Hey...wait a minute!! Since when did Al become a children's artist??
In addition to his TV show and Disney Radio, Al has been played on Philly's "Kid's Corner" radio show every weeknight since before 1990. And don't forget "Peter and the Wolf."
I was eleven when I first heard Al, and while I consider that a "child's" age, I think all of his music is appropriate for an 11-year-old. I had pretty strict parents ... I just never played Al's records for them.
When I worked at the record store I used to play Al's video collection on the in-store TV's. Children would gather by the dozens, sitting cross-legged in front of the TV's as if hypnotized. We used to wax poetic about how Al was the United Nations of music: his music united children of every race, color, creed, religion, gender, and shoe-size.
We sold scores of that video collection ... when parents saw that their children were in a trance, they bought it hoping that their kids would be as quiet and mesmerized when they went home. :biggrin:
But we had more "Al" CD returns from irate parents (for two Al releases ... Deep End and Alapalooza) than any other individual recording artist, too. No one returned "Animaniacs" saying it was inappropriate.
Also, it's worth mentioning that whenever parents came to return an Al record claiming it was inappropriate for their children, I always tried to talk them out of it (it wasn't a store with an 'anything goes' return policy at that time). I told the parents that Al's records were educational ... his albums taught children about the different styles of music out there.
And I do believe that: my first real lesson on the history of rock was "In 3-D." I had never heard Hendrix. Or Devo. Plus, Al showed that you could play any style of music on any instrument; even rock on an accordion.
So too, with Poodle Hat ... there are kids who will now check out Bob Dylan because of Al.
I bet the "I have a thing for poodles and rubber underwear" is one of those lines that goes right over younger kids' heads anyway. 