What Children Like....

[John B]

To all you parents, uncles, aunts, older siblings etc:

What music do the kids like? Please exclude made for kid stuff like Barney, Down by the Bay etc. Rather what "adult" music do the kids like?

My sons love the movie Yellow Submarine - the title track and All Together Now in particular. Now our four year old will sit by himself and listen to the entire song In the Court of the Crimson King and try to replicate every drum sound. Who would have thought?

[Drew]

Originally posted by John B
To all you parents, uncles, aunts, older siblings etc:

What music do the kids like? Please exclude made for kid stuff like Barney, Down by the Bay etc. Rather what "adult" music do the kids like?

My sons love the movie Yellow Submarine - the title track and All Together Now in particular. Now our four year old will sit by himself and listen to the entire song In the Court of the Crimson King and try to replicate every drum sound. Who would have thought?

I think this is great... I read somewhere that kids are interested in music at a young age are usually good at math later. Don't know if that's B.S. or not.

I don't have any kids but if/when I do I hope to get them interested in every different kind of music, that way if they wind up listening to music I can't stand when they reach they're teenage years, at least I know I tried. :D

[lbangs]

A few for cool kids:

Starfish and Coffee - Prince
Yellow Submarine and Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - The Beatles
Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys
Mamma Mia - ABBA
Punky's Dilemma - Simon & Garfunkel
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
Boris the Spider - The Who
Starman - David Bowie
Ella Guru - Captain Beefheart & Magic Band
Closer - nine inch nails

Alright, I'm only joking on that last one...

Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs

[mcow1]

Well, my boys (now 12 & 15) since they were about 4 or so have always preferred Mozart to anything else (go fig) with the Beatles coming in a close second. Now, however, the oldest is starting to listen to more music that kids his age listen to like Sugar Ray and No Doubt etc.. The youngest is hooked on the DCC Wheels Of Fire CD, I had to make him a copy of mine so I could listen to it myself. The oldest usually still listens to oldies radio mostly which is something I don't even usually do as I like to hear new music myself.But he is coming around more and more to newer stuff. I don't now if music was a factor or not but both excel at math and school in general. Makes me a happy daddy.
:D

[lbangs]

Oh, by the way, my experience is that an awful lot of kids dig The Byrds' Greatest Hits as well...

That jangly guitar, perhaps?

Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs

[Ken_McAlinden]

My 5-1/2 year old likes The Beatles and Bootsy Collins, but I programmed her that way since she was an infant. When she was two, I used to ask her "Who's gonna get on down?", to which she would always respond correctly, "Bootsy!" :cool: Needless to say, we've been enjoying the recent Nike commercials.

She also likes to sing along with all of that kid-friendly modern pop stuff. I think she had a crush on Aaron Carter last year. I guess I'm not the only formative influence on her tastes. :(

Regards,

[Tullman]

I guess you've kinda answered your own question. Children will at first like music that the parents play for them at home. Then it is up to the music teachers to broaden their tastes in music. Friends will also be very influential in what young people listen to. Then of course there is the radio and tv.

[Dan C]

I've done a pretty good job 'pushing' my tastes onto my daughters:p . They LOVE The Beatles, like ABBA for fun, and early Elvis. They even get into Simon and Garfunkel.
On top of that, I've tried to give them as much exposure to classical as possible. They have CDs of some basic classics from Beethoven and the like, a 'sampler' CD or two (one called "Loud Classics!" for example), and some piano sonatas.

Sadly, they don't really do jazz. And there's no way in hell that they'll let me play a bit of bluegrass in the car. But they do enjoy The Jayhawks sometimes. Whew.

As my older girl gets closer to high school (gasp!), she's developing her own tastes similar to those of her friends. I try not to be a jerk about 'her' music like my parents were to me, but I also encourage her to keep looking back to the greats. Hopefully this will stay with her forever!

Dan C

[Grant]

My nephew, who is now in his late twenties, always listened to what his friends listened to, hard rock. Nowadays, he listens to rap.

My other nephew, who is going on 13, listens to what his friends listen to, rap. but he has an appreciation for the Beatles, which shocked me! I gave him the Beatles 1 CD for his birthday. He is in the school band and likes allsorts of music. But, rap remains the favorite.

Ny neice always listened to the popular R&B and rap/hip-hop of the day, just what her friends listened to.

Most of the teens I know listen to rap-hip-hop and don't know any music past last year. One grew up on only Mexican music, being from Mexico, but now listens to rap.

I do see kids wearing t-shirts with the Beatles and Kiss on them. They get their influence from their parents. One 13 year-old girl I know listens to her dad's Frank Zappa albums, with her dad!

I don't meet any teens who listen to country anymore. The ones that did are all female and now in their twenties.

I think there are a couple of nine-year-old girls here in town who are still into Britney.

I grew up exposed to almost everything.

[John B]

Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) is a wonderful introduction to classical music for children.

The music is accessible and for those who don't know, it features a narrator introducing the audience to the different instuments of the orchestra and the character each one represents. I like the English recordings with John Gielgud or Ralph Richardson as the narrator.

[mcow1]

Originally posted by John B
Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) is a wonderful introduction to classical music for children.

The music is accessible and for those who don't know, it features a narrator introducing the audience to the different instuments of the orchestra and the character each one represents. I like the English recordings with John Gielgud or Ralph Richardson as the narrator.
Funny coincidence, I was just listening to the Bowie version last night, Eugene Ormandy conducting I think.

[John B]

Originally posted by Grant

My other nephew, who is going in 13, listens to what his friends listen to, rap. but he has an appreciation for the Beatles, which shocked me! I gave him the Beatles 1 CD for his birthday.


I guess we all tend to spread the word. I have given out "1" to teenage kids who love it.

I have also given out the video of Yellow Submarine to younger children (3 - 10) and without exception (7 kids in total) it has quickly become a favourite. Our 2 year old would play it non stop (if we let him) and he wanders around singing "In the taan, I was baan...."

[Tullman]

Originally posted by Dan C
I've done a pretty good job 'pushing' my tastes onto my daughters:p . They LOVE The Beatles, like ABBA for fun, and early Elvis. They even get into Simon and Garfunkel.
On top of that, I've tried to give them as much exposure to classical as possible. They have CDs of some basic classics from Beethoven and the like, a 'sampler' CD or two (one called "Loud Classics!" for example), and some piano sonatas.

Sadly, they don't really do jazz. And there's no way in hell that they'll let me play a bit of bluegrass in the car. But they do enjoy The Jayhawks sometimes. Whew.

As my older girl gets closer to high school (gasp!), she's developing her own tastes similar to those of her friends. I try not to be a jerk about 'her' music like my parents were to me, but I also encourage her to keep looking back to the greats. Hopefully this will stay with her forever!

Dan C

Dan, You have my sympathies. Wait until your daughter comes home with music that is inappropriate. Wait until she becomes interested in boys,(oh brother!) My daughter is 15. Thanks to me she likes hard rock. So where does one go after Hendrix or Led Zep. She went to heavy metal. I am not one for censorship but some of the death metal stuff is where I draw the line. Some of this music is simply inappropriate for young people. I am glad places like amazon have samples one can listen to before purchasing. Now she has a boy friend who is also a guitar player and into Steve Vai, along with other guitar driven music. At least most of that stuff is instrumental.

[Tullman]

Originally posted by John B
Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev) is a wonderful introduction to classical music for children.

The music is accessible and for those who don't know, it features a narrator introducing the audience to the different instuments of the orchestra and the character each one represents. I like the English recordings with John Gielgud or Ralph Richardson as the narrator.

I have a good one with Leonard Bernstein Narrating. I also have a video of puppets acting out the parts in the story.

[Grant]

Not to change the topic here, but do any of you think that the place you live influences what kids are into? Around here, the majority of kids, by my observation, is, well, rap/hip-hop.

Yesterday, I met a mother who allowed her pre-teen kids to listen to the new Eminem-the UNcensored version. He was playing in on his portable CD player.

[mcow1]

Originally posted by Grant
Not to change the topic here, but do any of you think that the place you live influences what kids are into? Around here, the majority of kids, by my observation, is, well, rap/hip-hop.

Yesterday, I met a mother who allowed her pre-teen kids to listen to the new Eminem-the UNcensored version. He was playing in on his portable CD player.
I don't think it's the place you live as much as it is parental responsibility. If something is inappropriate it should not be allowed, however unpopular the decision may be. Parents should be setting the rules, not the children. No matter where you live. Parenting is damn hard work but if you do it right your children will turn out right.

[Tullman]

Here in Boston we have two heavy metal stations in the middle of the dial with a strong signal. There are also a few hip hop stations as well. I teach in a Spanish Ghetto, and there hip hop rules. After that it's salsa, merengue, and bacata (sp). Spanish Raggae/rap is really something inappropriate.

[BradOlson]

My peers have tried to get me into rap/hip hop, hard rock, etc. and I heard it, never liked it and as I said, never will either. I am slowly getting into some jazz, but mainly big band era stuff like what you hear on "Music of Your Life" affiliates such as Glenn Miller, etc. and Scott Joplin rags but I am still not a true jazz fan but I love stuff such as Rosemary Clooney, Andy Williams, Roger Whittaker, Roger Williams, Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, etc. plus I have always liked country, 50's-70's pop/rock, some blues, rockabilly, folk, bluegrass, some cajun, etc. My mother got me a bunch of Reader's Digest cassettes of 40's music at our local Goodwill and I've been listening to them a lot. For $7, I discovered a great semi-legit CD by Vera Lynn with 25 of her hits from the 1940's, including "White Cliffs of Dover" and "We'll Meet Again." The latter was featured years later in the movie "Dr. Strangelove." Knowing that Patsy Cline was influenced by Vera Lynn got me interested in her music just hadn't found it until I saw it at a pawn shop and then I bought the CD.

[BradOlson]

I have always had a hard time with math despite my early interest in music.

[Grant]

Originally posted by mcow1

I don't think it's the place you live as much as it is parental responsibility. If something is inappropriate it should not be allowed, however unpopular the decision may be. Parents should be setting the rules, not the children. No matter where you live. Parenting is damn hard work but if you do it right your children will turn out right. I think it depends on what each parent deems suitable for his or children. No two parents are going to think alike here, just as no two children are alike. We don't know if that mother is responsable or not. By your standard, probably not. I'm not going to make the judgement. Her kid could be an honor student and lead a very clean life, for all we know.

[Grant]

Originally posted by cbsolson
I have always had a hard time with math despite my early interest in music. Same here. I'm rotten with math but loved music from day one. I think that study was bunk.

[BradOlson]

Yes, I think that study was bunk as well, Grant.

[Jeffrey]

Originally posted by mcow1

I don't think it's the place you live as much as it is parental responsibility. If something is inappropriate it should not be allowed, however unpopular the decision may be. Parents should be setting the rules, not the children. No matter where you live. Parenting is damn hard work but if you do it right your children will turn out right.

Hi Mike,

I strongly share your opinions!! The number 1 ingredient in a good kid is a good parent. Me thinks, your two kids are lucky to have you as their Dad.

-Jeffrey

[Jeffrey]

Originally posted by Grant
I think it depends on what each parent deems suitable for his or children. No two parents are going to think alike here, just as no two children are alike. We don't know if that mother is responsable or not. By your standard, probably not. I'm not going to make the judgement. Her kid could be an honor student and lead a very clean life, for all we know.

Hi Grant,

One of us has completely missed the point of Mike's post. I thought he was answering your question "do any of you think that the place you live influences what kids are into?". I thought his point was that he thought that the parent has much more influence over the child than the location where the child is being raised. I didn't see where Mike was judging anyone.

-Jeffrey

[mcow1]

Originally posted by Jeffrey


Hi Grant,

One of us has completely missed the point of Mike's post. I thought he was answering your question "do any of you think that the place you live influences what kids are into?". I thought his point was that he thought that the parent has much more influence over the child than the location where the child is being raised. I didn't see where Mike was judging anyone.

-Jeffrey
Exactly Jeffrey!