Sea Chanties (or, "Playlist for the Kid")

I realize that it's not exactly earth-shaking to say that I dig music.  Really, who doesn't?   My folks were on the young side when they had me (26 and 24).  I grew up with a former frat boy daddy who pumped tunes on a constant basis, and a mama who's not afraid to shake her groove thang.  Couple that with the fact that MTV was 2 months old at the time of my birth, and you've got all the ingredients for a rockin' childhood.  I vaguely remember listening to some "children's music;" we had a Wee Sing cassette tape and some Disney Sing-Along videos.  But the majority of my memories are of road trips and backyard barbecues, complete with thumping bass line.  The bands prominent in my youth -- Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, the Police, Jimmy Buffett, Dire Straits, Lynyrd Skynyrd.  And (perhaps oddly?) the Ghostbusters soundtrack and Paul Simon's Graceland album.  My favorite song when I was 2 years old?  Van Halen's "Jump."

Needless to say, I don't believe you really need to screen your music sensibilities for your kids.  I mean, I didn't understand half of the lyrics until I was in the double-digits.  And by then, I was listening to Snoop Dogg and Salt'n'Pepa, so the age of innocence was kind of over at that point anyway.  I play music for HD constantly -- we dance around the kitchen while preparing supper, I sing to her at night, and she shrieks along in the car to my tunes.  It warms my heart.

Here's a sample of songs we love together; songs I play for her or sing to her.  Warning -- I couldn't keep this brief.  I got too excited.

1.  "Tiny Dancer" - Elton John -- Hubs and I went to an Elton John/Billy Joel concert when I was about 6 months pregnant.  Not only was it awesome, but pre-natal HD was bopping all over my uterus to this song.

2. "It Won't be Like This for Long" - Darius Rucker -- Purely sentimental; I dare you to listen to this and not tear up.  

3.  "Daylight" - Matt & Kim -- For me, this is HD's theme song.  It's happy, playful, and awesome.  I was obsessed with this song in September 2009 (had just seen M&K in concert and played this All The Time), which happened to be the month HD came to be.

4.  "Stand" - REM -- HD pulls herself up to standing position now.  For months, whenever I would hold her up to stand, I'd sing this to her.  She cracks a huge smile whenever she hears it.

5.  "(Baby) Hold Me Tight" - Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis -- HD likes to dance around to this one.  Anglophile that I am, I just like that it's peppy and the artists are Brits.

6.  "A Pirate Looks at Forty" - Jimmy Buffett -- You didn't really think you could get through this list without a pirate mention, did you?  I do actually sing this to HD when rocking her to sleep.  Yup, even the part about having "been drunk now for over two weeks." *shrug*

7.  "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" - Trombone Shorty & James Andrews -- Great tune from the Treme soundtrack.  I was in love with that show all summer while home on maternity leave.  I would dance teeny HD around during the musical scenes.  She seemed to like it.  Or I can pretend she did.

8.  "The Book of Love" - the Magnetic Fields -- This is a strange little love song.  But it's one of the most beautiful and true songs I've ever heard.  That may be cheesy, but I like singing it in the soft glow of her nightlight.

9.  "If I Had a Boat" - Lyle Lovett -- This is HD's number one absolute favorite song.  It calms her down every time, no matter what level of crankiness we're talking about.  As many times as I've sung it, it's a good thing I love it too.  

10.  "Stop Your Sobbing" - the Pretenders -- This is for when she's crying bunches.  Obvi.

11.  "Sweet Thing" - Van Morrison -- It's a slightly scary time when you're hugely pregnant and closing in on your due date.  This song slowed my pulse and helped me breathe during that whole final month.

12.  "I've Just Seen a Face" - the Beatles -- My little love ditty to my daughter.  

13.  "Moonshadow" - Cat Stevens -- Loved this song in high school (I know, I'm weird), and always thought it sounded like a cool lullabye.  Guess what?  It totes is!

14.  "Tangerine" - Led Zeppelin -- My buddy Travis was kind enough to give me a bunch of "mellow Zeppelin" recommendations to download when I was convinced I had to educate my baby in rock history (I still kind of am).

15.  "She Bangs the Drums" - the Stone Roses -- On maternity leave, when I was really bored and HD was napping, I'd play Guitar Hero III.  This song was always dedicated to my little Tica.

16.  "Daughter" -- Loudon Wainwright III -- You may know this as the song at the end of Knocked Up. But it absolutely sums up being the parent of a small girl.  But to a TEE.

17.  "Everlasting Light" - the Black Keys -- One of my fave bands.  Is it wrong of me to attempt brainwashing my daughter into loving them as well?  I've already given up on Hubs.

18.  "Hold On, I'm Coming" - Sam & Dave -- This song is what family and friendship is all about, on every level.  Plus, it's kickin'!

19.  "Mind of My Own" - Frances England -- Ok, so I did make sure to include one "children's artist" on this list.  This song personifies my independent little miss.  Plus, it's just good music, and doesn't talk down to kids (or annoy their parents).  If that's my biggest beef with most kids tunes, Ms. England has shown me it doesn't always have to be so.

20.  "The Happy Song (Dum-Dum) - Otis Redding -- The man himself!  If I could pick one artist to feature on the soundtrack of my life, Big O is it.  I hum this song to myself on the train when I'm heading home to pick up my HD.  It's my "shed work worries, you're going home to play with your kid" song.

Something tells me I'll be making a few CDs for my car tomorrow.