speed of dark

alt-gramma likes to call my son "he might be giant". He's ten years old, big and tall, and we've been careful to try to mold him in our music-fanatic image.

A few years ago, he was listening to Radio Disney, which, if you've never had the "pleasure" of hearing, is sugary teeny pop and watered-down versions of popular songs. One horrible version of Mambo No. 5 has Lou Bega singing about Mickey and Minnie and other Dizzney characters...it's just unspeakably awful. But in the last year or so, he's started to listen to other music, more of what I listen to. I think part of it is that some bands, like Green Day, have developed more of a marketing strategy around their music. Don't get me wrong, Green Day has put out some good stuff in the last few albums. But it's very commercialized and packaged just for pre-teen and teenaged angst. I saw teeny-sized Green Day t-shirts, the one with the flying grenade, in the kids' section at Target ferchissakes! But the other part is that I listen to music constantly, in the car, at home, when I'm on the computer, whenever.

We do disagree on music, though, quite often. He likes Panic at the Disco! (or however they punctuate that band name) and frankly, I think they're terrible. They have a song out now, and I don't even know the name of it, but whenever they play it on the "alternative rock" radio station*, I change the station and he gets mad. I just can't stand it, can't bear to listen to it at all. It talks about closing a goddamn door or something, and I don't think it's a good song or age appropriate. I do have to edit what he listens to, sometimes.

But on the subject of censoring what he listens to...alt-gramma refused to let me buy or to buy me Guns 'n' Roses' Use Your Illusion I and II (in cassette form!) when I was under eighteen. She also refused to let me go see them in concert when Appetite for Destruction came out and every time they went on tour thereafter. I did end up buying them both (somehow) and I remember listening to the tapes so often they wore out. She also "accidentally" vacuumed my cassette of Eazy-E's Eazy Does It and destroyed it. On accident. Not that I'm bitter after all these years or anything.

Here's a short collection of he might be giant's favorite songs (which are all available at itunes):

they might be giants: no!
green day: holiday
the white stripes: seven nation army

(all links, right click and save)

*Don't even get me started about the quality of the local "alternative rock" station.