Dad Rock: The Guide
Tim Vuotto ~ 10/25/2024
Are you suffering from a mid-life crisis? Do you hate your wife?? Or has your wife left you entirely for the next door neighbor??? (Fuck you Brad!) Then it’s time to grab your favorite pair of Nike Monarchs, a cold beer, and throw on some “Dad rock”.
Nickelback/Creed
Let’s be honest they both kinda fucking suck. These are typically for dads who are going through a bad divorce and are in the middle of a nasty custody battle with their ex-wife. Both of these bands biggest achievements are being cool and enjoyable to listen to when you’re plastered drunk, which says enough. It’s not all terrible as they both do have a couple noteworthy hits such as Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” and “Photograph” to Creed’s “Higher” (Best NFL halftime performance of all time?) and “One Last Breath”.
Steely Dan/Bob Seger
These are the chill dads who are typically accountants or work in marketing. Formed in New York in 1971, Steely Dan had tremendous success. From hits such as “Reelin In The Years", “Do It Again" or Tony Soprano's favorite, “Dirty Work”. There’s nothing better than cracking a cold one, hopping on the mower and throwing on some Steely. In 1978, Bob Seger burst onto the scene with his certified 6x platinum album Stranger in Town which hit the charts at #4. It’s hard to find a more iconic voice in rock n roll than Bob Seger. Old Time rock & roll stands out to me as the epitome of dad rock. You can keep your synthesizers and 808s, just give me some of that old time rock & roll.
ZZ Top/The Black Crowes/Lynyrd Skynyrd
These are the dads who typically drive old beat up F-150s or Silverados. Dads who listen to these three are the ones who are typically found “working on a project” in the garage (more likely hiding from their wife and slamming beers). From tracks like the always catchy “Gimme Three Steps”, the infamous “Free Bird” and the heart-wrenching “Tuesdays Gone” by Skynyrd. To “Hard to Handle" and “She Talks to Angels” by The Black Crowes, and finally, "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, they're all certified dad rock.
Hinder/Staind/3 doors down
Gonna be honest, I know very little about these three bands. However, I’ve recently seen on social media platforms that they’ve been heavily associated with “Dad rock” so I decided to give them a try. Turns out I have heard songs by these bands such as “It’s Been Awhile” by Staind,” Lips of an Angel” by Hinder, and “Kryptonite” by 3 doors down. I just didn’t realize they were songs by them. Overall, not really my type of music but I can totally see someone’s dad jamming to these bands while sipping an ice-cold PBR.
Limp Bizkit/Korn/Linkin Park
These bands are great if your dad is super hardcore. If your dad has a goatee, several random tattoos they may or may not even know about, wears cargo shorts way past his knees, has t-shirts that are 3 sizes too big, and a backwards flat-brimmed baseball cap, then congratulations he might be Fred Durst. These dads are cool, love to party and brag about the time they once chain smoked DMT at Woodstock ‘99. You’re lying if you say you’ve never blasted Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff”, Korn’s “Freak on a Leash” or Linkin Park’s “Faint” while having a super shitty day.
Eagles/America/Chicago
These are for the hybrid-driving Dads who don’t “wear the pants” at home. Unless you’ve been living under a rock your whole life, you know who these bands are. These bands made “Hotel California”, “Take It Easy”, “Life in the Fast Lane", “Peaceful Easy Feeling", “A Horse With No Name”, “Ventura Highway”, “Sister golden hair” , and “If You Leave Me Now", to name a few. I could go on naming iconic tune after tune. These bands are timeless and go-to no matter what mood you’re in.
Conclusion
Dad Rock stands out to me as one of the best fictional sub-genres in Rock music. It’s all about feeling good … regardless of being a shell of who you once were, drinking beer, ignoring the wife, doing mundane tasks around the house and staring out the window/back door at absolutely nothing. It’s really that simple and that’s okay.
