Like 'dad-jokes' and 'dad-dancing', the term 'dad rock' is usually employed as a mild put-down of the previous generation's music.
That's nothing new: every generation disses the musical taste of its predecessors, as today's young listeners will discover when they, in turn, suffer the same derision from their own kids a few years from now.
As a derogatory term for classic rock music, 'dad rock' kind of fails anyway. The phrase has been embraced by dads, and even grandads, as a kind of quasi-genre. They buy dad rock CDs and search streaming platforms for dad rock playlists.
There is no firm definition of dad rock: playlists and compilations bearing the label can feature pretty much anything from 1960s guitar pop, '70s blues rock, '80s heavy metal, '90s indie, pop-punk and Britpop to 2000s guitar bands like Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and The Killers. Basically, if you're old enough to have kids, the music of your teens is dad rock - especially if it features guitars.
With Father's Day looming, it only seems fair to let Dad have his choice of music on the car stereo. Let him enjoy the sound of real drums and guitars for a change, instead of programmed percussion and MIDI instruments. It'll make his day.
Our Father's Day driving playlist features a generous selection of classic tracks from the last *Cough!* years. Pop, hard rock, metal, rap, punk … It's all here. Some of these songs are so famous that even the kids will know them.
The playlist
What do you think of our list? Do you have better suggestions? Let us know on our social media channels or email us at [email protected].
