I’ve been listening to a lot of Paul Weller’s music lately. One term the British rock press has attached to his music is “dad rock.” Perhaps I’m a bit slow on the uptake – what is “dad rock”? Is it rock music your dad listens to? In my case, that would be a “no.” My dad was born in the 1920s. He couldn’t stand rock, even though he had two kids who came of age during the 1960s and one who did in the 1980s [me]. I consulted with the Urban Dictionary and found these choice words:
2.
“The standard set of albums from the 60s and 70s
that every boomer likes.”
3.
“A variety of genres from the 60s and 70s that
dads are most likely to enjoy. Dad Rock is made up of Psychedelic Rock, yearly
Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, and Shoe Gaze.” [Editor’s note – what the fuck
is “Shoe Gaze” music?]
4.
“Dad rock is defined as the genre of music that
is listened to uniquely by fathers, not grandfathers or children or mothers
(though mothers may have adapted survival strategies to tolerate or ignore dad
rock music). To be a dad rocker, you must own albums by all of the following
three defining bands of the dad rock genre: Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers,
Phil Collins, and Sting. Dad rock is most commonly heard blasting out of Cameros,
El Caminos, vans, and large trucks on cassette or from the home on vinyl or,
occasionally, compact disc.”
5.
“Term used by children who are angry that most
of the modern music they listen to from their generation is garbage in
comparison. Unable to come up with viable comparisons to previous classic bands
and musical artists, they resort to insulting all of them at once in a
dismissive and condescending tone.”
Here’s a tidbit I found from author Jeremy Gordon:
“You might say dad rock means any rock n’ roll enjoyed by dads aged Boomer to Gen X, with millennials on their way — sprawling parameters encompassing most of mainstream rock music, from the Allman Brothers to Zappa.” [Editor’s note - I actually have music from A to Z [including the LA punk band X]].
The editors at Vice.com decided they would interview a bunch of dads ranging from ages 28-62 to see what they think of the term “dad rock” It turns out there are as many different definitions of “dad rock” as there are dads.
Age: 58
Lives in: Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Children: 2
Last album purchased: Saturns Pattern, Paul
Weller [2015]
Last concert: Dwight Yoakam
Does he own toe shoes or Crocs? Not only “no,” but
“Hell No!”
Heard the term "dad rock" before? Sure I
have. How else would I be able to write
this?
Thoughts on the term: The term “dad rock” is used by some as a pejorative. That’s fair from the POV of someone younger
than me, since I go the other way and complain about today’s music with the
phrase “yes, I’m old and your music really does suck!” I listen to lots of dinosaurs [the good ones,
at least]. “Old” doesn’t necessarily
mean “great” because at the time my favorites made music, there was still a lot
of crap to weed out. I listen to
Parliament/Funkadelic – does that make it “dad funk”? I listen to Dwight Yoakam and Waylon Jennings
– “dad county,” right? I’ve seen
comments about “dad rock” being the kind of music played by people too old to
get angry or too old to want to change the world. Neil Young is 75, and he’s still plenty angry
about the environment. Another comment I
saw concerned whether the older musicians make any music that “pushes
boundaries.” I wonder what “boundaries”
they refer to - boundaries of good taste, boundaries of melodic/not melodic,
lyrics that insult the listeners’ intelligence, etc? Bob Dylan will be 80 in three months, and he’s
been creating his own genre of music since 1997 [others would argue sooner].
Is the music I listen to “dad rock”? You bet it is. And when you get older, YOUR music will also be defined as such <giggle snort>.
