The Who’s Pete Townshend is gifted with a poisonous tongue, and when he uses it, more often than not, something derogatory comes out when he opens his mouth. With that, it might come as no surprise that he isn’t a fan of modern music, instead feeling that something is currently missing from the landscape.
Townshend has had quite a few harsh words to share about many of his contemporaries over the decades, even criticizing legendary acts like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. If Townshend finds flaw in the celestial talents of the greatest who ever lived, then he is capable of lambasting any artist on the planet.
Maybe that rage stems from The Who equaling anyone in talent and ferocity, changing Townshend’s expectations of what a band should be. Not only was he the man in the strongest position who beat his guitar, but he also had Keith Moon delivering that angst on the drums, John Entwistle cranking up and down his bass, and Roger Daltrey was leading the chaos.
He expects each band to tear up the system in a similar anarchic style to their own band, and that’s something he struggles to see in the current crop of modern artists. Townshend started shooting younger bands in a bizarre blog post in 2007, at a time when he blamed the political climate for artists’ lack of vigor.
“I think rock music is about to get rid of some of its testosterone challenge,” he wrote. “Everywhere I look today, I see young musicians demanding a new level of privacy from their audiences. It is not just about protest, but rather softly played music that expresses a single idea, even anger is softly delivered. “
He added: “Maybe the invasion of Iraq, the horrible mess we now face in addition to the horrible mess we created when we created the country in the first place, comes under scrutiny. the current generation of songwriters and produces a calmer voice. “
Then, in 2014, Townshend again unleashed his fury for Sunday mail. He took the same point about the groups’ lack of anger in the current climate and believed that One Direction’s presence epitomized the dismal state of the world.
“Where do artists write with a real sense of angst and purpose? There are no movements at the moment: we had mod and then there was punk, but it’s so difficult to start a movement now. Unless it is Daesh, ”he remarked strangely.
While Townshend clearly has a valid point about the lack of anger in the mainstream pop sphere, there is more to the music than the likes of Ed Sheeran, who currently dominate the charts. However, there are still countless artists who keep that unconventional rock ‘n’ roll spirit; you just have to dig a little deeper to find the gems. As a man used to “researching,” perhaps he should use his time more wisely and find new bands to wrap around his ears.
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