How to Review, In Review

Ugh, it’s awful.

I sat listening to the first song (of 12) on a new children’s release forwarded to me by the publisher of GeekDad, a parenting, technology, and culture blog where I review music on a freelance basis.

Illustration by Jess Rotter

I skipped to the second song. It wasn’t much better.

Same with the third song, at which point I decided there wasn’t much point to writing a review that would savage the performer and the material.

My attitude has evolved since 2009, when I fell into the role of children’s music reviewer. Back then – before I had written at least 600 articles about the genre – I felt privileged that performers shyly sent emails, inquiring if I would possibly give their new CD a listen. Looking back on my blog (still active to this day), I was averaging more than 300 posts for several years, including my older son’s playlists of his favorite tunes.

By the time I came up for air, I was divorced and living in an apartment, wondering why the hell I was concentrating on a lullaby CD that neither of my kids would ever hear. I planned on quitting the kid’s music review business completely by the end of 2020, but coronavirus recalibrated my thinking. There are important themes being addressed, an audience that deserves to hear what’s being said through song, and I fancy myself as a conduit to connect the dots…