[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: More lyrical sparring



> I'm offering the theory that the lyrics to "Baba O'Riley" are spontaneous 
> and the lyrics to "I've Known No War" are considered.

I'm offering the theory that you're wrong.  *Maybe* some of the early, early
simpler songs have "spontaneous" lryics ("Can't Explain," "My Generation,"
"AAA") but once Pete realized he was going to have to write the bulk of the
material for this group, he settled into a meticulous, comprehensive routine
of creating the songs.

Why would a man who goes to great lengths just to make a *demo* of a possible 
song be so flippant & haphazard with the lyrics?  It's obvious that once Who albums
started being made Pete made the commitment to spend a great amount of his time
& energy in crafting these songs.  

Pete's an intelligent man.  I refuse to believe that for the first ten years of The Who's
career Pete placed the music first & regarded his lyrics as secondary.  The way that
man likes to talk & articulate......no way.

> Remember that Pete was/is famous for nebulous, crazy ideas that take a 
> little management to pull into a coherent rock opera.  Kit Lambert is said 
> to have organized TOMMY,

But Pete's the one who *wrote* it!

> Didn't "Pinball Wizard" take all of five minutes to write?  

Perhaps the song structure, but I doubt the music *and* the lyrics were finished
in five minutes.

> I don't think he considered any of that stuff.  It's pure talent.

"Crazy keets" we're gonna start calling you!  "Pure talent" often requires a lot of 
hard work.

> Cleverness can often be only a shallow, surface trick.  It takes depth to 
> produce something that resonates and feels right to an audience.

Yet you say the early lyrics are "spontaneous" & not as deep as the later lyrics.
Maybe it's the other way around!


- SCHRADE in Akron