Thanks! It’ll probably turn up eventually. It was hilarious!
Was the book John G. Fuller’s Are the Kids Alright? If so, his thesis was actually even dumber than you remember – it was basically that rock music is inherently evil and inevitably leads to violent/suicidal behavior. The book does contain what seems like a pretty well-researched description of the events surrounding the tragedy in Cincinnati, but then the author goes off into serious woo-woo territory, including psedoscientific “evidence” for the destructive power of the short-short-long drum beat.
I thought it was decent. Honestly, there have been way worse halftime shows. They were certainly better back in the day. I agree with the sentiment that the band should no longer be called the Who. For me, the Who wasn’t just Daltrey and Townshend, it was also Moon and Entwistle, so I felt like what I was watching wasn’t really the Who, just a two-man show with some back-up members on rhythm. Their voices have changed a lot, but Townshend can still play guitar with enough swagger. I was vaguely disappointed that they didn’t play “Magic Bus” or “My Generation”. Too bad they couldn’t have just played a song or two, as opposed to taking their works and juxtaposing one over the other (that just cheapens the experience). It’s kind of sad that instead of being able to choose a modern band, they had to pull what was essentially a 60s/70s act back on stage. I have no disrespect for Daltrey or Townshend, but the idea of getting them to play almost feels like it’s out of pity for them.
For what it’s worth, I’m just glad they didn’t get Black Eyed Peas. If you have to advocate a more modern band over the Who, that’s fine with me, but if I have to hear “Good Day” or whatever it’s called again, I’ll kill someone.
Apparently Kenny Chesney wants to do the halftime show next year. There’s also an interesting bit in this post discussing an article in Reuters in which one of the decision-makers for the NFL talks about the criteria for selecting an act for the halftime show.
I keep insisting that since the lead guitarist and vocalist of The Who survive and the bassist and drummer of The Beatles survive, they should be forced by law to join together as a proper four-piece band.
It’s nice that they still want to play something. The stage was fantastic! Pete needs to concentrait on sit ups a bit more.
I don’t get why these guys haven’t really done anything since the early years. Other bands have split up or lost members and managed to continue in their careers adding good material to their catalog now and again. Jimmy Page is releasing an album and a tour soon. So what happened to The Who?
Maybe it’s just been too much time swinging for the fences instead of just writing what’s in your heart for Pete.
The Who did officially break up in 1982. They regrouped for various reunion tours and then finally decided to continue as a live act, but Townshend wasn’t interested in doing new Who material. However, they have actually added to their catalog in recent years. They included two new tracks on their 2004 compilation Then and Now and released an entire new album in 2006, Endless Wire.
*I’m not sure what you mean by this, but Townshend did continue writing after the breakup of the Who and was active as a solo artist through the 1980s and '90s.
