Music That My Kids Enjoy

 

Last month I took a road trip with my son to see a concert.  I started taking him to shows when he was 12 or 13. We bonded over bands like QOTSA, Wye Oak, The Joy Formidable, Bully, A Place To Bury Strangers, and some of his favorite metal bands (Mastodon, Deftones, High On Fire, and Red Fang).  We saw Acrassicauda (the Iranian band featured in the documentary "Heavy Metal In Baghdad").  We once saw a couple exchange wedding vows onstage at an iwrestledabearonce concert.

My son turns 30 this year.  I feel fortunate that he and his wife live nearby, and that we get together fairly often.  We don't talk about music as much as we used to, so I encouraged him to play some of his favorites during our road trip.  I compiled a playlist of his selections, which I'm sharing today.  Each of these two mixes is an hour long.

Some of these songs date back to his high school years (class of 2014). I can hear the influence of bands like Dinosaur Jr., MBV, Pavement, Pixies, Nirvana, the Breeders, and the Jesus Lizard. 

We also listened to some newer music that he's into. It was interesting to learn from my son that there is a shoegaze revival going on now, and that a lot of the young shoegaze artists are based in Philadelphia.  There are also several of his local favorites from Atlanta (Sword II, Thousandaire, and Whores.) He seems to like a lot of bands with female singers, and I do too.

I have also taken my 25 year old daughter to shows.  We've seen Gorillaz, Animal Collective, Machinegirl, Perturbator and Tropical Fuck Storm.  Her tastes are a bit more esoteric, and I don't always grasp the appeal of the music that she plays for me.  But she did introduce me to Bambara and the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.  "March On For Pax Romana" might be my favorite new song of 2025.

I've tried not to push my own tastes on my kids. I think the only CD's my son ever borrowed from me were Loveless and The Low End Theory.  I'll never forget when he asked his parents if we had ever heard of The Cure. We ended up going to see The Cure together (when they toured with 65daysofstatic). And just recently, my daughter asked me about the Cocteau Twins.  

I also included one song that my wife loves (Charly Bliss' version of "Steal My Sunshine" from AV Undercover).  Hope you find something to enjoy in these two mixes. If you're seeking reassurance that it's not just "the olds" who appreciate guitar-driven indie rock, you'll find it here. And I hope you have fun this weekend.  My kids and I are going to see Ovlov!  I can't get enough of their song "Strokes", and I really hope they play it.