Isn't it amazing the way that hearing a song can sometimes take you back to a particular time or place, and you get that eerie deja vu feeling passing over you real quick? I love that. Certain scents do that to me too.
This summer I put together a mix CD for our vacation drive up to Presque Isle. I used to be absolutely crazy for mix tapes, and I guess I'm not completely over them yet. In high school, my friends and I made them for each other all the time.
This CD was mostly current stuff that C and I are into right now: Adele, Beck, Feist, Kings of Leon, to name a few. (By the way, if you've not heard Adele, she's got an incredible voice and sings with such a sense of worldliness and experience for only being 19... my favorite track is "Cold Shoulder".)
So, for old times sake, I decided to throw in a couple favorite classics of ours, and wouldn't you know, J completely dug them and requests them every time we're in the car!
The first throwback on our vacation mix was Michael Penn's "No Myth". It was so cool when C and I randomly figured out that it was one of both of our favorites from the 80s/early 90s. Now I think we like it even more because of J's big grin when it comes on as he says, "Is this 'No Miff'?"
The other one is a little embarrassing. One that my dad used to sing a lot when we were kids and we just thought it was crazy nonsense. As a teen, I realized it was a real song when a friend had it on a mix tape. Harry Nilsson's "Coconut". I know, it's crazy!! But, let me tell ya, what's really crazy is when J is playing independently and he thinks no one is watching and he starts to sing:
put the lime in the coconut...
drink it all up...
then say, Doc-tah!!! (and he mimes holding a phone up to his ear)
Needless to say, my dad is mighty proud. I told him the other day that J got his funny genes from him. "Fine by me", he said with a wink.
Over the last year, we've really noticed that J seems particularly drawn to music. He'll stop what he's doing if he hears an interesting song on the radio or a tv commercial. He loves all instruments. He sings constantly as he plays, and also turns just about anything into an instrument.
I think we'd be crazy not to foster J's musical inclinations. No pressure or anything, but just get him exposed to lots of types and encourage him to be creative and have fun with it. I registered the two of us for Music Together, and I'm really excited to start classes in a couple of weeks. Their premise is right up our alley:
Music Together classes are based on the recognition that all children are musical. All children can learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate with confidence in the music of our culture, provided that their early environment supports such learning.
What songs are stuck in your heads these days?
2 comments:
Music does take you back doesn't it? Your post is reminding me of how my dad and I loved Whitney Houston when I was in the 4th or 5th grade. I remember sitting in the parked car with my dad after a trip to the pool singing along to "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" until it ended on the radio...and we also loved John Denver's Country Boy...my bro. and I used to beg my dad to put that record on!
Oooh, records!!! Those were so fun. I had a great childrens music record with "How Much is That Doggie in the Window" that I listened to over and over.
My dad mostly had folky records like Bob Dylan, but "Thriller" was also in the mix, which I loved!
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