blog post Live on CBC Radio 3 w/ Grant Lawrence: Trivia Tuesday... and Your Parents Taste in Music!

Nope.  Andre Rieu anyone?  The Emeralds?

I think the hippest they got was CCR.

Neither myself nor my parents grew up in Canada so we didn't listen to CBC Radio while I was growing up. My dad is very much a folk ballads kinda guy, and my mom actually quite like some Canadian artists that I've played for her-- including Joel Plaskett. She once protested when I turned off the stereo while a JP CD was on. Which means I'm not adopted. :)

My Dad once had pretty good taste in music.  Also, pretty good taste in equipment to listen to it on.  Alas, he has lost both.

My dad did come to the Edmonton Folk Fest with me and some friends a few years ago. There are a few things we have in common from that.

Excellent question there Grant.  I'm actually going to see Cuff the Duke and Blue Rodeo with my parents on Saturday! They got me hooked on the 'Rodeo wayyyy back in the day. 

I grew up automatically hating my parents music tastes but have since come to my senses.  This summer I even grabbed a whole bunch of their old records to listen to.  Tom Petty, Clapton, Rod Stewart, The Beatles, The Stones, etc etc etc. I didn't realize that my parents were actually cool. (well, my mom seemed to be a lot cooler.  My dad was more into REO Speedwagon and Tom Cochrane)

Anyways, my parents and I are always bouncing new music off each other.  We even go to shows together sometimes.  Royal Wood, Rose Cousins, Joel Plaskett, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, Dustin/Barney Bentall, Booker T & The Guess Who... I've seen them all with my folks.  I'd say we're a pretty musical family.  too bad not a single one of us can play an instrument.

I have to admit that at the time, I didn't like my parent's music. Since I've gotten older - and inherited my father's LP collection - that's changed. I'm now the proud owner of some pretty darn good bluegrass albums, and these have really opened my ears and expanded my musical tastes.

Some things never change though - I've yet to dig in to my mother's polka albums!

I have inherited my Dad's vinyl collection.  They are my prized possession.  His taste in music influenced me and I love listening to those records now.  Artists like Johnny Cash, CCR, Gordon Lightfoot, Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly.  I could go on and on.  I love playing them for my Dad when I have him over for dinner.  He gets misty eyed.  I hope my son enjoys them one day. 

Just called Criminal Records in Toronto - they've got Heartland on vinyl, but no shipping.  :(

My parents were ancient. They didn't let my oldest sister go to see a Guess Who concert back in '72, fearing that she'd get pregnant or maybe become a dope fiend. So basically they were into the Rat Pack and their contemporaries. Kinda wish I had all those albums!

My 5 year old boy sings along to The Clash, humms to The Smiths and rocks out to Rob Zombie and has a secret crush on Metric. I think I have done well to expose him to exceptionally great music.

My Dad had all the good vinyls from the late 60's early 70's, but I think his collection has a bit too much Rod Stewart for my liking. Rod has always creeped me out a bit, I think his mole looks at me funny?!?!

While my mom has pretty good tasts (her record collection contains numerous Neil Young and The Band albums, for eg), my dad's tastes are pretty regrettable. As a rule of thumb, if it ain't Elvis, he ain't interested.

The rare times we still travel together, I do my best to commandeer control of the CD player. This usually results in listening to something I like (and picked hoping the other travellers would also like) but at such a low volume (maybe my dad, just doesn't like music period...) it's almost pointless.

Surprisingly, I recently found my dad tapping along and even turning up the volume (unprecedented) to Dave McCann. As I get older, my tastes have been changing (less RATM ish, more CBC R3 ish) and McCann is a great example of an artist that sucessfully bridges generations (been a while since I promoted him on here...)!

Paul Anka!

I saw him at a show in Las Vegas in one of the old classic hotels in 1978, when on a road trip with my girlfriend who became my first wife.  Certainly evolved into a Las Vegas showman.

But I thought his song, "You're Having My Baby" was not his best.

Lee Hower - Sacramento, California

My father sees modern music as an incomprehensible bunch of electronic beeps and squeals.  Thank God I had a cool Mom.

One thing that I will always thank mom for is sharing her love for Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot.  Even now when I go home, we'll crank up 'The Mountains and MaryAnn' (my mom's name) or 'Hallelujah' and sing them at the top of our lungs.

My dad winces and reads the paper.  Tone deaf.

My parents had a huge vinyl collection growing up; The Beatles, Elton John, Led Zepplin etc. It always surprises my friends when I tell them that my parents were NOT hippies (they named us Autumn, Honey and Shawnecie) and were in fact more into Classic Rock. My dad's favourite band of all time is AC/DC and I have many fond memories of crusing down the 401 with AC/DC BLARING on the stereo. I always think of them whenever I hear a classic rock song. :)

that's unfortunate.  The Domino Records website will give you the fix you need for about $20.  Be sure to click "USA site" though...

ps. Could you play Em Gryner covering Money Talk? (I think it's Em Gryner....)

I grew up in a household filled with a wide array of musical tastes.  With my dad loving late '70s - early '80s punk rock (ie The Stranglers) and my mom being a jazz genius (favourites being Grappelli, Brubeck, and Reinhardt, occasionally branching off into motown with Jr Walker and the AllStars) my early introduction to music was pretty gosh darn super.  Since then my mom and dad's music taste has evolved along with mine sharing favourite bands/artists from r3 such as Danny Michel, The Zolas, Craig Cardiff, Hannah Georgas, Dan Mangan, Hey Rosetta! and Sloan.  It's just the best to know that I always have a buddy to go to concerts with !  

My parents have (in my opinion) horrible taste in music.  Dad was big country music guy and my mom just loves Abba and the like.  However, she did like Twisted Sister.  She thought he was pretty cool. 

To twist this around to *ME* being the parent, I was with my daughter (a 7 year old) the other day uploading som music to her MP3 player and she requested some You Say Party! We Say Die! and she wants to come with me to one of the upcoming Forest City Lovers shows.  She also knows the names of the Magneta Lane members.  Nice!  Being so young she mostly listens to Hannah Montana and the like, but I'm glad I've got some solid influences going on her.

Anyone that knocks Neil Diamond needs to see that performance.  I love that song.

Speaking of the Last Waltz, I guess even all the classic rockers there didn't quite understand what Mr. Sweet Caroline was doing there.  It's explained more in Van Morrison's autobiography, which also contains a hilarious story about the Purple one piece suit that he wore on stage.

But back on topic, Neil used to cut his teeth with Robbie as a folk singer / song writer at Tin Pan Alley years and years ago.  I think that's why he got an invite.

Do I like my parents taste in music?

The holy trinity in my parent's (well Dad's) collection was Herry Belafonte, Roger Whittaker and John Denver. My Sundays were met with no less than 8 straight hours of CBC playing on any radio in the house, and the clock setting tone is like Pavlov's bell to me to this day. Saturdays of course when the vinyl was spin. Belafonte live is killer!

As a rebellious teen, into whatever my heavy metal brother's liked at the time cause they were cooler to me it seemed.

But a funny thing happened to me when I grew up… All those metal bands that meant the world at me at the time over Dad's "lame" music quickly disappeared from my vernacular, and all of a sudden I found that music of Dad's suddenly resonating with me very deeply.

To this day Belafonte, Whittaker, Denver and Cheap Trick Live at Budokan (all on 8-track cassette no less!) get me waxing a misty-eyed nostalgic over that Griswald-esque family vacation in the big, red grocery-getter (Pontiac Grand Safari Station Wagon) from Buffalo to Disney World and back.

Does my daughter like my music?

Well, she and I both adore Jill Barber's chances, as you Grant, have experienced that somewhat first hand.

But we've also started as a family every night at supper leafing through my vinyl collection and picking a record to listen to while we eat. She has consitently picked Shout Out Out Out Out's Reintegration Time because she loves the red vinyl. She will flip when she gets Chances on vinyl for her birthday this year (signed no less).

So, yes as she's seeming to really enjoy picking albums and recognizes the one that Mommy likes with the bird on the front (Ongiara) and the one that Daddy keeps trying to sneak in with scary ghosts on it (Feel Good Lost), I can only assume I am planting some of the very seeds Dad with me.

At least I hope I am.

Of note: We smuggled her in (Mommy's belly) to: See Vous Play, Rufus Wainwright, Feist/Great Lake Swimmers, and Bad Religion. Mommy was too tired for Wilco.

And her first onesies were a Wilco one I got her, and Polyphonic Spree Uncle Matthew got her.

I'd apologized for the long windedness, but it's kind of my thing, and it's really your fault Grant, for putting this ball on the tee — you had to know I'd have something to say :)

WILCO! Both my parents and I have a deep love affair for Wilco. I'm more into, well everything they did.  My dad likes the Billy Bragg stuff.  Sky Blue Sky is probably my mom's most listened to album the last few years (probably tied with the first Peter Elkas album)

too much elton john...

he's really the best

Chinese folk ballads. I don't really know how that ties into my music tastes, except maybe an appreciation for melody and lyrics?

I never grew up on the "classics" like the Beatles or the Stones and so on. So a lot of western music history is lost to me. My first exposure to English music might have been the Backstreet Boys, haha.

I think nowadays I'm influencing their music tastes more than the other way around. Burning my parents CDs and playing indie artists when I stay over and so on. Over Christmas, my mom fell in love with Rose Cousins. :)

I meant that the playlist doesn't show the host breaks, it shows that they're going to play Ghost Bees which is the answer. Today's an easy trivia day!

The sun is coming out in Vancouver! It's 11 degrees... I should really be outside with my Radio 3 glasses.

...also...is it spring now?

I count my dad as the number one influence in my love for music. Not that I listen to a ton of music that he listens to, but just because he loves music SO much and that got passed on to me. My dad has to have music on at all times and knows the lyrics to so many songs, and those are two traits that I've inherited. My dad is into a lot of older folk/rock stuff like Dan Fogelberg, The Eagles, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell etc, some of which I still listen to (especially Joni Mitchell. I LOVE her). He also plays the piano, which is another thing he's passed down to me. I sometimes make him mixes of newer stuff and give him newer CDs that I think he'll like, but overall he tends to stick to what he knows. 

My mom, on the other hand, is always telling my dad to turn the music off and would rather listen to the radio or people telling stories than music. I think she likes music to a point, but she definitely doesn't enjoy it the way my dad and I do.

I have teenaged daughters and they like my taste in music. But I have bragged about this before on this blog. One holds tightly to the small victories of parenting.

My parents listened to easy listening and it took me years to recover.

Thanks for pointing that out! We'll be more careful!

I've heard wrong answer before although, now that you mention it, it's been a while since we've heard that buzzer. Although, it's easy to be on the phone and searching wiki for the answer at the same time. Maybe I'm just too proud but I don't really like getting the answers from wiki for something like this.

How cool your parents are to you, generally depends on whether you're a parent yourself.

As soon as you become a Mommy or Daddy you immediately see your parents in a different light. It comes from understanding firsthand the love, effort, and sacrifice that goes into being a parent.

mom came with me to a great lake swimmers show a couple of years ago (on her insistence, twisting the rubber arm), and complained that she wanted to go see matt mays but couldn't when he was playing here recently. when he was here for the festival of the lights a couple of years ago, she was like a kid in a candy store, she was so excited.

she'd probably kill me for saying that.

anyway. i guess ma is cool or whatever.

Try to keep the music snootiness to a minimum... my dad has been known to ask me "where's the music in this?" a couple of times. It bugs me. :\

Want to play a funny/mean joke? My mom's probably at home listening to Blue Rodeo.  You should give her a call and get her to admit, on the air, her crushes on Jim Cuddy, Dustin Bentall, and Peter Elkas.  She could even explain as to why she would ever want to go to a music concert with me.  Or what she's listening to.  She surprises the hell out of me sometimes.

P.S. She's also a big fan of your soon-to-be brother in law. 

Wow.  Another Lee on Radio3?  My parents are of the same era as yours, with my dad born in 1915 and mom in 1922.  However, I never was interested in their music, even though I still have a box of hard, brittle 78s - with no place to play them.  Not that I would.

Lee

I have managed to convince myself that my affinity for Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson had some influence on my kids.   Abba, Air Supply, Barbra Streisand, and Rod Stewart not so much. 

I adore Great Big Sea and asked my son to get an autograph for me at an event they both attended and he declined.

My kids listen to a lot of different stuff and I am always open to discovering new sounds that I love........that's why R3 streams in my house all day.

ohhhhh no. don't even talk about ABBA... my parents have Mama Mia the movie PVR'd to Does Your Mother Know You're Out?...and they played it repeatedly during my christmas holiday...

...that AND my FIRST CONCERT EVER was Steppenwolf with the rest of Port Colborne... they played about 14 unknown songs and then finally the 3 people know (because of their parents).   [*Technically it was John Kay & Steppenwolf]

@beatonna    Halifax coffee shop music itinerary: Joel Plaskett now, or Joel Plaskett later?

Wanna give me the sunglasses? 

What's wrong with Rod?

Maybe Maggie-May Rod not so much.... but Rod Stewart and the Faces is f'n brilliant.

I think about 3/4 of all great British musicians either in the late 60's played in the Yardbirds or the Faces at one point.

I think this is one of the best 'Poll Questions of the day'!  Way to go Grant.

Jill will take your 78s!!

Had pretty iffy tastes in music.  Lots of Abba and Neil Diamond and John Denver and Olivia Newton John when she was a country artist.  As a young child I think I got a lot more out of road trips with Gramps and listening to Trucker Songs cassette compilations he picked up along the way.  Trucker's Prayer by Boxcar Willie.  Convoy by C.W. McCall.  Teddy Bear by Red Sovine.  Forgot all about that music until I was doing some country music research for work and came upon the Trucker Music section of country music in Wikipedia.  Took me right back to saddling up in the old Caprice Classic and hitting the Thruway for another run to Schenectady.

Gee.  Sounds like you're fishing for a wedding gift. 

:)

Lee

Oh I guess I will answer the blog question.

My parents listen to a lot of music I like Mom the Good Lovelies Dad Corb Lund ect..

I on the other hand listen to a lot of music they do not like. For the most part if it is more country or folk based mom and dad like it but otherwise they usually are not too keen on what I listen too. However since mom listened to my co-host show apparently she has been listening to Radio 3 on the satellite radio.

yuh oh... i really want that bag.

It's just delayed.

It will ship on my daughter's birthday.

Appropriate, since it's a gift for her birthday.

For sale at CBC Shop. Ridiculously great price too!

they were definitely an influence growing up, tho it's a bit hit or miss still.  we listened to my dad's old 45s so i knew Johnny Cash the same time i was learning my ABCs.  one of my favs still is Johnny Hortons 'battle of new orleans'

mum's younger sister was a folkie & she had some great stuff, as did my grandparents.  great old school country.

my mum's now into more top 40 country, which just makes me ill but she also loves Stephen Fearing.  dad's taste is a bit better.  he was an old Buffy St. MArie & Gord Lightfoot fan so i guess that was my start on Canuck music.  i can live with that.  he likes mary chapin carpenter now.  & they both like Jim Cuddy's solo stuff too.

the influence in reverse is kinda fun:)

It was my parents that got me hooked on B.A.R.K. and subsequently the solo work of Tom, Colin, and Stephen.

:)

i do know the osborne girls from racoons shows, so theres your connection.

the reverse with mine.  dad likes the BARK stuff ok.  it's grown on mom, but Stephen will always be her fav.

i can get her to listen to Blue Rodeo, but just Cuddy.  she's not so crazy @ Keelor.  they both like Suzie Vinnick.  always the easier going stuff. 

other than my dad's old Elvis stuff they were never really rockers.  thank god the both have younger siblings with taste

My dad definitely influenced my musical tastes a lot.  He listens to a lot of folk, and a little bit of stuff from other genres.  Simon & Garfunkel, The Kingston Trio, Chris de Burgh, James Galway, Old Man Luedecke.  The Old Man Luedecke is a newish addition.

My mom doesn't listen to all that much music.  She also seems to think that if you're listening to music, you'd rather be talking to her, so she'll start a conversation with you.  This is occasionally annoying.  She doesn't do that to live music, though, so she's ahead of many people I see at shows.

In other news, I started a thread for R3 commenters on the newly relaunched FAWM site.

In other other news: I am totally buying my own place!  And moving in February, which may interfere with my FAWM efforts.

Speaking of Buffy St Marie, did you hear Lisa's new and latest podcast episode?

What an mélange, that discussion with Buffy and Matthew Hart (Russian Futurists)

aww, yeah.  John Denver.  both my folks.  i saw him live, in the round, at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo twice.  had to take mom because dad doesn't concert.

& dad loves some Anne Murray still.  any time.

coming from an immigrant chinese family I grew up on jackie movies and chinese pop music. but oddly enough, my parents were also Beatles and Elvis fans (but who wasn't?). Thankfully I remember the Canadian or western music they liked more than the chinese stuff. Just two years ago I took my mom to the Anne Murray concert. While, I'm not a fan of hers, I'm glad that my parents had enough of an open mind with music that I wasn't just listening to chinese pop music . Today, I'm strictly a cbc radio3 fan :) Somewhere, somehow there is a connection I suppose.

I grew up on classical music - Bach, Beethoven, etc.  However, once in a while I would wake up to Fleetwood Mac, America and Huey Lewis and the News. When I bought my first stereo, my dad gave me classic Queen and Best of Queen. I think he gave me an Annie Lennox CD as well.

As we grew up, their tastes started to change, depending on what us kids were listening to.  My father fell in love with Ace of Base and the Proclaimers.

I would have to say that my mom is more current with music - but can't handle that much of the indie stuff.  She prefers mainstream top 20.

I recently introduced my dad to Feist and it seemed like he could stomach it.

Thank you.  My kids were pretty surprised when I said I loved Bend Sinister. :o)

Congrats on the purchase. Some day I might do the same thing OR I'll just live in my friends house forever.

My parents have pretty good tastes in music, although they are not into current music.  My Dad introduced me to CCR, Boston, Van Halen, etc. Which I still listen to from time to time.

The other day I introduced my parents to Two Hours Traffic, Said the Whale, and Wintersleep and both my parents actually enjoyed it.  I caught my mom bobbing her head to Said the Whale, which although embarassing if done in public, was a nice surprise.

Thanks!

(There's still the home inspection and related things, so it's not final-final, just pretty-much-guaranteed-to-happen)

DO YOU LIKE YOUR PARENTS' TASTE IN MUSIC?

Absolutely. All the music they listened to as I was growing up, I have grown to love my self.

For example: The Tragically Hip, Neko Case, The Reverend Horton Heat and Johnny Cash

Some of my favorite memories are the ones of sitting around campfires with my dad, stepmom and all their friends, while one of them would play some Neko Case, Liz Phair, White Stripes, and Reverend Horton Heat on the acoustic guitar.

My dad introduced me to Dr Hook and The Medicine Show early in life and actually claims that my first words were "ROCK N ROLL!" because on our camping adventures we used to always sing along to their song "Cover Of The Rolling Stone" and my part was cued by "Hey, hey I know how..." when I would chime in with my "first words". He also tells a story of growing up down the street from one of the guys who played in The Guess Who in Gimley, Manitoba, so he gets points for that as well. He's a contractor and he currently listens to Golden Oldies radio all day every day. I love his taste in music.

My mother, on the other hand, she mostly listens to Roy Orbison. And I'm not talking the Traveling Wilburies GOOD Roy Orbison, just straight up Roy Orbison. And Elvis. She can't be helped.

Thank you!

Congrats on the new cave!!!  There is nothing like the thrill of indebting onself to a miniscule piece of the planet, huh?

Home is where beds are made and butter is added to toast.

On a cold afternoon you can float room to room like a ghost.

Take the crèche out and argue about who gets to set up the kings.

And I know that it’s home because that’s where the stereo sings.

I knooooooooow this one.  And I even have a story.

Dawn.h - that Nickelback comment made me laugh so hard. You never know though, my Grandpa used to go aruond saying the Beatles would never last, made fun of a lot of my dad's music, and over the past 5 years any roadtrip we've taken with him he asks my dad who is playing because he really likes them. Needless to say this drives my dad batty. Moral of the story: maybe you'll end up liking your kids' music 20 years from then. :)

you just made tears come to my eyes (and confirmed that me getting my parents a copy of my thesis was the right thing to do...)

Congratulations!  That is indeed quite the accomplishment.

I can envision the future trivia questions, yet somehow never can envision how to get through the phone line.

and congrats Babs! I look forward to getting my parents a copy of my manuscript when I finish my various degrees :)

And now my plenitude of concert buttons will finally have a home!!

Well I'm open-minded and know people/musicians change so I would never outright bash a musician but think I'm safe with my Nickelback comment.

I think that if my dad grew up when I did, he would have the same taste in music as I do. Nevertheless, we can still find a lot of common ground. I sent him the podcast featuring the top tracks of 2009, and he enjoyed the whole thing.

Congrats!  And as a Mech Eng grad...I am dying to note what he did his thesis on..??!!

Congratulations! That is really exciting to hear

@Brenda - I missed the show but it looks like you won! Awesome!

@Christine - hands off my bag ya thieving thiever! didn't Dora teach you; "No swipping!"

The title is:  Combustion of Natural Gas with Entrained Diesel in a Heavy-Duty Compression-Ignition Engine.

Alrighty then. :o)

.....and your Daddy don't Rock'n'Roll.  Suffice to say that we have largely dispelled this myth on this very day, and shall never listen to this song in the same way again. 

Surrender ! Cheap Trick

Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird

Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away

Like some of my parents music but can't say they had a big influence on my taste in music.  They are farmer's and listened to a lot of country music.  I ended up marrying an 80's pop rocker, so go figure.

As for whether I had any influence on my daughter's taste in music, maybe a little.  Did my best to expose her to a lot of folk music while she was young by taking her along to the local coffee house and music festivals.  However, on the flip side, she has had a huge influence on my current taste in music, introducing me to Canadian indie music, for which I will never be able to thank her enough.

you know me so well :P preempted my comment haha

Heartfelt congratulations......aside from home ownership, there is nothing like the thrill of raising successful humanoids!  Well done!!!

I'm not sure when the album drops but they'll be playing a show on February 20. If I can, I might just wait for the show but I'm pretty stoked on the new album. I hope this means a track by track next month!

What's the story behind your profile pic!?

the sun is out today! the snow is melting! I'm sweating profusely in my office.  I don't know why. go riders.

speaking of woodhands, when the hell is that thing dropping? I'm fairly certain I pre-ordered it....... I really shouldn't do online shopping at 5:20 if you know what I mean.

any day in the mail I'm hoping for: Jill Barber, Spoon, and Woodhands. And then eventually F'd Up, Pavement, Girls, and Owen Pallett. 

I'm also posting way after cause I got called away before the show ended.

Thank you so much and I agree with boders....successful humanoids is getting stolen by me also.

Lee your kind words are very much appreciated.  This place has become very special to me and even tho my kids would say I share way too much I'm old enough to do as I please.  :o)