Under a Raging Moon

The art of drumming has changed many times over the last few decades. But how did these changes occur? How did drumming go from a metronome like beat in the back ground of a song, to a powerful chaotic roll that people can almost see as a lead instrument? The answers to these questions are found in the lives of a few select people; people who dared to be different, people who tried new things, and people, who some say, were just plane loony. This last sentence perfectly describes The Who’s famous drummer Keith Moon, who would revolutionize the way drums were played in rock and roll.

Keith was born on August 23, 1946, to Alfred & Kathleen Moon in Wellesden, England. He started playing the bass drum in his high school marching band, and he stuck with them from then on. He played drums in several bands, but met with little success until he joined The Who in 1964. Keith’s own account of how this audition went goes, “They were playing at a pub near me, the Oldfield. I went down there, and they had a session drummer sitting in with them. I got up onstage and said, "Well, I can do better than him." They said go ahead, and I got behind this other guy's drums and I did one song — "Road Runner." I'd had several drinks to get me courage up, and when I got onstage I went arrrrrggGHHHHHHH on the drums, broke the base drum pedal and two skins and got off. I figured that was it, I was scared to death.” Shortly after this he was accepted into the band, and from then on he began to make history.

His playing style seemed rather insane at the time, mostly because of his wild and intense drum pounding, but his signature style of drumming eventually helped to put the Who on the map. His playing can be heard in the most popular songs of his era, including “pinball wizard”, “Behind Blue Eyes”, “Wont Get Fooled Again”, and “Who are You”. He also played of the famous live album, the Who’s “Live at Leeds.”

There is, however, a tragic ending to this story. This legendary drummer was not only known for his chaotic drumming, but also for his chaotic life style. He was a legendary alcoholic and drug user. By the time of The Who’s eighth album the drummers self abusive lifestyle became evident in his drumming. He was no longer able to play the same as he had earlier in his life, there for the Who had to stop touring. The drummer then became desperate to get over his addictions. He was prescribed the drug Heminevrin, a drug used to help people overcome alcohol cravings, which he was told to take when ever he felt a craving come on. His death came on September 7, 1978 due to an over dose of Heminevrin. The irony as I see it is that Keith died because he was trying to get better so he could continue to do the thing he loved the most, playing drums, and despite his efforts he was silenced for ever. In his memory the Who vowed to continue, but they were never the same. Rock had lost one of its favorite sons, but his influences live on.

Work cited:

http://www.keithmoon.co.uk/1978lastdays.php

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9264343/cover_story_keith_moon_bites_back/1

http://clippernolan.wordpress.com/2008/01/16/the-last-24-hours-of-keith-moon/

Good Writings?

What I consider good writing is probably the same as a lot of people. For starters I would like to say that while I find articles, and news add interesting, I like books, both fiction and nonfiction, better because I find them more interesting. I think that writing should be both interesting, and should flow well. I for one am totally against unorganized or jumpy writhing. I also think that certain elements of the story should be present for the story to be interesting. The elements that I think should be present are the plot, the point, and the setting. It takes these elements to get a good feel of the writing and the mood that is present in the story.
One story that I have always thought was a good book was Jack London’s Call of the Wild. Now some of you will probably think that this book is kind of childish. Well you could say that I haven’t read a book in a while, but really I just like the book anyway. For one the story flows well, and is easy to follow. I know this because the first time I read the story I was in the 5th grade, and I was able to understand and follow the story with out any difficulty. Also the story is full of action and there isn’t a dull moment in the book. The plot was also present throughout the story making it pretty a pretty fascinating story. It dose not stray from the plot much, like some stories tend to do, and I also find it also has a great story line which I find one of the best parts of the book. This book is something like a representation of other writings I like to read.
This is almost a perfect representation of the things I like to read. Although I don’t read as often as I used to, I still like to when I find something that relly hooks me in. It just seems that these great writings are becoming less and less.

Work Cited:
http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/CallOfTheWild/chapter1.html