Re: Only teenage wasteland

[THRH79B@prodigy.com ( K D GILES)]

I figure I've been quiet for long enough, it's time to subject you 
all to MY theories on "Baba O'Riley".  Who better qualified than me 
to interpret this song?  Lots of people, actually, but I have got two 
things in my favor - a large stack of Who books at my elbow, and the 
advantage of living in a teenage wasteland myself.

"There are regular people, but they're the scum off the surface; 
there's a few farmers there, that's where the thing from 'Baba 
O'Riley' comes in.  It's mainly young people who are either farmer's 
kids whose parents can't afford to buy them experience suits; then 
there's just scum, like these two geezers who ride around in a 
battered-up old Cadillac limousine and they play old Who records on 
the tape deck. . .I call them Track fans." - Pete Townshend, original 
source of quote unknown by me, but taken from "The Who" by John 
Swenson

That explains most of it, doesn't it?  "Baba O'Riley" is about the 
teenaged farm kids stuck on the surface of the planet sometime in the 
future.  They "fight" for their meals in that they have to work the 
land to keep themselves fed.  It is implied that something has gone 
wrong with the planet (high radiation levels, I'd guess), making such 
farm work much harder than it is today.  That's why everyone who can 
afford to is living underground.
Anyway, these farm kids eventually get together and head south 
towards London, where Bobby is having his fabulous transcendental 
rock and roll show.  The "scum" from "Goin' Mobile" is probably going 
that way as well.
The "they" in "they're all wasted" is meant to refer to the more 
privileged folks living below ground, happily plugged into their 
experience suits.  Before we pass judgement on these people, it might 
be wise to take a look at the machine you're reading this message on 
right now.  Let he who is without an Internet connection cast the 
first stone.

Oh yes, I do have two specific responses to Greg Marsh's "Lifehouse" 
post:

>I think he blamed Terrence Stamp (or somebody like that) for leaving 
right
>after Tommy for that very reason.  Pete had a conformable symbiotic
>relationship with a lively exchange with Stamp until the end of 
Tommy,
>leaving Pete's grandiose plans unrealized.

I think you mean Chris Stamp, not Terrence Stamp.  They are brothers, 
so I can see how you could get them mixed up.  Terrence is the actor, 
and Chris is the one who managed the Who.  But it wasn't Chris who 
had Pete upset, it was Kit Lambert.  The notes to the reissued "Who's 
Next" go into this in more detail, so anyone who's curious about this 
situation should take a look at those.  I just didn't want anyone to 
lose sleep wondering about the nature of Pete's relationship to 
Terrence Stamp!

>Hell, I say we all get together and make our own Lifehouse!  Forget
>Townshend.  I sincerely believe there is enough ideas, creativity 
and
>talent among the folks on this mailing list to put together one fine 
piece
>of work...who's up for it?

I think that is a wonderful idea.  Between all the artists, writers, 
and musicians on the list, we could produce a multimedia extravaganza.
  Perhaps everyone's work could be collected and turned into a book, 
or a webpage, or a CD-ROM. . .so many possibilities!

-Yellow "Put out the fire" Ledbetter