No Subject

Beyond this, there are a couple of spots where Pete speaks directly to his 
younger fans.  Note the Godfather's lines:  "I have to be careful not to 
preach.  I can't pretend that I can teach, and yet I live your future out, 
by pounding stages like a clown, and on the dance floor broken glass, the 
bloody faces slowly pass--the empty seats in numbered rows, all belong to 
me, you know."

That's about what I see in the lyrics, but there's also a message in the way 
the "themes" are notated that speaks about relations within The Who.  Pete 
has indicated that the four personalities described by the piece represent 
the four members of The Who, which makes Quad into a story about their own 
experiences with life and youth.  Very nice, so far.  But then he labels 
some of the songs, and we get a look at the individual members of the group 
through his perspective.  This is a little harder for me to sort through, 
but some of it is clear enough and pretty ugly.  He calls Roger a "Helpless 
Dancer," certainly the spot Pete expects him to occupy within the band, but 
maybe a comment on Roger's tendency to automatic reactions, as well.  John 
is "Dr. Jimmy" which sort of makes you wonder what kind of ugly character 
and mean drunk John is.  Pete is "Love Reign O'er Me" which speaks about how 
dark and lonely life is to him, and how much he wants to get back 
home--painfully touching.  And then there's Keith--lately I've been thinking 
more about this one, since Roger is working on that movie.  Pete calls Keith 
the "Bellboy" and I wonder if that has to do with the fact that Keith could 
never rise above his own poor self-concept.

That's a lot to pack into a hour and a half, isn't it?  The thing's quite a 
masterpiece.  The little book that comes in the album set is very helpful in 
interpreting it.  It has a narrative at the beginning that seems the source 
of the MSG narrative.  I wonder if Pete might be prevailed upon to publish 
it separately.  The print is awfully tiny, and with a larger typeset it 
might come in at around 50-75 pages.  This would be a nice addition to his 
Eelpie offerings.


keets
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