So I love kid's music, not all of it, but the really good stuff (a lot of it is pretty grating on the ears). I've worked in three different toy stores as well as having been a camp counselor on several occasions so I've probably listened to way more children's music than most people my age. My favorite stuff though, comes from regular grown up musicians like Barenaked Ladies and They Might Be Giants, as well as musical off-the-wall cartoon stuff like Animaniacs. So here are a few people who I would love to have record a kid's album
Eddie IzzardI've been a huge Eddie Izzard fan since I saw his comedy special Dressed to Kill on HBO back in high school. My friends and I quoted that show for years, and still do on occasion. He has a great stage presence and his humor is very smart, which is always refreshing. And after having seen his performance of 'Benefit of Mr. Kite' in Across the Universe, I realized he totally has the potential to do more musical stuff. I think an Izzard album for kids would be fun, energetic, educational and total wacky. It would be fabulous.
Ellen DegeneresI'm really happy that Ellen has become as successful as she has, mainly because I really enjoy her comedy (she's hilarious without having to be dirty or provocative) and I love the fact that an openly gay lady has a wildly popular daytime talk show. So yeah, I think she's great. I'm not so sure about her singing abilities, but she performed 'Shoop' by Salt n'Peppa, and that was pretty great. Plus, kids know her from Finding Nemo, so they'd already be on board.
Richard CheeseI didn't know anything about this guy until I saw Zach Synder's remake of Dawn of the Dead which contained that fabulous cover of 'Down with the Sickness.' I then had to go out and download every song I could find by Richard Cheese and I was totally hooked. He has the ability to take songs I either don't like or find boring and make them super fun. I have a feeling that if challenged to do the same thing to traditional children's music, the results would be phenomenal.
WeezerI'm not a huge Weezer fan or anything, but I really like the singles they put out and they seem to be a fun type of group. One of the reasons I really like the albums from Barenaked Ladies and They Might Be Giants is they're not children's artists. It doesn't feel like they're pandering or playing simplified music; they do what they're best at, and just slightly change the sound and use fun, kid-friendly lyrics. I think Weezer would do the same thing, and it would be something that kids would love, and parents wouldn't want to rip their ears off. And really all kid's music should be that way.
So if any of you have any connections, drop some hints. Maybe we can get more fun, educational, zany tunes out there.
