First Crushes

Skip has told me time and time again that his first memory his Mother has of him enjoying music involves him singing along to Blondie at full volume as a toddler in the car. The response was instantaneous and the experience potent. I watched my own boys fall right in line like a couple of bewitched zombies this past weekend. What is it about Debby Harry that takes hold of males and females from the first moment and into eternity? Everything. Simply everything. It is not just a request for "Tide is High" that I get but an embarrassed blushing coo for "Blllooooondie" from my two year old. He is in love. No mistake about it. And I get that.

IN RAINBOWS

This has been on repeat in our car lately. We watched the Grammies as a family. This was a little dicey as the commercials can get pretty scary. Actually, most of the content (or lack thereof as far as this year) was pretty scary. Radiohead shone out like a bright little beacon of creative energy and light amidst it all. A nice reminder that good things are happening in the music business. And what wouldn;t a kid love about a college marching band acting in place of a drum machine/sample with a funny dancing guy jumping around on stage.

How To Dance

This is amazing. Not only did Billy Preston play keyboards for a large and addicting portion of The Beatles hit recordings but he can also move like, well, quite frankly...like nothing I have ever seen before. We found this the other night and sat, as a family, with our mouths hanging open in front of the computer screen. This is that video we will show the aliens when they ask us about music. woof.

Share this with your little ones. If nothing else, they will giggle and/or this mysterious imprint will stick.

Just play this for your kids....

When a Boy Falls In Love by Mel Carter

Elvis Presley

WHO: Elvis Aaron Presley, born January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi.

WHEN: January 8, 1935 - August 16, 1977

WHAT: um, he's Elvis.

WHY:
Historical:
Elvis Presley is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music. One of the first performers of rockabilly music, his unique recordings of novel songs mixing "black" and "white" sounds combined with his uninhibited stage performances made him extremely popular as well as controversial. He has been inducted into four halls of fame, set records in record sales, concert attendance , and iconic popularity.

Practical:
1) His name is Elvis. And if that doesn't intrigue them, he is also known as "The King" or (even better) "The King of Rock and Roll".

2) Cool Details: When Elvis was a kid he was bullied and teased in school. On his eleventh birthday he asked his parents for a bike but they could only afford a guitar. Receiving guitar lessons from his uncle, Elvis quickly became attached to his new gift and was known around town as "that kid with the guitar slung across his back". He tried to get jobs at the local venues and studied the musicians he was lucky enough to see coming through Memphis. Despite his unpopularity and shyness, Elvis sang for his high school Minstrel show and won having the most applause and thus an encore.

3) In his own words: "Rock and roll music, if you like it, and you feel it, you can't help but move to it. That's what happens to me. I have to move around. I can't stand still. I've tried it, and I can't do it."

WHICH:

"Pocket Full of Rainbows"

"Hound Dog"

"That's Alright Mama"

**Cracker Jack Prize for parents:

"Hound Dog"-original version by Big Mama Thorton

SHOW THIS TO YOUR KIDS:

Bob Dylan

**see footnote before beginning

WHO: born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941 in Duluth , Minnesota.

WHEN: 1959-present

WHAT: an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, poet, disc jockey who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades.

WHY:

Historical Use:
Bob Dylan- what can I say? He is the greatest songwriter that pop music has had to date. Some people would say arguably--I don't think it is arguable. He started out in the folk and ballad tradition that goes back centuries into American and European history. At the start of his career he played folk music as it fit into the present musical community of such acts as Pete Seeger and the Kingston Trio. He outgrew that form in the middle sixties and began making a lyrical type of electric rock and roll that had never been heard before, and was not particularly well-received by his audience ( See Albums "Bringin' it All Back Home", "Highway 61 Revisited", and "Blonde on Blonde").
Bob Dylan's records have earned Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame, and Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He has been regularly referred to as on of the 2oth centuries most important people, has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times, and in 2008 won the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

Practical Use:
Going in and out of popularity with fans and critics through out his entire career, there has never been any doubt that Bob Dylan is a major artist and one of historical significance. He is probably the most likely of all musicians to end up in your children's social studies book and yet can currently be heard weekly on his own radio show.
Because of his exceptional lyrical ability, people can often times underestimate (and/or overlook) how musical Bob Dylan is. Throughout his entire catalog of music can be found a profound musicality that comes directly out of the ballad tradition. It is the music that the kids immediately react to.

Also, sometimes Bob Dylan liked to paint his face too. Very cool.


WHICH:

The Man in Me

I Want You

Subterranean Homesick Blues

SHOW THIS TO YOUR KIDS:




**disclaimer: we will obviously revisit Bob Dylan so let's just consider this "getting our feet wet" and blame it on our kids by calling it "first introductions".

WHO: Camera Obscura

WHEN: formed in 1996 by members Tracyanne Campbell, John Henderson, and Gavin Dunbar.
The band has released 3 albums and is currently touring extensively.

WHAT: Scottish Indie-Pop marvels best known for their critically acclaimed third album release 2006 Let's Get Out of this Country.

Album Pick: Let's Get Out of This Country

WHY:
This is indie-pop at some of it's most clever, surprising, and (can I say?) delightful. Uber-melodic, good for sing-alongs, dance-alongs, and the album single "Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken," called by reviewers "four minutes of fancifully brisk pop" creates the desire to be swung around "carousel swing-style" with your head flung back and your arms in the air- a favorite game of any under 12-er (age limit based on physics rather than desire).

WHICH:

Let's Get Out of This Country

Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken

SHOW THIS TO YOUR KIDS: