Music Shows

When you become a parent, the music that sticks in your head changes dramatically. Our daughter Sofia, like many kids I suspect, is a TV addict. Like mother and father, like daughter I guess. So as a result, our days are filled with countless episodes of Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Backyardigans, and *cringe*, occasionally an episode of Dora.

Off topic a little....does anyone hate Dora as much as I do? I like the Spanish element. That's not my problem. It's the incessant repetitiveness of every show coupled with the annoying tone to "SAY BACKPACK, SAY BACKPACK!" like the TV will swallow your kids whole if they don't comply.

OK, back to the music in my head. No longer do I have to struggle to keep myself from public headbanging to an old Metallica song ringing in my head. Yes, old. Anything after the "Black album" is garbage.

Instead, I find myself fighting to hum the theme of one of the aforementioned shows or the latest "Annie version" of an old classical music piece, or the countless songs from Backyardigans, etc. etc. There's nothing that says "tough guy" like whistling the Dora theme in the elevator.

I was never a huge classical music fan, but like many, I knew the major pieces. Some by name, by not many. Now, every piece of remotely popular classical music is inevitably attached to an episode, in many cases multiple episodes, of Little Einsteins. Beethoven's 5th is either "We can sing low" or "Fee Fie Fo Fum". My favorite is the William Tell Overture sung to "Hurry up, hurry up, get the pigs, pigs, pigs."

Music also extends to the car of course. Getting tired of listening to kids singing nursery rhymes, I decided to make things more bearable. I created a disc of the best songs from some of the contemporary Disney movies. Basically, a few songs from the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin, and Mulan.

Sofia has dubbed this disc as her "music shows". Dominic, 17 months, even gets in on the action. We were startled when he started singing the part in "Poor Unfortunately Souls" from the Little Mermaid when Ariel sings to give up her voice to Ursula's spell. VERY cute.

While listening to the Disney songs in the car is much more bearable than the nursery rhymes (in fact I enjoy many of the Disney movie tunes), unfortunately it still hasn't replaced the short Einstein songs in my head. "You.....are......my....best friend....I love you." DAMN, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!