This movie is based on The Who's rock opera of the same name. Several references to The Who appear throughout the film, including an anachronistic inclusion of a repackaged Who album that was not available at the time, a clip of the band performing "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" on the TV series Ready Steady Go!, pictures of the band and a "Maximum R&B" poster in Jimmy's bedroom, and the inclusion of "My Generation" during a party gatecrashing scene.

Ted refers to himself as complex and requiring multiple listens like the song Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, to which Robin replies "Roger Daltrey just rolled over in his grave" who was not in Led Zeppelin, but the lead singer of the band The Who.