Editing Todd Rundgren (section)

====''Something/Anything?''====
In late 1971, Rundgren was recruited to finish [[Badfinger]]'s third album ''[[Straight Up (Badfinger album)|Straight Up]]'', a project [[George Harrison]] had abandoned to organize the [[Concert for Bangladesh]], in London.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=62}} The album was a hit and its two singles were similarly successful, although Rundgren was not credited for the first ("[[Day After Day (Badfinger song)|Day After Day]]") and thus did not receive production royalties for that single.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=62–65}} Rundgren said that the song "didn't sound much like what [Harrison had] done" and speculated that the credit to Harrison "may or may not have been something purposeful, just some by-product of a general Beatle hubris".{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=65}}{{refn|group=nb|Plans for Rundgren to produce their fourth album fell through after tracking a few songs in January 1972.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=65}}}} The ''Straight Up'' sessions lasted two weeks in September, after which Rundgren returned to Los Angeles to work on his third solo album, originally planned as a single LP.{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=62–65}}

As with ''Ballad'', much of the newer material was written or conceived under the influence of marijuana. However, by this time, he had also begun experimenting with [[Ritalin]]. He recalled, "my songwriting process had become almost too second-nature. I was writing songs formulaically, almost without thinking, knocking [them out], reflexively, in about 20 minutes."{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=66}} The use of Ritalin also helped him focus on the process as he worked up to 12 hours a day to beat the three-week deadline. To keep up the pace, he installed an eight-track recorder, mixer, and synthesizers into his living room so that he could continue recording after leaving the studio.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=66}} For the first time in his career, Rundgren recorded every part by himself, including bass, drums, and vocals.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=67}} About "an album and a half" was completed this way. He then decided to stretch the project into a double LP and quickly recorded the last few tracks with musicians, live in the studio.{{sfn|Myers|2010|p=68}}

{{listen
| filename     = Todd Rundgren - I Saw the Light.ogg
| title        = "I Saw the Light" (1972)
| description  = Lead single "[[I Saw the Light (Todd Rundgren song)|I Saw the Light]]" became one of Rundgren's best-known songs.
}}

''[[Something/Anything?]]'', the first album officially issued under the name "Todd Rundgren", was released in February 1972, shortly after Bearsville had signed a long-term distribution deal with [[Warner Bros. Records]].{{sfn|Myers|2010|pp=34, 62}} The album included many songs that would become his best-known. Included among straightforward pop songs are extended [[jam (music)|jams]] and studio banter, such as the spoken-word track "Intro", in which he teaches the listener about [[lo-fi music|recording flaws]] for an [[egg hunt]]-type game he calls "Sounds of the Studio".<ref name="p4kwizard" /> Magazine ads depicted a smiling Rundgren daring the reader to "ignore me".<ref>{{cite web|website=PopMatters|url=https://www.popmatters.com/todd-rundgren-something-anything-atr50|first=Rob|last=Moura|title=Todd Rundgren's 50-Year-Old 'Something/Anything?' is a Paean to the Possibilities of the Studio|date=February 1, 2022|access-date=February 21, 2022}}</ref> The album peaked at number 29 on the ''Billboard'' 200<ref name="TRBillboard200">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/todd-rundgren/chart-history/tlp/|title=Billboard 200: Todd Rundgren Chart History |date=2018  |magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 22, 2018 }}</ref> and was certified [[Music recording sales certification|gold]] in three years.{{sfn|Myers|2010}}{{page needed|date=November 2019}}  Lead single "[[I Saw the Light (Todd Rundgren song)|I Saw the Light]]" peaked at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.<ref name="TRBB100">{{cite magazine |title=Billboard Hot 100: Todd Rundgren Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/todd-rundgren/chart-history/hsi/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 22, 2018 |year=2018}}</ref> "Hello It's Me", which followed late in 1973, reached number 5.<ref name="TRBB100" />

According to music critic [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]], ''Something/Anything?'' has since been "rightly regarded as one of the landmark releases of the early 70s".<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2011|title=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|chapter=Todd Rundgren}}</ref> "Couldn't I Just Tell You" was influential to artists in the [[power pop]] genre. Music journalist [[Paul Lester]] called the recording a "masterclass in [[compression (audio)|compression]]" and said that Rundgren "staked his claim to powerpop immortality [and] set the whole ball rolling".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lester |first1=Paul |author-link=Paul Lester|title=Powerpop: 10 of the best|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/feb/11/power-pop-10-of-the-best |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=February 11, 2015}}</ref> Musician [[Scott Miller (pop musician)|Scott Miller]]'s 2010 book ''[[Music: What Happened?]]'' calls the song "likely the greatest power pop recording ever made", with lyrics "somehow both desperate and lighthearted at the same time", and a guitar solo having "truly amazing dexterity and inflection".<ref>{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Scott|author-link=Scott Miller (pop musician)|title=Music: What Happened?|year=2010|publisher=125 Records|page=68|isbn=9780615381961|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aduy1H1mUx0C&pg=PA68 }}</ref> In 2003, ''Something/Anything?'' was ranked number 173 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of the [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|"500 Greatest Albums of All Time"]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/todd-rundgren-something-anything-20120524|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 173: Something/Anything|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 31, 2009|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref>