Different Kids, But Still Alright

Pete Townshend says his songs have aged along with The Who's audience.

By Dan DeLucca

Inquirer Music Critic

Of the four greatest bands of the 1960s British Invasion — the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, and The Who — nobody spent more time thinking about what it meant to be part of a youth culture revolution than Pete Townshend of The Who.

The group's first two songs, "Zoot Suit" and "I'm the Face," released when they were known as the High Numbers in 1964, directly addressed the Mod subculture the band helped define. And by the next year, with "I Can't Explain," they had captured the fumbling inexpressiveness of youth ("I'm feelin' good now, yeah, but can't ex-