Marco: The Mix Tape (Track 2)

The Who Young Man Blues

I didn’t really get into music until my intermediate years. Before then, my love was sports, hockey in particular. As a die hard Leafs fan and four-times-a-week Downsview Beavers goalie, I spent most of my waking hours thinking about ice, skates, pucks and sticks. One day, when I was about 12, my dad came home with a CD called Who’s Missing by a band named The Who. For some reason, I kept playing this album over and over and over and a few weeks later, my dad came home with another CD called Who’s Greatest Hits. The hockey affair was over the first time I lifted my stick to use as an air guitar, though I continued to play the game for another year or so. In my final season, I had a pre-game ritual of listening to The Who’s Live at Leeds (on tape!) prior to every game. This track, a cover of an old Mose Allison blues tune, was always a favourite and the fact that its lyrics resonated so deeply with my 13-year-old self is probably not a coincidence.