songs for an eclectic nine year old
December 24, 2009 9:17 AM   Subscribe

Help me load my 9 year old nephew's ipod with parent-friendly songs for Christmas!

From what I can tell, he likes the following things: 1. Johnny Cash 2. Who Let the Dogs Out 3. Current pop music such as Taylor Swift and the Black Eyed Peas.

He's only 9 and I'm not trying to impart music snobbery onto him, so what sort of songs (with an emphasis on current pop) would be good? These songs need to not have any swear words (either bleeped out or nonexistent) and hopefully the sexy talk wouldn't be obvious if it's in the song.
posted by mandymanwasregistered to Media & Arts (14 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits
Top Party Songs (Like YMCA, Who Let the Dogs Out, etc.)

Also - check out the CD series called Now That's What I Call Music, all top pop hits. Maybe they have a clean version on itunes?
posted by kdern at 9:25 AM on December 24, 2009


Response by poster: Ooh, good idea! It looks like there are radio edit versions of songs on Now That's What I Call Music.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 9:45 AM on December 24, 2009


They Might Be Giants, most of their stuff is totally safe. Some of Jonathan Coulton's stuff, but not all, is free of swearing and is quirky and smart to boot. This is a playlist I made for a friend's younger son:

The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy), Punky's Dilemma, At the Zoo - All by Simon & Garfunkel
The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Nylons
Lookin' Out My Back Door by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Centerfield by John Fogerty
Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride from the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack
My Toot-Toot by Rockin Sidney (Zeideco music)
Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Doctor Worm, Particle Man, Fibber Island, Robot Parade - all by They Might Be Giants
Octopus's Garden, Here Comes The Sun, Yellow submarine - by, you know, The Beatles
Sing, Sing, Sing - Barrage (Barrage is an amazing group of mostly siblings and in-laws who play fiddle like nobody's business!)

And here's another one:

Everyday by Buddy Holly
Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might Be Giants
Peter Gunn (featuring Duane Eddy) by The Art Of Noise
Lady Madonna by The Beatles
Trickle Trickle by The Manhattan Transfer
De Bat (Fly In Me Face) by Carly Simon
In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle by They Might Be Giants
Down On The Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Our House by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Devoted To You by Carly Simon
Twilight Zone by The Manhattan Transfer
Where do They Make Balloons? by They Might Be Giants
Take Me To Your Heart by The Nylons
King of the Road by Roger Miller
Why Does The Sun Shine? (live) by They Might Be Giants
Wilbury Twist by The Traveling Wilburys

I'd probably throw in Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon, just for good measure.
posted by jvilter at 9:57 AM on December 24, 2009 [1 favorite]


They Might Be Giants? (I, personally, adore "Alphabet Lost and Found", which is one of their kids' songs.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:59 AM on December 24, 2009


I'd probably throw in Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon, just for good measure.

yeah but totally leave off the rest of the "Excitable Boy" album (shudder).
posted by toodleydoodley at 10:15 AM on December 24, 2009


I would definitely second (or third I guess) TMBG. Most of their songs are pretty kid-friendly, but they also have four specifically kid-oriented albums: No!, Here Come the ABCs, Here Come the 123s, and the newest one, Here Comes Science. (The latter three are obviously edutainment to a certain extent, but they're relatively good edutainment.)
posted by Target Practice at 10:33 AM on December 24, 2009


The Window by Trout Fishing In America.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:15 PM on December 24, 2009


Response by poster: I'm good with the TMBG-type stuff, but admittedly my current mainstream pop music knowledge is lacking (apart from a deep appreciation for Lady Gaga and Shakira). He says he likes the music he hears when his dad is driving the car (ie top 40 stuff).
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 12:42 PM on December 24, 2009


Another approach if you have a few minutes would be to set up what you know as a Pandora seed. Who else pops up?

(Pandora sure ain't perfect, but damn! it's cool.)
posted by phrits at 2:22 PM on December 24, 2009


Best answer: Borrowing from my 12 year old's shuffle - here are some of the top artists-songs she's playing (and I also like):
Fireflies - Owl City
Chairlift - Bruises
Linka - The Show
Bjork - Oh so Quiet
Justin Bieber - One Less Lonely Girl (Justin's just a kid, himself)
Jack Johnson - Upside Down (you're nephew might be familiar with it from the Curious George soundtrack)
Rob Thomas - Little Wonders (from the Meet the Robinson's soundtrack)
Colbie Caillat - Falling for You
Jason Mraz - The Remedy, Lucky
Kelly Clarkson - My Life would Suck Without You (I'm not crazy about the word suck but I love that song - the Glee version might be even better)
Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling (many of their songs are not kid friendly, but I think this one's ok)
Plain White Ts - 1, 2, 3, 4
Uncle Kracker - Smile
Outkast - Hey Ya (a couple years old, but very fun)
My daughter gets a kick out of Fred Figglehorn's Christmas Cash while I roll my eyes and pretend to take offense (even though I find myself singing along with it)
posted by kbar1 at 3:21 PM on December 24, 2009


The Barenaked Ladies released an album for kids called 'Snacks' a few years ago, I think. I haven't heard all of it, but the song 'Seven Ate Nine' was pretty cute.
posted by Bageena at 3:43 PM on December 24, 2009


I forgot to include Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It). Current, popular, fun.
posted by kbar1 at 3:51 PM on December 24, 2009


Best answer: Yep, all the recent NOW albums are spot on and exactly stuff he'd like - iTunes explicit/clean labels should let you filter out what's appropriate (I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of it is).

My experience with 9 year olds is that with little exposure, they ALL love the Beatles. My 10 year old brother is also huge into Queen, the Police, though his recent obsession is (ahem) Weird Al. Your nephew would probably love Weird Al, and though my exposure to him has been limited, it all seems pretty appropriate.

What about 90's/early 2000's pop? I'm thinking Smash Mouth, *nsync, Backstreet Boys, etc. He'd probably know a bit of it, and like it.

There's also all the iTunes top 10 type stuff - what pops to mind right now are Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber (huge right now in the tween bracket for whatever reason. I don't get it.), etc.
posted by R a c h e l at 9:09 PM on December 24, 2009


Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I now know waaay more about tween music hits of 2009 than I did yesterday.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 8:59 AM on December 25, 2009


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