Daniel has a great article on a disease that has plagued parents now for a few years: Kidz Bop.
In the dictionary of my mind, here's what I pull up with 'Kidz Bop':
noun. blog fodder.
1) CD compilation series that features remakes of popular tunes of the day featuring adults and children singing together. 2) Reportedly each volume sells a lot of copies, thus giving off the notion that there is an audience that wants more volumes. 3) Induces eye-rolling with people of all ages, including children.
My guess is that these compilations are put together to appeal to both parents and kids or just kids. My feeling is that there is a great misunderstanding here: when you have out-of-tune young kids singing about very adult-oriented things (from frank sexual innuendo to transcendentalism), you really have to wonder if these kids are being taken for a ride. Hear me out: I think music should be for anybody, but rehasing it isn't best in the long run.
Just like how remakes of timeless movies don't hold up, hearing wimpy retreads of Top 40 songs on Kidz Bop is a test of patience. Thinking about this stuff makes me get out my Carpenter's greatest hits collection and put on "Sing." The track, featuring the warm sounds of Karen Carpenter's voice, Richard Carpenter's orchestration and a choir of young children, still brings a smile to my face. Its lyrics are simple and universal: "sing/sing a song/sing out loud" and so on. Whether or not you like the song, it still holds up.
I know this stuff isn't rocket science or cutting edge music, but when people are convinced that repackaging defanged versions of songs is good, you're sadly mistaken. Yeah, I know I'm out of my element here because I'm not a parent and I "just don't understand what kids are into these days." Well, there are parts of me that still think like a kid and I notice a lot of recurring patterns in all sorts of generations. Just like how I don't pull out my Chipmunks records to hear their version of "Jessie's Girl," I doubt kids will be jonesing to the Kidz Bop version of Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" when they get older. Sure, Kidz Bop may be an introduction to future music hounds, but I think there are better introductions to the power of music out there.
In the dictionary of my mind, here's what I pull up with 'Kidz Bop':
noun. blog fodder.
1) CD compilation series that features remakes of popular tunes of the day featuring adults and children singing together. 2) Reportedly each volume sells a lot of copies, thus giving off the notion that there is an audience that wants more volumes. 3) Induces eye-rolling with people of all ages, including children.
My guess is that these compilations are put together to appeal to both parents and kids or just kids. My feeling is that there is a great misunderstanding here: when you have out-of-tune young kids singing about very adult-oriented things (from frank sexual innuendo to transcendentalism), you really have to wonder if these kids are being taken for a ride. Hear me out: I think music should be for anybody, but rehasing it isn't best in the long run.
Just like how remakes of timeless movies don't hold up, hearing wimpy retreads of Top 40 songs on Kidz Bop is a test of patience. Thinking about this stuff makes me get out my Carpenter's greatest hits collection and put on "Sing." The track, featuring the warm sounds of Karen Carpenter's voice, Richard Carpenter's orchestration and a choir of young children, still brings a smile to my face. Its lyrics are simple and universal: "sing/sing a song/sing out loud" and so on. Whether or not you like the song, it still holds up.
I know this stuff isn't rocket science or cutting edge music, but when people are convinced that repackaging defanged versions of songs is good, you're sadly mistaken. Yeah, I know I'm out of my element here because I'm not a parent and I "just don't understand what kids are into these days." Well, there are parts of me that still think like a kid and I notice a lot of recurring patterns in all sorts of generations. Just like how I don't pull out my Chipmunks records to hear their version of "Jessie's Girl," I doubt kids will be jonesing to the Kidz Bop version of Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" when they get older. Sure, Kidz Bop may be an introduction to future music hounds, but I think there are better introductions to the power of music out there.
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