(Originally ran March 28, 2008)

I keep intending to make a mix CD for my almost-5-year-old son.

It will have a bunch of songs he’s discovered through their inclusion in kid-friendly movies. Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” used in “Shrek the Third,” was a big hit around our house for a while. Hearing Malcolm sing “hammer of the gods” was one of my proudest moments as a parent.

I’ll also include other songs he’s happened along and shown some affection for: Yaz’s “Situation,” Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” and Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”

His current favorite is “All I Want Is You” by Barry Louis Polisar, the first song on the “Juno” soundtrack. We hear it between four and five times on the way to school every morning. So that will undoubtedly make the cut as well.

And there will be some Ramones on there as well. Not “I Wanna Be Sedated” or “You’re Gonna Kill That Girl” or “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue,” obviously, since I’m trying to be a responsible parent in my own stumbling way.

But I’ll definitely have some of the fun sing-along stuff like “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Rockaway Beach” on there. “Oh Oh I Love Her So,” maybe. “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” for sure.

And that’s what’s holding me up.

I’ve never played the Ramones for Malcolm and I’m worried about his reaction.

What if he doesn’t like it?

I’ll grant you this doesn’t rank very high on the scale of parental worries. But let’s face it, I make a living writing about pop music so trivialities probably matter more to me than to, say, a reasonable human being.

And if he doesn’t like the Ramones, how will we get to The Clash, Cheap Trick and The Who?

What if he one day decides he actually likes the watered-down post grunge, hollow nu-metal and pointless emo that fills the airwaves?

My wife and I decided early on to raise our kids to think for themselves. I wish I’d thought that one out a little more.