Chet seems to be a swinger of sorts these days. Who knew nerds had it in them? Hmmm….
Oh, man, do I remember Quadraphonic as a miserable failure of an audio format. It was even worse then the Beta vs. VHS clash of the 80s. Here it was 2 vs 4 speakers. The biggest problem with the format was there was *NO* definitive format. There were at least 4 or 5 different formats fighting and on top of that there were technical issues with Quad records and so the format never took off. Today you may recognize Quad as Surround sound!
“Quadrophenia” was a 1973 double album release by the Who which returned once more to the Rock Opera format that they created with “Tommy” back in 1969. I think this outing was much stronger than its predecessor, not only in the overall production and sound (which is driven by Keith Moon’s impecible drumming) but Pete Townsend had really found himself as a composer and musician. I received “Quadrophenia” as a Christmas present from my first girlfriend (well, first girlfriend I could *actually* take out on dates as I had a driver’s license finally). I felt like a real turd as I had gotten her a Jethro Tull album for FREE by joining the Columbia record club (remember those damn “no album this month” cards you had to return or you’d end up with a Barry Manilow album?). She had dropped like $10 on me and I spent, um, nothing. I’m a cheap date. 🙂 Remember, in 1973 you could, like, buy a house for $10 so it was a *lot* of money for a 16 year old girl to spend on her cheap boyfriend. She was also the first girl to “french” me and what a discovery that was at age 16. “What the hell is that?” I remember asking her. Ew! How unsanitary! I remember thinking. I quickly forgot about the germs…
🙂
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Discussion (41) ¬
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That may be the BEST reasoning that I’ve ever heard! Lol!
… she said her stereo was four-way …. and i’d just love it in her room…
😀
quadrophenia is one of those records you either really love or absolutely cannot stand. there doesn’t seem to be a middle ground with that one from what i’ve seen. it’s a cohesive work, the music is pretty standout, but i’ve just never liked that record. always loved “who’s next?” much better for some reason. most of the songs from that record was also written as a rock opera originally (at least in townshend’s mind), and i have often wondered what “who’s next?” woulda been like had it been fleshed out completely, quadrophenia-stylee, as the plot for the rock opera that it woulda been was pretty interesting.
–dee!
Ah yes, the Lifehouse project… sitting unfinished like a Colleridge poem, tantalizing us with what might have been.
I’m in the “Quadrophenia is great” camp, being a dedicated Follower of the Noise. I think the Who’s entire output from A Quick One to Who Are You is an artistic triumph (their first album had a few great tracks but too many covers and not enough of THEIR sound), though they went into decline after Moon’s death. Quadrophenia particularly appeals to me as a historian, since it’s Townsend’s look back at the time the group was just starting out and wrestling with the question of how the 60s all went so terribly wrong in the end.
Also, great timing on this strip, coming out the day after the Who performed at the Superbowl. Their light show still uses some of the same tricks as 40 years ago, and it’s great to see that Townsend still jumps around on stage when he plays.
“Out of my brain on the 5:15!”
Been there, done that! 😉
I had the strange claim to fame that I actually dated Keith Moon’s sister for a while!
This was after his sad/mad passing, but nevertheless, it’s my claim to fame!
Quadrophenia was given to me by another girl of my acquaintance, I got around a bit back in the day! 😉 (In fact I think the term was “Seventies Slapper”! 😉 If that could be applied to a bloke! LOL) But that was back in the day when I was young, slim, had a full head of very long hair and could pull an all-nighter! If you get my drift!
After all this time I still have all my own hair, it’s in a box in a cupboard somewhere! 😉
The good old days, when men were real men, and women were grateful! 😀
Heheh! Hair in a box. Good one.
I was at a Police Concert last year and I looked around at the teeming masses and said to the bloke next to me “When did we all get so old?”
He replied: “Well, y’know everyone here is on drugs. Mostly Lipitor, but some blood thinners and beta-blockers too.”
Geezer-rock humour.
‘…and I’m still living at home, even though it won’t last…’
I agree with you that Quadrophenia is the stronger of the two ‘Oo rock operas. Tommy wwas a lot of fun and spawned some iconic classics, but I always felt that Quadrophenia was more mature musically *and* emotionally, filled with yearning and with jagged energy and the zeitgeist of the times, and in many ways more of a window into Peter T’s own creative and personal heart (and it was some of the songs from Quadrophenia that triggered my Weird Moment with him – I think you know the story…?).
Also, the movie rocked hard. Like a hard rocking thing. Damn, I’m going to have to track it down on DVD now…been years since I’ve watched it…
‘…still can’t explain, why this uncertain feeling is still here in my brain…’ ~wanders off shivering with justified nostalgia~
Germs. LOL!
Man, he oughtta go into marketing. 🙂
Those who talk about it probably aren’t getting it.
I love The Who anf an deeply grateful I saw the line up with Moon.
Even more important than Quadrophenia… I remember shopping at Lafayette Radio & Electronics back in the 70’s.. (I graduated High School in 1975). They had some AWESOME stereo equipment, and you could also get heathkits there!
I Like the blur effect in the background, it really makes the foreground pop! I’ve been doing that with my comic for a long while now and it really is a great way to add depth and dimension. I actually learned it from Doug MacReas “Acorn Place” way back when.
Nice one.
Quad. Hmm. Early 70s urban legend went that Bridge Over Troubled Water is recorded in Quad as an attempt to up the fidelity – and that every copy of BOTW is, in fact, a quad copy, but I’ve never had a quad set-up to try it out for myself. Don’t flame me over that album. It is still effing fan-bloody-tastic, even by today’s standards, if you know what you’re listening to.
Virgin Records were known for their signature comedic inserts into unlikely places. During their days as a mail-order record business, their letters to purchasers were sometimes a riot. In those days they had two stores, one in London, one in Birmingham and thay were meccas for my generation. Stay with me.
When they became a recording label and started their first regional stores they issued Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” as one of the first four records on their label. It had the standard boilerplate on the back cover: “This stereophonic recording can be played on mono equipment provided a compatible cartridge is fitted. Consult you local record dealer for more information”.
Only, if you took a good hard look it wasn’t. The blurb actually read: “This stereophonic recording cannot be played on old tin boxes no matter *what* they are fitted with. If in possession of such equipment, hand it in at the nearest police station”.
When they issued the quad version of Tubular Bells it had a sticker prominently placed on the front. A square sticker with the four letters “Q-U-A-D” in a sort of square font arranged in a two-by-two matrix. Underneath, in *very* small letters was written “for people with four ears”.
Dang. There is absolutely know arguing with that reasoning…absolutely none at all. I’m searching Craigs List for a Quad system right now, see even I couldn’t come up with an argument so now I have to follow thru. 🙂
This is a proof men think with their penis.
My grandparents built out their basement in the mid-70’s (including a bar… awesome), and they actually installed quad speakers in the four corners of the rumpus room. They still have them to this day, along with the original 8-track and record player (they stopped using the room to entertain company in the 80’s… when it basically became my toy room… with a bar… again, awesome… so all the new stuff stays upstairs).
I grew up not knowing that no one else had any idea what the hell quadrophonic sound was.