Week 18, Day 2 … Albums today, playlists tomorrow
Music has been a big part of my life. My mom taught me how to play piano before I was three. I was that same age when I developed a huge crush on Johnny Cash from listening to my dad’s Cash LPs. Of course, I also heard a lot of Ferrante & Teicher, which may account for my ability to listen to almost any kind of music.
So when it comes to music for the baby, I don’t want plinky-plink or baby Muzak. I want good music. Soothing, sure, but also setting him on the right road. Living here in Austin — the Live Music Capital of the World — I figure I should be setting a good example for him. If only Stevie Ray had lived long enough to put out a lullaby album.
Even without Stevie Ray (whose “Lenny” will undoubtedly make it onto a lullaby playlist anyway), I have an excellent opportunity to add to the music list today, which is the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians annual HAAM Benefit Day. I’ll be heading down to Waterloo Records and taking a look at their amazing selection, and when I check out, Waterloo will donate 5 percent of what I spend to HAAM to help provide health insurance to Austin’s uninsured working musicians. While I’m at it, I’m thinking about stopping at some other participating businesses, like El Interior to pick up some oilcloth for nursery DIY and Whole Foods for lots of healthy, organic produce and products.
Forty Weeks 
I sang “Down in the River to Pray” from the O BROTHER soundtrack to Elizabeth when she was tiny. After a break, it’s now back in the regular rotation. And now I’ve started singing it to Colleen. Kate sings “You Are My Sunshine” and “Hot Buttered Rum” (the latter by the Red Clay Ramblers). So the girls don’t have lullaby albums, just iPod playlists of the songs we sing to them at bedtime.
Playlists could take up a whole nother post or four, I know. I’ve started trying to compile a few myself, with already a few cuts from O Brother on board.
We like the Putamayo CD (Dreamland), and there is one by Fisher Price called Tender Lullabies that has very soothing instrumental versions of the standards. The words are in the insert if you buy the physical CD, so you can sing along if you want. It usually does the trick if we’re trying to get him to sleep in the car.