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In these trying times of ours, it can be different to find common ground while home for a holiday celebration. Thanksgiving in particular brings with it its own hectic nature — planning a meal! making sure you get the slice of pie you really want! – but ideally, what we all want from the holidays is some quality time to spend with the ones we love. Which brings us to today’s strategy in productive familial holiday interactions: getting your dad to talk about the music he loves.
When we talk about “Dad Rock,” it’s impossible not to get very personal in your definition of what that means. Your Dad Rock might very well be different than my Dad Rock, if only because your Dad is different from my Dad. But I think we can all agree on one thing: all dads love the Eagles. This is the law. The Eagles were a band that came together in the 1970s so that in 20 years, dads everywhere would have one defining attribute: they could tell you where they were when they first bought Hotel California on vinyl. Being Dad Rock personified doesn’t make the Eagles bad, or good even; it’s just what they are. “Take It to the Limit” will always be defined by the dads who sing it idly while sitting in traffic, the radio tuned to 97 Rock or some such satellite-radio station that also plays Neil Young and Tom Petty and Jackson Browne.
But this Thanksgiving, you can give Dad the good news: all the Dad Rock he loves is right there on his TV, streaming from that Roku box you bought him for Christmas last year that he doesn’t use often enough (in your opinion). Netflix in particular offers a fine selection of Dad Rock, enough to keep him happy through his post-turkey hangover and the weekend beyond.
'History of the Eagles'
Co-produced by documentarian Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side; Going Clear), History of the Eagles chronicles the turbulent ride of the California rock band, through lineup changes and personality clashes and wild success. The death of Glenn Frey in January of this year only makes his document of the Eagles more valuable in the Dad Rock pantheon.
'Ain't In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm'
Levon Helm was the lead singer for The Band, responsible for the southern twang emanating from the otherwise Canadian outfit on songs like “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Ain’t In It For My Health follows Helm as he creates a comeback album in 2010, two years before his death. Helm’s advanced age and declining health may introduce a note of mortality into the Dad Rock weekend, but there is no denying just how transporting the man’s voice can be.
[Stream Ain’t In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm on Netflix.]
'Beware of Mr. Baker'
Ginger Baker was, along with Eric Clapton, one of the founding members of Cream, one of those bands that you know was very important even if you can’t think of any of their songs off the top of your head (“Sunshine of Your Love,” is the one you’re trying to remember). In truth, Baker’s virtuosity as a drummer ended up eclipsing any one band he was ever associated with, kind of like how Jeff Beck is to guitarists. Beware of Mr. Baker puts the focus not only on the reclusive Baker but also on his notoriously violent and drug-addled past. The film played the South By Southwest Film Festival in 2012, where it took the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary.
'Janis: Little Girl Blue'
The prominence and importance of Janis Joplin hardly needs to be elaborated upon. Director Amy J. Berg (Deliver Us from Evil; West of Memphis) put together a portrait of Joplin’s life and career that gives you the human being behind that powerful and pained voice.
'Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child'
Legendary funk musician Bootsy Collins provides the voice of Jimi Hendrix in this film that puts together concert footage with the words and interviews Hendrix provided during the course of his career. The result is a kind of self-portrait of the legendary (and legendarily short-lived) guitar genius.
'Keith Richards: Under the Influence'
The biggest surprise of Keith Richards: Under the Influence is how articulate the man is when it comes to the music that has defined his life and career. Whatever the fantastic stories are about his notoriously hard-lived life, this is a man who still comes to life when it comes to his own musical genius, and Under the Influence captures that.
'Muscle Shoals'
For the Dad who is interested in where his Rock comes from, Muscle Shoals is a fascinating look at one such studio, a rural Alabama outpost which ended up producing so much great music in the 1960s. It’s an eye-opening look behind the curtain.
'Neil Young: Heart of Gold'
Neil Young, in addition to being the world’s most unlikely Canadian, is a patron saint of Dad Rock, from his association with Crosby, Stills, and Nash, through his solo career, up through the last few decades playing “cool” gigs with Pearl Jam. He’s also one of the most stunningly beautiful songwriters in rock history, and in Heart of Gold, director Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married; The Silence of the Lambs) puts his camera on Young for a two-night concert film that’s among the best produced in recent memory.
'The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir'
The Greatful Dead are as appropriate patron saints of Dad Rock as anyone. Sure, they’re more decidedly hippie than Dad Rock tends to get these days, but the Dead retain a fascination, as much for their contributions to the counterculture and for their creation of a subset of rock fans, than anything else. This Netflix original film is a look at Greatful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, and his relationship with the late Jerry Garcia, is a fine piece of nostalgia.
[Stream The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir on Netflix.]
'Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream'
Few outfits in Dad Rock have the kind of catalog to match with Tom Petty, hit for hit, and this documentary puts the spotlight on his and the Heartbreakers’ decades of success. Guaranteed to get someone to pull the albums out of storage before it’s over.
[Stream Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin’ Down a Dream on Netflix.]
