Pop Shield

How things have changed.  The heady days when ‘going downstairs to have a look at some aluminium foil’ was not an actual valid activity are but a distant memory.  And it’s all a joyous lesson in taking the time to stop and smell the roses, something one rarely has time to do in a busy studio session.

There are, however, some parallels to be drawn between radio life and baby life. Upon the arrival of Pip Shield my spouse and I reacted to the somewhat daunting situation by promptly dividing ourselves up into Head Of Inputs and Head Of Outputs. Two-way talkback systems between kitchen and bedroom were quickly set up and calibrated.  For some funny reason I find myself unconsciously ensuring that our little baby and the big bad parent monitor unit never meet, for fear of some kind of sinister feedback loop occurring. Nap-times are the childcare equivalent of putting on a long tape in a busy radio show, giving you the opportunity to T&P and look ahead to the next sequence in the schedule.

As much of our daily lives have changed, the criteria for organising my record collection has also taken a curious turn. Basically, everything has been reclassified into the four following playlists:

Nappy Songs – Rock, Disco, R&B, Pop.

Relaxing Space – Ambient, Classical, New Age.

Food Music – Folk, Blues, Soul, Reggae, Country.

Playtime – Electronica, Jazz, World, Easy Listening, Dance.

Naturally, here is nothing that Pip prefers to listen to during Bare Bottom Kickabout than Rabbit by Baz N Steve.  Oh, if only Bare Bottom Kickabout was a bone fide pastime for adults.  Hmm, hang on, I think there are specialist holiday places on offer where it might indeed be.

Some changes have occurred inside my head too.  I’m talking about the ear worms.  So it’s goodbye to the old hold favourites of ‘Everyday’ by Muddy Jolly, ‘Valerie’ by The Futons, ‘I Will’ by The Bugs etcetera and hello to wall-to-wall nursery rhymes and children’s songs.  Honestly, I could barely fit any dreams in my head last night thanks to The Little Green Frog having expanded to fill my entire brain.

Thanks to the proliferation of local Rhyme Time groups, and our overzealous attendance of all of them, I have refreshed my repertoire of ditties, with the help of Clarice’s excellent children’s songbook Refrain, Set & Match.  These tunes now accompany all the activities of the day.  Praise be that Junior’s musical development is not yet such that he is able to critique my performances.

The current Radio Pop live music set list on rotation goes something like this:

Burping Songs:

A – List: Horsey Horsey, My Bonnie

B – List: Daisy Daisy, Skye Boat Song

C – List: Row Row Row Your Boat, The Big Ship Sails (new entry)

Washing & Dressing Songs:

A – The Little Green Frog (new entry)

B – Peter Rabbit Has A Fly Upon His Nose, Hickory Dickory Dock

C – Heads Shoulders Knees And Toes, Incy Wincy Spider

Playing Songs:

A – Sleeping Bunnies, Five Little Ducks Went Swimming.

B – Bananas Of The World Unite, Five Little Men In A Flying Saucer (new entry)

C – Five Currant Buns In A Bakers Shop, Put Another Pancake Into The Pan.

Sleeping Songs:-

A – Hush Little Baby

B – Somewhere Over The Rainbow

C – Que Sera, Lavender’s Blue.

You’ll notice no mention of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star because I’m sorry to say that in my opinion that it is a very boring song.  No matter how much I try and spice it up with grandiose hand gestures.

And so, Pip Shield’s musical development is already coming along leaps and bounds.  With a bit of assistance, he can play the piano with his feet, and he has already stroked a clarinet and grabbed the strings of a real cello.  Band practice is a staple favourite activity in our household, during which Pip holds down the rhythm section on the Mexican maraca. His approach is very similar to the one I have for strawberry picking – nail one, eat one. Sophie the Giraffe, Squeezy Penguin and Kazoo Mummy generally take the melody.  All our various other rattles and bells take turns to augment a backing track from the Baby Einstein Popular Classic Tunes Generator.  Way to go round here.

Anyroad, I must get back to the aluminium foil.  It does look interesting.  It sounds pretty good too.