Another lovely school year is under way in Brooklyn and the kids, as always, have a lot to say about music.

In this fall's adventures, first graders ponder Australians, Sufjan Stevens reduces second graders to tears, and Flin Flon scares a sweet kindergartner to the point of near-destruction.

~Sarah Allen

Architecture in Helsinki - "The Owls Go"

Raj:	Architecture is buildings.
Delly:	Skyscrapers.
Martha:	I heard a...a...! (holds up pretend trumpet)
Raj:	A ostrich?
Ms S:	I think it's a trumpet.
Martha:	Yeah
Ms S:	What's the song about?
Delly:	I think that it is about a people, a person.
Raj:	No, it is about architecture.
Delly:	There is no songs about architecture.
Martha:	This song makes me so happy I want to go sing all over the world. I want to hear this song at my house all the time and I never want to stop hearing this song.
Raj:	This is my favorite song that I ever wanted. Did you ever see the Simpsons?
Ms S:	Yes, I love that show! Delly?
Delly:	I like this one (pointing to Essex Green album). I like this one (AIH) a little bit.
Ms S:	This band is from Australia.
Delly:	That's where there are kangaroos.
Martha:	And koalas.
Delly:	And, um...I think there are cats and dogs there. Big dogs.
Raj:	Do they speak the same as us?
Ms S:	They speak English too, but it sounds a little different than us.
Martha:	Do they comb their hair?
Ms S:	I'm pretty sure they do.
Raj:	What color socks do they have?
Ms S:	Many different colors, I think.
Raj:	Oh maaaaaan!
Sufjan Stevens - "Say Yes! to Michigan!"
Mead:	That is a weird name!
Elizabeth:	(sounding out) Soooof. Jan. Soof-Jan! What is a Soof-Jan? (laughs crazily)
Ms S:	That's his name.
Taneesh:	I never heard that name in my whole life! Is it a name in China?
Elizabeth:	A name in China is upside down.
Mead:	Which song is this?
Ms S:	"Say Yes! to Michigan!"
Mead:	Michigan is a state.
Ms S:	Yeah.
Mead:	You can't say yes to it! A state can't even talk!
Taneesh:	Maybe it could talk.
Mead:	No it can't!
Ms S:	Let's unroll the map of the United States and I'll show you where it is. Ok...right here. And I am from the state next to it, right here (Wisconsin).
Mead:	You live next to Soof-Jan Stevens? Did you go to his house?
Ms S:	No. These states are next to each other, but they're big. It's really pretty far between them.
Taneesh:	Miss Sarah, Elizabeth is crying. (It was much more like quiet whimpering. --ed.)
Ms S:	Eliabeth, what's wrong?
Elizabeth:	I don't want you and Soof-Jan Stevens to move to Michigan.
Ms S:	Oh! Don't worry, sweetheart...I live in Brooklyn. I'm not going anywhere. And Sufjan lives somewhere in Brooklyn too.
Taneesh:	I thought he lived in China.
Darren Hanlon - "Brooklyn Bridge"
Arlyn:	We went on the Brooklyn Bridge!
Jahmel:	When we were in kindergarten.
Ms S:	What can you tell me about that bridge?
Arlyn:	It's BIG.
Jahmel:	A lot of people made it.
Arlyn:	It was invented.
Jahmel:	We walked on it, with our class. You can see the water under the wood! I thought I was going to fall through on the water! Aaaaaaaaah! (both laugh hysterically)
Arlyn:	Does he live in Brooklyn?
Ms S:	He lives in Australia.
Jahmel:	AUSTRALIA?!
Arlyn:	(laughing) That's in a solar system!
Jahmel:	Why did he say about the Brooklyn Bridge?
Ms S:	He visited from Australia and went to see it.
Jahmel:	But he's from Australia!
Ms S:	People from all over the world come to see the Brooklyn Bridge.
Jahmel:	Oh yeah. It's famous!
Arlyn:	Does he have to give us money to see it because he's from Australia?
Ms S:	It's free!
Jahmel:	I'm gonna make him give us a hundred dollars!
Ms S:	What would you buy then?
Jahmel:	Game boy games! And a bird!
Arlyn:	A hamster.
Jahmel:	A hamster.
Ms S:	What do you think of the song?
Elizabeth:	I love this song.
Jahmel:	I love it a little bit.
Ms S:	Show me how much with your hands. (Elizabeth holds her hands so close together they are almost touching; Jahmel stretches his out as wide as possible.)
Flin Flon - "Odessa"
Remy:	This is bad music.
Ms S:	Why do you think so?
Remy:	This is heart-heart music. I am DARK. This is Dracula.
Ms S:	Is this music scary?
Remy:	Yes. I am going to break this all up (picks up cd player).
Ms S:	Remy, wait! Wait! I'll turn it off!