Good Starter CDs

[pathtaken]

What would be some good starter cds for a preteen getting into music?
In my day it was get your older siblings left over albums [Beatles, Kinks, Led Zepplin]
What would you recommend for a 12 yr old that's over Hillary Duff?

[Daisy Pusher]

pathtaken said:

What would be some good starter cds for a preteen getting into music?
In my day it was get your older siblings left over albums [Beatles, Kinks, Led Zepplin]
What would you recommend for a 12 yr old that's over Hillary Duff?

Gosh, that's a toughie. Some may laugh at this, but I'd recommend the Barenaked Ladies' Gordon. Some of the lyrics will be appealing to a tween ("This is Me in Grade Nine"), plus they really are good musicians. Frankly, those that you've mentioned--Beatles, Kinks, Led Zeppelin--are must-haves in my opinion. What else did she like besides Hilary Duff?

What about stuff like They Might Be Giants? Phish? I am trying to think off bands that skew their songs with humor, etc. Somthing that might be a "hook." Hell, I dunno. My parents just forced me to listen to what they wanted so I grew up listening to Jethro Tull and Johnny Mathis.

[pathtaken]

Please don't throw things, but the Kid's Bop stuff.

But she don't listen to that "baby stuff" anymore!

edited to add
Her dad has overplayed They Might be Giants, she hates them.

[dancedancexenu]

A little mix of everything, I would say.

Joyful Rebellion by k-os is good. It's always hard to find hip hop CDs that are actually appropriate for preteens, and this one is not only a fabulous CD, it's actually got a positive message and no explicit lyrics.
View from the Floor by the Great Lake Swimmers is just fun and a little off-the-beaten path.
Sufjan Stevens Illinoise is good for both kids and parents. And it's got that loud, fun poppy sound to it.
Night Bugs by Sarah Slean is a good piano album, and it's not going to scar the kid for life like a Tori Amos or Fiona Apple CD would.

Otherwise, I'm not really sure. I spent junior high listening to Bush.

[Daisy Pusher]

pathtaken said:

Please don't throw things, but the Kid's Bop stuff.

But she don't listen to that "baby stuff" anymore!

Well, at least she's growing out of it.

What about getting her some soundtracks to movies? There are some movies that have really decent soundtracks, and that might spur her to exploring her horizons. Off the top of my head, High Fidelity (Kinks, Sterolab, Elvis Costello), About a Boy (badly Drawn Boy), Laurel Canyon (Steely Dan, Eartha Kitt) ? If she likes songs off those, she might seek out other music by that artist, etc.

What movies does she like?

eta:

Her dad has overplayed They Might be Giants, she hates them

Nooo! How can ya hate TMBG? Hopefully she'll appreciate them someday.

[Ripley]

I loved ABBA growing up. They wrote some great pop songs, and their albums have a good mix of upbeat tunes and ballads.

[kostgard]

I would second Daisy Pusher's recommendation of soundtrack albums or other compilation albums that feature a lot of different great artists - they are often a great introduction for newbies to some really good/classic music. That way, she can listen to something of a broad spectrum of music and if she decides that she likes a particular artist, then you can go from there and get albums by that person/band.

I don't know if you have Napster or if other services like I-Tunes offers this stuff - but Napster has playlists that you can download that are categorized by genre or era (like best of the 70s or best of R&B, etc). That may also be a good way to introduce a wide range of artists and types of music and then she can decide what she likes.

[goggle]

There's a music festival in my town this July and one of the headliners is Dar Williams. Since it's a short walk from my house and cheap, I'll go, even though I haven't heard her music before. Any recommendations on what albums/songs of hers to hear?

[ownlife]

Elton John has 5,692 Greatest Hits CDs. Can someone recommend one, please? Thanks. And Queen.

Heyalice, if you're only interested in 70s Elton, I'd get his first two Greatest Hits CDs, the one where he's seated at a piano and the one where he's bending over holding some type of bat. They're pretty cheap because they're so old. If you want all flavors of Elton, I'd get his Greatest Hits 1970-2002. I don't know anything about Queen other than I like We Are the Champions.

[Deleted]

Night Bugs by Sarah Slean

Eeee, I love Sarah Slean!