Audio (CD): The Dino 5 - Baby Loves Hip-Hop

The Dino 5. (2008). [recorded by Prince Paul] Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents the Dino-5 [CD]. New York: Baby Loves Hip-Hop.

Unlike the CD of lullabized Nirvana songs I LOVE this disc! I love this CD because the music is good! It sounds like adult hip-hop. After my first listen through I already had a few chorus lines stuck in my head. This is because the five members of the group come from internationally renowned hip-hop groups. This means that as baby grows into a child and teenager they have sources for intelligent, adult music. The format of the CD is interesting. The tracks alternate between a mother reading to her son at bedtime and the musical tracks that rap out the narrative of that story. This format emphasizes the need for parents to engage in literature with their children and provides them with a model of how to do so. For both quality and content this is one of the best resources I have found.

Audio (CD): Rockabye Baby - Nirvana

(2006). Lullaby Renditions of Nirvana [CD]. Rockabye Baby Music. (October 10, 2006)

When I first saw this CD I was a leery as to how the music and lyrics of Nirvana could be transformed into a consumable format for babies. After listening to it I admit I was disappointed. My initial concern over the lyrics was moot as they were completely removed. No need to worry about little Sally, or little Billy, asking what Lithium is. In fact, I barely even recognized the soft xylophone sounds as the chord structures from the original works, but then again I almost completely tone deaf. Since the CD is intended for infants in the cradle I feel that any CD of xylophone music would be just as effective from a parenting point of view. This line of adult rock lullabies seems more a marketing ploy to sucker in hip, young parents, rather than a way to foster a love of rock’n’roll in ones infant.