Re: The Who Mailing List Digest V3 #617

Yellow, what kind of school do you go to with a class like that?  High school
or college?  Anyhow, based solely on song selection, I think you should
probably go the route of playing the popular stuff to some degree, yet also
try to vary it.  It's almost a rule that you play "My Generation" because
that's the song that even the completely illiterate associate with the Who.
 And then probably just one song each from Tommy, Leeds, Who's Next, and
Quad.  "Pinball Wizard" is perhaps the safest bet off Tommy. Leeds is hard to
choose, maybe "A Quick One" to show the early stages of the rock opera (or
you could play the studio version), or "Substitute" would be another good
choice.  "Baba O' Reilly," "Won't Get Fooled Again," or "Behind Blue Eyes,"
it's really a toss up; you make the call.  For Quadrophenia maybe "The Real
Me," "5:15," or "Love Reign O'er Me."  I'm being quite indecisive, and I
don't envy the choice you have to make.  Here's my personal final list:
1.  My Generation
2.  A Quick One
3.  Substitute (Live)
4.  Pinball Wizard
5.  Baba O' Reilly
6.  The Real Me
So what if it's six, you should probably throw in something later, too, from
their post-Quad, pre-Keith's death albums.  Or just play everything until the
teacher threatens you.  Make it a week long presentation.

Long Live Rock (There's another good one!),
Justin Martin

P.S.  I can't tell you why for any of these over any others, but if you want
validation for anything specific just ask.  I think the key is to show as
many different facets and time periods of the Who's music while still
maintaining some kind of popular thread.  Or just play "Boris the Spider,"
"Christmas," "Pictures of Lily," and "Cut My Hair" and say to hell with what
everybody else thinks.  Of course a good argument could be made for those
too.