X/Z Song Trader: "Joker Lips"

A Gen X Rocker Discusses Music With His Gen Z Daughter

Dec 05, 2024

About X/Z Song Trader: Steve is a music journalist, author and musician. Lucy is a diehard music fan and college student. They have always enjoyed a father/daughter bond over music. Each week one of them picks a song and they both share their perspectives. These are casual conversations based on musical connections. Opinions are their own. Keeping it positive.

Check out the whole X/Z Song Trader series.

Steve’s Perspective

Let’s talk about “dad rock.”

In the context of this series it’s my perspective on the songs/bands we discuss, but it’s also a broader 2000s music genre. The term was popularized by Pitchfork’s Robert Mitchum in his review of Wilco’s 2007 album Sky Blue Sky:

“An album of unapologetic straightforwardness. Sky Blue Sky nakedly exposes the dad-rock gene Wilco has always carried but courageously attempted to disguise.”

Dad rock took on a life of its own after that review and has since permeated modern music writing. Although it gained some mainstream legitimacy, it’s still most often used as a slight to describe inoffensive music deeply rooted in influences from the Baby Boomer past. It has been retroactively applied to Neil Young and Tom Petty, and to more modern indie artists such as The Hold Steady, The National and Bon Iver.

That being the case, not every musician whose music is described as “dad rock” embraces the term.

Most notably, Jeff Tweedy from Wilco has had this to say about it:

“I think it's reductive, ageist gatekeeping. I think it's horrible. I don't like it. I've never liked it …It's mean, and I don't know what the point of that is, other than to create some sort of shorthand for other people that they don't need to pay attention to…”

As a fan of many supposed dad rock bands including Wilco, I’m not particularly offended by the term since it mostly seems like a toothless and playful cliche these days (and because, well, I’m a dad who likes rock music)—then again, I don’t have to deal with having “dad rock” automatically applied to every new song I release.

In some ways, I think MJ Lenderman might be the artist who finally obliterates the term “dad rock.”

That’s because the talented multi-instrumentalist/songwriter released one of the best albums of 2024 with Manning Fireworks. It’s a staggering collection full of undeniable “dad rock” signifiers, but delivered with such incredible indie rock aplomb that its genius simply overwhelms any knee-jerk dismissiveness.

In particular, I find it impressive how deeply he seems to truly understand Neil Young’s varied and boundary-pushing musical approach. Young is best known as a singer/songwriter (“Needle and the Damage Done”), country rocker (“Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”), and “Godfather of Grunge” (“Keep on Rockin’ In the Free World”), and I think all of those influences can be heard on some of Lenderman’s standout tracks, including “Joker Lips.”

The guitar-heavy feel of the song is hypnotic in its ability to conjure syrupy summer days and aimless longing. But the true genius lies in Lenderman’s nonchalant vocal delivery and his tragicomic lyrics about a lovable loser who is barely hanging on:

Please don't laugh, only half of what I said was a joke
Every Catholic knows he could've been pope
Kahlúa shooter, DUI scooter
With a rolling start on the hill
This morning's tryin' to kill me

To my ears, that is in the same league as other top-tier songwriters who aren’t afraid to explore domestic darkness.

In my opinion, “Joker Lips” is up there with Jason Isbell (“Relatively Easy”), Kurt Vile (“Loading Zones”), and, of course, Wilco (“Misunderstood”). The Neil Young albums/eras it most reminds of are 1968’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (“Down By The River”) and 1975’s Tonight’s The Night (“Albuquerque”).

I know you’re an MJ Lenderman fan too, but I’m guessing your frame of reference is a bit different. I’d love to know what you like about his music. What are some of your other favorite songs?

Lucy’s Perspective

Honestly, it’s somewhat rare that you show me a song in passing and it sticks with me in such a major way.

I enjoy the music you share with me, but it typically takes me a couple of listens before I really get into anything. With MJ Lenderman it was instant. The first song you played for me, “Right Back To It” with Waxahatchee, is still my favorite.

I think what I appreciate most about MJ Lenderman’s music is just the general laid back vibe of every single song. It feels like laying down in the grass and watching the clouds move in the sky. It’s a relaxing listening experience that makes room for the complex lyrics that he sings throughout.

In “Joker Lips,” Lenderman uses the chill sound of his music as a way to move each lyric forward.

I love the lines you pointed out in your perspective, but for me it’s the simplicity of these lyrics:

Yeah, you know I love my TV
But all I really wanna see is see you need me

To me, that encapsulates the personal feelings that go into every word he writes. With all of the complexity of the rest of the song, especially in the lines you highlighted, these simple lyrics pack quite a punch.

This stanza seems to say that no matter how much media he consumes, the only thing he ever wants to watch is this ‘you’ character wanting and needing him back. That kind of raw, real lyric writing is what makes his music so gut-wrenchingly beautiful.

MJ Lenderman has been in my music rotation since you introduced me to him in September.

And my infatuation has only grown since one of my good friends is also super into his music. “Joker Lips” is a great song that I prefer to listen to alone, but “Right Back To It” has become the first song my roommate and I put on when we get in the car.

It’s perfect for driving to class or going to the climbing gym. Some of my other favorites are “Wristwatch” and “She’s Leaving You.” Overall, I am impressed with this version of “dad rock” from you and I am obsessed with MJ Lenderman!