Because I Lack A Life

Until I can really get the ball rolling on this, I'm going to pad this blog with what will likely become a horde of album reviews. Note that I'm far from being a music expert (I don't even play an instrument), but I think the layman's opinion is just as important. After all, isn't it the layman who goes to the concerts and buys the albums?

That's not to say I applaud mainstream pop music (I despise it), but simply that I don't really buy the whole "ivory tower" theory of artistic elitism. And even pop music has its place: it shows us how bad music can get, and makes us grateful that at least our favorite bands haven't sunk that low.

So, to begin, my humble procedure: I will put my Zune on "shuffle," and when a song comes up whose complete album I own, I shall review that album. Now, let's forget that last cumbersome sentence and GET ON WITH IT!

Album: Quadrophenia
Artist: The Who
Release Year: 1973

Forget Tommy- this is the Who's magnum opus, at least in the "spiritual" sense. This is THE album to represent all the different aspects of The Who and meld them into a single reckless, romantic, introspective, and timeless entity. It's bold, grandiose, sincere, and enthralling. It's the story of a young "mod" named Jimmy, whose family problems, drug abuse, and identity crises lead him to abandon all he once held dear.

In all honesty, the storyline is hard to follow unless you read the booklet, yet the lyrics are still too blatant at times ("I've got to move with the fashion or be outcast"). Normally, I would also criticize the bombastic production, but here I don't mind it. It's all forgiveable, because the album overflows with true feeling, and the melodies are mostly great enough to justify all the pomp. Plus, Pete Townshend weaves all the themes together so well that we feel all Jimmy's mood changes exactly when they occur. He even repeats the same mantra, which Jimmy apparently recites during his various identity crises, throughout the album: "I ride a GS scooter with my hair cut neat. I wear my wartime coat in the wind and sleet." It's done so well that it's incredibly cathartic when we finally come to Jimmy's "revelation" in the closing track.

But I've said precious little about the songs themselves. I actually think the songs are hard to distinguish from one another at times, but they're very rarely boring in any case. They rock HARD, and they balladeer beautifully. Plus, the album is meant to be a unified experience, so who's gonna listen to this on "shuffle?" Not me. That said, I would still accuse this album of causing "listening fatigue." The songs really run together around the time we reach "Sea and Sand," and the whole "emotional resonance" trick is weakened until "Love, Reign O'er Me." (Isn't it our fatigue, though, that matches Jimmy's world-weariness and makes us love the final track even more? Maybe Pete's even smarter than I already think he is.)

Whatever. I have tons more to say about this album, and yet I find those things very hard to articulate- mainly because of the sheer volume of this piece. But I imagine Pete Townshend had tons MORE to say when he wrote "Quadrophenia." He was analyzing the entire culture from which his band sprang. He was analyzing himself and his place in the world. So what if he went a little overboard?

Overall Rating: 9/10

Best Songs:
Cut My Hair
The Punk and the Godfather
I'm One
Love, Reign O'er Me