There is a pure joy in being a musician and a father – the fun I have in introducing the girls to music has been a wild ride.
Persephone, 4 months old now, has something special going for her. I’ve played piano by her countless times (her pack and play is right under the keyboard), so she’s no stranger to a bit of rock in the house, but in the end, I could play her all the kiddie music I want, but if I put some good old Frank Turner on, she’s immediately engaged and those fat little legs go a-kickin’.
So, without further ado, here’s Persephone’s first playlist.
Hooked on a Feeling – Blue Suede
What Makes a Good Man – the Heavy
Mr Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra
Love 40 Down – Frank Turner
We Won’t Get Fooled Again – the Who
Genghis Khan – Miike Snow (that’s not a typo – two I’s)
Come and Get Your Love – B Redbone
Safety Dance – Men With Hats
There are so many stories here. Hooked on a Feeling… we sing or hum it so much around the house that it’s a staple. We often sing “hooked on a baby” instead. She gets a serious half-moon smile whenever that hook lands.
What Makes a Good Man surprised me. I don’t follow the Heavy, but I do now… serious gospel callout beauty. It hit on a Spotify playlist and she squealed, all four limbs flailing.
I think she likes group choruses. Mr. Blue Sky set her all aglow, eyes wide every chorus. Really got confused at the robotic vocoder interlude, then hit back to delight with the re-entry. Oh man, I should have recorded some video.
Love 40 Down, for no reason, has been my diaper-changing song for months. When I hit that high note on the second chorus, she just coos and squeals. One time, I stopped before the last word, and she belted out, and I just melted. For the time it takes for the serve to rise and fall.
Nice to know she appreciated the Who, but she knows that organ sound well.
Any point in Genghis Khan where the drums let out, she’d stop all movement and go wide eyed, then flail when they came back in. Come and Get Your Love was a fluke – I was bringing her over to nurse, stood her on the couch, and when it came on her little hind end just started groovin.
And she may have liked the Safety Dance mostly because I grabbed both her hands and TAUGHT her the Safety Dance. It’s an important thing to learn… save her butt at prom in a decade or two.
Matt 6/2/17
Nice picks. 🙂