Sure, the joys of having children are many.
Spreading your DNA out into the world, owning a bipedal pet that, in a few short years you can publicly embarrass and, having an excuse to hang out and watch cartoons are certainly among those joys.
But along with cleaning those nappies and being awoken at the crack of dawn by ungodly screeching – have you ever considered how awful a lot of the music geared towards children really is? Man oh man, the vast majority of it is dreadful.
Thank God, then, for the three-piece punk/new wave teddy bear band known throughout this land as Teddy Rock.
Their sophomore release, a collection of 23 action-oriented songs titled Never Mind The Bedtime, Here’s Teddy Rock, is jam-packed with punk rock and alternative takes on such classics as ‘I Have Ten Fingers’, ‘I’m A Little Teapot’ and ‘Miss Polly Had A Dolly’ that will absolutely thrill the two-to-six year old child in your life without making you want to slit your wrists.
Kicking off the proceedings is a cheeky and rather catchy version of ‘If You’re Happy And You Know It’ that hearken back to the days of grungy New York post-punk, á la The Ramones – and from there on out this album does everything in its power to keep the listener on his or her toes (of which there are ten, count them).
There’s a spirited version of ‘Time Warp’ from the film Rocky Horror Picture Show, there’s a nifty synth-pop take on ‘The Wheels On The Bus’ and damned if ‘One Potato, Two Potato’ doesn’t bring back memories of old school hip-hop from the early ‘80s.
Bopping, bouncing and thoroughly clapping its hands in the air like it just doesn’t care, Never Mind … is a thoroughly entertaining and engaging affair, perfect for keeping those rug-rats occupied.
Who knows, maybe the adults in the room can get involved – can you ‘Hop Like Bop’? If you don’t, this record can surely teach you how.
