Reminiscing... bring a hankie for the last one.

Summer break has started, and so I thought this would be a perfect day to pick out my favorite "Remember When" kind of songs. One of the things I like about the Remember When songs if that when they come up in my playlist when I am by myself I enjoy them just as much when the girls are singing along with me. I guess the changes and good times going on in the springtime put us in this nostalgic mood, after reading Dan Pearce's Remember that time when… post recently. What it comes down to, I guess, is moms and  dads see themselves getting more and more grown-up, because when you have kids that's what happens, and we have a hard time letting go of that, much like the little preschooler who clings to Momma's leg in the morning because she realizes that soon she will be in kindergarten and there will be no more clinging to legs. So here are a couple picks to reminisce about the times when you were the little girl in pigtails, the boy playing Star Wars, and summers in the outdoors.
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I have a new favorite right now, and I just love the name Rabbit! for a kid's band. They say they're really just poppy,  whimsical and bubblegummy, and they are categorized as indie-pop, but add in a couple of the band members' kids, and they would totally pull a Caspar Babypants/They Might Be Giants, where they realize they are singing kids music as much as indie music. Singer Ashton Allen says: “We wanted to write music that would motivate happiness and allow people to take a break from frustrations that come with everyday life". But in "Best thing Around" he sings "I've seen London/I've seen France"... these are totally big kids at heart. And that's why I heart them. So download "When We Were Young," at least, or event the whole album. It makes you feel  like you are six-- or at least, were six not too long ago. 
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In college, when Jack Johnson was first popular, he had kind of that "too soft-rock/ not rock at all" feel, and we were ALL closet Jack Johnson fans. So now that we have kids, we can TOTALLY get on the Jack Johnson wagon, because it's KIDS' music!!! So when he came out with the Curious George Soundtrack, and all the girls downloaded this, because his voice just. makes. us. meellllllllttttt. I think this is what happened to all those "old" (ahem, 30-something) ladies back in the day felt about Michael Bolton? Denial tells me, Noooo, Carrie. It's different. It's meaningful. But seriously, download Curious George, and listen to "We're Going to Be Friends" (or even the White Stripes Version, which is just as good but gets you  cool alt-rock bonus points) and reminisce about Kindergarten and PB&J sandwiches.

The last awesome Remember When song has to be Iz, Israel Ka’ano’i Kamakawiwo’ole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." This guy has the smoothest voice ever. Anyone who does not get sentimental hearing this, has to have no heart. He passed away several years ago, after his song made the 50 First Dates soundtrack and he was starting down the road to stardom, so it even has a sad backstory. And so I am going to go listen to music and cry into my pillow, and think about fond memories. But I'll leave you with this video of Iz, the gentle giant of Hawaii. 

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