The Reason I Listen to Rock & Roll

I was only about 14 years old but I remember vividly the first time I sat in my dad's basement and pulled out a record that was in grey color and had a very odd picture in front, with no artist name to attribute this interesting, smelly record to. I had no idea what a vinyl record even was, until I asked my dad. He said that this was the music he grew up on, and that I should give it a listen.

Though I had no idea how to play this huge black floppy disc, I did know how to download songs. I found the song he talked about that was his favorite on that record -- "Black Dog". I thought it was a silly name for a song, and I even thought the band name was ridiculous.

When the song came on, I was instantly captivated. The screaming, different vocals in the beginning and the hard, heavy metal riff that blasted out, and the big drum fills pulled me in to listen to the song on repeat at least a thousand times. The sound was so immensely different from what was playing on mainstream radio at the time. It was at that moment I became hooked with what people refer today as "Classic Rock". When my dad immigrated into the country, he called it noncommercial music, because the bands had now passed their prime so they weren't played on the radio. I still wonder what would happen if the bands of the 60s and 70s played today like they did then. I'm sure music would be something completely different.

I'll always remember the day I was in my dad's basement, blaring the music that defined who I am. Whenever someone asks me, "What do you listen to?" I happily reply, "My dad's music."