Create video playlists using YouTube

Moe Berg may just be the coolest dad ever:

after two years or so of listening to the wiggles, sesame street, et al in the car, i couldn't take it anymore and started making mixed cds of real songs i thought my twin boys might like. two years later, i have a pair of 4 and half year olds who request stevie wonder, the ramones, beastie boys and gnarls barkley by name, which is nice.

but that's not the point of this email.

last week, i took things one step further. the other night, i decided to match the playlists on the cds to youtube and was happy to find that just about all of the songs they loved singing along with in the car could be found there. in about 30 minutes, i was able to set up a few video playlists for them that mirrored the car playlists exactly - and as a bonus, i discovered videos and live performances i'd never seen before.

words can't describe how much they love watching the groups perform the music - and how cool it is to see a kid's initial reaction to, say, the beatles on ed sullivan or kiss in full makeup/explosion mode.

for the record, their favorite is when the ramones smash the tv with a guitar at the end of "do you remember rock and roll radio."

You may live to regret that inclusion, Moe.

Tags: Kids' music, Parenting, YouTube

Comments

[Steph.]

My son's current favorite is our Queen's greatest hits CD. He LOVES rock music. Yes, I have to be careful of the lyrics, but he loves the music so much more than our kids CDs now (he's 7).

The problem...when your 2-year-old daughter starts singing "Another One Bites the Dust...yeah!" LOL

[kirsten]

i see no problem with a 2 yo singing queen! :)
my kids love the ramones - thanks for the great tip!

[Meg]

When my now almost 7 year old was 2 halmost e used to ask for "Mr. Alligator Brown." I have no idea how he got the name but "James Brown" almost seems boring in comparison.
Meg
http://careermomradio.com

[lisa]

Moe, you're a brilliant man. LOVE this hack.

[Jeff]

I have a 3 year old whose favourite songs include some by Pearl Jam, Rush, The Beatles, Marillion, and Dream Theater. He loves watching Rush's "R30" DVD, although at over 2 hours it's a little too long, so we usually just flip through a few of his favourite songs.

I never thought of searching for music videos for him before, but this is definitely something we'll try next time we're on the computer and looking for something to do.

Thanks!

[Andrea]

I've been using YouTube to make playlists of Emma's favorite shows, and also some of mine from way back when, like vintage Sesame Street. Which is much much better than the one on now.