Or, too much of anything
The weekend after the concert, as I rapturously recounted it to a friend over brunch, she asked, “Did they do the big one? The one with the teenage wasteland?”
Yes, they did. And, I thought, that’s exactly what the song, indeed the entire album, would be called if it were an episode of Friends. Which begged the question: what would other Who albums be called?
(I’ve only done up through the Moon era, I don’t have all day)
The Who Sings My Generation: “The One Where It’s Supposed to Sound Like That”
A Quick One: “The One Where They Can’t Afford a Cello”
The Who Sell Out: “The One with All the Copyright Infringement”
Tommy: “The One with the Weird Parenting Handbook”
Who’s Next: “The One with the Teenage Wasteland”*
Quadrophenia: “The One Where Everybody Rides a Scooter”
Odds & Sods: “The One with American Football”**
The Who By Numbers: “The One Where Pete is Fine”***
Who Are You: “The One Where Roger Throws Punches Around”
Bonus: ‘ffffffade away’ is definitely the musical equivalent of this
No one told them life was gonna be this way.
*I will also accept the existing title “The One with Unagi.” I can’t help thinking the way Phoebe and Rachel look at Ross when he’s describing the ‘state of total awareness’ that he thinks is called unagi must be the way Pete’s bandmates were looking at him when he got into Meher Baba.
**Aka the Geller Cup!
***Another Ross reference (concerning), but that’s what you get when you say you’re fine and it comes out all loud and squeaky.
Dedicated to Steph. Never change.
Image: Friends S6E17 via Medium