Guardians of the Galaxy and the Rise of Mom Rock

Regardless of genuine interest levels in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, setting the films trailer to Sweets Fox on the Run gave people the feel-good jolt of adrenaline that audiences have come to expect with the franchise. This also served as an epic prelude to the rest of the films soundtrack, which premiered to as much success as Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, which is the second highest sold movie soundtrack and the only film to breach the Billboard Top 200 with solely previously recorded tracks.

In a recent Los Angeles Times interview , director and screenwriter James Gunn referred to the franchise's beloved soundtracks as mom rock. Considering that each of the films soundtracks were created by Peters dying mother back in the 70s and 80s, it makes sense to categorize the tracklists as mom rock rather than dad rock, but theres also a more systematic appeal than that.

Box office audiences of the first Guardians of the Galaxy were reportedly 44% women , and the sequel has so far followed suit , which is the highest percentage of female viewers for any Marvel movie. But this isnt just about appealing to women over forty. Dad rock became a genre of its own after the term was coined, with plenty of young people embracing the purposefully ironic title, and the music industry subsequently capitalized on the success. Wilcos Jeff Tweedy released a solo album last year and began a separate band, TWEEDY, with his son. Pink Floyd returned after almost twenty years for their final studio album, The Endless River, in 2014. Eric Clapton has kept the Cream dream alive through his ever popular solo career, although he has attempted to separate himself from the band.

Music isnt as inherently gendered as it was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, just as gender itself is now being recognized as a fluid concept, but at the time, a bands target audience was often a predetermined factor. Bands like Metallica, The Eagles, and Led Zeppelin were marketed more towards men, while the people behind songs found on both Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks were less gender specific in their catering.

Gunn, who curates the tracklists for the films as hes writing the scripts, described mom rock as AM radio pop, rather than the classic rock umbrella that encompasses dad rock. In Guardians of the Galaxy, this soft rock sub-genre ranges from Electric Light Orchestras Mr. Blue Sky to Fleetwood Macs The Chain to Blue Suedes Hooked on a Feeling, encompassing a variety of more lyric-focused music. Often the songs praise life or lament about trivial things, rarely trying to appropriate tragedy in an obvious way. Mom rock holds the rare place of being made specifically for the sake of bad dancing. This is largely routed in the underlying bass that strings each song together, regardless of specific rhythm, which focuses on the feelings that the songs can evoke.

Even Yusuf/Cat Stevens Father And Son, which plays at a pivotal and emotional moment in the sequel, keeps things more towards Pearl Jams The End, rather than Pink Floyds Wish You Were Here. The song repeats Its not time to make a change / Just relax, take it easy and Look at me, I am old / But Im happy amidst paternal life lessons. This, in addition to the simple acoustic guitars and symbols in the background, provides a balm for what could otherwise have become some sort of rock ballad.

Taking comfort in the old doesnt just come in the form of late twentieth century playlists; contemporary musicians have recently begun to adopt mom rock aesthetics, similar to what many have done with dad rock in the past. Father John Misty, Mac DeMarco, and most recently Harry Styles, among other artists and bands, have integrated components of this trend as they've carved out their places within and outside of the rock community.

Old mom rockers are coming back, too. Next month, Fleetwood Macs Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie are dropping a self-titled album together, and in September The Doobie Brothers' Michael McDonald will premiere his new record, Wide Open. These artists are creating, or reintroducing something thats more than soft rock, more than yacht rock even. Its a revival thats beyond music, something thats meant to be felt, more than anything else.

Mom rock is perhaps what we need most right now in a time of almost constant uncertainty. Ballads and hardcore songs are still beloved, but the music of mom rock is once again becoming increasingly necessary. Gunn credits the music in his films as helping ground viewers, given the absurdity of the Guardians of the Galaxy plot, which also helps explain the resurgence of mom rock in popular culture today. Its part happiness, part nostalgia, and inherently feel-good in a way that people have come to rely on.