I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE WHO-A Quick One (1966) & Sell Out (1967) & Tommy (1969) & The Kids Are Alright (1979) & Quadrophenia (1973).

When I was in grammar school I loved The Who. I’d say Rush and The Who were the two cornerstones that I built my music appreciation on. Then as I got into more alternative music, I turned my back on classic rock. And, really that was a good thing. Moving away from it allowed my to gain an appreciation for it again now that it is classic to me as well.

Not too long ago, Petra Hayden recorded an all acappella version of The Who Sell Out. It was a pretty outrageous album to make, and I haven’t heard all of it. But I heard some when I was in a store way back when, and it was pretty cool. But what it did was make me want to buy the original Who Sell Out again. And so I did. And then recently, my wife was asking about some Who songs and I realized we only had the big hits on vinyl. So, rather than getting one of their 4,000 greatest hits packages, I invested in the entire reissued back catalog. And I felt like I was 12 all over again. It was amazing to see that I knew these records backwards and forwards, and I hadn’t listened to some of them in nearly 25 years!

So, anyhow, we all know the Who, and their cavalcade of classic rock hits. I’m not going to even bother talking about Who’s Next or Who Are You. I want to talk about their two early records. My Generation obviously scored a huge hit with the title song, and the rest of the album fares equally well. But after that, it becomes truly apparent that, for one of the ten or so bands that makes up the classic rock canon, The Who are pretty damned weird!  And did you all know that John Entwistle plays french horn?  On a whole bunch of tracks?

A Quick One (Happy Jack). The premise behind this record was that everyone in the band would write two tracks. Track two is “Boris the Spider,” a song I loved as a kid, and was delighted when they played it on one of their farewell tours back in the 80s. But, wow, what a bizarro, novelty song about, indeed, a spider. And it’s the second song on the album! The reissued CD for some reason switches the “Happy Jack” from the original with an acoustic version which isn’t quite as good. But just listen to this song. The drumming is out of control! It’s really amazing. And what is it about? A guy who is so happy that the kids couldn’t hurt him no matter how they try. Huh. Then comes my Standout Track: “Cobwebs and Strange”! A 2 and a half minute instrumental of such oddity that, well, I don’t know what. When I was younger I loved this song because it was so bouncy and silly and just all around fun. And hearing it now 25 years later, I like it even more. I want it to be the soundtrack to a movie I’ll never make. But how on earth did this band go on to write “Baba O Riley”? And there’s one more. The title track, “A Quick One,” is, as the story goes, a mini epic that Pete Townshend was asked to write because the album was really short…so why not write a ten minute song? He balked somewhat and strung together several two minute songs to come up with this tidy little story of infidelity and forgiveness. It is weird and funny and…if the liner notes are true…my favorite bit now is that since the couldn’t afford a string section, the lads just sang “cello cello cello cello” where ever they wanted cellos. Brilliant!

Sell Out. Which brings us to Sell Out. This record actually garnered a hit that lasts to this day: “I Can See for Miles.” But overall, the concept of this album was that it would be like flipping through an AM radio station (back when AM meant good music not loudmouthed bullies). So there are commercials, there are jingles, there’s just about everything on here. They wrote a jingle for “Heinz Baked Beans”! Pete wrote a two and a half minute song, the punchline of which is that if she had used Odorono deodorant, she would be famous today. (This also happens to be one of my favorite Who songs, the melody is really exquisite). There’s a jingle for zit cream; for the drums that Keith plays; for the strings that John uses. There’s a song fantasizing about what a girl with a “shaky hand” could do to a fella. And then there’s a fabulous song called “Our Love Was, Is” which is a beautiful and regretful song about lost love. It’s followed by a nifty little ditty called “Silas Stingy” which is as close to a children’s rhyme as you’ll hear from a classic rock band. (This is another Entwistle gem….and one would get the impression that Entwistle was the sole source of mirth in the band–this from the stoic bass player–but then you see some of the weirdness that Pete produced and you throw that idea out the window. The whole shebang ends with “Rael,” another small epic that is the inspiration behind some of Tommy. This is one of my favorite Who records of all time, hands down (This one and, perhaps perversely, Quadrophenia are my favorites).

Tommy. I’m not going to say much about this except to point out that this “opera” was a huge hit and it contains: child abuse, pedophilia, sadism, possible prostitution (what is going on in the “Acid Queen” anyway?), and, let’s not forgot the weirdest thing of all: pinball. How did this band write “Won’t Get Fooled Again?” Tommy is a pretty great piece if music, don’t get me wrong. In fact “Sparks” has such a great melody, I can barely stand it. But still….weirdo!

The Kids Are Alright. I only bring these up because we Netflixed the DVD after 25 years of wondering what it was like. The Kids Are Alright was fun to finally SEE what happened on the Smothers Brothers show (BOOM!), but perhaps I was burnt out on the Who by then and I got kind of bored of the somewhat lengthy concert footage. The interviews were fun to watch though.

Quadropehenia. Wow, is that really what the record I love so much is about? What a dark, gloomy movie. The bulk of which is a riot and its aftermath. I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed it, but It was good to watch it. I’m still not sure how it ties in with the record though.

[READ: July 28, 2007] Horseradish.

I wasn’t even aware of this book until my wife brought it home. This is a collection of Lemony Snicket’s pearls of wisdom, gathered, I believe, from his writings, lectures and speaking engagements or something like that. It is a pretty funny compendium of dour and misanthropic statements designed to amuse one and all. Some of them are laugh-out-loud funny. Other are smile-to-yourself funny.

I am especially fond of Snicket’s use of definition in his prose, a word here which means his books. He uses this conceit to very good effect in a number of his epithets. A good example: ‘It is always cruel to laugh at people, of course, although sometimes if they are wearing an ugly hat it is hard to control yourself.’ Since the book is written in a large type face, and most of the pages contain a paragraph or less, you can read the whole book in about 20 minutes. I loved the entirety of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even bought The Beatrice Letters because of the design of it. This will be the first Lemony Snicket book I won’t buy, but only because it was kind of insubstantial. I did enjoy it though, so take it out of your library or give it as a gift. It might be fun as a “quip of the day” for someone.