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Gearóid's avatar

Really great review!

I've heard it said that The Who was a band with 4 frontmen, and it sits right with me. I know what you mean about how Entwhistle can be misperceived (if that's a word) because of how he just stands there looking bored and unengaged compared to the theatrics of the other 3, but anyone who has seen this footage of him performing We Won't Get Fooled Again could hardly describe him as a sideman! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80dsyo2Ox-0

As an aside, I think a great thesis or indeed BBC4 documentary is waiting to be made on the impact of art colleges on English music in the 60s. Is there an English group of cultural significance from the 60s in particular (but also beyond) that didn't have at least 1 member attend an art college at that pivotal moment when their creative awakening occurred?

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Kaiden Polanski's avatar

Excellent review.

From the first time I heard this album, I held the slightly controversial opinion that The Kids Are Alright > My Generation. Increasingly, I'm seeing more people start to share this belief; perhaps Kids just aged better than My Generation.

When I saw The Who live in 2017, Roger introduced Kids by relating a personal story: that he had gotten a girl pregnant, and had to choose between marrying her and settling down, or continuing with the band. He obviously chose the latter. I have no idea if this story related at all to Pete writing it, or even if it's true. But since then, I have viewed the song as a somber abandonment anthem. The protagonist hasn't been abandoned; he is the one reluctantly doing the abandoning, trying to convince himself that he's making the right decision.

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