“Hey mom and dad/I want a puppy,” The Jolly Pops announce from the outset of their single “I Want a Puppy.” Although this lyrical statement expresses a familiar child sentiment, it comes off closer to a demand than a request.
Furthermore, this pet request is placed within a heavy metal musical landscape. The sonic has a Quiet Riot-esque groove. It hearkens back to MTV’s heyday when Twisted Sister announced (so mock seriously at the time), “I Wanna Rock.” The video for that song features a kid in class who is too busy drawing the Twisted Sister logo on his book cover to pay any attention in class. When the teacher gets disgusted and asks him sarcastically what he wants to do with his life, the kid responds, “I Wanna rock!” Similarly, the (albeit younger) kid in this song has transformed his pet-wish into a rock & roll anthem.
The Jolly Pops deserve special credit for creating a children’s song that doesn’t sound like your parents’ children’s music. However, one wonders if this is really what we want to teach our young ones. For instance, whatever happened to the word ‘please’? Don’t we want our kids to be polite and respectful? Granted, it’s just a song, and a fun song at that. Nevertheless, many young ones may not immediately grasp the stylistic humor in this song.
For instance, there’s an animated children’s program called Caillou that many parents could not stand. The animation was good and all, and the stories were moral, but the main Caillou character was always a whiney little brat. His parents never reprimanded this little one for his bratty behavior. One wonders if some kids missed all the show’s positive attributes, and only caught onto this complainer’s bad habits. Might small children learn the wrong way to ask for the stuff they want from the poor manors expressed through “I Want a Puppy”? Perhaps.
With all that said, there’s plenty of fun to be had listening to this song – especially for grown-ups. For instance, it features an Eddie Van Halen-like electric guitar solo where they even pre-announce the solo’s finger tappin’ style. Tiny tots won’t notice this musical insider term, but their metal loving folks certainly will.
The song begins with the sound of a puppy barking before the singer goes into his demand. To its credit, the song’s verses find the youngster promising to walk and feed his new pup. He’s answering questions before they’re even asked, as most parents might reject this puppy request on the grounds that Junior will soon forget to do these basic pet maintenance tasks. Parents know too well that if their child sluffs off on their pet ownership duties, these parents usually end up taking over these chores. Children need to know that wanting a puppy and being ready for the responsibility of raising a dog are two entirely different things. Yes, they’re furry and cute, but they also need a master to bring them up correctly.
The video for this song includes dogs being fostered and/or up for adoption, which play with group of happy kids. This clip spotlights Second Hand Hounds, that helps place homeless hounds.
https://www.instagram.com/thejollypops/
Kiddos currently hatching a plan to add a puppy to their family would be well advised to play this song, and then follow it up with a ‘pretty please mom and dad’ and a kiss on the cheek.
-Dan MacIntosh
