Song 183: “Pinball Wizard” by the Who, Part 2: “His Disciples Lead Him In”

Andrew Hickey· Host0:00

[upbeat music] A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs, by Andrew Hickey. Song 183, Pinball Wizard by The Who. Part two, His Disciples Lead Him In. Before we begin, this episode contains a lot of references to subjects that might upset some people, both in what I say and in the lyrics of the songs excerpted. It contains some discussion of child sexual abuse, both in real life and as a subject of songs, sexual assault, drug use, and physical violence. It also discusses songs that have ableist attitudes, and the episode both excerpts them and discusses those attitudes. In particular, the song that gives this two-part episode its title, and others from the same album, use a term for muteness that many non-speaking people find extremely offensive. That term is also used in the working title for the album and in interviews from the time period, and I will have to mention it as a result, though I will keep uses of the word to a minimum. There are also excerpts from another song from that album that uses a term beginning with G for Romani people, which some Roma consider an offensive slur. My understanding, which may be wrong, is that it's generally considered a slur by Romani people in North America, but that most in Western Europe use the term about themselves. Sadly, that term is used so often in songs from the late '60s and early '70s that it's essentially impossible to avoid