I hate kids music

Yes, in fact, I hate kid's music with a white hot passion. I have never seen or listened to High School the Musical, and I hope against hope that I will never have to. I have actual issues with most kid's music that I've heard. Don't even get me started on the travesty that is Kids Bop which I thankfully only know through their hellish commercials.

I have made one single exception that I can think of, though if Momma reads this, she may think of one other exception that I'm less willing to admit to. I really doubt that exception exists, but Momma has a way of remembering things I don't, whether or not they really happened.

Before I rant any more I will list my one exception. I love Thomas the Tank Engine. The original stories by Reverend Awdry are the ones I love, and the new ones that exist solely to make money can go straight to hell. Rev. Awdry's original stories were made up for his son, the same way that many classics of children's literature were created. So my musical exception here is Roundhouse Rhythms, a collection of songs from different episodes of the Thomas stories. I'm sure anyone familiar with Thomas knows plenty of lyrics to Gone Fishin' which is a great song. Toby's song is also a good one. I've even found a site with the lyrics so that I can sing along.

Now we continue with the rant. I just don't see the point of music geared toward kids. It's always music that no one but kids want to hear, and kids only like it because we buy it for them and treat is as special for them. In fact, most kid's music just plain sucks, so in my mind, we are, by giving our kids this crap, telling them they don't deserve good music. It's insulting to kids in my opinion to suggest that they can't appreciate good music.

Big Brother doesn't seem to appreciate the ska quite as much as Momma and I, but he does seem to like some of it. The Boy is constantly asking who we are listening to, even when we actually have the radio on, which means I don't usually know who it is till the DJ tells us, and I don't know that we've found anything he will claim not to like. We only listen to three stations regularly, NPR, the local college station and WDVX, easily one of the greatest radio stations known to man. Click the link and listen. If you love Americana and related styles you will love them. They are also commercial free, though my anti-commercial leanings get a different post.

I'll end the rant with music I know the boys like: Dwight Yoakam, Louis Jordan, Leonard Cohen, Carl Perkins, The Clash, Dropkick Murphys, The Melvins, Motorhead, Flogging Molly, Faith No More, Social Distortion, and the list really goes on. I could throw in some classical music that they've enjoyed, Tchaikovsky, the entire Strauss family, Prokofiev (Peter and the Wolf) Basically my point is, why reduce music to pop pablum when you can just give your kids real music? Why limit what they can get into? Why give them music that has an obvious enjoy-by date?

not soccer weather

First, don't assume I'm pretending we get cold weather. We are in the south, as I well know, and it just doesn't really get that cold down here compared to some of the more crazy ass states like Minnesota.

Having said that, it's damn cold here today. Yesterday was oddly cold, colder than it felt, light, not unpleasant breezes all day. The breezes today are similarly light but much colder. Today's weather is the kind of weather where heavy and heavily padded fellows collide into each other while searching for the guy with the funny oblong ball. This is football weather.

I've checked the website of the soccer league on which I play. Our team captain called me last night to make sure I knew that we did indeed have a game today, but I checked again today to be sure that the games hadn't been canceled. We haven't had enough rain for the fields to be off limits, which is why our games are generally canceled. Apparently the schedule stands, and we will play.

The sky is gray and a little unpleasant looking, and the perky news ho last night actually mentioned the phrase "snow flurries." Those aren't rain clouds outside, but they could easily be snow clouds. It looks like winter crap weather outside.

And it's cold. Even in a flannel and leather jacket, my smokes today have not been pleasant. It ain't soccer weather out there today.

I briefly considered not playing. Part of me really doesn't look forward to freezing my nuts to my leg and being so cold that I feel brittle. Another part of me thinks that some of the other team members won't show giving me that much more playing time. That's the thought that might push me out the door into this not soccer weather day. I have also to consider that many team mates may not show. Last season ended with the majority of the team not showing for the last couple of games leaving us to play severely overwhelmed by the opposing team. I'm not looking forward to being part of seven or eight players playing a full side of eleven with substitutes which is a fear alongside the brittle freeze.

I will most likely be out at the field, freezing, shivering like a scared puppy. I will play my ass off looking to win the last game of the season. And that's the main reason I'll be there. This is our last game of the fall season, so soccer is over for a few months after today. I'm almost looking forward to the freedom of not having games looming each Sunday. But as usual, as much as I might think I'm looking forward to it, I'll miss soccer until spring finally drags itself back.

So I'll play. I'll freeze, sort of. I'll hurt myself a little on a spectacular (spectacularly stupid) slide tackle. And too soon it'll be over for a short time.