Strollerderby : singing

Weird Holiday Alert: My Bucket's Got a Hole in it Day

JeanneSager — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:32:00 GMT

There are certain things every child needs to know. Chief among them: at least one song that will drive their parents absolutely bonkers (or their grandparents if you prefer).

And considering today is "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It Day," we're happy to oblige.

Because if Pete Seeger at 90 can get up onstage and inspire a rendition of There's a Hole in the Bucket (out of Kris Kristofferson and Ani DiFranco, no less), than your kids surely need to know the story of Liza and Henry. Right?

The old German folk song has been a Seeger favorite and recorded by the likes of Burl Ives, about a couple who just can't seem to get things right. Or at least never fix their bucket.

It's annoying as all get out, but hey, you have a whole summer to teach it to your kids then let them loose at the family reunion, right? So we rustled up the lyrics for you, courtesy of a Girl Scouts Song Lyrics Index on About.com:

Liza: Henry! Fetch me some water!
Henry:There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza, dear Liza
There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza, a hole.

L: Well, fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Well, fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.

H:With what shall I fix it ...
L: With a straw dear Henry ...
H:The straw is too long ...
L: Well, cut it dear Henry ...
H:With what shall I cut it ...
L: With an axe dear Henry ...
H:The axe is too dull dear Liza ...
L: Well, sharpen it dear Henry ...
H:With what shall I sharpen it ...
L: With a stone dear Henry ...
H:The stone is too dry dear Liza ...
L: Well, wet it dear Henry ...
H:With what shall I wet it ...
L: With water dear Henry ...
H:In what shall I fetch it ...
L: In a bucket dear Henry ...
H:There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza ...

If you take a video of your kids doing it, put it up on YouTube, but really, you don't have to share it with us. The knowledge that we're not the only ones with this song now permanently stuck in our heads is thanks enough!

Image: Current

Beyonce Shines on Wubb Idol

JeanneSager — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:01:00 GMT

Forget Sasha Fierce. Beyonce's got a new alter ego - and she's blonde-haired and blue cheeked.

The songstress is lending her voice to a new character on Noggin's Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and can we just say she shines in the role?

We've gotten a look at a sample cut from the show, set to air May 1 at 1 p.m. on Nick Jr. followed by a prime-time appearance Sunday, May 3, at 7 p.m. on Noggin. Heading up a three-part girl group (sound familiar?) Beyonce stars as "Shine," the lead singer for the Wubb Girlz as Wuzzleburg gets its sing on.

She'll debut the new "Sing a Song" on the show as part of Wubb Idol, the Wubbzy-ied version of American Idol.

Want a sneak peek? Call the kids over and click here (this will launch your Windows Media Player, don't be alarmed - that's what it supposed to do).

Kids Sing Religious Song, Parents Sue

JeanneSager — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:35:00 GMT

There are songs that mention religion, and there are songs that are religious. When a song is named "In God We Still Trust," and features the words "Bible," frequent references to "Him," and the word "believe," wouldn't you think that falls into the latter category?

Apparently, it doesn't matter. At least not to a Florida public school where a third grade teacher was training her students to sing the song by country group Diamond Rio for their end-of-year program. The kids had the song memorized when one made mention of it to Mom and Dad. When the parents complained, the teacher told the kids they wouldn't have to sing it if it violated their beliefs, but told them they would be excluded from participation in the program. Sounds like punishing kids for their beliefs to me.

The superintendent yanked the song just before the parents filed a lawsuit, which they filed anyway, looking for compensatory damages because (according to the suit), teaching the song "amounts to religious indoctrination and interferes with the parents’ right to raise their children according to their own beliefs."

I'm not a big fan of lawsuits, but what's upsetting here is the defense from the school. They're acknowleding they're aware of separation of church and state, but they say a religious song is different. The lawyer for the St. Johns County School Board said choruses are traditionally exempt from the rules against public prayer in school. According to a report in a Jacksonville newspaper, the attorney said, "Courts have held that a choral curriculum can be expected to include religious songs because a significant percentage of choral music is based on religious themes or texts."

In general, I agree. I sang Hanukkah songs when I was a kid in school, and I'm Catholic. It never bothered me because they were historical (and honestly, I thought the festival of lights was pretty cool!) and not heavy on religious rhetoric. There was no "we will believe in X, Y and Z."

But this isn't an old song with a passing reference to religion. It's a song released on an album in 2006 by a contemporary band. And it talks heavily about believing and following God (click here to watch the music video and see for yourself). And if the teacher told kids who didn't believe that they couldn't participate in the school program, that's religious persecution.

What do you think? Are the parents overreaching or are they right to be upset?

Image: AnswerBag

British Moms Ditch Lullabies for Pop Songs

Kate Tuttle — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:30:00 GMT

According to a new (non-scientific!) survey, more British mothers are singing pop songs to their babies than traditional lullabies. Two thirds of the moms who responded said the modern tunes worked better than older ones for soothing their kids to sleep. One in ten said they could never remember the words to the old songs.

The BBC reported the top ten songs moms mentioned as effective baby-soothers in their homes, including the ubiquitous "I Kissed a Girl," by Katy Perry and "You're Beautiful," by James Blunt, as well as older hits (Oasis' "Wonderwall" and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful") and flat-out headscratchers (Guns 'n' Roses' "Sweet Child O Mine").

We go in for the traditional lullabies in our house, though mostly of the American variety ("Oh Susannah," "Home on the Range"), mixed in with a lot of Sesame Street and Dan Zanes, but we've been known to modify a Ramones song or two when the purpose is not sleep-inducing but diaper-change-cooperation. What songs work in your house? And what classics have you re-worded to fit your own infant or toddler's name, looks, or personality?

More by this author:

Baby Nearly Starves to Death, Diluted Formula to Blame
Grandmother’s Right? Or Totally Obnoxious?
Health Scam: Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag

Three-Year-Old Romanian Girl Youngest Singer, and She's Cute As All Get Out

JeanneSager — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:59:00 GMT

I hope they have access to Babble in Romania. With the economy the way it is, I'm thinking a move to South Central Europe is in order. At least there my 3-year-old could be making some big bucks to keep Mommy and Daddy in the lifestyle to which we've become accustomed (and yes, by lifestyle I mean the Noggin-watching, orange juice-drinking, early morning-rising life of parenting).

Turns out the youngest person to EVER have a number one hit, a record contract and an MTV contract is Romanian born Cleopatra Stratan. The cute-as-a-button daughter of Romanian star Pavel Stratan was 3 when she performed for two hours in front of a live audience, 3 when Ghita hit number one.

The video is adorable. . . and a little disturbing. Have you ever seen a 3-year-old sit that still? Introduce me, will you?

That was three years ago, which puts Cleopatra past her prime of course. Think Britney, not Miley. There's even a section of her Wikipedia page that refers to her early life - I guess that would be pre-potty training? But with her getting older every day, I'm thinking my 3-year-old can move right in there. We've already got the advantage - I can't understand a word of Ghita, and the Romanians won't be able to understand a word my daughter says. So how will they know if she's been practicing or just watching Noggin?

Stuff Parents Dream About: Life Without Play-Doh

Teen Marriage: It Can Last a Lifetime

Should We Raise Little Democrats or Republicans?

5 ways to get revenge on your kids

Brett Singer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:00:00 GMT

They're cute. We love them. But sometimes, they make us insane. "Revenge" may sound like too strong a word, but let's be honest: sometimes you want to get back at the little buggers.

Some of these are real, some are not, and some just go too far. I'll indicate what I think about each. None of these acts will, as far as I know, lead to your children placing you in an old-age home run by people who were deemed too mean for dental school. But use your own judgment.

-   Repurposing dinner: you know that chicken I cooked that you refused to eat? Here. You can have it for lunch. (This, I have done. In fact, I did it today.)
-   Take them to the wrong movie: Batman? Nah. We're seeing "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2." (This, I would not do, mostly because I can't imagine seeing any film about pants that travel. But if you like that sort of thing, give it a try.)
-   Replace their CDs with something you like better: goodbye Raffi, hello Elvis Costello! (This, I have not done, but I might try it.)
-   Sing those annoying songs that they like in public: Loudly. (Thanks to Hannah for this one.) Can't recall doing this but it's entirely possible that, after a sleepless week of 2am diaper changings, that I did.
-   Speak in gibberish if you catch them getting high: This was on an episode of "My Wife and Kids". The parents, Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell-Martin, speak sloooowwly, wear the strangest clothes they can find, and pretend to see things that aren't there. It was quite amusing, and it definitely scared "Junior" straight. Of course, that's on TV, but this could work. Certainly more fun than the standard "drugs are bad, bad, bad" speech.

I know there must be other ways to get back at 'em that I missed. Anyone got a good one? After all, it takes a village.

image: AllPosters

When playgrounds attack

When playgrounds attack, the sequel

Michael Savage says kids with autism need to get over themselves

Schools tying up autistic kids

Three-Year-old Takes Joy Ride Atop Grandma’s Lexus

Does Childbirth Cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Family Movie Night – Hairspray

Brett Singer — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Full disclosure: when I first heard a demo CD of the songs from the Broadway musical version of John Waters' film "Hairspray", I said, "Eh. That's not so great. Nobody's going to want to see it. It'll flop."

Um, right. Luckily the producers didn't listen to me, because the show has been running on Broadway for several years (long enough to have Jerry "The Beaver" Mathers play the mom for awhile, which is longer than most shows last, believe me), not to mention all the tours, regional and international productions, and of course the new film.

Unlike the new film version of "The Producers" musical, this new "Hairspray" is more fully re-imagined, which probably accounts for its greater success at the box office ($200 million, enough that there's actually going to be a sequel). The original Waters movie was very low-key, and definitely kept the hardcore gross out stuff to a minimum (if you've never seen Waters' "Pink Flamingos", you shouldn't, but there's a scene at the end that is so disgusting it haunts me to this day). In retrospect, turning "Hairspray" into a Broadway musical was actually a very good idea, since the story is quite sweet and has a positive message about racial inclusiveness, and also points out that fat people shouldn't be ostracized for their appearance. The musical and new film actually hammer that point home much harder than the original; singing about racial equality makes the message much more blunt than just showing it.

In theory, how is this a kids' movie at all? It's not, I suppose, but there's nothing in it that really crosses a line, except for a few lyrics here and there, most of which go over the heads of anyone that you would think is too young to hear them. ("Hey, baby! You look like you could use a stiff one!" – but he's talking about hairspray, so…) I've seen girls as young as six having "Hairspray" themed birthday parties, which is one reason why I think my son was actually willing to watch it. Both of the Things enjoyed it, the older one because it does have a reasonably involving story and good songs, the younger one probably because it's colorful and the music is quite good.

As for the cast, it's a mixed bag. John Travolta is not an upgrade over Divine, but she/he is dead, so that's not really fair. That said, Harvey Fierstein was so incredible on Broadway that they should have let him reprise his role on screen. I understand the need to cast big stars to ensure a film's success, but sometimes it's better to stick with the original. At least they had the courtesy to cut the line, "Hold mommy's waffles," which, when said by Fierstein on stage, actually had me laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair. (Just take my word for it, it was hilarious.) Travolta is good in a way, but there's something almost too serious about his version of Tracy Turnblad's overweight shut-in mom. He does prove that he's still a terrific dancer, even weighted down with fifty-plus pounds of fat suit. It would be nice to see him do a musical film role that he's better suited for, or even a live turn on Broadway.

The new Tracy, Nikki Blonsky, is quite good. Rikki Lake, who played Tracy in the original, had a much tougher edge but so did Waters' film. I would watch Michelle Pfeiffer read the phone book, but she does more than that and is very good. I would have liked to see more Jerry Stiller, who has a borderline cameo as the owner of a local department store that hires Tracy to be a spokesperson. I had forgotten that he played Wilbur Turnblad in the 1988 film; his role was taken over by Christopher Walken, who I would also watch read the phone book (albeit for different reasons) and gives a solid performance, as always. James Marsden was a surprise as Corny Collins, the host of the local dance show. If that's his actual singing voice he should do another musical. Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle) is no Ruth Brown but she's good enough.

Anyway, somewhat like the Broadway version, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this new "Hairspray", as did my kids. Recommended.

image: Amazon.com

Strollerderby : singing

Weird Holiday Alert: My Bucket's Got a Hole in it Day

Disney Princesses Get Nasty

Three Ways To Get to Sesame Street This Summer

Fountain Shoots, Um, Breastmilk?

Beyonce Shines on Wubb Idol

What Do Madonna and Peanut Butter Have in Common?

NBA's Eddie House and Son Hoop it Up at Cartoon Network

Jack Black Drops In on Yo Gabba Gabba

Kids Sing Religious Song, Parents Sue

When a Trusted Pediatrician Loses His License

Judge: Home-Schooled Kids Must Go to Public School

Teacher Fired for Letting Kids Play Gay

Liar, Liar - iPod Sets Kid's Pants on Fire

British Moms Ditch Lullabies for Pop Songs

Three-Year-Old Romanian Girl Youngest Singer, and She's Cute As All Get Out

5 ways to get revenge on your kids

Woman goes to jail for adopting children to get money

When playgrounds attack

When playgrounds attack, the sequel

Michael Savage says kids with autism need to get over themselves

Schools tying up autistic kids

Three-Year-old Takes Joy Ride Atop Grandma’s Lexus

Does Childbirth Cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Family Movie Night – Hairspray

Family Movie Night: Meet The Robinsons

More stuff YUPPIE parents like

The Dark Knight -- parents strongly cautioned (to go see it)

S&M Barbie

Hulk want puny blogger to review Hulk movie