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Re: good quote
> > They said they always write their songs for the band, because writing
>songs for fans would be the worst kind of sellout. Not bad, huh? I think
>they've put their finger on the key to artistic integrity, as opposed to
>commercialism.
>
>Booo! Bad quote. Bad quote. How then do you reconcile Pete's statements
>saying his entire career was spent writing for those acquaintances from his
>youth? Documenting they're growth & maturity in parallel with his?
Writing "for" or "about" them?
>Or are you saying Pete has *lost* all integrity & *embraces* commercialism?
No, but he's lost his way--he keeps saying he doesn't know how to write for
The Who any more. I think what he means is he doesn't know how to please
Who fans. There was a time when he didn't give a damn whether it pleased
Who fans or not. He just wrote it, the band filtered it, and the fans
either liked it or didn't.
There'a a pretty broad spread in taste among Who fans, and several folks
have said on the lists that they had to grow into some of the albums.
Still, they're all very solid until the last two. The albums have universal
things to say, and carry The Who spirit very well.
It was those last couple of Who albums that shook Pete's confidence in what
they were doing, of course. But I think in both cases the filter failed.
They didn't like the final result in FACE DANCES before the album was
issued, and Pete was impatient to get IT'S HARD out when the band said it
still wasn't ready to go.
Both these failings were about artistic integrity, not about pleasing the
fans. Nobody can write to please the fans. It's that old story about
trying to please everybody and ending up pleasing nobody. It's what
mainstream pop is all about these days.
keets
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