T here was a moment, some years ago in a St Kilda summer, when our family was driving along a busy street, the car windows down, belting out Eric Carmen’s Make Me Lose Control. I had one of those out-of-body experiences parents sometimes get, where you get a clear view of your younger, cooler self looking on in a state of acute embarrassment and despair.

How the hell had this happened?

There is no better way to examine your own prejudices than attempting to raise children engaged in cultural things. Taking their lead has led me to strange territories, including ballet, medieval festivals and the Gruffalo stage show. But as we enter the hinterland of adolescence, music continues to be the most revealing and unpredictable of journeys.

Full disclosure – I am a recovering music snob. My introduction to journalism was being a “rock journalist” (imagine the thrill of that business card) for Cream magazine in the early noughties.…