Teenager on "My Generation"

[Alan McKendree]

>Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2007 21:35:22 -0500 (EST)
>From: JOELTLE515 at aol.com
>
>In a message dated 3/4/2007 8:27:14 AM Eastern Standard Time,
>brianinatlanta2001 at yahoo.com writes:
>
>>  While many demonstrated passion at the concert I doubt they have for much
>>  else in this world, it struck me as sad. This tour de force of rebellion
>>  against the greater powers, lit brightly in the sixties and seventies, has
>>  retreated into empty words, sung by those who 
>>retreaed into their suits, proving the
>  > flower children to be more of a 'phase' than a revolutionary generation.
>
>man. my sentiments exactly.

Then you might be interested in the comment I 
couldn't resist posting to her blog:

It's surprising that you would have such a 
positive reaction to The Who's performance, yet 
be so disdainful and dismissive of their 
audienceŠgiven that The Who are older than most 
of that same audience. Yes, many have gray and/or 
thinning hair, and arthritis, and misunderstand 
their children, just as their parents before them 
did. If you're fortunate, you too might be old 
enough to have gray hair some day, and even 
children of your own to misunderstand. At that 
time, if you're even more fortunate, you too 
might still enjoy the songs and people who fill 
your life with excitement now.

Yes, many of The Who's generation did get jobs 
once they found that they needed a way to support 
themselves and raise families without burdening 
others. If you condemn, not jobs as such, but 
only jobs which involve working for a corporation 
and a day-to-day routine, I wish you luck in 
never having such a job. Believe me, the 
generation in question has had to wrestle with 
the ironies and outright mistakes involved in 
growing up, and greater commentators than you or 
I will judge how revolutionary they truly were.

As a teenager, you might not yet have had time to 
come across Pete's interview in which (at age 42) 
he explains that the line, "Hope I die before I 
get old", refers to a particularly toxic attitude 
he encountered as a teenager (an attitude that 
some might refer to as "smirking cynicism") 
rather than to a number or a calendar. In that 
same interview, he says, "'Do you realize why it 
is I'm so driven to operate within the 
Establishment? It's vengeance.'" It's a sentiment 
that the old bald guy next to you at that concert 
would recognize.

-- 
Alan
"the average Texan...carries not just a gun but a SHOTGUN."
     --Pete Townshend, 1967