Re: RnR HOF 500 songs that shaped rock

[Jason Cliff <jcliff@deakin.edu.au>]

Hi..

On Tue, 5 Sep 1995, Alan McKendree wrote:

> At 10:49 9/5/95, Marc V Conte wrote:
> >Go to the MIrror Boy is a way of including all of Tommy.
> 
> I think this is a surprisingly well-thought-out choice.  I think this song
> is the climax of the work; it introduces the "Listening to You" theme for
> the first time (outside the Overture), which is set up by the parent's
> "What is happening in his head?" and that final suspenseful chord before
> the theme.  The introduction of GttM alone evokes the power and authority
> of the doctor's knowledge and wisdom; after an album side's worth of being
> dragged around to this or that huckster, finally Tommy is being taken to
> someone who knows what they are about and won't promise false remedies or
> hopes but does set him on the right track.  And then after the setup, the
> song launches into the ecstatic major-(power)-chorded anthem expressing
> Tommy's joy at seeing his own image in the mirror (not realizing that it is
> himself); this is the turning point, where he encounters the inspiration
> that will carry him through the rest of his illness and beyond.
> 
> Well done HoF.

Hey whoa back!  You're talking about how the song is a great 
representation of Tommy, not what a great influenece it has on other 
artists and it's musical significance.

Sure the song might have deep meaning, a crucial part of the "Opera" but 
I don't think it's as outstanding as a musical composition when you 
compare it to other works.

I don't want to engange in this is better than that etc... and I'm not 
saying that only the hit singles should be those considered.   The 500 
songs are meant to be charactertic of Rock's best, I think there 
are better candidates.

How many bands have started because members have heard GttM?  How many 
other inspiration rock songs have been written because of GttM?  How 
many people whislte the tune as they're driving?  Granted there must be 
some, but a small number I think.

My 2 cents.

Jason