Song of the Week: "On a Plain", the Nirvana (1991) and Lullabye (2006) Versions

I was a DJ at the engineering pub at Crazy Go Nuts University in 1991. This meant that in the parallel universe where our lives are watched as if they were television shows (hopefully with the boring bits and nose-picking scenes edited out), Nirvana’s album Nevermind was an integral part of the soundtrack.

That was over fifteen years ago, and a lifetime away. A good number of us have young kids and have had to make the choice: put up with The Wiggles and the songs from the Thomas the Tank Engine series, or make like the “grups” from places like Brooklyn’s Park Slope, who have decided “that Sufjan Stevens is the perfect music to play for her 2-year-old, because, let’s face it, 2-year-olds have lousy taste in music, and we will not listen to the Wiggles in this house“?

(My own opinion is that if you’ve decided to have kids, you’re going to have to make all sorts of accommodations. which includes playings kids’ music some of the time.)

There have been a number of inventive approaches to this problem. Some alt-rock bands, such as They Might Be Giants, have written childrens’ albums with songs that also appeal to adults. Another solution is the Rockabye Baby series of albums, which provide lullabye renditions of the music by bands such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Nirvana.

This week’s song of the week is for the parents of my generation with young kids:

• The Rockabye Baby version of Nirvana’s On a Plain [7.1 MB MP3]
• The original version, for reference [4.5 MB MP3]

As with all the other songs of the week on this blog, they’ll vanish after a week. Enjoy!