Dear Music Insiders,
For this Father's Day, KCRW's Music Director Alejandro Cohen is taking over to bring you a list of great gift recs. Take it, Ale!
Hey there! As a Gen X dad of teenagers whose life revolves around music, I'm constantly thinking about what dads of my generation, and older millennials too, would actually want for Father's Day, birthdays, Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other gift-giving occasion.
The answer is always the same: give me something that would have blown the mind of my 16-year-old self.
Assuming the budget allows for it (and let's be honest, it's usually the parents' budget anyway), there has never been a better time to indulge the music-loving dad in your life. This isn't just a collection of gift links. It's also a guide to the inner workings of a music nerd's brain and what makes us tick.
Whether or not the specific items below are exactly what your dad wants, they'll point you in the right direction. Here we go!
For the Dad Who Can Turn Any Conversation Into a Music Discussion
If your dad is the kind of person for whom the initials GBV and MBV mean one thing and one thing only (Guided By Voices and My Bloody Valentine), these books will transport him back to the days when the music mattered more than sleep, and every record felt like a secret discovery.
Still in a Dream by Simon Reynolds
A sweeping history of shoegaze, grunge, and indie rock's transformation of underground music between 1984 and 1994.
Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad
The definitive chronicle of the American indie underground and the bands that built alternative rock outside the mainstream.
Can't Stop Won't Stop by Jeff Chang
A landmark cultural history tracing the rise of hip-hop from the Bronx to a global movement that reshaped music, politics, and identity.
I'm With Pulp, Are You? by Mark Webber
Pulp guitarist Mark Webber's scrapbook-style memoir is filled with photographs, flyers, artwork, and memories from the band's journey.
Living Colour's Time's Up
An in-depth exploration of Living Colour's groundbreaking 1990 album and its lasting cultural impact.
For the Dad Who Refuses to Throw Away His CDs
Maybe your dad no longer owns a CD player. Maybe his car doesn't have one. Maybe he swears he'll eventually digitize those shelves of discs. Yet somehow, they're still there. The Retradisc from Kickback gives those CDs a second life and might even help him appreciate purchases he regretted at the time. Looking at you, Stone Roses “Second Coming”
For the Dad Who Still Has a Box of Mix Tapes
Our generation lived between two formats: CDs and cassettes. A CD player only solves half the problem. If your dad still has shoeboxes full of mix tapes and dubbed albums, the products from We Are Rewind are about as close as it gets to bringing those memories back. The best part? Their players include Bluetooth, allowing them to connect to modern speakers and cars that no longer come equipped with cassette decks.
For the Vinyl Dad
Maybe your dad skipped CDs and cassettes altogether and now spends weekends flipping through record bins. In that case, record cleaning and maintenance products are always appreciated. There are options for every budget, from basic brushes to professional-grade cleaning systems.
Help Him Complete the Collection
For some dads, a midlife crisis means buying a sports car. For others, it means finally buying the records they could only afford as dubbed cassettes or burned CD-Rs when they were teenagers. Fortunately, we live in a golden age of reissues. These labels are doing incredible work bringing classics and hidden gems back into print.
Numero Group
Archival label specializing in rediscovered and overlooked music from across genres and eras.
Munster Records
Independent reissue label focused on punk, garage, psych, and underground music from around the world.
Analog Africa
Reissue label dedicated to rare and influential African funk, psych, disco, and traditional recordings.
Light in the Attic
Curatorial label known for acclaimed reissues, box sets, and music history projects.
We Want Sounds
Paris-based label reissuing rare gems from jazz, electronic, Japanese, and international music scenes.
Not Everything Has to Be Nostalgia
Sometimes the best gift is helping dad discover something new. Here are three labels pushing music forward.
Leaving Records
A Los Angeles institution championing ambient, jazz, and boundary-pushing contemporary music.
RVNG Intl.
One of the most exciting labels in modern pop and electronic music
Peak Oil
Exploratory electronic, ambient, and experimental music from some of today's most adventurous artists.
Get Dad Out of the House
Instead of buying another thing, consider giving him an experience. At the end of the day, the best gift for a music-loving dad isn't necessarily a record, a book, or a gadget. It's the opportunity to keep experiencing music, just like he did when he was 16.
The Basement
One of Los Angeles' premier listening and dance spaces for adventurous music lovers.
2220 Arts + Archives
A home for experimental music, contemporary performance, film, and cultural programming in Los Angeles.
I hope this list helps you make Father's Day special for the music lovers in your life.
– Ale
Thank you, Ale, and now on to more music happenings here at KCRW.
xx, Anne
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