The Who — Baba O’Riley (Teenage Wasteland)
(via fuckyeaholdiesmusic)
Summer weather like this makes me go back to the classics. This song will always, always, always be summer to me. In high school, my summer job was at a go-kart track. As the only girl that worked full time with the karts (the others worked mini-golf or on cash), it was my job to end the fun for the big, drunk & rowdy guys that would come and abuse the karts. Why was little me sent to face these hulks? Because I was a girl and therefore the least likely they would try to pick a fight with when we ended the ride prematurely.
True story.
This song was the anthem of that go-kart track. We heard it at least once a day since, even though this was only 10 years ago, Regina had only three radio stations at the time (classic rock, pop and country). Most of us who worked there started when we were teenagers. Some of us left when we were still teenagers, some just kept coming back, summer after summer. The record holder was John the manager. He got a job there when he was hitch hiking from Montreal to Vancouver in 1981. He ran out of money by the time he hit Regina and lucky for him, he had a friend with an available sofa.
John got a job at the go-kart track that summer to try and get enough cash to continue his journey.
The last summer I worked there, the summer of 2001, John was still working there. He was the manager. He lived in Regina full-time, but he did once make it to Vancouver for a visit, though he went on an airplane.
And so we called that place our Teenage Wasteland.
