Sometimes I am appalled at the state of music ignorance the kids these days have about them. Driving through town the other day a classic rock radio station happened to be playing a song by The Who and my younger brother immediately changed it saying that he didn’t really like that type of music, even though he had never listened to the entire song. Needless to say this shocked me to my core. I’m tired of people complaining about the state of pop music, hearing them go on and on about how music has lost its creative edge, or how there’s nothing fulfilling in songs about apple bottom jeans or cyclones. While some of those arguments may be true they ring hollow from mouths who have never sung along to bands like The Kinks, The Who, BTO, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, or Styx. {not that those bands are an all inclusive list, but you get my point}
I thought I would post a few tracks by the legendary Brit band The Who in hopes that a few download hungry and misinformed youth out there might take a listen and hear some true musical genius. All three of these tracks come from the album Greatest Hits of The Who (iTunes) and it would be a genuine benefit to the listener to hear the entire album {or even their entire discography}.
mp3 : The Who - Baba O’Riley
mp3 : The Who - My Generation
mp3 : The Who - Who Are You (Single Edit Version)
I would like to point out, as this is the first lesson I’m teaching in Music History here at TWF, that Baba O’Riley is the correct name for this particular song although many friends and fans have incorrectly given it the title of Teenage Wasteland throughout the years. It is also, and quite easily, one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded in the history of the world. The song My Generation has been incorrectly given to bands ranging from Aerosmith to the Rolling Stones {and everyone inbetween} although it has always been a classic staple of The Who. And to close out the trifecta of The Who classics there stands the simple and eternal question of Who Are You. Who are you anyway?
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Here, here. Not to get on the whole “everything was better in the past” jag, but your observation is spot-on. The kids today are missing out on a wealth of amazingly creative–and often pretty daring–music, not to mention some of the richest songwriting in our cultural lexicon. Certainly not all classic rock has worn that well with time but for me personally, The Who is, was, and always will be a favorite. Not to mention that Pete Townshend was one of my very first (and still one of the most important) influences both as a songwriter and as a guitarist. For that reason alone, that band will always have a place in my heart.
Hey! Isn’t that the theme song from the TV show CSI?! I love that show! Thanks for the song!!
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I, of course, am kidding.
flo-rida actually makes me mad on so many levels, and no matter how many kids thought i was beign a loser for not being able to enjoy apple bottom jeans or soulja boy i stan my ground and say to them ‘this is the worst fucking shit ive ever heard and you will regret ever putting these people as your idols’. this is beyond me thinking im better than these people