What We're Listening To

Whenever we climb into the car, the first words out of Ellie's mouth are, "Can we listen to my music?" Somewhere along the way, I found myself trading in my music for the wee ones music. As a teen of the late 80s/early 90s, this was sometimes especially frustrating. And then one day it happened: alternative music for me had become Elmo versus Raffi.

When we first saw Dan Zanes on Noggin, Dave turned to me and said, "Hey, it's music for the cool kids." I was excited. Music that I could listen to with the windows rolled down. Music that I could, potentially, listen to over and over and over again? Because, let's face it, when you're under three feet tall and there are errands to run, you pretty much dictate what gets played on the dial. Surprisingly, after listening to Dan Zanes House Party, I have discovered he is one of those very rare artists that I will actually listen to even without the kids in the car with me. House Party is a fave of mine and is perfect for almost any occasion.

So when I saw his new album in Starbucks, I snatched one up. After the first listen, I thought it was a little too Americana for me. I loved that House Party had a nice world influence which really got me in the toe tapping spirit. But after a second listen, I realized that Catch That Train! was just as catchy and toe tapping to boot.

The thing about Zane's music is that it's so much more sophisticated than the normal kid stuff. It has many different layers of sounds, changes and is quite lyrically beautiful. I find myself humming Mariposa Ole quite often--even the fact that I can't speak a word of Spanish hasn't gotten in my way.

Next time we all pile into the car and Ellie says, "Mommy can we listen to my music?" I will turn to her and say, "No honey, we can listen to our music." That is until she starts asking for Kidz Bops. Then all bets are off.