My Generation
"My Generation" appeared on a self-titled debut album, The Who's. It was released as a single on 5 November 1965 and peaked at #2 in the UK and 74 in the US. "My Generation" has been named one of the "greatest songs of all time" by Rolling Stone magazine. My Generation, from its very beginning, has put itself in a dangerous line: Between one side there are all and nothing on one side, but more importantly, this is not a security buffer zone between two enemies, but on the contrary, between people who are supposed to love each other, in the same family, in a society. Inspired by the discontent of timeless youth through the lens of a counter-cultural Mod, Pete Townshend's age-defying work distills feelings of youth, energy, and the peak of life. It is said that Who's manager Kit Lambert claimed that Roger Daltrey was trying to stutter while performing, to sound "like a child speeding".
20-year-old boy, Townshend, when he felt so lonely and he didn't belong in this world anymore. He is living a double life, often sneaky gay while at the same time trying to convince everyone around him that he is straight. Homosexuality was still illegal in the UK at the time (and two years later, the young musician was found guilty of something beyond his control). Alone on the train, Townshend finds himself an outcast, completely out of tune with this society. Townshend's generation, who was born just after the war, fell into a strange state of despair at being marginalized in a world that was changing at the speed of light and this song is how The Who claims to be part of the magnitude of the radical paradigm shift taking place. But over time, the song has become an icon not only of for the generation born after World War II, but of all the weak voices, of all times.
“My Generation" is all about trying hard to find a place in society” - according to Townshend. “I was very, very lost. The band was very young then. Its future is expected to be very short-lived.” The Who succeeded beyond expectations and is considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century.
Singer: The Who
