Rock and Roll-- Need Some Ideas!

Updated on May 13, 2011
E.T. asks from Stafford, VA
11 answers

My almost-five year old likes rock music. I am a pop person myself so I am really at a complete loss of what to play for her.

She does not like "kids" music-- never has. She won't do Disney music, or Hannah Montana. Her favorite contestant on American Idol is James Durban. I found a couple things I recognized, mostly Aerosmith and Muse (which I only know from Twilight). She's more of a modern rock than old Beatles rock, from what we've been able to establish.

This may sound so weird, but this is one of the first things she has really shown a strong interest in (other than shoes!) and I want to encourage her to make her own decisions regarding this stuff. Music, clothes, etc-- I have my limits on what I will allow, but since my mom was very "her rules and preferenes are the law" I'm trying to allow my daughter a little freedom with some things. This is the first thing she has chosen that has been such a 180 from me and I want to be supportive and show interest in what she's interested in.

I just need some good rock music to listen to and iTunes has been a little overwhelming without any direction. Any ideas of kindergarten friendly songs? Obviously no profanity. Are there any rock bands that have done children's songs
covers? Artist and song ideas would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks ladies!

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So What Happened?

Thank you all SO much for your ideas!! After over a month of searching iTunes, listening (and Shazaaming!) music on the radio, I finally have an extensive list. I was actually surprised to hear a lot of rock music isn't as hard rock as I thought. Its been fun to listen to these songs, some that I remember and some new to us both, with DD and discover this right along with her. My fave has to be some of the new stuff, or Sympathy for the Devil and Seven Nation Army. DD's fave is Another One Bites the Dust-- its a little disconcerting to have an almost-five year old know all the words! Wacky girl!

The Cave by Mumford & Sons
Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons
Knights Of Cydonia by Muse
Map Of The Problematique by Muse
Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
Take A Bow by Muse
Supermassive Black hole by Muse
Uprising by Muse
Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones
Dream On by Aerosmith
Walk This Way by Aerosmith
Love Rollercoaster (Clean Edit) by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Smells Like Teens Spirit by Nirvana
Black Betty by Ram Jam
It's Only Rock n Roll by The Rolling Stones
Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
Another One Bites the Dust by Queen
Smooth criminal by Alien Ant Farm
House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
You Really Got Me by The Kinks
Rock And Roll All Nite by Kiss
Mrs. Robinson by The Lemonheads
Here It Goes Again by Ok Go
What I Like About You by The Romantics
Jump by Van Halen
When I Come Around by Green Day
Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin
Personal Jesus by Marilyn Manson
Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet
Girls, Girls, Girls by Mötley Crüe
Magic Carpet Ride by Soundtrack
Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf
My Body by Young The Giant
Rolling In The Deep by ADELE
White Wedding, Pt. 1 by Billy Idol
More Than A Feeling by Boston
Sweet Child Of Mine by Guns N Roses
I Love Rock 'N Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Help is On the Way by Rise Against
Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones
Born In The U.S.A by Bruce Springsteen
Jeremy by Pearl Jam
American Girl by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen
Heartless by the fray
Falling In by Lifehouse
(I Cant Get No) Satisfaction by Rolling Stones
Touched by Vast
My Generation by The Who
Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen
My Hero by Foo Fighters
Bulletproof Heart by My Chemical Romance
Blue Monday by Orgy
The Ballad Of Mona Lisa by Panic! At The Disco
No shelter by Rage against the machine
Can't Stop by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Epic by Fiath No More
Seperate Ways (Worlds Apart) by Journey

More Answers

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K.P.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Joan Jett - I love Rock & Roll =)

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.P.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I'm so excited you asked this question! My son is 3 and LOVES rock and roll as he calls it. I'm much more of a hip hop than anything else but I love every kind of music. One band he really likes is called "Me First and the Gimmie Gimmie's" they cover older song but do it in an up beat fashion and makes it super fun. We also listen to a lot of Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga (some), Billy Idol, Green Day, Johnny Cash and lots of Disco music.
You can get most of the current music with out the swear words. I know iTunes is super over whelming, if you don't get a lot of great ideas here I would just type in "rock music" in a google search and it might help you come up with bands and/or songs you can then preview in iTunes.

Good luck and Rock On!!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.L.

answers from Austin on

It might be more "pop" than you're looking for, but the Barenaked Ladies are fun, and They MIght Be Giants has children's albums . For a more "rock" sound, I second U2 - "Vertigo" is good. And it's silly, but - the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" theme is just fun.

Also, our kids love the Beatles, and if I can find a copy of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly - that's not on LP - no working turntable :( - I will definately be playing it for them!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.B.

answers from Colorado Springs on

My son (3.5) really likes rock too - he gets that from me - and one of the kids groups we agree on is Jellydots, http://www.thejellydots.com/
We love the Hey You Kids album in particular. At there website you can preview other songs from their albums and just purchase the ones you like.

Other music we love to rock out to include Flaming Lips, Pearl Jam, and The White Stripes. Thankfully these days you can really pick and choose singles and customize your cd and review the lyrics before hand. We also like to listen to Modest Mouse, Gnarles Barkley, and Johnny Cash.

I applaud your taking an interest in her love of music - all of the above listed do have some songs that are definitely not for kids, but like I said if you are selective online you can make some really great cds for you to share with your daughter!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.A.

answers from Provo on

Wow, Lbarclay--judgmental much? Aren't people allowed opinions that are different from yours? So you don't like rock. You didn't have to comment on a thread about it. You may not think there are some good rock songs out there, but that doesn't make it all "rot." Seriously, your comment was rude and uncalled for.

Sorry, E.. I just couldn't let that pass without saying something. I actually came to your question because I was interested in the responses as well, hoping for some good suggestions just for my own listening. I didn't come here to feel bashed because I happen to like a certain kind of music. I wish I had some suggestions for you, though!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.E.

answers from Denver on

Wow, Lbarclay needs to branch out or at least deal with the fact that others can have different tastes. Good for you for encouraging your daughters love of music and being ok with her having different tastes. Just be sure to listen to the whole song and look for radio friendly versions ( learned this the hard way) :-)
Hmmm rock is a wide range, so hopefully some of these might help. My daughter really loves the dance music, but rock is definitely up there too. Some ideas
Angles and Airwaves- True Love
Vast - Touched
Seal- Crazy
The Urge- Its My Turn to Fly
Ok Go - Here it goes again
I like to Move It ( heaven help me) from the Madagascar soundtrack
Crazy Frog - We like to party
Peter Schilling - Major Tom ( coming home)
U2 - Mysterious Ways
Eiffel 65 - Blue
Taio Cruz- Dynamite ( I think that is more dance)
She also likes Heart, Journey, and the chipmunk soundtrack is played on occasion.
Good luck.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.A.

answers from Harrisburg on

My daughter LOVES rock and metal.....we cover a variety, anything from some fun 70's punk and rock to more modern...she especially loves Swedish metal! I agree, as long as the songs don't swear, what's the harm. I'm actually really excited to have Mommy's little metalhead for a kid!

And Lbarclay.....I think I'd be scared to hear what type of music you listen to or subject your kids to...not every 5 year old digs Barney or Fresh Beat band.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.K.

answers from Denver on

Whats your thoughts on some great Christian rock? Newsboys, Kutless, David Crowder Band, Skillet, oh my... there are so many to chose from!!! Not sure how you feel about them all but would love to share more when I have access to all the bands my kids listen to but I am at work!!

Please let me know. Music is always a great love. If you have cable or satelite, you can find many great stations there as well.

K.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.A.

answers from Colorado Springs on

I think it's great that you are encouraging your daughter's love of music! That is something she will have for the rest of her life and it may or may not change over the years. My daughter too loves music and likes to pretend to be a rock star. One of her favorite songs is Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." I know there are CD's out there that have kids' songs that were done by rock groups - The Eagles, The Beatles, Coldplay, etc. I can't seem to come up with any of them right now, but I'm sure a simple Google search will turn up all kinds of options for you. I did find this list on one website...

- Velvet Underground "Sunday Morning"
- The La's "There She Goes"
- Bob Marley "Three Little Birds"
- T. Rex "Jeepster"
- The Rolling Stones "I'm Free"
- The Police "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"
- Beach Boys "Good Vibrations"
- The Cure "Love Cats"
- Flaming Lips "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"
- Kylie Minogue "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"
- Blur "Song 2" (my daughter loves this from Rock Band)
- The Byrds "Mr. Tambourine Man"
- Screamin' Jay Hawkins "Alligator Wine"
- The Faces "Ooh La La"
- Ramones "Judy Is A Punk"
- The Beatles "Yellow Submarine," "Octopus's Garden,"

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/parenting/detail?entr...

We play a lot of Guitar Hero and Rock Band at home and our daughter loves to "jam" and dance, and even play some herself, while we're playing. Rock Band is more family friendly as far as the appropriateness of the songs. Maybe do a search online for song listings and play them for your daughter to see which ones she likes.
Good luck and and "rock on!" :-)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.B.

answers from Provo on

I can't believe that any of you would subject yourselves, let alone your small children to the kind of rot that has been suggested below! Good heavens!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.B.

answers from Salt Lake City on

My daughter is 11 and I'm really surprised to see her interest leaning in that direction too. A few of our favorites are:

Theme from the Transformers movie, by Linkin Park, "What I've Done.'"
A couple of songs we heard on a Scooby Doo cartoon by Simple Plan, "I'd Do Anything" and "Worst Day Ever"
From Shrek, "I'm a Believer" and "All Star" by Smash Mouth
"Running Down A Dream" by Tom Petty
Does U2 count as Rock & Roll? "Zoo Station" or "Streets Have No Name" are great songs, for starters.
Queen, "We Will Rock You."

From hubby's classic rock file: Journey ("Don't Stop Believing"), Styx ("Renegade") and The Who ("Eminence Front"). I cant vouch for the lyrics on all the classic rock, but you are probably safer than modern rock. Not that I can entirely understand they lyrics on either.

There is a wonderful children's music company called Music For Little People. They do some remakes and compilations. Check them out at www.mflp.com. They might have something she likes too.

P.S. I just had to edit my answer in response to continuing posts: "Watch out. If you play the jellydots backwards, it tells your toddler to stay up way past bedtime!!"

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