And Now For Something Completely Different

There was a time when children's music sounded, for the most part, all the same. There were funny character voices or choruses of children's voices singing simple, repetitive songs like "The Wheels on the Bus" or "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Near the end of the 1990's, new parents began rebelling against the standard children's music fare, and some of the newest generation of parents began trying their own hand at children's music. A new era of children's music had begun.

But for most of the last five years or so, the majority of this innovative new children's music has had mainly a pop, rock or folk sound to it, perhaps in order to satisfy the parents of my generation who have sought out children's music that we can enjoy along with our children.

I recently came across an original children's music artist who is a bit outside the pop-rock-folk comfort zone into which many parents and children have been settling. Jamie Broza debuted on the children's music scene in 2003 with Bad Mood Mom and released My Daddy is Scratchy in 2005. While Broza's music incorporates a variety of genres, including several brands of rock and jazz, his overarching influence on My Daddy is Scratchy seems to be Broadway rock musicals. Think of the music from Pippin or Godspell with lyrics for young children.

Musically these songs are very complex - not three-chord ditties that Broza jotted down while playing around on his guitar. This makes for interesting listening - never simple or boring. But it also results in arrangements are sometimes a little too dense, making the album seem over-produced, especially for children's music. Broza covers vocals, keyboards, drums and percussion; and most songs include guitar and bass. Broza's arrangements also bring into play a number of other sounds - flugelhorn on the title track, bass clariet, trumpet, and violin on others.

Broza employs many tricks of the show-tune trade, from the bits of dialogue worked into the songs to the speak-singing that he relies on quite heavily to the full-sounding chorus of children on "I Met a Vegetable I Didn't Like," which sounded somewhat like the cast of the musical Oliver! singing Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall. As odd as that may sound, that is one of my favorite tracks.

There are actual tracks in between many of the songs that are conversations between Broza and various children. If it didn't further the musical theatre style of the album, I would find this completely unnecessary, but these conversations work well as lead-ins to songs.

Like Justin Roberts, Broza's songs touch on some of the universal experiences of childhood - picky eating, avoiding school, negotiating a later bedtime - and many of the songs are sung from the perspective of a child. But Broza's arrangements overwhelm the stories these lyrics tell, and his vocals fall short. When singing from the child's standpoint, Broza sounds like Adam Sandler singing "Red Hooded Sweatshirt," and at other times he simply sounds uncomfortable with his own voice.

I applaud Broza for expanding the children's music genre, for taking some risks, and for writing some crazy-fun lyrics. Many children will find his sound appealing (like my 6-year-old son), but parents who are listening along may have some difficulty (like my 39-year-old husband). You can check out sample tracks here to decide for yourself.

Why Moms Blog

It's Friday, which means it's time for me to Think Too Hard about something besides kiddie culture or music. And I have a big, huge Thinking Too Hard post that has been brewing in my head for quite some time now.

When I started my blog, I deliberately avoided blogging about motherhood. I naively thought that someone (Mimi Smartypants) already had that market/territory covered, so I chose something related to motherhood, but more specific - kiddie culture, and especially (lately) children's music. I didn't want to step on Ms. Smartypants' toes, afterall.

After making my little blog public early in 2006, I was excited to find a few other bloggers writing about children's music, each with a slightly different approach, but I was completely blown away by what else I found. Hundreds - no - thousands of mothers blogging away all over the world. What could all these moms have to say, I thought, that Mimi Smartypants hadn't already covered?

The more I read, the more it became clear to me: These women weren't blogging in an attempt to be the next Mimi Smartypants. Sure, a few of them were probably dreaming of making a big name for themselves in the blogosphere or landing a book deal. But most of them were blogging as a way of connecting with other moms. This was not something I had considered when I started my blog. At that time, I already had a close group of mom friends online, a few in-real-life (IRL) mom and non-mom friends, parents, siblings, and a full-time job that allowed me to interact with other adults throughout the day. I was blogging to get my "writing groove" on again, not to make friends.

Blogging as a way of interacting with other moms? A way of building community? How interesting....

I looked at myself and my own group of online mom friends, reflecting back on how we got together. We first got acquainted in 1999 and 2000 through Baby Center, where we publicly posted about our pregnancy complications, birth stories, and early baby milestones, along with dozens of other Baby Center moms.

By the fall of 2000, our small group (which now numbers 15) had established a private online community, where we could "talk" more candidly about motherhood, marriage, sex, work, and much, much more. In the years that our group has been togther, we've had numerous IRL interactions with each other - sometimes (though rarely) as a large group, but more often in two's or three's. We are scattered all over the U.S., and come from a variety of backgrounds - as much variety as you could find among a group of middle- or upper-middle class white women with computers, anyway.

Looking around at the mom and mommy bloggers who I read, I see women connecting the way my group of mom friends did six years ago. I see women sharing the kind of personal struggles that, for whatever reason, are easier to post about online than to talk about with the other moms from your child's pre-school. I see women seeking and getting all kinds of affirmation and understanding and "yes, I've been through that, too" comments. I see mom bloggers arranging to meet each other in person and planning to get together at the BlogHer conference this summer. And I think, how on earth did moms survive without the Internet?

But the kinds of friendships moms are finding through blogging are also quite different from what I found online. The difference in format between a blog and an online community (like those available through MSN or Yahoo, or even the discussion boards on Baby Center) are quite remarkable.

With a blog, the blogger is the Hostess and her readers/commenters are guests. The blogger gets to choose the topics to be discussed, gets to be the main character in the stories that are told, and gets to delete inappropriate comments (or turn off comments all together) if someone says something she doesn't like. This is so different from the kind of online community my mom friends and I built, where we are all on equal footing as owners/moderators of our group, and it's fascinating to watch the difference in the dynamics.

Blogging is also incredibly public, unlike many online communities. I am in awe, and perhaps a bit envious of the moms who are willing and able to share such incredibly personal thoughts on their blogs, especially the moms who have their own family members reading their blogs. Even those who are completely anonymous, who share these raw, personal stories amaze me - moms who come out to say to anyone who might be reading, "I worry some days that I'm not a very good mother" or "I don't know if I can take another day of this." Wow.

I've been pleasantly surprised to find that blogging has led me to a new way of connecting with other moms. And on a much larger scale, I've been stunned - really and truly impressed in that "I'm so proud to be a woman" kind of way - to see the kind of interaction happening with so many moms in the blogosphere. I feel incredibly lucky to have the group of mom friends I've had since becoming a mom, and I am thrilled to see other moms finding this kind of connection through blogging. How did moms survive before the Internet?

Dan Zanes, I'm Ready!

With a new Dan Zanes album, Catch That Train, coming out in May, I have been mentally preparing to write about this prolific icon of family music. I will make a big confession here and tell you, dear readers, I have not listened to a lot of Dan Zanes' music until quite recently. I have been aware of him for years (and have been listening to his brother Warren for a couple years), but have had so much other music in my head (and in my car and in my son's CD player), and I just never had him high on my list. Silly me.

I am so glad I finally got around to seriously listening to Dan Zanes. My husband downloaded bunch of his songs from eMusic for me several weeks back, and they are incredible.

The "Dan Zanes and friends" model that Zanes uses on his albums brings a herd of well-known musicians from rock, pop and other genres into the family music scene. Deborah Harry, Aimee Mann, Loudon Wainright III, Roseanne Cash and others join Zanes at the microphone to liven up traditional songs and to sing along to some of his original pieces.

This "and friends" model works well artistically, as well as from a marketing standpoint. For some parents, I believe, it might be easier to justify spending 15 bucks on a children's/family CD if you see a name of an artist or two who you already know and like.

"Thrift Shop," a Zanes original sung with Sandra Bernhard on Family Dance, has gotten to be one of my favorites, along with "Polly Wolly Doodle," sung with Sheryl Crow on Rocket Ship Beach. Hearing the lyrics that were invented in the later verses of their "Polly Wolly Doodle" made me wonder if this song is to children's musicians what "The Aristocrats" joke is to stand-up comedians.

Zanes singing "Wabash Cannonball" with Bob Weir (former Grateful Dead guitarist and vocalist) has been a bit troubling to me - not because I don't like the song or what they have done with it, but because explaining to my son who Bob Weir is could lead to some conversations I'm not quite ready to have with him until he's, oh, about 40 years old. Hey - what happens at Alpine Valley stays at Alpine Valley.

Seeing the parade of stars who have been a part of Zanes' work makes me think I would love to see the list of musicians (if there are any) who have said no to the opportunity to record a song with him. What kind of class-A jerk would it take to say "no" to singing with Dan Zanes? "Yeah, thanks for thinking of me Dan, but I just don't like kids much. Or families. I think the whole concept is really over-rated. But good luck with it, buddy." Can you just imagine?

Judging from his website, it's a lot of work being Dan Zanes. In addition to being well-connected in the music industry, he is supportive of many causes and conscientious about all kinds of things ranging from the ink used in his liner notes to the cleaning products in his home. Reading "the sixteen page cd package is made of 100% recycled chlorine-free papaer and was printed with soy based inks" makes me glad that someone like Zanes is using his celebrity to educate the public about important things like this, but at the same time makes me feel like a schmuck for just throwing away the plastic tray from my son's Kid Cuisine meal (as if I didn't already feel bad enough for feeding him Kid Cuisine).

But I'm enjoying getting to know you, Dan Zanes. And I'm looking forward to writing about your new album when it comes out in May. I'm ready.

Frances Rocks

Every once in a while, I come upon a new children's music artist that really gets me excited. I want to get copies the CD of it for all my mom friends, tell everyone I know how amazing it is, and play it in the car with the windows down so everyone can hear what great music I play for my kids.

Frances England is one of these arists who makes me want to stop other parents on the street and say, "You've got to hear this!" Her debut album, Fascinating Creatures, was released in March and has already received several fabulous reviews. It can best be described as indie rock for kids, but I would also call it some of the best "mom music" around.

In all the ways that Laurie Berkner misses the mark for me, England comes through. A mom herself, England has put together a collection of songs that are lyrically and musically appropriate for kids, but with enough of an edge that they could pass for grown-up music, along the lines of Liz Phair or Cat Power. In fact, my first reaction to Frances England was something like this: "A kids' music artist who lists Liz Phair among her influences? I am so there!"

Songs like "Tricycle" and "Charlie Parker"" have a nice combination of electric and acoustic guitar, plus a little bass and percussion to drive them along. Others, like "Sometimes" and "Daddy-o," are acoustic and heartfelt, bringing into focus England's incredible vocals.

The title track is musically sophisticated (this is where the Liz Phair influence really stands out) and lyrically unique, describing how various "fascinating creatures" live by following their natural instincts. Instead of cows that go moo or ducks that go quack, "Fascinating Creatures" gives us lyrics like "If I were a bull I’d grow the longest horns / impress the cows and show the boys whose boss."

England's lyrics throughout the album are smart and original. Rather than going for obvious rhymes or perfect iambic pentameter, she writes in a conversational rhythm much of the time and creates beautiful images for the listener.

Like a mom in a laundry detergent or cereal commercial, I've "tested" this album on my two sons, and it has given them hours of enjoyment. Even my six-year-old, who is beginning to complain that some of the music I write about is "little kid" music, listens very happily to Fascinating Creatures. This CD will go with us in the car when we head out for an eight-hour car trip in May, and it will stay high on my list of recommendations.

Get your own copy of Fascinating Creatures and hear samples here, or check out lyrics and more here. And get your copy soon, so that in a year or two, when Frances England is a Big Deal in the world of children's music (as I believe she will be), you can say, "Oh, yeah, we've been listening to Frances forever."

The Hollow Trees: Unplugged

When my husband and I played together in a band in college, our band's main "competitor" in our small, culturally-limited college town was Gust, a band so overloaded with synthesizers and effect pedals, no one was really sure if they were good musicians or just good computer programmers. Although we used amps and microphones in our performances, we often joked that we were superior to Gust because we would still be able to play if the power went out.

Around that same time, MTV introduced the show Unplugged, which turned out to be a great way to publicly test the musicianship of some of our favorite 90's artists. Could Nirvana possibly sound as good with just acoustic guitars and percussion? Yessiree. Could Poison sound as good? Not so much.

Unplugged is what came to mind when I first listened to The Hollow Trees. This Americana folk group from Los Angeles is led by Greg McIlvaine (a.k.a. Gregory Hollow Tree) on guitar and vocals and Laura Steenberge (a.k.a. Laura Hollow Tree) on upright bass and vocals. The Hollow Trees can indeed play "unplugged," and they do it incredibly well, without sounding pretentious or weak.

Their self-titled first album was released in December 2005 and introduces several traditional favorites - "Polly Wolly Doodle," "Shoo Fly," and "Jack was Every Inch a Sailor" among the strongest. The album also delivers a handful of original numbers, including the band's theme song, "Nelson," about a mythical forest creature who lives in (of all places) a hollow tree. As the mascot for The Hollow Trees, Nelson likes to gather his forest friends to make music.

A family-friendly folk group with a theme song and a mascot? Musicians using "Gregory Hollow Tree" and "Laura Hollow Tree" as stage names? I know what you're thinking.....Mrs. Davis, this sounds quite unlike some of your other recommendations.

Well, following the advice my husband once gave me when he tried to get me to eat at a sushi restaurant for the first time - try new things, and maybe you'll like new things - I tried this, and I liked it. And the more I listen, the more I like (but I still don't care for sushi). The Hollow Trees are solid musicians who don't take themselves too seriously. They can pull off the theme song and the mascot.

This is fun, rollicking folk music, not the look-at-us-in-our-black-turtlenecks-and-funky-glasses-singing-folk-songs-in-French-and-did-we-mention-we-both-went-to-Brown kind of folk music that Lisa Loeb and Liz Mitchell gave us on Catch the Moon. These songs are mostly upbeat and energetic, with masterful guitar picking and a clear, full sound. The Hollow Trees incorporate enough banjo, percussion, harmonium, and backing vocals to make the music interesting, but not so much that it overwhelms their natural, spontaneous style.

Songs like "Raccoon and Possum" and "Jack was Every Inch a Sailor" highlight the well-balanced guitar-banjo-bass combo, while "Forest Melody" and "Three Jolly Hunstmen" showcase Greg's fantastic guitar-playing. On the final track, "Buckeye Jim," Laura takes a bow to her upright bass and lays down a beautiful, flowing bass line beneath the mellow vocals and guitar.

As you listen to The Hollow Trees, you can tell they are having fun. And if an artist making children's music isn't having fun, they should just hang up their guitar and go back to their accounting job.

The Hollow Trees CD is available here, and you can hear four full tracks from the CD here.

What Are YOU Doing Here?

Welcome to all the new visitors who have been stopping by lately, and thank you to Liz and Kristen, Theresa, Justin Roberts, and others who have sent new traffic here in the last week! Those of you who are new may want to check out some of these posts; and if you are here because you are a Justin Roberts fan, you may want to read this one or that one.

I welcome comments, and not just the "Oh, Mrs. Davis, you are so brilliant and funny" variety - feel free to tell me if you disagree or are completely offended by something I have said. Or, email me (thelovelymrsdavis-at-hotmail-dot-com) to discretely let me know that I am walking around with a virtual scrap of toilet tissue stuck to my shoe.

I write about mine and my family's experiences with children's music, television, movies, and other forms of kiddie culture; as well as my own perspectives on pop culture and motherhood. The reviews I write are my crticial views interwoven with my own experiences, so along with my "expert" opinion on a new album, you also get a bit of context - some of the when and why and how my family and I heard it.

I rarely discuss age-appropriateness of the material I cover, because I am not the least bit qualified to make those kind of decisions or recommendations for people I have never met. One thing I have learned as a mom is that parenting styles are as varied as children's fingerprints - what one parent thinks is wonderful for his pre-schooler another parent might find completely inappropriate for hers. And the same mom who lets her child watch shows like Kim Possible and Jimmy Neutron at age three might still not let that child watch the Power Rangers at age six (that's me, by the way).

Again, welcome! I hope you enjoy what you find here and keep coming back.

Murray Pasternak, We Hardly Knew Ye

So Wednesday night it happened. It was sooner than I had expected, although I had come to the realization in recent weeks that Ace Young (also known in these parts as Murray Pasternak) wasn't going to make it to the end of American Idol. He came out so strong in the beginning, inspiring my Ace Young Conspiracy Theory, but as the weeks wore on, it became clear that he was just another contestant, as vulnerable as any of the rest of them.

Regular readers, you all knew I wasn't going to let this week pass by without saying something about Ace, didn't you?

While I'm certain he will have numerous career options now that his time on American Idol is over, I thought it would be helpful to offer a few suggestions. So here you go, Ace:

1. Go to graduate school and get a master's degree in Dreaminess.

2. Shirtless yard work. The demand for this, I believe, would be quite high.

3. Join The Wiggles.

4. Freelance hunkiness.

5. Fill Meredith Vieira's spot on The View.


Next week I have lots of new music to talk about, plus thoughts on some of the family movies set to be released in theaters this summer. Stay tuned!

Season 37

Since becoming a mom over six years ago, I've enjoyed sharing various books, songs, and television shows from my own childhood with my older son. Watching holiday specials like The Charlie Brown Christmas-Halloween-Thanksgiving-Arbor Day-Valentine-what have you and The Year Without a Santa Claus, and reading books like The Gingerbread Boy and Make Way for Ducklings have been some of the most sentimental and meaningful experiences for me in this regard, but also near the top of the list is watching Sesame Street. I've recently started letting our younger son watch a bit of Sesame Street, and seeing his face light up at the sight of Big Bird or watching him bounce along to Elmo's singing gives me such a rush.

There are many memories of my childhood that I will never be able to re-create or share with my children, but Sesame Street lives on. Later this year, the house I lived in from age 4 to 18, the house I've been taking my children back to visit at the holidays, the house that I still consider "home" in many ways will be sold, and most of the contents of the house will be distributed among my siblings and me. I will no longer be able to show my sons the tree I used to climb or the places I used to hide; and while my six-year-old son will have memories of Easter egg hunts and Christmas mornings in that house, my one-year-old will know it only through stories and photos. But I can still show them Sesame Street - and other favorites - when I want to feel nostalgic for my own childhood.

The 37th season of Sesame Street is scheduled to begin airing on August 14. In past years the new season began in April. According to a New York Daily News story on Muppet Central, this season is delayed due to "in-house matters," which makes it sound as though the Muppets are demanding higher salaries or bigger dressing rooms.

In its 36th season, Sesame Street took on a new initiative to educate children about healthy eating, and sent a newly health-conscious Cookie Monster and other Muppets out on a media blitz to promote the new season. This was a major departure from the Sesame Street that I knew as a child. In its 37th season, Sesame Street will incorporate a new focus on social and emotional growth, and will include a story line about Gina the veterinarian (a human character, for those of you who aren't regular viewers) adopting a baby from Guatemala.

I'm a bit disappointed to wait until August for the new season to begin, as I was looking forward to seeing new celebrity guests (musical and otherwise) on Sesame Street, but, to be honest, I don't really watch Sesame Street to see what's new. I watch it to see what's still the same from 30-plus years ago.



This list of celebrity guest stars is pretty amazing - it includes Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Seth Green, Norah Jones (who did a great version of "Don't Know Why" a couple years ago), N'Sync, and even political figures like Kofi Annan.

She's Having a Meltdown

My first exposure to Justin Roberts was at a live performance last summer in Cleveland. Maybe it was his expressive lyrics, maybe it was all the fun his band was having on stage, or maybe it was the fact that I hadn't been to a rock concert since 1999 - somehow I completely fell in love with Roberts' music that day.

Meltdown, the fifth and newest album from Justin Roberts, was released in March and my family was in a big hurry to get our hands on it. From the record store on Main Street, it went straight into the CD-player in the car, and by the time my husband and son walked in the door with it, they were giving it two thumbs-up.

Roberts' songs highlight milestone events like learning to ride a bike or getting glasses, as well as everyday happenings like drawing on the sidewalk or playing with an imaginary friend. But not every song is packed with meaning and message - some, like "Koala Bear Diner," are just for fun. Several songs on Meltdown highlight or reference sibling issues, most notably "My Brother Did It," and Roberts dedicates this album - quite appropriately - to his own brother and sister.

The genius of Roberts is that he can take an extraordinarily complex issue or event and encapsulate it in a three-minute song that beautifully expresses many of the feelings your child (or you) may not have been able to find the words for. On past albums he did this with songs like "Billy the Bully" and "Moving," and on Meltdown he comes through again with "Cartwheels and Somersaults," a sweet, upbeat song about a new baby sister, sung from the perspective of the big brother.

Like the song "Mama is Sad" from Yellow Bus, Roberts shows a very human side of mothers in the title track, which recounts a child's meltdown followed by that of his mother, when she discovers that her children have colored on the furniture. Like many of Roberts's songs, "Meltdown" is sung from the perspective of a (very wise and insightful) child, which makes lines like "Now I know this might sound outrageous, outrageous / But a meltdown is contagious, contagious" even more entertaining.

For parents, part of the fun of listening to Roberts' music is playing "name that influence" and recognizing the stolen riffs and motifs that appear in so many of his songs. The opening of "My Brother Did It" sounds suspiciously like Nick Lowe's "She Don't Love Nobody," or possibly "Thunder Island" by Jay Ferguson. "More Than Just a Minute" is an homage to Graceland and the music of South Africa that inspired Paul Simon. "Sand Castle" features some Burt Bacharach-style horns with a melody and piano part that are reminiscent of Ben Folds.

Since first discovering Justin Roberts last July, and my first review of him last October, my appreciation of him and his music has grown. Meltdown was all that I had hoped for and more. You can get yourself a copy at Amazon, Borders, CDBaby, The Land of Nod, Barnes & Noble, and probably at your local record store. Also, look for Roberts to be performing live at a venue near you this spring or summer - tour dates include San Francisco, LA, San Diego, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia; as well as some off-the-beaten-path locations such as Des Moines, Iowa; Carrboro, North Carolina; and Columbus, Ohio.

Easter Plans?

It is customary in my family to dye Easter eggs on Good Friday, so that is our plan for later today. This year, I get the Best Mom Ever vote from my older son because I brought home this Star Wars egg coloring kit. I can hardly wait to try it out. Aside from coloring eggs, we don't have any big plans for Easter weekend. I think we will just improvise.

Last year on Good Friday, I was making preparations for the arrival of our younger son. I was scheduled to deliver him via c-section on the Tuesday after Easter, so we had planned a relaxing weekend - watching movies, coloring eggs, going to brunch. I ended up with an enormous burst of late-pregnancy energy, though, so I spent much of Good Friday and Saturday re-surfacing our coffee table and painting a lamp base. I was, quite literally, feathering my nest as I would spend much of the next eight weeks or so sitting on the couch in front of that coffee table and next to that lamp.

Sunday morning, we hid eggs for our then 5-year-old son Walter, went to Easter brunch in a small(er) town nearby, then we came home to watch The Incredibles, which Walter had found in his Easter basket that morning. During The Incredibles, I put another coat of paint on the lamp base, trying to ignore the indigenstion I was having from eating too much brunch. When the movie was over, my husband took Walter upstairs to play, while I took a quick nap on the couch. I woke up around 3:30, still experiencing terrible indigestion. Around 4:00, my husband came downstairs to check on me, took one look at my face as I came out of the bathroom (for the 12th time), and said, "Do you think maybe you're in labor?"

Uh, no.

We had very carefully planned everything for the c-section on Tuesday at 8 a.m. I planned to be up early on Tuesday to have my hair and makeup nicely done before heading to the hospital for my 6:30 a.m. check-in. My parents had made plans to travel here later in the week, to help once we were out of the hospital. We had planned for friends to take Walter to pre-school, other faculty to cover my husband's classes, and another friend to be at the hospital with us. Many of those involved with our elaborate plans were out of town for Easter break and not due back in town until Monday.

Labor? No. This was just indigestion. But just in case, let's make some calls and see who's in town.

My husband left three or four messages for friends who we thought might be around. By the time the first friend called back, it was after 5:00, and I was still in denial. No need to come over, we said, we just wanted to know if you were in town, in case anything happens tonight.

By 6:30, we were at the hospital. When we arrived, I explained that I had already pre-registered for Tuesday, but that I was here to "get checked" - just to make sure I'm not in labor. Denial is very powerful.

I had planned and prepared for a c-section, not for labor. I had not practiced my breathing, had not re-read the chapters on vaginal birth, had not even considered that this was a possibility. When I had Walter, my labor was induced, and I ended up having an unplanned c-section. I had not experienced "going into labor" naturally. From the time I found out about this pregnancy, I had planned on another c-section. Labor, contractions, having my water break spontaneously - none of those were a part of my plan.

At 7:56 p.m. our son Ralph was born via c-section. Beautiful and healthy, he weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and 20 inches long. Although his birth was not according to my plan, we improvised and came through just fine. We officially celebrated his birthday more than two weeks ago (Easter was earlier last year, remember?), but I will always remember it on Easter. And this year, I have no plans for Easter weekend.

Dan Zanes, I'll Get to You

I'll get around to reviewing your music very soon, Dan Zanes, but first I need to talk about your little brother Warren.

Warren Zanes recently released his second album, People That I'm Wrong For, and my husband ordered an autographed copy for me that I've been listening to over the last few weeks. We thoroughly enjoyed Zanes' first album, Memory Girls, and had been eagerly awaiting the release of this new album. If you're a huge music trivia nerd like my husband, you already know that Warren and Dan Zanes played together in a band called the DelFuegos back in the 1980's.

Unlike his brother Dan, Warren writes music for grown-ups - music to listen to after the kids are in bed, when you're drinking wine and talking about grown-up things. Or music to listen to when you're in the car alone or hanging out with your girlfriends on a Friday night. It's not that it's full of profanity (just a little) or sexual imagery....it's just the kind of music you want to save for times when you're not chasing a toddler or arguing with a 6-year-old about how much allowance he deserves.

One of the reasons I love Zanes' music so much, especially his lyrics, is that he's a real guy. He's not some rock-n-roller who is out of touch with regular life. He is married with two young sons, and he works in a (sort of) regular job as the Vice President of Education at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. He also teaches as an adjunct at Case Western Reserve University (also in Cleveland). Unlike a lot of rock musicians, he is highly educated, with a Ph.D. in Visual and Cultural Studies. His songs aren't all about rehab and fame - several of the tracks on People That I'm Wrong For are about failed relationships, and one of my favorites, "Mating Calls," is written for his family's teenage babysitter. Zanes explains, "She's really pretty and really nice. Too nice. After driving her home one night I thought, 'The world will eat a girl like that alive.' In that moment I wanted to find all the boys who are (inevitably) going to be assholes to her--like I was an asshole to my girlfriends--and give them a good talking to. But I realized that was too ambitious as a project. So, instead, I wrote a song to say, 'It's going to be a little rough out there, kid.'"

Craig Underwood said it best: "People That I’m Wrong For made me think that we need music by people who live in the world, who go to the office, who lecture their students on occasion, who sometimes misbehave at social gatherings, who change diapers, who keep guitars under their desks. We need our artists to get a little dirty before they put pen to paper."

Moms and dads, before you go out to your kids another Dan Zanes CD, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of Warren's album. You can read more about Warren Zanes here and another review of People That I'm Wrong For here. And if you just can't wait for me to write about Dan Zanes, go read a review of his new DVD here.

She Bop

As if Kidz Bop wasn't bad enough, I'm pleased to present you with Girl Authority. It's somewhat like Kidz Bop, but with lots of extra lip gloss and gender stereotyping. Girl Authority is described as: "15 hit songs. 9 intriguing personalities. 1 amazing group of friends." Their catchy little formula, though, is missing one other important ingredient - 1 feminist mom screaming inside her head when she saw the commercial for Girl Authority. Their self-titled CD is available in stores and online for you and your kids. But before you rush out to Target to pick up your own copy - because I know that's where you're headed - read on....

Girl Authority is comprised of nine supposedly "real" girls, ages eight to thirteen, who have been "friends for years" and like to "hang out together". They have names like Country Girl Crystal, Party Girl Kate, Preppy Girl Zoe, and Urban Girl Gina. And each girl/name comes with two or three adjectives to further solidify their title - for example, Glamour Girl Carly is elegant and refined; and Boho Girl Jess is a free-spirited sprite. If you would like to have your daughter pidgeonholed into one of these nine "intriguing personalities" and you would like her to listen to painfully bad covers of stereotypical girl songs like "Material Girl," "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Dancing Queen," and "Hollaback Girl" (Gwen Stefani, how could you let them use your song for THIS?) then perhaps you'd also like to get yourself or your daugher a Girl Authority t-shirt. They are available in sizes small and medium. Yes, only small and medium. Because girls should only be small or medium, I guess. God help you if you are a large girl. You cannot be a part of the Authority Sorority if you are a large girl.

I wish I had a daughter so I could NOT buy this for her - because NOT buying Girl Authority for my sons is just not making a strong enough statement. If you have a daughter and are as appalled by this as I am, please, please, please leave me a comment and let me know you will NOT be buying Girl Authority for her.

Get out the Good Dishes....Company's Comin'

I've seen lots of new visitors stopping by lately who got here via Zooglobble, a kids' music review blog that just got some big coverage on NPR. I want to shout out a big Welcome to all of you who are stopping by for the first time, and a big Congratulations to Stefan at Zooglobble on the great interview! I love writing about kids' music, among other things, and I hope you enjoy what you find here.

My approach to kids' music is somewhat self-serving - I want to find music that I can enjoy with my kids. I also want music that will challenge my kids and expand their horizons. I was raised in a family with a lot of music, and got my bachelor's degree in piano, so I want my kids to know and love good music.

When I started this blog in October 2005, I said to my husband, "Maybe my blog will get so popular that musicians will start sending me their CD's to review." Well, that little dream came true today, when I got two emails from artists offering to send me their music. If you have music to share, or even a recommendation for me to check out, please contact me via email (thelovelymrsdavis at hotmail.com).

By the way, I love my site stats for showing me where my traffic is coming from, and if anyone can explain why I had 80 visitors from Wisconsin here Saturday night around 9:45 looking for the name of the butler on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Not Me

As you may have heard, Meredith Vieira is leaving The View soon to take Katie Couric's spot on the Today show. While I assume that I am on the short list for Ms. Vieira's spot as moderator of The View, I'd like to save the producers some time by pointing out Five Reasons I Could Never Do Meredith Vieira's Job.

1. My memories of Gilda Radner's "Baba Wawa" sketches from Saturday Night Live would prevent me from taking Barbara Walters seriously.

2. I'm still mad about what Barbara said about breastfeeding moms last summer (when I was nursing a 10-week-old and all full of post-partum hormones).

3. I am creeped out by the new, skinny and surgically altered Star Jones. She should have stopped when she got down to a size 12 or 14.

4. I couldn't last more than 10 minutes without inviting Elisabeth Hasselbeck to enjoy a big tall glass of shut-up juice.

5. If the other co-hosts got into a heated disagreement in the middle of the show, as they often do, I would say things to encourage their fighting (Joy, are you going to sit there and take that from Star?), instead of changing the subject or following the producer's cue to go to commercial.

I will be interested to see how Meredith Vieira does on the Today show. I was, quite honestly, surprised to find out that she could return to serious journalism (as serious as the Today show is anyway) after hosting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but according to this article, she would not be the first person to combine journalism and game show hosting. It is great to suddenly see so many more women in highly-visible spots in television news - Cynthia McFadden as one of the co-anchors of Nightline, Elizabeth Vargas as co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight, and now Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News. That is, of course, not to mention all the women on CNN, MSNBC, and the network morning news shows. Women everywhere. Cool.

Dear Laurie Berkner

Dear Laurie Berkner,

I see that you and your band have released a DVD called We Are....The Laurie Berkner Band, and I would really love to buy it for my children. We enjoy a lot of music at our house, and I love spending our hard-earned money on CD's and DVD's that our whole family can enjoy. I would really like to support a woman musician like yourself - you might even be a mom, too. In fact, you look like the kind of mom-friend I would want to hang out with. I imagine we could talk about music and the latest products for curly hair and what it's like to play in a band with your significant other, and the time you spent playing with that all-female cover band, Lois Lane.

But the thing is, Laurie, as much as I would love to buy your DVD, I'm not going to. I've seen lots of your videos on Noggin, especially on Jack's Big Music Show (which my family loves, by the way), and I'm not really that impressed. I've heard enough of your music to know that, while you have some really cute songs ("Pig on Her Head")and catchy lyrics ("Buzz, Buzz"), your sound is just okay. I know you're probably going for some kind of under-produced, folksy, natural sound, but you know, a little bit of reverb never hurt anyone. Not that you need to sound like Moby or Mariah Carey anyone like that, but your vocals could really be a little bigger and fuller.

So congratulations on your success, and good luck with the new DVD. I'll keep watching you on Noggin.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Davis

Don't Be Ridiculous

I was prepared to write an absolutely horrific review of these I.Q. Music CD's that I found over the weekend, but a strange thing happened. I popped in the Be Talented CD, which I picked up at Babies-R-Us for $2.99 (I figured I'll pay 3 bucks for a good laugh and something new to review), and it was good. Not the most fantastic music for kids ever, and maybe not even in the top 10 percent of kids' music, but definitely good. The packaging of classical music as "I.Q. Music" is a bit of a scam, but I'll get to that later. For now, let's talk about the music.

I expected synthesized classical music, much like Baby Einstein, or perhaps classical music that had been bastardized by adding silly lyrics sung by children's voices. I was surprised to find that these are real classical pieces performed by real musicians - some are solo piano, some are by the I.Q. Music Orchestra. One piece is a Mozart aria, sung by an actual opera singer, backed by the orchestra.

Be Talented includes pieces by Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and Vivaldi. There is a beautiful recording of "Trois Gymnopedies," a really lovely piano piece by Satie; and "Adagio and Fugue for Two Violins" by Mozart. There were several other I.Q. Music CD's from which to choose - Be Expressive, Be Unique, Be Brilliant - each with a different grouping of classical pieces, and a different cover with a photo of a baby representing that particular trait. My favorite, in terms of cover photo, was Be Intelligent, which showed a baby/toddler reading a newspaper.

There have been many studies purporting that music - and classical music in particular - will make babies and children smarter. I do believe that music is important for children, and that it has many benefits. I wonder, though, if it is classical music that makes children smarter, or the fact that their parents are the type of people who listen to classical music and have it available in their home. If we give this CD to a new mom who listens to nothing but Top 40 music, and she plays it in her baby's nursery, but does nothing else that would be "typical" of most classical music enthusiasts (join me in making some broad assumptions here) - she does not take her child to story time at the library, does not take him to children's musical performances or museums, does not sing to him, does not read to him a great deal, does not limit his TV viewing, does not limit his intake of junk food. Yet, all the while, from birth until 5 years, she faithfully plays the Be Intelligent CD for him every single day. Will he be smarter?

I raise this question, because this is who I believe is buying these CD's with the expectation that classical music in and of itself will make children smarter.

That's not to say that if you don't already have an extensive library of classical music in your home, that you're not going to be a good parent. Not at all. There are many fantastic parents out there who only know classical music as the soundtrack to Bugs Bunny cartoons.

So what's the verdict on I.Q. Music? If you want a pleasant, accessible collection of classical music to play for your child, these CD's will do just fine. If you want a Guarantee That Your Child Will Gain 20 I.Q. Points, look elsewhere, and good luck to you. These are great compilations, each one a little different, each one with plenty of variety. But the implication - in the cover photos and in the titles (Be Brilliant, you have got to Be Kidding me) - that this music in and of itself will have a significant impact on your child's intellectual development, is a bunch of hooey, as far as I'm concerned. Enjoy the music for what it is, and don't treat it as brain food for your baby.

Rockin' the Suburbs

In my ongoing search for good kids' music, two of the very best albums I have found come from a kids' radio show on WFMU called Greasy Kid Stuff. If you live in the New York/New Jersey area, you may be familiar with WFMU (91.91 FM), and even if you are no where near New York (like me, in Flyover Country, USA), you can listen via the Web. These albums, Greasy Kid Stuff: Songs from Inside the Radio (2002), and Greasy Kid Stuff 2: More Songs from Inside the Radio (2004), are samplings of favorite songs from the radio show.

The artists here represent genres ranging from surf/garage rock to punk rock to pop rock.....pretty much all kinds of rock. This is not music to put on at naptime. It's the kind of music to pop in when you are in the middle of an 8-hour car trip with your kids and everyone is getting cranky. Or when there is a snow day and your kids need some indoor physical activity. Or when you want to rock out with your kids, but you've learned it's no longer safe to play Ben Folds around them because Ben just can't get enough of the F word.

Some of you with more eclectic tastes in music may have heard of some of these artists - They Might Be Giants, Supernova, Let's Audio, The Mr. T. Experience - but most of them were new to me. They cover some familiar children's songs like "One of These Things" from Sesame Street, "Them Bones," "Underdog" (the theme song from the old cartoon), and "Figure 8" from Schoolhouse Rock; and they also bring some great originals like "Hockey Monkey" and "Magic 8 Ball." My favorites from the two albums are Supernova's "Mommy" and Guv'ner's "Lucky Ladybug."

The only song here that gave me any hesitation was "Gimme," the official birthday song of Greasy Kid Stuff (that in itself is a bit troubling). What would be most likely to result in hate mail from my readers - as in ohmygod, how could you recommend THIS for my KIDS? did they just say UTERUS? - are the lyrics, which include the memorable line: "We hope your mother's beauteous, you came out of her uterus; happy, happy, happy birth-day!" Now, if your kids are of the age that they know the proper names for reproductive organs, and you're comfortable with your kids using that terminology when singing, then no problem. If not, then be sure to program your CD player to skip track 4 on More Songs From Inside the Radio, and don't let that one line deter you from trying out this amazing collection of music for kids.

The liner notes for More Songs From Inside the Radio includes a "secret message for parents" that describes, far better than I could, what they are attempting to share with kids through these albums:

Greasy Kid Stuff is WFMU's long-running radio show for hipster
children. That is, not the offspring of subcultural cognoscenti - but
youngsters who are ahead of their peers in recognizing that there's more
interesting stuff to learn about than the mainstream media would have them
believe. And while the songs on Inside the Radio may seem frivolous, even
silly, there's a bigger (subversive) purpose....GKS is a program that incites
curiosity about the world at large....GKS helps children think outside the box,
and encourages a sense of adventure. In other words, Greasy Kid Stuff is
education masquerading as entertainment.

Greasy Kid Stuff airs Saturday mornings from 10 to noon (eastern time) on WFMU.

Found Out

It is both gratifying and disturbing to be recognized, the way I feel recognized when new demographic or generational trends are identified in the media. In the early 1990's, for example, when Generation X was brought to the attention of the American public through books like Generation X, and movies like Reality Bites, I was thrilled. "Oh, yes," I thought. "They are talking about ME! They are writing about ME! They understand what it's like to BE ME RIGHT NOW!" But at the same time, I felt a little self-conscious and strange. Were there so many other people saying and doing and thinking the same things I was that I was so easily pinned? Was I so un-original that I could be so easily grouped with thousands of other people JUST LIKE ME?

I've had those same feelings re-surface many times since the early 1990's, basically any time I found myself in the thick of a new demographic segment - business traveler, new mother, working mother. When my husband began work on his Ph.D. five years go, and even more when he finished two years ago, I found myself identified - by my association with him - as part of the academic culture: those people who listen to public radio, drive Volvos, wear Berkenstocks, and send their children to Montessori schools. (Although we are not an easy fit with that demographic segment.)

Most recently, my husband and I find ourselves identified as "hipster parents" - described so well by Adam Sternberg in "Up With Grups: The Ascendant Breed of Grown-Ups Who Are Re-Defining Adulthood" (New York Magazine, April 3, 2006). It's a long article, but worth the read if you've got the time. According to Sternberg, a Grup may also be known as a yupster (yuppie + hipster), a yindie (yuppie + indie), or an alterna-yuppie. Author Neal Pollack, featured and quoted in Sternberg's article, refers to himself as an Alterna-Dad, which also happens to be the title of his forthcoming book.

Whatever the title, my husband and I clearly fit the bill. More my husband than myself, Grups prefer jeans and t-shirts over suits and ties, carry an 0ver-the-shoulder messenger bag instead of a briefcase, encourage (force?) their young children to listen to "cool" music instead of The Wiggles, and stay current with new music and movies. Sternberg also describes Grups as "affluent, urban adults" - which doesn't quite describe us here in this small midwestern town with our modest income. We may not have the $400 jeans or the $800 stroller, but we are comfortable, and we are able to spend pretty freely on electronics and trendy clothes.

I was laughing at Sternberg's spot-on description of my husband, until I got to the paragraph where he nailed me, describing a 35-year-old who

quit the office job because—you know what?—screw the office and screw jockeying for that promotion to VP, because isn’t promotion just another word for “slavery”?; and besides, now that she’s a freelancer, working on her own projects, on her own terms, it’s that much easier to kick off in the middle of the week for a quick snowboarding trip to Sugarbush, because she’s got to have some balance, right?

Substitute "daytrip to the city" for "snowboarding trip to Sugarbush" and yikes, that's me. Well, okay, I'm not 35 either.....I'm 37. But still. Sternberg is writing about ME. He understands what it's like to BE ME RIGHT NOW. Again, it is both gratifying and disturbing. Reading Sternberg's take on Grups as Parents also left me a little uneasy:

See, Grups aren’t afraid of parenting. Grups don’t avoid having kids. Grups love kids. In part, though, this is because Grups find kids to be perfect little Mr. Potato Head versions of themselves. Of course, there’s more to Grup parenting than simply molding your kid’s tastes. You must be vigilant that you don’t grow up and become uncool yourself.

Again, I felt found-out. And not in a good way. This may cause me to think twice about why and how I'm trying to shape my children's cultural tastes. Am I doing it or me or for them? Sternberg's interpretation of Pollack's approach to this made me laugh uncomfortably at myself and my husband:

“You have to have a little bit of Dora the Explorer in your life,” he [Pollack] says. “But you can do what you can to mute its influence.” Okay. “And there’s no shame, when your kid’s watching a show, and you don’t like it, in telling him it sucks.” Yeah! There’s no—wait. What? “If you start telling him it sucks, maybe he might develop an aesthetic.” Sorry, son. No more Thomas the Tank Engine for you. Thomas sucks. Stop crying. Daddy’s helping you develop an aesthetic.

Sternberg speculates on who and what have influenced Grups to be who they are today. Grups have witnessed the generations before us (especially Baby Boomers) buy into traditional adulthood and corporate culture, only to find themselves unhappy in their work and eventually laid-off from their middle-management jobs.

Is it any wonder that the Grups have looked at that brand of adulthood and said, "No thanks, you can keep your carrot and your stick." Especially once we saw just how easily that stick can be turned around to whap your ass as you’re ushered out the door, suit and all.

Baby Boomers took adulthood and parenting seriously - so seriously, in fact, that sometime around 1980, they gave up the things they were passionate about (liberal causes, rock and roll music, illicit drugs), and instead, put on suits, tuned their dials to Easy Listening music, and started voting Republican. Now they reminisce about their younger years, hearing the music of the 60's and 70's played back to them in commercials for retirement savings options. The Boomers made adulthood more restrictive and boring than it already was, imposing unspoken rules like now that I'm 30/a mom/an assistant vice president, I can no longer wear trendy jeans/listen to cool music/let my hair grow. The Boomers have been telling us lately that they are going to redefine the retirement years, and perhaps they will do so by flipping the switch on "adulthood" as they have so rigidly defined it, and reverting back to their carefree and liberal youth. Boomers will turn retirement villages into retirement communes, strum their acoustic guitars while sitting in rocking chairs on the porch, grow their hair and beards long, and tell each other not to trust anyone under sixty.

The Grups of Generation X are approching adulthood very differently from the Boomers, according to Sternberg, redefining adulthood as "a period defined by promise, rather than compromise" and "making up adulthood as [we] go" rather than following someone else's guidelines or timetables. Generation X is not bound by rigid definitions of adulthood or parenthood, and we are not judgemental as we glance around the McDonald's Playland at other parents of our generation - Grups or not. While my husband and I identify strongly with the generalizations Sternberg has laid out in this article, we could also rattle off 30 or so other sets of parents we know and like who would not fit the Grups mold at all. Reading Sternberg's article has given us a good laugh, a good look at ourselves, and much to think about as we await our next cultural/demographic label.