The Sound of Zimbabwe

When we went to Cape Town last weekend, there were two bands playing on the water front, one of which were a group of marimba players. After listening, I told the guy selling CDs that my son was taking marimba lessons. Another listener then introduced himself - he's Zimbabwean, living in South Africa and just listening and missing home. The marimba is a Zimbabwean instrument. There's something about Zimbabweans - even with the craziness of what comes with elections and such, the people are just typically laid back and friendly. I had a wave of homesickness for my home in Harare.

At a fundraiser for an orphanage before Christmas, we were happy to find that Miles's teacher's marimba band was performing. They even let Miles join them for a couple of songs. It was really cool.

Top Requested Songs

The kids always request songs to be played off the iPod on the way to and from school. As this is the last day of school for a while, I thought I'd get these down for posterity. In no particular order:

• No Sleep til Brooklyn - The Beastie Boys
• Free Fallin; - Tom Petty
• American Girl - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
• Pocket Full of Money - Jens Leckman
• The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side - The Magnetic Fields
• Rock Lobster - B52s
• Hard Knock Life - Annie Soundtrack
• Honkey Tonk Woman - Rolling Stones
• Hang Fire - Rolling Stones

These kids have been introduced to all kinds of music: blues, pop, folk, alternative, jazz, motown, etc. But  these are the ones they like to hear over and over these days. Lesson Learned: Make sure you really like the music you introduce to your kids because you will have to listen to it every day for weeks and weeks. There is something adorable about overhearing a 4-year-old Eliza singing "No Sleep Til Brookland" to herself while she plays.