Super Bowl: The Who's Setlist

John J. Miller is giving Super Bowl viewers a heads-up.

Prepare to hear the greatest conservative rock song of all time during the halftime show -- The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again."

Miller writes:

The Who will probably play the all-time greatest conservative rock song, “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” during the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday.

That’s the #1 song on the list I compiled for National Review a few years ago. It’s the most talked-about article I’ve ever written: not the best or the most important or the one that gives me the most satisfaction, but almost certainly the one that generated the most chatter. It went viral.

When I started to assemble the list, I thought the top song would be “Taxman,” by the Beatles. It met the criteria: It’s a great rock song, and the lyrics carry a right-of-center message. But “Taxman” is #2 on the list. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” dislodged it because of NRO readers. I had asked them to recommend songs for the list. A bunch wrote it to make a case for “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” I was persuaded by their numbers and their arguments, and so it topped the NR charts.

...A few months later, The Who were touring the United States. A writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer asked Townshend about the list.

This summer, National Review magazine called “Won’t Get Fooled Again” the greatest conservative rock song of all time. Townshend says that’s “on the money.” The self-described “working musician” who sees his job as “helping the audience to forget themselves,” says he never really bought into “all that hippie (expletive) I so despise.”

And, Townshend says, “when people say ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ is not about rebellion, it’s the exact opposite of that, I say they’re right.”

Expect to hear "Won't Get Fooled Again" during the halftime show.

Here's some info on The Who's Super Bowl setlist:

Speaking with Billboard.com, Pete Townshend explained that the band's halftime show will feature a "compact medley" of their greatest hits, most of which debuted five decades ago.

"We're kinda doing a mash-up of stuff," he said. "A bit of 'Baba O'Riley,' a bit of 'Pinball Wizard,' a bit of the close of 'Tommy,' a bit of 'Who Are You,' and a bit of 'Won't Get Fooled Again.' "

The band will segue from one hard-rocking song into another, attempting to appeal to their older base while also keeping younger folks entertained with the high-energy, hooks-only song sampling. "It works — it's quite a saga," Tonwshend told the music site. "A lot of the stuff that we do has that kind of celebratory vibe about it — we've always tried to make music that allows the audience to go a bit wild if they want to. Hopefully it will hit the spot."

The Who's Super Bowl set was conceived by lead singer Roger Daltrey, Townshend's brother Simon, executive producer Ricky Kirschner and director Hamish Hamilton. In recent years, artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Prince both similarly employed the medley approach to reach deep into their back catalog and create a set list of nothing but the classics.

Sounds fun.