Mine is also bad hearing genes, but my dad didn’t like to admit it: he said his hearing problems were from shrapnel explosions in WW II, tank battles as part of the 4th Armored Division. War was really loud.
Nice piece. My Generation is a masterpiece, for sure. And while some of my own hearing loss is genetic, standing so close to the stage at all those punk rock shows in Philly didn't help. Oh, well. It took me far too long to get hearing aids, which are a true blessing.
City Winery used to do fabulous free after-work concerts on summer Tuesdays off the Varick Street loading dock. But I'd watch in horror as young couples would dance in place with happy toddlers, even babies, in front of earsplitting speakers. By then I was using earplugs. Hard to believe they were as clueless as I had been, and it was only my own hearing I let Townshend and too many other rock heavyweights dim. But oh that music! Nice piece, Wayne.
PS A timely remembrance and a bonus. When the Voice was on Sheridan Square we spent way too much time across the street at the Riv watching Scopitone. Don't skip Sylvie!
R.I.P. Françoise Hardy: Tous les garçons et les filles (scopitone)
The concert that did that to me was Debbie Gibson at Jones Beach. I was right in front of the stack of amps stage right; I got vertigo. I went to the upper level and gave my two tickets near the stage to some fans in the balcony. I hope their hearing is okay!
I don't know which band was more destructive to my future of keen hearing - Quiet Riot or Metallica, but I thank the Lord I can hear apartment doors slam, car alarms going off at all hours of the night, and radios you can hear even though the car is 4 blocks away,
Mine is also bad hearing genes, but my dad didn’t like to admit it: he said his hearing problems were from shrapnel explosions in WW II, tank battles as part of the 4th Armored Division. War was really loud.
Nice piece. My Generation is a masterpiece, for sure. And while some of my own hearing loss is genetic, standing so close to the stage at all those punk rock shows in Philly didn't help. Oh, well. It took me far too long to get hearing aids, which are a true blessing.
City Winery used to do fabulous free after-work concerts on summer Tuesdays off the Varick Street loading dock. But I'd watch in horror as young couples would dance in place with happy toddlers, even babies, in front of earsplitting speakers. By then I was using earplugs. Hard to believe they were as clueless as I had been, and it was only my own hearing I let Townshend and too many other rock heavyweights dim. But oh that music! Nice piece, Wayne.
PS A timely remembrance and a bonus. When the Voice was on Sheridan Square we spent way too much time across the street at the Riv watching Scopitone. Don't skip Sylvie!
R.I.P. Françoise Hardy: Tous les garçons et les filles (scopitone)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zU_PiDgqoQ8
sylvie vartan: Le locomotion. (scopitone)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N74VmGDHk-0
Audiology will be the "booming" medical industry of the 21st century, as young people use bluetooth pods in their ears, music turned up to the max.
Having one's ears ring after a concert was a status symbol...back in my high school days. Ignorance was not bliss.
I never thought it was a status symbol; it was an occupational hazard. Hearing aids in both ears for the last 12 years or so.
I stopped thinking of it as a status symbol the day I jhad to jam plugs into my ears or be forced to flee the arena!
The concert that did that to me was Debbie Gibson at Jones Beach. I was right in front of the stack of amps stage right; I got vertigo. I went to the upper level and gave my two tickets near the stage to some fans in the balcony. I hope their hearing is okay!
I don't know which band was more destructive to my future of keen hearing - Quiet Riot or Metallica, but I thank the Lord I can hear apartment doors slam, car alarms going off at all hours of the night, and radios you can hear even though the car is 4 blocks away,
Wayne, I loved reading this article. I’m a huge PT fan, and you touch on so much of what makes him so special. Many thanks!
Thank you Peter, This Father's Day.
Happy Father’s Day Wayne. 💕