In response to the haiku about The Who

Back in the 60s (where I come from), music magazines and radio stations created competitions between bands. The Beatles vs. The Four Seasons [I never figured that one out], Black Sabbath vs. Deep Purple, ELP vs. Yes and The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones. You were either in one camp or the other. For someone as competitive and opinionated as I, those were sometimes life-altering choices.

My mistake as a youngster was allowing the media (radio and magazines) to make me choose. Perhaps that is why I rebel against media now? As I look back on those issues, I found that I would have loved Deep Purple, but I was a Black Sabbath guy, and Deep Purple was the enemy. Luckily, I was early on The Beatles' bandwagon, so The Four Seasons never stood a chance. Thank you, media. Do I sound hypocritical?

I found ELP and Yes around the same time, too. I remember seeing a Circus magazine article that proclaimed "Keith Emerson's Favorite Cup of Blood - Genesis". So, being a huge ELP fan, I wanted to be with Keith, and luckily for me, I found Genesis, too; around the time that Foxtrot came out.

When Sparky asked, in the comments section whether I was a Stones or Who guy, all that stuff came rushing back. I was always a Who guy and a Beatles guy. In those days, The Rolling Stones were the hard-core rock of which drug addicts and destitute losers were made, while The Beatles were the rebellious, 'your hair's too long' answer to your parents (who probably liked them, but were too afraid to tell us) - which is where The Monkees came in - but I digress.

I remember sitting in front of the old RCA TV in February of 1964, watching The Beatles on the old Ed Sullivan Show. Later, many a Sunday night was spent there, chasing away the adults while the boys churned out real live music, mop tops waving in the artificial wind. The Rolling Stones were on too, but I would probably see them as an aside to something after Topo Gigo or Alan King. In the final analysis, I was a little too "nice" a kid to be a Stones fan.

As I grew older (and some would say, wiser) I found that I didn't care much for the Stones' music. It was, and still is, a little too raw for me. I like my music more polished and sophisticated. Enter Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes and the 1970s. Those were the days.

As we know, The Rolling Stones have out-lived most carbon-based music and several cockroaches. However, I still cannot find a taste for them, and after a couple hundred visits to concert venues in the Northeast, The Rolling Stones have evaded me. I never gave it a second thought.

Some good friends have paid several hundred dollars to see The Stones on one of their many "farewell" tours, but I remain committed to non-committal. I wish I had gone to that Poconos show in 1974, where Deep Purple headlined, or that big JFK Stadium show where The Who had one of their last hurrahs, but, as Popeye said, "I am what I am." I was well into ELP, Focus, Yes and King Crimson by then.

One final haiku:

Rock crushes scissors,

like The Beatles crush The Stones.

I have no regrets.

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