Rolling Stone's Top 20
The Who
“My Generation”
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Released- 1965
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The Who were made up of British lower class teens called Mods who were teenagers who typically could be seen in Italian-style clothes and popping Drynamil pills. These lower class teenagers had enough money to wear around Sunday best attire and they rebelled against the generic simplistically of their own social class in order to attain status. The Mods were starting a movement in England, a rebellious movement that was looking for a larger voice. The Who created an anthem for the Mods with their song “My Generation.” The beginning of the song voices a Mod questioning why people look denounce them, “People try to put us d-down, Just because we get around.” The Mods lived a lifestyle that radically differed from the traditional lifestyle of England folk. Mods slept around, popped pills, wore fancy clothes despite their social class, all in order to continue the rebellious movement brought over by the American influence of culture during the 1950s and 1960s.
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Themes: Rebellion, Social Class