Can we predict the future for our kids? The short answer is “no”. Of course not. But maybe there are some small things we can confidently predict. Here is one thing I can safely say will come true…

That 70s Sound…

Being born in the 60s I first started getting into music at an early age. A little younger than my son is now.  It helped having plenty of aunties and uncles (some not that much older) who had the money to buy all the records at that time. So every weekend when we went to visit my nana I could play their records and get to know some of the bands and songs that were not always played on radio and TV.

Now I wouldn’t be a very good dad if I didn’t share the sounds from that greatest decade of  music with my son. “Which decade is that?” you may well ask. Well, the 1970s of course.

Fortunately for Dani I have an iPod packed with all sorts including everything you need to know about the sounds of the 70s. Let’s just call it “A young person’s guide to great music”.

So how does all this tie in with confidently predicting my son’s future (a small part of it at least)? Well, while we were driving around on a week’s holiday recently he was sat in the front passenger seat picking different songs off my iPod. He went for the ones he and his young friends like such as Bon Jovi. Then as he was flipping through the list of artists I noticed one I thought he should listen to. I told him which album to select and then the first track. He played it.

I never for one moment thought that he would like it but I wanted to gauge his reaction. He knew the band’s name and has heard one of their other famous tracks. He was bored of my selection less than a minute into the track. Then after a few minutes more he was asking if there was any singing. There was. But not much. The track lasted over 13 minutes and at the end of it he was almost begging to listen to something he knew; “with singing!”

I confidently told him that when he is older he will love that track – and the rest of the album. He was not convinced. I, on the other hand, know this to be true. And so my dear readers, do you. So, yes. I really can predict at least one small part of my son’s future.

That track was Shine on You Crazy Diamonds (parts 1 to 5) and the album is Wish You Were Here.

I am sure you agree that I am correct. When he is older he will love it. You see. Predicting some things in your kid’s future is really not rocket science is it?

Another Diamond Geezer…

During the same journey he wanted to play the whole of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album. He had heard the title track (it often appears on TV and in movies – like Kong Skull Island for example). He had also heard War Pigs and Iron Man as I had sort of rediscovered those tracks and had played them recently. Now he pretty much likes the whole album, Rat Salad, Fairies Wear Boots and all…

I told him the band members’ names. The flamboyant Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi and last but not least, the fantastically named Geezer Butler. He took it all in and Black Sabbath have another fan for life. As we all know, once you get into these kind of songs there is really no going back. You can’t unlike them; even years later. After all, it’s not Justin Beiber or The Spice Girls we are talking about is it?

Atom Heart Mother? Agh!

During another drive he flipped through the Pink Floyd albums on my iPod. I have them all although I don’t particularly like them all. Quite a few are barely OK and I haven’t listened to in years. One of those is Atom Heart Mother. For any partial or non-Floyd fans out there, it’s the one with the cow on the album cover.

I made him a deal. If he listened to the first track all the way through, without moaning, then he could chose the next five songs. He bought it!

Now most casual Pink Floyd fans will be aware that Atom Heart Mother is a single track album. And it goes on for over 50 minutes. Fifty minutes!!! A ‘concept album’ I think they used to call them. Yeah, I know. There was a lot of drug experimentation going on in those days. Much like now in fact, only now it’s with supposedly “legal” drugs (hahaa!)

Dani had the last laugh though. He put on Sabbath’s Paranoid. Again. I do still like most of their songs but so many times in the space of two days was a bit much. He loves that album. Hahahaa…

And as for Ummagumma? (another Floyd album with a single track of over 40 minutes). I threatened him with that one when he was being annoying.  It worked.

And Finally…

I will just take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.