Baba O’Riley
February 27, 2008
Song: Baba O’Riley
Artist: The Who
Album: Who’s Next
Link: Baba O’Riley
Genre: Classic Rock
Mood: triumphant, bold, anthemic
Description: Simply put, this is the definitive Who song. By the way, this song’s name is not “Teenage Wasteland,” as is commonly believed, and in fact never will be. This song has one of the most famous, and more importantly, one of the very best intros in the history of rock. It somehow manages to be very subtle while extremely brazen in its classic rock-simplicity. If that doesn’t make any sense, than it is because the intro, and really the entire song, is impossible to describe. It would be much easier to just stop reading this and go listen to the song. I’ll try a description anyway: Great but simple riff; the composition-ing is superb, and the lyrics are just broad enough to escape cliche and enter classic. The song is an anthem that has not only withstood the test of time, but has easily become one of the best songs of The Who’s entire generation.
