{"product_id":"the-who-and-philosophy-9781498514477","title":"The Who and Philosophy","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Who were one of the most memorable and influential of the 1960s British Invasion bandsmemorable because of their loudness and because they destroyed instruments during performances, and influential because of their success in crafting Power Pop singles like My Generation and I Can See for Miles, long-playing albums Live at Leeds and Who's Next, and the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia. The themes that principal songwriter Pete Townshend imparted into The Who's music drew upon the group's mostly working-class London upbringings and early Mod audiences: frustration, angst, irony, and a youthful inclination to lash out. Like some of his rock and roll contemporaries, Townshend was also affected by religious ideas coming from India and the existential dread he felt about the possibility of nuclear war. During a career that spanned three decades, The Who gave their fans and rock critics a lot to think about. The remarkable depth and breadth of The Who's music and their story as one of \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe editors Gennaro and Harison…have successfully compiled a selection of texts on a band and their followers who could only exist at that particular time. . . .Here we have a good compilation of texts that will appeal to anybody interested in popular music, British bands of the 1960s and of course The Who. * Popcultureshelf.com *\u003cbr\u003eIt isn’t their over-the-top stage moves or musical chops that made The Who the embodiment of their generation—youth of the Sixties. Rather, it was their verbal focus on expressing oneself authentically, the passion of the era. Authenticity was the theme of their hit songs (like “Behind Blue Eyes,” “The Real Me,” “I Can’t Explain,” “See Me, Feel Me,” and “Substitute”), in the title of their 1968 album “The Who Sell Out;” and expressed by Townshend in innumerable interviews. Authenticity, and its barriers, was also central to the works of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and the philosophers most influential to young Brits in the 1960s, the French existentialists, Sartre and Camus. Discussing the philosophical underpinnings and relationships between the work of this popular and influential rock band and a set of great modern philosophers, this long overdue volume provides a deeper understanding of both. -- Deena Weinstein, DePaul University\u003cbr\u003eWhat a terrific book! Harison and Gennaro have assembled a wide-ranging collection of essays spanning the academic, the intellectual and what is oftentimes just plain fun. Any deep fan of the Who has spent plenty of time reading into the band’s Mod antecedents, the symbolism of violence in the destruction of their instruments on stage, Townshend’s simultaneous striving for the power and permanence of opera while insisting that pop music is ephemeral, and how Meher Baba has lain a continuing religious thread through Townshend’s musical ideas. This book is for that fan, and anyone trying to look for their own philosophical thread running through the songs and career of rock music’s most philosophically adventurous act. -- David Simonelli, Youngstown State University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction  by Rocco J. Gennaro and Casey Harison  Part I—“I Can’t Explain”: Mod Culture  Chapter 1. The Who and “My Generation”: Philosophical Recollections of a Former Second Wave Mod by Catherine Villanueva Gardner  Chapter 2.  All Mod Cons: The Who and Rock ‘n’ Roll Authenticity by Steven D. Williams  Part II—“We’re Not Going to Take It”: Alienation and Angst  Chapter 3. “I’ve Had Enough”: The Who and Social Revolution by Casey Rentmeester and William Knoblauch  Chapter 4. Who’s That Outside? by Greg Littmann  Chapter 5. To the Sea and Sand: Quadrophenia – An Interpretation by Robert McParland  Chapter 6. Fiddling about Becoming a Man by Christopher Ketcham  Part III—“The Real Me”: Consciousness, Disorders, and Deception  Chapter 7.  “See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me” – Know Me: Rationalism vs Empiricism in Tommy by Russell L. Johnson  Chapter 8. What Does Tommy Feel?: The Aesthetic Experience of a Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Kid by S. Evan Kreider  Chapter 9. “He Only Comes out When I Drink My Gin”: DID, Personal Identity, and Moral Responsibility by Rocco J. Gennaro  Chapter 10. Who Can You Trust? The Paradox of Listening to The Who by Don Fallis  Part IV—“Pure and Easy”: Meher Baba and Spiritualism  Chapter 11. “The Real Me”  by Scott Calef  Chapter 12.  Behind Zarathustra’s Eyes: The Bad, Sad Man Meets Nietzsche’s Prophet by Blake Wilson  Part V—“Long Live Rock”: The Who in Concert  Chapter 13. Theater of Destruction: Chaos, Rage, Frustration, and Anarchy in the Rebellious Music and Ferocious Performances of the Early Who by Dan Dinello  Chapter 14. “You are Forgiven”: Reflections on Violence, Redemption and The Who by Casey Harison  Chapter 15. An Analysis of the Who in Concert: 1971-2014 by Peter Smith  Chapter 16. We Could Never Follow What You Did: The Who and the Concert for New York City by Tom Zlabinger  About the Contributors","brand":"Lexington Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51040654164311,"sku":"9781498514477","price":85.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781498514477.jpg?v=1750947406","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-who-and-philosophy-9781498514477","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}