I couldn’t believe what I read in the New York Times a couple days ago. Apparently the top three albums in the country this week are aimed at the “tween” demographic (the 8-12 range… another thing I learned in Game Design, incidentally); the #2 album is Kidz Bop 9.
If you aren’t familiar with this album, it includes such hits as Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “Feel Good Inc.” by the Gorillaz. Only, it’s not sung by these bands - it’s sung by other Tweens, and the words changed, to make the content appropriate.
Now, I’m a bit of a music purist (if it’s actually getting sold… if we’re just playing around, that’s another thing). If you’re going to remake a song, do something interesting with it, or don’t do anything at all. I don’t consider changing lyrics to be more tween-friendly (e.g., “kiss your lips” -> “hold your hand”) interesting. And frankly, neither do most of the reviewers at Amazon.
Here’s the biggest point of confusion for me - when we say Kidz Bop is popular, is that like saying New Kids on the Block or Power Rangers were popular? They were “all the rage” when I was a Tween, but mention it to your peers, and you’re a laughing stock at school. I was momentarily the coolest kid in elementary school for never listening to New Kids on the Block (it wasn’t for any reason in particular, I just didn’t listen to music period). But I digress. The point is, you know that for every tween that says, “Hey, I got the newest Kidz Bop album!” there’s another one saying, “Yeah, I got the actual Green Day album. They actually know how to sing. What do you say to that!”
And really, the first tween shouldn’t say anything. He or she should just wait until he or she is ready to embrace the music at the higher, intended quality. Or embrace kids singing songs that they (or their choir teacher) come up with. But not a mix. It’s just not meant to be.
