Posts Tagged CD
Tell Me a Story CDs for Hours of Entertainment in the Car
Lately we’ve been borrowing family-friendly, chapters-long audiobook CDs from the library for our long family road trips. But here are some CDs I’ve kept in the car for shorter excursions, when we just need a few short stories to help us get from Point A to Point B without any backseat bickering.
The Tell Me a Story 3-Disc Set contains more than three hours worth of multicultural folktales read by enthusiastic performers. Discs include Tell Me a Story: Timeless folktales from around the world, Tell Me a Story 2: Animal Magic and Tell Me a Story 3: Women of Wonder (which features stories about courageous and clever goddesses and heroines).
Tales range from about 5 to 13 minutes long, and I found myself not knowing many of the stories (these are not your typical “Turtle and the Hare” fables). I sat quietly (just like my kids!), listening to them, eagerly anticipating the climax and conclusion and wondering what the “moral of the story” would be (many had clever characters who had lessons to teach).
Each storyteller takes on different voices — from a grumpy ogre and throaty turtle to a frightened possum and a pensive fisherman. We had fun pausing the CD after each story to talk about the different images the stories conjured up; we described what we thought each character looked like. Each legend is accompanied by instrumental music that complements the story — and stories truly originate from around the world, including Great Britain, Cambodia, Africa and America’s Wild West.
Talented Amy Friedman wrote the stories that are selected from her worldwide syndicated column, Tell Me a Story. Laura Hall wrote the original music, and many of the performers are well-known actors — Tony, Emmy, and Oscar winners among them.
Purchase the 3-disc CD set at CDBaby.com for $35. I also found discounted individual CDs on Amazon.com.
Related posts: Thinkets & Nanodots Travel Activities for Kids, Nintendo DS Games.
Posted by Kara in Travel Light on September 7th, 2010
DriveTime Rx CD for Inner Peace on the Road
I’m admittedly not the ideal person to review a CD that is meant to be listened to in the car. Overall, I prefer to meditate in silence when I’m driving. I’m just not a background music type of gal; I don’t keep the radio, stereo or music-video TV stations on at home when I’m working, either.
That said, I was intrigued by the DriveTime Rx CD, as it was pitched to me as a method to reduce road rage. Goodness knows I can get upset when a car whizzes by me in the right highway lane, or cuts me off, or I’m stuck in a rare traffic jam. Who wouldn’t like to find their happy Zen place in situations like that?
The CD contains 14 music-only tracks blandly titled Drive Time I, Drive Time II, etc. Instruments used in the recordings include piano, flute, saxophone, harp, congas and cello. The first seven tracks are “more rhythmic” with drum beats and a relatively upbeat tempo, and the second set of seven are more relaxing. The idea is that if the “relaxing” tracks are too soothing, and you find yourself zoning out, you can switch to the more up-tempo tunes.
Indeed, I don’t think I could listen to the relaxing tracks if I were driving at night and were even mildly tired. These soothing songs absolutely make me want to close my eyes and daydream — or go lie down on a massage table. Even the “up-tempo” tunes are rather relaxing; I think they’d be appropriate for a cool-down or stretching session at the end of a fitness class.
In any case, it’s not just music you are listening to; there are suggestions spoken throughout the tracks that are mixed in so softly that you cannot hear them. However, the CD’s recording artist and composer Steven Halperin, maintains that your subconscious mind hears them, and acts accordingly. The first- and second-person affirmations include, “I am relaxed and alert at all times” and “You maintain your center of calm in all driving situations.”
My husband and I tried to hear these messages while we were in the car the other day, turning up the volume so loud at points to see if we could make out any words (according to Halperin, they might sound like a choir whispering, especially during softer musical passages). Of course, cranking the volume to a jarring level sort of defeats the purpose of soothing, calming music.
I’m not totally convinced DriveTime Rx works any better than other calming instrumental melodies to prevent road rage; just not sure I believe in the subconscious messages. That said, it is lovely music and the composer Halperin has created many other CDs for easy listening, from Serenity Suite to Sound Healing to Comfort Zone.
DriveTime Rx retails for $15.98 on the Inner Peace Music website.
Posted by Kara in General Gear on September 8th, 2009
