Pete Townshend has been on the world's stage for well over 40 years now, and that means that there's over 40 years of artistic contributions, public statements and private acts for all of us to obsess over, savor, and condemn, sometimes all at the same time. Just as he's too human for idol-worship, he's too complex to merely dismiss as a sellout, or whatever condemnation you want to use.

I don't recall either Townshend OR Ray Davies (or, more likely, brother Dave) claiming to invent the power chord. Any of them would have a legitimate claim, I suppose, but it's irrelevant. The power chord would've happened one way or the other, like the cheeseburger.

And yes, at the same time that I have revelled in the glorious music that Townshend has given the world, and which has been such a big, big part of my life since childhood, I've reviled Townshend for his seeming greed - his perpetual "farwell tour" perpetrated by the post-Moon Who (really more the idea of Daltrey and Entwhistle, since they don't have the songwriter's revenue of Townshend), and his songs providing background noise for car commercials and the like. Even for the endless re-packaging of the Who catalog for the endless reselling - though yes, I do end up buying it all again. (I mean, Tommy in a 5.1 mix - awesome!!)

But guess what, folks - those who create the music have pretty limited control of how that music is used. Anyone can pretty much use a song however they see fit, provided they pay the appropriate royalties and licensing. Often the decisions are made by someone other than the artist, as in the case of John Fogerty's entire CCR catalog. And, in cases where the rights to the specific recording of a song can't be secured, there's nothing stopping someone from taking the song itself and having it recorded by someone else - usually in a note-for-note copy of the original - and using it that way. In fact, it's cheaper that way. (Do you really think Hem would want one of their songs used by a damn insurance company? That's not their version of "Half an Acre" playing behind that Liberty Mutual ad, it's a sound-alike band who probably got paid a couple hundred bucks each.)

If it makes you feel better to dismiss Townshend so easily, go ahead. But for me, he can do whatever damn well he pleases - it won't change the way I feel about Quadrophenia, Sell Out (oh, what irony), Who's Next, Tommy, Live at Leeds, his often splendid solo work, and literally dozens and dozens of singles and album cuts.

Christ, "Pictures of Lilly" alone would do it for me.

lotsa comments to comment on, not to get all meta and stuff.

1) the writer who compared AF to the Waterboys has my undying love and respect. If someone asked me to give a one sentence description of AF, I would call them "Talking Heads meets 'big music' era Waterboys, even though they don't really sound like either band." (I love all three, so it's not an insult to any of them.)

2) whoever said that AF was terrible on SNL, I... I'm just flabbergasted. You must've had a really bad night, because I thought their performance was absolutely stunning, the best musical performance I've seen on that show in a LONG time, especially "Intervention." I don't think they were overwhelmed by the live TV experience, I thought they rose to it brilliantly.

3) to all y'all Springsteen haters: if you find "Born to Run" to have a monotonous melody and juvenile lyrics (or whatever the exact criticism was, I don't feel like taking the time to look back through the other letters), then you have no ear for music and no blood running through your veins. Your post-rock hipster coolie status has left your soul barren. I feel awful for you. And as a previous writer says, BitUSA had state-of-the-art production for 1984 and frankly holds up much better in that sense than much of the music of that period.(And can we please stop calling Springsteen's music "bombastic?" He's always been just as capable of great intimacy as he has the big, anthemic sound most associated with him - or have you never heard Nebraska, The Ghost of Tom Joad or his latest, criminally underappreciated We Shall Overcome: the Seger Sessions?)

Arcade Fire are a terrific band, and Neon Bible is a terrific album, but I don't think it's quite as good as Funeral, so I'm a little concerned about their future. But in this day and age when music is so fragmented, so much of it is soulless, and there's just too damn much of it for chrissakes, the Arcade Fire stands out.

sounds like they're probably a good band to see live. It doesn't knock my socks off, but definitely loosens them a bit. The guitar/synth combo is better than I expected.

so far, I like the performance and production more than the song itself, which on first listen sounds a little, I don't know, run-of-the-mill. That opinion will probably change once I've had a chance to actually listen to the lyrics, though - "sleepdriving" itself is a nice image.

(And isn't one of the sleep-assisting medications being accused of causing that very thing lately?)

I'm beginning to like Bright Eyes, this song helps that along. I long thought that Conor Oberst was REALLY overrated; didn't help that the first song I heard by him was that one that's basically lifted from "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright."

Ooh, nice strings on the bridge. Good production. Me likey.

Almost sounds more like Big Express-era XTC to me, not the early stuff. Of course, the early stuff is probably my least favorite of their catalog, good as it is.

I miss Shriekback, I saw them in concert somewhere around `89-`91, can't remember exactly when. Awesome show. Oil and Gold was a great album.