If Pete Townshend is The Who and Roger Daltrey is his mouthpiece, The Ox
is his glue and Loon is his rhythm; and The Who is the greatest rock and roll band ever, then Quadrophenia is not only their thesis statement of identity and purpose, but also the greatest rock and roll album ever made.
And if Jimmy ever had a son, it was Eddie Vedder.
"Born To Run" is the greatest rock song because it is Jimmy (The Who) in the form of an American
raised on Orbison and Dylan, arching for transcendence, just on the cusp of achieving it.
The greatest bands all look like brothers.
The closer black and white get to each other in music, the better.
Prince is the last of the great black artists, following Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John
Coltrane, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye, Smokey
Robinson and Stevie Wonder.
Close To The Edge by Yes is a rainforest at the beginning
of time.
Guitar, bass and drums don't mean a damn to anyone anymore; this is lamentable to those who
are now too old and too fixed in their ways to be interested in the use of 'instruments' like the turntable or sampler.
The sound of Phil Lynott's voice on Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" is the model on
which Bruce Springsteen based his first three albums.
Like HipHop, Punk Rock has diminished Rock and Roll, not strengthened it.
The name of Kurt Cobain's song publishing company is The End Of Music.
The greatest singer
in the world is Bjork.
There is a reason Paul McCartney has offered little in the way of lyrical content since 1970.
He wants to survive.
The two Beatles who offered world message were both mortally attacked. One was murdered and
the other was greatly injured, hampered in his healing process, later passing away.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is Freddie Mercury's self-death prophecy.
The greatest guitarist no one talks about is Brian May.
Bob Dylan is a genius because he was able to get away with talking too much. When you do it
in such a way that no one knows what you're saying, you're (probably) safe. Even at his most obtuse, John Lennon was still
too clear and vulnerable, hence his genius. Dylan was smarter.
No one, however, is smarter than Pete Townshend.
Elvis Costello follows both paths, veering more toward Dylan, and the one time he went too far
in the Lennon direction, his career and life were threatened. Only a few can produce in the magnifying glass which Lennon
lived most of his life. Most who inhabit that space go mad.
Paul Simon is a genius because he was able to say much without being directly confrontational.
Because of the gentleness of his music, he comes off as unthreatening, when in actuality, his lyrical muse is strikingly powerful,
hence his genius. His gift is different than Lennon's in that he comes across as compassionate whereas Lennon comes across,
albeit inaccurately, as more focused on himself. This is unfair, as most of Lennon’s most personal work was intended
for the entire human race, but came off the other way. Simon wrote "The Boxer," Lennon wrote "Instant Karma!" Simon wrote
"American Tune," Lennon wrote "Power To The People." Simon wrote "Mother and Child Reunion," Lennon wrote "Woman Is The Nigger
Of The World."
Noone in rock music, or 20th century culture, was braver than John Lennon.
