genius

[thewho rocks <leb905@yahoo.com>]

Since the paradigm fuss seems out of the way, I had a couple more
things to say about genius.

>This makes me think of something Little Richard has been saying since
the late 60s.  That he and his contemporaries invented all rock and
that
everyone who came after just copied and twisted the stuff they created.

To copy and twist is the nature of genius.  It's all about seeing
something from a new perspective.


>I don't think Pete is capable of doing anything that will revive rock
in his mind, 

Pete/The Who did their twist, and in the process used up the unique
vision that produced their particular stream of rock and roll.  It's
been done now, and Pete is very aware of that.  TED are limited by
their background and experience from producing anything radically
different, so now they're in the same position as everyone else,
seeking through all the chaff for something to make their music seem a
little bit fresher.

Obviously they could have retired into obscurity and let the rock
legacy stand, but they're used to that role of founding genius, so they
get a little restless just sitting around the house.  It's a challenge
to see if the genius still works, and whether they can still produce
anything different.  So far, I'd say that yes, they can.

It's been a while since they've been out and about as a four-piece, and
there have been some changes in the music scene since 1982.  TED spent
some of the time experimenting with big band and orchestra formats, and
now when they take a look at the elements present they have more to
draw from.  They can twist classical, jazz and grunge the same way they
twisted Little Richard's brand of rock and roll.

It's Pete's particular brand of genius to channel popular culture.  He
listens and he looks around and he puts really radical things together,
but then Daltrey and Entwistle provide an additional twist.  I heard
some really strange things last summer.  One of them seemed to be
Impressionism, and some of the rest I couldn't identify.  I guess it's
Post-modernism, since that's the medium they work in, but who knows? 
It might be the tip of a whole new art movement for the 21st Century.


LB

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 
a year!  http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/