The Who Thread

[Kashmir330]

Zep's become one of my lesser favorites over the past year, but I still enjoy them. On any given day, The Who win over Zep, for me.

I respect your view but in my opinion, The Who don't compare to Zep for me. I think I've unfortunately started listening to them less than in the past. They're probably in the lower regions of my top 20 favorite bands but I still love em. Out of the 5 concerts I've been to The Who concert was easily the best. Their still fantastic even if it's only Roger and Pete.

[Footsteps of Dawn]

Am I the only one who doesn't like Tommy all that much? It's certainly an innovative album, and there are some songs I like on it, but...it just doesn't do all that much for me. I expected it to really blow me away because of all the praise it gets, but well, it just didn't. Is it just me? Can someone explain where I've gone wrong?

[Hickory Man]

Am I the only one who doesn't like Tommy all that much? It's certainly an innovative album, and there are some songs I like on it, but...it just doesn't do all that much for me. I expected it to really blow me away because of all the praise it gets, but well, it just didn't. Is it just me? Can someone explain where I've gone wrong?

Some albums I have to rate by taking the time of creation into consideration, Tommy is one of those. Does it stack up to some other,later concept albums? Possibly not, but it's still a rock and roll landmark, but then again so Is Elvis and i could give a sh*t about his music.

It's all subjective to taste!

For the record, I've found various live versions of the Tommy songs to be far superior to the original studio album..... In particular the "listening to you" refrain, there exists power in that piece of music rivaled by few others.

[GetTheLedOut]

^^ That's horrible.....the band deserves far better online presence than that.

Agreed. I just talked to another person today who hates what the site is and will not be renewing their subscription (somewhat pricey at $50). It's shit, especially when compared to this site, which not only destroys thewho.com in quality, but is FREE!

I dearly miss Pete's cynical little blogs. So very much. I remember when he wrote that book on blog.net or whatever... ah, good times The conversations that flew between fans in the comments section were excellent. And Pete's dreams that followed, about making his story come true, were an interesting idea. Yet they fell flat. He'll be trying to make the Lifehouse project work til he dies...

My husband loved Pete's cynical little blogs. He just told me that he hasn't been on the site in awhile so he didn't realize they were gone.

The Who are fantastic and we had some great times at so many of their concerts.

He just doesn't blog anymore. Here's the last thing we got from the blog:

12th June, 2008

Special Request

Pete's asked me to request that you don't make any more comments until further notice.

He is writing and wishes not to be distracted.

Rob Lee

Not only are we being told to piss off and not contribute, but the next most recent blog post was on the 23rd of April!

It's sad that this is the Who's presence on the internet. I wish there was a decent fan forum somewhere, but the only ones out there are highly inactive.

Edited June 16, 2008 by GetTheLedOut

[MadScreamingGallery]

Agreed. I just talked to another person today who hates what the site is and will not be renewing their subscription (somewhat pricey at $50). It's shit, especially when compared to this site, which not only destroys thewho.com in quality, but is FREE!

He just doesn't blog anymore. Here's the last thing we got from the blog:

Not only are we being told to piss off and not contribute, but the next most recent blog post was on the 23rd of April!

It's sad that this is the Who's presence on the internet. I wish there was a decent fan forum somewhere, but the only ones out there are highly inactive.

It is sad! I am really sorry to read that last post. He used to have his own blog on blogger.com before it was moved to the band's website.

Edited June 16, 2008 by MadScreamingGallery

[Dirigiblicus Maximus]

I wrote earlier about how the Who's official site "fan club" has some major problems. Here is an update, and it's not pretty:

1) The site and it's moderators have in several cases pulled membership for selling the items that come with the purchase (the CD of live tracks, and the t-shirt). This is despite the fact that it has been brought up to them that this violates the free trade market.

2) One of the site's main attractions, Pete's blog, has been almost completely dormant. Anyone who has expressed dismay over this has been harshly warned not to again express discontent with the site, and several memberships have been pulled over this.

3) The promise of first chance at tickets for Who concerts and events, such as the upcoming Who Rock Honors, has proved to be a farce. There were few tickets available, only a small group of people who know the site moderators received them, and the site moderators have threatened ticket cancellation and membership withdrawal if someone with tickets tries to sell them.

I love the Who, and I wanted so badly to like their website and fan club, but it's the most horribly run fan club I've ever heard or been a part of. I highly recommend that anyone interested in the site DOES NOT join. The only way it'll ever get better is people withdraw their financial support.

I dont want to cause no fuss, but I too am a Who fan, and have been a member of their site, and haven't encountered anything remote to what your claiming. In fact, I think that it is by far the best fansite of any of the mega groups out there. To wit -

1). Dunno about the free trade market laws. Perhaps people were selling them above market value (which would be the cost of joining)? Outstanding double CD, BTW. "Not sold in stores" probably means different things to different people...

2). On the older site, Pete was in the process of writing an autobiography, and requested opinions. On the new site, he posts every other month or every quarter even. The posts are long, and cynical, and snipey, but they are somewhat honest and thoughtfull, and also responds to follow ups. Roger (despite his loathing cpu's\internet) has answered posted questions to him in a video interview. The fact that he is busy writing and requests folks not to post, reveals to me the amazing fact that Pete is actually involved, and is reading stuff on there! Rather than a PR lackey, or an assistant. Of course, The Who are not an up and coming band, looking at scraping up fan growth. Maybe Im not expecting as much as others, but if your a Who fan, it's an astounding level of interaction that, frankly, I havent found anywhere from the super mega groups that are on The Who's level. A few posts and question\interview sessions a year versus absolutely nothing that their contemporaries have offered......

3). Rock Honors. Subscribed Who fans got a 24 hour jump on the presale (pre-pre sale?). All of them. Limit was 2 per membership. It was through Ticketmaster, so it did depend on your TM saavy. In other words, how much risk you wanted to take in order to get a closer seat by hitting the availability the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time ... whatever (I hate TM). We didnt get exactly what we wanted, but we are around row 15 on the floor. Chalk that up to TM inexperience, and a tip of the hat to the Who fans who are, and got 3rd - 7th row. Much better deal than I got via the Rush presale (25th row). There is no "small group of people" inner circle stuff. Everyone got the same deal. They are aggresively persuing scalpers because 1): it is all going to charity and 2): they arent ID checking at the door like the O2. There are more than a couple of threads on that site dedicated to fair trade \ face value VH1 ticket selling, BTW.

This is all my personal opinion, but I think the Who fan site is professionally run, and gives about the closest interaction that is offered by any of the ubergroups. Also my experience in the business tells me that, considering all that is offered by the membership, plus hosting, publishing, etc., I would say that site might be breaking even on the ledger, and is probably losing money.

Edited June 16, 2008 by Dirigiblicus Maximus

[Arntzen]

As far as I'm concerned, Pete is and always will be, just a cranky ol' bastid

On the topic of Tommy up there somewhere... bah. There are much better albums. Mainly the Who Sell Out. I enjoyed one of the releases where they had several people come and do voices, Rod Stewart as local boy, Sandy Denny appeared on the album, a few other people. Fun.

[GetTheLedOut]

I dont want to cause no fuss, but I too am a Who fan, and have been a member of their site, and haven't encountered anything remote to what your claiming. In fact, I think that it is by far the best fansite of any of the mega groups out there. To wit -

1). Dunno about the free trade market laws. Perhaps people were selling them above market value (which would be the cost of joining)? Outstanding double CD, BTW. "Not sold in stores" probably means different things to different people...

2). On the older site, Pete was in the process of writing an autobiography, and requested opinions. On the new site, he posts every other month or every quarter even. The posts are long, and cynical, and snipey, but they are somewhat honest and thoughtfull, and also responds to follow ups. Roger (despite his loathing cpu's\internet) has answered posted questions to him in a video interview. The fact that he is busy writing and requests folks not to post, reveals to me the amazing fact that Pete is actually involved, and is reading stuff on there! Rather than a PR lackey, or an assistant. Of course, The Who are not an up and coming band, looking at scraping up fan growth. Maybe Im not expecting as much as others, but if your a Who fan, it's an astounding level of interaction that, frankly, I havent found anywhere from the super mega groups that are on The Who's level. A few posts and question\interview sessions a year versus absolutely nothing that their contemporaries have offered......

3). Rock Honors. Subscribed Who fans got a 24 hour jump on the presale (pre-pre sale?). All of them. Limit was 2 per membership. It was through Ticketmaster, so it did depend on your TM saavy. In other words, how much risk you wanted to take in order to get a closer seat by hitting the availability the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time ... whatever (I hate TM). We didnt get exactly what we wanted, but we are around row 15 on the floor. Chalk that up to TM inexperience, and a tip of the hat to the Who fans who are, and got 3rd - 7th row. Much better deal than I got via the Rush presale (25th row). There is no "small group of people" inner circle stuff. Everyone got the same deal. They are aggresively persuing scalpers because 1): it is all going to charity and 2): they arent ID checking at the door like the O2. There are more than a couple of threads on that site dedicated to fair trade \ face value VH1 ticket selling, BTW.

This is all my personal opinion, but I think the Who fan site is professionally run, and gives about the closest interaction that is offered by any of the ubergroups. Also my experience in the business tells me that, considering all that is offered by the membership, plus hosting, publishing, etc., I would say that site might be breaking even on the ledger, and is probably losing money.

Well I'm glad you've had a better experience than I have. However, I'm still confident I haven't gotten my money's worth, hence why I won't be renewing.

[Arntzen]

How awesome... In the Attic is on youtube. Am I braindead ? It took me this long to think of that as an option...

[GetTheLedOut]

There's a great Who forum that I hope a lot of you visit and become active members of. Here's the link:

http://whochat.proboards35.com/index.cgi

[Arntzen]

I used to be a member of that a very long time ago, but I left it for this board because of the closeness of the posters, and the friendly atmosphere. That was about 2 years ago. I think it's about time I went back!

[GetTheLedOut]

I used to be a member of that a very long time ago, but I left it for this board because of the closeness of the posters, and the friendly atmosphere. That was about 2 years ago. I think it's about time I went back!

Great, the more the better. There needs to be a free alternative to the official site.

[Puck Slapping Maple Sucker]

I am looking forward to Keith's biopic coming out next year, but I'm not really sure about Myer's. No disregard towards his acting abillity, but I find him too old for the part and he doesn't really have any striking facial resemblences with Moon.

I'm sure myer's performance as Moon will take our minds off of that, but I feel that Jason Shwartzman is a much better fit for the part. Mainly because of his face and that he plays drums.

I know I'll be proven wrong by Mike, because he's a good actor

[GetTheLedOut]

I am looking forward to Keith's biopic coming out next year, but I'm not really sure about Myer's. No disregard towards his acting abillity, but I find him too old for the part and he doesn't really have any striking facial resemblences with Moon.

I'm sure myer's performance as Moon will take our minds off of that, but I feel that Jason Shwartzman is a much better fit for the part. Mainly because of his face and that he plays drums.

I know I'll be proven wrong by Mike, because he's a good actor

Shwartzman definitely has a striking resemblance to Moon.

[Arntzen]

I personally believe that Myers would be a good pick. I used to have a pic from my fan-girl days of the Whoi, and Moon looked EXACTLY like Myers in it. Very creepy. Moon had put on a bit of weight in the face by that point, of course, but they could have been twins.

And Shwartzman is good, but I wouldnt want to see him as Moon.

[docron]

People are probably going to jump all over this.. but I have to get to the bottom of this.

What is the deal with The Who!? I am an absolutely HUGE fan of music (and anything else for that matter) from 1960-1975. I could never figure out why, but I cannot get myself to listen to The Who the same way I do with Zeppelin, Hendrix, Grand Funk, The Beatles, The Stones, etc.

Am I just listening to the wrong albums!? I mean, I have Tommy, My Generation - The Very Best of The Who, and a few bootlegs, none of which I can listen to all the way thru... what am I doing wrong?!

Everyone swears up and down by them.., but as hard as I try, I can't find anything spectacular about them aside from maybe the Monterey Pop Festival performance (which I'm afraid might only be good because there is video of it)

It just seems weird because I can literally count on one hand the number of bands that I DON'T like from this era... I love everything... except The Who.

Someone point me in the right direction.

[Hickory Man]

People are probably going to jump all over this.. but I have to get to the bottom of this.

What is the deal with The Who!? I am an absolutely HUGE fan of music (and anything else for that matter) from 1960-1975. I could never figure out why, but I cannot get myself to listen to The Who the same way I do with Zeppelin, Hendrix, Grand Funk, The Beatles, The Stones, etc.

Am I just listening to the wrong albums!? I mean, I have Tommy, My Generation - The Very Best of The Who, and a few bootlegs, none of which I can listen to all the way thru... what am I doing wrong?!

Everyone swears up and down by them.., but as hard as I try, I can't find anything spectacular about them aside from maybe the Monterey Pop Festival performance (which I'm afraid might only be good because there is video of it)

It just seems weird because I can literally count on one hand the number of bands that I DON'T like from this era... I love everything... except The Who.

Someone point me in the right direction.

I would check out The Who Sell Out, The Who Live at Leeds, Who's Next, and Quadrophenia. That represents a pretty good spread of their best years...if there is a Who fan in you, it will come out with one of these offerings.

If not? So be it! I can't listen to Grand Funk or The Stones!

It happens....

[Arntzen]

Yeah, I can't get into the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd as hard as I try... so maybe it depends on... taste?

[Dancin'Days]

Quadrophenia, best Who album! But not the soundtrack!

[Hickory Man]

Yeah, I can't get into the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd as hard as I try... so maybe it depends on... taste?

*Wraps mind around concept*

Me likes.

[GetTheLedOut]

Quadrophenia, best Who album! But not the soundtrack!

The soundtrack is still worth having. "Get Out And Stay Out" is ridiculously awesome, and it's not on the original album.

[lucyinthesky]

Joining you right now! The Who rulez.

Might be discussed before (call me lazy ass), but wich album is the best? I've got "Quadrophenia", "Who are you" and "Join together". Now I've got enough pocket money to buy a new CD...

Which would you suppose?

[GetTheLedOut]

Joining you right now! The Who rulez.

Might be discussed before (call me lazy ass), but wich album is the best? I've got "Quadrophenia", "Who are you" and "Join together". Now I've got enough pocket money to buy a new CD...

Which would you suppose?

You already have Quad, so I'd recommend getting the following in the order listed:

1) Who's Next (if you can, get the deluxe edition)

2) Live At Leeds (again, if possible get the deluxe edition)

3) Tommy (again... deluxe)

4) The Who Sell Out

5) The Who By Numbers

[Arntzen]

... but what he actually meant was

1. The Who Sell Out (deluxe)

Then whatever. Muaahahah.

[jimmie ray]

People are probably going to jump all over this.. but I have to get to the bottom of this.

What is the deal with The Who!? I am an absolutely HUGE fan of music (and anything else for that matter) from 1960-1975. I could never figure out why, but I cannot get myself to listen to The Who the same way I do with Zeppelin, Hendrix, Grand Funk, The Beatles, The Stones, etc.

Am I just listening to the wrong albums!? I mean, I have Tommy, My Generation - The Very Best of The Who, and a few bootlegs, none of which I can listen to all the way thru... what am I doing wrong?!

Everyone swears up and down by them.., but as hard as I try, I can't find anything spectacular about them aside from maybe the Monterey Pop Festival performance (which I'm afraid might only be good because there is video of it)

It just seems weird because I can literally count on one hand the number of bands that I DON'T like from this era... I love everything... except The Who.

Someone point me in the right direction.

I idolize Entwistle, but loath Townshend. It's probably the lyrical content of some songs, or the lack of traditional sounding guitar playing throughout. I could mention other possibilities, but regardless - if it doesn't work by now, it ain't ever going to. Live at Leeds is a monster, though...