Children's songs? Yup!

No!; They Might Be Giants

Okay, this one will throw you for a loop. My friend E. wanted to find fun, quality, appropriate, yet unorthodox music for his son to listen to. If such a pursuit had Olympic sport status, my friend would have a gold medal. In 2002, the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants released a top-notch children’s album.

While doffing death and depression in order to adulate the attributes of imagination, taste buds and sleep, TMBG retains those stylistic elements that have satisfied their fan base for years. Eclecticism, humor and the psychedelic rule the day here and, by all accounts, children it. Like Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies, the content works innocently on multiple levels, making it the consummate family sing-a-long album.

I connect with the song called “John Lee Supertaster”. I swear I taste food and water at a stronger level than most people. In “Bed, Bed, Bed”, we have a chronicle of what some creative child had accomplished – all day; ate three meals, rode the bike, hung out with friends, watched TV, practiced the guitar, brushed the teeth and that’s just the stuff in the lyrics. The background noise includes a cow, a saxophone, a violin, a grandfather clock and ping-pong. Suffice to say that “Violin” is just weird, but one of the finest weirds I’ve ever heard.

The most curious track is “In The Middle, In The Middle, In The Middle”. Vic Mizzy composed this catchy novelty tune for the city of New York in the 1960’s as, believe it or not, an anti-jaywalking song. He also composed the TV themes for “Green Acres” and “The Addams Family” and the movie score for “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken”. With credentials like that, how couldn’t there be any fun singing this song?

This album promotes creative thinking. I listen to it every now and then to reminisce that time in life when possibilities are endless, when down doesn’t have to be south, purple is a flavor of a fruit and the moon hangs in the sky only a few miles away. Although, if I had listened to this album when I was young, I would have turned out even weirder. Yeah. Not a pretty thought, is it?

Credits: To cows. Why not?