A few weeks ago, a curious little package arrived at our house. Upon opening I discovered an odd array of items: a whoopie cushion, a plastic fish of some sort, a postcard and a DVD and CD by a group calling themselves The Jimmies. There was a DVD entitled Trying Funny Stuff and the accompanying CD, Make Your Own Someday. So I thought I’d try it out on my geeklet. Here’s what I found.
The test subject: Nearly three year old, towheaded, high-energy, “spirited” child. Tends to only sit still for five minutes or less. Obsessed with cars. Favorite band is “They Me Bite Giants“. Can spot a Mustang at 300 paces.
The stimulus: The Jimmies. Happy-go-lucky kid-rock (kindie rock, as they call it) fronted by Ashley Albert. DVD contains a series of music videos and concert footage.
The result: Child sat still for duration of entire DVD. Nearly unheard of. Immediately after video ended, asked for more. Later, found postcard again and requested that Mommy play it again. Next morning, wanted to hear about “Taddy” again, and continually asked about how frogs stop being fish.
Comments: Seriously, the best thing about The Jimmies is that I don’t just tolerate them, I love them. The songs are real songs, not dumbed-down hokey nursery rhymes. We can sing together, and we both enjoy it… unlike some other kids’ “bands”. Not to mention the videos are wonderfully done: whimsical, magical, downright beautiful. Absolutely fantastic and wonderfully geeky. Yes, there is learning here, too. Even in Spanish. The kiddo’s favorite: “Taddy”. My favorite: “Cool to be Uncool”.
I have to say I was a skeptic. My acceptance level for most kids music is very, very low. But this made the cut, and more. I want more videos, more CDs and definitely want to catch them live.
Oh, yeah, and the kid can come, too.
The Jimmies – Cool to be Uncool Video:
