playlist: punk is for the children

My child is two years and eight months old. We listen to a lot of music together, and naturally, he’s around a lot while I’m listening to punk records. Before I became a parent, I talked to a couple punk parents who didn’t really play this stuff for their kids.

I figured it would be hard to avoid, and as it turns out, my little spud loved the punk records in my office. I had to take the Cherry Cheeks self-titled out of the sleeve due to my kid’s infantile fascination with its high contrast design. He kept grabbing it, bending it, and tearing at it. I have video somewhere of him boppin’ around to GEE TEE before he could fully crawl.

Obviously, he’s a kid, so he also loves children’s music, the soundtracks to the Miyazaki movies he’s watched, the Beatles (specifically the Ringo songs), Hall & Oates, and the Pet Shop Boys. He’s a pretty high energy dude, so I made a playlist of high energy, (arguably) age appropriate punk music for when he wants to run around and dance and jump and get his ya-yas out.

When it’s on, he’s pretty engaged with it, yelling the words to the Ramones’ “Rockaway Beach” and Delta 5’s “Mind Your Own Business.” He laughs maniacally, mirroring Hasil Adkins’ “No More Hot Dogs.” (Your parental mileage may vary with Hasil’s murderous intentions there, but the laughing is infectious.) He’s entranced with Peach Kelli Pop’s “Red Leather.”

My thesis: There’s plenty of music from across the vast spectrum of punk that is perfect for kids. Here’s a 41-song YouTube playlist.

see/saw presents “punk is for the children”

The Raincoats: Fairytale in the Supermarket
Ramones: Rockaway Beach
The B-52’s: Private Idaho
Itchy and the Nits: Dreamboat
Cherry Cheeks: Trickin’
The Exploding Hearts: Thorns in Roses
Peach Kelli Pop: Red Leather
Delta 5: Mind Your Own Business
Dead Kennedys: Moon Over Marin
Hasil Adkins: No More Hot Dogs
Blondie: In the Sun
GEE TEE: Cell Damage
The Go-Go’s: Our Lips Are Sealed
The Undertones: Teenage Kicks
Dead Moon: It’s O.K.
Carbonas: Phone Booth
1-800-MIKEY: Digital Pet
The Mo-Dettes: White Mice
The Dirtbombs: Your Love Belongs Under a Rock
Wipers: Return of the Rat
Artificial Go: Circles
T. Rex: The Slider
Quintron: Ring the Alarm
Tha Retail Simps: Wrong Direction
The Replacements: I Will Dare
Terry: 8 Girls
The Damned: I Feel Alright
Reigning Sound: Stormy Weather
The #1s: Sharon Shouldn’t
The Jam: In the City
Boris the Sprinkler: (Do You Wanna) Grilled Cheese
The Wiggles: Five Little Joeys
Bugg Music: Bugg Season (Demo)
Being Dead: Muriel’s Big Day Off
Lùlù: Lùlù
Smarts: Cling Wrap
Jeff Rosenstock: Wave Goodnight to Me
Eddy Current Suppression Ring: Swimming Hole
The Linda Lindas: Racist Sexist Boy
Pink Fairies: I Wish I Was a Girl
Davila 666: Tu

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