No, not that Kid Rock. Ew.

The only kind of black I don't want to wrap myself up in is Black Friday (through Sunday). I've never been a huge fan of shopping as a "hobby"--for me it's functional rather than fun. And the only thing in the world that's worse than spending your entire day in the mall is spending your entire day in a mall full of desperate holiday bargain shoppers.

That being said, I have some small humans I need to shop for. And being the "cool aunt" in my family (aka, the crazy, unmarried, hipster, "creeyative," "oh-aren't-you...interesting" one), I feel honor bound to uphold my reputation. So I work tirelessly to teach the most wee additions to the extended family (all male) to carry man-purses in public, scream "MONKEY SKULL!!!" at random passersby, and of course...to develop extraordinary musical taste from a young age.

I've already gotten them obsessed with the Ren & Stimpy song book. But I of late, I've been running out of ideas. I want only the best--what I look for are the kinds of CDs that are smart and fun for kids, but won't make parents want to puke listening to them. Raffi can kiss my ass. I want stuff that sounds as good as a real, adult-oriented indie band--something I'd actually listen to, but it just happens to be kids' music too. Something that makes kids smarter, makes parents feel kid-like joie de vivre, and makes all of them rock OUT.

But kids' music is not a genre that most record stores (online or brick and mortar) pay much careful attention to. There are millions of kids' albums, but probably 99 percent of them are crap. How is one to effectively wade through the 99-percent-poopie factor and find something cool? I figure some of you might be floundering in this area, too. So thought I'd share this gem of a find.

Check out this amazing blog: Children's Music That Rocks (known for the rest of this post as CMTR). Written by Warren Truitt, a children's librarian at the New York Public Library, the blog features (in Truitt's words) "music for kids that doesn't make adults want to rip their hair out." And there's no false advertising here--I spent a few hours the other day checking out his selections and each one was cooler than the next. From avant-guard art projects to rockabilly, to indiekid, to grassroots, Truitt covers and is open to all musical genres--and are all things that both adults AND kids can enjoy and sing along to. Not because they HAVE to...because they WANT to. This is music you might play on your iPod even when the kids are nowhere around.

A few favorite finds from the site:

The Jellydots. Jangly indie music with kid attitude. Go to their myspace page and listen to Bicycle; you'll see what I mean. I'd listen to this in my car on a roadtrip. It's great. (They describe themselves there as "Paul Simon and Elliott Smith at a tea party in the summer by the sea," but the music is a way more upbeat and rockin' than that implies.) Full CMTR review of their CD.

Harry and the Potters. OMG. It's all I'm able to say. I'm in awe. Two brothers who formed an alternative rock band dedicated ENTIRELY to singing songs about the Harry Potter books. I'm in heaven. Every album title (Voldemort Can't Stop the ROCK!) and song lyric ("I'd rather not talk about your dead ex-boyfriends over coffee") I've heard so far makes me laugh my ass off , and is also musically sound. If, like me, you're a total Potter and indie music geek, you MUST listen to these--and buy them for your favorite Potter-geek kid. Check out their myspace page to hear a few selected songs. Also, read the text on their real website. They write all cute and clever ("fiercely creative--try to deny it"). Also, also note: if you're in the Philadelphia or Boston area, they're actually playing YULE BALLS there. Ooooooh. I wanna go. (God, I'm such a geek.) Full CMTR review of their band.

Dog on Fleas. Laid back, smart, funky kids songs ("Ain't Gravity Wonderful") with a Poi Dog Pondering kind of feel to them--sort of combining a whole bunch of genres together--roots, blues, funky, indie rock, ska, world music...etc. Listen to some. Full CMTR review of their CD.

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Also, I didn't find this artist via the CMTR site, but he's worth a mention, as he's very popular with the kids in my family since I bought his CD Meltdown for them. Justin Roberts: the Matthew Sweet of kid's music. He's ultra cool. We love him. Me and the kids.

And remember, this stuff is cool for two reasons: 1) it's just great music the kids in your life (and you) will love and 2) you can purchase every damn one of these without EVER having to go to the mall.

Any other suggestions you folks have will be more than welcome. Please share.
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Finally, I should mention that my 'net access will be pretty limited until Tuesday...so not sure how often I'll be able to post or check comments, but I will do so eventually. Hang in there.

Chag Sameach to all my peeps out there. Here's hoping your family laid on lots of Jewish gelt.

Get crazy with the sivivon.

Technorati Tags: chanukah, dreydel, hanukah, Jewish, member of the tribe, MOT

The time draws nigh, people. That tiny tick on the clock that everyone likes to invest with the symbolic hope of renewal. A fresh start. A new year.

More on what that means to me tomorrow.

But for now, while it's still today, and the clock is ticking down, imagine I'm singing this just for you.

Much love to all.

May the new year bring you everything you secretly dream of--and the strength to accept it when it shows up.

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Photo credit: Flip the Switch! by FotoEdge

I suspect that, at least here in America, people like me who don't celebrate Christmas are the only ones who truly get to appreciate the actual silence of this evening. No traffic on the road, able to walk around in peace, no more horrid, pulsing Holiday Machine with it's organ-grinder-monkey spew of endless mechanical holiday tunes piped into every orifice...

All gone. It's all quiet.

It's really quite lovely. I wish more nights could be quiet and contemplative like this. I wish the world could shut itself off more often and just breathe.

Tonight, I wish this gift for my Christmas-celebrating friends: that you, in the middle of the bustle of family obligations and parties and church music and gift-unwrapping-and-exclaiming and eggnog-obliteration, get to step oustide in the cold, dark night for just a few minutes and just...breathe. Close your eyes and breathe in how quiet it is. And know I'm thinking about you with love.

And here's a song that I think is better for the mood of this evening than any Christmas song. Given to you in a scene from the incredible, incredible, incredibly lovely* film Once--a scene which depicts that exact moment when people cease being strangers and recognize that together they can create something miraculous. Because isn't that what it's all about?

(Wait through the first minute or so of the scene to get to the full song; and watch the whole interaction from start to finish--both musically and emotionally it's more than worth it.)

So, to all those celebrating and not celebrating tonight:

You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice
You have a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along

With love,

Syl

*Yes, the film deserves three repetitions of the word "incredible." As well as the words "smart," "tender," "non-cliché," and "quietly perfect." But as the linked review says, words are unable to do it justice. Please go rent it.