A Vast Hickory Wind Conspiracy

American Idol. Australian Idol. Pop Idol. X Factor. Sing Star. Rock Star. MySpace. YouTube. Music is everywhere and ever more accessible in any range of styles you like. It interests me how this might affect musical development in kids and teenagers. Back in the 1980s and 1990s anything out of the Top 40 I had to stumble on to by accident. We always had a bit country and "Australiana" folk music (ballads on the topics of: death of gold miners, death of convicts, death of bushrangers, death of policemen fighting bushrangers, death of explorers, death of women in all circumstances) in our house but apart from a few cherished things my folks weren't big music buyers. An uncle stayed with us for a bit and somehow left a stack of LPs behind and so I worked my way through Johnny Mathis, the Stones, Cleo Laine, the Beatles, Deep Purple, Neil Diamond and work out what I immediately liked and what I didn't, and what grew on me over time. The link between some of those and, say, Bob Dylan might seem obscure but looking back it was all links in a chain, training my tastes and instincts and preparing me for the challenges to come. Now, every possible style and era is available – technically, if not legally -- for free or cheap via download or elsewhere on the net. Such ease of access is great for exposing you to the abundance of what's out there but you can also click away after a few seconds if you don't immediately like it. Since alot of my favourite music took along time to grab me, I wonder how that's changing things, if at all.

But my question is this. What CDs and/or artists would you recommend for a child or young teen to steer them into "our kind of music?" I don't mean giving them a Doug Sahm Bear Family Box Set for Christmas and locking them in their room until they appreciate it (although, you know, I'm not above that as a tactic.) Your kids, real or hypothetical, may have been raised up with twang and are blase budding Bob Christigaus by age 12. But thinking of a tyke whose chief musical exposure is Idol but who shows signs of a promising palette, and taking into account the naturally less nuanced tastes of the little people in our lives, what can attune them to strong narrative and a raw roots sound without turning them off? My immediate thought is Ryan Adam's Gold, having catchy melodies and a polished sound but also a step to left of … um, who is at the top of the charts these days? I've a niece (9) and nephew (12) who are well on their way to being acceptable. The boy Henry has had a punk phase already and recently requested a Black Sabbath CD for his birthday. The girl Sophie adores the debut album by Wolfmother, (aka "Australia's Led Zep Tribute Band".) Now, I know these are not traditional Hickory Wind genres but developing an early taste for anything harder than um, who is at the top of the charts these days? has got to bode well for future developments. They are already familiar with much of the output Mr Cash, and I've been requested to make them a CD of "O Brother" type songs. It's an agonising process, I don't want to get it wrong. Two young music souls in my hands. Suggestions?

And .... Tactics, people! Perhaps you are a veteran of this campaign and have some war stories. Some glorious victories and perhaps "character building challenges." The difference between an adult Lucinda Williams consumer and an um, who is at the top of the charts these days? consumer could be one song at an impressionable age.