Carmela’s Playlist

When my wife and I are cooking or cleaning around the house we always have music on. This weekend we listened to Kasey Chambers and the Decemberists new album. I have nearly 110 days worth of music on my iPod so it’s possible we won’t listen to these albums around the house again for years. If I started playing all this music now it wouldn’t repeat until my daughter was a few weeks old. I have warm memories of hearing music at home growing up coming from either my father’s guitar, my mother’s voice or our Lechmere stereo. Peter, Paul and Mary, John Prine, Arlo Guthrie, James Taylor, The Beatles and the Beach Boys remind me of growing up in the 80s more so than Duran Duran and Bananarama. If my daughter is to have similar memories I have come to the realization that we have to sharply focus our musical choices around the house.

I understand that my daughter will love music from artists that have yet to be born. She will hum the tunes that play on her pack-and-play and dance to the Nickelodeon and Disney songs that haven’t been manufactured yet. I will happily play all these tunes on the piano and accordion to establish early on that I will find opportunities to embarrass her. My wife and I will sing the pop hits of the next decade in unintentional harmonies on acoustic guitars as our daughter escapes to her room. However, I feel like we have some control over what she looks back on 30 years from now and what will hopefully remind her of the comforts of home.

My idea is to create a short playlist of songs to consistently play around the house starting now. We’ll still continue to listen to new things, but songs from the playlist should be a consistent staple in the in-house set-list.  These are songs that my wife and I love to sing and have been listening to for years. I imagine playing some of these songs on the piano as my wife rears and swaddles. I will sing some of these on the guitar as she goes to sleep. I imagine my parents doing the same.

1. Beethoven “Symphony #6, First Movement“
2. The Beatles “Here Comes the Sun“
3. Ben Folds “The Luckiest“
4. The Grateful Dead “Ripple“
5. Northern Lights “Midnight, Moonlight“
6. Tori Amos “Mr. Zebra“
7. Natalie MacMaster “Josefin’s Waltz“
8. Blitzen Trapper “Furr“
9. Ariel aka The Little Mermaid “Part of Your World“
10. Elton John “Your Song“
11. Billy Joel “Lullabye (Good Night, My Angel)“
12. Genesis “Horizons“
13. James Taylor “You Can Close Your Eyes“
14. John Prine “Fish & Whistle“
15. Lori McKenna “Fireflies“
16. Mark Erelli “Pilgrim Highway“
17. Jake Armerding “Song of Solomon“
18. Paul Simon “Graceland“
19. Townes Van Zandt “If I Needed You“
20. Donovan “Catch the Wind“
21. Lucio Battisti “Non e Francesca“
22. Bryan Adams “Everything I do (I do it for you)“
23. Steve Earle “The Galway Girl“
24. Winnie The Pooh Theme
25. John Gorka “Morningside“
26. Beach Boys “Forever“
27. Simon & Garfunkel “America“
28. Cheryl Wheeler “When Fall Comes to New England“
29. Kermit De Frog “Rainbow Connection“
30. Bill Staines “A Place in the Choir“
31. ABBA “Mama Mia“
32. Girlyman “Joyful Sign“