WhoFluence. Part 3: The Who And An Early Form Of Punk

The Who And An Early Form Of Punk

The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Clash, and The New York Dolls, are considered to be the original and the only legitimate punk bands. They are credited with starting the whole genre in the 1970’s out of angst and aggression against society. Their lyrics reflect views of aggression and anger against those that they consider “the establishment”. None of these bands fit the category more than the Sex Pistols.

The Sex Pistols debuted in a socialistic Britain seething with political repression and high taxes, that gave birth to a lot of anger and angst that a lot of young people were feeling at the time. The Sex Pistols sang about this anarchy and hating things the way that they were.

This anger and aggression was also later seen in the 1990’s with the birth of grunge bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins. Grunge is characterized by dirty guitar riffs, lyrics that look inward and reflects on self loathing of ones self but yet they still seem proud of who they are. The Who song “My Generation” is a perfect example of this.

“My Generation” was released in 1965 and was the most significant song released that decade. It gave a preview of what was to come not only for the Who but for the rest of rock music for the next ten years and on. It was a three minute and four second statement to the world of who the Who really were. With its lyrics of alienation, its fast paced tempo and upbeat energy with its feedback and breakdown in the last thirty seconds of the song, “My Generation” said it all for the Who and for the generation of the sixties. Perhaps the biggest lyrical middle finger comes from the last line of the opening verse which says “I hope I die before I get old” and yet goes on to say that it’s just “my generation baby” as if it’s no big deal. It’s just the way that things are. (The previous line is rather ironic when you think about the sixties generation. Many young celebrities all died of a rather young age such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and age 27)

Not only were the lyrics a hit in the face to the listener but the music was as well. The guitars are fuzzy, the bass is raunchy, the drums are everywhere, and the vocals are almost a bluesy grumble that makes you believe that it’s your generation that he’s talking about even after forty one years after the songs initial release. Indeed “My Generation” could still be heard in other artists after twelve years of its release.

One of these artists was the Sex Pistols. With their song “Anarchy in the U.K”. In the very first line of the song vocalist Johnny Rotten screams “I am an Anti-Christ”. That is the John 3:16 of the punk movement. They were anti establishment and anti socialist Britain at the time, and they credited the Who as being one of their influences. When you listen to “My Generation” you do hear many punk overtones that would later come into being through bands such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash. The Sex Pistols even played Who songs in their sets (Savage 126). Being “in” with the punk crowd wasn’t really a must-have, however it was nice to be recognized by a younger generation. This is something that bands like Queen longed for, but never achieved. However just as soon as the punk movement had begun, it quickly died out by 1981 and, yet again, just like the new wave artists of the 1980's The Who outlived the generation that they helped give birth too.

However, Keith Moon did not get to see his influence for the next generation of drummers. He died in the summer of 1978 of an overdose on pills given to him to try and help wean him off of the alcohol that he had been so addicted to for most of the decade. With these pills (called hemineverin) no alcohol was to be consumed whatsoever, and only two of the pills were to be taken a day. However, before attending a party thrown by Paul McCartney for his new film about Buddy Holly, Keith took more than the recommended dosage of the pills and consumed one glass of wine.

The next morning when Keith and his girlfriend, Annette Walter-Lax, awoke, Keith said that he wasn't feeling well and wanted a steak. Annette, not wanting to make Keith upset due to his temper tantrums, went and made Keith his steak and brought it to him in his room. He ate it quickly, gave his plate to her and then while she went back to put it in the kitchen, he had already fallen back asleep and was snoring loudly. Not wanting to be in the room with him she moved to the living room and slept on the couch. She later woke up at about three in the afternoon. She went to go check on Keith and what she saw was something that she had always expected yet still wasn't prepared when it did. Keith Moon had died (Fletcher 546).

This shocked the band, his family, his loved ones, and Keith's ex-wife to the point that her hair fell out (Fletcher 550). The music world and the legion of Who fans mourned the death of the most notable member of the Who. And with his death, it signaled the end of the Who as far as their influential period. After Moon's death Small Faces drummer, Kenney Jones, was named drummer of the band. However fans, critics, and even Roger himself hated him because he couldn't live up to the drumming of Keith. The Who released two official albums with Kenney on drums. The pop album Face Dances in 1981and the stadium rock filled, yet emotionally detached, It's Hard in 1982. These albums were a pitiful way for a band to bow out, yet their influence was still heard on after their demise.

These influences are countless. The Marshall cabinet sound is known throughout the world and was first pioneered by the Who. The standard rock sound of today was also built off of the stepping stone that the Who laid down in the 1960's and the early 1970's. They were later heard in the 1970's movement of punk and bands such as the Sex Pistols and their songs of alienation, the 1980's movement of new wave and artists such as Blondie and their use of synthesizers, and the 1990's movement of grunge and artists such as Nirvana with their aggression and anger. The Who outlived all of these movement and their music is still being played to this day. The Who's invention of the rock opera and the concept album is still heard today with such artists as Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age, and was even heard in the 1970's with such bands as Pink Floyd and their albums Dark Side of the Moon, and their concept album about isolation titled The Wall were both albums strongly influenced by the Who’s use of storytelling.

However if you are not satisfied with any of the above artists listed, you can still see the remaining members of the Who (Jon Entwistle died of a cocaine induced heart attack in 2002) play on tours every few years. This year Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey with the band that backs them up will be touring throughout the U.K. and the United States from June through January of this year. There is even of a new Who album that is to be title Who2 that many optimists say will be out in November of this year. And not only are tours and albums in the books for the Who, Mike Meyers is slated to play Keith Moon in a biopic due out in 2007 that will be produced by Roger Daltrey and his production company Spitfire Productions (Gilbert)

So even after almost twenty six years of the Who that many fans consider to be the only Who, they are still played on radio all over the world, they are still selling out venues on tours that have been off and on ever since 1989 (1989 being the Tommy tour and 1996-1997 being the Quadrophenia tour), and recording music (The Who 11). These are things that the Sex Pistols, Nirvana, and Pink Floyd aren't doing anymore. This proves that the Who are, and always will be timeless.

So the next time that you turn on your radio and listen to a song, close your eyes, put your ear to the music and you are sure to hear something that is in one way or another influenced or brought on by the Who. Either it will be a loud song with big instruments and equipment, or it will be a thoughtful artistic visionary song that has roots in Tommy. Or maybe it will be a "My Generation" song with a message that gives a middle finger to everything that is accepted and believed to be true. No matter what song it is the Who lives on inside of it.

Bibliography

Albright, Randy (Lecturer). (2001). Z301:1967 And Monterey .IUPUI school of music

Fletcher, Tony. Moon: The Life And Death Of a Rock Legend. New York: Harper Entertainment, 1999

Gilbert, Pat. "From Despair to Where?" MoJo. February 2006: 147

Guitar Legends: The Ultimate Guide To Green Day. (2005).Guitar Legends (USA) 81.

Hiatt, Brian. “Music Tanks in ‘05” Rolling Stone. January 26, 2006: 992.

Leaf, David. Pet Sounds historical essay, Pet Sounds. (Capitol (D) T 2458. 2001)

Levy, Joe. Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Album’s of all Time. New York. Werner’s Books, 2005.

“Mod (lifestyle)”. Wikipedia.(28 March 2006) 4PP. 30 March 2006

Savage, Jon. England’s Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond. New York. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2001.

“The Who”. Wikipedia. (10 March 2006) 10 March 2006

Comments

[Jackolas]

Too bad the sex pistols weren't punk but a manufactered band focusing around selling a new style of clothes. Hense why they split when they found out. Heh.

[ss311]

Get a life, that's not true. Get to the punk forum and ask for the facts.

[letter 27]

too bad Jackolas knows nothing about punk, good article though

[RockFreak000]

Great article

[Mcut202]

He doesn't know a thing about punk. The article was interesting though.

[fetusbrains07]

good article

there should have been more on quadrophenia in this series

[Shorrock]

fetusbrains07 wrote:

good article

there should have been more on quadrophenia in this series

hell yeah

[frigginjerk]

i love the who, but man oh man... the sex pistols piss me off. they recorded about 15 songs or less over their entire career, yet it's somehow possible to buy over 75 different sex pistols cd's, records, best-of compilations, live cuts, etc, etc, etc... and i know it's a cliche thing to rip on them for, but they were put together by a fashion designer in order to make his new style of clothing popular to the young kids. and on top of that, they didn't play very well anyways. gotta love how the british music scene can polish turds until they're regarded as music legends.

[frigginjerk]

okay, more than 15 songs, but but nowhere NEAR enough to warrant as much merchandise as they have

[Kadaj]

I haven't read it yet, but if he mentions Green Day again I'm gonna go batshit.

[pe_666]

Kadaj wrote:

I haven't read it yet, but if he mentions Green Day again I'm gonna go batshit.

well dont bother reading it then , btw very nice end to a line of interesting articles!

[selloutpunx]

jackolas is pretty accurate actually.
you realize that the sex pistols broke up in the middle of a show because they couldn't stand each other so much that they couldn't even share the stage anymore. i've seen bands wait longer to release a follow up album than the span of the sex pistols brief existence. terrible band, not to mention there were a lot more 'original and authentic' punk bands than the four you listed, you probably just never heard about them. you listed the four most mainstream bands of the genre in the late 70s.

[guitar_lvr]

if they come 2 minnesota im gonna see them. WHOO!

[Nilcerise]

does this guy have friends at all like how is the who a form of punk at all what a complete dumbass

guitar_lvr wrote:

if they come 2 minnesota im gonna see them. WHOO!

where in minnesota are you from?

[SydBarretLives]

too bad the Kinks started punk rock buddy. You really got me came out before my generation.

[The_Elitist]

Guitar Legends: The Ultimate Guide To Green Day. (2005).Guitar Legends (USA) 81.

I still don't get what that's about...

[OneillforReal]

Lets not forget what was probably the first bass solo in pop music.

[Strat_Monkey]

too bad the Kinks started punk rock buddy. You really got me came out before my generation.

Beat me too it man, yeah totally, The Kinks wrote piss-simple power-chord driven songs like You Really Got me and All Day and All of the Night, which have two and three chords respectively, before My Generation came out.

[guitar_lvr]

Nilcerise wrote:

does this guy have friends at all like how is the who a form of punk at all what a complete dumbass

guitar_lvr wrote:

if they come 2 minnesota im gonna see them. WHOO!
where in minnesota are you from?

i live in stillwater

[dustafust]

I think its pretty funny when people dis punk... and then everyone gets all offended.....

Anyways.. I think it would really contribute to the intellectual-ness of these post boards if everyone would read the the article, and connect enough brain cells to understand what was said....

Nilcerise wrote:

does this guy have friends at all like how is the who a form of punk at all what a complete dumbass

if you read the ****ing article, you would know, even if you didn't agree with it, you would know what he was talking about. Now go die before you reproduce and poison the world with more of your ignorance.

[iamjoedonegan]

For the record...I comepletely agree with dustafust. Me being a fan of both punk and bands like The Who, people you need to stop being so goddamn ignorant when it comes to punk. The article merely stated that the Who was an influence to the punk rock bands of the time. The song My Generation discusses many of the same things that both classic and modern punk songs do. Even the more modern punk bands like Flogging Molly and The Street Brats talk about the hard times that their generation went through. Its a comparison, and an attempt to show how influential The Who really was. Its similar to someone trying to explain how the Greasers in the fifties were the 'origional punks' because they were the rebels. Or when someone trys to link Johnny Cash to the popular 'emo' bands/songs of today. So for all you dumbasses out there...learn to read and comprehend.

[Church!]

Yeah the whole idea of what the who were trying to get across was through the lyrics not the riffs and crap so i dont wanna hear shit about the kinks and their chords, this article is trying to show what message the who was giving off about how they felt about society and kinda rebel through song...laying part of the foundation for the whole idea of punk rock.

Checked.

[mareki]

punk is idiot society and culture ever exist in this world..they taught they can change a world...if u say u can change the world around u..go and make ur own country..off course u all cannot ..weaker..the most scum humans ever exist in this world..useless absolutely useless..go to hell....

[Jackolas]

frigginjerk wrote:

i love the who, but man oh man... the sex pistols piss me off. they recorded about 15 songs or less over their entire career, yet it's somehow possible to buy over 75 different sex pistols cd's, records, best-of compilations, live cuts, etc, etc, etc... and i know it's a cliche thing to rip on them for, but they were put together by a fashion designer in order to make his new style of clothing popular to the young kids. and on top of that, they didn't play very well anyways. gotta love how the british music scene can polish turds until they're regarded as music legends.

THANKYOU!

I bet alot of the posters are americans who were told like "Oh dteh cex pistolz!!11111"

Oh better bands include the clash, sham 69, cock sparrer, and I won't name anymore cause thats probably a good enough list for 1 day for most of em.

[Jackolas]

Okay maybe my above comment was a little harsh but I am fed up of hearing about the sex pistols when there are much better bands more deserving of the praise.

[sweet_leaf_777]

Cock Sparer!! Yes! England belongs to me is the only song you will ever need lol. Seriously, the article seemed more opinion than fact, and if punk comes up in discussion Iggy and the Stooges need to be mentioned as being 'proper' proto-punk or whatever you want to call it. I don't see how artists trying to cash in on a brand name for years after they release 'classic' material makes them some sort of legends, I don't think the Who has as much of an influence on bands being anti-establishment as the economic or foreign policies of a country do, other people would have moved to Marshall stacks anyway and ?No matter what song it is the Who lives on inside of it?? Come on, that?s just corny.

[stratman13]

too bad the Kinks started punk rock buddy. You really got me came out before my generation.
[quote]


Beat me too it man, yeah totally, The Kinks wrote piss-simple power-chord driven songs like You Really Got me and All Day and All of the Night, which have two and three chords respectively, before My Generation came out.

That doesn't mean that the Kinks invented punk. Most bands had simple, power chord driven songs back then. That's part of the point original punk movement: to hearken back to simpler music. It was a reaction to Jimmy Page's 11 minute guitar solos or ELP. What distinguishes "My Generation" from "You Really Got Me" is that "My Generation" carries that message of angst and disillusion with the way things are while "You Really Got Me" is just a love song. That's why I think the Who invented punk.

[guitar_lvr]

Nilcerise wrote:

does this guy have friends at all like how is the who a form of punk at all what a complete dumbass

guitar_lvr wrote:

if they come 2 minnesota im gonna see them. WHOO!
where in minnesota are you from?

stillwater, mn

[zxZoSoxz]

The Stooges and the MC5 started punk... not the Kinks or the Who.

[pottsy]

the who this, nd the who that, they were an awesome band, and probably will still blow u away in concert nd the likes, but who influenced the who?!? the who didnt invent everything and insire everybody!! give credit where credit is due, but dont patronise the who

[Robertthegreat]

Alright firstly, The Kinks invented Jack Shit, most bands of the mid to late 60's played simple chords, if thats all it takes I guess Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis were the original Punk Rockers, because they all and easy as shit songs, and they were also a form of music that was demonized and called evil, guess that makes them Metal as well.

Secondly, if your going to credit anybody with starting "Punk" it should be the god damn MC5, they played simple 3 chords, very sloppily, had harsh vocal stylings, in their live shows would bounce around frantically. Not to mention their anti-war, anti-goverment, and anti-society veiws, would by anyones standard make them the first "Punk" band.Thats of course if your the type of dumbass that would say "This is punk" I mean the idea is ludacris, even bands like The Clash and The Ramones, and most outspokenly Iggy Pop denounced the term. The idea that you can catorgorize, that whihc in it's conception was meant to be one of a kind is complete stupidity.

Lastly The Who was as influential as any other band from the 60's, you could take virtually any band from that era disect it and come up with hundreds of examples of their influence. I could say Pink Floyd influenced The Cure because they both had keyboards, and that statement would be as valid as any one made in this article. Why is it so hard for people to think thats it impossible for 2 seperate people can each have the same idea years apart. Like if Thomas Edison didn't invent the light Bulb no one else would have, like were all so stupid. What it is, is that some Who fanboy got a hard on listening to My Generation and decided they influenced every generation afterwards. And the idea that with out The Who bands wouldn't write emotional inward looking music is completely idiotic.

[Monkeygone2hvn]

in my opinion the velvet underground seem more influential to the punks the who...

[n0selfesteem]

This article is about the Who. Stop ****ing trying to tell us that other bands were more influential because this article is about the Who. If you want to write an article about how Senior Citizen and the Unlistenable Bastards invented punk than ****ing do it, but stop polluting this board.

[bluesbreaker59]

guitar_lvr wrote:

if they come 2 minnesota im gonna see them. WHOO!

hell yes!!

[darkenedmalice]

dude what about crass come on

[Voodoo_Chile42]

I love the Who, but My Generation doesn't come close to being the most significant song of the '60s.
And if they accidentally spawned the punk movement, I'll forgive them; everybody makes mistakes, and the Who have a catalogue of great songs to make up for it.

[pigglesworth]

^ Amen ^

[Jackolas]

sweet_leaf_777 wrote:

Cock Sparer!! Yes! England belongs to me is the only song you will ever need lol. Seriously, the article seemed more opinion than fact, and if punk comes up in discussion Iggy and the Stooges need to be mentioned as being 'proper' proto-punk or whatever you want to call it. I don't see how artists trying to cash in on a brand name for years after they release 'classic' material makes them some sort of legends, I don't think the Who has as much of an influence on bands being anti-establishment as the economic or foreign policies of a country do, other people would have moved to Marshall stacks anyway and ?No matter what song it is the Who lives on inside of it?? Come on, that?s just corny.

Haha I love that song, and "take em all", I have 2 great live versions of em.

[matchbox]

he mentioned about nirvana being influenced by "the who" which is incorrect as Kurt Cobain was a big fan of John Lennon and John Lennon and "the who" are nothing similar.

[Alium Ruler]

^You can be influenced by more than one artist.

[Phoenix364]

Oh yeah.....

Gonna see The Who on 3rd July!

[Nilcerise]

dustafust wrote:

I think its pretty funny when people dis punk... and then everyone gets all offended.....

Anyways.. I think it would really contribute to the intellectual-ness of these post boards if everyone would read the the article, and connect enough brain cells to understand what was said....Nilcerise wrote:

does this guy have friends at all like how is the who a form of punk at all what a complete dumbass



if you read the ****ing article, you would know, even if you didn't agree with it, you would know what he was talking about. Now go die before you reproduce and poison the world with more of your ignorance.

well i dont sit on here all do or else i would have said this earlier ignorant fool punk is out unless you like men meaning openly gay

[sEaN_sLaSh]

other people would have moved to Marshall stacks anyway

you do know that John Entwhistle and Pete Townsend went to Jim Marshall with the idea for the Marshall stack.

[ChordMonger]

too bad the Kinks started punk rock buddy. You really got me came out before my generation.

hahaha, no. the kinks, along with the who and many others started what we know and love as 'garage rock'. and awesome genre in its own rite, but not punk. punk is much more than just three chords. its people picking up instruments they cant play, because theyre pissed off and want to be heard. the lyrics also tend to be more socially minded. good try, but no. i know its been metioned already, but there were a lot more, and a lot better punk bands than the ones mentioned [the stooges anyone?]

Checked.

[aperfectshot176]

wutta 'bout the misfits! or Black Flag! they were pioneers in punk rock.

[PrincessCobain]

Misfits definitly

[malditoako]

mareki :
punk is idiot society and culture ever exist in this world..they taught they can change a world...if u say u can change the world around u..go and make ur own country..off course u all cannot ..weaker..the most scum humans ever exist in this world..useless absolutely useless..go to hell....



you're right..you CANNOT change the world with wearing some dirty shirt and torned jeans man..f*ck it alright?who would give you a damn respect when you entered inside a damn grocery store or a damn shopping center?its overrated..

[rockinbassist17]

I know they didnt start punk but I LOVE THE RAMONES!!!!!
Short sweet and to the point lol