Musings of a Punk Rock Father

For Christmas, I bought Aidan They Might Be Giants' "No!" I had recently discovered that they, and a number of other indie rock artists, began working in what might be called "kid's music." Listening to the CD this morning with Aidan on our way to his grandma's house, I realized how wrong this assessment is.

I already liked the album. We listen to it at home, and he likes to dance and clap and laugh along to it. But usually there is too much going on to enjoy the music. Usually, we are also playing with toys or reading books or running into the furniture (at least Aidan is usually involved in those activities) to listen intentionally to the music.

But this morning as we drove, I got a chance to appreciate it on a whole new level. At first blush, the album appears to be simply silly kids songs. But as I listened, I heard great songwriting, lyrically and musically. Songs like the buoyant rocker "Clap Your Hands" and the mellow, dreamy "Where Do They Make Balloons" transcend mere kid stuff.

The album would certainly appeal to fans of They Might Be Giants, but I think it would also appeal to fans of bands like the Flaming Lips as well. I look forward to discovering more kids music with my son.