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Alt-Twang for Tikes: "The Bottle Let Me Down"
by Peter S. Scholtes
Since 1994, Chicago’s Bloodshot Records label has specialized in American roots music shaped by punk rock sensibilities, releasing tough and zestful recordings by the likes of Jon Langford and Sally Timms (of the Mekons), Alejandro Escovedo (of Rank and File), Exene Cervenka (of X), Neko Case, and dozens of others. Given the interest in folk and vintage country at Bloodshot, a children’s album would seem an obvious idea in retrospect. But 2002’s The Bottle Let Me Down: Songs for Bumpy Wagon Rides was greeted as revolutionary: a family album that wouldn’t grate on hip parents’ ears.
Put together by label cofounder Rob Miller, the collection includes Escovedo’s lament for hitting “the big 1-0” (“Candy just doesn’t taste as good anymore”), Rosie Flores singing “Red, Red Robin,” and 24 other originals and standards from a roster that includes Robbie Fulks, the Handsome Family, Trailer Bride, the Waco Brothers, and Devil in a Woodpile.
Speaking over the phone from Chicago recently, Miller talked about the origins and legacy of this lively children’s classic.
So where did Bloodshot get the idea to put out a kids album?
We would have kids’ shows at some of our regular venues. Some of our fans were getting to that [parenting] age where they couldn’t come out to the evening shows, so we put on matinee shows at a couple of the more ridiculous punk clubs. Some bands put together kids’ songs, and they were wildly successful. Robbie Fulks had this song called “Eggs” that he would do, which was just absolutely hilarious and perfect—and, being the contrarian [S.O.B.] that he is, he refused to record it. But between that and the Alejandro Escovedo song, “Sad and Dreamy”—“The Big 1-0”—I thought, well, why not do a kids record?
What music did you listen to when you were five?
Mostly Disney records—The Jungle Book, Song of the South. I spent most of my time hiding from my mother’s show-tune collections. I didn’t actually listen to a lot of music as a kid.
Do you remember any little kids running around punk shows in Detroit, where you grew up?
No, never! I think that’s why people my age and younger, [people for whom] music was such a part of our lives, thought, “Well, now that I have a kid, why does it have to stop?” I don’t think there ever was that notion before that it could continue on, that there would be these shows that kids would enjoy but that adults would enjoy too.
I love having these shows where you got the dads walking around with their Bjorns or whatever, holding their newborns with a bag or diapers and Handi Wipes in one hand and a pint of beer in the other. I don't know what that says about—I should probably stay away from parenting myself. But it cracks me up.
What clubs did you choose for these shows?
I remember one specifically at the Empty Bottle. We did them at FitzGerald's, the Abbey Pub, the Hideout. I remember at Schubas we took a hilarious photo of all these kids sitting at the bar stools.
Did songs like “Fox” filter into your consciousness when you were a kid?
Some of them did. I certainly knew “Senior El Gato” [performed on the album by Kelly Hogan], “Camptown Races” [John Rauhouse], and “On Top of Spaghetti” [Jane Baxter Miller]. Other ones I came to later, like “I Am My Own Grandpa” [Asylum Street Spankers]. I remember versions of “Fox.” Jon Langford and the Waco Brothers remember that from an old Burl Ives album. “Funky Butt” [Devil in a Woodpile] is an old Louis Armstrong song that's purportedly the first song he ever learned. So there's stuff coming from all different nooks and crannies.
“Rubber Ducky” was the one request I had. That was my favorite song as a kid. I was a huge Bert and Ernie fan. So I made Hogan do that, and the way she did it, quasi-pornographically, just thrilled me to no end. That's something for Dad and the kid.
[Laughs] I don't know where to go with that.
I don't know either!
Do you still do kids' shows with Bloodshot bands?
We try to do a couple a year. Kids just love it. Gives them a chance to run around. Gives the parents a chance to go out during another Dostoyevskian winter.
Have you thought about doing a follow-up to this record?
All the time. It's like herding cats to get all the tracks together. But this came together perfectly. It's a consistent seller. I hate to throw the word “classic” around, but it's kind of become that.
Have any of the kids who were into the music in 2002 grown up with this record?
If they were five or six when they first got it, they're too cool now to admit it. But they'll get into it again in ten years.
Year-End Special
10 Great Kids' Songs from 2009
1. “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles, from Yellow Submarine [original soundtrack remastered]
2. “Velveeta Girl and Squatsy” by Bunny Clogs, from More! More! More! (Princess Records) (actually late 2008)
3. “One Love”/“People Get Ready” by Bob Marley & the Wailers, from B Is for Bob (Tuff Gong/Island/UMe)
4. “Don't I Fit in My Daddy's Shoes” by Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family, Go Waggaloo (Smithsonian Folkways)
5. “Over the Rainbow” sung by Judy Garland, from The Wizard of Oz: The Deluxe Edition (Rhino digital download)
6. “Cells” by They Might Be Giants, from Here Comes Science (Idlewild/Disney Sound)
7. “Imagination” by Peter Himmelman, from My Trampoline (MiniVan/Frinny)
8. “That's Not My Name” [U.S. radio edit] by the Ting Tings, from various artists, Now That's What I Call Music 31 (Sony/EMI/Universal/Zomba) (Note: this contains the barely audible word “hell.”)
9. “Creepy Crawly Love” by Noah Riemer, from various artists, House of Mercy Kids' Album, Volume 1 (House of Mercy Recordings)
10. “New River Train” by Cathy & Marcy with special guest Christylez Bacon, Banjo to Beatbox (Cathymarcy.com/Community Music)
10 Excellent Kids' Albums from the 2000s
1. They Might Be Giants, Here Come the 123s (Walt Disney), 2008
2. Marlo Thomas and Friends, Free to Be You and Me [original recording remastered] (Arista), 2006
3. Various artists, The Bottle Let Me Down: Songs for Bumpy Wagon Rides (Bloodshot), 2002
4. Various artists, African Playground (Putamayo Kids), 2003
5. Dan Zanes and Friends, The Welcome Table! Songs of Inspiration, Mystery & Good Times (Festival Five), 2008
6. Ralph's World, Welcome to Ralph's World (Disney Sound), 2006
7. Various artists, Baby Loves Hip Hop Presents the Dino 5 (Baby Loves Everything), 2008
8. Various artists, Songs for the Car (Universal Music Family), 2008
9. The Jimmies, Make Your Own Someday: Silly Songs for the Shorter Set (The Jimmies), 2006
10. Various artists, Madagascar: Motion Picture Soundtrack (Geffen), 2005
