Rockabye Baby: Rock Classics turned in Lullabies

I do community service at a local library, and while I was filing away juvenile CDs, I happened to discover a series of children's CDs. Brief explanation on the albums taken from Amazon:

Rockabye Baby! is staffed by music lovers from all corners of the world. Headquartered in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake, the label was born of the need to make children's music cool--not only for babies but for their parents too. We turned to our record collections for inspiration: punk, metal, classic rock. The resulting albums are revolutionary yet reverential. In other words, the perfect gift for a newborn, new parents, or yourself.

Part of the CMH Label Group, a thirty-year-old independent bluegrass and roots-music stronghold that houses a variety of musical styles under its umbrella, including metal, rap, punk, and string quartet tributes, Rockabye Baby! is the latest addition to a diverse musical family. Says label Vice President Lisa Roth, "First and foremost, we're fans, so we take care to make every album musically interesting enough to satisfy adult listeners. Believe me, making an album that's gentle enough for sleeping babies but won't bore Mom and Dad is trickier than it sounds." Producer/arrangers would agree! The job's not easy, but it's immensely gratifying to hear from pleased parents that Rockabye Baby! is now a treasured piece of their family history.

So out of curiosity, I happened to look up these songs and had a good laugh. Here's a few samplers and the album's description. These range from surprisingly calming, just plain laughably bad, and kind of creepy even. Enjoy.

 Nirvana

You know it. With the lights out, it's less dangerous. These lullaby renditions of Nirvana's best-loved songs turn the volume way down, while turning up the dreaminess of their pop hooks. In many ways, this album echoes the simple pleasures and innocence of infancy and childhood. Childish tra-la-la's tempered the distortion of Nirvana's own songs. Chimes, glockenspiels and other gentle instruments temper Nirvana's wild spirit for your little one. "Smells Like Teen Spirit?" Smells like nap time.

[video=youtube;QVno-_c6E48]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVno-_c6E48[/video]
[video=youtube;uUWvYFRCm8o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUWvYFRCm8o[/video]

 Metallica

Rockabye Baby! transforms timeless rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies. The soothing sounds of the glockenspiel, vibraphone, melltoron and other instruments will lull your baby into a sweet slumber.

On this album, they’ll enjoy Metallica’s biggest anthems without the pesky earplugs you didn’t bother to wear growing up. We’ve turned down the volume from an eleven to a two, and made the bed ourselves. Say your prayers little one. Tonight the sandman will be gently rocking you to sleep with these essential masterpieces of rock ‘n’ roll.

[video=youtube;rc2g9lbi4TQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc2g9lbi4TQ[/video]
[video=youtube;beMA3bIoo9I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beMA3bIoo9I[/video]
[video=youtube;s_ZVF1GB_Ec]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ZVF1GB_Ec[/video]

 AC/DC

Rockabye Baby! transforms timeless rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies. The soothing sounds of the glockenspiel, vibraphone, melltoron and other instruments will lull your baby into a sweet slumber.

Do you have a problem child? Rock and roll ain't noise pollution, but unwanted cries are. When you're up to your neck in exhaustion and dirty diapers, AC/DC's primordial anthems are just the ticket to ride on. Your little live wire will be rocked to sleep by these gentle instrumentals. For those about to nap, we salute you.

[video=youtube;QCKVwjYdl70]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCKVwjYdl70[/video]
[video=youtube;zkM--6Vn6RE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkM--6Vn6RE[/video]

 Queen

Rockabye Baby! transforms timeless rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies. Guitars and drums are traded for soothing mellotrons, vibraphones and bells, and the volume is turned down from an eleven to a two. Rockabye Baby! is the perfect way to share the music you love with the littlest rocker in your life.
Have bedtime tantrums driven you stone cold crazy? Another sleepless night bites the dust with a spin of these blanket-soft versions of Queens operatic rock anthems. The familiar melodies of your favorite songs will rock you (and your little one) to a peaceful nights slumber.

[video=youtube;j774SpbIBIQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j774SpbIBIQ[/video]
[video=youtube;H5M2rQLjOWI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5M2rQLjOWI[/video]

Tons more than these, but here are just a few I wanted to share. Some of the other Metallica ones I didn't show are pretty funny- like "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" being more like "(Bandaid) Kissing a Boo-boo" and "Fade to Black" being more like "Fade to Neon Pink".

c

The Enter Sandman is perfect some kind of creepy carnival setting.

The Enter Sandman is perfect some kind of creepy carnival setting.

I was thinking the same thing. They made it sound like a BGM from a horror movie.

Odd as it sounds, these are great to listen to when researching. I was actually able to focus and find sources for my term paper using these. One and Under Pressure are my favorites out of this little batch.