Re: The Who Mailing List Digest V7 #272

[lewinski@icanon.com (Joe Lewinski)]

Derick wrote:

>Ever since the emergence of 'Punk' the NME in particular have given
The Who a hard time which was a complete turn about from that paper's
previous attitude to the band.I have come to expect this from the NME. (The 
Who could do no wrong before).
The writers,Roy Carr,Charles Shaar Murray and one or two others were
the type of recognised,respected rock journalist that could write a very
good,objective review. I think Pete is probably right about this person
that wrote the article. I stopped reading NME many years ago,not because
of any article trashing The Who, trash away you're free to do so,but
because there's a double standard somewhere in there.
They proclaim that The Who should fade away for whatever reasons,but
can much of the music that they write about be considered all that good?
Their 'youngish' attitude means that only people or bands in their early 
20's are any good ? Oh please ! The NME made a frigging living off
The Who for many a year,especially during the Daltrey and Townshend
feuding period,and Keith's looning they must have sold millions of papers 
back then! They
simply could not get enough Who,often sending writers to New York or
Paris to report back with pictures and articles. As I 've said before,
to all those idiots who don't understand,What would you have The Who do ? 
You want them do fade away,die,retire,whatever? What would you have
them do ? They are Musicians,they,play,create,perform,it's what they do
best. What would you have them do ? Should 'Rock Journalists' careers
be over by the time they are 30 or older ? No. So why should The Who
end their career because the NME says so. What a load of old bollocks!
The 16,000 or more inside MSG were not forced to go there,they went
there because they love the band,appreciate great music and know that
class is class and that The Who are in a class that nobody can ever
aspire to.
Regards,
Derick.

Derick:   I don't know you, but you have written a well-timed and 
intelligent post.  It reminds me of a quote by Keith Richards
when asked why he was still performing at his age.  He said:
"You wouldn't have asked me this if I were black."  The music critic
understands that being a musician is a legitimate carreer.  The
rock critic often seems to miss this, and comes off appearing
as a hypocrit.   There are exceptions to every rule, but I find those
who follow fads eventually become infected by them.  The Who were never
a fad.  They are real!   The best live rock act should perform as often
as they are comfortable doing so.

Thanks for the reminder.

Joe