This is Your Brain

I was reminded the other day of that immortal "This is your brain...this is your brain on drugs" fried egg commercial.


Not because I was on drugs -- or hungry -- though that is a near-constant state of being for me. The hungry part, not the on drugs part.


No, my brain was in quite a muddled state, but it was brought on by something far more insidious than drugs. It was induced by none other than the umpteenth repetition of Lily's "Toddler Sing-a-Long Songs" CD. "The Old Grey Mare," "Big Rock Candy Mountains," "Turkey in the Straw" and 47 other "sure to make your child smile sunnily!" songs. On this particular CD, all the songs are sung by a rarely harmonious, almost never melodious yet always high-pitched choir of children.


From their mouths to God's ears. Methinks God may be a teensey bit tone deaf.


Was that a bolt of lightning out there?


Seriously, I'm a big supporter of exposing children to music, all kinds of music. Lily's even been enrolled in her pre-school's weekly Opus One music "experience" class for two years already, and her instruments include a harmonica, recorder, maracas, tambourine and acoustic guitar (her request for her 4th birthday present).


Lily also owns more CDs at age 4 than I did by age 30, including a very special one that her Gammy and Papa burned for her birthday. They even made cover art for the jewel case. Unfortunately, the vast majority of said CDs have been at Justin's (her natural father, for the uninitiated) for far too long now. For the last eight months, Justin's lived upwards of 200 miles away, and so Lily's visits to her dad are less frequent than they used to be. But I try to stock up on the CDs for the long trips there and back. Alas, the last journey, she came home sans CDs. So I've been stuck with just a few choices to play over and over since that time. I'm yearning for the broader selection, and think another trip to daddy's must be forthcoming soon, if for no other reason than to retrieve the CDs.


So this is just all really a too-long build up for me to share some of my personal favorite parent tolerable pre-school tunage. You'll notice that most of my kudos will be going to Austin musicians - not only do they crank out really good adult music here, but they do all right by the kiddos as well.

1) The Grandaddy of them all and my favorite: "Mommy Says No" by the Asylum Street Spankers. http://www.asylumstreetspankers.com/ This ensemble of enormously talented and versatile musicians spreads their wings in original children's songs with kid-friendly titles like "Boogers," "Superfrog," and the title track, a great introduction for kids to the punk rock genre.


2) "Songs to Howl at the Moon By" http://www.pokeypup.com/600054104022.html - This original collection includes the fabulous lyrics of "In the Castle" by Matt the Electrician and the very catchy "Jump, Shake Your Booty" by Austin superstar Bob Schneider.


3) "Newborn" by Sara Hickman. http://www.sarahickman.com/music/newborn/OK, as its name suggests, this one isn't quite for the preschool set but is just an absolutely de riguer for baby showers, new moms, etc... Hickman's voice is amazingly soothing. Yes, I might be a bit partial because she has a song titled "Lily," but most of my fellow Austin moms also consider this one a must own.


4) "Everybody Plays Air Guitar" by Joe McDermott. http://www.joemcdermottmusic.com/shop/shop.php Kids music with a higher "cool" factor. Very listenable. Good live show as well.


5) "Kids Rock for Peas" or "The Electric Storyland" by The Sippy Cups. http://www.thesippycups.com/sippyhome/05sippy.html This mix of originals (on the latter) and covers from bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd and The Ramones (on the former) is summed up best by an unnamed reviewer on the Sippy Cups Web site: "Put the Tylenol away. Barney is not in the house."


6) "Daddies Sing Good Night" http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ean=15891382128&z=y With folksy/country/bluegrass style, this collection includes songs from artists like Doc Watson, Townes Van Zandt and the imitable Leon Redbone. Sweet, warm and rich. Kind of like the musical version of hot chocolate.

Enjoy!