A sonic assault, the song is marked by the clashing of drumsticks against microphones, cacophonous feedback, bomb-like explosions and the trashing of instruments in a studio reproduction of The Who’s live performance. Aggressive, audacious, arrogant and ground breaking, the use of guitar feedback was so unconventional that the US arm of their British label rejected the master tapes, though the single reached the top 10 in the UK. While not the first recorded guitar feedback in a pop song (see the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine”), it was by far the most extreme. The music was defiant, vicious and cruel yet retained pure pop sensibilities.