In the Genes
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Artist:
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Album:Radio 1 Established 1967
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Track:All Along the Watchtower
It’s Memorial Day, and I’ve been spending the long weekend in Monterey with my brother and his family. Nothing remarkable there. Just a chance to take a break from the concerts and screenings and the San Fran-to-Los Angeles commute that’s been my lot of late.Not every human can or will say this, but it’s a joy for me to hang out with the relatives. Both of the nieces, now 16 and 5 ½, are a particular kick, especially for their music-loving uncle.
The little one and me.I’ve been bringing worthwhile sounds – new and time-tested - to the 16-year-old for quite a while, and she’s been applying herself to the piano with increasing aptitude and plans for a summer class to hone her skills. At 13, she fixated on the Beatles and Stones. By 14, she was deep into Celtic music and the Cranberries. When she turned 15, she moved on to the Clash, Led Zep and Pink Floyd. Now, she’s all over the map, playing “Moonlight Sonata” on her Yahama keyboard; checking out recordings by long-running Italian pop singer/actor Massimo Ranieri, who specializes in classic, romantic Neopolitan songs (the older niece was born in Naples, Italy); and listening to her usual catalog of favorites. Last visit, I brought her a copy of Arcade Fire’s Funeral. This visit, she received Goldfrapp’s Seventh Tree and the first El Perro del Mar album. We’ll see what sticks.But, when it comes to music appreciation, the real surprise has been the 5-year-old. I gave the 16-year-old a copy of the prodigious Radio 1 Established 1967 compilation - 40 current artists playing 40 hit songs from the past 40 years of the BBC’s rock-oriented Radio One channel - at Christmas, but it’s been the little one who keeps it in the family car’s CD player and insists on playing it over and over.In an explosion of good taste that should please MOGgers of many stripes, the 5-year-old is, first and foremost, fond of the Kaiser Chiefs’ cover of The Move’s “Flowers in the Rain,” The Fratellis’ version of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” Kasabian’s take on the Specials’ “Too Much Too Young,” and the techno-charged Mika/Armand Van Helden collaboration on the Police’s “Can't Stand Losing You.” And, though she has yet to get into the album’s second disc, she’s equally enamored of most of the other tracks on Disc 1, even singing along with her favorites. Except Amy Winehouse’s interpretation of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid,” which, for some reason, the kid detests. By the way, I checked. The 5-year-old has never seen a photo of Winehouse, so it’s not that.I guess the child and I will just have to agree to disagree about Amy. Otherwise, I remain thrilled that discerning taste in music appears to be genetic. Hear that? It’s the next generation rocking.PS: As a contrast to the Fratellis stream at the top of the post, here’s a vintage performance of “Rose rosse” by a young Massimo Ranieri:
The little one and me.I’ve been bringing worthwhile sounds – new and time-tested - to the 16-year-old for quite a while, and she’s been applying herself to the piano with increasing aptitude and plans for a summer class to hone her skills. At 13, she fixated on the Beatles and Stones. By 14, she was deep into Celtic music and the Cranberries. When she turned 15, she moved on to the Clash, Led Zep and Pink Floyd. Now, she’s all over the map, playing “Moonlight Sonata” on her Yahama keyboard; checking out recordings by long-running Italian pop singer/actor Massimo Ranieri, who specializes in classic, romantic Neopolitan songs (the older niece was born in Naples, Italy); and listening to her usual catalog of favorites. Last visit, I brought her a copy of Arcade Fire’s Funeral. This visit, she received Goldfrapp’s Seventh Tree and the first El Perro del Mar album. We’ll see what sticks.But, when it comes to music appreciation, the real surprise has been the 5-year-old. I gave the 16-year-old a copy of the prodigious Radio 1 Established 1967 compilation - 40 current artists playing 40 hit songs from the past 40 years of the BBC’s rock-oriented Radio One channel - at Christmas, but it’s been the little one who keeps it in the family car’s CD player and insists on playing it over and over.In an explosion of good taste that should please MOGgers of many stripes, the 5-year-old is, first and foremost, fond of the Kaiser Chiefs’ cover of The Move’s “Flowers in the Rain,” The Fratellis’ version of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” Kasabian’s take on the Specials’ “Too Much Too Young,” and the techno-charged Mika/Armand Van Helden collaboration on the Police’s “Can't Stand Losing You.” And, though she has yet to get into the album’s second disc, she’s equally enamored of most of the other tracks on Disc 1, even singing along with her favorites. Except Amy Winehouse’s interpretation of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid,” which, for some reason, the kid detests. By the way, I checked. The 5-year-old has never seen a photo of Winehouse, so it’s not that.I guess the child and I will just have to agree to disagree about Amy. Otherwise, I remain thrilled that discerning taste in music appears to be genetic. Hear that? It’s the next generation rocking.PS: As a contrast to the Fratellis stream at the top of the post, here’s a vintage performance of “Rose rosse” by a young Massimo Ranieri:
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