Here’s a confession: I am a dad. I also listen to rock. But here’s the question: Am I a dad who listens to “dad rock?" While the parts are true, the sum is incorrect, at least until recently.
Thanks to the ADD algorithm of YouTube Shorts’ musical playlist, my own children are getting a healthy dose of nostalgic tunes from bygone eras of rock that I fondly remember, and that seemingly fall squarely into the category of new “dad rock."
However, chin up, Dads (talking to myself here). Sure, we always knew these songs were cool, but now YouTube Shorts and Spotify are validating a few of the following for us.
Strolling down dad's memory lane
The Rolling Stones - Paint it Black
Let’s kick things off with a real dad—even grandpa-rock—cut. Whether you know it from the “The Devil’s Advocate” end credits or Kevin Bacon’s “Stir of Echoes," there’s something straight-up haunting about the Stones’ bleak fascination with an absence of light.
Moreover, the unconventional tribal beat coupled with Bryan Jones’ sitar accompaniment makes you feel like you’re about to be sacrificed to the very rock gods themselves. In other words, it’s the band’s most gothic track, and it totally slaps.
The sitar’s melody and Jagger’s lamenting have long remained potent since the song’s release in 1966. Now, it’s Gen Z’s turn to paint their own red doors black, even if they can’t tell you the band’s name.
Weezer - Buddy Holly
If you didn’t know anything about Weezer or the 1990s, you’d assume that the band’s Blue Album was an innocuous, low-key affair from some nice enough guys who looked like they weren’t trying very hard.
Nothing could be further from the truth. For this writer, every song is a hit, but the single “Buddy Holly” stood out as a catchy, fuzz-drenched peek inside of frontman River Cuomo’s nerdish retro fantasy, immortalized in Spike Jonze’s equally retro music video.
For kiddos today, the track has been stripped down to seconds before the big crescendo, when Cuomo shreds his infamous bendy lick and then drops back into the main chorus. It’s a deft move, as it’s basically Weezer’s early work in a nutshell and just long enough to keep their attention.
Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
1985 was a big year, not just because of Back to the Future (and my birth), but its musical output. Albums ranged from Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love and The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy, to Rain Dogs by Tom Waits and, of course, Tears for Fears’ Songs from the Big Chair.
Chock-full of their biggest hits, it is the band’s quintessential album to own. Fast forward almost four decades later and it resurfaced in the strangest of places: the upsetting viral world of Skibidi Toilet.
Originally conceived by a Turkish animator, an army of human-headed toilets (Skibidi Toilets) is at war with massive figures in suits and speakers for heads (Speakermen). Still with me? For some reason, the song chosen to announce the arrival of the Speakermen was Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants To Rule The World."
To this writer, my first exposure was a mix of excitement and revulsion. 'Hey, I love this song!' immediately turned to 'What am I looking at here?' On the bright side, at least one of the best tracks from the 80s is now stuck in the heads of billions around the world.
Pavement - Harness Your Hopes
Who would’ve thought that a '90s band notorious for underachieving would be back in the spotlight? With a documentary on the way and new recordings on the way, it’s like the rock gods have heard my prayers. I could talk about Pavement all day, and I have, but what’s most surprising is the ferocity at which they’ve returned, and, more relevantly, the track to hail their return.
According to Spotify, the band’s most played song is the Brighten the Corners B-side “Harness Your Hopes." Moreover, it was this particular tune that the band recently brought to The Late Night Show with Steven Colbert.
Streaming platforms are the usual suspects with no real logic as to the selection process. There are objectively many other excellent songs in their oeuvre, but, at the end of the day, there are no hard feelings. A world where my offspring can bob their heads to lines like “Heartbreaking, earthquaking, Kiwis, there are home baking” ain’t no bad place to be.
MF DOOM - Vomitspit
Veering off the rock path—and spoken like a true crotchety dad, today’s rap scene is miles away from the samples, grooves, and rhymes artists were laying down in the mid-to-late '90s. Naturally, staples like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, and Biggie Smalls are the gold standard, but indie hip hop remains quite the niche genre, all except for the Villain.
MF DOOM was the rap alter-ego of one Daniel Dumile, and since his passing in 2020 due to a reaction to a blood-pressure medicine, tracks off of the excellent concept album Mm..Food have posthumously found a new younger audience.
It could be due to DOOM’s connection with the Marvel universe (most codas include samples from 80s Marvel cartoons), lyrics that seamlessly jump from pop culture references to other non-sequiturs, but perhaps it’s simply because the tracks speak for themselves without a trace of autotune or trap beat.
Whatever the reason, I’m still surprised that whenever I wear my sweet DOOM shirt out of the house, my kids' friends are the only ones to comment. 'Vomitspit is so cool!'. Honestly, for about 30 seconds, I transform into Dad of the Year. Thanks, DOOM!
Music critic and full-time Communist Karl Marx once said, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce." Interesting, Karl. Whether arbitrary or some kind of farce, the fact that these bygone songs snuck under the radar of modernity and radio-friendly playlists gives me hope for these young people. Now, if only CD players would make a comeback.