Rock Is A Family Affair

Growing up, rock was something we had to ourselves. My parents didn’t listen to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones. They were ours.

Today, my kids walk out the door wearing a Pink Floyd Animals sweatshirt, a Rolling Stones "lips" shirt, and a Ramones black t-shirt. Part of it is that retro is cool in their crowd. But part of it is that they love the same music we do.

And The Gotham Gal and I are going to see Death Cab, The Raconteurs, and Ben Kweller with them. We love their music too.

Rock is a family affair. Jessica IMs me to send her the lastest M Ward record. Emily puts a Dani California ring tone on my blackberry. Josh plays War Pigs on his drum kit for me before he goes to bed. My niece Julia posts that she’s listening to music I know her parents must have turned her on to.

Tom Watson touched on this in his post about "boomer rock".

The boomer rockers are defying the gravitational pull of age in rock
and roll, changing the genre entirely; now it’s fun for the whole
family.

I am not sure I am a boomer. At least I don’t think I am. But my rock idols growing up were boomers and many of them are still relevant. I have taken my kids to see Springsteen and the Stones (who my friend Andy is seeing tonite). The Who concert last week was a family affair for several of my friends. Same with Dylan and The Raconteurs which is coming up next month. Talk about Dylan and The Raconteuers. It’s the perfect family affair. Dylan for Dad, Jack White for Son.

I am not nearly as pessimistic as Bob Lefsetz is in this post he wrote today. He’s right about most of what he says, but I think he reaches the wrong conclusion. Rock isn’t counterculture anymore. That’s for sure. It’s culture now. And a family affair. And that’s a blessing I count every day.