Music, dancing, and JBMS

Hey Kiddo-
Let me tell you a little bit about music and how it’s impacting your life. Before you were born I was almost sure I didn’t want you to watch television. Everything we read says to not let kids under the age of two watch television. Well…that isn’t exactly how it’s working out.

Fortunately you’re not on commercial TV yet. We’re doing a great job of keeping you off of Sponge Bob and Dora and all of the 30-minute commercials masquerading as kids programming on Cartoon Network and the 15 other cable channels for “kids.” What you seem to love on television, however, is Austin City Limits on PBS. Every Saturday night we record ACL and usually sometime on Sunday we watch it.

On the eve of your first birthday you wouldn’t go to sleep and I recorded The Decemberists, a band from Portland, Oregon. Mom brought you downstairs, fell asleep on the couch and you and I danced for at least an hour until you finally fell asleep, holding a blue balloon which you absolutely loved (four months later you are still fascinated with balloons).

Since then we’ve recorded Van Morrison, Nora Jones, Simple Minds and a Bluegrass Festival from San Francisco. You’ve listened to most of these, but not really paid much attention to them…that is until Damian Marley’s Jamrock. Damian Marley got an entire hour on ACL and you love it. Sometimes it’s the only thing that will get you to sleep.

More recently we’ve been watching to and listening to Coldplay on ACL (special guset Michael Stipe from REM). Your mom taught you how to dance to Coldplay pumping one hand in the air mimicking the lead singer and running around in circles, bobbing yoru head to the beat of the music. As I’m writing this you are as close to the screen as you can get (we have a gate to keep you away from all of the controls) and you just hang on every note the band plays.

You watch other TV on most days. I try to get you to watch Discovery or The Learning Channel, but you only put up with that so long before you want me to turn music on. One of the kids show we let you watch is Jack’s Big Music Show. It’s a 22 minute, no commercial, kids puppet show on Noggin. The basis of the show is music and all the different types of music. One of the shows is music from Ireland, and another has Jack conducting an orchestra. Mary plays an accordion, and Jack’s dog Mel plays the drum.

There’s also Laurie Berkner (featured on J.B.M.S.). We downloaded a CD of her music and play it in the car on trips. There are a bunch of fun songs from her, including our favorite “Let’s go Swimming.” It’s about a bunch of fish that don’t need to take a shower, brush their teeth, or ride their bikes. Because, of course, they are fish, and just want to go swimming.

You still love Jack Johnson, but your mom and me are a little burnt out on him. He has a new album out this month and we’re hoping to get it, so hopefully that will give us something new to listen to in the car.

Love you lots.
Dad