Editing 274: With Apologies to The Who

{{comic
| number    = 274
| date      = June 8, 2007
| title     = With Apologies to The Who
| image     = with_apologies_to_the_who.png
| titletext = Trivia: Roger Daltry originally wrote "Don't try an' Digg what we all say" but erased the second "g" when he moved to reddit.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the song "{{w|My Generation}}" by the British rock band {{w|The Who}}, which was released in 1965. The song is about {{w|intergenerational conflict}} and has been regarded as a very decided proclamation of youthful rebellion. [[Cueball]] adapts the lyrics to describe his own generation, the {{w|Millennials}}. As people born from the 1980s onwards grew up with the internet, this generation is also nicknamed "{{w|digital natives}}." It is therefore natural that the updated lyrics should refer to {{w|blogging}} and {{w|internet slang}}. The actions performed by Cueball while typing the text relate to the original [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594WLzzb3JI music video,] in which The Who smash their instruments in true rock star fashion. Cueball wails his keyboard like a guitar and smashes his monitor in the end.

The title text jokingly suggests that the band's lead singer {{w|Roger Daltrey}} originally meant the line
:And don't try and Digg what we all s-s-say
as a reference to the social news site {{w|Digg}}, but changed it after switching to its competitor {{w|Reddit}}.

;Explanation of Terms
An explanation of the terms in this comic:
:"noobs" is a synonym of "newbie," which is a person who is new to an online community and is thus often not familiar with the rules and norms of the community. Cueball is suggesting that old people are not competent/familiar with the online realm.
:"the tubes" is likely a reference to the saying {{w|series of tubes}}.
:"grok" is a synonym for "understand." Cueball is suggesting that people of older generations have difficulty understanding internet slang, which is often true.
:"bloggin'" (blogging) is the act of writing in a {{w|blog}}.

;Original Lyrics
The original lyrics of the song run as follows:
:People try to put us d-d-down
:Just because we get around
:Things they do look awful c-c-cold
:I hope I die before I get old
:[...]
:Why don't you all f-fade away
:And don't try and dig what we all s-s-say
:I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation
:I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation''

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a computer, typing.]
:Monitor: People try to shut us d-d-down 
:just 'cause our music gets around
:[Cueball is standing on his chair and typing with his keyboard across his hip.]
:Monitor: Old folks act like total noobs
:get off our net; <u>you</u> block the tubes
:[Cueball is really wailing on the keyboard.]
:Monitor: Why don't you all just d-d-disconnect 
:and don't try an' grok our d-d-dialect
:[Cueball smashes the keyboard into the monitor.]
:Monitor: I'm not tryin' to cause a big s-s-sensation 
:I'm just bloggin' 'bout my generation

==Trivia==

The song was actually written by guitarist {{w|Pete Townshend}}.

Roger Daltrey's name is misspelled as "Daltry".

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Music]]