Dad Rawk and Michigan Stadium
So, this week there were quite a few comments on "Dad Rawk" and the Michigan Stadium experience. The kind of music that Jimmy might have listened to. I'm in that age range. In fact, I'll be 56 this week, definitely qualifying as being "over the hill." Brian et al like to mock the music of older eras. Especially Dad Rawk.
But as I listened to the Podcast, and the comments about "music" and "rawk" and Pop Evil, it got me wondering: are there songs that work in the stadium across generations? So here are a bunch I was curious about. Umm, I'll go on record to say I don't listen to ANY of these. Actually, none of them. And I really am tired of a bunch of them. And it is painful to compile this list. But I've heard them all in sports environments. And I'd love to hear from you young whippersnappers about which of these songs are definitely "dad rawk," and which of these have "jumped the shark" and should never be used under any circumstances in Michigan Stadium. Being from Chicago, I've heard a bunch of these at Bulls and Blackhawks games.
- Lose yourself
- Here comes the Boom
- it's my time
- Let's get it started
- All I do is win
- In the air tonight
- Seven Nation Army
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Whomp (There it is)
- Start Me Up
- Thunderstruck
- Rock and Roll Part 2
- The Final Countdown
- Get Ready for This
- Song 2
- Eye of the Tiger
- Jump
- Jump Around
- Battle without Honor or Humanity
- We Will Rock You
- I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night
- Old Time Rock and Roll
- We Built this City (worst. song. ever.)
- Sweet Caroline (this was Dad Rock or old even when I was a student!)
So, my question is NOT whether these are good songs. Nor am I asking whether or not you like them. I'm really more interested in which of these are "dad rawk," and which "dad rawk" songs are still ok to be used (and which should be banned in Michigan Stadium).
EDIT: It really is easy to say what you DON'T like. I'm sure there are a bunch of you who hate this whole list. Like I said, I don't listen to any of these songs for personal enjoyment. HOWEVER . . . I don't think rawk music is leaving the stadium. I don't think we are going back to just the Michigan marching band. That being the case, make suggestions on what music you think you would like, and would be appropriate, and would work across several generations.
September 23rd, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
Musical preferences are indeed highly personal (though not always capitalized into a proper noun), but live performance sales are absolutely quantifiable. With regard to Pop Evil, they're a band unable to sell out small, local venues. If you can't sell 100 tickets to a local show at a top small/medium venue (and that's including family/friends/guest list), your music is not the sort to inspire followers. In short, and without any reference to ISIS (who might play Pop Evil as torture), Pop Evil is, quantifiably, a bad choice to offer to 220,000 ears on a Saturday afternoon.
September 23rd, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
September 23rd, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^
Thunderstruck by AC/DC.
We went to a Cubs/White Sox game at the new Comiskey Park (yeah, I know it's got some corporate name now) and they played Thunderstruck right before the game started. Even as a Cubs fan, I have to admit the crowd just rocked when they played it.
September 23rd, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^
A hundred teams use Thudnerstruck. No. MSU uses it as their intro song.
September 23rd, 2015 at 9:41 AM ^
I kind of think a lot of you guys don't get it. I don't listen to any of this stuff. But the music they play while the team is warming up is not going to be MMB. They've got to play something, and they're going to play something, and it has to be clean "for the kids."
September 23rd, 2015 at 10:04 AM ^
Rawk will always annoy a percentage of the listening public, but I think the important difference is if it actually serves the purpose of pumping people up and melds into the experience on the field. Thus, I think songs like "Lose Yourself", "Seven Nation Army", "Thunderstruck", "We Will Rock You", and even "Song 2" work because they are about a visceral experience and getting engaged with the play on the field. Sweet Caroline, by comparison, is just for the fans to, I don't know, pull out their pink hats and think they are doing something cute. And while I'm a huge fan of "In the Air Tonight", the drummer from Genesis isn't going to get me pumped up for sports.
And lord, I was the biggest P.O.D. fan in the world back in the mid-90s, but that catalog has no place in arenas.
September 23rd, 2015 at 10:22 AM ^
The music should match the moment. Foir WTF moments Frank Zappa has much to offer. For train wreck moments, one could do worse than Tom Waits. The problem is not Pop's rock. The problem is pop rock.
September 23rd, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^
Love Bob Seger, and even liked a lot of Neil Diamond back in 70's, but if I hear Sweet Caroline or Old Time Rock and Roll at a stadium or wedding again, I swear I will puke.
I don't think they oguht to make it like a Red Wings game where rock is playing at every available instant, but most of the songs I am ok with, they just work in a stadium or arena evironment. I suppose most of it is Dad Rawk, but we had the best music cause the lyrics often mean something.
Seven Nation Army in Michigan Stadium at the right time is awesome. I will never forget UTL, and I suspect there are more good times coming in AA.
I find it odd that the people who really seem to enjoy Sweet Caroline are younger people. I always scream out---"This song sucked in 1969, and it sucks now", but I guess it's a bonding thing.
What is next? "Mustang Sally"?
September 23rd, 2015 at 11:57 AM ^
We actually stipulated in our contract with our wedding DJ that if he played the Chicken Dance, we would not have to pay for his services.
That said, I loved hearing the CHICKEN DANCE following the defeat of noter dame in 2013.
Too funny ...
September 23rd, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
September 23rd, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
I didn't say I thought it was a good idea, it's just the only time I have ever thought the Chicken Dance was funny.
Yes, fuck Dave Brandon his sky writer and DJ ...
Claims of "Bulletin Board Material" like that are highly overrated and besides, losing to noter dame last year cleared the way for Harbaugh. Hell, Rich Rod beat noter dame and they're still just 17-24 against MICHIGAN.
September 23rd, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
Here are the dad rock songs off that list: Start me up, Eye of the Tiger, Jump, Rock and Roll All Night, Old time Rock and Roll, We built this city. Dad rawk is classic, radio friendly rock usually from the 70's and 80's, that can be played around the house even in the presence of children and is sorta lame but undeniably catchy and liable to inspire air guitars or clapping of hands.
- Here comes the Boom - rap
- it's my time - rap
- Let's get it started - rap
- All I do is win - rap
- In the air tonight - Progressive Brit rock (not dad rawk although enjoyed by many dads)
- Seven Nation Army - modern rock
- Welcome to the Jungle - Hard rock (too edgy to be dad rawk although enjoyed by many dads)
- Whomp (There it is) - classic early 90's rap/pop
- Start Me Up - DAD RAWK. Many Stones songs are safely dad rawk.
- Thunderstruck - AC/DC is classic hard rock, bordering on metal. Too badass for dad rawk but some songs are close.
- Rock and Roll Part 2 - Stadium anthem
- The Final Countdown - Classic euro rock turned into stadium anthem. Almost dad rawk.
- Get Ready for This - euro pop
- Song 2 - 90's English rock, not dad rawk
- Eye of the Tiger - DAD RAWK co-opted to stadium anthem
- Jump - I'm calling it DAD RAWK but Van Halen was badass in it's day
- Jump Around - hip hop/rap
- Battle without Honor or Humanity - Japanese instrumental rock
- We Will Rock You - stadium rock
- I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night - YES DAD RAWK
- Old Time Rock and Roll YES DAD RAWK. Maybe the dad rockinest song of all time.
- We Built this City (worst. song. ever.) - YES DAD RAWK
- Sweet Caroline (this was Dad Rock or old even when I was a student!) - too light for me to call it dad rawk...adult comtemporary?
September 23rd, 2015 at 11:42 AM ^
As this thread shows, it's very difficult to agree on what a good RAWK playlist is. The best solution is to cut down its frequency and focus more on ways to make the marching band heard throughout the stadium.
September 23rd, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^
If we're gonna play stuff it has to be stuff to get the crowd into it after a break or something. No need to blast the shit during timeouts/breaks. And it has to be stuff other teams/schools don't use. I don't want to hear anymore thunderstruck, start me up, etc.
September 23rd, 2015 at 11:55 AM ^
Stadium Rock is much like Strip Club Rock ....it's the same songs that have been played for decades and as a 40-something, that was the case when I was younger and has not changed.
I think what is key with Stadium Rock is that the music not only be energizing, but also music that the majority of fans know.
I remember being at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and at a Dream Team game. During one of the timeouts this song came on and a bunch of people stood and started doing this coordinated dance with their arms...
But being a hipster 20-something more interested in chicks and trading Dead tapes, I had never heard the Macarena before and had no idea what was going on.
I think for some stadium fans, playing the hippest, newest songs would defeat the purpose ...then again, what hardcore red-blooded American football fan wants to admit that when singing along with QUEEN, you are singing along with an Anthem for Gay Rights..?!
September 23rd, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^
"I think for some stadium fans, playing the hippest, newest songs would defeat the purpose ...then again, what hardcore red-blooded American football fan wants to admit that when singing along with QUEEN, you are singing along with an Anthem for Gay Rights..?!"
My God that is an asinine statement.
Queen was a rock band with a lead singer who happened to be a gay. Not a gay band that played Gay Rights Rock Music.
September 23rd, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
"We are the Champions"
is regarded by many to be a song about overcoming discrimination against being gay and the struggle to come out.
Though there is some debate about this, it is commonly thought of by many in that respect. You completely misread me and are accusing me of saying something I did not. I didn't say Queen is a gay band that plays Gay Rights Rock Music, I said it's sort of ironic that some tough football fan can be brought to tears singing along with it, when in the end the song has an entirely different meaning to others.
The NFL imposed a league-wide ban on Rock and Roll Part 2 by Gary Glitter when he was accused (and subsequently convicted) of being a Child-Sex offender but that didn't mean the song was an Anthem for child molestation. The league still banned it.
September 23rd, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
Do not need piped in music. Not one damn piped in tune. Or bells tolling, air raid sirens, cats schreeching, or a train blowing it's horn. That's the band's job.
September 23rd, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
September 23rd, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^
Even Grace Slick said 'We Built This City’ is the dumbest song she has ever heard.
September 23rd, 2015 at 6:52 PM ^
Even imagining the song is painful. What a terrible song.
September 23rd, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
Special K should play a mix of Dad Rock, current hits, stadium favorites and rap music. Something for everybody.