Dear Friends,
I can’t believe it is the fifteenth of the month. That’s so weird to me. Crazy, even. Time is flying. The days are ticking off the calendar so fast that before we know it, 2025 will be here.
So, what.
Who cares?
It really doesn’t matter. Each day is just a day. 24 hours. Time is just a number. The important part is what you do with it. This is where my head is at right now.
I’m grateful for that way of looking at things. What can I do for someone else today? What can I do to be healthier and happier? What will this day offer that no other has ever offered before? We shall see.
*****
Yesterday was a good day. We had our Fall Festival and it was a lot of fun. Seeing the kids and some of their parents having a blast was just wonderful. It was good for my soul and it made me happy.
A few of my students from last year came up to say hello and that was really nice. Even a few from two years ago, too. I couldn’t remember everybody’s name, but they didn’t seem to mind. A few of them are so much taller. It was crazy to see.
We have a short time to make an impact on these kids and hopefully the impact is small and barely perceptible to them, but positive and lasting. If they take one thing from their time with me about being a good person, I have more than done my job.
Well, that and all the good math and writing and reading stuff. Throw in a little US History and some science and call it a day.
*****
If there is a better first song on any rock and roll record from the 1970s than “Baba O’Riley” then let it show itself now. For my money, I’ll take the first track from The Who’s 1971 banger, Who’s Next, every day of the week. As with many of the great songs I’ve written about this year, “Baba O’Riley” gets me every time. It’s one of those songs I can’t turn off, I can only turn it up.
The Who are probably my favorite band. It used to be the Butthole Surfers, but there came a point in my 30s where The Who overtook them. It’s really a matter of having to choose one, I am going to choose The Who because I can listen to them at any time and be happy with my choice. As hard as it is to admit it, I can’t do that with the Surfers anymore.
Who’s Next is a favorite of mine for many reasons. It is one of the first records by The Who that I bought on vinyl. The reason I bought it is another big piece of this puzzle and that is the song “Behind Blue Eyes.” A third is the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
Sprinkle on top of all this that the four members of The Who are among the best to ever do their thing in music history. Roger Daltrey is the weak link here and he’s an amazing lead singer. Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon were all virtuosos, so listening to this band as they were when they recorded this record is a privilege.
The whole record is fucking great. The combination of “Baba O’Riley” and “Bargain” makes for an epic ten minutes of rock music. In the words of Townshend as sung by Daltrey, “I call that a bargain, the best I’ve had.”
The lesser known “Love Ain’t for Keeping” is a nice little palate cleanser before Entwistle’s “My Wife” which I have always loved. I got to see him do the song live a couple of times. Once at Mesa Amphitheater with Ringo Starr’s Traveling All-Star Band and once at a solo gig at the Mason Jar. Both were epic.
“The Song Is Over” is one that Townshend sings and its always kind of touched my heart a bit. I like how he sings it so earnestly. It’s supposed to be about how the heart can heal, even after going through a lot of sadness. This seems to be a common theme for Townshend.
Side one is as strong as they come, but side two is just as beautiful and just as rockin’.
“Getting In Tune” is another underrated Who song. It takes a backseat to the other three songs it shares a side with, but if you give it a chance it holds its own. As a table setter, it works fantastically.
“Going Mobile” always makes me happy. Moon really shines on this one, too. His beat just keeps the song moving in a way that exudes pure joy. I would love to have had the chance to see him play live. Imagine being able to watch him from up close. It would have been amazing.
As I mentioned earlier, I bought this record because it has “Behind Blue Eyes” on it. This was my first true favorite Who song. It’s always made me think of my old friend, Josh, who died in a car accident. He looked a lot like Roger Daltrey at different times in his life. He became one of my favorite people in this life and then he was gone.
I always wanted to cover “Behind Blue Eyes,” too. It’s such a powerful tune. I love the versions where Townshend sings it, as well. You can hear the pain in his voice so clearly. “My love is vengeance that’s never free.”
“Won’t Get Fooled Again” is another one that is just a scorcher. You can hear the anger in the words and the organ and synth work from Townshend is every bit as good as his always stellar guitar. For an eight-minute song, it sure doesn’t feel it is nearly that long. I know the radio edit is almost five minutes shorter, but the album version still shines and shines and shines.
I could write about The Who for the next week and still not scratch the surface, but this record is so good that I had to write about it today.
“Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss.”
*****
See you tomorrow.
Sofa king weird, AI. Wow.
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