All Seussical All the Time for DJ B

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."

Latin Pop in DJ B's Jail Garden

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.

The Dearly Departed Teen Girl Group Huckapoo Speaks to DJ B

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.

Ballet and Princesses Rule for DJ B

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.

Miss B Dances the Nutcracker

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

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!"

Curtis Mayfield a Compelling Listen During Election Week

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

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

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!"

Miss B Gets an Early Start on Christmas (Again)

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?

Canto-Pop Whips Miss B into a Frenzy

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.

Miss B Enjoys the Wild Percussion of 12 Girls Band

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.

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

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.

Miss B Busts a Move to Armenian Ballet Music

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.

Opera Music Brings out the Inner Ballerina in Miss B

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.

Luck be a Lady!

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.

And the winner is...a Lady!

Miss B's third and final musical selection from her most recent library trip was "the Best of Anita Baker." When DJ B popped this CD into her boombox she immediately said, "I want to turn it loud. Wanna dance with me?" She asked, "What is this?" and I told her "Anita Baker," which she repeated for me. We danced for a little while, then she asked for the Christmas CD (from her previous library visit). I swapped the CDs in the player, but then a short time later she said, "I want the mama music. The dancing one." I asked her, "Anita Baker?" And Miss B replied, "Anita Baker."

Since then, she's been listening to Anita Baker pretty much non-stop and playing it very loud. Last night a babysitter came over to hang with Miss B and when my husband and I came home from our date, DJ B was asleep in her room with Anita Baker blaring from the boombox. In moments like that, I'm not sure if I agree with Rhino's description of her sound as "quiet storm R&B," but apparently for Miss B it is an album full of both dancing music and lullabyes.

Who Doesn't Love Christmas Music in June?

While she was contemplating the possibilities on the shelf during her first music "shopping" trip at the library, Miss B pointed at this CD and said to me, "I want the red one." So, we checked this one out and when we got home realized it was Michael Crawford's "A Christmas Album." From the second she put this in her boombox, this became Miss B's overwhelming favorite of all the CDs that she checked out that first week.

On a daily basis she's been requesting "Christmas music." In preparing to write this blog I asked her,"What are your favorite CDs?" and she replied, "Christmas."

One day she also asked to look at her "Christmas book" while listening to the CD for nap time. In case you would like to embrace the season like Miss B, her book recommendation is DK's "My First Christmas Board Book."

Although this is Miss B's favorite release of the week, it's definitely my least favorite. But, until I'm able to sneak this CD out of the house, DJ B will be enjoying her holiday soundtrack, counting down the days until Christmas.