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Re: Another Tricky Baba Song?




>Sir, you mention Baba but find the message in "Another Tricky Day" to be so
>unWho-like??  Wasn't one of Baba's favorite sayings "Don't Worry, Be Happy?"
> Isn't that in essence what "ATD" is saying as well?  And it certainly isn't
>unusual for Pete to say (or write) one thing and say something inconsistent
>later!  Yes, Pete wrote his fair share of depressing songs, but I always
>found so many more of his messages to be uplifting at their core, which may
>be why so many people say things like 'Quad saved my life.'   LMLOTD is one
>of those more hopeful songs from around the same period as ATD, and yet Pete
>was going through pure hell (some self-induced, some because of Keith's
>death, some because of Cincy) around this time, yet he could still find it
>within himself to write an upbeat song or two.


Rich B.:

I must say that you've got a good point there. I never thought about ATD in
regard to Baba. I suppose it could be interpreted that way, although lines
like: "This is no social crisis..." make it sound like Californian feel-good
type advice to me.
And yeah, Pete must have set the record for contadiction in the major Rock
Star catagory.
Let My Love has never been one of my favorite songs (although I cheered the
recognition it got Pete)...to me it's way too commercial. I liked A Little
Is Enough for its clever lines ("Your love is like heroin/This addict is
mellowing..."). But better yet (to me) are the songs Rough Boys, I Am An
Animal, Jools And Jim, Empty Glass, and Gonna Get Ya.
Ah, TOMMY just came up on the CD player. Very nice. Today I've got it loaded
with TOMMY, LAL, WN, and Taking The Capitol. Just to give the store some
atmosphere.
Well, enough of that. Just a bit of Who rambling. Back to the subject.
I don't really look at Pete's songs as upbeat or otherwise...because a good,
solid Rock song is upbeat to me anyway. I Can't Explain, for instance, is a
song of pain and confusion and yet I want to jump up whenever I hear it and
play my air-guitar. Waterloo Sunset, a most beautiful song, has an element
of celebration in it and yet I get sad and wistful when it's on. For me, at
least, upbeat has more to do with the music than the message therein. Call
me shallow, but that's how I'm affected by music. A lot of Rock music has a
negativity about it anyway...pain is sometimes the best catalyst for a great
song. Look at Clapton, who was at his best when addicted to heroin.
As far as lyrics and messages in music are concerned, I'm of the opinion
that most listeners (who care about such things) enjoy listening to songs
that don't teach or inform, but rather ones that echo what they already
believe or feel. I wouldn't mind some feedback on that, if anyone has any
thoughts...



                   Cheers                   ML

"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."  L. Long