History Music / TheWhoSellOut

* RatedMForManly: "Tattoo"
--> ''Me and my brother were talking to each other''
--> ''About what makes a man a man''
--> ''Was it brain or brawn, or the month you were born''
--> ''We just couldn't understand''
--> ''(...) We knew what we had to do''
--> ''We went downstairs, past the barber and the gymnasium''
--> ''And got our arms tattooed''
--> ''Welcome to my life, tattoo''
--> ''I'm a man now, thanks to you''
--> ''I expect I'll regret you''
--> ''But the skin graft man won't get you''
--> ''You'll be there when I die, tattoo''

--> ''But his expression changed, she had seen''
--> ''As he leant to kiss her face... It ended there''
--> ''He claimed a late appointment..." [[ProductPlacement If only she'd used Odorono...]]''

--> ''She was happier than she'd ever been''
--> ''As he praised her for her grace''
--> ''But his expression changed, she had seen''
--> ''As he leant to kiss her face''
--> ''It ended there''
--> ''He claimed a late appointment''
--> ''She quickly turned to hide her disappointment''

--> ''Mary is so pretty''
--> ''The prettiest in the land''
--> ''Guys come from every city''
--> ''Just to shake her shaky hands''

--> ''Welcome to my life, tattoo''
--> ''I'm a man now, thanks to you''
--> ''I expect I'll regret you''

--> ''I danced with Linda''
--> ''I danced with Jean''
--> ''I danced with Cindy''

--> ''Our old man didn't like our appearance''
--> ''He said that only women wear long hair.''

--> ''I can't reach you''
--> ''With arms outstretched''
--> ''I can't reach you''
--> ''I crane my neck''
--> ''I can't reach''
--> ''Tryin' to get on you''
--> ''See, feel or hear from you''

* SpokenWordInMusic: "Armenia City in the Sky/Heinz Baked Beans" ends with a fanfare playing and every time the music stops someone speaks:

* AluminumChristmasTrees:
** The band recorded some real commercials around the time ''The Who Sell Out'' was recorded, some of which are featured on later reissues.
** The "Radio London reminds you to go to the church of your choice" jingle sounds strange today and an apparently unlikely thing for an anti-establishment pirate station to broadcast. But the jingle is completely genuine. In fact, evangelical organisations were major advertisers on many of the leading pirate stations.

* StepUpToTheMicrophone[=/=]VocalTagTeam: The album is a very collaborative work vocally, as opposed to its more Roger Daltrey-focused predecessors. Pete Townshend sings lead vocals on "Odorono", "Our Love Was", "Can't Reach You" and "Sunrise". He also has co-lead vocals on "Tattoo" and "Relax". John Entwistle sings lead vocals on "Heinz Baked Beans", "Medac" and "Silas Stingy". Keith Moon sings lead vocals on the bonus tracks "Jaguar" and "Girl's Eyes".

* SellOut: This album is a massive [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] of the group's numerous commercial endeavours during the late 1960's, including recording radio promos for Coca-Cola, Heinz Baked Beans, a car dealer, a maker of guitar strings, the United States Air Force, and anyone else they felt would reimburse them for their trouble. [[http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/WhoSellOut.htm The original plan]] was to entice the companies mentioned on the album to pay for the references. No one was interested, but the band was blatant enough about it that many listeners [[IMeantToDoThat took the album as intentional satire]].

The album was listed at #115 in ''Magazine/RollingStone''[='=]s [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]].

* YourCheatingHeart: "I Can See For Miles", where the protagonist tells his girlfriend that he can see through her schemes.

* PackagedAsOtherMedium: The album cover is designed to look like an advertisement in a magazine.

!! Mary Anne With The Shaky Tropes:

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The band recorded some real commercials around the time ''The Who Sell Out'' was recorded, some of which are featured on later reissues.

* PapaBear: "Someone's Coming"

* StepUpToTheMicrophone[=/=]VocalTagTeam: The album is a very collaborative work vocally, as opposed to its more Roger Daltery-focused predecessors. Pete Townshend sings lead vocals on "Odorono", "Our Love Was", "Can't Reach You" and "Sunrise". He also has co-lead vocals on "Tattoo" and "Relax". John Entwistle sings lead vocals on "Heinz Baked Beans", "Medac" and "Silas Stingy". Keith Moon sings lead vocals on the bonus tracks "Jaguar" and "Girl's Eyes".

* FakeRadioShowAlbum: All throughout the album fake commercials and radio station jingles are heard. Several songs are also lyrically similar to a commercial.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/11872633_350_350_7138.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''Wonderful radio... London''.]]

* SpecialGuest: Al Kooper plays organ on this album.

''The Who Sell Out'' is the third studio album by Music/TheWho, released in 1967. A ConceptAlbum, it is formatted as a collection of unrelated songs with fake commercials and public service announcements in between them. Part of the intended irony of the title was that The Who were making commercials around this time.

'''''The Who Sell Out''''' is the third studio album by Music/TheWho, released in 1967. A ConceptAlbum, it is formatted as a collection of unrelated songs with fake commercials and public service announcements in between them. Part of the intended irony of the title was that The Who were making commercials around this time.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The band recorded some real commercials around the time ''The Who Sell Out'' was recorded. Some of them are featured on the 1995 reissue.

* NamesTheSame: Younger listeners might not realize the Top Gear jingle has nothing to do with the [[Series/TopGear greatest automobile magazine and TV series...in the world]], but rather the 60s music radio program.

* ParodyRetcon: The band only claimed that the commercials were paroides ''after'' they found out they wouldn't be paid for them.

* DoubleEntendre: "Mary-Anne With The Shaky Hands