Music: To Kid or Not to Kid

I have never been a big fan of the idea of kid music.  Of course that was mostly before I had a kid myself and thus was exposed to the genre.  But like most aspect of my life after procreation, the times they are a changin.
 
For instance, yesterday, on my blog Luke, I am Your Father, I posted a review and giveaway of the latest studio album release by the legendary folk artist Pete Seeger. Pete, who earned a Grammy for his last studio release ‘At 89’ has shifted his focus and has now put out an album geared towards kids called ‘Rivertown Kids’.  If it piques your interest, you can click on through here, check out my review, and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the CD for yourself.

Doing that review also got me thinking about the state of kid music these days. Maybe it is just the fact that I have a child now, but It seems that there is an explosion of new groups on the Kindie scene.  Bands which seem to be increasingly making music with more appeal to the folks with the buying power. Yes, of course I am talking about the parents. 

Personally, at our house, we most often are just playing good music that we, as parents, enjoy.  Crossover stuff with universal appeal which seems to translate as music our son enjoys too. This includes a lot of folk, blues, rock, and Americana.  However, now that our little guy is talking and understanding so much of what he hears, he is beginning to relate more and more to the lyrics of the music we play. Given that, he is also beginning to enjoy the offbeat humor of much of what he hears on kid focused releases.  Thus, we are turning to them more and more.

Obviously, I kid.

But, since Luke has only just turned three we don’t yet have a collection of kid music to match our collection of kid books. However, we seem to be picking up new releases on a consistent basis, as well as checking out some artists from our local library. That being said, I thought I’d pay it forward and possibly introduce you to a few of the artists that we have found who we have enjoyed as a family.  They are in no particular order. 

Check them out, let me know what you think, and leave a comment telling me who your favorite kid musicians are.

Elizabeth Mitchell

Dan Zanes

Board of Education

Caspar BabyPants (Chris Ballew from The Presidents of the United States of America) I once tailed him so well that Starsky and Hutch would have been proud.

Recess Monkey

The Not It’s

Gustafer Yellowgold

Sarah Lee Guthrie

The Brian Waite band

They Might be Giants

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *