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Pinball Wizard



Hi there!  A very kind friend of mine, knowing of my passion for the Who,
bought me a video: "The 25th Anniversary of the Who's Tommy" or something
like that.  It contains interviews with everyone who was involved with
Tommy, from Bill Curbishly to Elton John.
        There's a quite I'd like to share, said by Pete, when asked about
the song "Pinball Wizard".

        A young and rising writer, Nik Cohn, came to hear the work of Tommy
in-progress.  He and Pete were friends who often played pinball together on
the weekends.
Pete: "I asked, 'Well?  What do you think?'
        He said, 'It's good, Pete.  Yup.  It's good.  Good.' [Pete does a
great impression]
        Kit said. 'Oh, come on, Nik; are we going to get a f------ good
review or not?' [another excallent impression by Pete]
        Nik said, 'It's good, it's good.'
        I could tell there was something wrong, so I took him outside and I
asked him, 'What's wrong?  What's the matter with it?'
        He said, 'Well, with all that mystical stuff it's kind of dull, and
actually a bit boring.'
        'Well, I just had this idea recently' I said. [about two seconds
ago] 'What if Tommy played pinball, and he became a pinball champion?  What
do you think of that?'
        He said, 'It's a masterpiece.' [Pete laughs]
        So, the most famous piece of Tommy was actually written as a catch
for Nik Cohn...  It should have unhinged the piece, but it actually
dignified it.  It's kind of perverse, really."
        Gotta love it.

JenniferD
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LONG LIVE ROCK!