The New Dad Rock
Two college radio DJs during the 90s, hosts Keith and Steve helped expose bands like Nirvana, Pavement and PJ Harvey. They went to shows, interviewed musicians and reviewed albums for various zines and papers. They worked security at concerts and once, even did load-in for Phish. Now they’re dads. Whether you want to explore lesser-known music or take a trip down memory lane, tune in to The New Dad Rock. Join hosts Keith and Steve as they navigate the ages together, sharing their love of music across various eras and genres. Always well intentioned, often well informed, seldom boring, The New Dad Rock will expand your mind.
Episodes
The New Dad Rock presents a field-recorded farewell.
This wasn’t the episode we planned—but it’s the one we had to make. Episode 100 is a requiem for Rubén, Keith’s dear friend and one of the few true guerilla contributors to this podcast.
Keith was supposed to meet Rubén in Lucerne, Switzerland the first couple days of June 2025, but Ruben left this world ten days before Keith arrived. Keith didn’t change his plans. How could he?
W...
On July 3, 1999 Mark Sandman, frontman and two-string slide bassist of Morphine collapsed and died while performing onstage in Palestrina, Italy. Ironically a few years earlier he wrote aa song in which he sang about hoping to have french fries with pepper on September 9th of that year.
But don't let that get you down. As we approach our 100th episode, we turn back the clock 25 years to the strange, beautiful, and paranoid wor...
🎙️ Episode 98: Montauk Mix and UFO Flix
Strap in for a cosmic ride back to the Summer of '98—when alternative rock was maturing, Montauk was still weird and wonderful, and UFOs might have been hovering just offshore.
Steve and Keith dig through the musical treasures of 1998, spinning tracks from Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith, Mercury Rev, Beastie Boys, Sunny Day Real Estate, and more. It's the year of In the Aeroplane ...
🎙️ Episode 1997: Desert Island Classics – The Year That Was Everything
What if you could only bring one year of music to your desert island? For The New Dad Rock, that year just might be 1997.
In this special “Desert Island Classics” edition, Keith makes the case for a trio of albums that still echo through indie rock history:
🎸 Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West
🎸 Pavement – Brighten the Corners
🎸 Ra...
1996 was a wild, weird, and wonderful year for music. Alternative rock was shifting in unexpected ways, techno was taking over clubs and airwaves, and Gen X was riding the high of a pre-Y2K world—blissfully unaware of what was to come. In this episode of The New Dad Rock, Steve & Keith take a joyride through the sonic landscape of ‘96, from scrappy indie rock to stadium-filling anthems to the rise of electronic music that made ...
Step into 1995—a time when five-disc CD changers ruled the bedroom, cassette Walkmans were essential for the commute, and a record player still held a place of honor in the living room. Not a single MP3 in sight. This was also the golden age of mixtapes, crafted with care and burned onto CDs, blending the past and future of rock into something unmistakably 1995.
This episode of The New Dad Rock explores the birth of an alternative n...
Tune in as The New Dad Rock breaks it all down—one track at a time.
1994 was a year of seismic shifts—both in music and in pop culture. Nirvana’s Unplugged set the tone for the band's tragic final chapter, while Woodstock ‘94 marked the peak (and beginning of the end) of the alternative rock explosion. Meanwhile, the slow-speed chase of O.J. Simpson had the world glued to their TVs, raising the question: What were you listening...
Oh, the nerve of the season, the audacious charade,
Of this barber shop simulation where reality’s frayed!
I plopped in a chair, unassuming and tame,
In this den of shears and holiday fame.
With old barbers tending, and old carols a-playing,
The sort of tunes that leave your spirit decaying.
Oh, the pomp and the fuss, the ho-ho-humbug so trite,
In a soundtrack that’s anything but merry or bright.
But...
EP 2024: The New Dad Rock Forever: A 2024 Mixtape
In this milestone episode, Steve and Keith look back on their favorite music of 2024, celebrating the sounds that defined the year while pondering how their ever-evolving tastes reflect the state of New Dad Rock. From iconic returns to boundary-breaking debuts, this episode is a whirlwind tour through a wildly eclectic musical landscape.
🎵 Their Top 24 of 2024:
- The Cure - Songs o...
1993—The Year Dad Rock Cemented Its Legacy
Steve and Keith crank up the time machine to 1993, revisiting the year where grunge, alt-rock, and indie collided in an explosion of creativity. From late-night dorm radio at WGSU to the first season of Beavis & Butthead, they uncover the cultural threads that tied their formative music experiences together. This episode is packed with tales of Chapel Hill bands like Superchunk and Arch...
In Episode 92 of The New Dad Rock, Steve and Keith take a deep dive back into 1992, a year that arguably defined the dawn of dad rock. This was the year that grunge hit mainstream radio, MP3s were born, and Lollapalooza was the place to be, with acts like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Ice Cube, and Ministry. As they journey through memories of late-night concerts and cheap beers in Central Park, they reflect on iconic moments and albums ...
In this episode of The New Dad Rock, Steve and Keith are joined by special guest Bryan to dive deep into the transformative year that was 1991. The trio revisits the incredible six-week period that birthed classics from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and uh Garth Brooks
They take aim at the beginnings of the grunge movement, starting with Temple of the Dog, the supergroup that paid ...
Get ready for chills, thrills, and a rockin' good time as The New Dad Rock presents its fourth Halloween special, "Every Day Is Halloween!"
In this spooky edition, Steve and Keith dive deep into the art of creating the perfect Halloween playlist. From eerie classics like "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus (or is that Boo-haus?) to the quirky charm of "Monster Mash," they explore the so...
In this episode of The New Dad Rock, Steve and Keith dive into the transformative year of 1990, a time when music was in flux, much like Steve’s transition from high school to college. They review new music from The Jesus Lizard, Mercury Rev, and Chappell Roan, but the heart of the episode is a look back at the iconic releases of 1990.
Expect deep discussions about:
- Queensrÿche’s Empire
- Iron Maiden’s No Prayer for the Dying
- Megadet...
In this episode of The New Dad Rock, Steve and Keith turn back the clock to explore the rich and diverse musical landscape of 1989—a year that was anything but a blank space. While Taylor Swift might have reimagined "1989" in her own style, we're diving into the original sounds that defined the end of a decade.
The duo kicks off by introducing new music from Joey Valence & Brae, drawing parallels between the fresh...
In this episode of The New Dad Rock, we dive into the electrifying year of 1988, where the worlds of metal, rock, and synth-pop collided in unexpected ways. We explore the rise of concept albums like Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime and King Diamond’s Them, which pushed the boundaries of storytelling in metal.
The Big Four of thrash metal—Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax—dominated with releases like ...And Justice for All,...
Join us as we delve into the transformative year of 1987 in this episode of The New Dad Rock. We'll explore the iconic albums and unforgettable moments that defined the music scene. From U2’s monumental The Joshua Tree to INXS’s Kick and The Cure’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, this year was a watershed moment for rock and pop.
We'll reminisce about why Steve spent an entire month listening to just one album—King Diamond’s Ab...
In this nostalgic dive into 1985, we are joined by special guest Brian Reiss, who you might remember from Episode 14, Van Halen vs. Van Hagar. Together, we explore a year where movie soundtracks spawned hits, metal got more extreme, thrash took over, and flea markets took over rollerskating rinks. Singles and solo artists dominated the airwaves, with new bands hitting the top spot on the charts seemingly every week. Meanwhile, conc...
In Episode 84 of The New Dad Rock, Steve and Keith dive into the eclectic musical landscape of 1984, a year that saw the rise of both heavy metal and synth-pop, along with the emergence of future indie rock legends. They kick things off with a discussion about the latest music from bands like 21 Pilots, Imagine Dragons, Arab Strap, Oranssi Pazuzu, Haunted Plasma, Hawkwind, and Idaho, showcasing the diverse range of contemporary sou...
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