Filling an iPod for an infant

[And That]

I've decided that one of the major responsibilities I have as a new father is introducing the wide world of music to my daughter. I got her an iPod Nano, and now that I have it in my hands, I've been contemplating what music should be essential listening for a very new person. So far I've put some of my favorite albums on it, and have tried to include a decent array of classical, jazz and country/folk music there too, even though those genres aren't an everyday part of my listening habits.

 

Brewerfan, what are your ideas on what a baby should listen to? I'd love general thoughts as well as specific examples. Thanks!

[Brian the Automator]

Parliament.

[chuckiehacks]

My son is 1 1/2, he loves John Coltrane. He goes to sleep to it every night. We've tried to stay away from "kid music" so he's heard a lot of Indigo Girls, Counting Crows, etc.

[GAME05]

Birth of the Cool.

[Katuluu]

[And That]

Her favorite thing to fall asleep to right now is a selection of instrumentals from Richard Wagner operas. She's been listening to a bit of "A Love Supreme" as well as some Dave Brubeck. I've just put Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" on her iPod.

[jhart05]

"I'm Only Sleeping", the Beatles.

 

 

I played that song for, and sang it to, my daughter quite a few times. Most of the Revolver album actually.

 

Listening to the words I always imagined John holding Julian and signing it for him.

 

Course I'm not even sure if Julian was born at the time yet, but whatever.

[JoeHova]

Sex Pistols

Sid Vicious

GG Allin

Bad Brains

Black Flag

Johnny Thunders

Slayer

Megadeth

DMX

The Damned

Bikini Kill

Wu-Tang

NWA

Danzig

Mastodon

Heaven Shall Burn

Dir En Grey

Rammstein

Decapitated

Kool Keith

Arch Enemy

Killarmy

Trick Daddy

Beastie Boys

Smif N Wessun

Ofo The Black Company

Elmore James

Richard Hell & The Voidoids

The Stooges

Rage Against The Machine

etc.

 

The goal should be to get her off to college with as little of her eardrums intact as possible.

[Teatoe993]

I second the Kool Kieth.

[samwise]

If you want to get her some Jazz I have been listening to a lot of Joshua Redman lately. I really like it.

 

Joshua Redman

 

I will always recommend some Kool Keith especially for this lyric, "Astronauts get played, tough like the ukelele"

[burniebrewer]

Kids really like the classical stuff, don't they? My daughter used to fall asleep listening to the Baby Einstein CD and that was all classical. She also listened to a Miles Davis mix CD.

 

That's all in the past, now she listens to metal in the car with me!

 

And much to my dismay, she is taking an interest in this Hannah Montana girl--talk about eardrum torture.

[thevaccinator27]

Rockabye Baby. Link

 

I'm only half kidding.

[Fatter than Joey]

The more traditional school of thought is to start infants out with "A Little Light Music" -- which is Tull's unplugged album, however I tend to disagree and I think it is important for the young mind to progress as Tull did -- which of course was divinely inspired.

 

Start her first year out with "This Was" which is a solid R&B inspired album, which will lead in nicely to"Stand Up" for year #2 and "Benefit" for year #3.

 

By the time your daughter is 4 and starting to develop her own identity -- she will be ready for the more progressive albums like "Living in the Past" and "Aqualung"

 

Her brain will have developed enough by year #6 to listen to nothing but "Thick as a Brick"

 

When she is 8, she can have a little fun with Bungle in the Jungle from "War Child".

 

Old enough to become socially aware she can digest the insightful lyrics from "Songs From the Wood" and "Heavy Horses" in her pre-teen years.

 

When she turns 14 though -- I would skip "A" -- Black Sunday is a great song, but I would substitute the far superior "Watchers on the Storm" boot that contains concert tracks from the Stormwatch tour.

 

Tull starts to slip around their 18th album, which is fine, because in the words of my old man, "You are now the state's problem" -- and you will have done your part.

[GAME05]

Her favorite thing to fall asleep to right now is a selection of instrumentals from Richard Wagner operas. She's been listening to a bit of "A Love Supreme" as well as some Dave Brubeck. I've just put Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" on her iPod.

Kind of Blue is an excellent choice for some lighter stuff. it's basically all-the-time background music at my place. Wes Montgomery and Theloneus Monk both have some excellent lighter stuff, too. I strongly recommend Delfeayo Marsalis on the trombone. Pontius Pilot's Decision is a lighter album and is awesome.

[pogokat]

my 1 year old flows with the odyssey and the oracle by the zombies

[PeaveyFury]

Dean Martin.

[PKBadger]

Gonna echo JoeHova here and suggest Dragonforce.

[logan82]

My 3 year old really likes Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Korn, and DRI.

[JimH5]

I'm a big fan of playing World Music for little ones. Music from South America, India, Africa, etc. Give the kid some exposure to other cultures early on.

[DatHoser]

If you're looking for more infant version stuff, these are great.

[pogokat]

Elizabeth mitchell from Ida has a couple of great kids cd's as well...with velvet underground covers..

[TooLiveBrew]

The more traditional school of thought is to start infants out with "A Little Light Music" -- which is Tull's unplugged album, however I tend to disagree and I think it is important for the young mind to progress as Tull did -- which of course was divinely inspired.

 

Start her first year out with "This Was" which is a solid R&B inspired album, which will lead in nicely to"Stand Up" for year #2 and "Benefit" for year #3.

 

By the time your daughter is 4 and starting to develop her own identity -- she will be ready for the more progressive albums like "Living in the Past" and "Aqualung"

 

Her brain will have developed enough by year #6 to listen to nothing but "Thick as a Brick"

 

When she is 8, she can have a little fun with Bungle in the Jungle from "War Child".

 

Old enough to become socially aware she can digest the insightful lyrics from "Songs From the Wood" and "Heavy Horses" in her pre-teen years.

 

When she turns 14 though -- I would skip "A" -- Black Sunday is a great song, but I would substitute the far superior "Watchers on the Storm" boot that contains concert tracks from the Stormwatch tour.

 

Tull starts to slip around their 18th album, which is fine, because in the words of my old man, "You are now the state's problem" -- and you will have done your part.

TULL! Love it, or be doomed, mortals.

 

 

If you want to get her some Jazz I have been listening to a lot of Joshua Redman lately. I really like it.

 

Seconded -- I encountered Joshua Redman as a featured artist on the Rolling Stones' No Security live album. I bought Redman's Beyond as a flier, and still listen to it quite regularly. He's great on that sax, man.

 

Also, unless you hate your daughter you should probably get some Cat Stevens in the mix. I'll say The Beatles fall under that classification, too.