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November 8, 2005 :: Link :: Reviews
You can call me a late bloomer if you want, but I've recently discovered that the Who fucking rocks. Like any good West Duluth kid, I loved the classic rock while I was growing up. Mainly I loved Led Zeppelin, and quite a few of the 60s-70s "hard rock" bands enjoyed heavy rotation on my boom box, and later my CD changer. The one band I felt that I should love, but couldn't, was the Who. I'd put 'em on and I just didn't get it. But all of that has changed, baby.
I liked Zeppelin because of their super-cool lyrics and because of Jimmy Page's guitar work. And while the Who has none of that, they rock so, so much harder. It's difficult to imagine a band that could possibly rock harder than the Who.
See, while it's very, very cool to reference Gollum in your lyrics, and to rip off obscure greats like Robert Johnson (if you're gonna rip someone off why not rip off the best), and to play 20-minute ballads about knights and vikings that make you actually want to listen to them in their entirety, rock ain't about that shit. It's about picking up the guitar and kicking some goddam ass.
One of the things that has me jaded about Zeppelin is that I'm sick to death of Robert Plant's vocal stylings. All the ooo-ooo-ooos and push-push-pushes are tiresome after awhile. I feel the same way about Guns N Roses and that ego-case Axl Rose. I loved that band as a teenager, but I just can't listen to that kind of showboating any more. Someone needs to cover those bands immediately, so that I can enjoy those songs once again. They're bitchen songs.
Something I will never get tired of, however, is the way Roger Daltry screams "YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!!" at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again."
What does it mean to "rock"? Rock is something that is understood by the lowest, most reptilian part of the brain. It raises goosebumps on your skin and makes you want to drink, fight and fuck. But there's no way you could define it and put it into a formula.
"Baba O'Riley" is the definition of rock. There is a great scene in one of my top-5 favorite movies, Summer of Sam, where the soundtrack is "Baba O'RIley" and all the craziest shit is going down. It is spectacular.
And speaking of the Who in movies & TV, probably the best episode of Freaks & Geeks is when Lindsay wants to see the Who in concert. Her dad wants to know if they play wild music and and Sam points out that The Guinness Book of World Records lists the Who as the loudest band in the world.
That's rock, my friend.
Comments
that was the episode where lindsay & sam's parents listened to "squeeze box" and contemplated what they were singing about, right?
yes. great show.
Posted by: anniemosity | November 8, 2005 3:53 AM
Speaking of movies, how about posting your top 5?
Posted by: Michael | November 8, 2005 8:48 AM
Yeah, watching it dawn on them that "Squeeze Box" was, perhaps, about something other than playing the accordion...that was glorious. :+)
Posted by: Mary | November 8, 2005 11:55 PM
"It's not about an accordion, it's about, well, IN AND OUT!"
That was also the episode where Kim ran over Millie's dog. Kim says, "I killed Millie's dog," and Ken asks, "What, with your bare hands?"
Then Millie "turns bad" and almost drinks a beer.
Posted by: Barrett | November 9, 2005 6:19 AM
have you heard the who's cover of elton john's "saturday night's alright (for fighting)?" i personally like it better than elton's (which is blasphemy in some circles). here is the .m4a version if you haven't heard it.
Posted by: anniemosity | November 9, 2005 2:31 PM
"Happy Jack" is a goofy song, but remember the video? That rocked. Even for a bunch of mods. And even if it included the throwing of pies for comedic effect.
Posted by: Paul Lundgren | November 9, 2005 3:52 PM
Long live rock! I need it ev-er-y night...
Posted by: observer | November 9, 2005 4:25 PM
I don't remember the video for Happy Jack, but I know the song didn't rock at all. It was a quiet, simple song that rocked about as much as Spinal Tap's "Cups and Cakes." Oh, wait...you mean that kind of rock. Well, of course.
We need a larger vocabulary.
Posted by: Barrett | November 9, 2005 6:00 PM
One of my favorite Millie moments was when Lindsay had the house party, and Millie started earnestly playing "Jesus is Just Alright" on the piano...
Posted by: Mary | November 10, 2005 2:32 AM
This is so fricken wierd! i too have just re-discovered the Who all over again. I was listening to "Perta Hayden, Who Sell Out". She does the entire Who Sell Out record Capella thanks to Mike Watt's pushing. complete with the old BBC ads. -- anyhoo -- to make a long story short, after listening to it, i had to get the original of which i had 20 years ago and re-live that exciting moment of first listen. It was heaven all over again. -- THIS IS SO FRICKEN WIERD!
Posted by: kitty brand | November 10, 2005 1:37 PM
The Who took me awhile to get into as well. My favorite is "I Can See for Miles". I love how they keep changing the key at the end- who does stuff like that? The Who- that's who.
Posted by: mic trout | November 10, 2005 1:42 PM
AMEN
Posted by: chuck Olsen | November 12, 2005 3:17 PM
I just recently saw an episode of Tales from the Crypt that starred Roger Daltry as a photographer named "Dalton" who is eventually eaten alive by some strange viral infection. He should stick to making rock and roll music.
Posted by: Joe Kane | June 20, 2007 3:04 PM