Are These Bands Dad Rock Now?

Despite the fact that people born in the year 2002 can legally drink alcohol in the United States, it still doesn't feel like the early 2000s were a full two decades ago. But, they were, and the younger generations are now referring to some of the most famous bands from that era as "dad rock."

Dad rock is, quite simply, music you'd expect your dad to listen to. For that reason, to some, it could be referring to bands who were famous in the 1960s, '70s and so on. Writer Rob Mitchum claims to have popularized the term "dad rock" back in 2007 after writing a review of Wilco's Sky Blue Sky. Now, he wishes he never did.

"By then, dad-rock had spilled over the banks of my review to describe most white-guy rock music, an entire genre of clothes and humor, and even a certain body type," Mitchum wrote in an Esquire piece in 2019. "If my review was patient zero for the 'dad-' prefix outbreak, then watching it evolve from a snarky aside to a signifier of generational style has been truly weird."

Then there are the Urban Dictionary definitions, calling it "Classic rock you first heard from your dad's old record collection," or, "A term almost exclusively used by millennials who think artists the likes of Cardi B and mumble rappers are the best representations of music to date; any music made before the last decade is obsolete and absolutely unlistenable."

So Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones are considered "dad rock" to one generation, while Nirvana and Pearl Jam fall under that umbrella for people who are younger. But what about kids who were born in the 2000s? Do they really think that Slipknot and Papa Roach are dad rock?

Apparently so. An Instagram Reel has gone viral of someone reacting to a young person calling certain late '90s and early 2000s bands dad rock.

"You may not like it, but these bands are definitely considered dad rock now," the creator of the original video said.

The clip featured bands such as System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, Deftones, Muse and even My Chemical Romance.

"Thanks for inducing a mid life crisis!" the caption on the video reads.

Watch the full thing below to see all of the bands that were mentioned.