SY for kids
 

So, my mom and I run a day care center for kids aged infant-preschool (0-5 years old), and I always like to have music playing for the kids. I try to expose them to as much as possible without being inappropriate for the age... so I play them Raffi and all of the regular childrens songs... but I also like to mix it up. This summer I have a mix including artists such as Bob Marley, Ben Lee, Louis Armstrong, Old & In the Way, Peter Bjorn & John, the Police, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young... and a ton more. I'll pretty much play them anything that isn't too risque.

The other day I was listening to the mix CD i've been playing them for the last month or so and I had a craving for something more... something SY. If you had to choose a SY song (or a few!) to play to a toddler/preschooler, what would it/they be? Keep in mind that the kids often learn the lyrics and repeat them all the time... so something like kissability might be a little too much :p

nice, Linsey!

http://sonicyouth.edgeboss.net/downl...o1.mov?ewk13=1

My Friend Goo video

"Goo" seems rather like it was written for toddlers but the underwear references might get you in trouble with the parents.

"Sympathy For the Strawberry" has kind of a child-like innocence to it, which I think Kim was going for.

For some reason, I think of Kim songs working best in this scenario. "Washing Machine" might fit too.

Total Trash

My wife told me she used to dance to that one when she was a stripper. Not that it disqualifies it at all, just an amusing aside.

that is rather amusing

not really a song you'd strip to, is it?

bonus points for having a stripper wife.

Well, I'd strip to it, but that might not be a money maker.

I've never been in a strip club that played anything close to that, but she was in Austin at the time. She said it would usually go o.k. until the noise break started and then the dj would usually fade it in confusion. I'm sure the other girls giving lap dances were probably pissed off if he didn't!

I'm glad I didn't meet her back then, as I probably would have been her ideal customer and never gotten to know her for real. Still, of course I wish I could have seen it...

I used to play Shaking Hell for my then 5-year old sister. She hasn't spoken to me since. I'm not sure if that's because she resents me for it or because the psychiatric ward doesn't allow residents to make outbound phone calls.

Sunday (nothing objectionable)


Hoarfrost (very pretty winter-time song, nothing objectionable, I could def see this as something soothing to come the little animals down)

hahaha... I'll never think of total trash the same way.

Goo is looking like a good option... I was thinking Kool Thing would be a good one, but I can see the little guys now "wooooord up! fear of a female planet.... fear baby...."

i suggest:
- little trouble girl
- bull in the heather
- inhuman

Some stuff on Rather Ripped seems rather lullaby-ish.

I'm gonna have to rain on the parade with my two cents. Most adults can't tolerate SY. I cannot possibly image a five year old embracing them. In fact, I'll go further and say that the five year old who DOES embrace them should be considered a highly dangerous individual.

There's a record called "Ramones for Kids." Break 'em in with that.

I guess you're not aware that a number of the posters here are parents with children into Sonic Youth. That's a pretty mean thing to post.

Little Trouble Girl is the obvious choice. That or TV Shit anyway ;)

Aww I think kids can handle anything... I can mold them into little noise-loving creatures :)

Beat on the Brat

Sleepin' Around.

It's not so much mean as clueless. I don't know how somebody could be into Sonic Youth and not see them as a hugely positive influence. Maybe if all you'd ever heard was Confusion is Sex era stuff you might see them as dark and troubled, but at this point in their history thinking that liking their music has something to do with embracing darkness is just silly.

Not that I don't love the scary stuff like "Shaking Hell" and "Death Valley '69" but it's only one facet of the band.

Anyway, kids are almost always more open minded than adults.

Thanks for that awesome comment, Dead-Air! I wouldn't even consider playing Sonic Youth if they were a horrible influence on kids. Children are usually open to anything you expose them to, they rarely judge because something sounds or looks "different," they're great that way.

Purr
The Empty Page
Reena
The Neutral

What about Mozart for Babies.

SY's music contains adult themes. It might be a bit much for early brain development...

IMHO

Catholic Block ? Contre le sexisme ?
No....
Seriously, I'd say... "Or", "Dude Ranch nurse", "Peace Attack", or something like that.

In my opinion if you talk down to your kids, you shouldn't be surprised when they figure that out and get pissed off about it.

Obviously there are Sonic Youth songs that might be inappropriate (especially for somebody taking care of other peoples' children) but to write off everything the band does as inaccessible to kids is really pretty elitist.

Is "Goo" a particularly "adult themed" track? I know plenty of people, SY fans included, who say they hate it for being so blatantly immature.

If Mozart can have some music that is o.k. for babies (and I would seriously encourage parents to pick out the pieces themselves rather than buying some cheesy packaged cd with the songs picked by other adults!) then does that make his body of work not adult themed?

I don't put my baby in a dark room and play Kill Yr. Idols over and over, but he certainly hears a lot of music that he wouldn't hear in a typical household where the t.v. is on constantly. Admitedly I tend to play Brian Eno and Will Oldham (adult themes and all!) for him more often than Sonic Youth, but I wouldn't shield him if I felt like listening to Nurse or Washing Machine at a reasonable volume (it is a parent's responsibility to watch out for their children's hearing after all). Hell, he really loves Explosions in the Sky and has fallen peacefully asleep to them, as well as some more noise rock acts.

I see your point, and I would never play them music blaring lyrics telling the kids to smoke crack and go drunk driving. I don't want to limit their exposure to one type of music, though... and they definitely are not being deprived of all of the "normal" childhood tunes. And I don't know... this is just a hypothetical question, I thought it would be interesting to see what other people would play for kids if they had to play them Sonic Youth. Maybe I will expose them to some one day, maybe I won't.


mildred pierce, perhaps? :p. Or is awesome... I just realized it's a great naptime song.


Thanks for understanding, Dead-Air... I'm not trying to corrupt the kids' perceptions.

A lot of the cartoons I grew up watching had a lot of adult themes that I didn't understand until I got older and I'm not some kind of sick deviant or something. Most kids I know as well as myself at the time never cared all that much about the lyrics at all. Not like they're going to be jotting down notes.

Bingo. All of the best cartoons, most loved by kids from Bugs Bunny to the Flintstones, have "adult themes". Crap like the Care Bears that talks down to kids is just awful, and most kids know it. The ones that don't figure that out, I seriously worry about their survival in the world.

the silver sessions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes!! Some of the stuff kids watch is, little do they realize now, wayyy beyond their years. And sometimes shows talk to kids like the kids are clueless, which they definitely aren't. Kids are really intelligent and intuitive and some of the TV shows ignore that.

yea that makes the most sense. Its very straightforward and sing songy.

I can't believe nobody has (been serious) and said "Snare, Girl." I mean, it's basically a lullaby from T to Coco. Soothing and beautiful.

Yeah, that's a good one. "Unwind" would work well too under similar conditions.

panty lies.

Holy shit! I was joking! No one got that? Hmm... Clearly my fault then.

First, I'd like to offer an apology to all the parents with children who enjoy SY. I certainly didn't intent to cast doubt upon your parenting skills or your children's sanity and I'm sorry for an distress my comments may have caused.

Second, I'd like to offer an apology to all children. I certainly didn't intent to cast doubt upon your ability to respond to new experiences in a positive manner and I'm sorry for any distress my comments may have caused.

Third, I'd like to apologize to the members of Sonic Youth, whose music (or at least some of it) is meant to be enjoyed by all and I'm sorry for any distress my comments may have caused.

As you can imagine, this experience has been difficult. With the love and support of my family, I hope I can redeem myself from the pain I may have unintentionally caused others, and perhaps this learning experience will make me a better man in the future. I thank you for your time.

Kids can be anywhere from 3 to 15. The kids I know probably don't want to deal with adult themes when they are kids...IMHO

BTW, Dead-Air, are you an Amber Richardson fan?

http://www.theonion.com/content/opin...ing_me_what_my

Is "Goo" a particularly "adult themed" track? I know plenty of people, SY fans included, who say they hate it for being so blatantly immature.

I could be wrong but I don't read/hear a track like Goo at face-value. I see it more as an attempt to do an artistic re-creation of a mindless bubblegum pop band. The title 'Goo' is a masterstroke of genius....IMHO

Just my opinon.....I didn't want to interupt your viewing of Faces of Death with the little ones...(which is your constitutional right)

I think the same thing you do, believe it or not. However, I also think kids, including very young ones could very likely get into it. Just because I know people who hate it for those reasons, and quite a few I know from this board, doesn't mean I agree with them at all.

But then you somehow equate it with Faces of Death, which is incredibly odd.

Apology accepted, Captain Needa.

Your Mothers Against Hard Rock invitation is in the mail.

I know people who hate it for those reasons, and quite a few I know from this board, doesn't mean I agree with them at all.

Well, I am glad you recognize that in the song. I am all about interpretation, allegory, metaphor and the like.

Speaking about such issues is pointless with those who say for example takes art & literature at face value...To me face value is nothing.
No one is going to win this cataclismic battle between censorship & free speech.