Those who know me have endured over the past few years some version of what you're about to read. For those of you who have, I apologize. For those who haven't, Welcome!
To put it plainly, I am way too worried about my kid's musical tastes, and she hasn't even arrived yet. Putting aside classical repertoire for the time being, there's about 100 years worth of recorded popular music out there, and I really want my kid to experience as much of it as possible.
But where to start? I could follow my own path, which, distilled to its most basic is: kids' music compilations, such as Wee Sing > oldies radio > country radio > pop radio > standard college discoveries of whatever I could grab via FTP or Napster, i.e. the most popular stuff owned by the most people > post-college denial of everything that I'd listened to up to that point > current mix of modern mainstream and indie pop/rock and oldies and standards and R&B, etc. etc.
Thing is, I don't want to create a carbon copy of myself. I want her to be an individual with her own peculiar tastes (who hopefully recognizes that the NKOTBs, Hannah Montanas, and Justin Biebers of the world have their place, but are a pale shadow of really great music that's happening elsewhere).
So what goes on that first playlist? The Beatles? The Rat Pack? Belle & Sebastian? ELO? Motown? Polyphonic Spree? They Might Be Giants? (sidebar: TMBG has some great kids albums that will find themselves in regular rotation in my house, no question.) Regina Spektor? Rilo Kiley? Buddy Holly? Truth be told, I'm sure all of those artists will end up piped into the nursery at one time or another.
But let's put aside the first playlist for the moment to contemplate something more pressing. What's the first song my daughter will hear? Since I sing to myself 80% of the time, I'm assuming the first song she'll hear will be something I sing, so what should it be? Last night, I came up with the first contender in what will likely be a pretty competitive list, at least in my head.
The version above was recorded by Thurston Harris and released in 1957. It also appeared on the American Graffiti soundtrack, as if the video didn't give that away. To my mind, it's the epitome of a disposable pop hit, but it's proven strangely lasting, with new cover versions appearing every couple of years.
It also sums up in 37 words and 2 1/2 minutes the joy of being a father to a little girl. And although she won't understand any of those words on her first day, I think the feeling will come across.
(And, Daughter, if you turn out to be a Son, I'll pick another song, I promise.)
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There's a good chance she (or he) won't be drawn to what you are no matter what you introduce her/him to. My folks watched Lawrence Welk, Hee Haw, and then current music on entertainment shows of the 60's & 70's. Yet I found ballet and classical music on public tv. The music from a cello vibrates through me, making me yearn for something I cannot name. Where does that come from? Not likely from the music I was exposed to from my parents or siblings.
ReplyDeleteLove it! That song is actually similar to what I sang to Elizabeth when she was a baby. In my experience, you do most of your singing at diaper-changing time. And since you're changing diapers A LOT, that means a lot of singing! When Elizabeth was just a newborn, a song just spontaneously began that was part scat, part repetition of her nickname, "little sweetpea." It was simple, repetitious and easy to ornament and harmonize. We sang it to her for years and it was her very own song. Michael also sang a song to her to the tune of "Walk Away Renee" - but his lyrics were "Elizabeth Renee, you won't see me leaving you alone. And as I look into your pretty, big blue eyes...for me you smile."
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, I'm a big fan of coming up with your own version of a song!
How about keeping it simple? Jesus Loves Me will have the most impact in the long run.
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