Let’s get one thing straight:
As a category? Dad Rock does not exist.
I get the concept.
We dads are all a bunch of out-of-touch dinosaurs that listen to old, dated rock music.
Fine, but to just lump it all under one umbrella is ignorant. It’s like saying that because they are both prehistoric, Diplodocus and Giganotosaurus are from the same time period, and have the same taste in food. When that is clearly not the case.
(Watched our fair share of Dinosaur Train, now did we? Indeed, we did.)
Yes, we’re older than our kids and that somehow makes us all ancient. But the fact remains that we come from different eras and have a variety of musical tastes. We don’t have a collective affinity for certain kinds of rock, just because we all happen to be dads.
Can we at least acknowledge that?
Whenever I see Dad Rock compilations or lists, I roll my eyes, because it’s just a bunch of old rock songs from different eras and subgenres that dads may or may not like, depending on the dad.
Do all dads like Steely Dan?
No.
Do all dads like Nickelback?
No.
Do all dads like… okay you get my point. (For the record, I love Steely Dan and do not like Nickelback, but that’s not important right now.)
Bottom line: there is no consensus.
So: Dad Rock is not a thing.
But what about Dad Pop ?
Speaking only for myself: I was not and am not part of the target demographic of any era of pop music in this millennium. It wasn’t made for me, and for the most part: pop and I stay out of each other’s business.
That said, every now and then, a pop or pop-adjacent song will come along and hook me in, or in some cases: just blow me away.
Even if said song gets played to death on the radio, I am often immune to the burnout that others may experience from constant airplay and overexposure, since I have not listened to Top 40 radio regularly in the last couple of decades.
Except for a brief period between 2019-2021, when my daughter moved to the front seat of the car and commandeered the radio, until we eventually fled to Spotify on Bluetooth.
Over the years, I have slowly compiled an informal list in my head of irresistible pop songs that have caught my fancy.
And I’m wondering: are there legions of dads out there who are not pop aficionados, but who have been captivated by some of these same songs? Do certain songs have just the right musical pheromones to attract over-the-hill dads and other pop outsiders, almost seemingly against our will?
Could Dad Pop be a thing?
And am I a part of something greater?
Or am I wrong about this for pretty much the same reasons that I think the term Dad Rock doesn’t work? I have not taken a poll, and I have no definitive answer.
But I’m just going to toss out a playlist of pop songs (and a little bit of R&B) from 2000 to the present that have hit me in my sweet spot. And in a few cases: I consider to be musical perfection. It’s limited to one song per artist, ranked in order of preference, though some could be interchangeable.
I don’t want to get too caught up in the ranking. Although I will say:
That the top 5 are non-negotiable.
Some of these I picked up from my daughter, like many parents. Some I found on my own at various points. Some are just part of the air we breathe.
A few songs on the list will not be as familiar to the masses as others, such as “Girlz” from the Lego Friends movie Girlz 4 Life.
But I included them because they’re certified bangers and just had to make the cut, end of story.
My request- give this playlist a listen and let me know if you think I’m onto something…
Regardless of whether you are a dad or not.
#DadPopForReals
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I know about 2/3 to 3/4 of the list and will have to listen to the rest — don’t know that we’re in the same social demographic (i.e., not a dad, unless a “cat dad” counts) but we’re of the same age demographic so I’m not surprised much of the music tracks.
Despite the title, I don’t know if you have to be a dad to relate to this topic; I think the age group alone has a lot to do with it. In some ways, it’s like “dad jokes”. Why are dads the only ones that can and do tell bad, corny jokes?
And hello fellow cat dad! We have two Blue Russians and the male in particular is a petulant, needy child so I know of what you speak!
Interesting food for thought.
As someone full of dad jokes and yet rather light on children, I’m not sure if I can comment on what is or is not dad music.
I will say that as I’ve aged, I’ve come to embrace certain styles and artists that the younger me was too haughty or snarky or insecure to really let go and enjoy. That included the likes of Randy Newman, Neil Young, Harry Nilsson, and even Barry Manilow.
But it also included contemporary pop, like a lot of the songs in your playlist. I rarely seek out a new pop song, as I find it a lot of it to be rather dull. But once in a while, I’ll stumble across some killer among the filler.
Maybe that’s part of what’s happening, it’s the discovery of pop gems so bright and dazzling that even dismissive dads will love it.
Certainly a case can be made that the older greats like Nilsson, Young, and Steely Dan were the hot new things of their time who made memorable and lasting music. Yet once punk and indie purism settles in, it’s not just that teens are seeking out new exciting sounds–it’s since become a sort of Platonic truth that the music of their parents is just deeply, tragically uncool. Only after our hormonal hurdles are in the distant past can we ever begin to contemplate those gems from the past, no matter how dazzling they may be.
Incidentally, my dad probably listened to C&W more than anything when I was growing up–at least that’s what he played on the radio. I hardly know any Steely Dan; I don’t hate them, but I never got into them. And yet I still think of them as one of the quintessential dad rock bands, as people do seem to age into them. And at least among the instances I’m aware of, those people are all men. And most if not all are dads. 😀
Very well put about aging into music that wasn’t cool to listen to in our youth. I guess if I were to begrudgingly concede anything to be dad rock, Steely Dan would be the first thing to come to mind. And I just made a comment to cst about dad jokes, right before I saw your post!
My parents were also C&W fans. Took me awhile to appreciate the genre, and it still can be kind of problematic with its worldview.
I still struggle with it My father was a huge fan, and I…am not. I can pick out a few that I don’t mind hearing, mostly of an older vintage. It seems to me that while rock and pop have progressed in mind set and attitude, much of the country world has not. Obviously, there are exceptions, Kacey Musgraves, Garth Brooks, classic artists like Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris. I am probably missing some because I just don’t listen that often.
As a Gen Z’er, I know most of the songs on that list, and you’ve got a high proportion of classics on there. The canonical ones seem all to be there — even though I might pick a different track off of 21 — and I love your choice of deeper cuts. “Rather Be”? “Here”? “she’s all I wanna be”? The very catchy “Stitches”? All great.
My dad is more of a classical-music type and generally plays his cards close in terms of musical taste, although he introduced us to Gordon Lightfoot as kids. I do most of the dad-joking in the household.
Side note: Dinosaur Train is a classic, and I approve of the Brittlestar image. That man is a Canadian treasure.
Thanks for weighing in! Yes, there are a number of Adele’s other hits off of 21 that I could have chosen and I had to give pause on that one.
mt does the images, so I had to look up Brittlestar just now. For me, it was just a perfect picture of a guy that looks like a dad holding a Nickelback CD. I will have to check him out.
Truth about Dinosaur Train! My daughter already was obsessed with dinosaurs and that show taught both her and me so much! Have you been to the Royal Tyrrell near Calgary? Blew our minds; has to be one of the best in the world. And my daughter got to hold fossilized dinosaur poop.
As a 46 year old dad to an 11 year old girl I wholeheartedly agree with the rejection of dad rock. Its just an easy label to brand a certain demographic with. Though there are people that must be buying those dad rock compilations. Perhaps just because they include some great songs not because they identify with the label.
Personally I think what it comes down to is that these things are marketed at people for whom music is no longer a big thing. There’s various studies that claim people stop engaging with new music in their late 20s/early 30s. Personal experience tells me that even before that age there were plenty of people for whom music was just background noise or a pleasant distraction rather than something they were passionate about.
A compilation like the best dad rock ever succeeds because of nostalgia, sweeping up a load of songs that even the casual listener will remember and give them that warm fuzzy feel of their youth.
I think rather than dad pop being a common phenomena its that the citizens of tnocs are more likely to still be engaged with music (even if they might have specific era preferences) and therefore more likely to appreciate the best of modern pop.
For me, my daughter has rebelled against my tastes. We listen to top 40 radio in the car and both get something out of it. It’s not what I choose to listen on my own but there are great songs to discover and I like being upto date.
Whereas my experience with work colleagues is that we have a mix of ages from a few years older than me to 15 years younger and I have the reputation both for being into ‘weird stuff’ purely on the basis that they’ve never heard of it so it must be weird (fear the unknown!) while also being the only one paying attention to current pop.
There’s no right or wrong way to do it, we should celebrate the differences, enjoy our own lanes and let others enjoy theirs.
Which means don’t tell kids that it was better in your day and its not real music now. That is the one wrong way of doing it. Someone did that to my daughter a few years ago with regards to Taylor Swift.
On which note I’ll quit with the unfocused ramblings and go enjoy some Olivia Rodrigo.
Well said, well said!
Yes on the Olivia Rogrigo!
My daughter was completely disinterested in any music from before her birth until a few years ago (she’s 14) when older music started showing up on her playlist, including a Nirvana deep cut that I didn’t even remember, to my embarrassment. I found that she was open to older music, but she had to find it on her own. Heaven forbid if it was at my suggestion.
Oh crap, I just realised I got my age wrong 😵💫🤣
I’m 47 not 46. Wouldn’t believe I was top of the class for arithmetic. Which turns out to be one year further into the past than I was letting onto.
I had an idealised vision of being able to share my music with daughter and bonding over it. Quickly realised that wasn’t gonna happen once she got old enough to form her own opinions. Ah well, like you say its best to let them find their own way.
At least we still have other stuff we bond over.
Like Chuck, I know about 2/3s of this playlist and will recommend two more that I think will fit in.
Jax – Victoria’s Secret
https://youtu.be/GFKnuJB_WkM
beabadoobee – She Plays Bass
https://youtu.be/9wFwPh-KbEY
I checked out the top ten recently and most of it didn’t stick with me. However, what I’ve noticed by both the stuff I’ve liked and rollerboogie’s playlist is that it’s mostly by young women. I’m hoping that doesn’t mean that we’re pervy old men, but I truly believe that women are more free to express themselves now than they were even twenty years ago. A generation that’s more likely to accept any sexual orientation than ever before is also more likely to say and sing what they want, and that makes for better art.
Yeah, my list is mostly women and I was more than a bit self-conscious about that. I do like pop music made by men as well, but it is mostly the stuff women are fronting that really hits me. Is it because I have a daughter? Partially, but I gravitated in that direction before she was born. I don’t watch music videos much or spend a lot of time actually looking at the bands and artists that I listen to, so I’d like to think it’s all about the music. I think for most of us, when we think of “pop”, female artists come to mind for a variety of reasons.
Yes on the Jax and beabadoobee. Familiar with both. I probably resonated more with the latter than my daughter, as it wears its 90s influences on its sleeve for sure.
I’m excited that guitar sales spiked during the pandemic and a lot of teens, including girls, learned to play music. That bands that come out in five years could be great.
Right on. I remember reading a statistic that girls were driving the sales numbers up of guitars, particularly acoustic, and it made me happy. My daughter learned the ukulele around that time, which was a very trendy thing to do at the time particularly for girls, and did well with it.
The evidence is already coming in with bands like this-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsBmQ9k07VM
Cool!
I love this band so much!
Maybe you can add Otoboke Beaver to the playlist? 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ8_Cdkyq2s
Yeah, this is great! It’s raw punk and but very high proficiency and multi-layered at the same time. Fantastic. And something tells me there is a ton more where this came from.
LOL, I love ’em but they’re not exactly pop. 🙂
If only there were someone who could tell me, “What makes pop, pop?”
Wait, I haven’t done that? Let me check my notes….
OK, I missed that somehow. Stay tuned!
Is the Daisy Rock line of starter instruments still a thing among young girls?
Their website is up and running but I haven’t seen any in stores recently, though I haven’t really been in stores recently. There was this pandemic, you see, and I didn’t get out much.
I’ve picked up on the same thing in the pop world regarding the gender mix. There’s a lot more female representation and they’re doing more interesting things. Doesn’t exclusively hold true but it’s definitely a lot more healthy than my youth in the 80s where for all the likes of Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush there were still more men than women. Even more so once you moved away from pop.
Agreed! A dad rock compilation of nostalgic classics succeeds just like a generic 80s compilation succeeds with those in their 50s…you might not have put them all on a mixtape for yourself, but you can’t help but have some sort of connection/memory attached to the songs, even if they aren’t favorites.
I definitely don’t know everything on your playlist, but I know about 1/2. One that I would have included was “Someone That I Used To Know” by Gotye. That one stood out for me, and I remember my old retired boss in his 60s said even he liked that one.
I remember my dad occasionally liking songs that I was into back in the 80s. “Funkytown” and “Whip It” come to mind as ones he was happy to hear.
That’s a good one, Link. Both my daughter and I love it and I completely forgot about it. I think it’s a definite candidate.
As a dad, and a ‘dad’ (defined as an older dude perhaps ossified in his musical tastes), I’ve heard some of these, and will listen to the rest. And when I do like a modern hit song, I always wonder: do I like this song for the song itself, or because it reminds me of songs I’ve liked in the (mostly) distant past? Can I get to like genres of music that didn’t exist in my listening heyday? I’m still trying to figure it out…
It’s a good question to ask. I have no doubt that if a newer song is referencing stuff from an older era, I have a better chance of liking it. That said, not everything on that playlist falls into that category.
I’ve gone on about this at the mothership, but having spent my life being pretty elitist in my musical taste (elitist in the indie vein, that is), I’ve really opened up to pop in the last couple of years. First indie pop, and now full on pop-pop. Granted, I’m still pretty discriminating in what I’ll rock out to, but the genre walls are coming crumbling down (as John Cougar Mellencamp used to say).
I seriously never thought I’d utter these words, but I think Carly Rae Jepson’s latest album The Loveliest Time is a real AOTY contender. If you haven’t danced to Psychadelic Switch yet, you’re missing out folks!
https://youtu.be/Y8qZ22IFK6I?si=jmSr-nYtmfeoywG9
I had heard about this but hadn’t actually heard it. It’s nice. It’s got some old school sounds that hit me in my musical good place.
My trajectory is uncannily similar to Pauly.
That’s why I’m a big fan of Tame Impala’s “Yes, I’m Changing”.
Doing deep-dives of everybody from Iron Maiden to Enya to Lauren Daigle to English Dan and John Ford Coley to Yves Tumor has been a total blast.
I stopped asking myself if I like a song or not.
My attitude is “this exists”.
I call The National “Dad Rock”, because I’m a dad, I love their music, and they’ve recently become dads.
As for “Dad Pop”, which I’ve never considered, there’s quite a few on that list that my daughter and I both love…most of which she’s introduced to me. She also loves a lot of what I listen to, so it’s a great musical relationship.
We’ve bonded over 24K Magic (we used to do a dance routine to the song), Supa Lonely by Benee, Levitating, and a few others.
Some of her earliest songs she loved were by Grimes and Two Door Cinema Club.
As for my son, he’s been listening to “My Name is Sue”, so I believe my work as a father is done.
(Link, sorry for the language)
https://youtu.be/Rb6Scz-5YOs?si=rW9xiw-bZV1k3vot