Monday, July 21, 2008
SnackTime with Barenaked Ladies: More than Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
Posted by Jenny M. @ 8:50 AM
Jenny M is back to review some music for us. Welcome back, Jen!
When it comes to my daughters listening to music, my approach is: it’s either going to be all theirs, or all mine. By theirs I mean, truly for them—super duper dorky and funny. You know, geared for children. By mine, I mean stuff I like, which I hope rubs off on them the way John Denver inexplicably rubbed off on me after years of my father playing it on the stereo while we cleaned the house.
I generally don’t look for kids’ music that I want to rock out to privately, too. So I am not a big fan of the folks who make kids’ music that is supposed to be cool for adults too, as in “if you squint your ears it kinda sorta sounds like Everything But the Girl.” I mean, if I want to listen to Everything But the Girl, then I AND MY KIDS are going to listen to Everything But the Girl. And later I will put on Wee Sing Silly Songs, because those tunes aren’t even trying to be anything but the kind that make kids go nuts and that make grownups wonder while they’re humming “The Ants Go Marching” days later. I grew up singing “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,” and by golly, my kids will too.
So then Barenaked Ladies come out with their own kids’ CD, Snacktime, and here’s one of my favorite adult bands singing for children. Yes!
What makes this combo natural is that the Barenaked Ladies already had the “super duper dorky and funny” part down. If you’ve seen them live you really know what I mean. Apparently inspired by the bandmembers becoming parents themselves, the album even features their kids singing on various tracks.
After one play of the album my kids loved it and asked me to replay several songs. Their favorites: “Pollywog in a Bog” (there’s a little reggae ribbet part my five-year old loves), “Snacktime” (with an interlude that plays recordings of other well-known musicians calling in to the Snacktime Hotline to share their favorite snacks), “Allergies” (my two-year old digs the beat of this one), and “Bad Day” (to which my elder daughter can relate, having had a few lately).
My picks: “Crazy ABC’s,” in which the words to go with each letter don’t start with the obvious sound (e.g., “czar,” “tsunami,” and “gnarly”—the guys joke along the way, BNL style, too), “Raisins” (my favorite line: “When I make mistakes, I use a lot of salt, Cause salt makes m’steaks taste great”), and “Things” (sweetest lyrics!).
Truly, though, as far as music goes, this Barenaked Ladies album is all theirs. But I always have Gordon.
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July 21, 2008 @ 01:59 PM
Jenny said:
P.S. I highly recommend Charity Kahn for “all theirs” super duper dorky and fun kids’ music, too. My daughters love her silly songs.