Music on the way to a campout

[evmori]

I love Molly Hatchet! I am slowly rebuilding my album collection on CD. Just picked up Chicago II!

 

And lest we not forget, Slim Whitman!

 

[SR540Beaver]

Don't forget that a copy of Slim Whitman in your vehicle doubles as a dandy weapon if Martians attack.

[Kahuna]

Our troop had a bus. We took some fairly long road trips. Bus had a tape player but not a CD player. Boys were allowed to play tapes from time to time, but most had their own sound systems. We kept a tape of German accordian music handy. Penalty for playing an obnoxious tape, being too noisy or uncooperative was a half hour of German accordian music.

 

Usually kept things pretty quiet. We didn't worry about what they listened to as long as we didn't have to hear it.

[Owl62]

My Chevy, my music.

 

If it ain't country, it ain't music. (And I listen to older country music).

 

If they don't want to hear me sing along, they can ride with someone else.

 

I usually have no riders......

[packsaddle]

I think Brent has a great approach here. A book on tape (or CD) really holds their attention. I used to play the various episodes of Star Wars and similar stories as well as 'Hatchet'. I'm not familiar with 'A Week in the Woods' but I'll give it a listen soon.

As for music, I drag out the CDs I've collected from other countries to see their reaction. Usually get requests for copies of the Russian techno stuff.

[kraut-60]

My truck....my tunes...the blues cant lose! I generally listen to classic rock stations,but when the reception goes south so does the music, I will put in some real blues like Muddy Waters,Howling Wolf,John Lee Hooker or just a blues greatest hits that will cover all the greats.

 

So far the scouts dont seem to mind and most of the blues discs I've heard dont need an "Explict Lyrics" warning on them. We have even ad-libbed some blues that reflected on the week-end we were coming back from.

 

I tried the "punishment" music thing once, didnt work well..I had heard enough loud debate so I popped in a tape I made from an old album of my dads...German Army Band Vol 1 (recorded in 1961 and had NO nazi marches-only traditional soldiers sing while you march tunes). Both my son and the other scout thought the tape was kinda cool.

 

I guess I'll try a bit of some Scottish bag-pipe band music on them next time!

[OneHour]

They can listen to their CD, MP3, Ipod, ... whatever their hearts desire, but if those earbuds come loose, they get to listen to the likes of CCR, Turtles, Brother Fours, Jefferson Starship, Who, Rush, AC/DC, Jethro Tulls, Jimmy Buffett, Eagles, ELO, Gordon Lightfoot, George Strait, Rebba, Tim McGraw, etc. As in the words of Donny and Marie, "I'm a little bit Country, I'm a little bit Rock'n Roll!" My sons call it "the ancient musics!" As matter of fact, we just came back from our Camporee and I'm sitting here reading off my CD carrying case!

 

 

I do not like the current hip hop (?) and grunge (?).

 

1Hour

 

 

[oldsm]

My troop has a "no electronics" policy, which is endorsed by the troop committee and understood by all scouts and parents. This means no ipods, mp3 players, discman, etc. It also means no cell phones (for boys) and no 2-way radios or walkie-talkies (unless they are needed for some specific outing activity). Adults can carry a cell phone, but it's to be used only for emergency purposes (in reality, out of sight/hearing range of boys, or for the return-alert call to parents on the way home).

 

Reasons:

1. Electronics detract from the total scouting experience. Boys get enough electronic entertainment outside of scouting events, which begin the moment we gather. The stuff stays at home or gets confiscated and returned to the boy's parent.

 

2. We encourage verbal interaction among the boys. Conversation on a trip is excellent. It's amazing what insights you can pick up about your boys when they start talking and you just listen! Small travel board games like cribbage or magnetic chess can help on longer rides, as can old family standbys like the alphabet game (am I dating myself?).

 

3. Electronics are too easy to lose, damage, or have stolen (by non-Scouts, of course). Why risk it?

 

4. The jury is still out as to the potential for hearing loss resulting from using those *#&$#!$ earbuds. Especially when a boy is trying to listen to "his" music loud enough to drown out everything else going on. I should not be able to hear his back-seat earbuds when I'm in the driver's seat! And I certainly don't want to be party to a scout's impaired hearing 10 years from now.

 

We leave the choice of en route music to the driver's discretion. Sometimes it's talk radio (can engage the boys' awareness of the world around them - think citizenship), or radio/CD/tape with suitable lyrics, subject to the edict of the driver.

 

I've found that movie soundtracks work well. A popular one is Gladiator. Most of the older boys have seen the movie at one time or another (the MPAA rating notwithstanding) and can relate to it, but the younger ones seem to like the music on its own merits.

 

I'm a classical music person myself, and the boys don't seem to have a problem with that. Think variety: Canadian Brass, jazz, American songs, Civil War songs on the way to Gettysburg... variety is key. In fact, my vehicle is usually the first one to fill up.

 

Not that I'm an old fuddy-duddy. I do listen to some of "their" stuff. But when it starts to grate on my ears, it's time for a change: driver sanity and safety. Sometimes, we ride in near-silence for a while. Everyone needs a little respite and occasional quiet downtime.

 

Music on the way home is seldom an issue. The boys are tired and usually sleep or just zone out.

 

I do like BrentAllen's suggestion about audiobooks. I'll have to try that.

[SWScouter]

Hi Oldsm, welcome to the forum

 

So are GPS receivers included in the "no electronics" policy?

 

SWScouter

[oldsm]

At this point, GPS receivers have not been an issue. Due to cost, no one has had any inclination to get one.

 

That said, I believe a GPS unit would be acceptable under the clause "unless they are needed for some specific outing activity" as stated in my opening paragraph. Obviously it would not be used for "entertainment" or chatting with a friend back home, IMing, etc.

 

Frankly, for the kind of hiking and backpacking scouts do, I would prefer that the boys use topo maps and good old-fashioned compasses. They learn skills more thoroughly, can still navigate when the batteries die, carry far less weight, and save a lot of money. A scout is thrifty!

 

IMHO, using GPS is about as detrimental as the now-prevalent use of graphing calculators in algebra class. Kids too often learn to push the buttons, but don't understand the theory behind the equations. "Faster" does not necessarily equate to "better".

 

How in the world was our country settled, its borders defined, routes established from one city to another, etc., etc., without the wizardry of electronics? Mankind has existed for millenia without having to resort to the new-fangled toys that we suddenly embrace as indispensable.

 

I think I'll go by another Silva compass.

[OneHour]

We only allow CD, MP3, IPOD, ... for long trip and in the vehicle only. Once we arrive at the destination, all electronics stay on board or be confiscated. Without these devices in the car during our last year summer camp trip (11 hours), I would have gone crazy after the first hour! I do not think that they would have missed much scouting experience on the long car ride. I tried that a couple of times, having an older scout to teach the younger scouts knots during the car ride. It lasted 10 minutes and those boys requested another driver on the next trip! Hey ... I might be on to something here!

 

 

[orennoah]

Even though I'm nearing 50, I still listen to the music my Scout do, and enjoy much of it.

 

On trips, my Scoutmaster iPod gets plugged in and we listen to whole range of music, from classical (Led Zep, Floyd, Tull, Beatles, etc.) to current metal to alternative to the weird (Norwegian Viking Metal anyone?). No country and no rap. Can't stand 'em.

 

We have a running "game," whereby pointless points are awarded the first first to say the artist/group when a new song comes on. So, to be competitive, we all have to know music from multiple generations.

 

I always find it highly amusing that the musical generation gap between me and my son and is so much smaller than that between me and my father.

 

- Oren

[oldsm]

orennoah,

 

What a great idea with the naming game. Wish I'd thought of that.

 

I do have to chuckle at your definition of "classical", because it's so different from mine.

 

My definition is basically the old long-hairs: Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and earlier - generally composers pre-1900. It also includes "contemporary" or "modern" music composed in similar styles. This is probably because I was raised on that style of music, and my education concentrated on "serious" composers.

 

The composers/artists you mentioned fall into what I would classify as "classic rock", but certainly not "classical".

 

Maybe I'm old-fashioned in my musical tastes, but I think that I'm doing my part to preserve world heritage when I exposed young people to music that has withstood the test of time measured in centuries rather than decades. Just my opinion.

 

Certainly your choices are better than most of the tripe that is being produced today. Values, anyone?

[Lynda J]

My Car, My music. The reason for this is that I don't want loud banging music when I am driving.

I am a big Jazz freek. Like country. But for the most part my CDs and radio are on Jazz.

 

Boys fusses at first but now know who is in charge inside the car. ME.

[orennoah]

Oldsm:

 

I know the real definition of "classical" music. In fact, I have some of that on my iPod.

 

I've also got reggae (Marley, Tosh et al) and old r&b (a la Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King) and other miscellaneous stuff.

 

The idea is to mix it up (and preserve my prejudices, as I'm the one driving and safety dictates that you don't tee off the driver with country or rap! :-) ).

 

I just put it on shuffle-play and let it go. (O.K. I will skip a few non-Scout appropriate songs, e.g. Frank Zappa's "Dynamo Hum")

 

- Oren