Through The Years

Boldly going where few smart men have gone before, I thought the blogiversary would be a perfect opportunity to show that I have fallen victim to many of the style fads of the last 50 years, from the time when I was a mere child. The hair, the clothes, well, they say so much, don't they? To celebrate the fashion malfunctions, I thought I would just give some music that might capture that same period of time, starting when I was an infant in the playpen. The Who released an album and single of the same name in 1965, My Generation. OK, more of the time I am wearing the suit on the porch than playpen time, but you get it.



Somehow, I manage to skip the 70s, at least with pictures I have on my computer. The 80s are certainly represented, from the white jacket to the appearance of a major amount of hair. And since in one of those pictures I was wearing a Cure Head On The Door Tour t-shirt, it seemed only right to post a clip of The Cure singing Picture Of You, a truly beautiful and melancholy song.



In the 90s, I let the hair get longer and more wild, and was listening to Pearl Jam. I can't help it, I had a huge crush on Eddie Vedder. I was also listening to bands like Live, Origin, Depeche Mode, as well as singer/songwriters like the incredible Duncan Sheik. But I think it only fitting to celebrate the decade and the pictures with a live performance of Pearl Jam's Alive.



Come the new millennium, I know the focus of my musical passions turned toward the LGBT singer/songwriters, many of them in playing a variation of Folk/Pop/Rock. A leading example of this would be Eric Himan, from whom much of my fandom springs. You see, it seemed that first several people who opened for Eric, or played with him, became part of my collection. That would include Aiden James, Tom Goss, Levi Kreis and Andy Moore. And those talented people exposed me to others, like Jake Walden, Adrianne, Stewart Lewis, and others. Well, I'd like to pay tribute to my Music-Daddyman, Eric Himan singing No Urgency from his 2002 album I Go On...

A Couple From The Who

Top: Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Keith Moon and John Entwistle.

They practically set the bar for what was needed on the checklist for a rock and roll band in the 60s: Hunky singer with a set of pipes, check; skinny guitarist who is part mad genius, check; quiet but good bassist to anchor the crew, check; crazy-ass drummer who could wail on his drums, check. With all that, you have yourself a rock and roll band, my friends. And with Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon, you had it in spades. Well, this prototypical band released it's first album 46 years ago, in 1965. They put out a lot of great music, and I thought I would find a few of my favorites. I was only going to do one or two, but couldn't decide, so here we go. The first song we have is off the 1971 album, Who's Next. Like much of their music, it has an inherent layering of musical textures that was just brilliant to me. Here is Behind Blue Eyes.



I don't think there is a soul alive who hasn't heard of The Who's Tommy. In many ways, it was the first real "Rock Opera" written, although there are a few pretenders to the throne who would beg to differ. Released in 1969, Tommy was a brilliant record that was made to be performed, and was just as amazing when they played it was when the all-star cast in the movie did. Still, I love it when they do. So, here is The Pinball Wizard from Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970.



Of course, like every rock band at the end of the 60s, The Who played at one the penultimate concerts, Woodstock. One of the songs they decided to perform was the title track off their first album, released in 1965. This is My Generation.



In September of 1978, Keith Moon was found dead, the victim of an overdose. In 1982, Townshend was struggling with his own demons, and the band embarked on a Farewell Tour. It wasn't that long before they reunited for a very special event. In 1985, 20 years after they released their first hit single, the band came back together to play at Bob Geldof's Live Aid. Among the songs they played that day was the brilliant Won't Get Fooled Again, also from Who's Next.