“My Generation” is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend, from their debut album of the same name (1965). It was released as a single on 29 October 1965, reaching number two in the United Kingdom (their highest-charting single in their home country with 1966’s “I’m a Boy“) and number 74 in the United States. The song also appeared in greatly extended form on their live album Live at Leeds (1970).
One of the band’s signature songs,[8] “My Generation” was placed number 11 by Rolling Stone on its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2004 and 2010, re-ranked number 232 in the 2021 edition. It was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for being “historical, artistic and significant”..
Townshend told Rolling Stone in 1985 that ‘My Generation’ was “very much about trying to find a place in society.”[11] On a later interview for Good Morning America, in 1989, the band was discussing the upcoming 1989 tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Tommy, and Townshend talked about the famous line “I hope I die before I get old.” He said that, for him, when he wrote the lyrics, “old” meant “very rich”. The song’s lyrics comprise a distilled statement of youthful rebellion. The song’s melody and composition is considered a forebear to punk rock. One of the most quoted—and patently rewritten—lines in rock history is “I hope I die before I get old,” famously sneered by lead singer Roger Daltrey.
For the band the song was the basis for an extended medley or improvisation, going on as long as fifteen minutes, as evinced by the version appearing on Live at Leeds. Live recordings from 1969 to 1970 include snippets of music from Tommy as well as parts of what would become “Naked Eye”. Townshend’s demo version of the song (together with a demo of “Pinball Wizard“) appeared on a flexi disc included in the original edition of the book The Who: Maximum R&B by Richard Barnes.[12]
The instrumental elements of the song are fast and aggressive. Significantly, “My Generation” also featured one of the first bass solos in rock history.[13] This was played by Entwistle on his Fender Jazz Bass,[14] rather than the Danelectro bass he wanted to use; after buying three Danelectros with rare thin strings that kept breaking easily (and were not available separately), a frustrated Entwistle used his Fender strung with nylon tapewound strings and was forced to simplify the solo. The song’s coda features drumming from Keith Moon, as well, whereupon the song breaks down in spurts of guitar feedback from Townshend’s Rickenbacker, rather than fading out or ending cleanly on the tonic. There are two guitar parts. The basic instrumental track (as reflected on the instrumental version on the My Generation Deluxe edition) followed by Townshend’s overdubs including the furious feedback on the coda. Similarly to the Kinks‘s “You Really Got Me” (also produced by Shel Talmy), the song modulates from its opening key of G up to C via the keys of A and B♭. Townshend’s guitars were tuned down a whole step for the recording.
Posted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Generation