Friday, August 4, 2017

LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO MY SONG, MA

I'm sure that the Who have been asked a thousand questions about "My Generation" over the years, if they see any irony in an autumn rocker singing the line "hope I die before I get old". The song never lost it's relevance (for young people anyway), and they did do the original version so why wouldn't they continue to play it, even if they seemed rather self conscious about the age thing just a scant four years later ("we're gettin' a bit old now")? Did Peter Townsend ever have any regrets about writing it? Probably not. It paid the bills for years, and still is. But, if he had ever heard the lead singer of the Contradictions sing it, he might regret having ever picked up a pen. This is bad folks, really bad. I'm all for song stylists trying to make a song their own, even if their style is abrasive, out of tune or generally amateurish. I like weird. It doesn't bother me in the least, except when it doesn't seen genuine. I'm sorry to whoever knows and likes the Contradictions. I'd never heard of them and was not at all put off by the opening chords of their version of "My Generation". It really could have gone either way. Then the song stylist insists on putting her own stamp on the song and it is total crap. Sidesplitting hilarious in it's forced weirdness "just b-[mumble]-se we get aro-ow-ow-oouuund". Like a shitfaced Lydia Lunch getting her fingernails yanked out. Jeffrey Lee Pierce can pull that shit off, but not this lady.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
The Contradictions - My Generation mp3 at Internet Archive
The Who - My Generation mp3 at Internet Archive
The full LP
The Who Sing My Generation at Internet Archive NOTE: In the right column, under "Download options" click on "VBR MP3 Files"

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