In previous blog posts, I’ve talked about Miles’s general interest in music and, specifically, his appreciation for They Might Be Giants (thanks to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and “Weird Al” Yankovic. He’s recently become absolutely fixated on several songs by these two, requesting them often enough in the car that we needed to just make a playlist for easy access.
The great news about all of these songs is that I genuinely like each and every one; but, when tasked with listening to the same thing over and over, even “Doctor Worm”‘s status as my favorite TMBG song is eventually drawn into question. But, seeing as this current list doesn’t quite cover the commute to daycare in the morning, we’ll be adding to it soon (once we find more songs that Miles is amenable to…). For now, you can find the playlist below:
1. “Doctor Worm” – They Might Be Giants
The playlist truly started here, with a song that Miles fell in love with quickly for two reasons: 1) it is INFECTIOUSLY catchy and 2) Miles found that he related to the lyrics in a lot of ways (“Hey! I like to play the drums, too!”). There are mornings where our commute consists of about 10 consecutive plays of this song, but what makes it easier to manage is listening to Miles gradually learn more and more of the words as he sings along.
2. “Definition of Good” – They Might Be Giants
In an effort to expand Miles’s exposure to TMBG beyond “Doctor Worm,” Jaclyn put on one of their kids albums. After the dust settled, this was his favorite. Miles is a big fan of the more absurd imagery the lyrics conjure and is quick to point out how silly it all is, although it will likely be a while before he learns all the words to this one.
3. “Spam” – “Weird Al” Yankovic
A staple of the Martin family diet since time immemorial, Miles has only managed to try Spam once in his life thus far (a poor reflection on me, I know), but this lack of exposure has done nothing to temper his love of this song. It’s a little too wordy for him to memorize, but he sure hits every “SPAM” right on the money.
4. “(This Song’s Just) Six Words Long” – “Weird Al” Yankovic
As with “Spam,” Miles is pretty unfamiliar with the inspiration for this song (George Harrison’s “(Got My Mind) Set on You”), but whereas that other “Weird Al” song has too many lyrics for Miles to wrap his head around, this song is, perhaps unsurprisingly, much easier to sing along to.
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