What Exactly Is Dad Rock? 21 Songs that Explain the Totally Not Embarrassing Genre Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Metallica-obviously dad rock at this point. But the genre is bigger than you might guess. In this Fathers Day playlist, listen to songs from various generations that bring dad energy.
By
Bryan Parys
June 14, 2024
I was doing the dishes one weeknight back in 2018 when I realized I was . . . dancing. Like, full-on grooving, swaying side to side, but just enough to stay rooted in front of the sink, cleaning up whatever dinner I'd made for my family of four. I was blasting the song Committed to the Cause by Swedish dream pop band the Radio Dept., and then I caught myself, mid-shimmy, to pose the question: Wait, is this dad rock?
I mean, just try not to groove to this bass line:
The dictionary-and most of the internet-would say no. Conventionally, dad rock is thought of as older music, though opinions differ on just how old. A scan of Spotify playlists on the topic include mostly '70s and '80s classic rock-your Steve Miller Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Tom Petty, Def Leppard, the standard fare for any classic rock FM radio station over the last 30-plus years. On Spotify's official Cool Dad Rock playlist, you get Radiohead alongside Steely Dan.
For Gen Z, however, most of those artists would more accurately be considered grandad rock. For the TikTok generation, dad rock is more along the lines of Nickelback and Creed-that husky brand '90s/00s mainstream radio rock with big distorted guitars, low-growl vocals, and the sense that everyone in the band is somehow holding a cold beverage even while playing their instrument. In our student spotlight of Andrea Recalde, Nickelback's How You Remind Me was cited as one of Recaldes current favorite songs, saying that its classic dad-rock vibe was something she found herself returning to.
Mackenzie Hurst, a reporter for Hofstra University's student newspaper, suggests that Gen Z finds comfort in these older songs. When we associate an entire genre with our dads, we're establishing the idea that this music is nostalgic for our childhood, she says. Nostalgia psychologically evokes that feeling of comfort along with a sense of belonging, which is often difficult for Gen Z to find with the wide array of content, aesthetics, and ever-changing social groups we are subjected to.
Dad rock has its punchlines, but it also has heart, whether that's something in the music itself, or an emotion brought by the listener.
One Redditor provides an explanation for why my dish-dance felt like dad rock, despite it not being a nostalgic experience. Id say [dad rock is] anything that makes a dad get serious about dancing or just loosen up to the beat. That act of a dad trying to be cool is what becomes cheesy, not so much the music itself, they said.
Perhaps it's the combination of serious and cheesy that makes a song, regardless of era or genre, dad rock. When Mike Sempert, assistant professor of songwriting, released Hold on to the Light, a song he wrote for Hanukkah, he described the musical quality as having elements of dad rock. I called it dad rock' to be a bit self-deprecating, but deep down I honestly love this sound, he said. Dad rock has its punchlines, but it also has heart, whether that's something in the music itself, or an emotion brought by the listener.
It bears mentioning that the word dad carries more significance and complexity than can be described in a few paragraphs. Dad rock is really more a vibe than a statement about an artists or fans identity-its less about whos making the music and more about how we as fans associate the music with a particular time, place, or person. In the following playlist, Ive broken things into six categories that aim to show the breadth of said vibes, from the tried-and-true image of the suburban dad behind a grill to TikTok users coming to terms with how they actually love the music their dads subjected them to.
Tracklist and Notes Dads Who GrillThe vibe: Songs heard through a staticky radio over a backdrop of sizzling burgers, cans cracking open, and the swooshing sound bathing suit fabric makes when doing a little dance while monitoring the grill.
1. Take the Money and Run, Steve Miller Band 2. September, Earth, Wind & FireDad says: Earth, Wind & Fire were helping dads find their groove long before I started dancing in front of the sink.
3. I Only Wanna Be with You, Hootie and the Blowfish 4. Free Fallin, Tom Petty
Dads Who ChillThe vibe: Laid-back grooves, setlist comparisons, bootleg trades, and the sense of a cool breeze, regardless of the time of year.
5. Flake, Jack Johnson Dad says: Did dads wear flip-flops before Jack Johnson? We just don't know.
6. Truckin, Grateful Dead Dad says: Children who went to Dead shows with their dads . . .
7. The Squirming Coil, Phish . . . brought their children to Phish shows . . .
8. Hot Tea, Goose . . . and now those children bring their whole family to Goose shows.
Dads Who ShredThe vibe: Interrupting a conversation to make room for an air-guitar solo. The adjective face-melting.
9. Hey Joe, Jimi Hendrix 10. One Big Holiday, My Morning Jacket11. Broken Man, St. Vincent Dad says: If the surviving members of Nirvana keep asking you to fill in for the late Kurt Cobain, you have more than earned your license to shred.
Dads with Cred The vibe: Irrationally strong opinions and did-you-know fun facts. Songs dad knew before they were cool.
12. Harness Your Hopes, Pavement Dad says: A quintessential touchstone of the cool Gen-X dad, Pavement recently experienced an unexpected resurgence when this b-side started making the rounds on social media and Spotify.
13. I Against I, Bad Brains 14. Dig Me Out, Sleater-Kinney15. At the Chime of a City Clock, Nick DrakeDad says:
Most recent headlines
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
15/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the loss of federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and operational changes, the statewide pub...
15/12/2025
BOULDER, Colo. Public Media Venture Group (PMVG), Venture Technologies Group (VTG), and WQED have completed a multipart agreement that they say will significant...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
How Rivian s Design Puts Drivers First-And Why That Matters Published on Dec 15, 2025 Categories: Business Solutions
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Sha...
15/12/2025
Space42 and Cobham Satcom completed the full range of advanced terminals for the...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
NVIDIA today announced it has acquired SchedMD - the leading developer of Slurm, an open-source workload management system for high-performance computing (HPC) ...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
15/12/2025
Modern workflows showcase the endless possibilities of generative and agentic AI on PCs.
Of many, some examples include tuning a chatbot to handle product-supp...
13/12/2025
Powering Client Growth: Horizon Deepens Nielsen Partnership, Enabling More Effic...
13/12/2025
In a move that will help it offer more flexible and less costly programming options, YouTube TV has announced that it will be launching YouTube TV Plans with mo...
13/12/2025
SINGAPORE Magna Systems has designed, built and completed what is believed to be the first full UHD and IP-based OB truck in Southeast Asia for a Singapore medi...
12/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Everything You Need to Know for Next Week's Big Sho...
12/12/2025
Hailey Gates at the Atropia premiere (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the elimination of Federal federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and changes in the way they...
12/12/2025
Wisycom and DPA Microphones announce the appointment of Ren Moerch as Group Product Director, Wireless, a strategic leadership role that will guide the combine...
12/12/2025
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, in conjuncture with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Entertainment Technolog...
12/12/2025
Keepit, the vendor-independent, cloud-native data protection provider, today announced a strategic go-to-market relationship in Poland with Ingram Micro, a lead...
12/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking Open Gate 48P RAW recording w...
12/12/2025
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) once again played a critical role in delivering flawless wireless coordination and support at the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards a...
12/12/2025
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), together with the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broadc...
12/12/2025
DHD audio will demonstrate the latest additions to its range of digital audio production solutions on Booth 321 in Hall B6 at Hamburg Open 2026. The show will b...
12/12/2025
Chaos today announces the release of V-Ray for Blender, update 2, bringing its award-winning rendering technology to even more Blender users by adding support f...
12/12/2025
Lighting specialist UltraLEDs has launched Precision LED Tape, a high-CRI lighting solution designed specifically for professional film, TV, and studio use.
P...
What Exactly Is Dad Rock? 21 Songs that Explain the Totally Not Embarrassing Genre Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Metallica-obviously dad rock at this point. But the genre is bigger than you might guess. In this Fathers Day playlist, listen to songs from various generations that bring dad energy.
