My Dad’s a Rock Star!

By: Gaby

The other day whilst out shopping for my lunch at that supermarkertropilis (you know the one – the one that seeks world domination!) I took a small diversion from the sandwich counter to check out their paltry CD selection only to come across a display stand offering a wide selection of some fantastic rock compilation CDs at bargain bucket prices!

Wow, had I at last come across the retail version of Rock nirvana? Had some twist of time and space ensured that Rock music was once again paramount upon the shelves of musical entertainment? Had people finally come to their senses and there was a run on great rock classics from the past?

Alas no,  it was nothing but a promo for the greeting card industry’s self created, much publicised and all consuming commercialism of “Father’s Day”.

So there we have it! Father’s all over love Rock Music.

The stickers on the said CD’s reinforced this fact by saying such things as: “Make your Dad feel like a Rock star!”,  “Tell your Dad he Rocks this Father’s Day!” and “Let Dad remember his youth this Father’s Day”.

Mmmm perhaps I’ve missed a thing or two here?

Are we therefore to presume that if like myself if you are a male of a certain age and have “fruit of thy loins” (not like me) you therefore have a penchant for Rock Music?

Are we also to deduce that once said male has cut his hair and entered into domestic bliss with wife and 2.4 children in a nice house in suburbia with a Mondeo in the drive, all that remains is rock music nostalgia?

Will Rock Music soon find itself sharing valuable shelf space with the likes of Val Doonagan and Max Bygraves?

We are most certainly led to believe that this is the case and for an ever so brief moment I felt quite sad that our great Rock Legends from the past are thus consigned to a bargain bin dedicated to a manufactured event such as this.

Equally what of our Mothers? I seem to remember that Mum’s only want to buy soppy sentimental love song compilations on their “special day” according to our retail spiritual advisors!?

Should rock music be thus so compartmentalised?. I most certainly think not!

There are many youth today who buck the musical trend and avidly seek to fill their ears and heads with the glorious and infamous history of our rock musical heritage whilst avoiding the manufactured rubbish that generally fills the top 10.

Neither is it a gender thing. Women of all ages are as much rock and metal head “Rock Chicks” as they have always been whatever their age might be.

And more importantly many of us (of a certain age) choose not to fill our world with more procreation and still actively seek out great new rock music and attend endless gigs around the country.

So with my rant now complete and feelings well and truly vented there is only one thing left to do – buy that rock compilation. Hey; at the end of the day, at that price it would be just plain wrong not to!