The Who - Baba O'riley Reaction

[@snowdog5895]

So the name is a combination of the two names of Pete's mentors. The intro is a programmed (ancient) 1970's synth, and the end is a violin. The chorus is where a band will hook you into a song, yet this song has NO chorus. Now just imagine if you heard this in 1971 when it first came out as opposed to 50 years later. 🤯 Pete Townshend is one of the true musical geniuses of our generation. And yes I am still pushing for you to react to Band Maid. They might be a current band, but they have all the great qualities of a classic rock band. 🎶🎸🥁🎸🎶🔥🙂

[@reactioninaction7415]

SNOWDOG! Thanks for re-suggesting Band Maid. We have been trying to think of the name and searching for that comment where you suggested them. Tell us the first song and we will react to it...maybe a brief background of the band too!

[@snowdog5895]

@@reactioninaction7415 they are an all female rock band started in 2013 when the founding member had the idea to juxtapose their passive image against their aggressive sound. A good place to start would be the live version of their song "Domination" here is the link kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5PcgnaAo5ulj8k

[@erickrosito3659]

This whole album is fire

[@bostonwhofan]

The entire Who's Next album is a masterpiece. It opens with Baba O'Riley and closes with Won't Get Fooled Again. There is an absolute banger of a song on Who's Next called "Bargain" that for some reason not many reaction channels have reacted to. Roger Daltrey puts on a vocal clinic on Bargain and Keith Moon is off the charts great on the drums. Would LOVE to see you guys react to Bargain! If you do, I'd call that a bargain......................the best I ever had.

[@kmichaelp4508]

The best they ever had 😬

[@DawnSuttonfabfour]

BARGAIN.

[@jamescrane2156]

Pete Townsend's social commentary on youth culture after observing the huge crowd at Woodstock covered in mud and tripping on acid.

[@jhilal2385]

The Who - "Who Are You" - theme song for CSI (Las Vegas) The Who - "Won't Get Fooled Again" - theme song for CSi Miami The Who - "Baba O'Riley" - theme song for CSI: New York The Who - "I Can See For Miles" - theme song for CSI: Cyber, also used on the BritCom "Supernova" No synth, no looping, no auto-tune, just guitars, keyboards, amps, wawa, wammy, and fuzzbox Kansas - "Carry On Wayward Son" - theme song for Supernatural The Crystal Method - "Keep Hope Alive" - theme song for Third Watch, also used in opening scene of Chow Yun Fat movie The Replacement Killers Who lead singer Roger Daltrey had a recurring role on the "Highlander" TV series.

[@joemaurone7923]

"Welcome to Circuit City, Where Service is State of the Art."

[@cityhonors1]

🙋🏿‍♀️ 🐰

[@christinerobinson3819]

Roger Daltrey on vocals. Pete Townshend on guitar. John Entwistle on bass. Keith Moon (the loon) on drums

[@evangreen7157]

won't get fooled again live is a must watch

[@jamescrane2156]

Circuit City was a big box electronics/appliance/music store very similar to Best Buy.

[@cityhonors1]

😂 Dad going old school with the old Abbott & Costello "Who's on 1st" routine! 😉 Respect! 🍿🐰

[@reactioninaction7415]

Hey Ijola Fitts! He didn't even know the original and that's why it worked so well! lol Hey...check out our Foreigner Reaction To Action. It's not a popular video reaction but I think you will really like it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bn2xl4KYq8Z3Y5I

[@kmichaelp4508]

Do ya want my list of how many times I have seen The Who? Na. 5 times with the first in1969. Yep I’m old. Possibly the greatest Rock band ever. They were what the English called Mods. Rebellious. One of the loudest bands ever. At one time they held the record as the loudest only to be dethroned by Deep Purple a few years later. I have many stories. Over 300 concerts, well acts, in my lifetime. For real. One of the best live shows of any band. Now you two have to listen to “We Won’t Get Fooled Again “. One of the best of all time. Long live The Who 😬 I did see one other group 5 times, Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush. They started in the early 70’s…

[@tybulustyburn5580]

Baba = lead guitarist and song writer Pete Townshend was a follower of Indian mystic Meher Baba Riley = After another of Townsend's musical and technical mentors Terry Riley

[@mikesheahan6906]

The machine making that sound is called a moog. It was an early synthesizer, and it was huge. It would fill a small room. Pete Townshend is the guitar player and wrote many of the songs, but he is also the one on the moog. He was fascinated by it.

[@garya7893]

This whole album is great brings back memories

[@simply_psi]

They are so good, so creative, The song was originally written by Pete Townsend for a Rock Opera called Teenage Wasteland it was never finished but Pete liked this song so recorded it as a stand alone song, teenage wasteland has no meaning as such, you should do Love Reign O'er Me, it will blow you away, also Who Are You, Behind The Blue Eyes and Won't Get Fooled Again

[@88wildcat]

The rock opera was going to be called Lifehouse but Townsend ended up scrapping the whole idea and basically turned the leftovers from the project into the Who's Next album.

[@baronfyrewhine]

@@88wildcat Correct.

[@KKMcK1]

Townshend played a Lowrey TBO-1 organ at his home studio. He tried to run it through an ARP synthesizer/sequencer, but couldn't get the sound he was looking for. Instead, he used the "Marimba Repeat" setting on his Lowrey to create the arpeggiated, complex repeating pattern. It's actually simpler than it seems. Once you establish the note sequence, you simply change chords as you would normally do on a piano.

[@chicagojon1972]

I used to buy all my electronics at Circuit City! Also, as others have mentioned, this entire album is fantastic. One of the all time classics!

[@shelter9236]

If you watch any of the CSI TV crime shows they used The Who songs and their lead in to their shows. Each CSI show had it's own song - CSI New York, CSI Las Vegas, CSI Miami and CSI Cyber. They came out with CSI LV this year again, it was the first CSI show on TV back in the 2000-2015 and have brought back some of the original cast. The keystrokes is from a synthesizer and then the piano kicks in. And yes, us boomers were spoiled in our musical choices but look at the talent we had and the choice of music. FANTASTIC time to grow up and be alive back then.

[@eddiecollison]

Now you have to react to 'Who's on First', a classic comedy bit with Abbott and Costello.

[@bostonwhofan]

A couple of things about Baba O'Riley: there is a 10 minute instrumental version of the song on a Pete Townshend album called Lifehouse Chronicles where the infamous loop continues over and over with Pete playing guitar. No vocals. Also there actually is a song called "Teenage Wasteland" also on Lifehouse Chronicles. The lyrics are similar to Baba O'Riley but the song is completely different: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qp7FkoqqhtR_g5I The Who's Next album was intended to be another Who rock opera like Tommy and Quadrophenia and it was entitled "Lifehouse". The topic was so deep that Pete could never describe what it really meant to the other guys in the band. Who's Next is the remnants of the abandoned Lifehouse album.

[@allisterfiend_2112]

This band has so many hits. Want an anthem, listen to 'Love Reign O’er Me' by 'The Who'. Also, Keith Moon is one of the best drummers ever!

[@kmichaelp4508]

Bar none !!!!!!!!!!!

[@bostonwhofan]

To me "Love Reign O'er Me" isn't just the best song by The Who, it is the greatest song ever by anyone. Regarding Keith Moon, everyone says your favorite drummer's favorite drummer is Neil Peart. Neil Peart's favorite drummer was Keith Moon.

[@BlackCatLover]

In 1967 The Who appeared on The Smothers Brothers Show. Keith would put an explosive in one of his drums to explode during the finale of their gigs when Pete smashes his guitar. During the Tv show, Keith packed a bunch of explosives and set them off so his drum kit was on fire and knocked the show off the air for a while! They were REBELS and way ahead of their time! 🤣

[@br.martindallyosb1147]

"Baba O'Riley" refers to two individuals Pete Townshend was into at the time. The first was Meher Baba, an Indian Guru who had a major influence on Townshend's spiritual development (and from whom comes the phrase "Don,t worry, be happy"!). The second was Terry Riley, an experimental musician who helped developed the musical style called minimalism along with Steve Reich and Philip Glass (the opening synth sequence in "Baba O'Riley" is an excellent version of the music Terry Riley was playing in the late 60s through the early 70s.). Everything about this song is astonishingly wonderful.

[@DawnSuttonfabfour]

I like the vibe between you and you pick music I lived through and some I just had forgotten. Great to hear thru new younger ears. I HIGHLY recommend the entirety of Shepperton Studios Who gigs. Great, manic, Peter at his weirdest, Roger a Rock God who walks among mortals. John the Ox playing his amazing bass and Moonie, - what other drummer could have completed this band? Keith Moon : Someday all drummers will be this way...SEE the Shepperton Shows first then decide from there. It will help, I PROMISE and when it comes to something as important as music, I ALWAYS keep my promises. New sub from now on. Greetings from the East Coast of England xx

[@wm.patrickmilford4589]

Circuit City wasn't that far back 🤣 you could have said RadioShack. Piano players are laughing right now 🤣 waiting for the violin 🎻🤣

[@bradb3248]

Radio Shack, always wanted your phone number if you’d buy anything!

[@wm.patrickmilford4589]

@@bradb3248 back in the 70-80s it was a pirate radio and CB HAM radio toy store.

[@clab5864]

Guitarist Pete Townsend originally wrote this for another project. The title is a blend of 2 of his mentors names: Meher Baba and Terry Riley.

[@ericmcdonough8193]

Oh I remember Circuit City, the most lenient return policy ever. I miss that store. This song takes me right back to summer of '80. Was released long before that but drinking cold Michelob on hot summer nights in the summer of '80 on Long island is where this song puts me. Thank you for this!

[@juliemanarin4127]

I hated that store...screwed me royally over a brand new video camera that had to be fixed twice and still wouldn't work. Would not give me another one. I made a very loud declaration as to their terrible treatment of me and literally SMASHED on the floor during Christmas shopping! What a waste of money.

[@daveb.2499]

Baba O'Riley comes from Meher Baba and Terry Riley, 2 of Pete Townshend's (guitarist) musical influences.

[@krkhns]

Baba was not so much a musical influence as spiritual influence. Townsend was a follower of Baba's spiritual teachings.

[@88wildcat]

And the O' comes from the Irish sounding fiddle that comes in during the last part of the song.

[@brianshockledge3241]

To experiance them live watch Young Man Blues at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.

[@nigeltown6999]

This song is right up with 'Great Gig in the Sky' as a totally original, impossible to immitate or replicate - simply the best!

[@christinerobinson3819]

The Who started in the 60's ( I remember cos I was a teenager). Please do "Who Are You", "My Generation ", "Pinball Wizard" just for starters. If you watched the CSI franchise you may recognise their theme tunes as they used Who songs

[@workingman6681]

Everybody bought from Circuit City!! 😂👍👍

[@jollyrodgers7272]

I remember watching Pete Townshend performing this on stage, and I saw him doing his famous Windmill for the first time! The Who was one of the early Brit Punk bands, along with the Stones and The Kinks. Look at the album cover - ain't nuthin' sacred - is what they're saying. Yep, this was '71 and the whole album WHO'S NEXT is a classic.

[@simply_psi]

The instrument Pete Townsend used to make the sound was a Lowrey TBO-1 using the Marimba Repeat setting Peter used to love exploring different instruments just like Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison did with The Beatles

[@pamnicklas5536]

One of the most iconic rock songs of all time!!! P.s. remember Circuit City of course...also Shopper City.

[@jackp8583]

The sequencing you hear on all the Who's Next tracks was played on an ARP analog synth. Your right, this was 10-ish years before digital which blew up keyboard usage starting in the 80s.

[@thegreatnessoftheraiders4948]

The title refers to the band's guitarist Pete Townshend's two leading philosophical and musical inspirations: Maher Baba and Terry O’Riley Townshend said the song was about "the absolute desolation of teenagers at Woodstock where the teens were strong out on acid.

[@markrangel6860]

I was born in 1991 and going to Circuit City as a kid in Los Angeles was like going to Chuck E Cheese haha. My parents only ever bought me like two things from there but I was always overwhelmed and amazed. RIP Circuit City... Forefather to Best Buy.

[@RaymondBCrisp]

I bought my KEF egg speakers from Circuit City; these were the wired home audio system, not the desktop Bluetooth models. Got a damn good deal on them too...50% off. They were a floor demo system, but the salesman said they hardly ever were played, because no one stateside knew who KEF was, as they are a British brand. No one bought any, so they didn't even order any at the store, they just had the demo set. So I get this $1,599 5.1 audio set for just $800. SCORE!!! They even threw in the floor stands for free. Still have it, and it sounds freakin' amazing.

[@donnelson6694]

Love your Who reaction! You guys bring a smile to my face as I am going some really bad stuff in my life right now. Thank you so much! I'll be sending you all some money as soon as I can. You deserve it!!!

[@reactioninaction7415]

Don Nelson - we saw this comment when it came in and both read it. This is what it is all about! Bringing a smile and some fun into peoples day. This is the Dad and I can tell you I have been through many hard times and I am glad we can encourage you and bring a smile to your face! Thank you for sharing this and hang in there. We are going to be doing more WHO. Reply to this with your WHO song suggestion!!!

[@reactioninaction7415]

Don Nelson - I saw your other comment below about Reacting to a live Rush song. One little Victory in RIO correct? So - choose your song brother...Rush or Who and put the title or link in a reply here and we will react to it for you! Also, FYI will just did a RUSH live in Toronto - Tom Sawyer!!! that is coming real soon. Up next it Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown - We have both reordered. Just to give you a couple of vids coming up. Happy 4th of July!

[@donnelson6694]

@@reactioninaction7415 Thank you so much for your kind replies. You really make a huge difference in my life right now. I think Rush One Little Victory would be best for me right now. Whenever you can get to it. No hurry. The mix is a little muddy so the vocals are a little hard to understand. I don't know if you can get ahold of the lyrics too but I thought I should give you a heads up. Gave you the link. Remember, don't forget your seatbelts. Thanks! Happy 4th of July! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWS7mql-e8xsja8

[@joemaurone7923]

"Do you know who this band is? " "Yes." "Great, who is it? " "Yes." "Yes, who? " "Not the Who; Yes..."

[@ericmcdonough8193]

Hah! "Guess" "Guess Who?" "Nope" "Nope who?" "Yes, Who, not Guess Who!" "Third base?"

[@YoCraps-og4kt]

Thanks Joe and Eric. You brought back some great fond memories from my distant past that I haven't thought of in many, many years. I used too do the same thing saying and using, "The Guess Who", The Who" and "Yes". It would drive my friends nuts wile I would be cracking up at those idiots. Thanks for making me smile guys.

[@27thangel23]

No it's a VCS3 Programmable Organ... that on another song turns into the first synthesizer ever (for music) eith a Lawry patched input.

[@chrisholland6052]

Pete Townsend was a genius with new sounds. This was recorded when synthesizers were just being developed. And a loop machine did not exist yet, so what you're hearing is all manual. And Keith Moon does not play the drums,...he attacks them.

[@heathcliff8624]

It's an early synth he's playing on. There are a number of notes played on a keyboard, looped, then sped up.

[@roca7108]

Won't get fooled again.

[@murrannlehovitch6204]

I got to see them perform this live in 2019 here on Long Island. Roger Daltry, the singer sounded AMAZING for a man in his 70’s, they had a female play the violin exactly like you heard it. Zack Starkey, Ringo star’s son was on drums and of course Pete Townsend on guitar.

[@reactioninaction7415]

DANG that sounds awesome!

[@tiggerwoods100]

Keith Moon still my favorite drummer. Just love his fills.

[@billy9497able]

If you could check out the live version its amazing. They have such an amazing stage presence. They are just a wild live performance.

[@shelter9236]

The result would be Baba in the style of Terry Riley, or "Baba O'Riley." The title is not mentioned in the lyrics, so the song is often referred to as "Teenage Wasteland." The "Teenage Wasteland" section was a completely different song Pete Townshend combined with his "Baba O'Riley" idea to form the song.

[@tammieparrishmiller3669]

You pronounced it perfectly Dad. I bought a few stereos from Circuit city. I remember very well. All of my friends loved this song in high school. Me? Not so much, but I've come to appreciate it over the years. I think sometimes as you mature, your taste can change. How did I get here?! Love that!

[@beverlyrankin5421]

Show young buck Abbot and Costello’s Who’s On First comedy routine. He will get your teasing him about Who’s the band at the beginning of the video.

[@joehunter6106]

You need to watch some of there live stuff in the 60s, they were famous for destroying their instruments on stage.

[@grahamhowes6904]

Yes the synth was programmed randomly to generate a pattern. Check out the whole album it’s amazing.

[@clab5864]

Yep, bought a TV at Circuit City!! Rochester, NY!

[@davidmorgan5312]

The Who were used as opening themes for NCIS series

[@metalhead4135]

CSI New York. Not NCIS

[@michaelkeller6223]

Who's on first? The Who! This song is definitely an all-time classic of which the Who has several...

[@jeffpope3221]

Pete Townsend was one of the first rockers to figure out how to use synthesizers in a rock song.

[@KKMcK1]

Baba was/is Pete's spiritual guide. Ya gotta listen to the entire album. Watch The Who live at the "Isle of Wight" fantastic performance by the band at or near its peak. Better to watch them live, though their albums are genius!

[@nononobutyeah]

You can hear that last part at every Eastern European wedding for hundreds of years now.

[@cityhonors1]

😍 The Who had tons of "Anthems"! 🍿🐰

[@johnkominar8417]

If you can find this live the dum.......dum dum, is great with fists in the air. Saw them live.

[@bradb3248]

I got speakers at circuit city in the nineties, so much to explore with The Who, check out The Real Me, bassist John Entwistle one of the best. Drummer Keith Moon incredible also, was the craziest rock musician ever!

[@stevensprunger3692]

O’riley refers to Terry O’Reilly who developed that type of repetitive looping music Avante guarde Baba Was his guru Who saw them in concert and saw all the teenagers out there and referred to it as teenage wasteland

[@kennyosborne3839]

Roger Daltrey Singer Pete townsend guitar John Entwistle Bass Keith Moon Drums

[@_max_250]

The Who are one of the best bands. So there is vocals-roger daltrey Guitar-Pete tounshend Bass-john entwisle Drums- the legendary Keith moon

[@BlackCatLover]

I saw The Who live a few times in the 1970s. Please do reactions for “Magic Bus” & “My Generation”!

[@swilkins2524]

Seen them just after the 4 people were trampled to death when the doors were opened and you can sit anywhere. So, of course people were pushing to get the great "seats". I went to see them in the brand new Pontiac stadium in Michigan. I remember when the doors opened, my thoughts were on the trampled people in Ohio! When the crowd surged forward,my feet was lifted of the ground! It was scary! But once inside got a good seat, got stoned and watched a fantastic concert! Keith Moon was an animal on those drums!!!

[@tomperugini189]

Rush's favorite band..and pete townshend whos,s guitar player.. loves rush..pete hates most bands but when it came to rush..order of canada for pete..he asked rush to come..

[@donnelson6694]

If you guys decide to react to some live Rush videos, their live in Rio stuff from their Vapor Trails tour is the bomb! This the first song from the album and probably the best to start with. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWS7mql-e8xsja8. Vapor Trails was the first recoding they made after the death of Neil's daughter and wife. It is FIRE! No keyboards, foot pedals or fancy guitar solos. Lots of great backing vocals from Alex, though. Just don't forget your seatbelts!

[@blitztim6416]

Just go to the next song on the album. It’s called ‘Bargain’.

[@tanayghosh8324]

This song is also used in one of the trailers for PS5.

[@arjaylee]

Watch some concert footage of The Who! The two surviving members are still performing

[@danjohnson2986]

Harmonica at the end. I’ve seen them in concert. It’s a harmonica

[@kennyosborne3839]

It goes into the song Bargain off the same album

[@juliemanarin4127]

I always liked The Who. Daultry has a great voice! Many great songs!!

[@greggordon1015]

yup, Circuit City was my go-to place for electronics (So Cal) :)

[@seanhoare7639]

This may be heresay but I heard that it is piano but rerecorded 40+ times on a loop of tape .. Do not forget to react to Wont Get Fooled Again !

[@MarkChappell1]

Best rock song of all time.

[@kennyosborne3839]

You need to see them live outstanding

[@heliotropezzz333]

At the end it was a violin or as many would call it 'a fiddle'.

[@Soundhypno]

Great Reaction!!!!!

[@reactioninaction7415]

Thank you!! 😁

[@Fuphyter]

I definately remember Cuircut City!! I grew up on Easten Long Island!

[@minkhollow]

The best song on Who's Next is "The Song Is Over," and that is *not* an easy choice to make. Meanwhile, all of Quadrophenia is fantastic (and meant to tell a story, so it's harder to pull out individual songs), and The Who By Numbers has a serious 'fame sucks, actually' undercurrent.

[@hyramhackenbacker3953]

If you have watched any of the CSI series all the title songs are Who songs.

[@smythharris2635]

The violin ending is played by Dave Arbus of East of Eden; an authority on world musics and a multi-instrumentalist.

[@joehunter6106]

Best bass/drum combo in rock sadly,both are gone now.

[@w.geoffreyspaulding6588]

Hmm……better than Bonham/John Paul Jones. Better than Peart/Lee? I mean…..really, really good, but better than those?

[@joehunter6106]

@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 I said 1 of, not the best.

[@Queen_of_Hearts-Sharnell]

Dude, if you don’t think musicians can move their fingers that fast, watch Through the Fire and the Flames by Dragonforce. Your eyes will explode.

[@robertwatson496]

I loved Circuit City. Bought a lot of stuff from them.

[@michaelatkinson8291]

Listen to 'The Seeker' then listen to Rush's cover of it. Great song. You should also check out 'Pinball Wizard'.

[@stevensprunger3422]

OK that repetitive loop that you keep hearing was made by a standard Oregon back at the time however it was influenced by a guy named Terry O’Reilly who did minimalist repetitive music and the baba comes from Keith moons guru was sitting at the audience one day watching the teenagers does teenage wasteland and Baba O’Riley

[@sabrinapittsley2304]

Eminence Front is a great song theirs.

[@joehunter6106]

They actually did 2 other anthems. I hope I die before I get old and my generation.

[@giftedplanksify]

Play the whole album! This is the who's real first album)

[@minygoat]

That's not a loop, that's Pete playing piano for a long time and then they played it faster

[@krkhns]

No. Its a 1968 Lowrey Berkshire TBO-1 organ. And its a loop. Its has what is called a "marimba repeat". Depending on the keys pressed, the notes will repeat either on or off beat - B,C,C#,F,F#,G repeat on the beat. The rest repeat on the off beat. Its how there are two repeating lines playing two different tonal patterns. Townsend also used the "wow-wow" feature on the TBO-1 which was meant to mimic the wah-wah guitar effect. The link below is to a photo of the rig. Townsend is leaning on the TBO-1 with a EMS VC3 sequencer attached (the thing with the joystick). The sequencer allowed the TBO-1's repeat feature to be looped and sped up/slowed down as needed while Townsend continued playing the piano-sounding parts on the TBO-1 at the same time. Pink Floyd's Rick Wright used the same setup for "Speak to Me" and "On the Run" images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--btaJlUU2--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1508115604/aan1i3ycdlq8ixcpt8o4.jpg

[@BlackCatLover]

@@krkhns I just read that on Songfacts - great app!

[@jasonmartin5154]

as 40 yr. plus Muscian Who and Rush, will "brick your forearm" up real quick!!👍

[@rosswatson5996]

The Who were founded in the 1960s.

[@bradleygarrett3341]

You guys should really react to Dogs by Pink Floyd it is a life inside music

[@russschofield94]

Have a listen to The Real Me from Quadropenia John Entwistles bass line is mind blowing

[@roca7108]

Pinball Wizard

[@MrThumbs63]

React to the next song on the album...Bargain.

[@chrisautry9479]

I remember circuit city

[@jasonkamakaze34]

1969