If you're a parent passionate about music, it's nearly impossible to find satisfying sleepy sounds for your kid.

Waking hours music is no problem. He can listen to what I listen to. With all due respect to Dan Zanes -- who I know is passionate about old Jamaican 45s like I am; we used to buy rare gems from the same source -- there's just no need to bore the boy with modern kids music that is trying too hard and usually misses the mark (and makes daddy cringe while sending mommy leaping for the CD player's "stop" button).

After all, there's "All Together Now" by the Beatles, tons of great reggae and Italian folk records that have good tempos and bubbly verses and choruses, and is there anything more appropriate for kids than the funky organ and guitar jazz records of Jimmy Smith, Grant Green and the like? And since he can't understand the words yet, I still don't have to worry about parental warning stickers.

Sleep time is cagier.

We found one lullaby disc that wasn't entirely offensive, but it fast became tiresome because it sounded like a pre-programmed Casiotone keyboard. So, I dug through the music and found a Kenny Drew Trio disc from the '50s that was good, but a little too swinging in some spots for bedtime. For the past few months, baby boy has been dozing off to the sound of the more playful and mellow parts of French composer Erik Satie's oeuvre. But he can't only listen to one CD forever.

Luckily, today I discovered the catalog of Baby Rock Records, which has a series of discs, "Rockabye Baby!," arranged and performed by Michael Armstrong. I selected "Lullaby Renditions of Radiohead" and "Lullaby Renditions of Coldplay" and am pleased with them. Sure, the purely instrumental versions could be construed as baby Muzak performed on toy pianos, but the results are much better than that. The songs have a nice vibe and now junior can fall asleep learning, via hypnopaedia, the melodies of two bands that are among the most popular and influential at the time of his arrival!

Other discs in the series focus on the music of The Cure, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Tool, Bjork, Nirvana, No Doubt, Pink Floyd, Queens of the Stone Age, Smashing Pumpkings, The Eagles, Beach Boys, The Beatles and The Pixies.

Popping the Coldplay disc in last night, the wee man starting clapping after the first few bars of "In My Place." Parent-tested, kid-approved.

3 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

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Posted by OMCreader on Aug. 10, 2006 at 7:44 a.m. (report)

searchingforabarstool said: I gave up on kid's music when my son was about 15 hours old. The only thing I've been able to find that all three of us could stomach (myself, my wife and my son) that could be construed as "Kid's" music is a two disc set by the Seeger Family of old folk songs. My son's (who is almost two now) most recent favorite disc is "Baby" by the Detroit Cobras. What can I say, he's got good taste.

Posted by OMCreader on Aug. 9, 2006 at 12:12 p.m. (report)

katiedid said: I've gotta get my hands on the Zepplin CD!

Posted by OMCreader on Aug. 9, 2006 at 10:35 a.m. (report)

JG said: OMC hit the mark with this- useful (not cheesy) ideas for moms and dads. Thanks.

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