Zooglobble

To describe this as "Frequently Asked Questions" would be less than the truth -- few of these questions have been asked, let alone frequently.

They are, however, all questions, and 1 out of 3 is pretty good (if, you're, uh, a hitter in baseball).

Who are you?
I'm Stefan Shepherd, married father of two kids, ages (as of December 2006) 5 and 1. I live in Phoenix, Arizona. I currently have about $6 in overdue library fines.

Who died and made you the Greil Marcus of kids and family music? What qualifications do you have?
Kinda confrontational, aren't you? Well, I have a few fancy letters after my name, but none of them have anything to do with music or kids and families, let alone music for kids and families. But I'm 1) a parent, 2) a big music fan, and 3) able to put together a complete sentence, sometimes even stringing a few sentences together into a paragraph.

Oh, and I'm willing to listen to all this music, separate the wheat from the chaff, and write about it. You're free to start your own website (or comment here) should you disagree with me.

So how much kids' music do you listen to in, say, a year?
I'd guess that over the past year I've listened to at least 250 different CDs. I have no way of proving this, but I'd be surprised if there were a dozen people in America that have listened to as many different kids and family CDs as I have in the past year.

My [however-many-years]-year-old child listens to all the same music I do, and they love it. Shouldn't you be playing your favorite music for your kids instead of listening to this pap?
I think you should be playing music that you really enjoy with your kids. Having said that, what's wrong with also playing music that might be targeted specifically at your child's age, either musically or lyrically? To make a literature analogy -- even if you read John Updike to your kids (which I think you'll agree is probably not the wisest of parental choices), don't you think they might appreciate a nice Mo Willems or "Junie B. Jones" book sometimes, too? And besides, there's some fabulous music that's being made in this genre right now -- it'd be a shame if you missed it just because you chose to ignore it.

You aging indie hipsters are all alike -- trying to impose your musical tastes on your kids. Why????
You're, uh, like the exact opposite of the questioner above. I've been a parent long enough to know that imposing cultural taste on kids is a fool's errand. All you can do is expose your kids to music you love and music of all different genres reflecting all sorts of experiences. And if, in the end, they decide to listen to [insert the name of the band you spent many a college night at the bars mocking then singing along to, karaoke-style], that's OK, too.

I like the cut of your jib, sir, and would be interested in having you write something for my fabulous website/newspaper/inflight magazine. Are you interested in such an opportunity?
Possibly. I've written for Wired magazine, done freelance work for the iTunes store and have some other things cooking I can't quite tell you about right now. E-mail me (zooglobble AT earthlink DOT net) and we can talk...

I have the world's most awesome CD for kids and families, and I'm desperate to have you hear it and review it. How can I go about doing so?
Find out more about submitting albums for review here.

Do you know where I can buy the Hoodwinked soundtrack for something short of a developing nation's GDP?
I used to (mymusic.com), but sadly even that supply has dried up. I only wish I knew why the soundtrack went out of print. You are now forced to try eBay or other sites, for which you'll probably have to pay $50 or more...