What kind of music do babies like?

Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

once and awhile an article in the newspaper pops up where scientists ONCE again have discovered babies* love Mozart.

*sometimes replaced by cows, rats, plants.

http://warpmart.com/images/content/releases/large/3090642.jpg

There was a thread about this a good few years ago when I was very curious about what to play my offspring.

Certainly nothing as insipid as the stone roses would get his attention, he tended to like big shouty things, System of a Down or Bessie Smith for instance.

Sadly he didn't much like Raymond Scott either, though he did like Moondog.

He didn't get interested in lyrics and song topics 3-4 years old, mainly songs about monkeys, songs with counting in them or songs with actions.

Obviously then the ideal songs for children are:

1. Jet Pilot - System of a Down
2. Bessie Smith - Gimme a pigfoot
3. Good for Goody - Moondog
4. The Clapping Song - Shirley Ellis
5. Monkey Gone to Heaven - Pixies

Every song Timbaland raps on is addressed to baby girls, apparently.

As the tots graduate to their 2's and 3's, the songs of Happy Flowers might give them something to relate to.

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0651,ott,75321,22.html

I listened to a lot of Raffi & Fred Penner

Dead Texan IN
Four Tet - "Go Go Ninja Dinosaur" OUT
I don't know why.

I have a very odd vague memory of liking 'Riders On The Storm' by The Doors as a youngster. I knew the melody thing for years before I knew the song.

"C is for Cookie, is good enough for me.."

Not exactly babies, but my daughters, now aged 5 and 2 both love:

The Thermals - No Culture Icons
The Fiery Furnaces - Tropical Iceland
Half Man Half Biscuit - 4 Skinny Indie Kids
Animal Collective - Peacebone
Broadcast - Michael A Grammar
Boredoms - Acid Police

Babies are probably more openminded towards music than anybody else, just avoid stuff that contains screaming, as the baby may interpret that wrongly.

My brother's baby likes opera.

lol zach "baby party music"

How old are we defining "baby"? When she was about 2, my daughter had a severe Michael Jackson phase and insisted on hearing "Goin' Back to Indiana" 60 times a day. We had to hang mid-'70s Michael photos on our Xmas tree. Alas, that phase passed about 4 years ago.

awww impressive!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhxW0ulSjFg

-- am0n, Thursday, 3 July 2008 02:19 (3 days ago) Link

My 8 month old niece seems to respond very well to beat-heavy stuff like m.i.a and shit. She likes da riddim i think.

Add "Born to be Wild" to the list.

In fact, my first ever memory is of having "Born to be Wild" stuck in my head on a loop, just the first line of the chorus, along with the image of a cow drinking water from a trough. My first memory is a combo of that and telling my mom about what I was thinking about. She must have thought I was going to turn into Damien.

i was a rolling stones fan when i was v young which i dont remember but i do remember when i was like 5 someone asking me what id like to hear and requesting the stones cause i remembered i liked them then not liking them when they were played

I think I remember an interview with Alan from Low where he discusses his daughter's love for Gang Gang Dance.

I have a friend whose baby loves Animal Collective.

The Beach Boys are a pretty safe bet, I'd think.

Someday I hope to test out my theory that babies would love Joanna Newsom.

I was thrilled when my baby calmed down to "Metal Machine Music." But really at that age he just liked everything.

At 1, he liked "Umbrella," "Bert and Ernie Singalong," and all those kid-oriented things where kids sing songs.

At 2, he likes "No One" and the They Might Be Giants numbers CD.

This weekend my kid (16 month old) danced to:
http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/900/liceyt4.jpg

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/867/mixtapeng8.jpg

http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/4797/dogke1.jpg

Babies are eclectic!

I fucking hate that dog. "Let's sing and play games!" my ass. Let's throw you the fuck out the window, is more like it.

tiny tim, merzbow

My friend's kid seems to love Sade...

I have a five-month-old who doesn't seem all that bothered by anything at the moment. but when she was younger, fennesz and kawabata makoto used to help her sleep.

Somewhat older "babies" will usually like stuff such as Postman Pat, Bob The Builder etc. :)

But then they aren't "babies" anymore, really.

awwww, I thought this was "What kind of music do babes like?" I was all NOTEBOOK AND PEN

=)

My 3-year-old son tends to like songs that he can understand the meaning of. Colors are big, as are parts of the body, anything with letters, or a repetitive chorus. I made a playlist for him which includes songs he's responded to in the past:

The Beatles: Hello Goodbye & She Loves You
The Lemon Pipers: Green Tambourine
Nick Drake: Pink Moon
Judas Priest: Breaking The Law
Bobby Darin: Splish Splash (his favorite)
John Denver: Sunshine On My Shoulders
Bruce Springsteen: Born In The USA
Bob Dylan: Mississippi (he just likes it)

aww...i sing splish splash to my daughter all the time and it does nothing for her :(

also at 9 monthsish she loved van halen and aerosmith

recently she showed some enthusiasm for nirvana's aneurysm

So far, my 25-day-old son likes Studio's "West Coast," Elbow's "Seldom Seen Kid," three Deadbeat LPs and the new Notwist.

He also seemed to dig on Astrud Gilberto and Nina Simone, but it's hard to differentiate between stares right now; it's a bit early.

(naturally, "likes" is a strong word. let's just say he hasn't objected to any of the above and/or has been noticeably soothed the best by most of it.)

My three-year-old actually asked for Gary Numan the other day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52vhtwuGjOA (Magma)

Memory is weird. At 2 and a half or so, my daughter listened to Jason Ringenberg's Down on the Farm album over and over until the confounded thing was stuck in my head every sleeping and waking moment. Then she moved onto something else. Six months later I put it on again and she had no recollection of it whatsoever.

Infant Ella quieted down if Sarah Vaughan or Bruce Cockburn (those early True North records)was singing.

Surprised it hasn't already been said, but Slayer - Reign In Blood.

Bruce Springsteen: Born In The USA

Your son looks back upon the Vietnam war with horror, I suppose :)

Ink Spots to soothe crying babies. Trust me, it works.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511oV1wcBWL._SS500_.jpg

oh god i want that