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Times change

M

mjnyc

Feb 15, 2021
146
216
NYC
#1
I was a teenager living in Munich in the 60's. Saw The Who in a large venue (Zirkus Krone, usually used for a circus). They closed the set with My Generation and completely smashed all their instruments (guitars, mic stands through smoking amps, etc). It was absolutely exhilarating. Of course being 15 at the time added to the experience.

Fast forward some 60 years, now playing some rock covers with a few adults, mostly older, except drummer in his 20s. Relayed this story, and the drummer basically said "why would they do that? what a waste of expensive equipment".

Back in the 60's this was a liberating act (like many others back then). Now, when essentially anything goes, it makes no sense as protest.

Made me smile.

Michael
 
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#2
I always loved the Who but I grew up in a working-class family where money was always tight. While I rejected many of my parents' values, I also learned that money didn't just magically appear. Breaking up musical instruments, when my family would have had to save for weeks to buy even one of those smashed guitars, always struck me as a really stupid "statement".
 
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#6
mjnyc said:
I was a teenager living in Munich in the 60's. Saw The Who in a large venue (Zirkus Krone, usually used for a circus). They closed the set with My Generation and completely smashed all their instruments (guitars, mic stands through smoking amps, etc). It was absolutely exhilarating. Of course being 15 at the time added to the experience.

Fast forward some 60 years, now playing some rock covers with a few adults, mostly older, except drummer in his 20s. Relayed this story, and the drummer basically said "why would they do that? what a waste of expensive equipment".

Back in the 60's this was a liberating act (like many others back then). Now, when essentially anything goes, it makes no sense as protest.

Made me smile.

Michael
Click to expand...
Explain to him that it was performance art, no different than the stunts Banksy pulls. It originated by accident…The Who were playing on a stage with a low ceiling, and as Pete and Roger(and Keith)were kinetic performers already(rebelling against the penguin suit, polite statue-like style of many of their peers), Pete accidently jammed his guitar neck up into the tiles. Stuck, with him trying to free it, the audience reacted hysterically, which initially enraged Townshend, but he realized that, if that got that much of a response, he could turn it into a routine. Plus…as an art student, he was familiar with Gustav Metzger, who was behind the concept of Auto-Destructive art…
Auto-destructive art - Wikipedia

Pete saw it as a concept, a statement against post-war materialism, plus coupled with the tune “My Generation”, it was an extented middle finger toward the powers that be. Bottom line, it continued to thrill and excite audiences, and got the band notoriety. It also, unfortunately, just about bankrupted them; had Tommy not been a hit, they would have gone under.
To any of you clutching your pearls over the destruction of gear, did you forget what it’s like to be young and pissed-off? Why is it that people have flocked to movies with things being blown up, car chases, etc? Demolition Derby events? That guy on drums is way too uptight for someone his age. Kids today, whaddya gonna do?
 
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#7
Fully understand all of the above.

Why did I like it when I was 15? Because I was 15. No excuses needed there.

But why do I still have fond memories of it (enough to make me post this anecdote)? Probably nostalgia for my 15 year old self and its ability to feel so intensely. And nostalgia for a time when the lyrics to Gloria seemed rebellious and obscene, and a gesture like smashing instruments or a book title like "Steal This Book" were the epitome of revolt.

Michael
 
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#8
Michedelic said:
Explain to him that it was performance art, no different than the stunts Banksy pulls. It originated by accident…The Who were playing on a stage with a low ceiling, and as Pete and Roger(and Keith)were kinetic performers already(rebelling against the penguin suit, polite statue-like style of many of their peers), Pete accidently jammed his guitar neck up into the tiles. Stuck, with him trying to free it, the audience reacted hysterically, which initially enraged Townshend, but he realized that, if that got that much of a response, he could turn it into a routine. Plus…as an art student, he was familiar with Gustav Metzger, who was behind the concept of Auto-Destructive art…
Auto-destructive art - Wikipedia

Pete saw it as a concept, a statement against post-war materialism, plus coupled with the tune “My Generation”, it was an extented middle finger toward the powers that be. Bottom line, it continued to thrill and excite audiences, and got the band notoriety. It also, unfortunately, just about bankrupted them; had Tommy not been a hit, they would have gone under.
To any of you clutching your pearls over the destruction of gear, did you forget what it’s like to be young and pissed-off? Why is it that people have flocked to movies with things being blown up, car chases, etc? Demolition Derby events? That guy on drums is way too uptight for someone his age. Kids today, whaddya gonna do?
Click to expand...
Yeah, yeah, we all understand that; we were young too.

All I can say that as a teenager who had to WORK and SCRIMP and SAVE and sometimes go without dinner when the money was short, never mind even being able to buy fancy musical instruments, even back then it pi$$ed me off to watch people wantonly destroy things of value to make a pseudo-philosophical point. I'm not talking about my attitude NOW, I'm talking about my attitude THEN. I'm sitting there watching that and thinking "Man, I can't even afford to buy a box of reeds and those guys just smashed a Stratocaster, a Twin Reverb, and a Ludwig drum kit to splinters. Hey, a$$holes, give ME that stuff instead!" That's what it was like to be young and POOR and angry.
 
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#9
turf3 said:
Yeah, yeah, we all understand that; we were young too.

All I can say that as a teenager who had to WORK and SCRIMP and SAVE and sometimes go without dinner when the money was short, never mind even being able to buy fancy musical instruments, even back then it pi$$ed me off to watch people wantonly destroy things of value to make a pseudo-philosophical point. I'm not talking about my attitude NOW, I'm talking about my attitude THEN. I'm sitting there watching that and thinking "Man, I can't even afford to buy a box of reeds and those guys just smashed a Stratocaster, a Twin Reverb, and a Ludwig drum kit to splinters. Hey, a$$holes, give ME that stuff instead!" That's what it was like to be young and POOR and angry.
Click to expand...
They kept doing it because their audiences ate it up, so write it off as cost of doing business. They were big time. It was showbiz.
It was as frustrating, and no different from, the fact that they(and other bands who didn’t blow things up)kept getting bigger amplifiers, when we kids had to put up with some 15 watt Teisco shoebox-sized amp and bass rigs with 40 watts going thru some Radio Shack speaker. PA? Ha, run the mic into the other channel on the guitar amp. That was always a drag, and maybe anger inducing.
 
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#11
Grinderman said:
Though gear is as plentiful as ever, far more than 30 years, even further compared to 50, I don't recall witnessing anyone smashing equipment going back decades. The last time I can think of was in the mid-'90s.

The shock appeal is there anymore. Might it come back? I don't know.
Click to expand...
I saw Royal Blood thrash some stuff a few years ago at a festival.
 
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#12
We should've agreed to a moratorium on instrument-smashing after it peaked, the moment this photo was snapped! :laugh:
TheClashLondonCallingalbumcover.jpg
 
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#19
I think it would have been 10 times cooler if they had done it just once. The spontaneity of it would have been way more rock 'n' roll than turning it into a planned part of the act going forward. But the audience kept eating it up, so...It reminds me of the musicians who constantly give the finger to the camera. Okay, you're rebels, we get it! But if you do it over and over again, then you start to look like a poser, IMO. I'm not saying The Who looked like posers; I'm just making an imperfect analogy.

It's interesting how "a statement against post-war materialism" can also be interpreted as a statement saying, "We're so wrapped up in rock 'n' roll excess that we can wantonly destroy perfectly good instruments show after show!" I can see how that might turn on - or turn off - certain segments of the audience.
 
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