Who's Best?

Anyone who knows me or has read this thing knows I'm a big Who fan. Yes, it is weird to say I'm a big fan of a group that last produced something relevant thirty years ago and has only two of its original four members left.

The world (or white men between the ages of 25-54) can usually be divided into four categories--Beatles fans, Stones fans, Who fans, and Zep fans. I was a Who fan first, then the Stones. I honestly was never much of a Beatle fan or a Zep fan. The stoners listened to Zep. The boozers listened to The Who and I was a boozer. There are, of course, subsets as well. There are Tommy fans, Quad fans, Who's Next fans, etc. and that too reveals much about a person. I was a Quad fan, although now I probably veer more towards Who's Next. Xmastime is a Face Dances fan, from what I hear. The same is true for Bruce fans. Some swear by Darkness, others think it is over produced and lacks a soul and live for Born to Run. Then you have the purists who think it all went down hill after The Wild and the Innocent.

I'm not a Who nut. I do not think everything they did was brilliant. Not everything was...wait for it...a masterpiece. But their best was usually pretty good. I've lately become engaged in a spirited debate over Pete Townshend's role in rock & roll. Yes, write the phrase `hope I die before I get old,' and you might get stuck with the voice of your generation label. Did Townshend relish this role? Yeah, he did. Like athletes, a lot of so-called rock gods aren't exactly the most articulate or intelligent folks in the world. You wouldn't likely discuss politics, our changing culture or the latest literary sensation with Lawrence Taylor or Angus Young. But there are some athletes and musicians that actually can string together some intelligent thoughts and Townshend is one of them. So he was given a platform. Townshend also can't help himself. He is a sure thing as an interview. He will always say something that will either make you think `brilliant,' or have you rolling your eyes.

Is he full of himself. Yes. Without a doubt. Do I care? Not really. Trust the art, not the artist. The guy has made a lot of music, some of it great, some it not so, but that's more than most of us will ever do in this world so if he wants to sound like a pompous twit on occasion, so be it.

Fans take these debates to a much higher level than the musicians themselves. I don't think John Lennon or Townshend spent a lot of time worrying who the voice of their generation was. I doubt Page and Clapton argued over who was the better guitar player.

That said, Moon could kick Bonham's ass.