Lately I have been giving some thought to throwing a sockhop, and it occurred to me that instead of trying to assemble the perfect set list, a band could play instead. And I had decided, who better than The Who? They started as a dance band for the Mods, they could play my mod dance with no trouble at all.
But this idea has gone from highly implausible to completely impossible. Because John Entwistle died this past Thursday (June 27th), and now as far as I am concerned The Who is no more. Some people, including myself most of the time, would argue that The Who truly ended when Keith Moon died. The Who have done okay without Keith, but now the entire rhythm section is deceased. The man who kept The Who firmly grounded is gone.
This in itself is a terrible thing. A member of a great band is dead. But there is a whole nother ripple of bad things that will come of this. I can guarantee that all over the country, people have suddenly remembered that they love The Who and are pouring into record stores to buy Greatest Hits albums. It happened with John Lee Hooker, it happened with George Harrison, and I am sure it will happen with John Entwistle too.
In this case it will get even worse. I can only assume that all sorts of unimaginative news people are going to try to work the hope I die before I get old line into stories. Everyone brings that up as if The Who collectively had a death wish instead of teenaged chips on their shoulders.
And soon the Freddie Mercury Syndrome will start flaring up. That is when modern day rock stars come out of the woodwork to pay tribute to John Entwistle, when they had never mentioned before that they are fans of The Who. In fact, I just read an article that quoted the bass player from Rancid. What? Who cares what the guy from Rancid has to say about John Entwistle? I care what Les Claypool has to say. I care what John Paul Jones has to say. Those guys are real musicians. Not members of Rancid! Grrrrr.
I saw Jeff J.'s mom this weekend, and she told me that VH1 had aired a tribute that was tasteful. That's good. Here is my own highly tasteful tribute to John Entwistle: What I will mostly remember is the bad outfits. I'm going to go put on an ugly leather jacket, push the sleeves up to my elbows, and walk around expressionless for a while as a loving tribute. Or not. I can't lie to you. Not ever, but particularly not now. I personally am indebted to John Entwistle because last summer would have sucked without my favorite John Entwistle product, Boris The Spider. It may have been one hundred degrees out, but at least I had The Who! And John Entwistle may be gone and it's one hundred degrees out again, but at least I will always have The Who.