Music for Kids - Colours are Brighter

In my opinion not enough bands write tunes about monkeys escaping, being an astronaut or tidying up your room.

Belle & Sebastian have set about putting this right by releasing an album of songs for kids, all written & performed by modern indie and pop bands. Their offering on the album 'Colours are Brighter' - a project by the band to raise money for 'Save the Children' - is a fantastic little dittie "The Monkeys are Breaking Out of the Zoo" which unsurprisingly tells the story of some monkeys that break out of the zoo past a snoozing zoo keeper. Complete with full-on sound effects from those kind of instruments you only ever see at primary schools, it certainly had me smiling on the way to work! (until the next traffic jam that is)

Other bands that contributed include Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol, The Divine Comedy, The Kooks and Four Tet (Full track listing is on the main site) who shed the indie-coolness for a minute and sing about stuff ranging from ninja dinosaurs and horrible boys to sensible shoes and skeletons.

Modern bands and songs repackaged for children isnt a new thing, BabyRockRecords for example, create "cherub rock for a new generation" by transforming rock & pop classics into lullabies. They transform whole albums so you can introduce your tweenies to Nirvana or Coldplay EPs before they can even speak! Jack Johnson also recently got in on the kids music market too with 'Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George'.

So long as this type of thing stays in the realm of providing good, fun music to kids rather than allowing parents or the music labels to introduce the notions of cool, status and branding into kids lives even earlier, then I think it's a lovely idea.

If I had kids, or was going to buy some music for kids, then 'Colours are Brighter' would be my first choice, since the proceeds are for a good cause. I can't get the monkey tune out of my head now, so I might even get a copy for myself, just in-case I do ever have kids! At least it'll beat listening to tweenie pop like Girls Aloud.

To get a copy, & to help 'Save the Children' follow the link below.



tags: charity, music, kids