thanks, john! i was thinking along similar lines when i re-earthed (for myself) some england dan and jfc tunes that i got ridiculed for liking, back in 'the day'. ha ha. i pretty much had a tough skin by the time the bubblegum groups came about (68 or so) - didn't really care what anyone said about my music. and, gosh, some people (bumbling parents, ha ha) made fun of elvis or the beatles! ha ha. our parents brought my sister to tears when they made fun of us for watching an elvis movie. she made the family legend statement: IF YOU DON'T LOVE ELVIS, YOU DON'T LOVE ME!! ha ha. she'll kill me for telling this. and, while our parents took the beatles as a passing phase, they sure allowed me to CRANK their albums and singles. and then, to play drums along with. but, i can also remember when i had to defend America to some. ha ha.
I learned of "I Drive the Truck" watching "It All Begins with a Song." I think both my wife and I shed a few tears watching that one.
I feel like this is a safe space to admit that when I was about 10 or 11 I really liked both Abba and Air Supply. Lol. Still like the occasional Abba song, but Air Supply? Not so much.
Thank you, John, I LOVE this article! Yes, I actually am a long-time Sun Ra and Albert Ayler fan, but there are also songs by Neil Diamond, Herman's Hermits, and even (gasp!) U2 that touch that certain place in me that sends me to music heaven, and I love those songs without a drop of guilt!
I love Sun Ra and Ayler too. But if your 4-year-old loves that music it’s either because they haven’t heard less complex and challenging music, or else it’s probably a spectrum disorder.
For sure, John. I was happy to be able to introduce my 10 and 12 year old nephews to Neil Young and Paul Westerberg (which they loved) and the like when they stayed with me for awhile. Neither Sun Ra nor Ayler would have floated well then, perhaps not even now, and surely not at 4!
I’m exaggerating a little, but we’ve all suffered hipster parents bragging about their kids’ musical taste. Which usually is identical to the parents’ musical taste. People I really like have done this. It just seems dishonest because if you give kids a chance to find music on their own terms, they’re gonna like it more.
I laughed when I read this because I loved my parents' Return To Forever and Spyro Gyra records when I was little. Also liked Roberta Flack. But we didn't listen to a lot of rock and pop in the house when I was growing up.
Your joke about kids liking free jazz made me giggle because it brought back a memory from my own childhood. My mom had taped the first Roches album from the library when I was six and played it pretty frequently on our car rides home from school. I memorized the album back to front, which my mom found out when I belted out “We”—cuss word and all—on a drive home from the grocery store. As an adult, I heard about how sophisticated the production was, but the brightness of the Roches’ voices and the catchy melodies made it sound like a kids’ album to me.
Totally agree about the guilty pleasures. I never gave two shits about telling people what I liked. I was through being cool before I had a chance to try to be cool. 😊. Ok, that being said..my kids were core demo for Disney 20 years ago. I too loved watching HM and almost every other show Disney offered. Disney Radio was on every radio we had. And I loved that they loved these songs for the pure joy! Isn’t that a big part of what music should offer? I watched the HM 20 special and had the same reaction - it brought me back to an incredible time of taking my kids to concerts with some of these artists, and of singing along to the hits back then.
Completely agree, but I can understand especially why younger people who are worried about being judged for their taste by their peers would feel this way.
I think there's only a finite time in a child's life where you can develop their sense of melody, so I'm choosy about what music I listen to in the car with my kids. They seem to like most of what I put on, but my 6 year old son will protest if I put on John Hiatt. Something about that voice I guess 😂
Great post, John. The concept of the musical guilty pleasure is hipster bullshit. Even when I was more doctrinaire about music in my teens and early 20s, I was not afraid to admit that I loved The Replacements, Rush, and my mom's Sound of Music soundtrack LP in equal measure.
As a guy without kids, it made me smile to see you poke fun at parents who brag about their kids' impeccable taste because that drives me a little nuts. I always want to tell friends that Quinoa and Dakota don't like the Velvet Underground -- they like it when dad is happy and the VU makes him happy. The transitive property of music.
thanks, john! i was thinking along similar lines when i re-earthed (for myself) some england dan and jfc tunes that i got ridiculed for liking, back in 'the day'. ha ha. i pretty much had a tough skin by the time the bubblegum groups came about (68 or so) - didn't really care what anyone said about my music. and, gosh, some people (bumbling parents, ha ha) made fun of elvis or the beatles! ha ha. our parents brought my sister to tears when they made fun of us for watching an elvis movie. she made the family legend statement: IF YOU DON'T LOVE ELVIS, YOU DON'T LOVE ME!! ha ha. she'll kill me for telling this. and, while our parents took the beatles as a passing phase, they sure allowed me to CRANK their albums and singles. and then, to play drums along with. but, i can also remember when i had to defend America to some. ha ha.
I learned of "I Drive the Truck" watching "It All Begins with a Song." I think both my wife and I shed a few tears watching that one.
I feel like this is a safe space to admit that when I was about 10 or 11 I really liked both Abba and Air Supply. Lol. Still like the occasional Abba song, but Air Supply? Not so much.
No shame - I've never stopped loving Abba and I loved a few Air Supply songs when they were hits.
Great post! Just curious: Who's Bennett?
Sorry, my son, middle kid. He’d have been about 5 at the time.
I'm in such a thick music bubble that I've never heard of most of the tunes/artists you mentioned, heh!
No need to listen. If these songs weren’t attached to actual memories, I doubt I’d give them a second listen.
Another cool essay !
Thank you, John, I LOVE this article! Yes, I actually am a long-time Sun Ra and Albert Ayler fan, but there are also songs by Neil Diamond, Herman's Hermits, and even (gasp!) U2 that touch that certain place in me that sends me to music heaven, and I love those songs without a drop of guilt!
I love Sun Ra and Ayler too. But if your 4-year-old loves that music it’s either because they haven’t heard less complex and challenging music, or else it’s probably a spectrum disorder.
For sure, John. I was happy to be able to introduce my 10 and 12 year old nephews to Neil Young and Paul Westerberg (which they loved) and the like when they stayed with me for awhile. Neither Sun Ra nor Ayler would have floated well then, perhaps not even now, and surely not at 4!
I’m exaggerating a little, but we’ve all suffered hipster parents bragging about their kids’ musical taste. Which usually is identical to the parents’ musical taste. People I really like have done this. It just seems dishonest because if you give kids a chance to find music on their own terms, they’re gonna like it more.
I laughed when I read this because I loved my parents' Return To Forever and Spyro Gyra records when I was little. Also liked Roberta Flack. But we didn't listen to a lot of rock and pop in the house when I was growing up.
"That’s what they’re supposed to do. No need to feel guilty." True.
Your joke about kids liking free jazz made me giggle because it brought back a memory from my own childhood. My mom had taped the first Roches album from the library when I was six and played it pretty frequently on our car rides home from school. I memorized the album back to front, which my mom found out when I belted out “We”—cuss word and all—on a drive home from the grocery store. As an adult, I heard about how sophisticated the production was, but the brightness of the Roches’ voices and the catchy melodies made it sound like a kids’ album to me.
If parents restrict their kids’ musical diet they will eventually rebel. Just like if you raise a kid macrobiotic then they have their first Twinkie.
The Hannah Montana anniversary show is on Disney+ soon.
Probably won’t subscribe for that.
Totally agree about the guilty pleasures. I never gave two shits about telling people what I liked. I was through being cool before I had a chance to try to be cool. 😊. Ok, that being said..my kids were core demo for Disney 20 years ago. I too loved watching HM and almost every other show Disney offered. Disney Radio was on every radio we had. And I loved that they loved these songs for the pure joy! Isn’t that a big part of what music should offer? I watched the HM 20 special and had the same reaction - it brought me back to an incredible time of taking my kids to concerts with some of these artists, and of singing along to the hits back then.
Completely agree, but I can understand especially why younger people who are worried about being judged for their taste by their peers would feel this way.
I think there's only a finite time in a child's life where you can develop their sense of melody, so I'm choosy about what music I listen to in the car with my kids. They seem to like most of what I put on, but my 6 year old son will protest if I put on John Hiatt. Something about that voice I guess 😂
Great post, John. The concept of the musical guilty pleasure is hipster bullshit. Even when I was more doctrinaire about music in my teens and early 20s, I was not afraid to admit that I loved The Replacements, Rush, and my mom's Sound of Music soundtrack LP in equal measure.
As a guy without kids, it made me smile to see you poke fun at parents who brag about their kids' impeccable taste because that drives me a little nuts. I always want to tell friends that Quinoa and Dakota don't like the Velvet Underground -- they like it when dad is happy and the VU makes him happy. The transitive property of music.