My Baby Likes That Baby

Finding music for toddlers that doesn't make adult ears bleed is hard. Way hard. Babies are no problem: they don't care what they're listening to, and worst comes to worst you just throw on some Vivaldi and they fall asleep. Toddlers, on the other hand, have preferences. Wonderbaby, for example, is deeply attached to her Sesame Street Classics CD, which I bought in a fit of nostalgia (I could list to 'Rainbow Connection' for HOURS, I thought. I thought wrong) and has been known to throw a fit of protest if one puts on any other music (except, oddly, the Mika CD. She luuuurves that one. Sings along and totally grooves. If I weren't so sick of that CD now, I'd totally find it adorable.)

So although I was hopeful about the That Baby CD and DVD, I wasn't falling out of my chair with optimism. It was more of a shoulder-shrugging we'll see. It was worth a shot, I figured, if only because it would provide an hour's respite from 'Elmo's Song.' So what the hell. And if I liked it, well, that'd be cool. If she liked it, awesome.

She did like it, as it happened. She didn't freak out and dance and sing along to every word, but she happily joined in when I started singing along with the songs that I knew (omg 'Brass In Pocket'! 'These Are The Days'!) And it was so gratifying to NOT be singing along with Big Bird that it didn't even bother me that these were covers - however well-performed - of some of my favourite songs (I usually hate covers, unless they're really witty in some revisionist way, like Mike Flowers doing 'Wonderwall.') Who cares if that's not Natalie Merchant singing 'These Are The Days'? It's not Cookie Monster or Prairie Dawn! (The covers really are well-performed, FYI. Better than I expected. And I'm usually really picky about these things.)

The DVD was also good, although Wonderbaby did lose interest faster than she would with, say, Elmo's World. But it's not like I need her to be sitting down and watching; I'm happy with some visual and aural ambience that is grown-up friendly. So for those afternoons when she's fussing about having the TV on, and I just can't stand one more episode of Wonderpets, this is the perfect thing. Cool visuals and good music: she's content because she's got the 'treat' of having a DVD on, and my ears don't bleed. Win-win.

So the DVD has been included in our tiny stack of 'DO NOT PACK' discs - the ones that are being kept near the TV until the very last minute of our move - and the CD is in the car for repeat listening. And it's on my gift list for new parents this holiday season, for sure. Waaaay better than Barney.

(Check out the tunes and some video HERE. And check out PBN's coverage of the campaign for a coupon code for 20% off the product, which is a great gift for any parent in your life who just can't stand to listen to one more minute of Elmo's Greatest Hits.)