The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1975 Page: 4 of 16
sixteen pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Who By Numbers a vehicle to escape teenage past
by TED ANDREWS
Even in 1965, whn he was
j ust a skinny nineteen-year-old
kind with a trowel-like nose
who could play a mean
chunka-chunka Kinkstyle
guitar, Peter Townshend was
the most perceptive champion
and critic of the young. With
classic songs like "The Kids
are Alright," "Out in the
Streets," and "Tattoo" Pete
established himself as
spokesman not only for the
pill-popping mods in Britain
but for young people
everywhere who realized that
with all their new dances and
free sex "... sometimes 1 must
get out of the light, and leave
her behind where the kids are
alright." Of course, it was the
epochal "My Generation" with
the memorable line "Hope I die
before I get old" which
crystalized both the teenage
ethos and Townshend's
reputation.
By 1970, after releasing both
Tommy and the disquieting
"The Seeker," Pete started to
question his commitment to
the whole of the youth scene.
He started to see that the same
kids who'd say peace and love
at the idyll of Woodstock were
Pizza inn
[AMERICA'S
FAVORITE
PIZZA
EXAMPLE
Buy one giant
sausage pizza $
Large sausage pizza
free with coupon -
(Tax and Drinks Extra) $4.85
AFP-36
Pizza inn
With this coupon, buy any
giant, large or medium pizza
at regular price and receive
one pizza of the next smaller
size with equal number of
ingredients FREE! One
coupon per visit, please. 5
.>
Valid Thru (
Dec. 14, 1975 ^
fjlXXAA.VUf"PLEASE PRESENT WITH GUEST CHECtTLUU&Ml
FAMILY NIGHT BUFFET
EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT FROM 6:00 TO 8:30 PM
ALL THE PIZZA & SALAD YOU CAN EAT FOR $1.79
CHILDREN UNDER 6 - 990
7919 Greenbriar @ OST
795-0382
Pizza inn
the same ones that you meet
when you walk around Taos or
Boulder—the burned-out, drug-
saturated kids who'd slit your
throat for a handful of spare
change. While Dylan was
trying to make himself believe
that "there must be some way
out of here" Townshend
discovered the 'teenage
wasteland.' He said that
"We're all wasted." Life, he
said through his art, is a
sisyphusian quandry. He
turned to Meher Baba, as seen
in "Getting in Tune," and
"Pure and Easy." As always,
the despair of his lyrics was
seemingly discounted by his
brutal, yet fluid guitar
playing. Rather than dimming
his vision, that playing
strengthened it.
The first attempt to exorcise
his teenage past occured in
Quadrophenia. That work
failed due to the flatulence of
some of its musicand obscurity
of its setting to American audi-
ences. The Who By Numbers
is, however, a successfulpieceof
^Student with 2.5 average "or^
better to work in press room.
Miscellaneous duties. Mon.,
Tues., Wed. openings. Apply in
^person. 3701 Allen Parkway.
V
work. Pete's theme is the
inevitability of aging: the fact
that he would die before he
got old.
Aging is, naturally,
somewhat alien to me. I do
realize, however, that the rock
and roll virtues (agile
cocksmanship and bleary
disregard for the feelings of
others) stand in direct
opposition to the things that
an older person might want:
trust, faith, and other of the
more pristine pleasures.
So, The Who By Numbers
is an exploration of frustra-
tion—frustration at inevitable
aging, frustration over the fact
that the thing you love most,
ROCK AND ROLL, just isn't
as important as it used to be.
Peter Townshend remains
very much the Keatsian
lyricist.
The album begins with "Slip
Kid" where the archtypal
Townshend teenager picks up
his clip board before marching
to the civil wars. Some
beautiful counterpoint
between Pete's guitar and
piano highlight the bridge of
the number. The conclusion
Pete reaches: "there's no easy
way to be free."
The same teenager, recal-
ling the earlier "Pictures of
f
Hard Thymes i
SOUP KITCHEN
2511 Bissonnet }
off Kirby |
Serving homemade soups, salads, & sandwiches j
Beer Wine r
11:00am—2:00pm 11:00am—8:00pm J
Mon-Thur Fri-Sat
TO GO ORDERS
526-4120
D4NIEL
BOONE
cycles
NOW IS THE TIME TO PUT YOUR CHRISTMAS
GIFTS IN LAYAWAY
GedcenT
MOTOBCCANE
528-7109
S3 tS craw for
POiaatnainaiaaoaapinoiaoiaaiooioaioaioaiDainaiDoiaainnioaiooiaEijj
Kay's Lounge
2324 Bissonnet
Eldon and Janelle Creech, Proprietors
Beer, Wine, Pizzas, Sandwiches and
Assorted Barroom Games.
WHERE RICE PEOPLE MEET.
Phone 528-9858
HOURS 2 PM — 2 AM MON. — SAT.
CLOSED SUNDAY
□ □
5boiaaiaalDaloaiaaioaiaQiaaioaiaota~oiaapoiDaioaiaQioniaaiaaiaaloar
Lily," becomes frustrated at
the forces which keep him
from both sexual awareness
and satisfaction in "Dreaming
From the Waist". He longs for
the "day when I can share the
wealth/the day when I can't
control myself." The music,
tough and unromantic as
always, creates a powerful
tension. Fifty years later the
teen ponders himself again in
"Imagine a Man." The piano
work is very pretty but the
lyrics are sloppy and
sentimental.
Two other songs—"However
Much I Booze," and "In a
Hand or Face"—are the
album's highlights. Pete's
guitar slashes through the
words, forcing you to strain to
catch their significance, while
Entwhistle's bass and Moon's
drums provide a stable
foundation and a menacing
backdrop for Pete's dramas to
be played against. Towns-
hend finally, wearily,
declares that "I see myself on
TV, I'm a faker..." and
despairs the prime existential
fact of life: "There ain't no way
out." In "How Many Friends' ,
a minor song, he does have
another line which illuminates
the same theme: "We talk so
much shit behind each other's
back." The tension is relieved
with "Squeeze Box," which
Lester Bangs calls "The best
tit song §ince 'Silicone
Grown'."
The Who By Numbers is
an incredible record. The Who,
one of the few bands to have
lasted ten years without
selling out to anybody have (I
hope) transcended their past.
This record makes you
remember why you really love
rock and roll.
campus briefs
Delegate — Rice University
has been invited to send a
delegate to a March confer-
ence at the USAF Academy
on "Women and the
American Economy." The
President's office will pay
tourist air fare to Colorado
Springs. Rice has also been
invited to send two female
students to SMU for a
conference on "The Edu-
cation of Women for Social
and Political Leadership,"
January 29-30. If you're
interested, stop by the SA
office, 2nd floor RMC, before
December 5.
SCONA — Two Rice students
will be chosen to participate
in the 21st Student Confer-
ence on National Affairs
(SCONA) at Texas A & M,
February 11-14. The confer-
ence is entitled "Global
Power in Transition." Rice
will cover registration fees &
transportation; SCONA will
pay for lodging. All interest-
ed students should stop by
the SA office or call x4079
before the 8th.
Lost — The Student Asso-
ciation also runs a campus-
wide lost and found service.
the rice thresher, thursday, december 4, 1975 — page 4
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Brewton, Gary. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1975, newspaper, December 4, 1975; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245269/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.