Mae’s Music Picks

Whenever I watch Mae, I let her select an album off the shelf to put on. Here is a collection of music hand-picked by a baby:

A wonderful collection of Brazilian popular music from the ’60s put out by David Byrne’s label, Luaka Bop. I was first introduced to this album by a good friend while living in Miami, and it has gotten a lot of playtime since. I’m not sure how many times we listened to it while Mae was gestating, but I’m sure it was more than a few. Something must have gotten through to her, as she gravitated towards this album right away.

The first, but not the last, disco album (hi-NRG, even) on the list. This was one of the first things I picked for us to dance to, so it’s no wonder she would return to it. It’s been dubbed “Mae’s favorite album” by at least one person, and so far she has embodied the “Bad Girl” attitude as much as a baby can. It’s Donna Summer. What’s not to love?

Mae hasn’t hesitated to go for the jazz on the shelf, and she is a big fan of this one. I personally especially enjoy “It Could Happen to You.” Several years ago, I was back home in central PA and, on a whim, woke up first thing to make the dive out to Falling Water. I listened to this album a couple of times during the trip. The scenery of rural Pennsylvania is not all that dissimilar from parts of Japan, especially in the early morning autumn fog.

Wells Fargo was psychedelic rock band from Zimbabwe, and this is the only album of theirs that I know of. Luckily, this one collection is more than enough. Any song with “baby” in the lyrics is perfect for dancing to with a baby, and this album has them. Even if you don’t have a baby with you, it’s a great album.

I’m going to be honest, I originally got this album because of the cover. Luckily, the album is also excellent. It is a fun blend of genres that I am unfamiliar with, so to my ear it is simply some interesting Japanese synthpop. I later learned that it was co-produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto of Yellow Magic Orchestra, so there you go. This is one of Mae’s most frequent picks off the shelf.  To this day, when I think of this album, my mind goes to the cover rather than the title.

This synthy post-punk band from Belarus had a real moment during the pandemic. I understand they featured in quite a few TikToks. I think I first learned about them from the Sacred Bones newsletter when their second album was released, and I became an instant fan. Given that she was born in the coldest part of winter, I think Mae really resonates with their sound.

One of the (to me) sillier albums Mae has selected. It’s more hi-NRG disco, and the album opens with a fun cover of Thelma Houston’s cover of “Don’t Leave Me this Way.” One half of the duo, Richard Coles, is a classically trained musician, and literally every dancy disco song is followed by one showcasing his piano skills accompanied by swinging falsetto. He was also later ordained as a priest and became a published author, though I am unfamiliar with these phases of his career.

A stone cold classic. All three founding members have their hands on a few of the albums here, and I’m not sure if that speaks to Mae’s tastes or to their influence. In any case, it’s always a good time when she picks this one. Michael Jackson’s cover of “Behind the Mask” was originally supposed to appear on Thriller, but apparently there were some legal disputes over the rights. It was released posthumously instead, and these guys lost out on a fortune in royalties but I’m sure they’re alright.

I actually warned Mae off of this one several times before finally putting it on. She’s had some experience with jazz, of course, but this is pretty heady stuff. After a few days of her requesting it, I finally put it on, and, sure enough, the second “Pharaoh’s Dance” started she was bopping her head. I still feel bad for underestimating her, and hopefully she won’t remember or internalize it in any way.

This is a perfect kid’s album. George Barnes rips it up on his renditions of American standards as well as some originals. “Strollin’ Slow” is a personal favorite. His takes on Pop Goes the Weasel (“Rockin’ the Weasel”), Old Dan Tucker (“Dan’s Plumb Tuckered”), and Turkey in the Straw (“Turkey Cobbler”) are hits every time. Barnes’s virtuosity shines in a wonderfully silly way on this album.

Everyone has heard this album whether they know it or not. Mae has had the unique experience of hearing “Apache” in its original form first. I don’t know if that will make her appreciate the album more or less, but for now it’s at least good to dance along to. I look forward to seeing her first Hey, I recognize that sample once she’s a little older.

Who says a baby can’t have her face melted? This live album is his earliest release, and compared to the more iconic studio albums to follow, it is a little rougher in all the ways you want a live and/or early album to be. It was even more fun listening to it with her, and I expect there to be more Mdou Moctar to come. This might be a show to take her to next time they’re in the states.

YMO is back on the list, and it’s no wonder. Their debut release is just as excellent as the follow-up, even if it doesn’t have quite as much acclaim (though it does have plenty of acclaim). I think these were the first video game sounds she’s heard? When we first got this album, we played it once or twice every day for a week until we stopped ourselves so as to not spoil it. There’s nothing not to love on this album, especially songs like “Tong Poo.”

Speaking of YMO’s first album, this one finishes with an early version of “Cosmic Surfin’,” which I have no doubt Mae picked up on. YMO really does open up a whole can of worms musically, and this will not be the end of that. While she’s only ever seen the Atlantic, this album still hits.

I’ve never actually seen Home of the Brave, and I’d only listened to this album once before Mae picked it. A friend got it for me while we were browsing Molly’s Books. It’s definitely an interesting album, and I’m glad Mae is exposing herself to the kind of stuff that even I don’t know much about. As she continues to grow, I’m sure she’ll surprise and surpass me in many other ways as well.

I was thrilled when she picked this one. Considered to be the ur–alt country album, it opens strong with “Amarillo Highway (For Dave Hickey)” and constructs a satirical survey of the Texas panhandle all the way through. Like its predecessor, this album is organized into several movements with transition songs between, though, unlike Juarez, it isn’t narrative. Solid beginning to end, plenty of the album has been covered by others, including “New Delhi Freight Train,” which is covered by (not a cover of) The Little Feat despite their version being recorded first. Sa la vey. Sa la guerre.

Why not begin with the end? Mae has certainly heard Heavy Weather, so maybe that’s why she was inclined to pick something she hadn’t. This incredibly chill sound-survey makes you feel like a globe-trotting rich person on vacation, and one who knows where the action is. Fun fact: Jaco Pastorius’s brother once took a shower at Mae’s titi’s parent’s home in Hollywood. He isn’t on this album, but like I said, she still hasn’t picked Heavy Weather.

This is the second Luaka Bop compilation Mae has picked and the second collection of ’70s African (West African this time) psychedelic rock. It’s another hit from the label, and like the first one, we definitely had this on in the months leading to Mae’s birth. It’s not surprising that she would go for these. There are plenty of screeched “Yeah!”s on this album which are mostly within Mae’s vocal range, so we spend a lot of time imitating those while she bops around.

I didn’t know they had ever pressed this one, so I got it right away when I saw it. (The songs were originally collected in 2010, and the vinyl was released in 2025.) It’s a collection from, I think, his treehouse days (though I could be wrong), and the tracks are as rough and reverby as they ought to be. These recordings really highlight his ability to make his voice disappear into the guitar, in retreat from this cold, cold world. Mae picked this one within days of me getting it, so she must have been as excited as I was. “Clay Pigeons” also happens to be one of Birdie’s favorite songs.

This pick was destiny: not at all surprising but thrilling nonetheless. Mae is both a Rubber Fan and a Funk-a-teer, and there’s really no getting around that. One of the fondest memories of my own life is when SNACKTIME played “Munchies for Your Love” as our wedding song, and that was long before she was even a twinkle in her father’s eye…

The sound of the Hammond M-3 organ is really all you need to identify this album at a great distance. Mae likes her mixed genres, and even the straightforward R&B and rock and soul sounds give way to surf and others. This album put Stax on the charts for a reason, and it’s not just because of the title track, despite what the haters on Rate Your Music would have you believe. (Even if that is true, the one song is enough of a reason to hear the whole thing.)

Mae has officially entered her “Dilla changed my life” phase, and I’m not letting her near any DJ equipment until it’s passed. It’s a stunning album in the way so many of the died-too-young musicians of exceptional talent are, though unlike most, Dilla saw his end coming. There’s probably some cosmic connection to make between lupus and Peanut Butter Wolf, but that’s too morbid for a baby’s music catalogue. It’s Stones Throw’s most widely recognized album with (maybe) the exception of Madvillainy. If she keeps returning to it, we can just let it loop round and round and round…