We interrupt our weird metal program to honor of the Minnesotan-by-choice Okee Dokee Brothers, who were again Grammy-nominated for their 2018 album Winterland.
They're still a bedtime staple at our house, and everything they do is great.
The Abominable Yeti is currently the most asked-for, followed by Snowpeople. My daughter likes to comment on the artwork.
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Loading... We have covered this before, but these guys are really great. Music and message both really hit the spot. I could have picked any number of their songs for this spot.
My daughter's godfather took us to their concert this year - a lot of fun and so great to have a shared interest with the little ones. Reminiscing with a 5-year old is the best.
(4 votes, average: 8.75 out of 10)Loading... Schoolhouse Rock! musical director Bob Dorough passed away at the age of 94. He was the author of such tunes as “Three Is A Magic Number”, “Conjunction Junction", and many more.
2009
(2 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)Loading... Look, if you've got kids, (and even if you don't) you should be listening to the Okee Dokee Brothers.
It took me years to get on the bandwagon, but now I'm just so solidly there. These two guys from Colorado who grew up together, and have been friends since they were like 5, just have something really special. They're Minnesota-based now, I assume because one of them went to SJU for college. So they've got that awesomeness going for them too.
They're way better than most children's music because they've got some real depth. Their music covers "trips" that they take (canoeing down the Mississippi, hiking the Appalachian trail, etc.), and the songs, history, culture, and thoughts they have along the way.
Anyway, go listen to them, would ya?
Now, you tell me: what should I really be listening to? Like, really, really be listening to? Also, drop lists if you've got 'em.
Over the last few weeks I've had the chance to expose my kids to a good amount of music that they hadn't ever (or at least regularly) heard before. For our trip I burned some CDs (because no ipod/smart phone... a topic for a different forum). One an Oldies Mix and one a Weird Al mix (because fun!). The WGOM was instructive a ways back on the Oldies Mix, so thanks all for that.
I've also had my kids plinking away on the piano a little bit lately. I don't actually know how to play myself, but I know enough about chords and the like that I can point them in a direction here or there. I'm hoping to get Aquinas into piano lessons before too long, but there aren't too many people teaching out our way these days.
Anyway, it's been fun to watch the kids learning about music, making requests about new things, experimenting on the piano, etc. I'm often surprised by what clicks with them, and what they're interested in exploring further.
I'd love to hear more parents' "teaching their kids music" stuff. What should I be throwing their way? What about some of our more seasoned parents... did your kids take after your music tastes? Butt heads? Etc. So there's our topic for the day: teaching kids about music.
When I was a kid I listened to a whole lot of Radio AAHS. For Citizens not in the know, Radio AAHS was a station aimed at the 5 - 10 year old demographic. I'm not really sure where they gathered all the songs from, but they had a lot that really hit the sweet spot for kids.
As a parent, it strikes me that finding music for kids that isn't outright painful isn't always the easiest thing. Sometimes I'll pull up a kids' Pandora station, but it ends up grating on my nerves before too long. And of course there are plenty of mainstream songs that work for the kids, but you know they don't appreciate them like adults do. Something more on their level can be important (looking back over Radio AAHS playlists, it seems like there was a fair amount of popular music mixed in too. It took some memory jogging, but I do recall that. So I guess the mix of children-specific and children-friendly is nice.).
I'm curious what other parents in the nation do for music for their kids. There's individual groups like the Okee Dokee Brothers (SJU!) and TMBG doing children's music, but I really do regret that there isn't an easy station to tune in for kids. Or maybe there is, and I just don't know about it?
Anyway, for those parents out there, here are a few song recommendations, back from my glory days of listening to kids music. And they've mostly been tested and approved by my kids, so hopefully they hold up for your kids too.
Joe Scruggs, "Bahamas Pajamas"
Rosenshontz, "Hippopotamus Rock"
Lenny Graf, "Water"
"Broccoli & Chocolate"
Jack Pearson, "Googolplex"
Cheech Marin (yes, him), "Red, Blue, and Yellow Too"
I figure I should sneak this one in before the word duck is outlawed...
httpv://youtu.be/0uoJJIeEkFM
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