So I know we haven’t had a Circle Time Saturday in oh, I don’t know, forever, but I’m inconsistent and unreliable and that’s pretty much all there is to say about that. Anyway, I had to share this song with you all because it is, apparently, a miracle song. And it’s Circle Time, and that’s what we do at Circle Time: share. But don’t forget the rules:
Circle Time Rules
Anyway, many moons ago, when Georgia was just a few months old, she was screaming in the carseat. Not new. What was new, though, was the song that came on my Ipod. It was “Perfect Timing” by the Drive-By Truckers. Almost as soon as it started, the baby stopped crying. She just stopped.
When it was over, she cried again. So obviously we replayed it twenty-seven times and deemed it her “favorite” song. The next time she cried, the kids started wailing to put on her “favorite song,” and I did, and it worked. To this day, I tell you, this song pretty much always soothes her. We hear it a lot. Occasionally she’s pissed enough that no amount of the alt-country-miracle-song can please her, but most of the time, this song works. It’s actually a little weird. Thank God it’s a damn good song.
Okay now you share: do your kids dig any music? Do you dig any music? Come on people, share. SHARE damnit SHARE. It’s Circle Time. Everybody at Circle Time SHARES!!! If you don’t share you’re never getting invited back to the circle and everybody will hate you. (You see. This is why I’m not a kindergarten teacher.)
Lynsey Summers
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 10:06My kids quiet to Natalia Kill feat. WILL.I.AM ‘I’m Free’ or ‘The Shopping Song’ as they call it. Thank god for that song. But my dear, I am sick of it! LOL
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:37I better check that out. I have so little contact with current music. I’m such.a.geek.
Laurie
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 11:02My kids love They Might Be Giants. My now-7.5 yo. LOVED them when he was really little, so much that we took videos of him and his now-9 yo brother performing some of their songs. Do a search on Youtube for TMBG and Djsnookums (my husband’s really silly youtube name) when you have some free time (ha!) and you’ll see them in all their cuteness.
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:38I’m going to check it out – thanks for the link.
Brandon Gallawa
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 11:08Our girls love The Beatles. Mostly early pop-inspired Beatles like I Wanna Hold Your Hand and She Loves You but also Blackbird and Here Comes the Sun. Which means of course that they have good taste. Or that Lennon and McCartney are such geniuses that they get them while they’re infants.
I also made them their own playlist, so I hope that the love the songs off that. They seemed to be fond of The Galway Girl (although that just may be me projecting onto them).
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:39How rad is it that you made them their own playlist? What a good dad. And the Beatles? PERFECT. Never considered it (i’m slow), but I’m going to increase them around here. Cheers.
Char Klassen
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 12:03We have a local musician friend named Tyson Wright who my boys request quite regularly. It’s mostly electric guitar rock instrumental, but there’s one song where Tyson yells, “Rock n Roll!”. That’s the one they love.
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:40Yep. My kids always love the rockin’ songs. They love Mick Jagger’s “It’s only rock n roll but I like it…” Natural rockin’ bone our kids have, I guess. 🙂
Summer K.
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 15:21My 7 month old calms down when he hear mellow country music, especially if his daddy is singing it. I can’t really of a particular song though, except for “The Shade” by Joe Nichols.
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:40Ahhhh, Joe Nichols. Nice.
Julie
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 16:06My kid likes music, any kind. He’ll chill to anything from hard rock to the Glee soundtrack!
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:41Eclectic tastes. Always a good thing. By the way, recently started watching Glee on Netflix. That show is FUNNY. And I like the cheese ball music scenes. They make me happy.
Lisa
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 16:17Yes when my little girl was very small and colicky, sometimes a good dose of the Grateful Dead could do wonders. . . . especially “Ripple” (yes she also has good taste). Sometimes the Beatles or even a little Johnny Cash. Don’t ask me why but I think she liked his handsome gravelly voice as much as I do. And for me singing to her, especially if she was tired or not feeling good, it had to be the “Hush little baby” song (you know, the Mockingbird). And if I stopped before she was asleep or fully soothed. . . you guessed it, scream-o! So now I can sing that song forwards and backwards in my sleep. Now that she’s a little older, in the day-to-day she seems to like some of the heavier stuff (rock/alternative) and 60’s folk music I listen to but if she’s fussy a little Jack Johnson or our good old friends the Grateful Dead. They (almost) never let us down. Oh yeah and friend made us a CD of songs by Jesse Colin Young, one song on there is called “Julie’s song” he wrote it for his daughter when she was small. It’s VERY soothing and she loves that one.
There, I shared. And without hitting OR screaming!!!
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:44Good sharing.
And I think I love you. You play the Dead for your kids. Therefore, we shall be lovers.
Ripple has been an all-time classic around these parts, and it was THE SOOTHING song for Ava and Rocket, and their mama. How does anything get so good? HOW I ASK YOU HOW?
I miss Jerry.
Ripple was the first song that ever made me cry. I was 14 years old listening to American Beauty by myself in my bedroom and that song came on. I walked over to the CD player and rested my forehead against it, shocked that I was experiencing something so beautiful. I had grown up listening to the dead, but I never really HEARD it until then, know what I mean?
Wish the man was still around.
Next weekend we’re going to see Further in Monterey. Not Jerry, but still good.
Jennifer
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 16:18Anything, anything, anything by Johnny Cash. Hands down favorite. Oh, and a little Michael Franti and Spearhead followed by The Steve Miller Band.
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:49Johnny Cash. His voice haunts me. I was just listening to him the other day, thinking “How do you do it, Man?” You’re so good.
tiffany
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 18:31My 14 month old loves “Party Rock Anthem”. Its in our bones now – We shuffle everyday.
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:49I believe I MAY have seen a video of your little one rocking out to that, and I MAY have turned it on immediately for my offspring, in honor of her. We love you.
Erin
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 19:24My kids love some songs by Social Distortion and Violent Femmes…they love that new Maroon 5 song, Moves like Jagger, and Foster the People…and my daughter’s new favorite female singer is Avril Lavigne!
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:50Violent Femmes. I remember them. I saw them when I was 15, at least I think I did. At least I was AT the concert. In body.
Lysa
Saturday, 17 September, 2011 at 21:00Just about any folk music but especially Peter, Paul and Mary. And the Curious George SOundtrack. Thankfully Jack Johnson’s music makes me feel good, too, since I’ve had to listen to it a bazillion times in the last 5 years…
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:51Yeah, it’s amazing how much my older kids love old-time folk as well. They love the story-telling – always ask me about it. It’s cool. I feel that I’m giving them a bit of culture and American history, ya know?
Motpg
Sunday, 18 September, 2011 at 6:13My daughters and I are all music lovers and we share our finds with each other. All different types. As for when they were little, we put our oldest to bed with Bob Marley music for years. Worked like a charm. When she was about 5 she was obsessed with Phil Collins’, ‘I can’t Dance’, Still cracks me up.
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 8:52HAHAHAHAHHA! Phil Collins. Thanks for that. CLASSIC.
Shan
Sunday, 18 September, 2011 at 11:27Madelyn has become quite the Gary Moore connoisseur (I *knew* there was an “i” in there somewhere, tgfspellcheck). As soon as she’s in Tom’s car she wants to hear “the Gary music,” but only certain songs. I learned yesterday that the wimpy ballad on one CD is just not acceptable. In my car it’s all about Barenaked Ladies’ CD, “Snacktime.”
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 9:40The “wimpy ballad”. I know Madelyn and I would be friends. As would YOU and I, if you didn’t live in that distant country of southern California. 🙂
Sara
Sunday, 18 September, 2011 at 17:42Bugaboo is a huge fan of the theme song to the Big Bang Theory. he will stop whatever he is doing to listen too it, then claps and laughs. they have a full length version of it, and we may have played it on loop a few times….
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 9:41Uh, I’m going to have to look that one up. Sounds good, though. 🙂
kim
Sunday, 18 September, 2011 at 18:51The gaggle likes The Bieber. I know he has your seal of approval.
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 9:41Indeed. The Biebs.
hogsatemysister
Sunday, 18 September, 2011 at 20:52That’s an amazing discovery. But I never could have used it to soothe our crying baby 22 years ago. My Chinese wife would have thrown herself under a bus. She loathes “hilly billy” music. But still…
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 9:42This cracked me up. Hilly billy music. Pretty accurate, really.
Carrie
Thursday, 22 September, 2011 at 14:02My kids are fans of The Bastard Bearded Irishmen, which is a local Pittsburgh band. So yeah, their favorite song is a drinking song called “Drink’em Drank’em Drunk’em.” Freakin’ Mother of the Year right here.
renegademama
Tuesday, 27 September, 2011 at 9:43You are my.kinda.people.
The Dropkick Murphys, always a hit around here as well.
Also, the Devil Makes Three, who sing a song about Jack Daniels. “Thank you, Jack Daniels, Old Number Seven, Tennessee Whiskey got me drinkin’ in heaven…” And my kids sing it INCESSANTLY, usually around their teachers, or preppy acquaintances. The worst part? I’m kinda proud.
Did I mention i love you?
anne
Monday, 27 February, 2012 at 19:35my boy has always liked “Shake Your Bootie” by KC and the Sunshine Band. I get no street cred for this, but it is awesome to see him get all happy and start shimmying