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

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.

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!"

Lead Belly Makes Miss B Think about Pizza

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?

Etta Baker Gives Miss B the Blues

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.