Re: good quote

["Scott Schrade" <schrade@akrobiz.com>]

> >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?

Both actually.  I just don't think Pete had Roger, John, & Keith in mind when he
wrote his songs.  If anything, he wrote solely for himself.  I guess he still does.

> 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.  

I believe that to but I bet if we asked Pete if that was true he'd angrily deny it.

> There was a time when he didn't give a damn whether it pleased Who fans or not.

He's probably more worried about reaction from his close friends & other rock
artists his age.  He's a fairly social person.  He gets out & about every now & then.
If the new studio Who album bombs badly he may be very embarrassed when 
he hangs with his pals.

(I just typed the word "embarrassed" &, like always, I ran to my dictionary to make 
sure I spelled it correctly.  I've been doing that for as long as I can remember.
You'd think I'd have memorized it by now!  Two r's & two s's.  Two r's & two s's.)

> Both these failings were about artistic integrity, not about pleasing the 
> fans.  Nobody can write to please the fans.  

Yeah, but I think you can have the public (fans) in mind when you create & still
come up with something decent.  But I know what you're saying.  You can't as
an artist overtly "gear your material to the audience."  (Obscure Steve Martin ref-
erence there.  Did you catch it, Gern?)

> It's that old story about trying to please everybody and ending up pleasing no-
> body.  It's what mainstream pop is all about these days.

Mainstream, yes.  But don't forget about all the hard-working non-mainstream
artists who are still (God, I almost wrote "keeping it real!") maintaining a certain
integrity.

I saw a band last weekend, the Gaza Strippers, with former Didjits guitar player
Rick Sims.  My God did he put his SG through the works!  Blazing!


- SCHRADE in Akron