Those friends of yours will get you in trouble, young man...
75. Pete Townshend "Rough Boys"
Pete Townshend used this song on Empty Glass his first solo album, and it's a good thing since this song would simply sound wrong in the mouth of sawed-off firecracker Roger Daltrey (in fact, much of the point of view at work may come from performing and living with the likes of Daltrey for a few decades).
Townshend, a self described 'frail & weedy' gawky, skinny social misfit found a home in the rough and tumble world (and the British mod scene The Who sprang from was a notoriously rowdy bunch) of rock and roll by virtue of his incredible guitar and songwriting prowess. In the Who bio Before I Get Old Townshend recalls a huge mod greeting him as a hero before a show, then later seeing the same guy pounding some other kid, and thinking that if it weren't for the guitar he might be the guy getting pounded. Yet he still remained drawn to and fascinated with the Mods and similar scenes later on, partly because they gave this misfit a place to belong and partly for more diffuse reasons.
In "Rough Boys" Townshend gives voice to his obsession, expressing all the self-doubt, fascination, and frustration (to say nothing of his bold statement of ambiguous sexuality) and the results are revelatory. He also had the good sense to do it with his signature raw, ringing guitar chords and punchy songwriting, and somewhat ironically, his toughest vocal performance ever (in The Who, Townshend was used as an occasional twee counterpoint to Daltrey's bellow). This song proves in fine fashion that expressions of male vulnerability needn't be soppy, not by a long shot.
Pete Townshend used this song on Empty Glass his first solo album, and it's a good thing since this song would simply sound wrong in the mouth of sawed-off firecracker Roger Daltrey (in fact, much of the point of view at work may come from performing and living with the likes of Daltrey for a few decades).
Townshend, a self described 'frail & weedy' gawky, skinny social misfit found a home in the rough and tumble world (and the British mod scene The Who sprang from was a notoriously rowdy bunch) of rock and roll by virtue of his incredible guitar and songwriting prowess. In the Who bio Before I Get Old Townshend recalls a huge mod greeting him as a hero before a show, then later seeing the same guy pounding some other kid, and thinking that if it weren't for the guitar he might be the guy getting pounded. Yet he still remained drawn to and fascinated with the Mods and similar scenes later on, partly because they gave this misfit a place to belong and partly for more diffuse reasons.
In "Rough Boys" Townshend gives voice to his obsession, expressing all the self-doubt, fascination, and frustration (to say nothing of his bold statement of ambiguous sexuality) and the results are revelatory. He also had the good sense to do it with his signature raw, ringing guitar chords and punchy songwriting, and somewhat ironically, his toughest vocal performance ever (in The Who, Townshend was used as an occasional twee counterpoint to Daltrey's bellow). This song proves in fine fashion that expressions of male vulnerability needn't be soppy, not by a long shot.
