making mindful decisions about the media we were exposed to and the context in which it was presented" Reading this on her birthday made T very happy. You and your sister were very fortunate to have the most intentional parent for a mother. I'm so happy for V that he has the same.

yr coot

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Alyssa
5/1/2011 11:54:12 pm

The Barenaked Ladies have also jumped on the children's music bandwagon with Snack Time! I don't know what you guys think of Ken Lonnquist personally, but I grew up listening to his music and I love(d) it, especially the Old Befana collaboration he did with Maggie Delaney-Potthoff (of Harmonious Wail). AND it's rumored that the Simon Sisters' album Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod will be re-released soon!

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Ansley Knoch link
5/2/2011 01:10:52 am

ooh so many more artists to check out!
rosy-forgot about putamayo, i usually like their collections, and linda ronstadt!
ariel-i think V would love kimya, he's not crazy about instrumental stuff yet (and IV has a strange aversion to classical music...)
coot-thank you and also you're welcome. i call it like i see it.
alyssa-thanks for the old befana tip, sounds fab and i'm so watching out for winkin blinken and nod!

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JO
5/2/2011 12:32:14 pm

Hello! We love Dan Zanes as well, Medeski Martin and Wood has a children's album that is great, 23 skidoo is loved by the kids, and there are a few CD's called For The Kids with various artists that are really fun! Enjoy little Fred!

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    My name is Ansley Knoch. I am the creator of Rispok, a line of accessories for big and little people made from repurposed materials. I live in Madison, Wisconsin with my husband, Fred, and our son, also Fred, better known as 5.

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