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re: genesis reference



Defending Athena with a reference to Genesis. I knew that wasn't going to
fly. I will therefore beat it to death. To answer Vac's question, no I
wasn't trying to say Athena was good. My argument was merely that the song
didn't suck. By dragging in Genesis I trigger the reflex of about 95% of
WHO fans who define "sucks" as anything by Genesis. (Well, the fans I know
and love, anyway.) I have no problem with this but it helps to cloud my
meaning and apparently I need no help with that.

More to the point is that calling it Top 40 material, as I more or less
did, will also fit someone's definition of "sucks". But not mine.

Saying something sucks or is the worst means nothing more to me than that
the speaker didn't like it. It has no value to them. Which is just not
interesting -- until you find out WHY. So my comments on Athena were just a
way of saying the song shared characteristics with a lot of songs that made
tons of money  back in the days of 45s and AM radio. And a group with a
fairly bland vocalist might have made a ton of money with a melody like
Athena's, and its restrained backing track. Genesis as an example. Maybe
they suck, maybe they don't. Certainly they can take a great WHO song and
kill it dead. But no way could Phil Collins take a WHO song that supposedly
"sucks" and make a hit single out of it, as I'm claiming would happen if
Daltrey's vocal were replaced by his and sent out over the airwaves.

If nothing else, and there's plenty else, nothing sucks that has the
powerful effort that Daltrey gave to Athena and to the rest of that album.

Clear as mud?

-- Rich I.

** still lurking about ***
        -- D. Duck