Cool Uncle (Not Drunk Uncle)

Dave Grohl in his book talks about the grunge rock explosion of the 90's. Obviously.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam and...................Alice In Chains or Soundgarden were the big three. It was a fucking musical revolution.

That shit does not happen often - a complete shift in the musical landscape that changes peoples' lives.

Beatles, hip hop, grunge - detonations. Heavy metal, punk rock - these were new directions, but nuclear explosions are limited. I think hip hop and 60's rock were the two biggest changes in the music world, and they followed similar trajectories.

Mind blowing originality perfected by virtuoso performers, followed by 1,000 different variations and a million different artists.

When hip hop exploded, my generation fucking hated it. Which is so hypocritical, considering the effect 60's rock had on our parents. My friends would say "Hip hop sucks." I would respond "There are good hip hop songs, there are bad hip hop songs. Just like there are good rock 'n roll songs, and shitty rock 'n roll songs."

They would turn their backs in a huff and head to the nearest Starbucks.

Which brings me to my point.

Grohl said, and I am paraphrasing, that grunge rock represented something young people could love and your cool uncle could like.

I am that cool uncle. Actually, I am a cool Dad.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains - I loved those bands. To this day, if I hear Rooster on the radio, I will sing it as loud as I possibly can. With extreme prejudice.

I have an advantage - I am open minded. Because I love music. I will check out anything and decide if I like it or not. I will not shut out complete genres just because I am an old man getting older.

Second advantage - Keith and Craig. They turned me on to so much music. Music I would not naturally have been exposed to. "Dad - you gotta listen to this." I cherished those words. Still do, although it happens less frequently these days because my sons were selfish enough to go out and get their own lives.

But when they were captives in my home - holy shit, it was a musical smorgasbord.

A cool uncle. Dave Grohl was talking about me and he doesn't even know it. I feel a connection.

Perhaps I'll have him over for dinner.