Music for Pleasure - help required.
It's getting late into October, and thoughts begin to turn to that perennial pleasure, buying presents for the nippers in the family. In the Foxy den we have no cubs of our own, but we do have some neices in a nearby den; one is 14, the other 17 years old, and they are both as bright as buttons. No "That's What I Call X-Factor" guff for these girls.
As well as helping them diminish their lengthy Amazon wish-lists, we want to introduce the girls to new music, stuff they would never have bought with their own pocket money. We'd like to give them insights into the very best music from the last 40 years or more. We'd like them to like what we choose, but it doesn't matter if it's immediately or at some time in the future, with the special joy that comes with the belated discovery of a love for music you'd previously heard and dismissed. So we'll buy them a couple of CDs each that are not likely to be on their hit lists, and encouraging musical exploration is the aim.
So here's the challenge: should our selection criteria be different for the 14 year old and the 17 year old? How challenging should our choices be? Is it better to make conservative choices, or should we expose them to Miles or Beefheart or Stravinsky, and throw them in the deep end? Should we buy music from classic US or UK artists only or open their ears to the sounds of Africa, South America or Asia?
What to buy?
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A tough one.
Its hard to know. At 14 and 17 they probably have pretty set opinions, and any attempt by Uncle Vulpes to be hip or cool, will be greeted with derision. You needed to get in at an earlier age (I speak from experience, as my 7 year old requested that Radiohead's "Reckoner" off "In Rainbows" and Bob Dylan's "Someday Baby" off "Modern Times", be put on her compilation CD from Santa last Christmas. Not much parental pressure applied there, then!).
Get the 14 year old the new Teddy Thompson (it has tunes and nice singing) and the 17 year old the new Kings of Leon (it has noise, and a little bit of danger). Don't buy anybody the new Fleet Foxes. It's rubbish.
What I'd do...
... is look at what they're into now and work on the principle of 'If you like this, then you ought to like this, too' and hit 'em with something they might not have heard but along the same lines. If they like modern 'indie', say, go for Joy Division/Bunnymen/anything cool from that era. Good compilations (eg those produced by Rough Trade) are a good bet.
This has worked (I like to think!) pretty well for me with my niece, who's now 17.
Do Your Own Thing.
Don't buy. Make your own CDs. For my daughter's 12th birthday I put together 18 CDs worth of material - from 1947 to the (then) present day. I called it The Incomplete History of Rock and Soul. It had everything. Well, almost everything - enough to encourage a young girl to investigate further. Obviously I had to bear in mind that I was compiling it for a twelve-year-old - but it was still a great deal of fun to do (and I managed to get Beefheart in). Mind you, it was also very frustrating deciding what to leave out....
Here's the tracklisting for CD 1:
1. Hank Williams - Move It On Over
2. Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm - Rocket 88
3. Lloyd Price - Lawdy Miss Clawdy
4. Ruth Brown - Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean
5. Big Joe Turner - Shake, Rattle and Roll
6. The Chords - Sh-Boom
7. The Crows - Gee
8. The Penguins - Earth Angel
9. Bill Haley and His Comets - Rock Around The Clock
10. Chuck Berry - Maybellene
11. Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy
12. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
13. Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame
14. Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel
15. Frakie Lymon & The Teenagers - Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
16. Gene Vincent - Be-Bop-A-Lula
17. Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning
18. Ivory Joe Hunter - Since I Met You Baby
19. James Brown - Please, Please, Please
20. Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line
21. Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue
22. Danny & The Juniors - At The Hop
23. Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
24. Link Wray - Rumble
25. The Coasters - Poison Ivy
26. The Dell-Vikings - Come Go With Me
27. Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly
28. Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody
29. The Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do is Dream
30. Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops
Here's the tracklisting for the last one, CD 18:
1. Squarepusher - My Red Hot Car
2. The Strokes - Last Nite
3. Common - I Got A Right Ta
4. Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One
5. The Flaming Lips - Fight Test
6. Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body
7. Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head
8. Nelly - Hot in Herre
9. Sugababes - Freak Like Me
10. The Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers
11. 50 Cent - In Da Club
12. Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up, Look Sharp
13. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
14. Outkast - Hey Ya!
15. The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
16. Kelis - Milkshake
17. N.E.R.D. - She Wants To Move
18. The Streets - Dry Your Eyes
19. The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now
20. Natsha Bedingfield - These Words
18 CDs? 18?
The poor girl must have felt swamped!
Yes, she did a bit.
But she's still listening to them years later.
I like this idea so much
I'm going to do it. I had thought that mention of the Yuletide season in late October was a trifle premature, but if I aspire to an 18 CD set, I'll be hard pushed to do it by then. They might have to settle for a few less than the full 18.
It'll be a fun project, but if I subsequently detect the slightest whiff of the reaction stimpy reports, I'll just keep the CDs for the car.
I don't want. . .
to put a damper on your idea, but if the foxy chicks in question are anything like my zit-ridden nephews, there's a high risk they'll respond to any gift of music with "Oh. Why didn't you just write the URL of the torrent on my Facebook wall and give me something that's worth something?"
Cover versions.......
If they are fond of the naff music beloved of young people, find something that shows them their favourites performing the music of others, or of others performing their music. Whilst not necessarily being my choices, I have cherry picked many a song from Live lounge(s), the Radio 1 retrospective and various Warchild recordings and even the recent Tibet charity record. It may lead to seeking the originals....
Don't go there...
Whatever you choose will be wrong.
Trust me, I have two girls... 14 and 16. If I like it it's "old fart music" - irrespective of what/how good it is.
If it's the original of something they like, the cover is better.
If it's recommended/liked by me, it's crap - by definition
They've even stopped listening to stuff just because I said I liked it.
Remember when you were that age, you wanted *your* music, not what your dad/uncle listened to.
Give 'em 20 years, they'll come round to it.
Broadly speaking, and in most respects,
I suspect you are correct.
However, in 1969 when I was 14, my Dad's younger brother had a Zapata moustache, flares, long hair, and Led Zeppelin albums.
Cool as f*ck.
He's 82 now, and he still has the Zapata moustache, the flares, long white hair in a ponytail, and Led Zeppelin CDs.
Still cool as f*ck, my Uncle Bill.
I thought he was then, and I know he is now.
You are. . .
Judge Roy Bean's nephew and I claim my five pounds.
Can't go wrong with a nice...
Stax compilation or Trojan box to introduce new music.
Genuinely classic and timeless
American teenage boys would be especially grateful.....
...for a box of trojans.
When I wor a lad...
...there were certain older relatives who used to give me something called "a record token". I'm sure they didn't have the slightest interest what I exchanged it for. They just accepted that I knew more about what I liked than they did.
I think I was very lucky.
The modern equivalent is...
...I guess, the iTunes top-up card. They always seem to go down well with my two.
I got one of those once.
and I played the resulting acquisition to my benefactor, my Gran, after Crimble, to the accompaniment of much tutting and a mumbled, "If I'd thought you'd waste it on that awful rubbish, I'd have given you a jumper".
I've loved "Weasel's Ripped My Flesh" ever since.
But that's no fun!
Who cares if that's what they want? If I can warp the minds of any unsuspecting nieces/nephews who think Korn is the last word in nihilism, by introducing them to, say, Rocket From The Tombs or the Electric Eels, I'll at least have a go.
If you're feeling really benevolent...
...get them an iPod Shuffle and load some of 'your' music on there for them.
There's a chance that, before they delete it and replace it with The Atomic Sugababes Aloud, they might listen to a track or two.
Retro once again beat me to it
You shouldn't be giving no box of Trojans to a 14 year old girl!!
At 6 my daughter was receptive to my music, at 9 she hasn't quite got to the stage where she reviles everything that i listen to but that time is getting ever closer. The only recent thing I bought that she likes is Goldfrapp.
When she gets to 18 that will possibly start to change back - at least it did with my son. you may have less problems with the 17 year old than the 14 year old.
Failing that
Take them to a gig! Not the X Factor tour, not Leonard Cohen but something in between. I was the bees knees with my daughter when we had a family outing to see Runrig (her faves) at the Manchester Apollo and I had arranged with the manager to have brill seats and meet the band afterwards.
Poor lass was gobsmacked. Still cringes when she recalls that, upon meeting god (Donnie Munro), she would ask him "how come you are not wearing your long coat?"
I bought a cup of tea
from the burger van at Uig harbour once, and there was one chap standing in front of me in the queue at the counter. The van man was speechless with awe until the bloke wandered off to wait for the Cal Mac, when he whispered excitedly to me, "Did you see who that was? That was Donnie Munro!". I didn't have a clue who Donnie was.
Things to do in Uig before the morning ferry
......are few and far between. But the drive down to the harbour is nothing short of miraculous.
(Mind you, things to do in Tarbert when you arrive can be a little short too. Makes you wonder what the locals do to pass the time. Hic.)
I caught a taxi from Tarbert
to Seilebost one day, and was amused to find that the driver had dealt with the vexing problem of repeatedly getting out into the elements to stash passenger's luggage in the boot by the simple expedient of removing the front passenger seat.
Either that or it had been stolen by someone passing the time.
What the locals do to pass the time
if they’ve got any sense is spend all day on that lovely golf course at Scarista.
I jest of course
Lewis, Harris, the Uists, Benbecula and Skye could happily devour me for the rest of my days.
OK, I may pay a visit to Talisker in passing thru'......
At the wrong time of year, though,
it's the damn midges that do the devouring.