DJ B's Library Tour

No Wave is No Fun

2010-11-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

Well, leave it to nearly-5-year-old DJ B to turn her back on music review duties. When I put on a CD these days, she's most likely to turn it off immediately. She's much more interested in watching TV, playing with her dollhouse, crafting imaginary worlds with her Barbies, or doing art projects.

But sometimes I actually have to listen to music in order to write reviews for the radio station where I DJ. Normally I do my music reviews while Miss B is in school; but this week she was home with a cold on my designated day for music listening. So, I broke the news to her and told her that she was not allowed to turn off the CD player because I had work to do.

I managed to listen to 3 entire releases without too much protest from her; but by the end of the third one, the soundtrack to the film 135 Grand Street New York 1979, she was over the whole process. Although I found the no wave music to be artful and compelling, DJ B argued that, "This music is too noisy and no fun. Turn it off. I'm bored!"

Miss B Accompanies They Might Be Giants on Air Guitar

2010-06-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we took our visiting teenage nieces to Amoeba Records in San Francisco for some serious record shopping. During that trip each of us picked up some CDs (including DJ B). DJ B's dad was the only person to select a children's CD, the much-talked-about They Might Be Giants release Here Come The ABCs, and we finally got around to listening to it.

When I turned on the music, Miss B was sitting on the couch and began tapping her fingers. After I approached her for a reaction, her face cracked into a smile. Looking lethargic, she continued to lounge while she listened. Upon hearing a lyric about wine, she pointed to me and said, "You make wine." She then picked up a marble from the table, rolled it around on her belly and in her hands while kicking her feet on the couch.

By the time the 7th song came along ("Pictures of Pandas Painting"), she was inspired to play air guitar, then pretended to play guitar on a remote control. When the imaginary play wasn't satisfying anymore, she grabbed her pink princess guitar and played along with the music. After her bride game ended, she stopped to peruse the CD booklet and then donned her Minnie Mouse Ears bridal vein and asked for a bouquet.

Adios En Clave De Bolero. We Hardly Knew You.

2010-06-04T08:00:00.001-07:00

The third CD from Miss B's most recent library excursion, a Spanish language collection called En Clave de Bolero, did not capture her attention. When I put it on for the first time, DJ B put her fingers in her ears. She was playing with a toy dollhouse and ignored the music entirely. I turned it down a bit since it seemed to be too loud for her and she continued to work on her project of removing address label stickers from her plastic dollhouse. Yet, after a few songs she pushed stop on the player, removed the CD and handed it to me wordlessly. When I asked her about it she said, "I don't like it. You told me I could watch a movie."

Obviously bored with the flurry of CD reviews that I was asking of her, Miss B reached her breaking point. I relented and let her watch a DVD that she picked up from the library.

The Little Willies' Fly Funeral Music

2010-06-03T08:00:00.001-07:00

While at the public library DJ B selected the self-titled CD from The Little Willies from the shelf. The copy that she picked up had a purple cover and I'm sure that was part of the allure. Upon listening to it for the first time, Miss B smiled and hopped around before asking me the name of the band. She ran in place, kicking her feet and then ran and kicked going forward and backwards with her hands on her hips.

Miss B said, "It's like Kai-Boy music!.... No, cowboy!" I asked her if she wanted it louder and she yelled, "Don't write! Just watch." She then did a plie and jumped to the beat. After putting on some lip gloss she hummed along to the music and lip synced using her lip gloss wand as a microphone.

After some technical difficulties (the CD skipped), Miss B sang, "sitting on a wall...here's what I did. Took off my shoes." She then applied lip gloss to her toe nails, spun in a circle, and made herself dizzy. She turned her attention to some dead bugs on the window sill and told me that she was sad, saying that the bugs probably needed a hug. She asked me how they died and said that she wanted to write a letter to them. She dictated it to me: "Dear Fly. I love you so much. I am the owner. The bug is my pet. Love, B."

It's amazing how quickly a dance party turned into a memorial service for a dead fly. That's the beauty of the 4-year-old mind.

Cranky DJ B Despises Opera

2010-06-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it was finally time to return Seussical to the public library, so DJ B was invited to turn her attention to some of the other CDs that she's selected over the past few weeks. First up was Denyce Graves' release Voce di Donna. The first time we played it DJ B exclaimed "too opera-y!," a surprising comment since she went through a heavy-duty opera phase in which she listened to non-stop Verdi and even borrowed a neighbor's collection of opera DVDs.

I probed further and asked her if she liked opera, to which she responded "no!" I should probably mention that she was already in a bad mood before we put the CD on, so I should have anticipated this response. She played with a book she'd been looking at, grunted, folded her arms across her chest, and grunted some more. I noticed, however, that her toe was rhythmically tapping in the air. She looked at the CD booklet, tossed it up above her, and said, "This is boring! This is too boring! Too opera-y and too boring! I just wanna eat! No music!" She grunted, folded her arms again, but then started to rock back and forth when track 2 came on, bobbing her head and tapping her toe on the floor. She grunted at me with a scowl on her face and said, "Sit with me and turn this off. I don't like it," before screaming, "Turn it off!" She then, finally, resorted to taking control of the CD player and turned it off herself.

Today I played the CD again (after feeding her lunch) and Miss B's first reaction was similar to the last time. She yelled, "Opera. Boring!" But then she immediately started to sing along and do ballet moves to the music. Appropriately, she was already wearing 3 layers of leotards and 2 tutu skirts. She smiled as she performed for me, dancing and then balancing a frisbee on her head.

The lesson from all of this is that mood and food are clearly correlated with DJ B's reception of opera music.

Thee Oh Sees Spark Skeleton Teeth Art

2010-04-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

DJ B's third and final purchase on Record Store Day 2009 was (at the time) a brand new album by Thee Oh Sees called "Help." This was actually one of the first things that she spotted after we arrived at Aquarius Records for the 2nd annual Record Store Day in April 2009. It was a featured release near the entrance to the store and Miss B seemed to be drawn to the bright cover art featuring a rainbow and a purple bat.

Before we played the CD for the first time at home, she perused the inside of the CD case and yelled, "Skeleton! Mommy!" She continued with a series of questions, asking, "Why are there skeletons, Mommy? Is it gonna be scary?" She then said, "I'm scary-ed of it. To turn it on. I just want to look at this right now." So she spent some time looking at the cover art with the bat and rainbow as she considered whether or not she wanted to hear the music. Finally she commented, "I don't like bats or Halloween or skeletons. I don't want to try it."

DJ B's Artistic Response to Thee Oh Sees

Miss B then stacked up the pile of CDs that she collected at Record Store Day and repeated that she didn't want to try them, adding that it was "too scary." She added, "Not any of these...just Easy Ride" [an Asian pop CD she had recently reviewed and was obsessed with]. DJ B kept saying how scared she was and implored me "don't turn it on!" Since I was really interested in her reaction to the music, I put it on anyway. She then started to scribble in my notebook and said, "I'm drawing scary skeleton teeth." As she drew along to the music she asked, "Is this a Halloween CD? It sounds like Halloween." She drew for awhile, then danced, saying, "I'm a scary, silly skeleton" as she swayed her head. Eventually she turned off the music, but continued to draw a skeleton. And that was the last that we heard of Thee Oh Sees.

DJ B's Previous Record Store Day 2009 reviews:

Black Time's Scary Overtones
Bottom's Mean Stepmother Music

Black Time's Scary Overtones

2010-04-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we celebrated Record Store Day 2010 by hitting up two of our favorite indie music stores in San Francisco. Our first stop was Aquarius, the site of a successful Record Store Day trip for DJ B back in 2009 when she selected three CDs. Before posting about her 2010 selections, we figured we better get caught up on our reviews from last year. Yes, we're slackers...

DJ B has already covered her feelings about Bottom, so next up on the review pile from Record Store Day 2009 is the Black Time release "Midnight World." Also selected by her from the bargain CD bin (easily accessible, since she was able to sit on the floor while looking through the cardboard box full of items), Black Time caught her eye and was in the pile that she wanted to take home with her.

When we pulled it out to review for the first time last fall she looked at the cover and said, "How about night?" and asked me, "Is it scary? Less scarier?" She added, "When I turn it on I think it's gonna be scary." After some reassurances by me, we put it in and pressed play. DJ B bobbed her head and started dancing immediately, patting her hips while she rocked. After a few seconds she stopped it and said, "Now I wanna try the bat one." When I asked if she liked Black Time she said, "uh huh" and we moved on to listen to her next Record Store Day selection.

All Seussical All the Time for DJ B

2010-04-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Recently we saw a performance of the Dr. Seuss-themed musical Seussical at the San Francisco School of Performing Arts (SOTA) and Miss B was riveted. It quickly became her new obsession, with its cheery songs, fluorescent-colored costumes, and high-wire acrobatics. She announced to us that she wanted to see the musical again and that she wanted to BE IN IT.

Since we haven't yet found a musical theater program for 4-year-olds, we settled for checking Seussical: The Musical (Original Cast Recording) CD out of the public library. When it arrived through inter-library loan, DJ B was ecstatic and the CD has barely left our player since we picked it up.

Before listening to the recording for the first time, Miss B got into a fancy pink leotard, purple tutu and put on one pink glove in preparation for her performance. As the music started she kicked her feet into the air, laughed excitedly and sang along. Getting into character, she pronounced, "I'm the sour kangaroo," as she shook a cape around her waist and over her head. As the music progressed, Miss B imitated various characters from the musical. At one point she put on a large raincoat and said, "I'm the mayor." She then left the room and returned just wearing a leotard, pronouncing, "I'm the trapeze girl." For her next costume change she placed a pink tutu on her head and announced, "Jojo!" And, then, for the final act she put on a fluffy tutu and simply stated, "Gertrude McFuzz." She then tossed a balloon into the air, tied another balloon to a stuffed Easter bunny and swung it around her head.

Variations on this initial performance have played out every time we listen to the CD and sometimes other family members are invited to join in the fun "on stage." The one downside is that the library CD had already been well-loved before it got into our hands, with several of the tracks not working. The technical snafus disrupt Miss B's momentum when the tracks sputter, skip, and stop. Unfortunately it also means that she's missing a few key songs, so we may actually have to fork over some cash to buy our own copy so that she can perfect the choreography for every single song and finally hear those mysterious "hidden tracks."

Shape Shifting and Pogo Dancing to Ornette Coleman

2010-02-26T14:12:00.000-08:00

During one of her recent listening sessions, DJ B opted to spend some time with Ornette Coleman's "The Shape of Jazz to Come," a CD that she hand-selected from the public library. Right when the music began she exclaimed, "Dance with me!" as she spun around and reached for my hand. She then set her sights on her singing lamb, yelling, "Lamb's coming!"

After opening her Mother Goose book to a page with blue and white squares on it, she told me, "It's a diamond, but it's it a square when I move it that way" while adjusting her head to show me her great understanding of shapes. After issuing a series of instructions to me, she told me, "I have a new dance. It's called the flower spinners." In rare form, she continued with a series of dances, telling me, "This one is called the kangaroo jumper. This one is called the pogo stick." She then swirled, saying, "Ice cream...strawberry shortcake...and spinach and cheese" before leaping through the air.

At this point it was nearly impossible to keep up with Miss B's flurry of both words and activity, but there was talk of butterflies, bugs and princesses, along with more instructions to me.

She then asked, "Do I look big?" When I said "yes," she said, "That's because I am big." She continued, "Read this and you can see...Practice it. Sing along. Do it with your fingers and sing. Sing!!! Say butterfly.... It's called the Butterfly Dancer of the World." With that she sang a bunch of nonsense words and played a few notes on her keyboard before turning the volume down on the CD player. She then calmly sat in a chair "reading" a book aloud, saying, "It says that a monster turned it off. And the CD died." She then said, "OK. I'll turn it back on" and turned the volume back up. Miss B then put a pink plastic chair over her head and yelled, "Help! I'm in jail!"

I'm exhausted just recounting her reaction to Ornette Coleman. I guess that's the power of jazz.

John Cale's Monster Music Sets the Mood for Roasting Marshmallows

2010-02-22T13:42:00.000-08:00

John Cale's "Black Acetate" album was one of the CDs that DJ B recently selected from the public library shelves. During a day when we listened to a number of her choices, she put this on, saying, "This sounds like a great monster one. Let's go under the covers." She told me, "It sounds great" as she brushed her lamb blanket. Going along with the theme she added during the first song ("Outta the Bag"), "I heard him say wool! I heard him."

Miss B then sang into her black plastic witch party hat, crooning, "wooooo" like a ghost. As the 2nd track began, she said, "This is a good one. Now go under the covers!"

She continued with some imaginary play, asking, "Do you hear that sound? He got out of his cage. So we've got to hide!" She waved a remote control at me and added, "The monster is about to...He decided to go somewhere else to say 'hi' to his friends. He wake them up. The day after he said 'quack quack'...'wee, wee, wee all the way home...and then he said meow meow."

Then DJ B placed a blanket on the floor and said, "Aren't you ready for some marshmallows?" She lined up a bunch of washclothes and told me to "cut up some quesadilla shells and put them on a stick and make some fire. For real, mama." She added, "I'm pretending they're marshmallows. We're gonna burn them up. Make some fire. OK?" She then leaned on me during a particularly pretty song. As the music got more rocking she turned to me and asked, "Why did he say he's gonna kill him?" And with that, Miss B summed up the many moods of both John Cale and a 4-year-old.

DJ B Gets Married While Listening to Harry Chapin

2010-01-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

The other day DJ B asked me to put on some music, so I took the opportunity to try out one of her latest library selections: Harry Chapin's "Greatest Stories Live." I handed the Cinderella dress-clad Miss B the CD case to take a look. She smiled, wiggled her foot, and clapped when the music started.

DJ B pretended to be a bride by donning a white cloth over her head. She walked slowly to the music while carrying a paper plate & ribbon bouquet. After clearing a path in the toy-covered floor, she did some slow dance moves and twirled in her princess shoes. With the veil over her face, she held her bouquet high in the air while kicking up her leg. She then asked me, "Did you have a cape like this on your head?" Miss B then told me, "Well, some people go in cars when they're married."

She trotted, tapped her feet, clicked the heels on her shoes, and when she heard applause on the CD she held up her bouquet. DJ B then pranced backwards and kicked her feet. At this point I was surprised to hear lyrics in the song that said "the day you married me," but I'm not sure Miss B even noticed this coincidence. Instead she continued with the questions, asking, "Did you have real flowers at your wedding?" She swayed to the music with her arms outstretched. She then got irritated by my note taking, saying, "Don't write! I just want you to watch!" She then grabbed my notepad and scribbled, telling me, "That says 'I married dada.'" She followed that up with a drawing of two people getting married (disturbingly, it was Miss B and her dad).

"That's me. That's dada marrying."- DJ B

After her father arrived home, she invited him to dance with her and she continued with her graceful ballet moves while her dad played tambourine.

Today, it's 2 weeks after we first listened to this and I showed DJ B the CD case while the music played and asked her if she remembered what she did to this music. She shyly replied, "got married." Wow. I guess it was memorable.

DJ B Performs to Wayne County and Almost Learns the F-Word

2010-01-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

As adults we often spend so much time listening to the opinions of experts before we give something a chance. Although DJ B is willing to pick up CDs from the library that she knows nothing about; I would guess that it's rare for adults to do the same, especially when we are forking over cash for music. Similarly, we often let reviews and published biographies of artists tell us what to expect when listening to music. Since DJ B isn't reading yet, she just takes in the music at face value. Despite all of that, I find that her reactions to music often mirror the intentions of the artist.

This was certainly the case when Miss B grabbed a CD from my personal "to review" pile and requested that we play it. Surprisingly, this has never happened before; but I've often thought that it would be interesting for her to review CDs that I'm reviewing for the station that I DJ for.

After she put the Wayne County and the Electric Chairs "Rock 'n' Roll Cleopatra" CD into the player, she asked me and her father to sit on the couch. She then left the room in order to change into an appropriate outfit for her "fashion show."

Miss B pranced into the room wearing several layers of clothing, including two skirts, a tiny vest, faux fur wrap, and rain boots. She danced around and kicked a toy car. She then said, "It's really cold. Snowflakes are coming down. Better get your blankets on...I have ice skates." After she brought a blanket to us and tucked us in, she pretended to ice skate, saying, "OK. I'll put the ice out" as she spread her fuzzy "fur" shawl on the floor. She continued to dance and then walked on her "ice."

Next DJ B approached us with her boxed matching game and asked, "Do you want a s'more?" before placing the pretend treats on the fake ice. As she got down on one knee she waved her arms in the air and followed that up by marching. She made a stop at her new princess vanity keyboard and pushed a button to activate a princess song. She said, "everybody clap!" as she clapped to the beat while she continued to dance.

Suddenly an obscenity-filled track emanated from the stereo, so I had to put an end to DJ B's fun. She complained, but unfortunately Wayne County is probably a bit too saucy for 4-year-olds. Although she clearly picked up on the glam rock, performative elements of this transgendered punk rocker's influential music from the 1970s; the mom in me had to delay her introduction to the F-word. Oh well. Now I know how the FCC feels.

Anita Mui's Fashion Show Soundtrack Delights DJ B

2010-01-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

DJ B is often drawn to library CDs housed in big, DVD-style cases, so I wasn't too surprised when she picked up the Anita Mui "With" CD (accompanied by bonus video CD). The first time she listened to it she immediately asked me to join her, saying, "I wanna dance with you." After a quick turn on the dance floor she adjusted the volume and said, "gimme some snack and TV," before turning it off completely. The second time I attempted to play this, Miss B was in the other room and when she heard the music she screamed, "Be quiet!" and walked in to where I was to turn off the CD, yelling, "I want you to be quiet. I don't like the music on."

Things couldn't have been more different last week when DJ B asked to listen to this CD in her room. As the music began, she smiled and shook her hips. Doing her best "America's Next Top Model" imitation, she pranced across the "cat walk" in her room. She clapped along to the music, laughed, and placed her hands on her hips. She grabbed a skirt from her chair and put it on top of her head like a hat. She then put a ballet skirt over her hands and began flapping her arms with it on.

After her facial expression changed into a strange grin, she began shaking a skirt in the air before putting it in her teeth. She then started pulling clothing out of her bag of dirty laundry, including a nightgown which she held over her face while she danced towards me. She continued layering on various items of clothing and completed the look with sunglasses and ballet slippers. She threw an inflatable space shuttle into the air, tucked a jump rope into her ballet shoes and danced with conviction.

DJ B then propped her sunglasses atop her head and silently sang along to the music with her arms on her chest and a scarf around her neck.

Although I was happy to see that the music by this dearly departed Hong Kong actress inspired Miss B to new levels of performance, I breathed a sigh of relief when she grew bored of the Asian pop-fueled fashion show before she hit the stinkiest part of her dirty clothes pile.

An Audience Gathers for DJ B's Performance to Mozart

2010-01-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

Lately it's been challenging to get DJ B to sit down and do her music review duties. So, I was shocked a few days before Christmas when she said, "How about some music?" before picking up the Mozart CD (Sabine Meyer's take on Clarinet Concerto K.622 and Sinfonia concertante K.297b) that she'd selected from the library.

As the music began she brought me a tray full of sequins, saying, "here's some pasta." She then said, "Dance with me! It's feast music." At our feet was a lovely selection of pretend food in preparation for the party. Miss B raced across the room holding a spoon, prancing and spinning around. She asked me to get her tutu, saying, "I have to hurry before the lovely part starts." She danced with a wooden nutcracker, doing dramatic twirls, proclaiming, "I'm a great ballet dancer because I can spin really fast."

Miss B then set up a series of chairs and placed various Christmas ornaments on each chair. After everyone was settled, she told me, "Look...there's a whole audience...the dog, the snowman, and the sheep are watching me."

At the conclusion of her performance she walked up to me, touched my face and said "God bless you. I do that at church."

From feasting, to dancing, to blessing; Mozart inspired the most elaborate performance by Miss B yet. I can hardly wait for her next show.

DJ B is in Princess Heaven at Disney on Ice

2010-01-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

DJ B Proudly Raises Her Swirling Princess at Intermission

DJ B has been in full-on princess mode for what seems like forever, so when we started seeing ads for Disney on Ice's Princess Classics show it was impossible to resist. Since Miss B has been talking about Disneyland with increasing frequency, this was also a nice consolation prize.

After donning her Cinderella dress we all embarked on our journey to the Oakland Coliseum for the ice show on a fall day that happened to coincide with a Raiders football game. As crowds of princess-dress wearing girls streamed into the parking lot, they were greeted by swarms of perplexed Raiders fans adorned with face paint, wearing their own costumes of silver and black.

Each set of fans made their way into their own venues and that's when the magic began. DJ B was mesmerized during the entire show full of classic Disney stories re-imagined for the ice. Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty were highlights for her; but it all reached a crescendo at the very end, with Miss B proclaiming that the grand finale with all of the "happy princesses dancing" was her favorite part.

As we made our way out of the show, the princess glow followed us. Although we were still struck by the odd juxtaposition of decked out princesses and enthusiastic Raider fans while walking back to our car; our amusement turned from magical to surreal when we spotted a vomiting tailgater. DJ B just pranced on by, still in her fantasy world of princesses and fairy tales. Lucky girl.

Swiffering and Irish Dancing to Maria Muldaur

2009-12-21T11:01:00.001-08:00

We're getting those pesky hold notices from the library again, as some music-loving patron is jonesing for a fix of a certain CD that's in our possession. Since I have way too much guilt in my life already, I figured I better get DJ B to review Maria Muldaur's "Heart of Mine-Love Songs of Bob Dylan" before we get more intimidating emails from the library.

While we were cleaning the house yesterday, I slipped this CD into the player. It attracted ZERO notice from Miss B. She was much more fixated on cleaning our kitchen floor with a Swiffer. When track 10 came on ("I'll Be Your Baby Tonight") she reacted for the first time, as she bounced briefly through the room. She said, "I know it's dancing music" and then wandered off, collecting ornaments and placing them into a Christmas stocking. After hanging her stocking up she announced, "I'm going to bed" and asked, "Mama. What's in my stocking for Christmas?" and then screamed "Open it!"

She continued with her projects around the house and only reacted again when she heard the beginning of the final song ("You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"). She jumped up yelling, "Mmmmm. Irish dancing!" and then began to do an Irish dance. After a few moments she returned to making Christmas cards, but got to her feet again at the end of the song (when she heard a fiddle) and danced before bowing at the end of the piece.

Miss B Discovers Vintage Children's Music

2009-12-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

The Creepiest Record of the Lot-- "Ring Around A Rosy"

I recently got access to a bunch of vinyl records from my childhood; including some classic children's records from the likes of Mr. Rogers and Disneyland Records. I ended up playing bits and pieces from this collection on my radio show a few weeks back and was very curious to see what DJ B would think of this material.

I hadn't heard these records for decades and I was struck by a few things. The instrumentation on many (especially the Disney records) reflected popular sounds of the day, so it was a treat to hear beatnik bongos and crazy dour organ. At the same time, some of the records (especially "Ring Around a Rosy") had creepy un-PC moments best kept shielded from young ears.

I had Miss B take a listen to the tracks that I played on my radio show. When she heard some selections from "Ring A Round A Rosy," she smiled immediately, saying, "the mulberry bush!" as she recognized some of the songs. She listened intently to the music while eating a snack and added, "this is the book I have...it's the mulberry bush. I have this book."

I'd actually enticed DJ B to listen to the music by promising the song "Fuzzy Wuzzy," and Miss B remembered, asking me, "When is Fuzzy Wuzzy gonna come?" She then asked, "Who likes kid music? Tell me who likes kid music?" I then asked her, "Do you?" and she shook her head "no" and again asked me who likes kid music.

When "Farmer in the Dell" came on she again smiled and bounced in her chair. Then "Fuzzy Wuzzy" finally made an appearance and DJ B screamed "Fuzzy Wuzzy!" I asked her if she liked the music and she just stared at me.

As the sounds of Mr. Rogers emanated from the speakers, Miss B leaned in close to listen. Then came Mother Goose and Miss B got the most excited, saying, "I have Mother Goose stuff!" She then kept requesting that I replay the Mother Goose stories, saying that she wanted "the dog want a bone." She danced and sang and followed along with her Mother Goose book. She particularly enjoyed "3 Little Kittens" and swayed back and forth while listening. After that song ended she said, "Get me little kittens. I want the loud kittens. Meow!"

Today I played the entire "Walt Disney's Treasury of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes" album (from 1965) for DJ B and she sang along to her favorites.

So, although I generally avoid children's music like the plague, I have to admit that I've enjoyed revisiting these records from my youth with DJ B.

Latin Pop in DJ B's Jail Garden

2009-11-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

The library is about to come after us for overdue CDs, so it's about time to share DJ B's take on Paulina Rubio's album "Ananda," which she so carefully selected from the shelves of the San Francisco Public Library. Do you think it was the hot pink cover art that appealed?

The music elicited smiles from Miss B who began dancing immediately to the Spanish-language pop. She jumped up and down while wearing 2 leotards and ballet shoes and invited her father to join her. Father and daughter shared a dance and then Miss B did a quick solo spin. She danced on her tip toes and shrieked, "I like this one! I'll show you how I dance."

A giddy grin spread over DJ B's face as she enjoyed the music. As the second track began she approached me, patted my knee and said, "I'm gonna stop it for a minute because I like the other one." She stopped the CD, started it up again with the first track, and resumed her happy dancing as she sashayed across the room. She kept repeating track one and would not start dancing until she heard the music, saying, "I have to dance when the music hears my ear."

She treated us to an elaborate performance before propping up the CD, saying, "I want to see it while I'm dancing." She then asked us to set up a curtain over our entertainment center so that she could have her own stage from which to make a grand entrance. After we set up the curtain she asked, "Do you want to see my shadow? This is my garden." After inviting me behind the curtain, she said, "Pretend we're in jail. It's a jail garden."

From there the performance devolved, but it was clear that DJ B found much inspiration in Paulina's Latin pop.

Dean Lynch's Words did not Inspire...Or did they?

2009-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

During our big listening session the other day I asked DJ B to take a look at all of the promotional CDs that I'd collected at the CMJ Music Marathon last month. The overall haul was pretty meager, certainly not like the olden days when one would come home with bags of music (CDs, tapes, and even LPs back in the '80s).

When presented with her choices, Miss B said, "I want the birds one." So, I stuck Dean Lynch's CD "Bird Songs" into the player. My music reviewing preschooler continued with her drawing project while the music played.

What DJ B Drew While Listening to Dean Lynch

Although I was somewhat intrigued by the "6 Million Dollar Man" samples amid the slow guitar, percussion and whispered male vocals; DJ B was not.

Her assessment: "I don't like this music. I don't like the words."

Even though she said she didn't like the music, I was super impressed by the art she created while listening, complete with a salvaged promo sticker.

DJ B Rates CMJ Promo CDs and Begins with Explicit Content

2009-11-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

I had all the best intentions for my big pile of promotional CDs from the CMJ Music Marathon last year. If time had been on my side, I would have had DJ B immediately plow through them, giving her unique commentary on the sounds being pitched to the college radio crowd.

Well, now I'm back from the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon with yet another batch of music (although it's a smaller haul, a trend that I imagine will continue as promoters move towards digital music) and I'm determined to get Miss B to take a listen sooner rather than later.

DJ B Scrutinizes Her Stash of Promo CDs from the 2008 CMJ Music Marathon

Before I had a chance to present the 2009 goodies to her, she actually reached for a bucket full of the 2008 promo CDs stashed in our attic. She then spread them all out on the floor and explained her process, saying, "I'm counting them out to see which ones I like." Her eyes gravitated to the "Spring Awakening" sampler and she said, "I want this one." Since she's a huge fan of musicals, I wasn't surprised that this CD (which I picked up after seeing a CMJ panel about the musical last year) caught her eye.

We started to play the CD and I was surprised to hear an audible "F" word within the first few seconds. Miss B didn't notice and I hoped it was fleeting. I skipped to track 2 after hearing more swearing. This did not please DJ B at all. She got extremely huffy and turned it off. She stomped off, saying, "I turned it off. No more! I want that music! Bad news! Bummer! I don't like your words. I'm leaving. I'm going to my grandma and grandpa's house."

Later on I explained to her that the lyrics had bad words and it was for adults, not kids. Her response to me was, "I'm not gonna say bad words. I'm just going to dance to the mean music."

She's quite the negotiator.

But, unfortunately she's going to have to wait a few years before listening to this CD as I don't want to get busted for teaching my 3-year-old the F-word.

Perhaps next time I'll pay more attention to "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" labels on my CDs.

Lesson learned.

Playing with Rocks More Fun than Listening to R.E.M.

2009-11-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

It's always exciting when Miss B selects a CD from the public library from a band that we actually like; so I was very interested to see what she thought of the R.E.M. release "Accelerate." On a day when she wasn't particularly keen on listening to music, I popped this in the player to see what kind of reaction it would get.

Initially DJ B said, "Can I dance with you mom?," although it was clear that she wasn't paying attention to the music. Instead she played with some play-doh that was stuck inside a plastic bottle and asked me to feel it. She then turned her attention to her Cinderella shoes and by the third track (my favorite so far) she announced, "I'm Cinderella." I asked her what she thought of the music and she replied, "not great."

DJ B's Rock Arrangement

Miss B then left the room and returned with some fuzzy pink socks. She tried to get me to guess what was in the socks before spilling a bunch of rocks out of them onto the table. She asked me to feel the rocks and said, "see, that's a princess rock" before asking, "Which rock do you like better?" Miss B then arranged the rocks on a table and as the 6th track began she actually pulled herself away from her rock project to dance for a little bit. Abruptly she stopped the CD and put it away in its case, saying, "I didn't like the music!"

For DJ B today, rocks definitely trump rock.

The Dearly Departed Teen Girl Group Huckapoo Speaks to DJ B

2009-11-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I finished a big CD reorganization project and massive cleanup in our attic. Ever since, DJ B has been fascinated by the spacious music loft and has been interested in pulling CDs from our collection. The first one that she noticed was a promotional CD that I'd picked up at a youth culture conference in 2004. Huckapoo is (or perhaps was) a Spice Girls-esque teen girl band and the CD was a magnet for DJ B with its bright pink anime-style cover.

As the music started, DJ B smiled, saying, "you have to dance with me." She added, "I like it. It's good ballet music," as she shook her hips and pranced around on her new dance floor. She twirled and delighted in sliding across the floor, telling me, "it's slippery, so I can skate." She closed her eyes as she swayed to the music, danced on her tip toes and told me, "you're the purple ballerina and I'm the pink ballerina." She then announced, "I have to spell my name Stagia, so I can be on the stage." She lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug and then dramatically grabbed some plastic keys from our donation pile and began to dance with them. She stomped her foot, scrutinized the inserts in the CD case, and resumed her dancing. When the CD ended she said, "I want to hear this one again."

So, with her embrace of Huckapoo my worst fears are being realized. Some day soon my little girl may be one of those pre-teen Radio Disney-loving popsters and I will be unable to stop her. Although I'm a bit horrified that she's enamored with the saccharine pop of Huckapoo, at least I know that she still has an interest in a wide range of sounds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this continues for a lifetime.

P.S. If this isn't creepy enough, take a look at this New York Times article from 2004 and this New York Magazine piece from 2005, which talk about the creation of the now defunct pre-fab band Huckapoo.

Bottom's Mean Stepmother Music

2009-09-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

DJ B and I are so over-extended these days that we never got around to reviewing her Record Store Day picks. So, by popular demand, here's her belated take on that female stoner rock CD that she picked up in the Aquarius bargain bin for $3.99.

I asked Miss B if she wanted to listen to the Bottom release "You'rNext" and she said, "Is it scary?" As she looked at the CD artwork she had a lot of questions about the imagery, asking, "But what is that guy? Is that guy scary or not?" After checking out the CD booklet she said, "I think it's going to be fancy or something else."

She finally put the CD in the player, but removed it before listening to it. Later on I played the CD while she was preoccupied with her toy playhouse. She focused on her own activities and eventually turned off the music without giving any sort of reaction to it.

We tried it again later and Miss B had a lot more to report, saying, "This one is the mean stepmother music and we have to listen to it." She then brought me some bells to play with, saying, "Follow me. Follow me." She grit her teeth while doing an angry dance, kicking and sneering while waving an egg-shaped shaker. She then yelled, "You have to follow me mean stepmother!" and demanded that I chase her.

Continuing the theme, Miss B said, "I want to go to the party." She grabbed a box of Mac 'n Cheese from the cupboard and put it on the table, saying, "This is the party. Pretend. I really want to go to the party." After accumulating more party food she added, "Cinderella...She was mean when she comed over to the party." As the music reached its crescendo with flutes and ladies screaming, she added, "Mean stepmother...come over to my party and visit...she was still mean."

When I asked DJ B specifically about the music she said, "It's stepmother music...it's mean music."

eVonne Hsu Gets Miss B Dancing Again

2009-07-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know it, DJ B selected yet another Asian pop release on one of our recent public library jaunts. eVonne Hsu's "Chosen One: '02-'05" is a double CD with a purple spine and no front label art. The back cover has a picture of Hsu, which perhaps caught Miss B's eye. Although she's a star in Taiwan, Evonne actually was born and grew up in Texas and that's where she was apparently discovered.

When we initially played the CD, operatic vocals started everything off, although the music itself was more pop and rock. Miss B said to me, "let's dance together!" before she became fixated on her purple pen and started to draw all over my notebook. Turning from the page she again implored me to dance and then said "dance slowly," while she demonstrated some running moves decked out in her Cinderella dress. She then held her hand up over her eye, as if she was surveying a landscape. The music got a bit more dancy with electronic elements and this caused Miss B to grab a scarf from her dress-up box. Eventually she wrapped up her Cinderella shoes in scarves before waving me off, saying, "go away."

The next time that I tried to play this CD, Miss B screamed, "I want a movie. Not music!" She then stomped to the CD player and turned it off.

DJ B Works Through Her Grief over Michael Jackson with Art

2009-06-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

Miss B continues to come to terms with the media frenzy surrounding Michael Jackson's death and her own growing realization of the concept of mortality. She sat in front of the morning paper today, pointing at his picture and said "Michael Jackson." Then, while his music boomed out of our TV from Sirius XM's "Michael Jackson Tribute" channel, she took pen to paper and drew the picture above. DJ B said:

"I'm drawing a picture of Michael Jackson. I'm going to mail it to him. He'll love this picture. He has curlies [her word for curly hair]. He has a sad face."

She's so profound.

DJ B Mourns Michael Jackson

2009-06-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

We're a bit out of sorts in the DJ B household, having just learned of Michael Jackson's death. Luckily we have MTV, which is hearkening back to the olden days and is playing non-stop Michael Jackson videos right now. As soon as we turned on MTV, Miss B was glued to the screen. When the songs were interrupted by talk or commercials, she kept shouting, "more!"

But the strongest reaction came just now when an old Jackson Five clip came on from American Bandstand (their first visit on the show). Miss B began to dance for the first time, clearly understanding the infectious pop perfection of those innocent early years. I think she was also inspired by their rocking dance moves. After I rewound the Tivo and we viewed it again, she implored me to dance with her. Miss B just smiled and smiled, imitating the fabulous 1970s maneuvers, including the tricky circular disco hand move (what is that called anyway?).

I think watching this Jackson 5 video and Miss B's enjoyment of it makes me feel the saddest of all over Michael Jackson's early death. What a cute kid, with so much potential at such a young age. It's too bad his life got stranger and stranger and that his final years were marred by controversy.

DJ B Plays Air Guitar to Deerhunter and Drums along with Ani DiFranco

2009-05-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

Back in October I went to the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City and accumulated a pile of promotional CDs that I intended to pass along to DJ B for review. It's taken awhile, but once again we got back to this project. Yesterday I presented her with the stack of music to see which releases caught her eye.

The first CD that she investigated was a CMJ promo CD called "CMJ New Music, Issue 155." From the opening notes of track one (Deerhunter's "Nothing Ever Happened"), Miss B was energized. She jumped up and down and said, "You dance with me momma. See I'm gonna dance really fast." She continued to jump and implored me to join her, saying, "you try." She shook her hips to the driving rock song, played with a pez truck on the floor, then began to strum her fingers on her air guitar. She then yelled, "where's my guitar?" I found her pink princess guitar and she promptly strapped it on and played along to the music while dancing. Her next request to me was, "you get dadda's guitar!" I passed on that, but enjoyed watching her walk forward and backward while playing her guitar. She then turned down the volume on the CD so that she could hear her guitar while she played along. As the song ended, she took a bow.

The next track was Ani DiFranco's "Emancipated Minor." As it started, Miss B said, "let's dance really slow" as she wiggled, danced, shrugged her shoulders, and demonstrated a high knee march. She then picked up a drum stick and drummed to the beat on the old plastic baby wipes container that we'd been storing the promo CDs in. She grabbed a second stick and used both to drum, then started to tap them together while she danced. After about half a song she turned off the CD.

Perhaps we'll check out the remaining tracks on this CD later. For now, Deerhunter was the winner as it inspired DJ B to bust out the air guitar.

DJ B's Kindred Spirit in Art Criticism: 4-year-old Tiny Art Director

2009-05-21T23:23:00.000-07:00

Wow. Thanks to my pal Colin for passing along this Boing Boing piece about the brilliant blog Tiny Art Director. The author of the blog has been doing a project with his young daughter (she's now 4, but they started when she was 2) in which she dictates drawing requests to him. After he creates the artwork, she then offers up her critique. And now they've got a book deal with Chronicle Books. Awesome.

I love it when parents work with their kids on creative projects like this. And Tiny Art Director sounds like a kindred spirit for DJ B.

Vietnamese Ballads are Baby's Favorite Music

2009-05-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

Recently DJ B and I made our first visit to the remodeled main branch of the San Francisco Public Library. It was gorgeous, with a huge children's area and an enviable Audio-Visual room. When Miss B and I entered the AV Room to search for CDs it was like entering a musical mecca. It was a huge room, with CDs on shelves and in record store-like bins. It made the random nature of our CD selection process a bit more challenging, as the sections were divided by genre. Luckily, I didn't realize that until after I had steered Miss B down one particular row; so she selected something out of the first row that we hit. We'll have to go back and explore some more, because after picking one CD, DJ B transitioned into full-on meltdown mode.

So, what did she pick? Tuan Ngoc's "Nhung Tinh Khuc Yeu Cau" release from the Vietnamese section of the library. The first few times that I tried to play this at home, DJ B stopped the CD immediately. Today, however, I placed it in the CD player while she was happily making music with one of her instruments. As the music started, she continued to jump and dance around. She then began some dramatic slow dancing, with leg extensions, twirls, fancy footwork, and grand emotional sways with her eyes closed. The album, full of slow Vietnamese ballads with male vocals inspired her to do slow, measured dance moves.

As she listened, she grabbed her baby doll and rocked her in her arms before dancing while holding the baby. By the third song, DJ B said, "This is baby's favorite music," as she continued to dance. She'd stop occasionally to feed her baby milk. Then she said, "It's your turn to dance, mommy. I need to write about it." As I took my place on the "dance floor," Miss B sat down and asked for a piece of paper so that she could write notes. As she jotted down her observations, she asked, "What are these dances from? I think they're from New York." She then started to play with brightly colored tissue paper, placing it on the floor and then dancing while waving 2 hot pink pieces. Suddenly she stopped the CD, saying "no music" and removed it from the player. She handed the CD to me and said, "I didn't like it." She could have fooled me. Miss B then got on the floor, saying, "I have to snuggle in my little patch" and curled up on top of her tissue paper nest.

Despite what she said, I think DJ B dug this CD. How can you really go wrong with this suave Vietnamese superstar? I can hardly wait to return to the main branch of the library to find more Asian pop gems.

DJ B Doesn't Subscribe to the Gospel of Campbell Brothers

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Although DJ B personally selected the CD "Can You Feel it?" by Campbell Brothers from the public library, ever since bringing it home she has shown zero interest in listening to it. As we plowed through her backlog of reviews recently, I popped this sacred steel gospel CD into the player to see what she thought of it.

As the music began, Miss B, with pen in hand, jotted down some notes (imitating me, no doubt). She said, "It's starting now" and then danced for a little bit before stopping the CD. When I asked her what she thought of the music (that she'd been listening to for less than a minute), she replied, "It was good" with no emotion. I put the CD back in the player and again Miss B started to dance. She shook a pen while dancing, using it to point at things in the room. She stopped the music again, saying, "I thinked of it. I need to write Easy Ride. I love Easy Ride."

For her, the winning CD of the day was her old favorite "Easy Ride," a live Canto Pop CD that's intense and dramatic (with songs that stick in your head for months). Nothing compared and nothing elicited the same energetic response as that well-worn library staple. So much for this really cool-sounding sacred steel release.

Sometimes Miss B Doesn't Like Pianos that are Big and Blue

2009-05-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

On a recent rainy day I was determined to get some feedback from DJ B about her growing stack of CDs from both the public library and from her Record Store Day spree. She was a reluctant participant and didn't give the music as much of a chance as I would have liked.

On this marathon day of listening, the 8th CD that I had Miss B preview was the Smithsonian Folkways collection "Classic Piano Blues." When I showed her the CD case, she said, "I don't love pianos. I don't think if I like it...Sometimes I don't like pianos that are big and blue..." As the music started she said, "I play it" and began scribbling in the notebook where I had been jotting down her reactions to the music. Then, exasperated, she sighed and said, "Alright. I'll play my piano." She smiled, sat down at her toy piano and played along with the music. She looked up, saying, "I don't have a blue one" before adding, "And I'll jump!" She then started to jump and dance to the music before turning it off after less than one track.

Cocteau Twins Disappoint the Resident Lullaby Connoisseur

2009-05-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm having to strongly encourage DJ B to get caught up on her music reviews. She's just not sympathetic to the fact that I keep getting insisitent emails from the public library, reminding us about all of the overdue CDs in our possession.

So, today, on a rainy day, I coerced my strong-willed 3-year-old to make her way through our pile of CDs and offer up her opinions.

First up, I asked her to revisit the Cocteau Twins' CD "Lullabies to Violaine: Volume 2." I have to admit that when she selected CDs from the library, I spotted this release. I love the Cocteau Twins and hadn't heard this particular album (a collection of singles, B-sides etc. from late in their career), so checked it out. When Miss B was a baby we had another Cocteau Twins album on regular rotation in her room, so I figured she might dig this one too.

Well, the first time I played this CD Miss B was busy with other projects. Eventually she looked up from her work and started smiling and dancing to the track "Pink Orange Red." She then turned to me, saying, "I'm going to turn off the music because I want my truck to beep. This is lullabies. I don't like this lullabies." When I asked her why, she said, "Because. It's too noisy." She then took out the CD. Who would ever have guessed that the ethereal, atmospheric sounds of this 4AD staple could be considered noisy?

Today we tried listening again and DJ B said, "It doesn't sound like my other lullabies," before turning down the volume. She then turned it off completely, saying, "I wanna try the other one" (meaning the accompanying CD). She then got angry, telling me, "I don't like it. I don't want it" and asked me to get HER lullaby CD from her room.

Unfortunately, for Miss B, her expectations were dashed. When she heard that the CD was "Lullabies," she assumed that it would be just like her one of her beloved lullaby CDs that are a nightly bedtime ritual for her. The beautiful sounds of Cocteau Twins just couldn't compete.

Record Store Day with DJ B

2009-04-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

I feel like it's my duty as a music-loving parent to share with DJ B the importance of record stores. They've certainly been a key part of my own music education, from the chain stores at the mall during my childhood, to Tower Records during my teens, to the indie record stores that I frequented in college to score $2.99 "cut-out" LPs (and cassettes!) of new releases from bands like The Smiths and Chameleons UK.

And, I especially have fond memories of all the great record shops in San Francisco, where I've found amazing gems and have seen intimate in-store performances by a wide range of musicians. One of the oldest Tower Records, on Bay Street in San Francisco (RIP...now it's a green dry cleaner) used to host lunch-time free shows. It was so cool to take a long lunch and trek over there to see the likes of Sonic Youth (in the parking lot!). Back when I was super obsessed with Robyn Hitchcock, I'd track him down at every record shop in-store in the city, including a show on Haight (maybe at the now-closed Reckless Records?) and an awesome acoustic set at a long-gone record shop on Folsom near Brainwash.

I've also seen many of my faves at Amoeba, including Smog, Sleater-Kinney, Will Oldham, and many others. You can actually scan through photos of past in-stores (400+ performances) to get a sense of the cool shows they've had.

So, to celebrate Record Store Day yesterday, the Mr. and I took Miss B over to Aquarius Records in San Francisco. Within minutes of our arrival, her eyes were drawn to a new release by Thee Oh Sees. She pointed to it, excitedly telling me about the bat on the cover. Since I have heard and like their music I offered to pick it up for her. We then moved on to a bargain rack of CDs for $3.99 and I told Miss B to take a look. She grabbed a seat on the floor and happily scanned through a pile, choosing a couple that she liked. In future posts we'll cover her reviews of the actual music, but according to the guys at Amoeba, one of the selections is some all-female stoner rock. Right on!

Did you take your DJ-in-training to a record store this weekend? What did you buy?

Butterfly Dancing to Colbie Caillat

2009-04-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

I managed to convince DJ B to select some new CDs from the public library, so indeed there is still life left in this project! The first album to catch her attention when we got home was Colbie Caillat's CD "Coco." I had never heard of this artist, but from the opening notes I felt like I was in an episode of "The Hills" (my only barometer for mainstream pop hits). And, indeed, this must be a popular CD, as it's one of the few that we've checked out that's had a "hold" placed on it by another library patron, meaning that we can't renew it. (Yep, apparently she's a MySpace sensation with her acoustic/soul/folk stylings.)

When we played the CD, Miss B smiled at the cover, then lifted her leg like a ballerina doing an arabesque and then began doing leaps across the room. She continued to dance and grabbed a pink blanket as a prop, which she waved, spun, and dragged while galloping to and fro. She then invited me to join her, saying, "It's your turn to dance with me. Stand up. Now it's your turn to do Aurora dance." Miss B demanded that I dance with her and said, "Close your eyes." She danced on her tip toes, did some slow maneuvers, and then channeled a butterfly, saying, "You're the green butterfly and I'm the pink butterfly. Put your wings out. C'mon little butterfly." At this point we both were dancing with blankets (aka wings). Miss B nuzzled a bit with me, flapped her arms as if in flight, then turned down the volume, saying, "It's time to go to bed butterfly. It's time to go to bed little buddy. Little butterfly is getting tired."

For DJ B, this was satisfying music for butterfly dancing. And that's high praise from a 3-year-old.

Ballet and Princesses Rule for DJ B

2009-04-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

As I sit and watch Miss B in her brand new Aurora dress (bought today) staring at the TV, immersed in a Sleeping Beauty video, I'm reminded that as the parent of a 3-year-old I often find myself submitting to her demands. And, admittedly, I get a lot of joy out of seeing her glee when surrounded by her favorite things. These days DJ B is obsessed with ballet and princesses, so Aurora from Sleeping Beauty is just tops.

I was out of town recently and in one of the JFK Airport gift shops I spotted the CD, "Music from the Ballet," and knew I had to get it for DJ B. As expected, she was elated from the opening notes. When the music started she smiled and said, "...that was Aurora...oh, man...oh man [laughing]...this was Aurora." She recognized the opening track ("Sleeping Beauty Waltz") and knew it was from Sleeping Beauty, saying, "I just gotta put on an Aurora dress for this." She then did some spins in a circle and galloped , while telling me, "This is a circle that I'm doing like Aurora." Miss B kept smiling while she continued with her ballet moves and danced on her tip toes. I asked her where she'd heard the music before. Miss B replied, "I heard it from the ballet." Later she said, "Know what I'm going to wish for with dadda? An Aurora dress!"

As the music proceeded to another ballet, DJ B stopped the CD and kept repeating the music from Sleeping Beauty. Eventually she made her way through the rest of the CD, dancing with wands, bows, and bowing dramatically at the end of pieces. She was particularly excited to hear music from the Nutcracker too, squealing, "It's Nutcracker! I have it on TV too!" She then asked me to put a ribbon in her hair so that she could look like Clara from the Nutcracker.

I just love that music can wield this kind of power, as it beseeches Miss B to re-live the stories and ballets that she adores.

DJ B Rejoins the Cult of Music Together

2009-03-17T15:59:00.001-07:00

It's ironic that one day after I practically gave up on DJ B's Library Tour, my daughter had a change of heart. Today Miss B pointed out a CD in our collection and asked me to put it on for her....something she hasn't done in months.

She gravitated to the Music Together CD "Summer Songs 2" that we received when we took a music class ages ago. I was thrilled by her renewed interest in music listening....but, had mixed feelings due to the genre.

As the music started, Miss B asked me to find the accompanying music book. After I brought it to her, she sat down at her toy piano, propped up her "music" and played the piano and sang along to the songs. Initially she only wanted to hear the first song "Hello Everybody" over and over again while she precisely tapped the keys, studied the music book, and sang along.

She swayed back and forth while she sang and at the end of the song said, "Everybody clap for me!" I clapped and she politely said, "thank you" and then jumped up and down, ran in circles and continued to sing, "hello to mama....hello to dadda..." Eventually she let the CD track to other songs and she danced wildly while blasting the music. During the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song she asked me to find her book of the same name, saying, "get that book, 'cuz she's singing that." Upon retrieval, she read the book while listening to the music and acted out the accompanying gestures that go along with the song.

Wow. Music Together has something going on for sure, as Miss B was riveted by this CD. Now if only I can get her back to the library for a broader range of sounds....Keep your fingers crossed for me.

DJ B Says No to Taiwan TV

2009-03-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's important to remember that DJ B hand-selected each of the items reviewed on this blog from the library, so she was initially intrigued by something that she saw on each and every CD that's been part of this project. Yet, what happens after we get home with the CD varies tremendously. As she's grown weary of this project, it's become more and more difficult to get her to allow me to play any of these CDs for her.

Sweet Relationship OST (a soundtrack CD for a Taiwan TV show of the same name) looks like a DVD, as it's housed in a long box. I think Miss B was disappointed that it wasn't actually a DVD because every time I put it in the CD player she takes it out immediately. Yesterday she said, "I don't want you to listen to music right now. It's not music time."

Well, OK.

Cuddling and Quacking to Bette Midler

2009-03-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

DJ B is now three.

As the lengthy delay in posting might suggest, she seems to have grown weary of the CD review project and instead is focusing on playing dress up, watching way too much TV, and writing her own songs (themes this week have included ballerinas, firefighters, monsters and our dead cat).

Before the library comes after me for our overdue CDs, I'll attempt to recap her latest two selections. Way back in January Miss B was drawn to a Bette Midler CD at our local branch of the San Francisco Public Library (imagine that?). Initially, "Bathhouse Betty" wouldn't even play in our CD player (too well-loved already?). Finally, we got it to work on a boombox and Miss B smiled and said, "I want to sit on your lap." During a ballad she cuddled with me and then said, "put me in the crib, mom...tuck me in." I did what she asked and she closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, before jumping up and saying, "I'm dancing in my crib!" She quacked and started to dance to the disco-tinged song "I'm Beautiful." Sounds like a strong endorsement, right? Well, the next two times I put the CD on, Miss B wanted nothing to do with Ms. Midler. The love affair was fleeting...

Drumming to Reba McEntire

2009-01-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Another recent library CD selected by DJ B was Reba McEntire's "Greatest Hits Volume 3 - I'm a Survivor." The first time we put the CD on Miss B was wearing a Cinderella costume and was obsessively combing her hair. When I asked what she thought of the music, she said, "I like it" and resumed her hair combing routine. She stopped to admire the Sleeping Beauty temporary tattoo on her arm and then directed her attention to her pile of instruments. After getting up on her tip toes she grabbed a drum stick and started pounding on a decorated coffee can.

I then mentioned to her that there was a CD booklet, so she opened up the CD case and pulled it out. She asked me, "Why is she wearing pants?" and then said, "Look at these musics" while pointing at words in the liner notes. She stopped to dance while tapping the booklet on her coffee can drum. She then began dancing quite dramatically with a scowl on her face while waving a drum stick, as if she was performing martial arts along the lines of tai chi. After throwing the stick across the room she slowed down into some more ballet-like poses. She then ran out of the room, returned with a Dora soccer ball, threw the ball into the air, got in trouble, asked me to drum, and finally sang into a Hello Kitty maraca like it was a microphone. When we got to track 5 ("If You See Him, If You See Her") DJ B was done, and ordered, "I want to take the CD off...I want a snack now."

I'm sure Miss B was simply channeling Reba's inner diva. You go girl!

Cantopop Mesmerizes DJ B and Me

2009-01-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

Miss B selected yet another mysterious Cantopop album from the public library. As far as I can gather, the 2003 album (perhaps "Loving Knot") is by Hong Kong artist Priscilla Chan. It features two CDs, one of which (pictured above) contains a video of the song "Tomorrow is Another Day." As soon as DJ B realized there was a video on this CD, she became obsessed. We've watched it repeatedly and now I can't get it out of my head. It's actually quite beautiful, with a French flavor to it, portions in English, and a very nostalgic video featuring Priscilla wandering through a dusty, cobwebby room full of vintage furniture and an old phonograph. Her voice is captivating.

While watching the video, Miss B was very intrigued, asking, "What is she?" Later she said, "I love this video!" and asked, "Does she have a fancy dress?" It took a lot of coaxing to listen to the CD sans video, but when she did she was quite pleased. During one song featuring piano, she said, "I wanna dance to this one" and then started to dance on her tip toes. She gathered up her ballet slippers, saying, "These are my special shoes." She continued to dance, quickening the pace, before inviting me to join her and giddily requesting the video again, saying, "I wanna dance with the video and start a move." After watching the video a number of times, she actually started to re-enact scenes from it.

This was a gorgeous album that DJ B and I could both enjoy. Yet again I'm amazed at the obscurities available at the public library, as this release was impossible for me to find online. So, our enjoyment of it will be short, but sweet.

Cantopop Legend Too Loud for DJ B

2008-12-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

Once again DJ B selected some Asian pop music from the public library, but this time around she showed little interest in the CD once we got it home. The first time I tried to play Leslie Cheung's Printemps album from 1998, Miss B said, "I don't want this one. I want something else." It wasn't that she necessarily singled out the Cantopop superstar for her critique, as she pretty much only wants to listen to the Nutcracker these days.

After giving Miss B her Nutcracker fix, I snuck this CD on. Focused on playing dress up, she didn't pay much attention to the music. She left the room and returned wearing a fairy skirt paired with a T-shirt adorned with a cat picture, gardening shoes with lady bugs on them, and pink polka dot sunglasses. While in this get-up, she pushed a few stuffed animals in her toy doll stroller. When I asked her what she thought of the music, she said, "too loud" and turned it down. The next day I tried to play the music again and Miss B yelled, "I don't want Chinese!" and removed the CD from the player. Oh well. This Mandarin-language release didn't do much for me either.

Cat Power Slinks in the Background

2008-12-17T00:15:00.000-08:00

Around the same time that DJ B selected my husband's beloved Bob Dylan from the public library, she also picked out one of my cherished favorites: Cat Power. I've been a long-time fan, even selecting a Cat Power cover of Velvet Underground's "I Found a Reason" (from the Covers Record) to be the first dance at my wedding six years ago. Despite all of that, the one album I don't have is the one that Miss B chose at the library. I was a bit skeptical of Jukebox, Cat Power's latest release (also full of covers), because the bits I'd heard and the reviews I'd read made it sound like a departure from the spare, moody Cat Power that I know and love.

When we first listened to the CD, Miss B said, "What's this one?" and "I wanna hold your hand." Yet, she stopped the CD after less than one song. The next time we played it, she ignored the music completely, instead focusing on our newly acquired Christmas tree. On another listen, she again went about her business, which included a major tantrum over clothing choices. As track 6 began ("Lost Someone"), she calmed down slightly. Later in the day she even swayed a tiny bit to the music while we were making Christmas ornaments. Although she seemed disinterested in the music, she got extremely upset when I tried to take the CD out of the player. There must have been something about Cat Power that was acceptable to her, at least as background music.

For me, I was a bit disappointed in Jukebox overall, but still found a few gems that took me back to the Cat Power of old. And, perhaps the same could be said for Miss B. She must have sensed the power of Chan Marshall's beautiful voice and creative take on covers, even if she wasn't outwardly enthusiastic.

Miss B Dances the Nutcracker

2008-12-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

For the past few months Miss B has been taking dance classes, and as you can probably tell from her music reviews, she's in love with ballet. Recently her class has been listening to music from the Nutcracker, and dancing to pieces of the story. Since she was enjoying it so much, I decided to check out a Nutcracker CD from the public library. Admittedly, this review is a little biased since I chose the CD for her. But, her enthusiastic reaction to the album just begged for a post.

Ever since we brought the Leonard Bernstein era New York Philharmonic Nutcracker recording (circa 1960) home from the library, Miss B has had it on constantly. She immediately starts to dance when the music starts, pauses between songs, and has different styles of ballet for various tracks. However, she also realizes that the CD has a particular purpose, and will not listen to it for bedtime. She told it that it might scare her or wake her up. Some of the pieces are very loud and energetic, so she's certainly right about that.

Miss B's grown so familiar with the music, that if we hear it in different venues (over the speakers in Trader Joe's, from a string quartet playing outside for shoppers, during TV commercials, in various holiday animated specials), she'll stop and comment...and perhaps dance for whoever is assembled.

I was feeling a little disappointed that the CD we checked out was not the entire Nutcracker (in fact it has pieces from other ballets), so I picked up the complete Nutcracker CD on another library trip. I thought Miss B would be thrilled, but instead she'd grown so accustomed to the original CD that she flat out rejected the new one, saying, "No! I don't like the white one!" Or maybe she just prefers the New York Philharmonic to the London Symphony Orchestra.

Cantopop Rules for Headbanging and Air Guitar

2008-12-12T13:13:00.000-08:00

It's quite often that Miss B is drawn to Chinese CDs at the public library. I'm not sure if it's because there's a big selection, or if there's something in the aesthetics of the packaging that's appealing to her. Either way, Miss B is usually riveted by the majority of Chinese pop music that she hears. The hugely popular Hong Kong singer Kelly Chen's CD was no exception.

When we first put Kelly Chen's Grace into the CD player, Miss B was eager to listen to it. She quietly played during the first song, but then got a very serious look on her face when track 2 began. She rocked her feet, put her fingers in her mouth, and then began dancing wildly with a big smile. She asked, "Is this my music?" Suddenly her dance moves changed into a style new to her, but familiar to me in that junior high school dance sort of way. Miss B started to shake her hips and her arms with a scowl on her face. At this point I couldn't hold back my laughter, and she laughed back at me, realizing that I was amused by her.

By track 3 I heard hints of metal and Miss B kept up the energetic moves, kicking her feet and stopping to point at pictures in my CMJ magazine. She then started to talk nonsensically to a picture before she began singing into an imaginary microphone.

When her father got home, DJ B wanted to put the CD on again. As the music began, she ran around the room like she was in flight, with her arms in the air. She swooped, and ended a dance with a grand, dramatic pose. As the more rock-oriented track 2 began, she again sang into her imaginary microphone with a strange, serious expression on her face. She transitioned into a fast dance, shaking her shoulders before putting on a rock-star face. She held both hands in front of her like she was motioning for us to "Stop!" and asked us to dance with her. By the third track (kind of a disco/metal tune), she was waving her fingers over her chest as if playing an air guitar. She rocked out in true head-banger fashion, stood in place scowling, then screamed, "Go away everybody!"

Bob Dylan's Rocking, Throwing, and Holding Music

2008-11-26T16:30:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe it when DJ B pulled a Bob Dylan CD from the shelf at the public library. As far as Bob Dylan goes, I live in a divided household. I still haven't found a connection to his music and am particularly turned off by his nasally vocal style. My husband, however, is a huge fan and for years has been trying to convert me to the pro-Dylan camp. The moment I realized that Miss B had chosen Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 on our library jaunt, I knew that my husband would be elated. In the intervening hours before listening to the CD the tension was mounting, as I wondered how Miss B would feel about her dad's beloved artist.

We decided to listen to the CD when the whole family was home. My husband put it in the player and Miss B said, "I wanna hold your hand." Muddying the process, Miss B's dad started singing along to the music and directed his performance at our resident toddler music critic. She shook her head, danced, then jumped on a chair. She asked her dad to hold her and dance, saying, "Rock me in the living room." After some slow dancing, Miss B then said, "Throw me dada. Put me in the basketball. Throw me in the basketball." He ignored her request and instead began to sing to her. During "Tangled Up in Blue," DJ B said, "This is a holding song." Her dad continued to dance with her in his arms for the entire song, even though she said, "Sorry dada. I'm going to have to get something else. I need something else" while shaking her fist. At the end of the song she got down and did some more energetic dancing.

A few days later Miss B grabbed the CD again, saying, "I wanna sing to this one." Yet after we put it on she didn't pay too much attention to the music. Instead she focused on her snack and her pink laptop computer, telling me, "I'm doing work....do my email." When I asked what she thought of the music, she got up and turned it off.

It's clear to me that DJ B's enjoyment of Bob Dylan was highly dependent on the presence of her father. Music, like so many things, is so much more fun when sharing it with other fans.

Mobb Deep Gets Dismissed by DJ B

2008-11-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

After the inspiring sounds of Curtis Mayfield, Miss B had absolutely no interest in the 50 Cent-produced rap of Mobb Deep. Despite the fact that she selected their Blood Money CD from the library shelf, at home she flatly refused to listen to it. On numerous occasions I tried to play it for her, with resistance every time. Considering the fact that the CD has a "Parental Advisory" sticker warning of explicit content, it's ironic that I kept pressuring Miss B to give it a fair listen. Today, on our final attempt, she said, "I don't wanna try it! I don't like it. I wanna leave it." She added, "I wanna listen to ballet music."

She did take a look at the CD booklet and played around with the case a bit, plopping it on top of her pink laptop. She said, "I just don't like it." I put it in the CD player anyway, but Miss B intercepted me, saying, "no!" as she removed it before we could hear any of the music. Is this some sort of weird toddler self-censorship? Does she somehow know that she shouldn't be listening to hardcore rap quite yet?

Curtis Mayfield a Compelling Listen During Election Week

2008-11-24T16:50:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Miss B selected The Very Best of Curtis Mayfield from the public library. In the days leading up to the Presidential election, she gave it a listen and was enthralled. The opening track, "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going To," with its strong spoken word commentary on social justice didn't elicit too much of a reaction at first. But, as soon as the music came in, DJ B did some truly funky new dance moves that included shoulder shrugs, head bouncing, and fast arm moves. As she got down on the floor, she continued with her rapid arm gestures.

Miss B's dad joined in on the dancing, and she cheered him on, saying, "Go dada, go dada!" As the second song began ("The Makings of You"), Miss B changed her dance style to some slower ballet moves that were more in keeping with the pace of the track. She said, "This one is a good ballet one," before she walked out of the room, saying "bye bye."

A few days after the election (Go Obama!), Miss B listened to the Curtis Mayfield CD again. This time she accompanied the initial track on her toy piano, tapping the keys with a tiny plastic Sippy cup piece. She grinned, laughed, and yelled "yay!!" while running about the room with her arms stretched out behind her in a flying pose. Then she marched a bit before throwing a tiara across the room. As before, "The Makings of You" inspired slow ballet dancing. As the CD continued to play and the pace quickened, she put on her fairy skirt and danced with her hands at her waist. She said, "Can you say, 'go princess!'?" as she shook her hips and twisted her body while watching her reflection in the glass of our entertainment center.

I'd like to think that Miss B's glee over the funky stylings and social commentary of Curtis Mayfield were part of her celebration of the election of Barack Obama. After all, Mayfield's music was influential in the early years of the civil rights movement, so it's awfully appropriate to revisit it during the afterglow of this historic election.

Miss B Gets Married to the Sounds of Mahler

2008-11-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

One of the most non-descript looking CDs that DJ B has selected from the library was Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.1 with "Blumine", performed by the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. When she pulled it from the library shelf, no cover art was visible through the grungy, milky white plastic case. Yet, somehow she must have known that the music inside was going to speak to her.

When she played the CD, Miss B instantly began to do slow dance moves, spinning around. She then put her skirt on over her face like a veil and said, "Get me married. Cinderella is gonna marry me." At this point she got a bit philosophical, asking me, "You get sad when you're married?" Despite the question, she bounced about with the skirt over her face, spinning in a circle.

I asked her if she liked the music and Miss B said, "mmm hmmm." She put on her silver glittery shoes and stood still with her hands in front of her, saying, "The lights are on me. Watch me get married." She then pretended to be Sleeping Beauty and proclaimed, "I got married!" Wanting to do it again, she asked, "Help me get married. Hold my hand, so I can get married." When I asked who she was getting married to, she said, "To Cinderella and Mama and Daddy."

Today we listened to Mahler again and this time Miss B was intrigued by the picture of conductor James Judd in the booklet. She kept asking about him and wondered if he talked. Later on she referred to him as the "train guy," and she talked about how he was helping her to "get down and do gallops." Her overall assessment today was best summarized when she said, "I just love that beautiful jumping very loud song...[with the] loud drum in it...it makes me Arabesque."

Sharon Little is Fab for Interpretive Dance

2008-11-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

I have a growing pile of promotional CDs that I've been meaning to pass along to DJ B for review, but she beat me to the punch yesterday when one of them caught her eye amid the piles on the dining room table. Recently I got sent a copy of XPN Local, Volume 2, a compilation CD put together by the University of Pennsylvania public radio station WXPN. I write about college radio for my other blog, Spinning Indie, so they sent me the comp in hopes of getting some press about it.

Miss B grabbed the CD and raced to her room so that she could check out the music on her boombox. As track one began (Sharon Little's "Follow that Sound," which by the way is the theme song for the TV show The Cleaner), she started to stomp and dance around her room. The music began with prominent percussion, a hint of Native American sounds, and bluesy female vocals. Miss B stretched out her arms and balanced herself between a chair and her crib while she danced. She leaned back and proceeded to do some intricate footwork while holding on to the furniture. She then selected a pair of shoes to wear and continued to dance with a very serious look on her face. When the song ended, she said, "I want the other one that I liked," so I showed her how she could restart the CD so that she could hear the first song again. DJ B cranked up the volume and danced some more. She donned her tiara and fairy skirt and waved her hand while pronouncing, "I'm Sleeping Beauty."

She played the Sharon Little song over and over and over, rarely giving the rest of the CD a chance. Finally she allowed the CD to track to the second song (Amos Lee's "Sweet Pea") while she danced in front of a mirror, saying, "Mama. I'm the sad princess." After accidentally hitting herself in the eye with her wand, she said, "I'm the happy princess." As track 3 began (Illinois' "Things are Gonna Be Okay"), she started to melt down, demanding her Christmas dress. After she calmed down, she turned down the volume, asking, "What is this one?" before turning it off and playing Sharon Little again. Miss B then proclaimed, "I just love that beautiful music!"

Celine Dion's World Tour Infiltrates the Library

2008-11-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

I was a bit dismayed when Miss B chose another Celine Dion CD from the public library ("Taking Chances"), as it was pure torture the first time around. But, once again, my budding DJ B seems to have a knack for predicting when something will rear its head into the public consciousness (like her penchant for Chinese music during the Beijing Olympics). Or, as we'll learn later, it may just be that the marketing demons have infiltrated our lives.

After she requested that we play this CD, the first thing Miss B did was to walk away dejected after she couldn't remove the "booklet" (cover art) from the CD case. She came back with her Panda robot and rocked him, saying, "Panda is singing." It wasn't until the 5th track ("Shadow of Love") that DJ B seemed to notice the music. She bounced and rocked out a bit while shaking her head to the beat. She then asked me to join her in a dance, saying, "go mama!" Next, she requested that her father be her dance partner for track 6 ("Surprise Surprise"). Miss B stretched her arms into the air before pretending to be Sleeping Beauty as she said, "King kiss me."

I was hoping to quickly get the CD back to the library before a repeat listen, but today I was thwarted while watching "Mornings on Two." As I drank my latte and read the paper, Miss B started to scream and pointed excitedly at the TV, saying, "that's the CD on there! the black one." I was surprised to see that she was responding to a commercial for Celine Dion's "Taking Chances World Tour 2008." I wondered if she really recognized the music, since it had been over a week since we'd listened to the CD. Thanks to Tivo we were able to rewind and investigate further. As we scanned through the ad, Miss B danced along to the music, then pointed to a CD on the screen, saying, "Just like the one we have." She asked me to get the CD, saying, "can we match it?" So, I tracked down the CD from her room, and, indeed, it was the very same one being promoted on TV. At this point Miss B was beside herself with excitement and said, "I need the CD on" before she took control and popped the disc into the player.

It's an awfully strange coincidence that DJ B selected the Celine Dion CD from the library on the heels of her world tour. I wonder if Ms. Dion's promo folks are loading up the library shelves to help build the hype. Is Miss B just a vessel for their marketing message? Is she a hapless victim of multiple impressions? Don't worry. We will resist the urge to attend Celine's November 23rd appearance at San Jose's HP Pavilion. But you can still go. Don't forget to buy a T-shirt. That's where they earn the big bucks.

Miss B Gets an Early Start on Christmas (Again)

2008-11-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

It's not uncommon for DJ B to reach for familiar CDs at the public library that she has previously checked out. Usually I intercept her and suggest that she pick a different selection since we've already borrowed that particular album. But, sometimes I just relent and let her bring home the beloved CD once again. Recently she reached for Linda Ronstadt's "Merry Little Christmas," an album that we reviewed 2 months ago. We brought it home, and, Miss B was into it even more than she was the first time around.

Miss B screamed, "Christmas! I want it louder!" After we turned on the music she climbed on the couch and gave me a big hug. She then began her ballet moves and said, "This is Christmas." She went on, saying, "I just love Christmas" and did more ballet with a huge grin on her face. She played with a toy key, galloped, and spun around. She then grabbed 2 CD cases and danced with them in her hands while doing ballet on tip toes.

With six weeks until Christmas, is your resident DJ itching for the tunes yet?

Jazz Still a Tough Sell for DJ B

2008-11-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

DJ B keeps picking up jazz CDs from the public library, but never seems super excited about them once she gives them a listen. This week's choice, SFJazz Collective 2, turned out to be no exception. As is typically the case, Miss B was very interested in reading the CD booklet (ours actually had a bright orange and yellow, seizure-inducing cover), but after only a few seconds of music (the John Coltrane track "Moment's Notice") she yelled, "It's loud!" and asked for another CD. Before we were able to take the CD out she told me, "I want to go to the library" and did a brief bounce to the music.

A few days later we again tried to listen and Miss B asked, "Is this jazz?" While she scanned the booklet she was particularly interested in a close-up picture of mallets on a vibraphone, asking, "What are those?" She was very mellow, as she read the booklet and played with the CD case. When I asked her what she thought of the music she said, "princess." When we got to the second track (Coltrane's "Naima") she started to tap the CD case with her fingers, the first indication that she was actually listening to the music. I took the CD out of the player and Miss B said to put it back in, "it's princesses."

Although she never seemed to be super engaged with the music, I suppose I should never discount Miss B's quiet enjoyment of jazz.

Ali Farka Toure Brings out Miss B's Inner Ghoul

2008-10-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Miss B seems to be on a bit of a world music kick, at least in terms of the CDs that she's randomly grabbing from the public library. When she sat down to listen to Ali Farka Toure's African/blues album "Savane," she stayed true to form and focused on the booklet before anything else. When the music began, she bounced a bit to the beat, but then got distracted by a coupon with a pumpkin on it from the Sunday paper. She ignored the music and focused all of her attention on the coupons, staring for a long time at a picture of Mr. Clean. When she was done reading coupons, she picked up her Hello Kitty purse and started unloading its contents onto my lap. Out came a plastic scorpion ring, a drawing of Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba, a princess cell phone, a quarter, and a purple fly ring. As track 2 began, Miss B said, "I wanna turn this one off."

A few days later we listened again and Miss B cranked up the volume. She then grabbed her Halloween goodie bag and shook a variety of Halloween toys out of it. After picking up a ghoul, she asked, "This a skeleton, mama?" She continued to play with the monster action figure and then asked for my help putting his coffin back together. We played together for awhile and then she put a witch pez into the coffin. DJ B said, "sleeping in the coffin" and then did a little jig after putting the monster in it. She then brought all of the Halloween toys to the couch and did some imaginary play with a pumpkin pez, saying, "I sleep pumpkin dada...I sleeped" as she held the pumpkin pez in front of the open coffin with the monster in it.

This release from the "king of the desert blues singers" proved to be a great soundtrack in the days leading up to Halloween.

Thandiswa Makes Good Soccer Music

2008-10-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

One of the latest CDs that DJ B selected from the public library was South African artist Thandiswa's debut album "Zabalaza." After putting the CD in the player, Miss B immediately turned up the volume and then turned to the booklet. When she heard the female vocals coming from the speakers, she began to sway and cracked a small smile. In spite of her vaguely positive response, she turned off the music and asked to try something else.

A few days later Miss B requested this CD again. After the music began, she climbed up into a chair next to me to snuggle. A short time later she got off the chair and began to dance about, wearing her ballet shoes. She shook her hair like a rock star, then did some wild dancing while saying, "ballet moves...like this!" She then lifted her head up and down and eventually rested her head on the chair arm dramatically. When she stopped, she demanded, "I want Cheerios in a cup!" and then wandered off into the kitchen.

When I asked her what the music sounded like, she said, "princesses." Then, she picked up her Dora the Explorer soccer ball and asked me to throw it to her. When I asked if she liked the music, she said, "yep," and continued to kick her soccer ball.

Indie Rock on Sesame Street

2008-10-17T19:21:00.001-07:00

I guess I'm a bad parent because, as of yet, Miss B has not watched a single episode of "Sesame Street." I grew up watching that show, but for some reason it has never occurred to me to expose her to it. Of course she's known about Elmo since birth as his face adorned her very first pair of diapers.

The only Sesame-esque media that DJ B has watched was the public library copy of "Elmo's Potty Time." She LOVED it and it was cool, even surreal at times. My favorite scene was in the toilet paper factory. Genius! I hate to admit it, but we also still sing some of the tunes from it ("It's potty time...gotta get down lowww...it's potty time, gotta go with the flow") when behind closed doors. Potty training can be a very embarrassing time for parents....

"It's Potty Time" from Elmo's Potty Time Video

An article on Spin.com this week "Indie Rockers Find New Fans in the Preschool Set" by Ellen Carpenter talks about some of the famous musical guests on Sesame Street, including a recent stint by the artist Feist. Ellen's two and a half year old niece Rilla watches the Feist segment obsessively and perhaps may be a budding DJ B with a taste for non-kid music. Ellen writes:

"Right now, she only has time for Feist. My brother finally broke down and bought Feist's 2007 album The Reminder. Rilla's new favorite song is "Sea Lion Woman," which was originally popularized by Nina Simone. Nina Simone! I'm fully expecting Rilla to be into Bessie Smith, the Soft Boys, and Neu! before she turns three."

Indeed! I look forward to hearing 2-year-old Rilla's reviews.

John Coltrane is Great Grocery Shopping Music

2008-10-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

Next up from the public library shelves was some classic jazz from John Coltrane. DJ B selected the CD "Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes." She was a little disappointed in the enclosed booklet, as she was unable to open it. We soon realized that it was actually just a piece of cardboard with album art on the front and back. She didn't respond to the music, but did ask me, "Wanna watch my move?" before stretching her leg into the air. She quickly turned off Coltrane and requested Nortec Collective.

The following day we tried John Coltrane again and Miss B initially said, "no...I want Easy Ride!," but I persisted and kept it in the player. She did some more ballet moves and then grabbed her toy shopping cart. As beautiful jazz played in the background, DJ B pushed her shopping cart back and forth across the room, while consulting her imaginary list. She said, "purple cauliflower, Mac 'n Cheese, yogurt, some yogurt and um...what else...squash?" Eventually she unloaded her cart, found a toy penguin and squeaked it. Later she ate her dinner, while the music continued to play. I asked if she liked it and she just nodded.

Once again, jazz proves to be just background music for Miss B as she goes about her daily activities.

Nortec Collective Prompts Miss B to Play Accordion on a Slinky

2008-10-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Latin-electronic hybrid music of Nortec Collective's "Tijuana Sessions Vol. 3" was the latest CD that Miss B selected from the public library. She listened to this album on multiple occasions and didn't have too much reaction to it. As she typically does these days, she immediately pulled the booklet out of the case to check out all the pictures and liner notes. On first listen she asked for it to be turned off after less than a song. The next time she rocked a little bit and did a slight dance before asking for cheddar bunnies.

Finally, we listened as a whole family and Miss B eventually did some big, elaborate dance moves to track 8 ("Almada"). The next day she really got into "Tijuana Makes Me Happy," and marched around the room stretching a pink slinky open and closed like an accordion, probably not even realizing that she was listening to an accordion in the song. Unfortunately DJ B's dad had a much stronger reaction to the same track, saying, "This song was running through my head this morning and it was annoying me. I'd rather hear Celine Dion." Harsh!

Canto-Pop Whips Miss B into a Frenzy

2008-10-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's the rare library CD that prompts an immediate, enthusiastic response from Miss B and once again, the culprit is Asian pop. As soon as we slipped "The Easy Ride," the CD from Eason Chan's 2001 concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum, into the player, DJ B began dancing wildly. She closed her eyes, stretched her arms over her head and lifted her leg into the air. She then said, "Help me spin around, mama. Help me spin around fast."

She took a quick break from the dancing to read the enclosed booklet. After spotting the second CD, she asked to take a listen to that. While listening to the live concert recording, Miss B would pause to clap along when she heard applause. Her dancing continued, and she told me, "it's princess music." We continued to play this and dance as it grew closer to the time when Miss B's father would return home. As he walked in the door, he was a bit taken aback by the loud, dramatic Canto-pop and the sight of Miss B grooving to the tunes with closed eyes.

The next day we played this again and DJ B danced for a little while before turning off the CD and telling me, "For later. When dada comes back." Clearly this is music that deserves an audience and Miss B caught on to that instantly.

Lead Belly Makes Miss B Think about Pizza

2008-10-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

One of the more interesting releases that DJ B has grabbed from the public library shelf was Lead Belly's "Absolutely the Best." These very early blues recordings caught my attention immediately and I hoped that Miss B would be similarly entranced.

She did sway a bit when the music started, taking a cursory look at the booklet. But this was short-lived enthusiasm, as she stopped the CD before the end of track 1 and demanded her favorite TV show.

A few days later we listened to it again and DJ B didn't react much at all. She played with a Kleenex box, laughed, and ran around the room saying, "mmmm...pizza." She pretended to eat pizza, galloped, then danced for a few seconds. When the second track began, she started to march. When I asked her what it sounded like, she said, "Uh. good." She turned her attention to the booklet again and tried to insert it into the VCR. As "Goodnight, Irene" started to play, she ejected the CD and moved on to the next thing.

It turns out that Lead Belly also released a popular children's album, "Lead Belly Sings for Children." I wonder if Miss B would be more drawn to that?

Nigel Kennedy is all Bark, Sounds like Cinderella

2008-10-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

Appearances can be deceiving. When DJ B selected Nigel Kennedy's "Greatest Hits" CD from the public library, I was a bit skeptical about the music just based on the cover photo. The picture turned me off, as it looked like somebody working really hard to say "I'm radical!" Of course, I hoped that he really was radical, as I'm a fan of string music and was sort of intrigued to hear if this was a collection of deconstructed violin sounds.

Miss B's response to this was quite telling, as she paid considerable attention to the artwork, but had little response to the classical violin music. As we turned the music on, she was very interested in the CD booklet and kept pointing at pictures, asking, "Is that him? Is that him with paint on?" She scrutinized each page of the liner notes and got very upset when I tried to take them from her, saying, "Hey! This is my mat! [her term for CD booklet]"

I had to prompt Miss B in order to get any sort of reaction to the music. When I asked her what the music sounded like, she said, "Cinderella...like a princess." I probed further, asking her what the music was good for and she said, "Cinderella." I asked if it was dancing music, and she replied, "Yes. It's Cinderella dancing music." When I asked if it was sleeping music, she also said, "Yes. With Cinderella. Night night time." From that point on she kept referring to this album as "Cinderella music" and she told me that liked it.

As it turns out, the CD wasn't as radical as one would expect, with its violin solos of compositions from classical greats like Vivaldi, Debussy, and Bach. For Miss B, that was just fine, as the Nigel Kennedy album was sort of a blank slate, on to which she could superimpose her current princess passion.

Deftones Too Scary for DJ B

2008-09-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

Oh, goody! One of Miss B's library picks was slapped with a parental advisory sticker for "explicit content." She must have known, since the first thing she said when examining the Deftones' "Saturday Night Wrist" cover art was, "Is it scary?" On first listen, she started dancing immediately, but then she turned off the music after only a few seconds and asked for Celine Dion.

Today I attempted to play this again and was met with protestation. Miss B said, "I don't like this. I don't like it!" and turned it off after less than a song. Despite that, she still asked to look at the booklet. After leafing through it, she said, "Put it back in there."

Oh well, this rock CD from the public library's "teen" section was past-due anyway.

Surprise, Surprise...Miss B Digs Classic Musicals

2008-09-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

Following DJ B's second ballet class, she decided to investigate "Leading Men Sing the Movie Classics," a CD collection that she picked up from the San Francisco Public Library. After hearing the name of the CD, she asked, "Is this classic?" Then, as the music dramatically began with Gene Kelly's "Singin' In the Rain," Miss B started demonstrating her new ballet skills. She pounded her chest, grabbed a pair of flip flops, ran toward me, then stopped to dance in place. She then leaned on me and extended her leg in the air behind her. Following that, she twirled around with her hands over her head like a ballerina. As she spun in a circle, she got dizzy, then closed her eyes, swayed, and fell over.

Miss B then got on the floor, closed her eyes, and did a very slow dance before she started to roll around with her eyes still closed. We then danced together for awhile before Miss B opted to set up a picnic on the floor. She donned her sunhat and strapped her Hello Kitty purse over her shoulder in preparation for the pretend outing.

This morning during breakfast, we checked it out again. Miss B listened to it quietly, while bouncing her legs to the beat. After she finished eating, she marched around the room to James Cagney's version of "Yankee Doodle Boy." She did some ballet, played a few notes on her toy piano, and pranced about with an old baby teether in her mouth while simultaneously talking on her toy cell phone to her imaginary friend. Her dancing got faster and faster and we deemed this album full of songs from classic musicals from the 1930s to 1950s a big hit for a Saturday morning.

Celine Dion Disturbs DJ B's Parents

2008-09-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

One of the most cringe-worthy CDs that Miss B has selected from the public library thus far is Celine Dion's "The Collector's Series Volume One" from 2000. Initially DJ B was drawn to it when we were selecting music that she thought her grandpa would enjoy, but her interest didn't go beyond the cover art, as she had me stop it before the music even started. The next time we tried it, she didn't get much further, ejecting the CD after only a few seconds on her first listen.

With Celine's due date looming, we attempted another listen yesterday. Miss B looked at the booklet and swayed a bit when the music started. After grabbing my cell phone, she ran off with it, pretending to talk to her imaginary friend. She then yelled, "I want Pocoyo!" (her new favorite TV show) and before we had even reached the end of the over-the-top Atlanta Olympics Opening Ceremony version of "The Power of the Dream," DJ B declared: "I all done" and ejected the CD. I can't say I was disappointed in her distaste for the over-produced (just count the number of engineers listed in the liner notes!) pop.

Today, just for my poor husband's benefit, I played a bit of the CD again. This time Miss B didn't even look up from her reading material. The strongest reaction in the household was from my husband, who said that it was "unnerving" to hear Celine Dion playing in our house. I have to agree.

Queen Latifah is Good Grandpa Music

2008-09-18T15:04:00.001-07:00

We got some really sad news in the DJ B household this week as Miss B's grandpa died. Since I'm a big fan of using music as a coping mechanism, I immediately asked Miss B to pick out a library CD that she thought her grandpa would like. I handed her a pile of 8 library CDs (yes...we're really backlogged) and she scrutinized each one of them very carefully before handing me a Celine Dion CD. As I started to put it in the player, Miss B changed her mind, telling, me, "No. This one" as she handed me Queen Latifah's "Trav'Lin' Light."

DJ B looked through the CD booklet and smiled, then ran to me, saying, "I want that snake. I want that snake right now." I'm not sure what she wanted, so I changed the subject and asked her, "Do you think grandpa would like this music?" She said, "yeah." I asked if she liked it and she also said, "yeah."

As we listened to this lovely CD of jazzy R & B influenced pop and standards, Miss B climbed on some chairs and then lounged a bit before settling in with an LL Bean catalog. She quietly listened to the music while reading the Christmas catalog. Later she moved to the floor with some pens and started to draw some pictures. She held one up to show me, saying, "This is for Grandpa...because he's sad and sick." She then grabbed a blanket and said, "snuggle me up. snuggle me in."

Who would have thought that the soothing vocals and classic sounds of Queen Latifah (covering Nina Simone, Peggy Lee and others) would be such a fitting tribute to Miss B's departed grandpa? And, yeah, I think he would have liked this music...just as DJ B predicted.

Hall and Oates? Miss B Can't Go for That (No Can Do)

2008-09-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

The other CD that Miss B was drawn to when she visited the San Francisco Public Library Bookmobile was Daryl Hall & John Oates' "The Collection," a CD set of "3 original album classics." As with the De La Soul pick, this release was chosen by Miss B based on the spine of the album since she couldn't see the cover artwork on the packed CD shelf. I surmise that this one stood out because it was larger than other CDs since it's a 3-CD set. Again, this album was in perfect condition and had probably never been checked out of the library before. I talked to our branch librarian about this and she clued me in to the fact that most items in the Bookmobile are in excellent condition, as the library doesn't want to be trotting around a bus full of grimy books and CDs. Good to know!

I have fond memories of making fun of Hall & Oates when I was a teenager, so I was curious to see how Miss B would respond to their mainstream '80s pop. The first thing she said when checking out the CD was, "There's no booklet!" She spent a lot of time searching through the case, but it turned up empty. I have to say that I agree with DJ B, that is disappointing for a 3 CD set to not include a booklet.

The first CD she put in was "Voices," which she listened to for a matter of seconds before ejecting. Next she tried "H20," and found it worthy dance music. She danced in circles, swayed side to side while eating some crackers, and generally enjoyed the release until track 8. She then proclaimed, "I don't like this" and moved on to other things.

The next day DJ B tried the final CD "Private Eyes." She was wearing last year's Halloween costume at the time and was game for a little bit of dancing as the music started. She quickly grew bored, tried the other CDs again, and, finally pronounced again, "I don't like it" before removing the CD from the player.

So, in response to the stupid joke from my high school days, "Who do you like better: Hall or Oates?," Miss B's answer would have to be "neither."

De La Soul Charms DJ B

2008-09-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Last week DJ B and I were out and about when we spotted a Bookmobile. Intrigued by what musical gems might be stored within, I grabbed Miss B and we raced up the steps to tour the "Bookmob's" wares. The shelf was jam-packed with CDs, so Miss B was unable to pick by cover art. She seemed to revert to her old method, as she was first drawn to the bright pink-spine of the essential De La Soul album "3 Feet High and Rising." At long last Miss B picked out an album that I actually own, so I was thrilled.

San Francisco Bookmob!

The CD itself was pristine, as if it had never been touched by human hands and was quite a far-cry from most of the well-loved and circulated music that we pick up at our local branch. No way was I going to let Miss B do the DJing on this one. Gotta keep it nice and clean.

On first listen, DJ B wasn't too interested in the skits and jangly classic hip hop, stopping it after only a song or two. But, when we tried it again later she really got into it. She heard "batmobile" on one track and repeated it with a smile on her face. Later she bounced in her seat while perusing the CD case and booklet. She then grabbed my pen and started to write in my notebook, saying, "I a writer...about the music," clearly copying what I do when working on these CD reviews with her.

Today we listened again and she immediately got into it, dancing while holding a bowl of Cheerios. She smiled, repeatedly patted my leg, then waved at me. While listening she crept around the room, acting very sneaky. All of a sudden she bit my leg. After that she went behind the curtain, curled up on the floor and pretended to nap. As we got to track 9 "Eye Know," she turned down the volume, then cranked it up before donning her headphones for some dancing time.

All in all, De La Soul seemed to touch DJ B in a variety of ways and that is, indeed, the power of great music.

Indie Pop Makes DJ B Say "Ehhh"

2008-09-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to the public library Miss B picked up a well-loved CD in a broken case, held together by rubber bands. The 2005 self-titled release by music critic fave Clap Your Hands Say Yeah initially prompted little reaction other than DJ B running to me to request a hug. She then grabbed the mangled CD case, saying, "I want the booklet." After scanning the liner notes, she ran and sat on a plastic storage bin positioned by the CD player. More excited by her new ballet shoes, she ran back and forth trying them out. After a few songs, Miss B started to dance to the music and then lifted one leg very high into the air, then moved her arms. Perhaps she was imitating the moves on the cover art? She then proclaimed, "I want some milk."

Later on, while eating lunch, we listened to this CD some more. Desperately in need of a nap, Miss B started to throw a tantrum and screamed, "I don't like this music" through her cries.

I guess one has to be in the right frame of mind for indie rock.

Miss B Cools off with Linda Ronstadt's Christmas Album

2008-09-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

First of all, we're so excited in the DJ B household, because we got a really nice mention in the Baby Beats column of the San Jose Mercury News last week. The author, Yoshi Kato, writes about all kinds of musical events for kids in the San Francisco Bay Area AND is a huge fan of kids sharing their parents' musical passions. Right on. We could not agree more.

Now, on to the fresh reviews!

On a record-breaking day of 90+ degree heat in San Francisco this week, DJ B decided that it was the perfect time to take a listen to one of her latest public library selections: Linda Ronstadt's "Merry Little Christmas" CD. When we first popped it in to our DVD player it would not play. I suspect anti-pirating technology. Damn! So, we headed off to her more low-tech bedroom boombox to try it and it worked like a charm. Miss B immediately cranked up the volume, then grabbed her SF Giants baseball cap and put it on, even though it was several sizes too small.

Miss B then situated herself on the floor, grabbed a blanket, and tucked herself in with a stuffed bunny. As the music continued, she changed her shoes and began dancing and twirling around. She switched shoes again and did a swaying dance move with her eyes closed to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Today, however, the fog had rolled back in and Miss B had no interest in connecting with the cooling sounds of Ms. Ronstadt, saying, "I don't like it" before she turned off the CD to pursue other interests.

Miss B Enjoys the Wild Percussion of 12 Girls Band

2008-09-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Wrapping up DJ B's trio of Chinese music for the week, we now turn our attention to the 12 Girls Band release "Miracle Live 2003." Although Miss B found this on the CD shelf at the public library, it's classified by the library as a "video," since it's a video CD. For us that meant that we were only allocated a 1-week rental (vs. 3 weeks for CDs), so we had to act quickly.

When we first put this in the DVD player Miss B just stared at the screen, transfixed like she is when watching most TV programs. Disc 1 began with images of nature, then moved into concert footage of the 12 Girls Band. As soon as the musicians appeared on screen Miss B asked, "What are doing?"[sic] She then pointed out to me that, "It has colors on there...like blue" as she observed the different colored lights used to illuminate the band during the performance.

She then requested the second disc. As the music resumed, she said, "It's hard to see this music...because it's blue...because my eyes [sunglasses] are not on." I'm not exactly sure what she was getting at, but something about the stage lighting seemed to make it difficult for her to see something- either the musicians or the instruments. When I asked her what it sounded like she said "yogurt." When I asked what she liked most about the music, she said, "purple." She then turned her attention to the booklet, saying, "I want a dress on. Just like her. On the CD...I want a skirt on. A fancy skirt on just like her fancy skirt." She then lounged on me holding the CD case, saying, "I like it. I like it" while holding her foot and shaking it to the beat of the music.

Miss B then ran out of the room, put a fancy skirt on, and returned carrying drum sticks. She raced around the room waving her drum sticks, saying "ooo oooo." On the video we then saw some intense percussion, with band members banging drum sticks on metal cabinets. DJ B imitated what she saw for awhile, then picked up 2 maracas for some fast dancing, followed by a double tambourine dance, and finally she ended her recital by waving 2 shaker eggs.

DJ B Tortures Her Parents with Bad Chinese Pop Covers

2008-08-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

So, on the same library trip in which Miss B selected the delightful album Qi Yuan, she also picked out a few other Chinese releases. She wasn't even watching the Olympics, so it's an odd coincidence that suddenly she was drawn to this music.

Her 2nd choice in Chinese music was categorized by the library as Ye Qianwen's "25 Zhou Nian," but emblazoned on each of the 2 CDs is the name Sally Yip. After a bit of research I learned that Sally Yip aka Sally Yeh is a Hong Kong pop singer and this album from 2004 translates to "25 Years of Sally Yeh."

After DJ B requested this album for play, she swayed a bit to the music before donning her silver glittery shoes for some dancing. She grabbed her favorite mouse pad/dance floor and grooved for a bit on it, before tossing it to the side so that she could do some more extensive ballet maneuvers. She pointed her toes, waved her arms in the air, posed in place, then asked her father to dance with her. During a break between songs she raced to her toy piano to play until the music resumed. As the pace of the music picked up, Miss B ran in circles going faster and faster and her dance moves grew increasingly dramatic. As a cover of the Madonna song "La Isla Bonita" began, Miss B smiled broadly, giggled and said, "I'm laughing at you guys." She then made robot faces, told me the music sounded like "stars," then twirled before rolling around on the floor.

While all this was going on, Miss B's father and I realized that we were hearing lots of Western pop covers---from Madonna to Celine Dion's Titanic theme song. Despite DJ B's manic glee upon being exposed to this hybrid of Chinese and Western pop, her parents were a little cheesed out.

Miss B Celebrates the Beijing Olympics with Chinese "Princess" Music

2008-08-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

The next public library CD to catch DJ B's eye was a Chinese album called Qi Yuan. After hearing the opening notes, Miss B started to dance immediately then said, "I want my skirt" and ran to her room to find her silk fairy skirt. She put it on, danced some more, then was off to her room again for more treasures. She returned wearing silver glittery shoes.

Miss B then pointed to the CD booklet and asked, "Who is on that?" She opened up the booklet, which is completely in Chinese and put it close to her face for further examination. She asked again, "Who is that? Is it the princess?" She then started to dance again and said, "I want a wand. You get the wand sweetums." DJ B cranked up the volume and did some slow ballet moves, stretching her arms into the air and then behind her. She suddenly realized that her shoes were on the wrong feet, but continued with the ballet, doing some slow, exaggerated moves and lifting her leg into the air. She again asked for the wand. After I found it she waved it around while dancing, then started to clap while bending her knees.

Since that first listen, this CD has been on constant rotation and has become DJ B's new favorite. She's been dancing to it and sleeping to it. The ultimate compliment!

Today I finally found out what we've been listening to (thank you co-worker of Pam!). First of all, the princess lady on the cover is Grammy nominated Chinese singer Song Zuying, who was actually featured in the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics over the weekend performing a duet with Placido Domingo. Who knew that Miss B's selection was so timely!

According to my translator, the album is a collection of works by the songwriter Zhang Minghe performed by various artists including Song Zuying, Man Wenjun, Sun Yue and Sun Meina. Most of the songs are love songs or ballads and are certainly great for dancing.

Latin Music Enlivens DJ B

2008-08-24T23:22:00.000-07:00

On our next library trip, DJ B carefully scanned the shelves in search of the perfect musical specimens. She kept grabbing more and more CDs until we had six in total. When we went to check them out, I learned that we'd maxed out on our CD limit for the library. What to do? After some creative distribution of our booty across both of our library cards we were good to go, so on to #1!

Miss B's first requested album was the collection "15 Cumbias" by 5 Super Grupos, including Tam y Tex, Sabiduria Nortena, Grupo Cauza Nortena, El Cartel de Nuevo Leon, and Los Nortenitos de Ojinaga. Her initial response was to bop a bit to the music while looking at the booklet. She then talked about the photos, saying, "that is another drum right there...green drum right there...this one is a red drum."

After giving me the lowdown on the liner notes she waved her arms, smiled and danced, saying "don't look at me!" She danced some more, turned down the volume, smiled, shrugged her shoulders, then turned her attention back to the booklet while she sat in a chair. When she wrapped the booklet around her foot, I took it as a sign that nap time was near. I asked if she wanted to listen to the cumbias for her nap and she politely declined. Since DJ B seems to be in charge of nap time these days, I gladly accepted her musical wishes.

Roy and Diz Quickly Dismissed by DJ B

2008-08-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

The third and final CD from DJ B's latest library batch was Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie's "Roy and Diz," a 1954 jazz recording. I'm sure that part of what interested Miss B when she pulled it off the library shelf, was the lovely album art. Yes, that initial allure was not in evidence when she sampled the CD at home. The first time we played it, she said, "I don't like it" as soon as the music came out of the speakers. When we tried again later, she said, "I don't want to sing it" and stopped the CD player after just a few seconds. I continued to prompt her to listen to the release, to no avail. Poor Roy and Diz, Miss B just wasn't in the mood for jazz.

Orchestra Baobab is Good for Quiet Time

2008-08-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

In addition to NOFX, one of the other picks on Miss B's recent library jaunt was Orchestra Baobab's critically acclaimed CD "Pirates Choice ." DJ B selected it from the shelf, even though there was no album art or booklet to lure her in. The first time we put this CD in she didn't pay too much attention to the music and instead put her Dora shin guards on and asked to blow bubbles.

We gave this another chance today and Miss B gave it her full attention. While we listened she sat quietly in a chair, swaying from side to side while munching on Cheddar bunnies. When some male vocals and saxophone burst from the speakers, DJ B said, "Baobab" and smiled. She repeated "Baobab. Baobab. Baobab" while tapping her hand on the CD case and then sidled up next to me and sat on my lap. She wiggled her toes, shrugged her shoulders to the beat, rocked herself and hummed while she nestled in my arms. Later we both got up to dance a bit to the tropical sounds. When I asked Miss B if she liked the music, she said, "Mmmm Hmmm." Before I knew it we had listened to Disc 1 in its entirety, which is a rarity for DJ B, what with her 2-year-old attention span.

Overall, DJ B found the Senegalese/Cuban/jazz-flavored sounds of Orchestra Baobab to be pleasant music for a lazy morning at home.

College Radio DJ's Library Tour

2008-08-22T00:39:00.000-07:00

I was just researching University of Texas radio station KVRX for my college radio blog Spinning Indie, when I ran across a blog series called Pimping the Public Library. College radio DJ Doktor Ana has been hitting up the Austin Public Library searching for musical gems since early July. On her blog she's written reviews of some of her discoveries, including surf music, international sounds, and the '80s box set "Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground."

Additionally, she's been able to track down harder to find music by using inter-library loan. Wow! What a concept. Now if Miss B and I were actually searching for stuff methodically (vs. grabbing from the shelves at random), this would be a wonderful tip. Or, perhaps inter-library loan can be DJ B's Library Tour Version 2.0 when she tires of the shelf inventory.

NOFX Cures Tantrums

2008-08-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

After finally squeezing that Etta Baker review out of Miss B, we can now move on to other selections from the public library tour. I was so excited when DJ B chose the NOFX release "Wolves in Wolves' Clothing" the other week. She hasn't reviewed any punk yet, so I was dying to hear her reaction to it.

The first time we played it Miss B was luckily not paying too much attention, as the opening track is littered with prominent swear words. She was more focused on the booklet, which she desperately wanted to pull out of the CD case. After listening to the music for a few seconds she said, "I don't like NOFX." She stopped the CD and took it out.

A few days later, on a particularly stressful, tantrum-filled morning, Miss B grabbed the NOFX CD and wanted to listen to it. She asked for the booklet and then cozied up on the couch with it while I put the CD on. This time I fast forwarded to the swear-free second track, so that I wouldn't get in trouble with her preschool teachers for teaching her profanity.

While listening to NOFX this time around, DJ B was mesmerized. She sat quietly on the couch listening and I was reminded of one of my 5th grade classmates who was given coffee from a thermos all day long in order to calm his hyperactivity. Could this be the same principle? Have I discovered that if one plays punk music for a tantrum obsessed 2-year-old they cross over some sort of threshold into mellowness? Genius.

Etta Baker Gives Miss B the Blues

2008-08-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

The final CD from Miss B's latest library trip came from Ms. Etta Baker. "One-Dime Blues," a Rounder release from 1991, turned out to be not so intriguing for DJ B.

When Miss B first saw the CD cover she asked, "What's that one? Is it Grandma?" Yet, the first few times I tried to play it for her she turned it off immediately or had no reaction to it. One day she asked for Etta Baker, yet when I put it on she didn't seem interested.

Today, I played it again for her and Miss B asked, "What are you putting on?" I said, "Etta Baker," to which she replied, "I don't like Etta Baker." She tolerated the music for a few minutes while she played with her cat flashlight, but turned the music off before the first track came to an end. She proclaimed, "I want to play my music" and went to her piano to play a song of her own creation. Surprisingly, she then asked to hold the Etta Baker CD before putting it in the player. As she listened to the music, I asked her what it sounded like and she said, "like a guitar." Miss B then requested milk and turned the CD off again.

Miss B Not Enthralled by Aerosmith's "Pink" Album

2008-08-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

When Miss B pointed out the three CDs that she wanted at the library last week, her first request was for "the pink one," which turned out to be Aerosmith's "Just Push Play." I was kind of excited about this one, wondering what her reaction might be to a heavy rock album.

Well...her glee didn't extend much beyond the pink cover. When we first put the CD on she tapped her feet a bit and smiled at me. She listened for awhile and then asked, "This is Alice Cooper?" She smiled some more, rocked her feed a bit, then growled. She pointed her toe on the ground, pointed the other toe, patted her knee and danced in place a bit. She then turned down the volume, declaring, "I want Alice Cooper."

I tried to play Aerosmith again on another day and DJ B turned down the volume, then turned it off completely, saying, "No. No. No...No I don't like it!" before she physically removed the CD from the player.

Alice Cooper Looks Scary

2008-08-11T12:36:00.001-07:00

DJ B is getting a bit more precise when choosing her CDs from the public library. Back in the beginning, she would either just go for brightly colored spines or simply grab a bunch of CDs that were next to each other on the shelf. Last week, though, she carefully scanned the shelves and picked out three CDs from different sections that caught her eye based on the covers.

"Mascara & Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper," was the first album that she chose to listen to from her latest batch. After putting on the CD, Miss B's attention immediately turned to the brightly colored, photo-filled booklet, which Miss B calls a "mat" for some reason. As she looked through the booklet she asked, "Who's that?" When I said "Alice Cooper," she replied, "Look scary." She asked tons of questions about all of the pictures and then looked at the cover art and proclaimed, "they have noses." She then said, "I pretend" as she played some air guitar. Her next move was to run around the room, playing with a flying disc and soccer ball. Later she snuggled on the couch, yawned, then threw a tantrum.

We listened to the album multiple times that first day and waves of nostalgia came over me as I rocked out to classic hits like "School's Out," "No More Mr. Nice Guy," and my favorite "Clones (We're All)." Since we both became a little obsessed with this release, it's not surprising that Miss B kept asking for it. She said, "Where's Alice Cooper?" After putting on the music again, DJ B perused the booklet and informed me "This is Alice Cooper." She continued, "Looks scary. This is scary. Wanna see it?"

So this week my little Miss B learned the allure of the scary. Rock on, sister!

P.S. After writing this, I read that Vince Clarke's kid digs Alice Cooper too. According to San Jose Mercury's Baby Beats column author Yoshi Kato in his piece last month, "When interviewing techno-pop musician Vince Clarke - of Erasure, Yaz and Depeche Mode fame - I asked him what sort of music he and his 2 1/2-year-old son listen to together. He said they've been downloading a lot of '70s music. 'He really likes glam rock, the Sweet and Alice Cooper.'"

There you go. Every 2-year-old should give Alice Cooper a listen.

To the Sounds of Patti Scialfa, Miss B Channels Her Inner Snow Angel

2008-08-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

The third and final CD from Miss B's recent collection of public library finds was Patti Scialfa's "23rd Street Lullaby." When DJ B grabbed the CD to play she asked me, "What's this one?" When I replied, "Patti Scialfa," Miss B then said, "I like Patti LuPone." Wrong Patti! But, funny that she thought she liked the other Patti's CD, when I distinctly remember that her review was called "No, I don't want Patti LuPone!"

While listening to Ms. Scialfa (perhaps best known as Bruce Springsteen's lady love), Miss B sat on the arm of the couch and tapped her feet while guarding 2 remote controls. She grinned and then stood up on the couch. After returning to the floor, she asked me to "bounce," put her hands over her face and bowed her head a few times requesting that I do the same. She then got on her back, saying "like an angel" as she moved her arms and legs as if she was making a snow angel. Taking a break from that, she then sat down on the floor to play her toy piano.

A few days later we put this in the CD player again. This time DJ B turned down the volume pretty quickly saying, "I don't want it." She immediately issued an order to her father (coincidentally, the only Boss fan in the house), saying, "You turn it off, dada."

DJ B Dismisses another Jazz Lady

2008-08-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

Next up in DJ B's pile of CDs from the public library was Mabel Mercer's double CD "Once in a Blue Moon/Midnight at Mabel Mercer's." Initially Miss B wanted to check out CD2 ("Once in a Blue Moon"), but as soon as we played it, she said, "I want milk." After quenching her thirst, she asked me to dance with her, then said, "spin me around," before she sank into the couch to read some books. We listened to the classic 1950s jazz sounds of Ms. Mercer for awhile and then Miss B turned off the CD.

We tried CD1 ("Midnight at Mabel Mercer's") a few days later and Miss B just continued with her own business of reading books and not paying much attention to the music. Today when I tried yet again, she just told me flat out that she didn't want to hear it.

Coincidentally, the CD booklet includes an oddly similar review: "Make no mistake: she's not spectacular...you may not even appreciate her the first time around...her subtle brand of singing is an acquired taste" (quoting Victor Lownes III, from original liner notes to "Midnight at Mabel Mercer's").

DJ B couldn't have said it better herself.

Algerian Folk Doesn't Draw in DJ B

2008-08-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back DJ B picked up a new group of CDs from the public library. With all the live performances and promo CDs that we've been reviewing, it's been hard to keep up with our weekly random picks...but here we go.

The first of the three this time around was Souad Massi's "Honeysuckle." The French resident was born in Algeria and sings folk songs in Arabic.

Although I was quite interested to hear this album, Miss B didn't pay too much attention to it. Instead she wanted to play with her new Hello Kitty lunch bag, which she promptly filled with all three library CDs. She exclaimed "I love bugs," and then started to thumb through the liner notes. Her chatter then turned to the impending arrival of her beloved babysitter and Miss B informed me: "I don't want to go to bed."

I tried to play the CD again later, and again, I got no response other than the request to turn it off moments later.

The Blankies Teach Miss B a Lesson

2008-08-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Image from The Blankies website

With The Blankies' "Learn" album we reach the end of our first trio of promotional CDs. When Miss B saw the case, she pulled out the cover art and wanted to open it. She seemed disappointed that it was just once sheet (perhaps she was spoiled by the massive book in her Verdi CD?). She barely gave this a chance, saying "I want the other one" after only one song.

However, days later she was asking for "The Blankies," so leave it to Miss B to be entitled to her ever-changing opinion. As for me, I kind of liked the sweet poppy sounds and boy-girl vocals of the Blankies, and was reminded of the minimalism of classic K bands.

In addition to the educational lyrical content, this CD taught us another lesson when I went to listen to it this week. I popped it in the player and it started skipping on the first track. When I looked at the CD it was full of scratches, no doubt by my resident DJ B. This was a sobering reminder to me that, yes, indeed Miss B is still a 2-year-old DJ in training and we need to work on those "CD handling" lessons again. Can someone write a song about that, please?

I'm Totally Like Wow. Rock Daddy Rock

2008-08-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Image from Rock Daddy Rock website

The second CD in Miss B's first batch of promos was the just-released Rock Daddy Rock's "Silly Short Songs for Silly Short People." When DJ B saw the case she asked, "What's this one?" When I answered, she exclaimed, "Yes! Rock Daddy Rock." Upon initial listen she bounced her legs a bit and picked up the CD case for closer inspection. When we got to the second track ("Don't Hit, Don't Spit"), she began to creep slowly about the room, then transitioned into more elaborate dancing with jumps. During one song ("Where is the Bathroom?") she heard a toilet flushing and immediately laughed, saying, "It's funny flushes." She listened to this for a full 12 tracks, then took it out to play Teacher and the Rockbots again.

Although it wasn't Miss B's most favorite album this week, Rock Daddy Rock was a fun CD with hilarious lyrics about boogers, farts, burps, dirty nails and diapers. Plus, the '80s teen in me cracked up when I heard the phrase "I'm totally, like, wow" in the song "Your Room's a Mess."

If you liked the lyrics like I did, you'll be psyched to hear that a children's book based on this is in the works. According to the Rock Daddy Rock website, "The Rock Daddy Rock project started as a series of poems with the goal of publishing a children's picture book..."

Old Time Music at the Library

2008-07-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, there was more live music at our local San Francisco public library. The Knuckle Knockers, from San Francisco's Bernal Heights, played old time music to a packed room full of tots, kids, and adults. The 2 talented ladies sang tunes hearkening back to a simpler time in Appalachian country or on the farm. They talked to the kids about life 100 years ago, when families would entertain themselves with homemade music in the evenings, rather than plugging in to TV, iPods and cell phones.

Knuckle Knockers, July 2008

They talked a bit about the instruments, including the distinction between violin and fiddle (it depends on how it's played), the origin of the banjo (Africa) and guitar (Spain). Most fascinating of all were the questions from the preschoolers in the audience. One girl asked, "How could the rabbit be gone?," which led to a whole discussion about vegetarianism vs. rabbit eating on the farm for survival back in the day. Someone else asked, "What's inside the guitar?" to which another kid responded, "air." Who knew that the youngins' could be so insightful!

The music was amazing and Miss B seemed to enjoy herself, although the room was way to crowded for dancing. She did manage to bounce and sway in her seat, with the occasional hand clap when appropriate. When I asked her what the music sounded like, she said, "dirty nails." Hmmm. Sometimes I think she's just messing with me.

Punk Rock and Science a Winning Combo for DJ B

2008-07-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

Image from Teacher and the Rockbots

DJ B's music review pile is growing and growing, especially with the addition of 3 freebie CDs (her first!) that we got in the mail courtesy of musician/producer Chris Bihuniak. When we opened the package, Miss B was super excited and said, "Oooooo....CDs!" She then observed, "Oh, CDs have tape on them." This was a special treat since DJ B typically doesn't see new, wrapped CDs.

The first of the 3 CDs that caught Miss B's eye was the Teacher and the Rockbots "Science" album, full of educational songs about topics like the scientific method, human organs, and digestion. The lyrics are sassy and the music nods at the drama of punk rock and new wave.

After the music started, Miss B smiled at the robot voices and seemed mesmerized by what she heard. She said, "That CD has a mat." When I asked her what she thought of it, she said, "It has mats on it" and pointed at the case. Huh?

Later on she requested this album, saying, "I want rock." She then raced over to a promotional mouse pad that was on the carpet and danced in place, kind of like a pogo-ing New Waver on a crowded dance floor. She then got on her knees, patted her legs to the beat and screamed "yay!"

I agree, yipee for some fun music aimed at kids that makes me nostalgic for whimsical '90s rock bands like Man...or Astro-man? and Lookout! Records pop punk stalwarts Groovie Ghoulies and Mr. T Experience.

Even better, DJ's B's scientist grandpa will be pleased that she's listening to music that features a Thomas Edison shout out.

Crosspulse Rhythm Duo Delights with Toilet Plunger, Garden Shears and a Ukulele

2008-07-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

In addition to housing a glorious selection of CDs, our local branch of the San Francisco Public Library has been hosting quite a few music events this summer. On Thursday, DJ B and I popped in to see a performance by Oakland's Crosspulse Rhythm Duo. Trained percussionist Keith Terry and dancer/musician/Stairwell Sisters' member Evie Ladin delighted the kids by playing music on their bodies (lots of clapping, slapping, and stomping) and on unusual instruments like boxes, metal lids, large gardening shears, and a toilet plunger.

Crosspulse also played more recognizable instruments like bells, banjo, and ukulele (played by kid guest-star Rocco). Miss B clapped along with the music, hissed like a snake when asked to, and crawled on the floor to get a closer view of the musicians/dancers. During a Q&A with the audience there were many random comments, including one kid's pronouncement that, "When I grow up I'm going to be a movie star." Miss B didn't share with the band, but when I asked her what the music was like, she said, "Tinkerbell."

Crosspulse Rhythm Duo and Special Guest Rocco

Their lesson about embracing the sounds of ordinary objects rubbed off on Miss B, who immediately following the performance sang at the top of her lungs in the echo-filled library bathroom while banging her hands on the handicapped stall's metal grab bars. She definitely understood the joy of percussion.

DJ B Makes it to Her 5th CD and Curls up for a Nap

2008-07-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

At last, we've reached DJ B's 5th and final CD pick from that epic trip to the public library. Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "The Inflated Tear/Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata" is a 2004 release that puts together 2 albums from the late 1960s and early 1970s onto one massive 78 minute CD.

When DJ B put this jazz release into the CD player her first move was to put away the toy she was playing with. She placed a pillow on the floor, grabbed a blanket, removed her barrettes and snuggled on the floor with her hands clasped by her face and the blanket covering her, as if she was getting ready to go to sleep. She then took the CD case from me and stacked it on top of the others before opening it and removing the booklet to read. After perusing the liner notes she stuck them back into the case and retired to the floor for her faux nap. After hearing a few tracks she got up and played her toy piano for awhile, then danced.

When we reached track 11 ("Island Cry"), DJ B pointed at the CD and said "birds in music." And, indeed, according to the CD, "Rahsaan Roland Kirk plays tenor sax, stritch, manzello, B Flat & E Flat clarinets, flute, black puzzle flute, black mystery pipes, harmonium, piccolo bass drum, thundersheet, sock cymbal, bells, music box, palms, tyill pani, gong and applies the use of bird sounds." Wow.

For Miss B, this was another fine jazz release, just perfect for dancing and sleeping.

World Music Makes Miss B Dizzy

2008-07-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

Miss B's 4th pick from last week's trip to the library was Habib Koite & Bamada's "Ma Ya." Judging from the grimy CD case, tattered booklet, numerous "date due" stamps on the cover, and the old "7 day loan limit" sticker, this must be a public library visitor favorite. Practically as soon as we'd checked it out, there was a "hold request" placed on our copy by an eager fan dying to get his or her hands on this well-loved release.

Yet, within seconds of placing this in the CD player DJ B said, "I don't like this one," giving this album the lowest score of the week based on first impressions.

However, when Miss B sampled this again a few days later it was an entirely different story. She immediately started to dance, pointed her toe and played with her Michelin Man key chain. She smiled and twisted her body, saying "you dance" to her papa. They danced together to this lively world music and Miss B asked to be spun around until she exclaimed with glee, "I'm dizzy, daddy!" She then twirled around in circles making herself even dizzier as she embraced the thrill of childhood mind-alteration.

Miss B Busts a Move to Armenian Ballet Music

2008-07-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

We're still wading through the stack of 5 CDs from last week's library jaunt. Next up for DJ B was Aram Khachaturian's "Gayne" (Complete Ballet), conducted by Loris Tjeknavorian and featuring the National Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra.

The first time we put disc 1 of this double CD in the player, Miss B picked up her Hello Kitty umbrella and stretched up on one toe. She then put the umbrella upside down and touched the ground with it. Next she folded the umbrella and used it like a walking stick, tapping it on the floor as she walked across the room. Perhaps realizing that this is ballet music, DJ B then began to dance and smile, saying, "clap my hands" after she heard a tambourine-like sound coming from the speakers.

We listened again today before bedtime and I asked Miss B, "What does it sound like?" and she replied, "cauliflower music." Hmmm. She also said that her current favorite Verdi sounded like cauliflowers, so this Armenian ballet music must also be a winner. It did provide a nice soundtrack as exhausted DJ B drifted off to sleep in my arms.

7/28/08 UPDATE: This CD (aka "ballet music") is Miss B's new obsession. Last night she requested "ballet music" and after turning it on she donned her fairy princess skirt, danced, and played her tambourine.

DJ B's East Coast Counterpart's Experiments with Atonality, Bulgarian Clarinet and Steve Reich

2008-07-24T10:58:00.001-07:00

Today on the WNYC radio show Soundcheck there's a discussion about "Your Baby's Brain on Music," featuring Jeremy Eichler, who wrote the great piece in the Boston Globe "Can't Get it Out of My Head: A Father's Yearlong Quest to Grasp the Infant Musical Mind," in which he exposed his young son to a variety of more experimental music in order to see how the child reacted to music that's a bit more challenging than the typical toddler fare. Right on!

Jeremy writes:

"The more we listened through my own CD library, the more I wanted to toss Jonah's collection of 'baby music' in the trash. Of course, soon enough, my son will start making musical choices of his own, and who knows what will happen...

...after speaking with so many researchers, it also seems clear that we should never underestimate just how musically sensitive and discerning the infant brain can be. Or, as a Tanglewood usher once astutely observed as I was rushing to the parking lot after a concert with my tiny protégé wailing at the top of his lungs: 'Everyone's a critic.'"

He could have been writing about DJ B! Be sure to read the full article to find out how his little DJ dug Steve Reich, Bulgarian clarinet, and 17th-century madrigals.

Aloha (that's Hello and Goodbye) to Kohala

2008-07-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

Next up in Miss B's lineup of CD selections from last week's trip to the library was Kohala's "Deeper Blue." After we put this Hawaiian guitar music into the CD player, DJ B took a close look at the booklet and asked, "What's this one?" She picked up her Hello Kitty umbrella, opened it, and danced a bit with it over her head (perhaps in anticipation of a tropical storm?). After 2 minutes of listening, she said, "I don't want to keep this on" and headed off to the next CD, asking, "What's this one?"

Today she gravitated towards Kohala again and upon hearing it, she smiled at me and then stared off into space. Miss B then got distracted by a stack of DVDs, said "I want cookies," and turned her attention to some dumpster-divers outside our window. Ah, yes, urban living.

So, Kohala is a bit more intriguing to DJ B than Leo Kottke, but far less enticing than metal-seeking scavengers. Island sounds just can't compete with the noises of the big city.

Leo Kottke Can't Stop the Tears

2008-07-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

Last week Miss B pulled 5 CDs from the public library shelf, so we have our work cut out for us. Luckily, there wasn't much that held DJ B's interest, so the reviews will be quick. The first album that she requested was Leo Kottke's "Try and Stop Me." After putting it into the CD player Miss B closed the Hello Kitty umbrella that she was holding and then grabbed another CD to look at. Within seconds of hearing Kottke's guitar, she said, "I want that one...over there...this one instead" and we were off to the next selection.

We tried to listen to this again today, but Miss B was in full-on tantrum mode and could care less about Leo Kottke. Too bad, as I'd read some comparisons to John Fahey, which piqued my interest. On the other hand, I've also heard some new age associations, so perhaps Miss B knew what she was talking about when she skipped this one.

Miss B's Not Feeling the Mainstream Pop

2008-07-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

When I saw Miss B's third CD selection from the library this week, I cringed. I love the female voice and am a huge supporter of female artists, but the major label compilation "Women & Song s," just screamed cheese from its purple and pink album cover full of the faces of Cher, Jewel, Kelly Clarkson and Faith Hill.

On first listen, DJ B clapped her hands and danced a bit to the anthemic opening track by Christina Aguilera ("Beautiful"). She asked for her dress-up skirt, put it on, and continued to dance to the second song, Faith Hill's "Cry." She grabbed her headphones (I would too), pulled some books from her shelf and said, "I'm just reading some books." At this point she was oblivious to the music as she settled into her literature.

Yesterday we again listened to the CD after Miss B said, "I wanna do 'Women and Songs.'" She listened to the first 9 tracks, while sitting on her yoga mat perusing the liner notes.

Overall assessment: the mainstream pop ladies are simply providing background music for Miss B's book time.

No, I Don't Want Patti LuPone!

2008-07-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

The second CD that Miss B investigated this week was Patti LuPone's "The Lady with the Torch." After putting it in the CD player, DJ B danced and swirled for a few seconds, then stopped the CD like a time-crunched radio music director.

Yesterday she brought me the CD again and said, "How about this one?" She opened up the case, examined it and pulled out the liner notes. Thinking that she wanted to listen to the Patti LuPone, I stopped the CD that we were playing (the beloved Verdi). Clearly, I'd misunderstood, as DJ B said, "No. Keep it on."

Today, I again tried to play some Patti LuPone and after a few seconds Miss B said, "I want to turn it off." She kept requesting the Verdi album, calling it the "fancy one...the big one," perhaps because of its 90+ page booklet and large multiple CD packaging.

It's surprising to me that with her love for theatricality ("Guys and Dolls") and opera (Verdi), DJ B would dismiss this Broadway star's concert album full of pop standards.

She clearly did, proclaiming: "No, I don't want Patti LuPone."

Well, OK. Miss B has spoken.

Opera Music Brings out the Inner Ballerina in Miss B

2008-07-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

Last week Miss B picked 3 more CDs from the public library. The first one that she wanted to listen to was Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera," an opera in three acts from performances recorded in Milan, Italy in 1956 and 1957. Maria Callas is the star of this CD, and her visage stares off from the album cover and from within the pages of the extensive booklet included in this double CD set.

The first time DJ B put this in her boombox, she listened for less than a minute before stopping the CD and moving on to the next selection. Yesterday, we tried out the CD again and Miss B immediately left the room, saying, "I want pink shoes." She grabbed her baby doll, danced with her, then clasped her hands together while she smiled and did a slow spin, as I'd never seen before. Like a ballerina, Miss B swirled to the music in a much more controlled fashion than her typical dancing.

She turned to the booklet for the CD, saw a picture of Maria Callas and asked, "Who's that?" After she heard voices on one of the tracks she turned to me and said, "so that's her?" while pointing at a picture of Callas. She spent a lot of time studying the booklet while she listened. When I asked Miss B what the music sounded like, she said, "cauliflowers."

While listening she continued to do ballet and yoga moves, lifting a leg in the air while sitting on a yoga mat, then raising her leg while balancing the rest of her body on her toy piano. Today she danced some more to Verdi and said, "So that's Verdi," while pointing to the Callas picture.

As Miss B danced she said, "I like Verdi" and "I'm like Verdi." She was definitely feeling the music and channeling Ms. Callas.

Miss B disses the Barefoot Diva

2008-07-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

The third library selection from this most recent batch was Cesaria Evora's "Voz D'Amor." Jaded by her intense passion for "Guys and Dolls" (what could possibly compare?), on initial listen DJ B smiled politely for a few seconds before extracting Ms. Evora from the player, saying "I want Guys and Dolls." We tried it again a few days later and Miss B asked for milk, saying, "Turn it down and eat milk."

I'm thrilled that Miss B has been selecting a wide range of female artists, but it's a bummer when she's not giving some of them a fair shake. Whether I like it or not, it's becoming very clear that some music is just background noise for DJ B (classical and jazz in particular) and other music gets her up on her feet dancing for joy.

Maybe I shouldn't be super surprised at shoe-loving Miss B's reaction, though, as this Cape Verdean singer has the nickname "barefoot diva" on account of her shoe-less performances.

No to Classical Piano

2008-07-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

After her overwhelmingly positive response to "Guys and Dolls," DJ B wasn't very willing to give her other two new CD selections from the library a chance. I managed to get her to check out Alicia De Larrocha's "Favourite Spanish Encores," which to me is a beautiful release full of soothing piano music by this talented Spanish artist. Yet, Miss B only listened for about 10 seconds before she stopped the CD, declared, "I want Guys and Dolls," and handed me the CD to put away.

A few days later I offered up this album again and Miss B was game. Yet, she seemed distracted when we put it in the boombox and asked for "more cookies." She then asked to dance with me, saying, "I want to hold you and spin around." Then she stopped and said, "I'm thirsty. I want some milk." She wandered about the room, found the "Guys and Dolls" CD case, opened it to find it empty and asked, "Where's the Guys and Dolls CD?" We searched some more, found it, and she was again happy dancing wildly, saying "fly like a bat."

Unfortunately this week nothing can compete with "Guys and Dolls," even if it's gorgeous piano music played by a talented lady legend.

Luck be a Lady!

2008-07-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Last week Miss B was back in the saddle and happily picked three new CDs from the library. When we got home the first one that she wanted to check out was "Guys and Dolls: The Original Cast Album." She asked me, "What's this?" and I replied, "Guys and Dolls," to which she responded, "Ohhhh. Guys and Dolls."

From the opening notes Miss B was hooked. Her first response was to put on her silk fairy skirt and black patent leather shoes. With a huge grin on her face she said, "I'm like a fairy princess" as she spun around in circles to make herself dizzy. She then grabbed some rhinestone studded cat eye sunglasses and said, "I'm a fairy princess. I want my wand."

Ever since this first listen, DJ B has been reluctant to listen to anything else or do anything else. One day I asked, "do you want lunch?" and she answered, "No. I want to dance. Guys and Dolls. Guys and Dolls are coming to my house." We've probably heard the album nearly 100 times since it came home with us and each time Miss B dances feverishly the whole way through, doing her own version of musical theater.

Camper Van Beethoven and Children's Music

2008-07-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

(Photo Credit: http://chrismolla.fuzz.com/)

I'm extremely dubious about children's music, which is why the focus of this blog is the main CD section of the library and not the kids' section. I haven't found much kids' music that I like, so I'm most interested in introducing well-crafted adult music to DJ B. For that reason, we haven't hit very many children's music performances, either. I realize that we're missing out on a whole subculture, with artists like The Sippy Cups, Enzo Garcia, and Miss Kitty (who we have seen) wowing crowds in San Francisco on a regular basis.

Today, I set my music snobbery aside to check out the free music gig by Chris Molla at our local San Francisco Public Library branch. The room was packed with babies and tots, who seemed to enjoy the folky music played on guitar and accordion. Chris engaged the crowd, asking for color suggestions for one song where he seemed to improvise rhymes on the spot, based on the color. He told us that the orange/door hinge rhyme credit was courtesy of a 6-year-old. Miss B kept her colors to herself and was reluctant to get up and dance, but she did smile throughout the show.

Afterwards the librarian told me that Chris Molla was a founding member of indie band/college radio staple Camper Van Beethoven. And, now, he's a preschool music guru playing at a library near you!

The moral of the story is I'll have to give kid-oriented music a second look now, as sometimes it comes with some pretty cool credentials.