Because I’M the boss around here…

We’ve been listening to Raffi these days. You there, sneering in the back row? You may leave. I quite like Raffi, particularly his earlier stuff. He hasn’t got the best voice in the world, I grant you, but he provides little ones with appropriately simple – but not patronizing or simplistic – music. Much of what he does is folk music, a solid beginning for small children with its clear melodies and lyrics. Folk music is also musical heritage, auditory history.

His childrens’ songs (particularly his earlier ones) are generally educational without being preachy, fun without being cutesy, and lively without being manic – something too few children’s entertainers seem to be able to manage.

All this without a single anthropomorphic animal or multi-coloured human in sight! Imagine!

But no one’s perfect, right? I recently dug out our old Baby Beluga disc. All was going hummingly until track 12.

Joshua Giraffe.

Have you ever listened to Joshua Giraffe? This is one seriously weird song. It was not written by someone in their right mind. In fact, it seems pretty clear to me hallucinogens were involved. It’s an auditory Dali, a musical Breton (though with a much better beat).

It is, in short, bizarre.

And looong. Over six minutes of weird.

And not so musical. Over six minutes of disjointed, jerky weird.

And it is, predictably, Nigel’s favourite.

Too bad for him…