A Musical Message to My Son
 

Lately, as I've been working, nutman jr. aka the inchling, will hear a song I'm listening to and say "that's great. Will you burn me a cd of that?"

I've been compiling a playlist for him of his favorites and some classics that I think should be a part of everyone's musical upbringing.

So far he's chosen

Ravel's Bolero
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
Oliver Nelson's Hoe Down
The Wreck of the Ella Fitzgerald (family joke)

I've put in
Embryonic Journey
I Have the Touch

But it got me to thinking of what 100 songs do you think are essential if you were to make a list.

It would be great if this thread could be added to as you think of songs over time rather than trying to come up with a top 100 list right away. Or even a top 40. I think some things are slow to be revealed.

Wait now, are these the songs we want them to take some sort of important cultural impact from, or the songs that they choose?

Because right now Minifob is choosing "I Gotta Feeling" about 15 times a day.

I think every compilation Ive ever made has had this in it.

fly on..... little jinx

This list is what we want them to know, the classics, if you will.

Putting together such a list for your son is a great idea.

Here are two that have been important in my life.

My 1st suggestion is: "Malaguena"...
Almost any artist will do... even Liberace's was almost bearable.


My 2nd suggestion "Strange Fruit", may need some parental guidance.
But it was an important and classic piece of the civil rights movement.
I heard Josh White perform it in a tiny St Louis bar in 1962.

"Strange Fruit"... No other performer can do it justice.

I can think of two reasons for nominating a song. Either it is an awesome piece of music that they're bound to like, or the song is a significant cultural icon that every well-educated person should be aware of because it is frequently referenced in other creative works.
I'll throw Stairway to Heaven in as one that passes both reasons.

Right you are, Zen.

Roy Orbison - Crying
Paul Simon - Graceland
The Holllies - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
Beatles - Please Please Me
Beatles - Let It Be
Beatles - Hey Jude
Beatles - Something
Beatles - Hello Goodbye
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
Cat Stevens - Father and Son
James Brown - I Feel Good
Pink Floyd - Money
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien
Simon and Garfunkle - Bridge Over Troubled Water
U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love)

Once again, UT our musical tastes run on the same track. I just burned a copy of Abbey Road for him the other day. Found him mesmerized by Joan Armatrading's first album.

I'd add (because he requested it when we were discussing "call and response") James Brown 'I'm a Greedy Man'

@ Lamp, I've heard Nina Simone's version of Strange Fruit, but I really like the one you posted.

@agreeing w/ Zen

He loves the Blackeyed peas doing "Pump IT"

Hendrix might need his own subset, it's hard to choose.

There might be consideration given to jazz and blues standards, if you want the kid to be deep.

I was just about to post this:

He was named after Louis Armstrong, though people think he was named after Lance Armstrong.

At the very least you should have Take 5, So What, and Night in Tunisia for Jazz.

For the most part, I've let my kids go with whatever they like. But there are some movies and songs that I insist they see/listen to at least once. People will assume that by the time you get to a certain age, you will be aware of certain works.

Metallica Fade to Black
Joni Mitchell - Circle game
Soft Cell- Tainted Love
Violent Femmes- Blister in the Sun
Led Zeppelin- full body of work
Jimi Hendrix- Red House


....I could easily do all 100

Violent femmes cover of "Do you really want to hurt me?"

Go with Watchtower. Dylan/Hendrix combo covers a lot of ground.

You should perhaps consider some Who, Dead, Tom Petty and Yes ...

Watchtower is one of those songs where the songwriter (Dylan) didn't really understand the song he wrote, then another performer comes along and does it justice.

As my shaman friend puts it, The creative person's job is to be a clear conduit for the creative spirit, not coloring or filtering the transmission with their own "stuff" (for want of another term.) Dylan was the clear conduit for the song's writing, and Hendrix was the clear conduit for its performance.

Another example off the top of my head is Richard Thompson's Vincent Black Lightning. The Del McCoury band performs it so much better than Thompson.

Again, this phenomenon of the cover being more massive that the original deserves its own compilation.

I'll supply a foreigner's viewpoint.

Gotta have some Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights.
(along those lines also some Tori Amos - you could include her version of Smells Like Teen Spirit and kill two birds with one song)

On the basis of broadening his mind and including music people elsewhere in the world enjoy, I suggest an Abba track. Waterloo is arguably their most recognised.
And along those lines Weather With You by Crowded House - I'm a fan personally, but sales of Woodface were HUGE in the early 90s so it does invoke a specific timeframe for many people.

Oh and some Pet Shop Boys. In Suburbia is a great song of its time. If you prefer a cover then Always On My Mind.
Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl - always a dance floor filler and used in numerous films/ adverts.

I don't know if Madness were ever known over there, but it's great ska-lite. Welcome to the House of Fun, Baggy Trousers or It Must Be Love.
And along those lines The Specials - Ghost Town. Another great song from a time when city life was going from bad to worse.
Two other great songs of that era - The Jam's A Town Called Malice and The Stranglers' Golden Brown.
And talking of heroin chic, you've gotta have some Lou Reed... but I'm going back across the pond now.

And some Simon & Garfunkel (I know Paul Simon has already been suggested on his own merits) because of their glorious harmonies - The Boxer, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Feeling Groovy, Homeward Bound or Cecilia are all wonderful examples.

Great ones SG - I totally forgot Van Morrison and S & G.

"It Must Be Love" and "Our House" were both hits over here. I went through a brief but intense fangirl phase for Madness, so I have all of their albums up through about 2000 or so. "Wings of a Dove" has always been one of my favorites.

Don't forget this

Jefferson Airplane - I'd suggest Somebody to Love and Plastic Fantastic Lover the live version.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young - Teach Your Children or perhaps Ohio

I'm not interested in the more mainstream hits but more of awesome B sides. Like with Jefferson Airplane I put Embryonic Journey, even though the ones you mentioned are awesome, I'm shooting for something subtler. And SG, Van Morrison's Into the Mystic is the one that made the cut, despite how great the others are. Kate bush is of course and Smells Like Tori Amos is another great one.
CSN I'm leaning towards Cathedral, but there are so many, maybe Southern Cross.

And The Cramps: Human Fly

There are many classical pieces that one should know.
Beethoven's 5th - and what it is about - and maybe 9th.
Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries.
He should know the proper name for the Lone Ranger music ;)
Carmina Burana
Brahms Hungarian Dance no 5

Oh and Dave Brubeck Take Five - what is it with the fives? :)

The fives go up to eleven. ;)

Is your boy immune to the Pixies?


and Lou Reed. Hmmm... Junkies nailed the tune if you're partial...

Maybe gigantic for the Pixies?

The musical education of my children is something I put a great deal of thought into. I have been thinking about this thread...

I have undertaken a HUGE musical project: ripping our 1000+ disc collection to 320kbps MP3s. That means, as a general estimate, on a 700mb disc, I can put 60 5-minute songs.

I have been able to fill up whole discs with themes, such as romantic, or "love" songs...but the ultimate "60 most important songs my children need to know by heart" is a project that will be long in the making. I have been making a series of decidedly imperfect discs. It helps that our minivan not only reads MP3s, but has a 6-disc changer.

Many thoughts fill my head. Primarily that children need to deeply understand the musical heritage of at least the two preceding generations, in order to function as a musically intelligent citizen (or, maybe, musician). Also, there is the element of nostalgia--that is, I want them to know the songs that I have loved. On this point, I believe there is a genetic factor. That is to say, whereas my children have enjoyed the same music that I do, I believe that our brains may be "wired" to respond favorably to certain musical elements. In that regard, it is my goal to introduce them to some musical stepping stones that may pique their curiosity.

I read with great interest and appreciation the suggestions that have been made here, and plan to share my own--as soon as I begin to be able to produce an approx. 60-song mix that meets the "musical education" criteria.

Only two generations?

I'm thinking like a musician when I say that. What I mean is, don't just learn the stuff that was cool when you were a kid, or the stuff that was cool when the guys who were playing when you were a kid were kids, but (at least) learn the stuff that the guys who were playing when you were a kid were listening to when THEY were kids.

And you should be okay then. It's a cumulative absorption by each generation, so if you get a few layers in, you're getting deep enough in.

See, the guys who were playing when the guys who were playing when you were a kid were kids were listening the guys who were playing when the guys who were playing when THEY were a kid were kids. And on down the line.

If you understand your generations' and your father's generations' and your grandfather's generations' music, then you are pretty well covered (back to your grandfather's grandfathers' generations' music and THEIR grandfathers' grandfathers' generations' music, and so on and so forth), unless EVERYONE was dropping the ball.

OK, I'm thinking a generation in 20 years.

My mother has been a visual artist/craftsperson since well before my birth, but I was never all that visually oriented. I just wanted to make noise. If I had nothing else, I would beat on an upside-down box. That turned me into a drummer in 3rd grade, and getting official music instruction a year earlier than all the other kids.

So, what if your children turn out to be more visually oriented and not so musical? You give them a box to beat on, and they draw on it?

BTW I'm adding the opera Carmen to the list, and for a musical, The Music Man. These are personal preferences because they were what I listened to when I was toddling. One might certainly be more inclined to include Rogers and Hammerstein but I'll wager the schools are still teaching The Sound of Music.

I'd have to say Man of LaMancha.

Guys and Dolls

UT...That's a good point. In my case, I was a visual artist first, and I try to introduce them to the concepts of both disciplines. As well as the craft of using words, and just plain exercising your imagination--thinking and relating to the world in novel ways. These are all just parts of "being a person" to me. We try to expose them to everything so they have options as to what direction they will go...which is ultimately going to be based on their own inner guidance.




Bruce, as I think about it, my statement is confusing in the context of this thread. What I meant was: being aware that Steve Smith studied Tony Williams who studied Philly Jo Jones is how you become aware of your place in musical history and where we are today and how we got here.

Here is a "one song by each artist" CD I made last night. 78 tracks of 320kbps MP3s.
From Classical through Jazz, R & B, Country & Western, "Oldies" and up to "Classic" Rock.

Thats a great list...I want.

Yeah I figured that what you were after. It certainly makes sense to clue them in to music as a progression that builds on the past. I just stumbled over generation because I'm dumb. :blush:

Does this sort of musical education cover famous themes? I'm thinking of the themes from Jaws and Dragnet and such, and other really famous themes that are referenced in other situations (like how my Thai tour guide had his mobile ring tone as the Bridge on the River Kwai Theme :lol: ).

Good point. Yes, it should.

You can have all this and more for practically FREE, at Swap a CD. Currently I've got 15 of my CDs mailing out, and 36 more I'm mailing tomorrow. I've just received 5 albums, have 5 more in the mail to me, and 18 more that will be shipping soon.

It's very simple: you post a CD you have, somebody requests it. You mail it, and when they receieve it, you get 1 credit. That credit is good to request an album YOU want. That CD is mailed to you. It's a very easy to use web interface that prints the mailing label and everything.

I have 5 storage tubs full of CDs that will all be going on this site, so if you want them, join up and be diligent about your requests.

Sounds like a great idea. I might have a few CD's I can part with.

Dear Flint

I applaud your choice to include of Wipeout in your collection. I do take issue with the artist you've selected for that classic. The song was done originally and best by The Surfaris. If you have a copy of that version, I suggest you add that one instead. If you don't have a copy of that version, please pm me.

On a related note, I would suggest other songs from this genre that are as good or better. Miserlou by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. Pipeline by The Chantays. Mr. Moto by The Bel-Airs. Walk, Don't Run by the Ventures. These are all worthy.

Thanks for the suggestions. As you've correctly noted, this is a collection of songs I actually possess in my own personal collection, not a theoretical "perfect" compilation.

I definitely need to get hold of some surf guitar. Easy enough, I'll just request some on Swap a CD, and it will magically appear in my mailbox!

Any other weak points you see, please point them out. I've already found some pretty glaring holes in a 1000+ disc collection.

Didn't have any Seals & Croft, CCR, Roy Orbison, Commodores, and the list goes on...

How do you all feel about the music your parents introduced you to? Just asking, because I hate almost everything I was ever forced to listed to as a kid, especially the stuff my parnets told me was good or "a classic"...... but then maybe my parents just had crap taste and all y'all's kids are lucky.....

My parents introduced me to classical music - that's about it. Some was amazing some sucked.

Most everythign my dad introduced me to I liked, mainly because he let me form my own opinion and he helped me understand what was going on with the music. We'd listen to the Midnight Special, a radio show, and it felt like we were both discovering things at the same time. e.g. Laurie Anderson's Big Science.

Our tastes diverged at Opera, still not a big fan besides G&S.

Great. My father played guitar, my maternal grandmother played guitar, and my brother plays guitar. I play drums. We're a musical family, we have good taste. My kids love the music I play for them. I suspect, as per my theory of genetics above, that they love it because I love it.

My 78-song compliation from earlier in the thread was from August. I'm working on a sequel or possibly just a multi-disc set encompassing the earlier material and adding to it.

I beg to differ.

Without Billie Holliday the piece might not have come down to us in the form we recognize today.
Who knows, we might not have even heard of it in these more recent times.
So we do owe a lot to her. It's an important contribution.

SM, if you like her version better that's really great... Pass it on.