Monday, April 2, 2007

The Sins of the Fathers...

OK...my oldest child has some new friends.


You might think this is a good thing, but it is not. You see, these are older boys who are not the kind of role models I would choose. In fact, they are kind of more like "sex-drugs-and-rock-n-roll" models. Their names are Steven, Joe, Brad, Tom and Joey. You guessed it, Aerosmith.


And who on earth introduced my son to these deliquents? Yes...his father.


I know that many of my readers will only recognize my husband as a Brooks-Brothers-wearing, salad-eating, Bishopric-going, VP-type guy. But under the dark suits and well-developed pectoral muscles beats the heart of a true blue ROCKER!!!


As an impressionable, young BYU coed whose musical tastes only ventured as far as Michael Jackson, Chicago, Barry Manilow and the B-52s, I was a little nervous about my boyfriend's wild side. But during our whirlwind courtship, I found myself strangely attracted to this bad boy and his hair bands. Along with my future husband, I fell in love with Van Halen, Def Leppard, Whitesnake and, yes, Aerosmith.


Before the kids came along, we loved to listen to all kinds of music. We jammed to his old stuff and listened to Kenny Rogers on road trips. The soundtrack of Evita was our favorite for a whole year. We saw Van Halen in concert and made a pilgrimage to Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo cantina while in Mexico. Once we even won free movie tickets by playing the Newlywed Game on KBER 101.


Then parenthood hit and we gave up late nights and loud music. We started to be good examples.


On the rare occasion that we are actually in the same car together, we are usually listening to Kidz Bop 8 or Spanish for Kids or blood-curdling screams from the backseat.


When my eight-year-old found his dad's old CD collection, I didn't know how to react. Did I really want my child to "Walk this Way" or feel "Sweet Emotion" so soon? How to tactfully explain that the pretty designs on the disk cover are actually photos of (gulp) the band's nipples?!


So...I'm sure Brad and I will come up with some parenting policy soon. The old music will probably go the way of R-rated movies, curse words and too-much junk food.


And in the meantime, I will be singing about the Dude who looks like a lady...

8 comments:

Christie said...

We are all about the wild music in our house, too. Rides in dad's car are not without Jimmy Eat World, Bowling for Soup, and U2. I try daily to poison their minds with musicals and John Denver galore, but they do love to rock-n-roll.

P.S. Did Brad have a permed mullet? Come on, fess up...

mama jo said...

i can say as someone who also married a rock star that the kids will take after their father...tom was a grateful deadhead forever...but, in utah he got into country...but whatever he listened to, so did we...i was worried about the heavy metal in the '80's. wouldn't let my kids listen, now, it's pretty calm...they all love all types of music...rock on

Anonymous said...

Gab,

I loved picturing this discovery. Hair rock lives on. By the way, I cannot listen to a VH song without thinking of my rides with B-rad in the old 4Runner.

My kids will be deprived of this discovery as my best friend sold my CD collection (for drug money, I think) when I was in Dingland and I returned to find my Guns N' Roses, Metallica and Nirvana collection pilfered.

Stie,

Does JD still listen to Howard Jones, Survivor ("Eye of the Tiger") and the soundtrack to the Lost Boys moview? I recall JD driving the gold Honda wagon with those sweet vibes.

Christie said...

Miggs,

JDH still loves the old Ho Jo, Oingo Boingo, and they do their "workout" to the tune of the Rocky soundtrack. Now that you mention it - I think the Lost Boys is on our I-Pod. He's discovered a few new favs (Colin Hay, Jimmy Eat World, and String Cheese Incident) to which he has brainwashed the children.

I also associate Van Halen with Brad's 4-runner. I think (for some unknown reason) Josh used to borrow it when we were dating/first married and I can picture driving up to P-City with VH blaring and feeling quite cool.

What's Candi into?

Jake said...

I also remember Josh wearing out my Beverly Hills Cop tape and the Top Gun soundtrack!

Brad did have a perm...on his mission, though, so the mullet was a shorter version. He's still driving a 4-Runner, too!

Heidi said...

What great memories! Brad and the 4Runner & DefLeopard for sure. the Fox & Lost Boys soundtrack... what was that? Those were some great collections.

After seeing the Jersey Boys musical - Jac & I have been totally into that era (the 60s... Four Seasons - which you'd think is totally harmless). Lucy & Chelsea know all the words to "Oh What A Night". Lucy sings, "I recall I didn't even know her name... it ended all too soon, Oh what a night" Cute right?

Oh well. What can you do? Music is history. Pour Some Sugar On Me may equate one day to Feelin' Groovy, don't you think?

Travelin'Oma said...

The Beatles songs are now elevator music. That was as wild as it got back in the day.

Celia Fae said...

Okay, we really are living parallel lives, except you are sweet enough to actually like it. I tolerate everything but the Zeppelin. The guitar riffs are on the same pitch as my kids whining, and I just can't take it.

Your comments are making me miss Howard Johnson. He was the best.

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