The press materials for The Who at Kilburn 1977 describe this DVD as “a holy grail for fans after decades of anticipation,” and that’s no piece of bull dreamed up by somebody in marketing. Die-hard Who fans (a group of which I proudly include myself as a member) have long since obsessed over obtaining audio and/or video from a handful of legendary shows, including, but not limited to:

• London, 5/2/69: the premiere of Tommy to the press at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club;

• Newcastle, 11/5/73: the sixth night of the Quadrophenia tour, when the band’s backing tapes failed, resulting in Townshend pulling longtime soundman Bobby Pridden across the soundboard, ripping out backing tapes and smashing equipment, all to the disbelief of the rest of the band … and the entire crowd;

• Kilburn, 12/15/77: aka the second-to-last Who concert to feature Keith Moon, filmed for inclusion in Jeff Stein’s masterpiece rockumentary The Kids Are Alright but shelved because of a subpar performance by an out-of-practice band (save for the inclusion of “My Wife” on the TKAA soundtrack and a few 15-30 second clips over the years).

Audio from the Kilburn show surfaced on a bootleg in the early part of this decade (oddly enough, most likely from one of my cassette tapes, but that’s another story) and last week, the full concert, warts and all, was finally released in all its six-camera, 35mm glory, along with a second disc featuring footage from a Tommy show at the London Coliseum.

So now, the questions can be answered: were the ‘oo truly ‘orrible? Is the Kilburn show nothing but a display of mediocrity? Were the Who justified in shelving it for all these years?

Hardly.

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Dan Wilson (Trip Shakespeare, Semisonic, solo artist)

Okay Darren, here are my picks! I’m sure if I thought about it more I’d only come up with a bunch more bonus picks, so I’m sticking to these.

Joni Mitchell’s Hejira album. If it were one song I’d say “Hejira” — there’s something so heartbreaking about Jaco Pastorius’ bass melodies intertwining with Joni’s lyrics. And the song is about love, travel, the temporary fixes of modern life, and the quest for something lasting. What more could you ask for in a song? (more…)

DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE

Like almost everyone in the U.S. for the past few months, I’ve been pelted with political calls, commercials, mailers, and e-mails from candidates, “concerned citizens,” and the like to get out and vote and support or oppose a whole host of ballot initiatives. (If you live in California, you know what I’m talking about on the ballot-initiative side of things.) But this year people are getting more creative in their use of the Internets, and I’ve been treated to Saul Williams doing a four-minute impassioned poem about his support for Obama and a one-hour DJ mix that weaves speeches by former presidents and Obama into a pretty good groove. However, politics, like life, is full of contradictions, and that’s why I wanted to do a mix that is kind of all over the place.

“America, Fuck Yeah,” Team America
(Download)

I bought this soundtrack before I saw the film and was rolling when I first heard some of the songs. To my surprise, the film wasn’t as funny as the music, so before you put your copy of Team America: Wold Police into your DVD player, take a few moments and savor the genius of “America, Fuck Yeah.” And for an added contrast, enjoy the “Bummer Remix”; after all, bombast can’t last forever. Eventually, what goes up must come down …

“America, Fuck Yeah (Bummer Remix)” (Download)

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Zack Dennis: Every time I get hooked in by Pete Townsend’s synthesizers, I feel kind of silly. And yet it always happens. While I’d rather listen to the entirety of Quadrophenia rather than any particular single by the Who, the singles almost universally have the capacity to cheer me up and this one is no exception.

Jason Hare: I’m on a lot of Who discussion groups, and Face Dances is generally regarded at the band’s worst studio album — ranked worse than ’82’s It’s Hard — but I quite like it. Perhaps Bill Szymczyk (you know how hard it is to Google that name when you don’t know how to spell it?) wasn’t the best producer for The Who (just as Kenney Jones wasn’t the best choice of drummer), but he helped them create a sound that accurately heralded in The Who 2.0, post Keith Moon. “You Better You Bet” is a ridiculously stupid song but I love it anyway. I love how Pete’s vocals are omnipresent, and Roger sings with fantastic attitude that, for one of the first times, just doesn’t translate to “I’m angry.” (See just about any track from Who Are You).

Ted Asregadoo: Man, I loved this song when it came out — and then I bought the cassette and wanted to return it because I thought someone was playing a joke on me. I mean, yeah, there was this gem and “Another Tricky Day,” but what about everything in between? I thought some smelly socks idiot at the mastering lab dubbed in a bunch of songs from … well, I had no idea where because, to me, it wasn’t the Who singing “Cache Cache” and the other forgettable songs, it was some group who sounded like the Who trying to foist dung on me while calling it prime rib. But hey, who doesn’t love Townshend missing his vocal cue and smiling at his mistake?

Dw. Dunphy: I was as surprised as anyone when longtime Eagles producer Bill Szymczk ended up as the Who’s choice for Face Dances. Yet when you backtrack, it actually makes a little sense. Leaving their comfy home of MCA Records, this was their first Warners release, all old-timers were feeling pinched to prove they still could turn the charts their way and they had the huge hurdle of overcoming Keith Moon’s death. Of course a “hitmaker” was called in, and this is exactly what was expected. “You Better You Bet” is bouncy, snarly, a little dirty and has major hookitude. Townshend employed most of those same hooks on the superior “Let My Love Open The Door.” (more…)

The Whomobile was a 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 rustbucket my dad  purchased in 1984. By the time I got around to driving it in 1985, its roof was covered with Bondo to fill the gaping wounds that allowed water to drain into the passenger seats. One spring day, during the end of my sophomore year, I asked my father if I could paint a flag on the roof of the car. The idea was a whim and I doubted he would agree. To my surprise, he asked which flag.

Visions of “Dukes of Hazzard” filled my head and I suggested the Confederate flag. He immediately said “no.” You see, he had taught in Georgia during the ’60s, and the racism he saw firsthand still left a sour taste in his mouth. That flag was an ugly reminder of the past and he wasn’t about to drive around town with it painted on his car. Thinking fast, I spat out “How about the Union Jack?” He thought a moment. “The flag of England?” I shrugged, sure. He curled his lower lip in approval and simply said, “okay.” It took me a couple of weeks to complete the paint job. It wasn’t perfect, but close enough. The Whomobile was born.

I have to give credit to my close friend, Sally, who gave the car its name. For more than a year, that rusting piece of metal on four wheels drove through town with the Union Jack and the question, “Who Are You?” painted in 12-inch letters on the trunk. My dad never complained or asked me to cover it up; I personally believe he got a kick out of being seen in it. Perhaps it made him cool. I’d like to go on to describe the many crazy adventures that took place in the Whomobile, but the truth is, there weren’t that many. Mostly, it was “the car,” a symbol of individually amongst my friends. It was a part of my image and became a symbol of who I was. And yes, I liked the thought of being perceived “cool.” Trust me, I was not. (more…)

DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE

This mix all started with an article on Billboard.com that I sent to Jason Hare. It was about how the Who’s album of cover tunes (produced by T-Bone Burnett) is on hold until … well, no one really knows. Anyway, Jason and I had a back and forth about Who covers, and the next thing I know, I have this week’s Mix Six pretty much in the can.

“Dancing in the Street,” The Who (Download)

Do you ever get obsessed with a song and just have to hear the whole thing after listening to a snippet? Well, that’s what happened when Jason sent me a link for live version of “Dancing in the Street” the Who did in 1979. The sample is from an out of print EP called Won’t Get Fooled Again. Instead of doing the obvious and asking him for an mp3 copy, I spent way too much time trolling sites looking for the song. Alas, I came up short. But Jason eventually tracked it down through his own network of Who fans, and now you have a chance to hear it, too. Kids, what we have here is a very rare recording, so get it while it’s hot! (more…)

Cheap Trick - “Surrender”

The Who - “The Kids Are Alright”

There are few things more entertaining on planet Earth than watching a guy who’s recently gone through some sort of emotional distress. I once stopped by a buddy’s place after having to put my dog to sleep; clearly having no idea what the accepted etiquette in such a situation was, he asked me, straight-faced, “So, uh, how’d it go?” Luckily, guys are also especially equipped to handle such things, as they, if nothing else, probably have a horrifying movie in the cabinet to watch. Let us turn things over now to Jason Hare, who sure plays a mean pinball.

“Jesus Christ, when is she going to stop flinging poop?”
By Jason Hare

The song that reminds me of being dumped, thankfully, always ends with me rolling in hysterics on the floor.

My first really hardcore dumping happened when I was 16 years old. I was pretty much completely oblivious to the fact that my girlfriend had been cheating on me for a couple of months; I had suspicions, but this was at a time where I still believed that people, when confronted with the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, would head in the direction of the harp and wings. One Saturday afternoon, I got the phone call where she finally gave me the one-two punch: yes, she had cheated on me, and yes, she was breaking up with me — and not even to necessarily be with the other guy. Somehow, that made it worse.

I had that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. You know the feeling. I got off the phone and did everything I could to hold back my tears. Luckily, I’ve always had good friends who are right there to try and take your mind off of things the minute something like this happens. I quickly called Andrew and Mike (formerly of Down With Snark) and invited them to come over and watch a movie. I was just becoming a Who fan, and decided that perhaps this would be a good time to see Ken Russell’s film version of Tommy. We were all in a band together, and all dug The Who; I figured this was a good opportunity to focus on something other than what a sucker I had been for a few months. Anything to get the day’s events off of my mind.

So we sat down to watch Tommy. Have you ever seen Tommy? If so, you’ll know it’s unlike just about any other movie. I know Who fans who insist it’s a cinematic masterpiece. However, I think it’s easily one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.  But thankfully, it’s bad in one of those so-terrible-it’s-funny ways. Mike, Andrew and I started laughing within the first 15 minutes of the movie, when they continuously flash back to these shots of Captain Walker screaming bloody murder as his plane crashes. The whole movie is just so awful: from Jack Nicholson’s pathetic attempt at singing to Tina Turner’s awesome-yet-frightening-as-hell turn as The Acid Queen, to Eric Clapton’s “Hey, anybody got any more heroin?” turn singing “Eyesight to the Blind.” And I haven’t even mentioned Oliver Reed. (more…)