MMM - November 2014

I'm starting to plan the Monthly Maya Mix (MMM) for March 2015, so I thought I'd start recapping some of her MMMs to date.

The first 10-song mix I made for Maya was in November. After listening to her 5th birthday CD for a few weeks leading up to her party in late September, then for a few weeks following, I was ready for some new tunes by late October.

By the way, this is a good time for a little PSA: If you're a parent and you encourage your children to like some of your favorite songs, and they actually do like them, hooray! ... Within 3 weeks, you'll hate those same songs. Because no matter how great the tune is, if you listen to it on repeat for weeks on end, it will become the most annoying sound in the world. So, you know, proceed with caution.

Anyway, the November mix incorporated "mommy/daddy" songs Maya had shown an interest in after hearing them on the radio, plus a few songs I knew were sure-fire kids' hits, plus some songs that had some relevance to the time of year or plans we had for the month:

1. Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
This is one Maya has heard me sing along to on the radio, and due to my over-animated sing-alongs, became a quick favorite. The songs gets really quiet, then very loud, à la "Shout." What could be more exciting for a five year old!?

That said, when the same five-year-old sings, "I'm so strung out. I'm high as a kite; I just might stop to check you out," in public, cue the parental embarrassment.

2. How You Like Me Now - The Heavy
I thought this might be upbeat and repetitive enough for preschooler enjoyment, but no dice. Maya's not a fan.

3. Behind Blue Eyes - The Who
By and large, Maya likes any song that include lyrics about blue eyes (because she has blue eyes) or blonde hair (because she had blonde hair). What she doesn't know is that I've secretly been attempting to make her a fan of The Who since Superbowl 2010. This plan has been somewhat successful, although for this particular song, she only likes the first 2 minutes and 19 seconds. So in other words, the boring part. Once it gets good, she loses interest.

4. Touch the Sky - Julie Fowlis (from the "Brave" soundtrack)
This is my favorite of the recent Disney movies, so Maya pretends to likes this song for that reason. Otherwise, I don't think it's her favorite.

5. Changes - David Bowie
Another excellent song I can attribute to the Shrek franchise. A cover of this plays during one scene of Shrek 2, and that's enough to capture Maya's attention. Thank you, DreamWorks!

6. Nasty Dan - Johnny Cash
I gotta give props to Melinda for introducing this gem to our repertoire, back when Maya was born. We're now fans of the whole Johnny Cash Children's Album.

7. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - The Beatles
My first of many attempts to get the girls to like The Beatles. I mean, c'mon, it was the theme song to "Life Goes On." What's not to like!? Apparently all of it, say the girls.

8. When the World - Lea Michele (from the "Legends of Oz" soundtrack)
A cartoon sequel to "The Wizard of Oz" came out a while back starring Lea Michele of "Glee" fame. I actually always liked Lea Michele, so I gave this cartoon a chance on Red Box one night. The verdict: It's one of the worst movies ever made. I honestly could not watch this movie from beginning to end without getting up and pacing angrily around the house for the Wizard-of-Oz blasphemy taking place before me. For a sample of this horror, let me offer this clip from the movie:



If you couldn't sit through that clip (and I don't blame you) let me give you the abbreviated version: a soldier made out of marshmallows brings his miniature porcelain doll love interest back to life by removing parts of his marshmallow body, melting them in a fire, and using those melted body parts to glue her broken body back together.

OK, first of all? Ew. And second of all? Eeeeewwwww.

Still, I'm a parent. And like most parents, I'm a pushover and will do things that go against all my moral fibers just to see my children smile. So I put a different song from this movie on Maya's November mix to make her happy. And it did, immensely. What can I say? I'm a big meltable, marshmallow softie at heart.

9. Oh My Sweet Carolina - Ryan Adams
Every year, we head to North Carolina to visit my in-laws for Thanksgiving, so I thought this was an appropriate choice for Maya's November mix. I suspected this song might be too slow and quiet for her tastes, which was a correct assumption. But at least I tried.

10. Mexico Lindo (Pretty Mexico) - Nati Cano's Mariachi Los Camperos
In November, we started talking to the girls about our upcoming January trip to Mexico. So in an attempt to get Maya in the Mayan spirit, I added some mariachi to the mix. She was mildly intrigued, but mostly chose to skip this tune. Once again, at least I tried.

You can also listen to the mix here.