I'm (kind of) a Belieber!

After so much baby and toddler time, it's been really fun to sit for a couple of elementary girls. We do home work and piano practice and play Wii and board games. There's a lot more hanging out and less changing diapers. Ahhh...


But there is also a lot of High School Musical, Jonas Brothers and lately, Justin Bieber. I'm not a music snob, and I actually like sugary-pop music more that most musicians I know, so I was willing to give JB a try. I mean, 7-year-old Maia is totally in love with him, so how could I deny her? We all bopped along to "Little", "Baby" and that cover of "LoveFool" by The Cardigans while we painted our nails with polka dots. 


And then came "First Dance." This song is hilarious. It's so clearly using "the first dance" as a euphemism for "the first time you have sex," kind of like 60's teen pop singers did. He's trying to walk the line between parent-approved wholesomeness and heart-flutter inducing sexiness, but to anyone over 10, it just comes off as ridiculous. The line that made me laugh out loud comes at the end of the bridge: 


Your glass slippers in my hand right here,
We'll make it before the clock strikes nine.


OK, What? Nine? I know he's talking to pre-teen girls who can't stay out late, but this is supposed to be a fantasy. Can't we at least dream about staying up until midnight like Cinderella did? 


The girls had no idea why I thought this song was funny, and I didn't want to explain it to them. They don't hear the implied meaning at all. And in the end, maybe it really is just about a dance. Maybe when you are 7, the anticipation and excitement of swaying back and forth with a cute boy is as scary and thrilling as it gets. Maybe you do hope he'll "be gentle" and "do it slowly." And maybe that's really all Justin Bieber is talking about. I kinda doubt that's all the songwriters and producers and label marketing folks were thinking, but that kind of cynicism is not for little girls. Just us babysitters. 

Dan Zanes Dance Party!

Maggie and Mikey and I seriously rocked out to an entire Dan Zanes album the other day. Jumps, rolls, kicks, spins, flops, sways. And then when I told them that one of my friends had been in Dan's touring band for a while, and that in fact, they had probably seen her when they went to his show, I was a little bit of a star for a minute, too.

Shuffle and Share

Sally and I were playing songs for each other from our iPods today. Sally is 2 and her iPod was actually a calculator. It was full of hits like "Wheels on the Bus," "ABC song," and "Twinkle Widdle Dar." I played for her a little Earth, Wind and Fire, Jackson 5, and Loretta Lynn.

Then she played me an exclusive preview of the Dixie Chicks' brand new single. And I really wished we weren't pretending. I miss them.

I guess with 8 kids between them, the Chicks need a break. But when a new DC album does come out, I really hope it doesn't have "Wheels on the Bus" on it.