Posted on 04/08/2021 7:13:10 AM PDT by mylife
The Now That’s What I Call… compilation series, which stretches all the way back to 1983, has always been commercially successful. Wildly, phenomenally so, in fact. There are dozens and dozens of these CDs. However, one such disc first released in June is getting some renewed attention because of its subject matter.
Okay, fine. Dads love music, too. And yeah, dads can sometimes be all Homer Simpson about what they believe to be great music. But if we look at the tracklisting for this disc, I wonder how many of the included acts appreciate being lumped into a category that is synonymous with “uncool.” How many of these tracks would you classify as “Dad Rock?”
1. “We Will Rock You” – Queen (Yep) 2. “Start Me Up” – The Rolling Stones (Maybe) 3. “With Or Without You” – U2 (This is more Mom Rock, don’t you think?) 4. “Livin’ On A Prayer” – Bon Jovi (Yep) 5. “Radioactive” – Imagine Dragons (Possibly) 6. “Mr. Brightside” – The Killers (What?) 7. “Dakota” – Stereophonics (You’re kidding, right? Maybe if dad was a British indie kid.) 8 “Take Me To Church” – Hozier (What’s this even doing here?) 9. “Rockstar” – Nickelback (Definitely) 10. “Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd (Slam dunk) 11. “More Than A Feeling” – Boston (Ditto) 12. “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ – Blue Oyster Cult (Ditto again) 13. “Bat Out Of Hell” – Meat Loaf (I suppose…) 14. “Ace Of Spades” – Motörhead (If Lemmy were still alive, he’d come round and smash every one of these discs personally.) 15. “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” – The Clash (Perhaps) 16. “The Jam” – Town Called Malice (Only if dad was a mod) 17. “Two Princes” – Spin Doctors (Yes. But no one should have to listen to this song. Ever.) 18. “She’s So Lovely” – Scouting For Girls (Okay…) 19. “Chelsea Dagger” – The Fratellis (No!) 20. “Rocks” – Primal Scream (Absolutely not! Unless dad was a hardcore raver back in the day.) 21. “Africa” – Toto (100%) 22. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – Simple Minds (We can debate this one.) 23. There She Goes – The La’s (No. Just no.) 24. “I Wanna Be Adored” – The Stone Roses (Depends. Does dad have some baggy trousers at the back of the closet?) 25. “Everybody’s Changing” – Keane (More Mom Rock) 26. “How To Save A Life” – The Fray (See above) 27. “Hold Back The River’ – James Bay (Are you freakin’ kidding me?) 28. “Ho Hey” – The Lumineers (Was dad a hippie?) 29. “All Right Now” – Free (Agreed) 30. “Smoke On The Water” – Deep Purple (I’d be shocked if this song wasn’t here.) 31. “Search And Destroy” – Iggy & The Stooges (Was dad into PCP in the day? Then yes.) 32. “Are You Gonna Go My Way” – Lenny Kravitz (You can make the argument.) 33. “Walk This Way” – RUN-DMC feat. Aerosmith (This was probably the song that introduced dad to hip-hop.) 34. “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” – The Beastie Boys (Or maybe it was this one.) 35. “Stacy’s Mom” – Fountains Of Wayne (If so, don’t ask dad about his adolescent years. You’ll be scarred by the truth.) 36. “Buck Rogers” – Feeder (Odd choice) 37. “All The Small Things” – blink-182 (Is there an old skateboard in the garage? Then yes.) 38. “Crazy Crazy Nights” – Kiss (There are better dad rock songs from their catalogue.) 39. “Addicted To Love” – Robert Palmer (No question.) 40. “The Final Countdown” – Europe (Oh, yes.) 41. “Teenage Dirtbag” – Wheatus (Well…) 42. “Kids” – MGMT (What? No!) 43. “In Too Deep” – Sum 41 (How old is dad?) 44. “America” – Razorlight (Another odd choice.) 45. “Complicated” – Avril Lavigne (What the F**K is this doing here?) 46. “Torn” – Natalie Imbruglia (And THIS!) 47. “The Sound” – The 1975 (A little current to be actual Dad Rock, no?) 48. “Pompeii” – Bastille (Same here.) 49. “Naive” – The Kooks (If so, then your dad is pretty cool.) 50. “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” – Deep Blue Something (Come ON!) 51. “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” – Bachman – Turner Overdrive (Nailed it.) 52. “I Shot The Sheriff” – Eric Clapton (The original Bob Marley version would have been a better choice.) 53. “Can’t Fight This Feeling” – REO Speedwagon (I’m guessing this was on the radio when your dad first made out with your mom.) 54. “Maggie May” – Rod Stewart (If dad is in his 50s, he had this on his stereo back in the day.) 55. “Sharp Dressed Man” – ZZ Top (A standard at wedding receptions. So, yes.) 56. “Born To Be Wild” – Steppenwolf (Quintessential dad rock.) 57. “Here I Go Again ‘87” – Whitesnake (Did dad ever sport a mullet? Then yes.) 58. “Eye Of The Tiger” – Survivor (Wait. This is the quintessential dad rock song.) 59. “Love Is The Drug” – Roxy Music (Well, the song is from 1975…)
Thoughts? And what’s missing?
I recently started liking Billy Joel songs after reading the lyrics.
Well I used to believe
I was such a great romancer
When I came home to a woman
Whom I could not recognize
When I pressed her for a reason
She would not even answer
It was then I felt the Stranger
Kick me right between the eyes
No Steely Dan! No 10cc.
+1
Best thing about Billy Joel, is the drumming of Liberty DeVitto.
Nothing better than Clapton's "She's Gone" live.
More Than a Feeling was released in 77 or 78 IIRC. I'm not a big fan of this compilation, to put it mildly.
Ha! Great reply. Consequences. Thanks for firing up the memories.
Not rock, but great for the earballs.
I could live without 10cc, but I must have Steely Dan’s ‘Dirty Work.’ ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrE_cDvcgJg
Come on, Man! *SMIRK*
I’m adding some ‘Blondie’ (White Chicks Can RAP?) and some Joe Jackson to the mix. ;)
No Jimmy Buffet?
Dads LOVE Jimmy Buffet! Dads LOVE making ‘blenderized’ drinks...at least MY Dad did. Fondue, too!
No Marvin Gay? Everyone loved Marvin! ‘What’s Goin’ On?’ ;)
Al Green? Hello! ‘Let’s Stay Together.’
Not a SINGLE (Frankie Valli) Four Seasons song in that list?
‘Sherry?’ Dads LOVE to sing that song. We all do! ‘Let’s Hang On?’ ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry?’
I need to make my own Mixed Tape! :)
Bump!
rock on!!
In the 80s they were playing 60s and 70s rock music all the time on da radio.
That’s why this list ain’t realistic.
I disagree. He wrote those lyrics. He sang those songs. He was the Piano Man.
I did not appreciate his talent at the time.
Oh, I didn’t mean to slough off Billy Joel’s writing, I mean it doesn’t get any better than “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”.
But like Elton John, he benefitted greatly by having a fantastic band backing him up.
Fuhgettaboutit
what’s missing?
No Southern Rock! Sounds mostly like commercial rock.
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