The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.
Friday August 28, 2015
I’m not sure if I have fond memories of having cassette tapes growing up because I actually liked them or if I just settled for whatever I could afford. I guess I could afford CDs, but when my choice was between having five tapes for $20 or one CD for the same price I’d usually choose the latter.
I wore out a lot of my tapes, but there were two I remember vividly. Below are a highlight from each of them.
I Need You – The Who
from the 1965 LP A Quick One
A Quick One, the Who’s second album, is an anomaly. All four members, even Roger Daltry and Keith Moon, wrote songs for it. The title track is a mini-suite that Pete Townshend referred to as “Tommy’s cousin.”
Townshend and bassist John Entwistle’s contributions are generally strongest, but Keith Moon’s “I Need You” stacks up with the best of them. It’s fierce drumming is the lead instrument (as it is on Moon’s other track on the album, bizarre Salvation Army band-ish “Cobwebs and Strange”). The melody is surprisingly strong, Moon’s falsetto jumping like the early Beatles tracks that the song emulates.
Amused to Death – Roger Waters
from the 1993 LP Amused to Death
Townshend and bassist John Entwistle’s contributions are generally strongest, but Keith Moon’s “I Need You” stacks up with the best of them. It’s fierce drumming is the lead instrument (as it is on Moon’s other track on the album, bizarre Salvation Army band-ish “Cobwebs and Strange”). The melody is surprisingly strong, Moon’s falsetto jumping like the early Beatles tracks that the song emulates.
Amused to Death – Roger Waters
from the 1993 LP Amused to Death
Roger Waters 1993 album Amused to Death never got the notoriety of the David Gilmour-led Pink Floyd albums from the same era. It’s too bad, because while the ‘80s and ‘90s Floyd is good, it’s tame compared to Waters’ musical and lyrical masterpiece.
His critique on culture is unparalleled. The album track builds from Waters’ practically whispered first verse to a big finish with the resounding conclusion: “no tears to cry/no feelings left/this species has amused itself to death.”
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He was also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
His critique on culture is unparalleled. The album track builds from Waters’ practically whispered first verse to a big finish with the resounding conclusion: “no tears to cry/no feelings left/this species has amused itself to death.”
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He was also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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