Shake your diapered booty: a track list for toddlers

I have a couple of kids music CDs.  They are still in their plastic wrappers.  We listen to a lot of music around here, but none of it would be tagged "Kids" in iTunes.  

My Bean likes best when her Daddy plays his guitar, but she's pretty happy with recorded tunes, too. She was pretty excited to discover those little black boxes we always have in our hands (see photo above) also make music.  

She's partial to music with a beat.  She likes vocals with passion.  She likes it when her mama sings along.  And she loves it when one of us picks her up and dances around the room with her.

She's been dancing since she was able to stand up.  Her response to the question, "Do you want some music?" is to wiggle her body. She now signs "more" and then wiggles when she wants me to turn on the house soundtrack.  Like when she's eating breakfast.  Or coloring.  I came up behind her a few days ago just after turning on the stereo and found her balanced at the coffee table, feeling the music.  Hip, hip, shoulder swoop, bounce bounce bounce. She didn't know I was there and continued grooving while I stood there with a lump of love in my throat, grinning like a goon.

Bean's Bets for Booty Bumping

• Bob Marley's Legend. But really, who doesn't love this album?
• Dave Matthews, especially the album Crash.  She likes the live albums, too, and will stop whatever she's doing to clap along with the audience between tracks.
• Ray LaMontagne's latest album God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise.  We both like the track Repo Man best on this album.
• The first four tracks on Bonnie Raitt & Friends.
• Old Ani DiFranco albums.  Because she's my daughter.  Probably because she heard so much Ani while still in the womb.
• The funkier of Sean Hayes' songs like Dolores Guerrero and Feel Good.  
• Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits.  This album is summertime to me. It requires throwing open all the doors and windows and sitting out on the back deck, barefoot and drinking iced sun tea. We were visiting someone last weekend at a vacation resort and The Joker was playing a couple of doors down. Bean wiggled and wiggled until her father set her on the ground, where she immediately started dancing.  

Lullabies and Wind-Down Tracks (as recommended by Mama)

• Two albums are in the CD changer in my car and never come out: Chris Pureka's Dryland and Deb Talan's A Bird Flies Out. Both of these would put her right to sleep when she was younger and I resorted often to the car when she wouldn't nap.
• Mozart's Requiem, as performed by The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. 
• The album Good Night, Baby has only three tracks, but they are long.  They are very relaxing instrumental music, mixed with ambient sounds including a heartbeat and rainfall.  Awesome any time she's having trouble settling down into sleep.

What is your favorite music to listen to with your little one?  What music do you like that is actually kid's music?

Comments

[Nikki Gamon]

The only kids music we ever listened to was the soundtracks to Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Disney had some clever songwriters for a minute in the early 90's. Other than that it was a steady diet of U2, Beastie Boys, etc when AshLee was little.

[Alecia @ Hoobing Family Adventures]

I think we have very similar taste in music. I love Ani and Dave Matthews and Belén listed to a lot of Bob Marley in the womb. Great suggestions, we can always use more music around here. Belén loves the Beach Boys Pandora station right now.