RE: degeneration of rock

["L. Bird" <pkeets@hotmail.com>]

> > Unfortunately, I think much of it is just Pete's rationalization for not 
>being able to continue his own creative output post-1973.  His ego is 
>unmatched when it comes to discussing the stuff The Who recorded MG-Quad.  
>As with most generalizations, it just doesn't hold water IMO.
>
>In what way do you mean? That rock continued into new areas after
>Quadrophenia but Pete failed to keep up? That The Who did break new ground 
>after 1973 but Pete refuses to see it? The question, as always, is okay 
>it's 1974 and you're in Pete's shoes. What do you do now? What do you do 
>with The Who that you haven't done before? Will the band let you do it? 
>Will the fans put up with it?

The question becomes: What is the role of the founding geniuses once the 
rock music movement is completely explored?

All genius is based on putting together cultural elements that are present, 
but ignored by the great body of traditional practitioners.  Einstein found 
enough information within the patent applications to put together 
Relativity, but even though he searched, he couldn't find the material for 
the next big shift.  Other geniuses (like Newton) contributed to several new 
movements because of (I gather) roving minds.

Rock music didn't come from any one particular source, so there was more 
than one stream within the movement.  A number of bands and/or musicians 
made an early contribution and then dropped out, having exhausted their 
creativity.  But others had enough drive to continue on and provide a 
blueprint for development.  From the British Invasion, the big three bands 
pretty much established their own directions and maintained them, but they 
all ran into that wall in the seventies where the initial push was over and 
they started rehashing old ideas.  The Beatles dropped out, and The Stones 
continued on, but with only a show and not much substance.

The Who's genius isn't just Pete, but he is very much aware of the cultural 
and artistic background against which he works.  In the seventies he WAS 
carrying the load of leadership, and the burden of producing new material 
for the cycle of album and tour.  He declared rock dead and he was right.  
But I think The Who continued to break new ground, because what they did was 
to leave the rock music genre and move into the music field in general.  I 
don't consider WHO ARE YOU to be rock music, and FACE DANCES and IT'S HARD 
(though under-developed) had  similar qualities.  The move provided The Who 
immediately with a broader base to draw from and an opportunity for further 
creativity, but also caused a rift that contributed to their (near) demise.

It seems to me that the popular music scene has broadened a lot since the 
1950s, or even the seventies.  Music has always been limited by distribution 
problems, and artists in reaching an audience that might appreciate their 
work.  These days we seem to be in an environment where "world music" is 
becoming the background, and new media provide opportunity that allows 
artists and audiences to find one another--but of course there are problems. 
  There is a bewildering array of artists to choose from and questions of 
how to find an audience, but likely options like Napster will continue to 
arise.

So The Who has been on hiatus, and the individual members have had a chance 
to experiment and solidify their own musical voices.  I think the 
opportunities for further creativity are open.  The audience is more 
fragmented, but reachable.  From where we are, it's difficult to see that 
there will be any more grand movements like jazz or rock.  All the movements 
seem to be on a smaller scale these days, but there are pockets of 
creativity.

Pete is justifiably proud of his own, and the band's, contribution to the 
rock music genesis, and he knows when it was over.  BUT, The Who remains a 
singular voice.  I've never heard any music like they produced in the jams 
last summer.  Their genius is still alive.


keets
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