Kids' Guide to the Globe

German Music Review: "Die 1ste. 2 CDs" - Junge Dichter Und Denker "Young Poets And Thinkers"

 
Germany: often called Das Land der Dichter und Denker ("The Land of Poets and Thinkers").  Think Goethe.  Schiller.  And we won't even get into its musical giants.

Germany: home to one of the largest and most vibrant hip hop scenes outside of the US. 

Any common ground here?  Yep - Junge Dichter Und Denker ("Young Poets and Thinkers"), a group of German kids who rap out classics from German literature to an electronic, hip hop beat.

Be warned: this is not "music" in the strict sense.  Junge Dichter Und Denker's material floats around in that gray area between speech, prose, poetry, rhythm and music.  Only one track is sung, and the album is a tough sell for younger kids who don't already speak the language.  But my son (11, and only at the beginning stages of learning German) likes it, and there's something about it... I find myself listening to it over and over, with pure enjoyment. 

The rhythms are sharp and mesmerizing, but more than that, the tracks totally bust up all my stereotypes of German as a harsh, clipped language.  (Too many World War II movies.)  German actually has a soft side, yet the right amount of punchiness for rap.  The voices of these children are beautiful, and I find listening to this album extremely restful.  I can zone out to it, all the while knowing that I'm listening to some really important works of literature!

This particular and most recent album of Junge Dichter und Denker (and they've got a few) includes selections from classics like Goethe's "Confession" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (which inspired Paul Dukas's symphonic poem of the same name, which inspired Mickey Mouse's well-known housecleaning debacle), Freidrich Schiller's "The Glove", and Theodor Fontane's "The Bridge At The Tay".

I would recommend this album for serious students of German, bi-lingual households, and parents who really want their children (or themselves) to be immersed in the sounds of German, regardless of the level of ability.  And, of course, anyone who wants to commit German literary classics to memory.  The hip hop beats make the listening easy and habit-forming.  If I were planning to learn German, I would play this cd over and over and over.  And at this point, I just might.  (Learn German, that is.)

Liner notes include lyrics in German; karaoke disk included for when you've got everything memorized.
 

French Music Review: La Banquise ("The Ice Field") - Pigloo

To the venerable and time-honored cinematic tradition of penguins struggling for self-expression (Happy Feet, Surf's Up), now comes Pigloo, The Ice Field.  To appreciate this album, you have to get over your long-held prejudice against repetitive, synthesized, electronic penguin music.  Once past that hurdle, you're in.

I know what you're thinking:

a)  Do we really need more penguin animation?

b)  What do the French know about a penguin's existential crisis?

c)  Can I get that baby on the E*TRADE ads to pick my stocks?

The answers are:

a)  Yes;

b)  Plenty; and

c)  A little focus, here?

La Banquise predates Happy Feet and Surf's Up, so it's actually the granddaddy of the penguin genre.  Kind of like Odysseus is to Ulysses.  Like Degrassi Jr. High is to Beverly Hills 90210.  Like the Book of Job is to Goethe's Faust. 

My first reaction to the music was: "Turn this off now before I suffer from a nervous breakdown and attempt to remove my own fingernails."  But my daughter listens to Pigloo with such good humor and pure enjoyment.  She used my tactics on me: repetition and enthusiasm.  She hopped around the house singing:

Sautez, criez, chantez, dancez! (Jump, yell, sing, dance!)

Sold.

The cd comes with two amazingly engaging and adorable video clips (I've posted one above).  And the songs are slowly worming their way into my good graces.  The sound is predominantly electronic, but there's a bit of reggae, twist, and my personal favorite: samba.  The final track, La Banquise S'en Va, takes its place next to the best island songs, like The Beach Boys' "Kokomo".  La Banquise S'en Va is a truly sweet song that, I confess, I listen to over and over.

Liner notes include French lyrics.

 

"Are You Nuts? My Kid Won't Listen To Music In (Insert Language Here)!"

I know, I know, I can hear it now, "I don't like this, Dad.  Turn it off.  Can we listen to Bloody Toothpick instead?"  (Or something.)

Don't worry.  There are ways to get your kids to listen to this stuff, if you're willing to be patient and persistent.

1.  Start with the language they're learning in school or at home. OK, so that's the easy one.  But after only a little time with a cd, your children may start to notice their comprehension improving in their school foreign language classes.  Not to mention their pronunciation, and their enjoyment and appreciation of that class.  Instant benefits = willingness to try a few more cds, or even to branch out to a new language.

2.  Be excited!  Be enthusiastic! You're a salesperson.  They're uninitiated.  You gotta convince them.  You can do this -- you do it all the time.  Here's your approach: for younger kids, you're over the moon about this music.  It's the greatest thing you've heard since Ralph's World did "What's New Pussycat" as a kids' song.  (And that was cool.)  It makes you smile and sing along.  For older kids, try reverse psychology.  This music is so good, and this cd so highly prized, you'll only let them borrow the cd if they promise to take out the compost and then wash the slimy, icky inside of the bucket without complaint.

3.  Translate a few songs and tell them what the songs are about.  If your kids understand that the name of the song is "Who Farted?" (see Benoit, Le Monde Est Petit), they may be way more willing to listen.   Who wouldn't?  (Who did fart, anyway?)  If you don't speak the language yourself, I'll be providing synopses of many of the albums I review, so you can at least get a rough idea of  what each song is about.  My children want only that -- they don't  like my long, drawn-out  translations.  Makes it easier on me.

4.  Sing along.  Pick your favorite song.  Translate the refrain, commit it to memory, and belt it out with the cd.  Teach it to the kids.  There is something incredibly satisfying about mastering a few lines in another language.  Click on "About the Songs" under "Categories" to get song summaries and a few translations.  And if you've done some translating on your own, please share!

5.  Show them some of the video clips in my posts. I'll include video clips whenever possible.  Once they see that a band actually looks kind of cool (and funny), they'll be willing to listen to that same song on a cd.  Then, hopefully, they'll be good for a few more songs.

6.  Repetition helps.  Wear them down, plain and simple.  They can't ALWAYS pick the music you listen to in the car.  Moms and dads have rights, too.  When it's your turn, pop in the same old French cd you've been pushing on them.  If it's good music, they'll start to like it.  I've seen this happen with music I thought my children would never warm up to.

7.  Bribe them.  Some things are non-negotiable.  Homework comes before sports.  You gotta at least try everything on your plate.  You speak politely to Aunt Medusa, and you never, ever put the cats in a basket and swing them out of a second story window, even if they seem to be enjoying themselves.  These, we don't bargain over.  But for some things, we are not above a little bribe.  I bribed my kids to try dim sum (and they liked it).  I bribe them to give certain books a try, ones that I know won't be immediately popular.  I haven't yet had to bribe them to listen to foreign language music (see  1-6 above) but I'm sure that day will come.  Pick your battles.  If this is important to you, save some bribery credits for foreign language music.

Got any other ideas?  Techniques that have worked for you?  Let me know, and good luck!   

German Music Round-Up: Die Prinzen

Want more Die Prinzen?  Look no further...

French Music Round-Up: Les Petites Tounes

Want more Les Petites Tounes?  Look no further...

German Music Review: A Capella Album - Die Prinzen

Die Prinzen ("The Princes") is a German music group  which takes its name from the Brother's Grimm fairy tale, The Frog Prince.  (Hence the frogs that appear on so many of their album covers.)  The band is made up of former members of the Thomanerchor, a choir of the St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig, Germany, where Johann Sebastian Bach was music director for many years.  Their lyrics are "often humorous, tongue-in-cheek critiques of German government or society" (from Wikipedia).

Well, I can't say that we totally got all the political humor... in fact, about 100% of it sailed right over our heads.  German is not a strong language in this household.  When I help my son with his German vocabulary words, he has to correct my pronunciation on every single word.

No matter.  These guys are cool - pop, fairly mellow, nice melodies.  This was my first Die Prinzen album, and I chose it because it was a capella, and hopefully easier for us to understand, or at least pick out a few words here and there.  I was right.  We all like listening to Die Prinzen, for those times when we don't need a high energy anthem or crashing rock sound to get us going.

The album is made up of Die Prinzen's previous hits, done this time in a capella style.  My favorite tracks are "Blaues Blut", "Millionar" and "Mein Bester Freund".  The sound reminds me of the a capella groups I used to swoon over in my pre-college days, in the late 70's. 

This album is easy on the ears, and palatable for kids.  I can't vouch for the content (because I can't, um, understand one friggin word of it), but judging by the sound and the graphics on their albums, there's nothing hard-core here.   This is a mainstream group, and one I hope to explore further.  I'll let you know what I turn up.

French Music Round-Up: Shilvi

Want more Shilvi?  Look no further...

14 Pistes Pour Debutants  (no image available)

Tour De Bebelles

Books:

Tambourin perlimpinpin - Shilvi

Get a Shilvi  doll!  And more...

Shilvi's Official Site

(click anywhere to enter, then click on "Jeux" on the top menu to play some games.  If you don't speak French, don't worry... let your kids click around.  You'll be surprised at how much they can navigate without knowing a word.  But hopefully ... they'll LEARN SOMETHING.