The Who at McDonalds

["Brad Gray" <GRAY@genome.hsc.usc.edu>]

            On St. Patricks day, I was in a bar and started a 
conversation with someone about music.  He told me he was a big fan 
of The Beatles.  I said The Beatles music never did anything for me.  I 
could easily go through the rest of my life without ever hearing 
another song from The Beatles.  I told him one thing about the music 
of The Who that I really love is that I have never heard a musak
bastardized version of a Who song playing over the stereo of a 
McDonalds or a grocery store.  One of the main reasons I feel so 
happy to call myself a Who fan is that The Who were never accepted by 
the public at large.  They never won a Grammy, I don't believe they 
were ever even nominated.  I doubt if you did a random poll of people 
on the street if they could name all the members of Rock and Roll's 
Greatest Band.
      Being a Who fan has always made me feel I wasn't crazy if I 
fought against being a part of the mainstream.  As we all know, none 
of the members of The Who played their instruments in the "conventional 
way".  I believe this is one reason many people haven't become fans. 
I think most people like to be told what to like.  They expect a band 
to follow the rules.  When they run up against the raw violence and 
challenging lyrics that The Who put to tape, it is easier to just turn it off rather than 
listen to the cutting edge experimentation The Who did.  When Pete 
came out with "Psychoderelict", I thought he was very courageous to 
continue to try and push the boundaries.  Compared to what his 
contemporaries have put out lately, I think he is one of the few 
performers who haven't fallen into the trap of continuing to put out 
what is expected and accepted.  I hope he continues to force Rock and 
Roll in new directions.  I can honestly say I have a great love for 
everything he has put out to this point.