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.
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.
NOW HEAR IN vol. 1: https://pixeldrain.com/u/khDSLh9Q
ReplyDeleteNOW HEAR IN v2: https://pixeldrain.com/u/tkPL22Ei
What do YOUR kids (or the young people in your family) listen to? I have one teenage niece who played me a song by Rainbow Kitten Surprise that was pretty good. She's also a fan of Ghost (the metal band). I played her some Lambrini Girls (which Stinky got me into), and she seemed to like them.
I love that whole album by LAMBRINI GIRLS! Rock on, Jon!
DeleteI love it too! It came out so early in 2025, I hope it doesn't get ignored in the year end best album lists. Although these days I look at those lists mainly out of curiosity. I only rarely find something new that I like. But I can honestly say that I like every song on these two mixes of music that my kids recommended.
DeleteGuess this kinda ties in with everything here (family outing, Philadelphia, & Lambrini Girls).
DeleteFor my birthday the beginning of May, myself, Blavk Dahlia, & our daughter Lao drove over to Phillie to see Party Dozen with Lambrini Girls at the Ukie Club.
It was an all-ages show at the Ukranian American Citizens Associaion. Usual cheap-ass venue for all-ages indie show. I definitely was the oldest person there (even older than the old Ukranian babushkas). Most everyone was there to see the Lambrini Girls (all-female / non-binary punk rockers - politically charged lyrics about sexism, homophobia, & transphobia). They've been kinda on the radar since releasing "Personal Jesus" with Iggy Pop (big supporter). They were a good fem-punk outfit & delivered.
I was there for the Party Dozen (being from Sydney, Australia probably my only chance to see them)...a very unique outfit. At times Industrial, doom, jazz, hardcore, psychedelic, even No-wave. Mostly instrumental (Kirsty - sax & Jonathan - percussion & sampler) but Kirsty “sings”, screaming into the bell of her saxophone which itself goes through a shit-load of effects pedals. Never seen anyone like them. I was highly entertained & the rest of the crowd (SOLD OUT - maybe 350 people???) seemed to appreciate it.
It was a great night out with the family.
That's what I'm talking about -- concertgoing as a family! My wife rarely ventures out anymore (she got tired of always being the shortest in a crowd), but one of our first dates was an Iggy Pop show. I need to check out the Party Dozen! Australia has produced some wild music. Good to know the Lambrinis are selling out shows. Thanx Nathan!
DeleteOnly one familiar name (Alvvays), so very curious what I'm going to hear
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed with Alvvays cover of "He's On The Beach". That shows great taste, and it's probably not easy to sing a Kirsty MacColl song. Hope something catches your ear, Rob!
DeleteThanks Jonder it is cool to see what 'sticks' as they say when thrown against a wall. My nephews are a big Zach Bryan fans knowing all the words, etc.
ReplyDeleteI had to look up Zach Bryan. I like that he titled his live album "All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster"!!
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DeleteNowadays it's my grand daughter that I drive around. I was quite surprised that she, too, is a big Zach Bryan fan. Her and her friends singing along to his songs in the car. I don't really get it; he's ok I don't mind him but his music doesn't strike me as being transcendent. She also likes the Red Clay Strays (yes!) and Taylor Swift (can't win them all lol). She's gone with me to see Shane Smith & the Saints (hell yeah) and is totally down to catch Billy Strings (f*ck yeah).
I don't now what my kids are listening to these days. My youngest liked Blind Guardian, Sonata Artica, Megadeath, etc back when he was home. My oldest liked Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains - the Seattle grunge/punk stuff.
At least Taylor Swift writes her own stuff and sets a positive example for young women. (Wow, that last part made me sound old.) And Billy Strings is a virtuoso. I had a nephew who was into the Insane Clown Posse, so count your blessings!
DeleteWhen my son was a teen, we saw Alice In Chains (with William DuVall singing). We also went to a Foo Fighters show with Social Distortion and the Joy Formidable as openers. William DuVall got his start with an Atlanta hardcore band called Neon Christ. It was kinda funny to see old punks like him, Pat Smear and Mike Ness playing on big stages for big crowds.
Berni, if you get a chance to ask your kids what they're into these days, I would be interested to know what they say! I remember you told us about hosting house shows for them and their friends' bands. Blind Guardian and Sonata Artica are totally unfamiliar to me. My son still enjoys metal bands like Gojira (the French group that performed at last summer's Olympics). He has become disenchanted with Mastodon's music as they've become more mainstream (relatively speaking). He also likes Lightning Bolt, Death Grips, and Run The Jewels. Actually, both my kids like Death Grips.
Interesting concept, Jonder! All names are unfamiliar to me, but that is no surprise I guess. It's a also a bit painful as I exposed and stimulated my sons to read books and listen to music with the result that they couldn't care less about either... However recently my youngest son (34) suddenly suggested we play a game of Chess which was quite unexpected from someone like him since he's quite a gamer! Anyway, during our game he played some chill-out Japanese rap (YouTube mix) which was an even bigger surprise!
ReplyDeleteDon't blame yourself. There are so many other forms of entertainment that are competing for our attention, and that require less active engagement than reading a book (or choosing a record, rather than letting an algorithm do it). To be honest, I read fewer books than I used to. When my daughter recently took a trip and told me that she had downloaded a few books to read during her flights, I was honestly surprised. My son prefers podcasts -- at least you can learn something by listening to those! Video games also expose young people to interesting music that they might not have heard otherwise.
DeleteWhat a wealth of new music. I don't have children, never wanted them. I like other people's children (that sounds so bad). I send a mail out to my brothers children/young adults to name ten songs that are on their playlists. Coming back to this.
ReplyDeleteLike Richard, i'm a no-kids, no-interest type, but this is their world more than mine now, so i'm fascinated (and sometimes appalled) by what turns them on. We're constantly battered around the head by "rock and roll is dead" comments from those supposedly in the know, so it's a huge relief to learn that that's not (entirely) true. I'll look forward to listening to these. Ta very much.
ReplyDeleteYou are quite welcome! Rock is not dead (nor is hip hop, despite the recent hand-wringing about no rap singles in the top 100).
DeleteIndeed, it is their world now -- and good luck to them with it. Don't think I've heard a single song by Bad Bunny or Sabrina Carpenter. It's entirely possible that my kids haven't either.
My drummer boy says that he likes The Beths (power pop from NZ), that he's getting back into ska... saw MxPx and Bid D and the Kids Table recently. Streetlight Manifesto (ska punk), The Hands that Thieve, The Menzingers, Rodeo Boys, and Hot Water Music. Oh, and he's got back into Dinosaur Jr. (Now I'm going to have to check out the ones that are new to me!)
ReplyDeleteThe house show artists that are relatively big now were;
The Low Anthem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UanRDr0m4IU
and Strand of Oaks (during which my youngest reprimanded me for rocking out because I was "old" ha ha):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvbyJ63lV7E
Some multi-year regulars with a semi-larger presence were Harry and the Potters,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLfuN-9D08I
Jason Anderson (who is on guitar in that Strand of Oaks set above),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=096YHF1Qq7k
and Dan Blakeslee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7hlcVj84u8
Plus a bunch of his friend's bands like Mail Myself to Thoreau, Motel Mattress, Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards, The Woodrow Wilsons...
Still waiting to hear back from my California boy but Blind Guardian, etc. I'd consider symphonic metal (maybe some Viking metal?). I know he's been going regularly for years to ProgFest (in Georgia I think) and that he went to Maryland DeathFest earlier this year. You couldn't pay me to listen to three days worth of death metal. Prog, ok, I used to listen to a lot of prog like Yes and ELP (that's probably why I like the jamgrass side of bluegrass).
ProgFest is a 3 day festival here in Atlanta. It's a great place to not meet any women! I just remembered that my son really likes Meshuggah. They're not prog, but they use tricky time signatures.
Delete"It's a great place to not meet any women!" literally laughed out loud at that.
DeleteThis is what my boy texted back, "I've been listening to a lot of these modern hardcore bands called Turnstile and Scowl. Listening to this weird band that fuses prog, metal, and jazz called Thank You Scientist." All unfamiliar to me.
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