Jan 23rd, 2007
Better than sliced bread
Yes, it’s that cool.
Jan and I are always on the lookout for “kids music that won’t drive parents and other adults insane.” I am horrified to admit that my house contains its share of Raffi CDs. Sylvia likes them all right, but she seems to prefer kids music along the lines of They Might Be Giants, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Burl Ives, all of whom have recorded “kids music that won’t drive parents and other adults insane–unless said parents and adults can’t stand alternative or folk music, of course.”
Several months ago, I heard of Captain Bogg and Salty, a band from Portland, Oregon, a kids-music band that sings pirate-themed songs. OH MY DOG (as our friend Gina likes to say). We celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day in this house, so finding music along those lines has been a real treat. Sylvia got one of their CDs for Christmas (after her parents dropped several hints to Santa)–it matches the three different toy pirate ships she has–and we’re planning to get the rest for her collection soon.
They even have a music video, which you can check out here. Arrrrrr!
Have you tried any of Putumayo’s CDs for kids? We have French Playground. Some of the songs are a bit cheesy, but some of them are quite good. We also have Dreamland, and I really like that one. We sent it to Nicholas in Guatemala.
I like Putumayo’s CDs in principle, but I often find that they are hit or miss in execution. Dreamland is terrific overall, but Sing Along with Putumayo has several tracks that are just “meh.” I’ll have to give the Playground series a try, though.