I swear I’ll NEVER be able to keep that straight. And it’s not a nitpick- spelling matters to some of us.
I’m one of those people who maintain that Pete, a mediocre guitarist at best (far more entertaining to watch than to hear) was in fact the timekeeper, rhythm guitar being the only style thing he was good at. Keith in his prime played a mix of “lead drums” and rhythm, with John essentially providing “lead bass.” Pete’s ego and inflated sense of his own importance/significance was impressive.
I have to wonder… is it impossible for a band to sound good with a bad guitarist? A bad bassist? A bad singer?
I would think so. I would think a band can’t be considered “good” if one of their members is considered “bad” at what they do.
The Sex Pistols beg to differ. Not to mention that there is an endless list of bad singers (most of whom at least have the talent to be front people). And believe me, a rhythm guitarist can be so far back in the mix, standing at the back of the stage plucking out two or three notes, barely even mattering and he could be in a superstar band (James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) I’m looking at you).
If any member of the band is so bad that it’s noticeable, sure, any instrument can sink the whole thing. But a mediocre rhythm guitarist is different than a meh drummer.
Think of it this way: In my band, if the keyboard feed went out in the middle of a song (assuming it wasn’t a super key-centric tune), we’d still sound okay. People might not even notice. If the drummer stopped playing? Nope.
Harsh guys, harsh 
. I don’t think Townshend is ‘mediocre’, I think he is a perfectly good guitarist, who is maybe just not great guitar-hero he was sometimes cast as back in the day (at least to read old articles). I tend to reserve the term mediocre for some scrub playing off notes in a bar band in Topeka. When I hear criticism like that I think of people tearing guys like Peter Buck or Jack White because they can’t shred like Yngwie.
Similarly with Iha - he’s not bad. He’s well below Corgan’s level of technical proficiency to be sure, but Corgan is pretty talented. But he’s at least competent at least live he wasn’t always relegated to a little background strumming. I mean he is playing the solo here:
And to bring the thread full-circle: that’s what a good drummer can do for a band’s sound – monstrous, but still tight.
Sure, the band sounds rubbish if the drums are out of tune. 
Seriously of course everyone gets the joke. F demented…
Jimmy Chamberlain is an incredible drummer! Unbelievably good.
Now that we’ve discussed Mo Tucker a few times…may I share a minor hijack?
I enjoy VU a great deal. I’ve always wondered what it would have been like to date one of Mo Tucker’s kids (there were five) when they were teens. You would have probably known her as “Mrs. Tucker” or even “Maureen.” She seems like a pretty average person, maybe a bit too conservative for me, but basically a Georgia mom. Then one day you notice a picture on the wall and say, “Wait a minute! Your MOM is Mo Tucker? The Mo Tucker?!?” I’m pretty sure her kid would roll eyes and say, “Yeah, I guess.”