What Happened to the Backyardigans?

Most of the parents who read this are going to hate me, but I like the Backyardigans.  It’s gentle, it’s creative, and it’s relevant to what toddlers and pre-schoolers need to absorb in a pop culture setting.  And the tunes are catchy (OK, maybe too catchy).  But with my 6-year-old twins, all of the sudden the Backyardigans are no longer cool.  Now they think this is cool.  Now I’m not complaining about the techno-pop aspects of scoring anime (even if it is somewhat silly anime).  But Teen Titans?  When did Robin ever leave Batman anyway?  That’s just not how it works!

This is about a loss of innocence, even if it’s normal, and even if, God forbid, it’s going to happen again and again – my kids are growing up.  And, for the first time ever, something they’ve outgrown has been publicly chastised as “stupid.”  Thankfully, we have the buffer to control this.  After all, our two year old is just getting to the age where The Backyardigans are interesting.  So my twins are going to have to put up with them for just a few years more.

One more thought:  If this bothers me now, how on earth am I going to survive puberty?  I’ll just look to Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby for inspiration.

Current Events Soundtracks:

Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away at the age of 88 today.  Again, all politics aside, this is a family that has given a great deal to this country and the world.  Mrs. Shriver was no exception, as she started the Special Olympics.  In her honor, here is a song for the most recent Special Olympics in 2007, composed by Quincy Jones. 

By the way, Quincy Jones is a spectacular composer, conductor and arranger.   He started orchestrating albums for such notables as Dinah Washington.  But Soul Bossa Nova is probably his best known tune.  It’s amazing to listen to September in the Rain (where he conducts and Dinah sings – sorry no clip) and then Soul Bossa Nova and get the breadth of diversity there.

Also of interest is the fact that tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night the sky will light up with the Perseid Meteor Shower.  If you’re looking for majestic accompaniment, try Jupiter, from The Planets by Gustav Holst.  More ethereal?  I’d opt for Vangelis’ Heaven and Hell (the theme to the hit PBS series Cosmos.  Get either on your I-Pod, go lay down on the lawn, and watch the show.  Oh – and let’s hope for no rain!

Finally, it’s Independence Day in Chad.

Soundtracks for this day in history:

In 1929 Babe Ruth knocked his 500th career home run out of the ball park, while playing in Cleveland Ohio (another great New York Yankee moment – sorry I can’t help it).  For the Babe, one of the original recordings of Take Me Out to the Ball Game, sung by Edward Meeker and recorded in 1908. 

By the way, Take Me Out to the Ball Game was written by Jack Norworth and Harry von Tilzer.  Jack Norworth was also married to the great singer Nora Bayes, who is an important figure from the first two decades of 20th century popular music.  She was actually the first person to record Ball Game, and wrote many hits with her husband, the best known of which was Shine On, Harvest Moon.  And while that song has managed to live on through the mists of time, here’s the wild part (I know, wild?):  Shine On, Harvest Moon was actually the sequel to an even bigger hit that Bayes and Norworth had together called Turn Off Your Light Mr. Moon Man.  Several years later, Bayes had perhaps her biggest recorded hit:  Over There , the great American call to arms during World War I.

This date in history also features a convergence of 2 events and one theme.  In 1965 riots began in Watts (the predominantly African American part of Los Angeles).  In 1972, the last ground unit of American troops left South Vietnam.  There is no more fitting song for these two different, yet iconic events of the same era than Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.

Birthday Soundtracks

Alex Haley was born today in 1929.  Of course, his best known work is Roots.  Here is a clip with the opening theme.

Ian McDiarmid (1944) is an accomplished British actor best known for his role as Emporer Palpatine in the Star Wars movies.  Ian, this is for you.

Eric Carmen was born today in 1949, and he gave us the anthem of whining, crushed, single people everywhere – All By Myself.  Just to keep things in perspective, here is Gilbert O’Sullivan telling us what he wants to do when he gets dumped.  I think Gilbert is going to need more time on the couch – don’t you?

The late, great Mike Douglas was born on August 11, 1925.  A beloved talk show host (oh, come on, both of my grandmothers watched him, didn’t yours?), he started as a big band singer.  And – surprise – he’s the singing prince in Disney’s Cinderella!

Finally, Pakistani singer Hadiqa Kiani was born today in 1974.  Here she is singing Tuk Tuk, which has a real Bollywood feel.

Passing Anniversary Soundtracks:

Phil Harris (1995) was a jazz musician and singer with a flare for Dixieland.  Most of us would recognize him today as the voice of Baloo in Disney’s Jungle Book, but he recorded many a 78 record.  In 1950, he recorded The Thing, one of the most popular novelty songs in an era that was loaded with them.

Rafael Kubelik (1996) was a Czech conductor who specialized in the music of Dvorak, Smetana and other central European composers.  Here he is conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in a performance of The Carnival Overture by Antonin Dvorak.