Schwindy's indie music spotlight: Songs from the East Village

Dear reader, when you see that I am featuring an album of music by children, don't think that I have gone batty. This isn't some cutesy album that your kids will love and you'll want to hide. Your kids probably will love it, and you probably will too. This album features folk songs performed by students, faculty and parents of East Village Community School in New York.

Again, I must say fear not. You're not getting an entire album full of the songs you were forced to learn when you were in elementary school. And I doubt you'll have visions of your music teacher with the polyester suit and the black horn-rim glasses. He probably never did anything this cool when he was teaching you. This album includes true folk songs handed down from one generation to the next in Spanish-speaking countries, Iraq, England, Tibet, Israel, etc. and brought to this school by the students.   

There are some familiar tunes such as "Molly Malone" and "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground." Also included is a dramatic spoken-word song by Sarita Choudhury (A Perfect Murder, Mississippi Masala). In this track, Choudhury tells a story of an encounter with a tiger in Rajasthan. It is a very cool example of the oral storytelling tradition in which the music wraps around the story. Also, it is a safe bet to keep your child's attention because it is about an animal. For a good laugh, check out the song "I Had but Fifty Cents." I don't know if you'll respond the same way, but after hearing this, I want to teach it to my son. And isn't that what folk music is all about?

This CD is incredibly well done with 19 beautiful songs. (Not bad for something that started out as an extracurricular activity at the school.) My son, like a lot of children, cannot get enough music. That's one of the truly great things about this album. You can share it with your kids over and over again. In the process, you can expose them to various cultures and learn the songs with them. Proceeds from the sale of this album will help fund arts programs at EVCS. And with all the arts budget cuts in schools, isn't it comforting to know that at least one school focuses on arts like storytelling and music?