Birthday Soundtrack

When we were kids, my friend Amrita and my younger sister Tanya wanted life to be like a musical, people randomly bursting into song. They crooned made-up lyrics to accompany our mundane activities. I can still picture my sister singing into a key and doing a leap into Amrita’s outstretched arms, both of them with t-shirts pulled down over their shoulders a la Flashdance. It drove me crazy. But it planted a seed of desire in me. I want a soundtrack, for gardening, grocery shopping, anything.

My friend Courtney knows this as she has been the recipient of my Mama, nap, and various other playlists. Her second child was due last week. She was hoping for a VBAC but knew she might end up having a c-section so she asked me if I could make c-section length CD she could have just in case. Cavanaugh was also born by c-section and the only CD I had in the car was a gift from a friend: Martha Stewart’s Baby Sleepytime CD, so that’s what we took into the O.R. I remember “Blackbird” as the song that was playing but my husband says it was “Close to You.” Either way, I would have liked a little more choice in the matter. Courtney had my choices with her and Orion was born November 13th while they listened to “Happy Birthday” by Stevie Wonder.

I hope all of you will get to enjoy these songs outside an O.R., but just in case, I’ve got you covered.

1. Beautiful Day by U2
2. Happy Birthday by Sufjan Stevens
3. Beautiful Boy by John Lennon
4. Brighter Than Sunshine by Aqualung
5. Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder
6. Celebration by Kool and the Gang
7. Birthday by The Beatles
8. Happy Birthday by Altered Images
9. Close to You by the Carpenters (oh, how I wish someone good would record a less floofy version of this song)
10. Welcome to This World by Renee & Jeremy (only song specifically for a child)

If you click here you can get to the whole list at once.

I realize there are a lot of other birthday songs, but not ones you’d want to play for a birth or a celebration. If you’re depressed and want to drink away the day you were born, this is probably not your soundtrack. Since I knew Courtney was having a boy, I’ve got “Beautiful Boy” in here, but if you’ve got any suggestions for birthday songs specific to females or any other celebratory birthday songs I should add to this list, add them to the comments section.

Hear This

Mike was singing “Rapper’s Delight” to our son in the hospital, but until Cavanaugh was a month old, I was too shy to sing to him–even when no one else was around. I have a complex about my voice.

When I was in sixth grade, a group of used to run around school at recess singing soda commercial jingles. “I’m a Pepper. You’re a Pepper. Wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper too?” .

And though my pop-culture-guru/geek husband claims not to remember the fabulousness of Shasta’s early eighties campaigns, we’d belt, “I wanna pop pop pop. I wanna Shasta.”

At some point, one of my friends asked me to stop, because she said I was throwing her off key. The term she used to describe my vocal stylings was tone deaf. Maybe this is an indication of my inexpertise, but are key and tone the same? Shouldn’t it be key deaf?

Tonight, as he was going to sleep, I sang Cavanaugh “Snuggle Puppy” by Sandra Boynton, a book we loved that become even more of a favorite when I heard one of my great all-time teenage actor crushes singing it. (Yep, Eric Stoltz. The others are Alan Alda and Tom Hanks.)  I was lying in the bed nursing my son, singing “Snuggle Puppy,” when I realized I’m not afraid to sing anymore.

I’ve felt so self-conscious of my voice for pretty much all of my life that I don’t sing in the shower (it echoes) and only occasionally let myself go enough that I sing along to music blasting in my car — okay blasting pre-baby; now it’s all at an unreasonably low volume due to the extra bass amp for my stereo system and Cavanaugh’s close proximity to the speakers.

While those of you close to me, those apt to ride in my car for instance, are unlikely to hear me sing anything but a kid’s song, I have healed some singing fear, a phobia I can’t even find the name for (Ideas anyone?). Now, I can at least sing loud enough to hear myself,  and  so whoever happens to be around when Cavanaugh’s in need of a tune can get an earful of my possibly key-deaf renderings of Mah Na Mah Na and the like. Hopefully, Cavanaugh will grow up knowing he should sing when he feels like it and share his voice with anyone in earshot.

Watch/Listen: They Might Be Giants 123s & ABCs

My dad sent the DVD/CD combo discs of Here Come The 123s and Here Come the ABCs to my two-year old for Christmas. We’ve been working recently on teaching Cavanaugh numbers. He’s playing hide and seek and counting “four, six, seven, ten, no peeking, where mama go” so he’s understanding the concept of numbers and counting but doesn’t quite have it down yet.

As an aside, can I just say that his hands over his eyes (peeking through his outspread fingers) is one of the most endearing things I’ve ever seen and I’m so madly in love with my kid that this particular cuteness topping the list means it’s outstanding?

So, I’ve never been a huge fan of They Might Be Giants but I’m loving a lot of the songs and am particularly impressed with a band that makes rockin’ music videos for kids. The art on a lot of the videos is beautiful, the puppets are funny, and Cavanaugh is naming objects as they careen across the screen. Whether you’re trying to teach your toddler concepts or are merely looking for something to occupy your child for a few minutes so you can take a shower, these are discs worth watching. Plus, they come with CDs you can play in the car. I particular like “Seven” and “Seven Days of the Week (I Never Go to Work)” and the letter songs “I C U“ and “Q U.”

View all my reviews.

Listen: I Think Therefore I Jingle

Last year, we swore to ourselves that we’d  make the Christmas mix Thanksgiving weekend so we’d be able to give it to people to listen to before Christmas. We started it the day after Thanksgiving, but didn’t finish until last week or make copies until the 21st. We’ll do better next year. Anyway, here’s Cavanaugh’s Christmas, Volume III for those who want to get in the spirit but don’t want to listen to the standards done in the traditional way.

I Think, Therefore I Jingle: An Existential Christmas

1. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Aimee Mann
2. “Donna and Blitzen” by Badly Drawn Boy
3. “Up On the House Top” by the Jackson 5
4. “Trim Your Tree” by the Asylum Street Spanker
5. “Christmas is Coming” by John Denver & the Muppets
6. “River” by Sarah McLachlan
7. “Things We Don’t Need Anymore” by Jenny Owen Youngs
8. “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day?” by Sufjan Stevens
9. “Wonderful Christmastime” by Tom McRae
10. “Gabriel’s Message” by Sting

Need more? Listen to Vol. 1: Cavanaugh’s Christmas and Vol. 2: Xmas Doesn’t Happen in an Elevator.

Listen: Unconventional Christmas Musical

Our son is two years old this holiday season and we’ve made another no muzak, no mall-vibe holiday playlist:

Cavanaugh’s Christmas Vol. 2:  Xmas Doesn’t Happen in an Elevator

1. “Gary” by MC Lars
2. “Christmas in Hollis” by Run-D.M.C.
3. “Getting’ In The Mood (For Christmas)” by The Brian Setzer Orchestra
4. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by the Asylum Street Spankers
5. “Silver Bells” by Twisted Sister
6. “Love Came Down at Christmas” by Jars of Clay
7. “Rudy” by The Be Good Tanyas
8. “All That I Want” by The Weepies
9. “Sister Winter” by Sufjan Stevens
10. “Gaudete” by Mediaeval Baebes

Need some more good holiday musis? Check these out too.

Vol. 1: Cavanaugh’s Christmas

Vol 3: I Think Therefore I Jingle

Listen: Getting in the Holiday Spirit

I’ve always hated Christmas music, even “Jingle Bells,” which for some reason always gets stuck in my head come July. Since my son was born in November (2006), we were headed into the holidays and trying to figure out what our family traditions were going to be. The problem is that in Texas, it’s very rarely “beginning to look a lot like Christmas” and we needed something to get us in the holiday spirit. We had a couple of Christmas CDs: A Christmas Spanking by the Asylum Street Spankers and Christmas Caravan by the Squirrel Nut Zippers. We started listening to those and I realized it wasn’t Christmas music per se that I disliked. It was muzak style piped into shopping malls and used as background on commercials. I started looking on iTunes for other Christmas music that I could stand to listen to. Anytime Cavanaugh was sleeping on his first Christmas Eve and Day, I was online looking for music. By the end of Christmas 2006, we had our first volume in a series and decided to make a new mix each year as one of our family traditions.

Cavanaugh’s Christmas Volume I

1. Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses
2. Maybe This Christmas by Ron Sexsmith
3. Rock of Ages (Full Mix) by Ben Kweller
4. Winter Weather by Squirrel Nut Zippers
5. Fairytale of New York by The Pogues
6. Santa Claus is Thumbing to Town by Reliant k
7. Christians and Pagans by Dar Williams
8. Christmas for Cowboys by John Denver
9. Peace on Earth by Adam Carroll
10. Happy Xmas (War is Over) by Polyphonic Spree

Vol. 2: Xmas Doesn’t Happen in an Elevator

Vol 3: I Think Therefore I Jingle

Listen: Lullabies for Naptime and Parents

I made a playlist of calming sleepy music to play Cavanaugh in the car so he’ll go down for a nap. I wanted songs that I could stand to listen to many many times.

1. “I Am Weary” by the Cox Family
2. “Free” by Renee & Jeremy
3. “Lullaby” by Jack Johnson and Matt Costa
4. “Lullaby” by Dixie Chicks
5. “Too Much” by David Garza
6. “Comfort” by Deb Talan
7. “This Must Be the Place” by Talking Heads
8. “Children of Jack” by Guy Forsyth
9. “Lullaby in Three/Four” by Erin McKeown
10. “The Horses” by Rickie Lee Jones
11. “The Littlest Birds” by The Be Good Tanyas
12. “Night Mantra” by Renee & Jeremy

Sweet dreams.

Alas, wordpress doesn’t allow me to put a convenient flash player so you can listen to the playlist from here, but if you want to get to the whole thing, click here.

If you’ve got some favorite music to put your kids (or yourself) to sleep, please suggest it in the comments.

Listen: Mama Mix CD

For my first Mother’s Day, I made myself a mama soundtrack, then I sent it to my mama buddies around the country.  Some days I needed a reminder that mamas are appreciated. Other days, I just needed a pep talk. On others, simply something I could blast in the rare instances I got to drive in the car alone. This is definitely a playlist for mamas, not the kids (at least the young ones).

1. Woman by Raheem DeVaughn

2. Hey Mama by Kanye West

3. Mommy by Missy Elliott

4. To Zion by Lauryn Hil

5. Dear Mama by Tupac Shakur

6. Feeling Good by Nina Simone

7. Dat Dere by Rickie Lee Jones

8. Playboy Mommy by Tori Amos

9. The World Ain’t Slowin’ Down by Ellis Paul

10. Your Mother Should Know by The Beatles

11. Oh Mom by Arlo Guthrie

12. Mommy’s Not Talking Today by Hamell On Trial

13. It’s Raining in Texas by Datri Bean

14. Open Up the Gates by Hamell On Trial

15. This Must Be the Place by Talking Heads

16. Mama by Alyce Mtwalo et al

Find the whole playlist here.