The Ones Who Heard Music

RIP Neil

2010-06-20T18:31:00.001-04:00

Good Day

2010-05-17T19:13:00.000-04:00

Devil in disguise, in a white Cadillac

2010-04-27T19:45:00.007-04:00

Pete always makes the most hilarious, sharply ironic
observations about life.

Pete talks about Tommy and The Isle of Wight

2010-03-14T22:46:00.017-04:00

Part 1

Part2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

The Acid Queen

2010-02-24T21:38:00.000-05:00

Walkin' and Smokin' ... and Goofin'

2010-02-06T11:19:00.005-05:00

Some of the the funniest moves I've ever seen, even from Pete.

What a cutie.

Love every minute of it!*

2010-01-20T20:18:00.058-05:00

This is such a lovely, honest, intimate and gentle interview with Pete. Such a deep heart. And the one-to-one over-the-phone aspect of it makes it feel so personal to listen to, like you're right there. Very sweet and insightful, probably the best I've heard. It really tugs at my heart, right and left.

1) What a strange opener question. Pete's answer is interesting. I think they're talking about this image. I love his honesty and sweetness!

2)"it's the end ... of what I used to do." :( He sounds so sad here. :( But he sounds happy about the end of the effing videos and the huge effing football stadiums! Funny, honest Pete. "I find the world just too big" awwwww Melts my heart.

NOT very GOOD at the PIANO!?

NOOOo....WAY!

3) Awww... he freaked at the 150,000 people. GOD, I wish I hadn't missed this. Where the hell was I???? Awww!... "I don't want to cheat people".... :) A story called "Stella" ???
Oh, and he mentions Trilby's Piano. :) awwww....
"I'm not a fan of movies, I'm afraid... the composer's art is a higher art than the film director's art." I would tend to agree (not that I know anything!)
He never seems to enjoy anything! Awww... poor Pete.

4) my favorite part of this segment is hearing Pete say words like, "Alladin, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King" :D I dunno, it just cracks me up. Probably coz I'm an ex Disney cast member. "The characters keep bursting into song. You can't do that in movies anymore." He's so right about that! So FUNNY!

5) "felt like a bit of an imposter... didn't feel entirely comfortable." I love Pete's honesty. The cross-pollination of our music worlds is certainly cool though. Then Pete's using the inner recognition of the music and using it for the mod movement. He used it for a real purpose. "You can be ordinary ... but you can also be special... even if you're a very simple soul." Love that. Found himself by losing himself. There's a lot of the song, "I'm One" in this. Congregation of like-minded spirits. :)

6) "My Generation was a very, very skillful bit of songwriting." Indeed. :) I didn't realize Pete had to throw some Beach Boys in just to please Keith Moon. haha. So accomodating. :) "Young is what the heart is... what the soul is." Right, Pete. :) xoxo

^{*unlike Pete, who "hated every second of being in The Who".}

We love you

2009-12-25T16:57:00.005-05:00

Too CUTE!

2009-12-05T21:55:00.023-05:00

Clark Kent.... haha

Who Are You (part two)

2009-10-18T21:16:00.011-04:00

Pete Townshend - Who Are You 1994
Uploaded by IvorTheEngineDriver. - See the latest featured music videos.

Here's a great find -- it's the vid of the song I posted on Sept 6 (below)
Incredible. I love this live rendition. I guess those of you who have Roger Daltrey's Celebration of the Music of Pete Townshend concert on video have seen this; I have the concert CD, but I've never seen this before until now. Love it! The entire concert is fantastic... but the video footage of this number (with the "master" himself) is just... perfectamundo! Complete with spinning cellos!

Who Are You?

2009-09-06T00:03:00.009-04:00

Music is from Roger Daltrey's Celebration of the Music of Pete Townshend CD. Pete guests on this song. Who'da guessed?

Anyway, I highly recommend the CD (or DVD). It rocks! (as you can tell)

^{You won't find this on YouTube; I made it myself just for TOWHM. Hope you like it!}

Hot off the 'Tube

2009-07-31T21:40:00.005-04:00

more adorable Pete.

Pete Heaven (for those suffering Pete withdrawal)

2009-06-27T20:20:00.021-04:00

Part 1"...my magic organ..."

Part 2"don't TOUCH THAT!"

Part 3"poor me, poor me, poor me, poor me..."

Part 4"It looked like a SMUDGE!"

Part 5"They've been chewing up my furniture..."

Part 6"a bit panic-stricken"

Part 7"..Yes, we KNOW, Pete...."

Part 8"... he's dreaming up... some mad scheme..."

May 19

2009-05-19T00:12:00.007-04:00

Looks like I'm the only one left living here. :-)

Here's a pic of Pete I love. It's my current computer monitor wallpaper. Looks great huge!

Happy Birthday, dear Pete.

"That's not what I said at all!"

2009-04-24T21:12:00.013-04:00

I love this. First of all, that hand that reaches in at about 32 seconds and is then swiped away. And Pete's understanding the German and disputing what the reporter said. (She said that he said it would great if he and the whole band went on tour: "That's not what I said at all!")

Then how Pete apparently feels bad for telling the reporter "wanna translate that?" and so he lovingly pats her on the back in a conciliatory fashion. And finally how he gets sort of awkwardly bored and distracted-looking as the one reporter continues in German. LOL

So cute.

Pete talks of Tom Wright

2009-03-08T21:35:00.009-04:00

Just found this YouTube, HOT OFF THE PRESS (i.e., I'm the FIRST VIEWER!)

I've got the book (RoadWork). Excellent. Lots of stories and pictures inside you'll not find elsewhere. My favorite is the story of Pete in a New Orleans bar. :-)

1993 interview resurrected

2009-02-07T22:51:00.018-05:00

I've resurrected an old NPR interview with Pete, just because......

(wish I'd taken the time to post an old Rockline (holiday encore presentation) interview back in January when it was still live, but alas it's gone now (they only keep them up for 2 weeks)...... Anyway, maybe it'll resurface again one day; it was a really good one! We'll have to keep an eye (ear) out for it to be replayed again maybe next year.

I remember this NPR interview was good too (as I recall, it was a pretty substantial one).

NOTE: you need RealPlayer to listen to it ... which I don't even have installed on my computer right now! So ... I'll leave it to the rest of you.... to ...

ENJOY.

P.S. THE NEXT POST WILL BE THE 100^th POST! (who wants the honor??)

Interview with an Alright Kid

2008-12-07T01:06:00.021-05:00

From the Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog (of all places)....

A rare instance of a kid conducting an interview with Pete. We see a whole other side of Pete in his responses, dontcha think? I believe the boy is the son of a woman who once dated John Entwistle, so it's not just some random kid.

RENO, NV - February 23, 2007. Interview conducted by Olivier Curial, a 13-year old 7th Grade Student at Kingsbury Middle School, Lake Tahoe. Place of interview was back room of Pete Townshend tour bus after the Reno concert.....

P. Here we go!

O. So where were you born?

P. I was born…right where I live now…in a place called Isleworth…read the rest here... ^{[a more readable rendition]}

Have fun with this one

2008-11-26T23:47:00.009-05:00

~~~~~~ Memories ~~~~~~

What is your favorite memory of that blogging experience? I loved it when all his labels turned German, then switched back to English. I think that happened twice.

Please Vote for Gary Stockton!!!

2008-10-23T06:37:00.005-04:00

Gary is an amazing guitarist who deserves to win this contest called ,
"You Sing the Who."

The Prize is 4 tickets to see The Who in Washington,DC.

The deadline is October 23rd.
He is SOOOO close to winning!

It only takes a second to vote, so please do so by voting:

HERE!

GARY IS AHEAD BY ONE VOTE!!!!!!!!!
GO VOTE NOW!!!!!!!!!!

xxxxx

The Detroit show for charity (10/21/08)

2008-10-20T21:20:00.014-04:00

Palace show blog post coming soon.....

:)

OK ... here it is. (sorry to be so lame as to direct you to my blog for this, but I really don't have anything further to add right now. Maybe when I get my photos back?? my worthless photos??)

Anyway... thanks for your patience!

(and the show was GRRRREAT!)

12/18/08 UPDATE: OK... I've finally gotten around to it. Here are some horrible pics. Nice Endless Wire background screens, eh?

New Essay on My Recurring Pete Dreams

2008-09-11T17:04:00.004-04:00

I suppose if I were to confess to anyone that I frequently dream of Pete Townshend, here would be the place. But don’t worry—it’s not that kind of dream. No sex, no drugs, not even rock and roll, really. He’s just a presence really—one who fills the room with peace, love, and a sense that everything is all right.

Sounds like Christ, eh? Is this what they mean when they call rock stars gods?
For years I have wondered...

After these Pete dreams—which tend to happen two or three times annually—I wake up feeling blissful. I wake up feeling loved. I wake up feeling as if some real connection has been made, and I wake up wanting to maintain that connection for the rest of my life.

But then, after a few minutes, the grim reality would set in: that I was alone, seemingly unloved, and Mr. Pete Townsend—the man with whom I felt so intimate in my dreams—had no idea who I was. And never had and never would. What a terrible feeling!
(I had similar dreams about a man named Tony Stacchi, with whom I went to high school, and upon whom I always had a secret crush. I haven’t seem him since high school But this is another story.)

Getting back to the Pete dreams: in 2004, I finally consulted a therapist. Not about my Pete dreams—believe me, those were the least of my “problems.” Those dreams were pleasant, and gentle, and if they left me momentarily mystified, well, I wasn’t going to complain. No, this therapist was helping me recover from childhood trauma. She was a saint, that woman—so compassionate and wise—and once I started to discuss my Buddhists, Pagan, Jungian, and Native American beliefs, she told me she also happened to specialize in dream therapy. “I don’t tell that to all my clients,” she said with the smile. “Not everyone is open to that.”

So I told her about Pete. I told her the love I felt from him, and with him, in my dreams. “He’s wonderful,” she said, “I love him, too.” (For a second I was jealous. Because I wanted to believe I loved his music and connected with his lyrics more than anyone else on the planet, thank you very much.)

But anyway, I told her that sometimes Pete and I sang together. Sometimes we sang his songs; mostly we sang songs that I had written, that I couldn’t remember when I woke. Sometimes he encouraged me, and told me I had a good voice. Sometimes he would hug me—not in a sexual way. More of a maternal/paternal embrace—something I have rarely experienced in this lifetime. I would close my eyes and just absorb this love.

My therapist listened with a beautiful smile. “Everything in a dream is a representation,” she said. “What do you think he represents?

Music, of course. Singing, playing guitar, writing incredible, magnificent songs. He represented self-expression, channeling anger, channeling pain. He was an artist who could transmute those negative energies of anger and sorrow into something beautiful, the way the Buddhas are said to do.
“He’s encouraging you to make music,” my therapist said.

I loved this interpretation. And it made perfect sense. All of my life I have wanted to be a musician, but my parents discouraged that from the start (another long story for another day). Basically they told me I couldn't sing for beans, and could I please turn that god-awful music down?

Now, in my dreams, I was getting encouragement from one of the people I admire most in the world. (And the creator of most of the 'god-awful' music I listened to as a child). How cool is that?

The pure, almost celestial warmth and happiness I felt in his presence was simply Music was calling me back, the way they say God calls you back, i suppose.

This goes back to the question above: Is this what people mean, then, when they call musicians “gods?” Because they have the capacity, through their words and music, to call us back to a better place? Because they make us feel less alone?

It would be fun to find the person who coined this term (God of Rock) and get his/her opinion. But I’d argue that, yes, that is the role people like Pete have served on the planet. But this is another big topic I suppose.

What I can say for certain is that, in my reality, in the Jungian context of my dreams, Pete absolutely serves as an archetype. He is Music, embodied, in a half human/half ethereal form.

Would he be flattered, or appalled, to know this? Only he can say....
(Part of me wants to believe that his appearances in my dreams are true visitations; that he has traveled astrally across oceans and continents to give me—sad, special, talented, weird me—a reassuring hug.)

Regardless of what this all means, I shall thank Pete, again and again, for this role he has played in my waking life, and in my sleeping life—the world of the subconscious, the world of gifts from beyond. It took several years, but I finally got the message:

Sing, girlfriend. Reclaim your original self. Let it be pure, and easy. Amen.

2008-09-04T21:18:00.003-04:00

The Boy Who Heard Music ... (revisited)

2008-08-29T18:42:00.008-04:00

..... also known as .... TBWHM ....

(originally published on the internet 2005-06)

[fully readable below]

(wonder if Pete drew this? ;-))

Chronology

[1] Prologue - The Note

[2] In the Ether

[3] I Heard Music

[4] I Heard Voices

[5] I Could Fly

]6] Ikapikapoo

[7] What is Art?

[8] The Mirror Door

[9] The 36 Dramatic Situations

[10] Trilby's Piano

[11] Only One Hymie

[12] Fragments

[13] The Glass Household

[14] The Method

[15] Driving

[16] Alcohol and Pregnancy

[17] An Answer to Job

[18] Birthday Treat

[19] Men Called Uncle

[20] I Love U2

[21] A Concert for New York

[22] Colegno

[23] The Black Hole

Just thought I'd post this for your reading (downloading) pleasure... since I only recently discovered the wonders of "sendspace"!

THE WHO TOUR 2008

2008-07-12T08:23:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

As you probably all know that THE WHO will be touring in the US in 2008. Tickets go on sale July 14th for WHO members in California. If you are east coast the boston show is going to be Oct. 24th. Hope to see you some of you in the east and the west enjoy the shows.

Peace,

AJ

(eyesite2theblind)

Relative Silence -- can someone help?

2008-05-24T10:26:00.012-04:00

Is there some kind person who could forward me the text for Pete's Meher Baba - article to explain my silence ?

I'd be very interested to read it. I don't believe I've seen it elsewhere (I may be wrong -- possibly I just don't remember). Anyway, I missed this when it first came out, as I was in "another world" at that time :-). (This and about 50 mp3 links I'm sad to have missed! :-( )

I just really love the spiritual stuff.

Birthday Wishes

2008-05-19T07:54:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday Pete

"I'm not so much the brain as the minstrel"

2008-04-12T18:16:00.009-04:00

I ran across this 1995 Maclean's article I'd never seen before:

Townshend and Tommy in Toronto

I love that last bit about sliding down the bannister!

:D

THE WHO ANIMATED

2008-03-21T20:31:00.002-04:00

I thought this was very cool. This is my favorite video. I hope everybody is well. Have a happy holiday.

AJ

"The Ballet is Coming..."

2008-03-20T19:18:00.014-04:00

Typical. :-)

That's why we love him.

OK... that wasn't enough, was it .... so how about a "twofer"!
(Since it's been so long since we've had fresh postage here)

(This was too good to keep to myself.)

Did anyone here attend Woodstock '98? What was that little inside joke the band were doubled-over laughing at? Something about Nietzsche? (did I spell that right? ;-))

Pete's Responses to fans on The Who site

2008-02-05T15:38:00.000-05:00

Hi

How is everyone?

What are your thoughts, comments, concerns, and gripes on Pete's response to the fans questions on The Who site.

Dave

So where is everyone now?

2008-01-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Just wanted to check in and say hi. Would you believe I still haven't found an extra $50 to join Pete's blog site? It's one of my new year's resolutions. That, and visit the dentist.

I hate not knowing what Pete is up to. I find him very grounding--know what I mean? I can't quite describe what he grounds me to....perhaps simply to my teenage self, who liked to smoke pot and feel Pete's chords surging through my blood stream :)

Anyway, if there is any spectacular news that non-members might like to hear (ie The Man shows up at Joe's Pub again), could you let us know on this site? Or is that non-ethical?

Love and glad tidings to all.

Lee

The End of an Era

2008-01-05T09:42:00.000-05:00

News is that Rachel has closed her blog. Sad news indeed, let's all keep in touch, invite our friends to meet here, as well as at Rachel's new forum, and remember always to-

Blog on!

Merry Christmas and other relevant tidings

2007-12-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to those who heard music ....and those who made it!

The old Irish woman "who heard music"

2007-12-15T16:10:00.000-05:00

Seeing as this blog is titled "The Ones Who Heard Music", I thought it fitting to repeat here what I posted on my own blog this morning:

an incredible story of a woman (in her 80s) who "heard music" in her head (ostensibly) from her early childhood in Ireland.

Listen to the story here, which aired this morning on NPR (I was blown away!).

(I couldn't NOT post this. Since only a handful of regulars visit my blog, I wanted to show this to a slightly wider group. We are, after all the ones who heard music...

And since a certain someone we all know and love has had similar experiences..... well.... ;-))

www.thewho.com

2007-12-03T17:08:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are members, you can now leave comments in Pete's blog. They of course must be approved before the are posted.

Paparazzi Shots!

2007-11-27T08:49:00.000-05:00

I thought some of you MIGHT be interested in these shots of you know who and company. I took them at the Attic Jam at Hotel/Cafe in L.A. last November.
The line-up was: Rachel Fuller, Mikey Cuthbert, Simon Townshend, Minnie Driver, "E" from the eels, Billy Corgan and of course, Pete!

I won tickets (including a meet and greet) on In the Attic, and I took Molly (Ballerinagurl) as my "date!" The night was heavenly (especially having Molly as a date! har har). Only problem was, I was quite ill and started hallucinating while talking to Pete! No, not really, but I DID sing to him...NOT intentionally, of course. I explained to him that it was MOI who introduced Martha Wainwright to Rachel. He was really pleased to hear that - he called one of her songs "genius" and explained that she sang French in part of the song in her Quebecois accent. So I was racking my brain trying to figure out which one it was and instead of singing it to myself I went "OH!" and started singing it to him! (In case you are curious the song is called, "This Life" and it's on her debut cd). Anyway, they're all pretty tight...Pete even plays on her new cd, so watch out for that!

The highlights of the evening were Rachel singing Joni Mitchell's "Blue", E and Pete singing "Let My Love Open the Door" and Billy Corgan and Pete singing Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air." Pete sat on the piano bench, playing acoustic guitar for most of the song, then put the guitar on his back (he slid it - you know what I mean) and played the famous piano solo from that song (which he also recorded on the original, as most of you know).

I gave Rachel a pink t-shirt that said "Shine" (and a hug) and I gave Pete an Aboriginal red beaded skullcap from Alishan, Taiwan. I gave it to him in a cool Elvis gift bag. He held the bag up and looked it over and smiled. I hope he liked it! It's pretty wild though - but Rachel told me he'd love it. She's such a sweetie. I will NEVER forget that night, as long as I live.

Here you can see E from the eels (he got a haircut and is wearing wire rimmed glasses) and next to Pete is Keith's daughter, Mandy Moon.

This is Minnie Driver and a friend (it's a bit blurry). I was having a hard time getting good shots as the night went on...

Pete told so many stories...I wish I remembered what he was yappin' about here! :)
He sang "Blue, Red and Grey" on the ukele.

Here Pete is taking the piss out of Roger. He was saying how Rog had become a "Master Thesbian," holding his mug up to the crowd, inviting them to "have some TEA at the THEATRE with MEEEEEEEEEEE!" It was too funny...as you can see!

Pete and E

The finale! (I forget what they sang...isn't that terrible?)

Molly and Justin Kreutzmann

Oh joy oh rapture!!

Jump suits abound and Elton John "can't explain"

2007-11-24T18:57:00.002-05:00

What is this all about, you ask?

Stay tuned, and you'll see...

There's a jumpsuit explosion at the end of the song, along with -- mysteriously -- the opening riffs of "I Can't Explain". LOL

I just can't explain it.

A few photos...

2007-11-22T01:42:00.000-05:00

Since things have been SO stinkin' quiet around here, I thought I would put up a few of my fave photos and see who had what to say over their boring Thanksgiving afternoon...

everyone else around the world is having a good 'ol regular Thursday and looking forward to Friday...

Blog on Blog dogs

-Lin

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............

2007-11-20T15:36:00.000-05:00

Is anyone alive out there?
What is evryone up to over their Thanksgiving Holiday weekend?

-Lin

1981 Who concert at RockPalast (Germany) ... radio archive replay

2007-11-09T20:24:00.001-05:00

My good friend from the same "unrelated fan site" sent me another pointer tonight to a *concert* replayed on the BBC music archive.

PW sounds wild and wacky! Frenetic!

It's a WICKED show.

Here's the track listing:

Baba O' Riley
Quiet One
Behind Blue Eyes
Pinball Wizzard
Who Are You
My Generation
You Better You Bet
Don't Let Go The Coat
Won't Get Fooled Again
Twist And Shout
See Me, Feel Me

I think this'll only be up for a couple more days so enjoy IT will it lasts. (rather than just "enjoy")

P.S. After the show, the DJ plays McCartney's "Angry" which Pete played guitar on. :-) (This was the first time I've ever heard it.)

Petchel's Child.. finally proof of Neil's Parentage!

2007-11-05T21:18:00.000-05:00

Pete talks to Johnnie Walker on BBC Radio-2 (and more)...

2007-11-05T01:13:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine (from a *completely* unrelated fan site!) pointed me to this:

Pete Townshend talks to Johnnie Walker (you have to fast-forward past the first 30 minutes or so to get to the interview ;-) )

and more....

The Hair and The Who - review of Amazing Journey

2007-11-03T21:24:00.000-04:00

And all of a sudden we were a Mod band......

Post your comments here on the new Who movie

Petchel

2007-11-03T11:59:00.001-04:00

Lin said, ".... my friends Lisa and Jon... just informed me that our possibly second fave person on the planet, Roger Daltrey, is positively in NY"

If Roger is our second fave person, would that make Pete and Rachel one person as in... PETCHEL??

Blog on Petchel fans, blog on!

Just a reminder...

2007-11-03T06:08:00.000-04:00

Don't forget:
The Who on VH1 ... starting tonight ...

The Premier

2007-11-01T13:26:00.001-04:00

I posted a blog entry about my experience at the Premier of The Who's new DVD on my blog.

It was a great event and it is a great movie!

Roger is on Conan Wednesday night (actually Thursday morning)

2007-10-30T23:37:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone...
Just a super quick post to all the WHO HEADS on here...
everyone knows now that Pete and Rachel did not come to NY for The Who movie Premiere but my friends Lisa and Jon (who I met at Joe's Pub #2 and who got me into Joe's Pub #3 with their spare ticket) just informed me that our possibly second fave person on the planet, Roger Daltrey, is positively in NY and is going to be on 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien' on October 31st (but the show airs after Midnight so it is really November 1st)

Conan is on NBC at 12:30 AM Eastern Time for anyone who doesn't know.

Thanks Jon and Lisa for the hot tip!

ROCK ON, everyone. And whoever got to see the NY Premiere please come on and tell us how the movie was!!!

-Lin

Procrastinate...WHO me???

2007-10-29T12:36:00.000-04:00

Well, all you lovelies.
Looky here.
After a mere TWENTY - FIVE YEARS I finally got up the courage to have slides of my first Who show processed! I had to leave my country to finally get the nerve (and common sense) to do it!

I always feared that someone would steal my pics...so I never had the slides processed. BUT!
As luck would have it, I "recovered" these slides while packing for my move abroad to Taipei, Taiwan. I found a dude to process these slides and I had them back ON THE SAME DAY! ALL 12 slides are safe and sound, on top of my bureau right now.

I took these in Worcester, MA in 1982 (the FIRST "farewell tour"). Security confiscated my film, but NOT the camera, which was loaded with a roll of film. Of course these shots were not taken from the front row, as you can see. They are not so hot, but they are speical to me!

I have no idea what Pete was up to when he was "gearing up" to play. Sniffing 4711 maybe? :) Rog and John were really getting fed up, as you can see (or not!!)! Those BOYZ. Whaddya gonna do?
I hope you enjoy them...I saved the best for last. Of course, they are scanned so the quality is not very good. But it's the THOUGHT that counts, right??? :)
Peace and Love,
Suexxxxx

Opinion Poll

2007-10-25T02:49:00.000-04:00

So most of us kind of know that the whole Who blogsphere is a titter with the fact that thewho.com and perhaps Pete's blog will be charged a subscription fee of 50 US Dollars for a yearly rate. The "talk" seems to be around whether fans who have dedicated themselves to the various blogs and sites over the years should now be entitled to pay. So I am thinking....what does everybody else think? Does it include or exclude? Is it fair to charge - because let's face it - Pete has given us so much out of his own goodwill and perhaps, this is a way of "giving back" to a good platform. Or is the whole thought of it unnecessary and creates a divide between what the internet and blogs represent - freedom of information - and therefore somewhat unfair in this regard?

I Never Wanted To Say Goodbye (Original Song)

2007-10-20T17:11:00.001-04:00

Check out Gary Stockton's new song!

Special request from Rob...

2007-10-12T00:46:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone:
Hope you are all doing well tonight.
I have a special request from Rob to post a link to this very cool myspace page that he has discovered. Rob asks and Rob shall receive. It is a cool site with very thorough coverage and cool photos.

Click on the blogpost title to go there...

and by the way...
here is a special photo for my bud Aaron.
He says this is one of his faves, mine too.
I have it in my living room, get lots of questions about it but I always call it the photo that was in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

ROCK ON!!!
-Lin

Executive Producer of Iron

2007-10-10T20:44:00.000-04:00

My son had his 10th birthday last week, and one of the gifts I got for him was the animated movie, The Iron Giant (1999). Though it jumped right out at me from a grocery store rack, honestly, when I picked it up, I didn't make the connection right away but suspected it was the same story as The Iron Man (coz ... where've I been all these years? I missed it when it first came out somehow. But as you'll see below, my son says he remembers seeing the movie a few years ago.) Anyway, sure enough, I looked on the back and saw PT, Exec Producer. Cool, I thought. For sure I'm buying it. (My son loves robots and transformers, so... it was sure to be a hit with him too, I thought, smiling to myself).

Here's what my son had to say about getting the DVD for his birthday (he addresses this directly to PT; I told him this isn't Pete's blog, just a fan blog, but he wanted to speak to PT anyway):

"When I first looked at the back of The Iron Giant DVD that I got for my birthday, the biggest coincidence happened to me. I couldn't believe that you were the producer of The Iron Giant. I had seen the movie a few years ago but I didn't even know about you then so I wasn't that surprised back then."

(part of the reason my son was so thrilled is because he wants to be a "movie producer" when he grows up ... wants to go to "film school"... the other reason is, I think he's slowly becoming "a fan"... :-) And yes, it put a huge grin on my son's face to see PT's name on the back of the box. I have to say I was amazed.)

Anyway, he and I watched the movie together. I was surprised how little of a connection I was able to make to PT. The only apparent link to him at all is his name in little letters on the back of the box, under Executive Producer. Otherwise, you'd never know. Needless to say, I was a teeny bit disappointed. Wasn't there going to be some Pete music on this?? The soundtrack music was fine, but a bit soporific. (No PT.) As was the pace of the movie, at least till about 3/4 through. Very cute film though... and nice addition to the PT collection .. of sorts.

Isn't there ANOTHER Iron person film? (I know there's the musical, but is there another film? I've seen a YouTube video of what looks like a clip from a markedly different film (for the song, "A Friend is a Friend") - or was that just a one-off promo video for the song?

I could look all this up, and will continue to be as ignorant as I feel, but it's more fun to make it a group effort. :-)

(p.s. it wasn't my idea to post to this blog -- my son wanted me to do this for him.)

and what would you ask Pete next.. about Rachel??

2007-10-07T12:24:00.000-04:00

what would you ask...

2007-10-03T17:21:00.000-04:00

So, let's say you are a reporter for Rolling Stone...
and someone says you have a chance to interview Pete and you get all excited.
You get all spiffed up, manicure, pedicure, enema (just jokin') and you buy a new suit or dress, whatever floats your boat. You get a new hairdo and your teeth cleaned. You get a facial. a new recording device and a pencil and paper for backup in case it fails (like it did to some reporter in 2006 and he had to lend him his device). You shine up your camera. You show up at the interview...

What's the one question that has been buggin' you for aeons and you just need to ask?

You are a clever lot and I am sure there are things you want to ask PDBT.

Discuss...

-Lin

The blog gods have spoken!

2007-10-03T13:21:00.000-04:00

This site shall remain open for the duration of all time!!

Or until everyone here picks up their ball and goes home for good! This blog is unfolding just as I hoped it would, each of you contributing things for all of us to comment on, with no one person feeling pressured to keep it going. I personally am absent for chunks of time and have great faith that all who have stepped up to be blogger team members will carry on with competence and kindness. The contributions have been great, the friendship among those here very apparent. I'd only ask that we all continue to watch about copyright violation, both for ourselves and anyone who comes along and comments, and keep remembering a few words once written by our man PT-

A friend is a friend
Nothing can change that
Arguments, squabbles
Can't break the contract
That each of you makes
To the death, to the end
Deliver your future
Into the hands of your friend

Blog on!!

The Future

2007-10-02T16:00:00.000-04:00

So what do we 'ones' do when Pete's Wire goes live.....are we closing up the doors and turning off the lights here until Pete goes into hiding again?

Pete's new blog

2007-10-01T16:16:00.000-04:00

Check out Rachel's blog...she brings clarity to the blog issue. Pete's going to have a new one.

"We were never friends!" (m-my t-t-translation....)

2007-09-30T20:55:00.001-04:00

(fresh as a daisy!)

Wir waren niemals Freunde!

Nov. 3, 2006

Stern
Online

Surviving members of The Who: Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend

It's been 24 years since there's been a new album by the legendary rock band The Who, a band that used to destroy their instruments onstage and who created a new yardstick with their rock opera, Tommy. In this Stern interview, Pete Townshend sums up his life.

Mr. Townshend, who's your favorite musical artist these days?
Joni Mitchell, her album Travellogue, that's the record with the orchestra songs.

Why do you think it was easier in the 60s to become a rock star?
There were no rules, apart from those of our parents. We were unknowns, but we had our dreams. We lived in a denial caused by the trauma of war that our parents had suffered through. We borrowed the blues, classical music, country, western, 50s pop, and created our own style of music. It wasn't so much about being young, as it was about separating ourselves from the views of our parents.

What's been the high point in your life?
Completing my book, The Boy Who Heard Music. That led to my composing the music for the album, Wire and Glass (EP, published July 2006 as a teaser for the forthcoming Who album). As soon as I finished the book, I knew that I'd found something that would inspire me for a second life with The Who. It wasn't necessarily something that I'd wanted, but it was clear to me that this was a second chance.

And your low point?
The death of John Entwistle (bassist for the Who, died 2002). And the death of two adults who had been sexually abused in their childhood. I wanted to help them, in that I wanted to pay for their therapy.

Is there a song you wish you'd written?
"Three Steps to Heaven" by Eddie Cochran. If I had to choose just one song, then it would be, "People are All the Same" by The Sugababes.

Does it bother you that your audience doesn't want to hear anything but old classic Who songs?
That's not true! They listen to everything as long we play the classics too. But for 24 years we didn't have any new songs. Now we play 8 or 9 new songs at our shows, and people are happy.

You're 61 years old. What would you still like to do?
Write my autobiography -- hopefully before I turn 64, so that I can publish it when I'm 65. Other than that, I'd like to expand my knowledge of German. And have all the important sailing certificates (?) under my belt. I'm an experienced seeman, but my qualifications are modest. And I'd like to be a granddad one day.

If you could have given yourself some advice 20 years ago, how would it have sounded?
You're doing everything great, Pete! Don't worry about anything. Twenty years ago I had just released my solo album, White City. Aside from that, I was working on writing the stage musical, Iron Man, by Ted Hughes. I worked on many different things which were all fun for me. But in spite of all this, I was still somehow unfulfilled. It had to do with needing to bring my therapy to an end. When I finally completed it, I was satisfied. I still sometimes go for therapy, when I feel the need for it.

Are you and Roger Daltrey still friends -- or more like business partners?
We were never friends! But we've been creative partners for many years. Today we're closer than ever before, because we only have each other. (Who drummer K.M died in 1978, bassist John Entwistle in 2002)

How will people remember The Who 50 years from now?
People will remember My Generation. The way we destroyed guitars and hotel rooms. But our music will also be remembered seriously. We had social relevance. But we weren't responsible for this, our audience was.

Interview: Hannes Roß / translated by Lucy D.

Sidebar: The Who's last studio album "It's Hard" appeared in 1982. It was an appropriate name for the album, which came at the end of the career of a legendary but uninspired rockband. This new album, Endless Wire (released Nov. 3, 2006) hints once again at their great success.

Oh Baby

2007-09-26T16:04:00.000-04:00

Mikey and Rene are expecting a Baby!!!!!!!!!!

November 5th

2007-09-23T21:29:00.000-04:00

Check out the new Who website......looks like November 5th will be a big day!

http://www.thewho.com/?module=news_item&news_item_id=6

Pete's 1989 appearance on Letterman (A Friend is a Friend) (in dedication to all blogger friends, including Suesjoy)

2007-09-21T19:59:00.000-04:00

Really cool interview from 1989, though it would probably embarrass Pete today! God, it's funny! (but not surprising)

Townshend on Letterman (1989)

If anyone can figure out how to embed this video into the blog, let me know! I tried, and all I get is a blank screen with a play button that does nothing.

Letterman mentions that Pete was on his show "about 4 or 5 years ago" as well. Has anyone seen that one?! I'd love to. I've seen some later shows, which were also a riot.

Pete: you're a riot. (He may find it very difficult to have fun, but he sure knows how to give fun to others!) Thanks, Pete.

CS-T 1982 article final bit

2007-09-20T18:03:00.000-04:00

OK, I posted the last bit. It's hardly worth looking, but just...

Go see.

Chicago Sun-Times Oct. 3-4, 1982 article

Sorry I didn't get the last pic of Roger scanned... too much trouble! (just picture it!)

A day at the guitar festival

2007-09-16T19:51:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,Just wanted to let you guys know I went to a guitar show and had 2 clinics to better my guitar playing. While I was there I got to jam onstage with Stu Hamm. We played 2 WHO songs pinball wizard and cant explain. I sang in front of about 100 people and Stu and I rocked the house. He is a phenominal bass player. I just wanted to share with you guys because we played some WHO songs

Just when I thought I had seen it all...

2007-09-16T01:02:00.000-04:00

I found this cool Pete picture online today by accident. I thought I had seen every PT photo under the sun and this has eluded me until now. I think it is quite thought provoking, kinda like the guitar finally broke him, for once, and I really like it. I thought others might want to right click on it and save it... perhaps yes, perhaps no. Either way, there you have it.

ROCK ON, my Who friends!

-Lin

Perhaps this would make an excellent jacket or cover photo for the autobio, whenever it comes out? I don't know who created this but I am inrtuiged by it...

The Rolling Stone Photo so cute!!!

2007-09-14T00:07:00.003-04:00

Don't forget, everyone, to visit Rachel's Ebay store where she is selling some of Pete's personally owned items for charity!!! Very cool and this is one of the things I love about being so 'in touch' with R&P online, getting info like this first hand. How special are we as fans???

www.stores.ebay.com/towsers-treasures

ROCK ON!!!
-Lin

Crashing the Attic

2007-09-12T20:59:00.000-04:00

Well what will those crazy bloggers do next!?!

Crashing the Attic

Blog on!

Pete to appear with Led Zeppelin

2007-09-12T12:25:00.000-04:00

http://www.pollstar.com/tour/searchall.pl?AN=Y&By=Artist&Content=PETTOW&PSKey=Y

Chicago Sun-Times October 3-4, 1982

2007-09-10T13:25:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is! But....

1) why did I think it was the Chicago Tribune? Bad memory, I guess.

2) sorry so late (you don't know what I had to go through to get these scanned today!) (a lot of spousal arm-twisting! ;-))

3) sorry so illegible and inadequately large (esp. from part II, Oct. 4) (get out your magnifying glasses!)

4) sorry the last page (p. 62) is missing. I found it in my stack AFTER all the scanning had finally been completed. I'll just fill it in the old-fashioned way later... (check back). Actually it's really short, so have hope! But you'll be missing out on another pic of Roger.

5) Re: correcting #3 and #4, see #2... so don't hope for too much! But a big thanks to my husband anyway, for being so patient with me (it only took a month!) (I should be happy I got this much! ;-)) (I don't think I have the strength for more arm-twisting).

This was actually a color page (above) ... pinkish and very garish.

Love that Pete pic up top, in stripes. :-)

sorry about the right side being lopped off a bit up there! bad photocopying job on my part, I guess!

OK, now it gets really small....... so sorry. (It's a great article!)

why's there such a big gap up there? bad scan job, I guess!

but where's page 62?? (watch this space!!) (literally!) (OK, go ahead... you can blink)

OK... here's the final bit. For what it's worth ... (I'm a completist...)

[p. 62] Chicago Sun-Times, Wednesday, October 6, 1982 (cont'd from p. 45)

... It's a healthy sign that he was a little mad, with a little chip ... on his shoulder. Even on the last tour, the Who still care.

OPENING FOR THE WHO was T-Bone Burnett, whose set waged a largely unsuccessful battle against tinny sound, audience indifference, and the other problems that so often plague warm-up acts at the arena-rock level.

Although Burnett, best-known through his association with Bob Dylan and the Alpha Band, is one of the most intriguing songwriters on the contemporary scene, the wit, melodicism and taut dynamism of his material were largely lost within the cavernous Horizon.

Coming across best were propulsive Tex-Mex rockers such as "Like a Boomerang" and "Hold on Tight," powered by the guitar work of ex-David Bowie sideman Mick Ronson. ^{[profile pic of Roger at the Rosement Horizon in a light colored suit jacket holding mic to mouth in his usual up-ended elbow fashion]}

Touched by Pete's being touched!

2007-09-09T20:04:00.001-04:00

Touching. Moving. Sweet. Cool! Jazzy! Fun. (Great song, Gary)

This reinforces my confidence that Pete will one day open up another blog...

He's got to be one of the most caring people out there ... he has so much feeling for others that it's really touching (almost brings a tear to my eye....)

(Now -- if Pete by some chance sees this, maybe he'll be touched AGAIN ... and respond in some way, which will touch us BACK! And it can keep going and going...)

Class Project

2007-09-08T07:43:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone, I have a favor to ask of all of you. For my class project I am doing a report on how music has shaped our lives. I would like to know the following:

Your first concert:
Your first who concert:
Your first album you bought or cd:

Your answers will be put into my project with no names. With bloggers from around the world around here there should be some great stories. I am not looking for just one word answers but some details of why it was so good and why you bought that album. If you do not want to paticipate I understand. I am looking for as much info as I can. The project is due in October so i will probably ask more questions if you dont mind. Thank you to everyone who will participate and thank you for the warm welcome on this blog.

Rock on

Aaron Jr

Townshend planning music fest 2008

2007-09-07T20:34:00.000-04:00

Pete Townshend is going to be trying his hand at festival planning and promotion sometime in 2008..."Pete Townshend and girlfriend Rachel Fuller plan to expand their In The Attic webcasts and club shows into a full scale live and Internet festival next year. Fuller announced the couple's plans on her official intheattic.tv website and explained that, 'Next summer, me and Pete will hopefully be organizing a Woodstock-style festival called 'Atticfest.' It will be held over the course of a weekend and will either be held at a venue in the U.K. or U.S.'"Atticfest? I would have much preferred some sort of variation on "palooza" but hey, what can you do. I guess you can start with touting your band as "real" classic rock while others are simply punk. That's always a good idea. Pete Townshend to launch live and internet festival [The Rock Radio]

Introducinggggggggg

2007-09-06T20:52:00.000-04:00

Aaron Sr (EPCISGOD) and our already famous Aaron Jr (aka Pete Townshend Jr) as our newest team member bloggers. They will be working together on blog entries, as you can see by the excellent one they posted just below. Shall we give their first effort a big hand??

Blog on!

Hi Everyone

2007-09-06T19:28:00.000-04:00

Aaron jr and I are very happy to contribute to this blog. We have been long time fans of The Who well one has Jr has not been around that long even though he is a seasoned WHO concert veteran racking up 6 shows in 5 years. Anyways he found this website and maybe some of you will be interested on getting Pete into hall of fame for his solo work . Well we look forward keyboarding with all of you.

http://www.petitiononline.com/garjen/petition-sign.html

I Must Confess I Don't Know What a "Tag" Is

2007-09-06T17:44:00.001-04:00

.....this reveals more and more of my cyber-ignorance, but I was just "tagged" on my other blogsite by TWWHM, and I don't know what that means.
Oddly, when I was in college my friends and I used the verb "to tag" in place of the f-word :)

I see some references in an earlier post to a list of "rules" about tagging online. Perhaps someone could share that with me? I'd hate to miss out on any action :)

Yours, Lee

New Who web site

2007-09-06T16:06:00.000-04:00

http://www.thewho.com/

Neo? - ah, yes, who is The One..Who Heard Music

2007-09-06T15:52:00.000-04:00

I give credit to Tink's comment from the prior post...where she asks:

(p.s. the unknown mysterious identity of our wonderful blog host is driving me nutso. I could only gather a few clues from the recent post. However, remain grateful for the effort to build the blog!) ;o)

Perhaps not Neo but Morpheous?

Oh where, oh where, did Pete go, oh where, oh where

2007-09-05T15:42:00.001-04:00

I miss Pete...where's he at? I see he was tagged too on Rach's blog.

Tagged!

2007-09-04T20:24:00.000-04:00

Well I've been tagged by Atomic Elroy. For punishment should I drag him back to post blog entries?? Or haunt GinaB (his referral source) instead?? Well here goes, first the rules, then the *thing*:

1) Post rules before you give your facts 2) List 8 random facts about yourself 3) At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them 4) Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they've been tagged then the facts:

1) I've played rhythm guitar in various bands over the years.

2) The lead guitarist from my first band went on to European superstardom.

3) I once learned the recorder parts for Stairway to Heaven sitting on a bathroom floor with another musician, in the club, on the night of a gig. It was two hours before the gig started, the only private place we had to learn the parts, the first and only time we ever played the song live, and the first and only time I ever played the recorder on any song ever.

4) The longest act I ever worked with lasted over 10 years.

5) The shortest act I ever worked with lasted under 10 days.

6) I once met John Kennedy, Jr, and at another time Ted Kennedy, Jr.

7) All my exs live in Texas.

8) Well, two do.

Sidney

Li-no-da

Ted Maloney

Suesjoy

BlackVelvetLace

Dave from Pennsylvania

Lucy

Lee Harrington

Tag you're it!

The Who Fan Club DVD

2007-08-27T12:46:00.000-04:00

I just got mine in the mail but haven't watched it yet.

Any one get one and see it yet?

Computer Compatibility Problems and The Laundrettes

2007-08-26T20:57:00.000-04:00

[edited from original posting of 8/26]

I'm getting just a little (grrr...) frustrated that I'm still not able to post my 1982 article (yes, it does exist)... (and no I still haven't overcome my network incompatibility (and other) challenges.... so I haven't been able to scan it yet. Hence, no post.

So... to pass the time, I've posted an excerpt from a Washington Post article from the same year. (I hope some of you have had the chance to read the whole thing!)

Townshend, Before He Grows Old
Article available at the link post above.

Sorry I haven't written!

2007-08-23T20:01:00.000-04:00

...I've been too busy having a nervous breakdown (and I am only half-joking!).
So. This isn't really a Pete post, more like a "the reason why I haven't written about Pete" post.

The third draft of my novel is due to Random House in six weeks, and I have writer's block, and I have no place to live (which my family calls "homeless" but I call "between places").

The good news is I found a cure for writer's block:
1) my acupuncturist-from-heaven, Charles Mulaly
2) lying on the floor (hopefully an orange shag carpet if you still have one), with a pair of thick circa-1979 headphones on your head, and BLASTING Quadrophenia...particularly The Rock or Love Reign O'er Me. THere is something about the pulsing rhythm of those songs, and the underlying mixture of sorrow, anger, hope, and angst, that reconfigures the rhythm of your own brain, blood, and heart, and you can heave yourself up off the floor feeling kind of okay about things.

It's either this, or lithium.
Does anyone know if Pete or any of our great genuis friends ever took meds?

Yours in befuddlement,
and with love,
Lee

Now THIS is more like it!

2007-08-21T09:49:00.000-04:00

Thank you Sidney, thank you Lucy, c'mon all, let's keep this blog alive and viable, especially in light of Pete freezing his blog as he promised. I'm sure there will be more to come from him, but in all meantimes, we have a blogger place to congregate- here. Invite friends!

If you are just coming to this blog for the first time with the closing of Pete's, please let me know by commenting in this thread so that I don't miss adding you to our *friends* listing.

Blog on!

Pete's Blog

2007-08-21T06:06:00.000-04:00

It may be official - We are Frozen!!!!

....or is it just my computer??

16 inches of makeup on Sesame Street

2007-08-19T23:58:00.000-04:00

OK, it looks like it may be another week before I get my 1982 Chicago Sun-Times article scans ready to post (I'm having network incompatibility problems at home).

So ... in the meantime, here's a YouTube gem:

RFLMAO!

Now -- discuss! (I'll restrain myself... for now...)

LifeHouse Journey

2007-08-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

Well okay then....let us blog on indeed.

I also subscribe to the daily newsletter Odds n Sods and came across a very enlightening comment written by one of the subscribers. Not wishing to plagarise his idea or anything I choose to put it up here in inverted commas so that he still gets the credit (thanks Jack). I thought it a very good description of Lifehouse and where Pete "is at" with the whole thing. I find Pete intellectually spiritual (if that makes sense - somehow the two should really cancel the other out ) but I say this because he always has a deeper sense about everything from rock n roll to theories of war. Here is the Odds n Sods link if anybody is interested. I read it every day even if sometimes I find the commentary a bit "odd" and some comments from a few "sods" quite argumentative but I do glean lots of info. from there: oddsandsods@thewho.net
Anyway...here is the comment.

"When I was a Who-freak kid, I used to read articles about Pete and try to figure out what this elusive "Lifehouse" thing with all of this incredible music was supposed to be... it wasn't until after the Lifehouse box, Psychoderelect, etc. and hearing Pete's vision of it reinterpreted by himself a bit differently each time, that I have kind of come to my own conclusion that "Lifehouse" isn't so much a piece of music or a story with a beginning, middle, and end, but more of an ongoing musical journey... Pete Townshend's musical journey specifically, but also the musical journey of anyone else who chooses to take it along with him at any given time, in whatever capacity.
But it isn't just a musical journey... it's Pete Townshend's spiritual travelogue which is reflected outwardly through the music as it evolves... in short, Lifehouse seems to be Pete Townshed's spiritual life as expressed through music which is why he keeps changing it adding to it, etc... as life changes, so does "Lifehouse" which is why it'll never be completed until Pete is...
whew! if all that sounds more than a little pretentious, Pete'll be so proud of me ; )"

Well we have 9 contributors...

2007-08-14T16:48:00.001-04:00

.. and barely a post!! C'mon people.. let's

Blog on!!!!!

(Sue, you are temporarily excused, glad to hear you are doing so well!!)

Sue's Continued Progress (from Sujoy)

2007-08-08T09:44:00.001-04:00

Friends,Hip Hip Hurrah!!! Sue is going to be discharged tomorrow. She is walking, talking and eating. I cannot tell you how happy we all are....Sorry, did not post a comment for a long time but here is the best one of all. Sue is officially in recovery mode. Yes, this is going to be a long recovery, but I am sure Sue will make the best of it.Sue is struggling with -post-op headaches (may last for several weeks)-fatigue from the smallest amount of exertion-left eye blinking problem-left side facial slackness-and plain boredomSo, this what what we hope will happen in the next few weeks-headaches will slowly fade away-efforts to strengthen herself, will allow her to conquer her fatigue-the doc's will implant a platinum weight inside her eyelid so that it will help her blink-as time goes by her facial nerves will start working again. To start off a physiotherapist will stimulate her face with electrical shocks followed by facial exercises-boredom...hmmmm...blogging? knitting?I still cannot believe that it has been exactly two weeks since we found out about Fred(the tumor)and her marathon operation last Tuesday to get rid of him. This week seemed to last a life time. I am so glad the bloody week is over.Thank you for all the outpouring of love, good wishes, good vibrations and the lovely flowers and e-song. Susan loved the e-song and plays for all the people who come to visit her.Sue plans to do a Sinead; requires a surgeon to do it because of the sutures. Lest see what happens!!
Love you all
Sujoy-

Sue, currently uses a cane to walk. But her brain does not want her to walk for too long.She is exhausted after walking for 5 minutes.
6:09 PM

AND FROM SUESJOY HERSELF!!!
'suesjoy' said...
i am outta the hospital!!!rough roads ahead of course.much much love and thanks to God, family, and ALL OF YOU.I LOOK SO PUNK RIGHT NOW...SUJOY CUT OFF ALL MY HAIR. LEAST OF MY WORRIES...IKINDA LIKE LOOKING SO RAD THOUGH! THANK YOU RACHEL.I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.XXXXXXX(PRAYING THE PARALYSIS IN MY FACE HEALS IN TIME....SHOULDN'T BE SO BLOODY VAIN!!!!!!!!!!!)WAH!
Friday August 10 2007 at 2:10 AM

The Ones Who Made Music

2007-08-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

Received an email from Jordan Whistler (you don't by chance have a famous greatgreatgrandmother who posed for a painting once, do you?) who had the idea to start a blog where musician bloggers from sites like ours and other PT blogger fan sites could gather and put up links of their music to hear. I suggested he make a blog and let us know about it. Follow the link below to see, he did!

Best of luck with the site Jordan, and for the musicians who are interested.. click here:

http://theoneswhomademusic.blogspot.com/

Suesjoy Doing Well!

2007-07-31T19:25:00.000-04:00

Reports from her husband, Sujoy. :D

7/31/07
DAY ONE
#1 Sue-Friends,Last night, over her Panang Duck Sue decided to name her tumor. She calls it Fred. She hopes to take back Fred in a glass jar once the surgery is done.She is in good spirits. She is feeling confident and is not scared at all. She amazes me.We are now at the hospital and the surgery is about to begin. The Surgeon's will provide regular updates that I will post.Thanks for all the love and good wishes all of you have sent.
Sujoy
5:05 AM

#2 Hello Sue-Friends,The surgery is being done in 3 phases.Phase 1 is an incision into the skull. This part is done. Her vital signs are good. Phase 2 has just begun and will last for 3-4 hours. In this phase they will cut through the mastoid bone and free up the portion that houses the tumor "Fred".Phase 3 is the partial removal of Fred. The main reason to do a partial removal of a 4.5cm tumor is to ensure that the facial nerves do not get effected. I am holding up OK. Was a little worried, but Susan's optimism and strength before she went in for Pre-Op has filled me with courage.Thanks for the good vibes, prayers and the encouragement.
Love
Sujoy
12:58 PM

#3 Hello everyone,Stage two is over and Fred is being cut to tiny little pieces. Sue is doing good.After phase 3 ends the clean up begins and then we will get a full report. After the surgery, they will move her to the ICU for a couple of days to monitor her progress and then she will be on the general floor for maybe 4 days. After that she is ready to go home. HOME! currently we are officially homeless so we will be staying with Cousin Anne who has graciously opened her home to us.Anjoli and I will monitor Sue's progress for the next 10 days before making a decision. If she is recovering well we will leave her in the capable hands of Anne and fly to Taipei. Anjoli's school begins on Aug 17th and we are hoping that she will be able to start school in time.Anjoli is currently in NY with her friend. She knows everything and I keep her updated on Sue's progress. She is being very strong. I am so proud of her.Someone asked Anjoli if the removal of Fred is going to make her Mom less weird and she rolls her eyes and says that it will take the removal of some other part of the Brain to even come close. I love my weird Sue and based on all the comments so do you guys.
Love you all
Sujoy
3:00 PM

Friends,Its done.The operation is complete and is a SUCCESS. The Dr. said that they were able to remove Fred completely. Also they are quite certain that they have not effected the facial nerves. They can see some movement there already. That's bloody great news. And yes I will echo the thought "Fred is dead, Long live Sue".We are now waiting for her to wake up so that they can move her to the ICU. Once she is admitted to the ICU we will be able to go and visit with her.The next 2 days are of course crucial. There are still a few major concerns-infections, spinal fluid flow etc. But everything right now looks very good.Will post again tomorrow. Maybe ask Sue what she would like me to say.
Love you all
Sujoy
6:19 PM

8/1/07
DAY TWO
Dear Friends, Sue is awake. She is talking and she is looking good. She asked me tell all of you "I love you, all".The most amazing thing is that she can still can hear with her left ear. Before the surgery the Doc's had told us that the chances of left ear hearing was slim to nothing, but low and behold she can still hear.She truly believes that all the love and good vibes from all our friends has made her strong and fearless.On the walls of room we have pasted pictures of Virgin Mary, Anjoli, me, The Who, Rufus Wainwright, her lat mother(when she was a 6 years old) and her sister. She likes that.I just went and got her a set of small speakers so that she can hear music while she is still in ICU. Have not had a chance to turn them on yet, but I will be doing so in the next few minutes. Will ask her what she would like to hear-any guesses? My money is on Rufus Wainwright.Love you all. Never thought cyber friends could be so close and so loving and wonderful.
Love
Sujoy
12:23 PM

DAY TWO AND 1/2
Hello Friends,Day 2 & 2.5-Some ups and downs. Beginning of day 2 they removed the spinal fluid drain tap (hole on right side of head). They had monitored it for 24 hrs and felt that there won't be a build up. They put 8 stitches around it.All was going well till the end of the day; Sue felt some moisture in her nostrils and to be safe the Drs. did a test to see if there was still some spinal fluid leakage. The result was positive; so to reduce the pressure in her head due to spinal fluid buildup they did a lumbar tap (like spinal tap but the tap remains there for 3 days). Ouch-Very painful.As a result of the lumbar tap, when Sue moves she gets acute mind numbing headaches. But Sue is a trooper and she continues to be positive.Spoke to the Drs., and they are very happy with her progress. They have some minor concerns- 1)Spinal fluid build up (may require minor surgery if lumbar tap does not work after 72 hrs) 2)Eye lid movementAfter speaking to the specialist, who came by this morning, both of us are quite relieved. In spite of these bumps on the road to recovery we feel that everything is going well.Anjoli is coming back from NY tomorrow afternoon and both of us will be glad or see our baby. We missed her a lot.Sue is now out of the ICU and on the general floor- excellent sign.So please keep sending those positive thoughts, vibes, love and prayers Susan's way.If you need to contact me you can email me at sujoy.d.guha@gmail.com orcall me at 858 922 3877
Love
Sujoy

For Rob

2007-07-31T13:24:00.000-04:00

Rob, I pulled your comment from the last tread to post here. Many heartfelt condolences to you and your family.

TOWHM

JIM SHEAN: MARCH
30, 1926-JULY 30, 2007

It is with a heavy heart and through many tears that I write this. My beloved father just died of a heart attack about an hour ago. I found him slumped over in the bathroom on the floor. I tried to revive him as did the paramedics when they arrived. My brother, myself and my dad's girlfriend just returned from the hospital.

I'm quite shaken up right now but I wanted to share with someone what a wonderful man he was. A WWII veteran, an accomplished writer, a man of genius intellect, and most important, the most wonderful and generous father and husband anyone could ask for. He will be sincerely missed by all whose lives he touched.

On the bright side, he is now at peace and surely back by my mother's side once again.

I love you Dad, and if I can be half the man you were in life, I'll have been a success!

Love, you're admiring son,
Rob

Who Initiations

2007-07-31T03:25:00.000-04:00

I was recently invited to join this group to add posts - yay! I posted this to a recent blog but now am presenting it as an entry.
I was thinking for this blog...question about how each of us "discovered" The Who for ourselves. I love these kinds of stories as I am sure each one of us has a unique take on their initiation into their music. For me..the story goes like this: I was about 12 years old..on the cusp of adolescents and feeling very confused and angry. I remember my friend's father had an apartment in town and we used to sneak out from boarding school and gate crash his apartment by climbing in through his kitchen window. The father was never around so it used to be the ideal crash base for us. One day we - my friend Sharon and I - were going through his records (vinyl - woo hoo) and I came across the Quadorphenia album with all the pictures and the sleeve story. I put the record on and remember getting goose bumps just listening to the beginning with the sounds of the piano playing over the sound of a stormy sea. The lyrics BLEW ME AWAY with their anger, relevance and beauty. After that Quod became my staple for EVERYTHING and a yard stick for all other musicians. I became a WHO freak! I used to go every month to the record shop and buy my next Who album with the little pocket money that was giving to me. Talk about dedication. Since then..Quod has always been my defining CD when I am feeling frustrated or needing to feel sublime.

Our Best Going Out to Suesjoy

2007-07-29T16:00:00.000-04:00

For those who have not yet heard, our Sue has been diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma and is due to go into surgery in MASS General on Tuesday. All of us from TOWHM send our love and best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery. Sue keep us posted, know we are all with you in support. Keep positive with many good thoughts headed your way, those of us who pray are praying for you. We look forward to hearing from you post-op. And as Rachel would say, keep your chin up, at least you only have one!

The Girl Who Heard The Boy Who Heard Music

2007-07-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

A Brief Chronicle of Attending the World Premiere of Pete Townshend's new rock musical.

(note: this is a duplicate version of a post that appears on my own blog)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There’s not much to be said, in terms of social life, to living in Upstate New York, where stores close at five and restaurants stop serving at nine and the bars call last call at –Good God!—midnight, but this is a New York City girl talking. I spent my formative years in New York City, so I suppose any town that doesn’t offer me 24-hour martinis and drag queens is, quite simply, dull.

But life has its way of delivering nice surprises. Just when you’re about ready to pack it in, and give up your 9-acre farmhouse in Woodstock for a 300 square foot apartment on the Lower East Side (which will take eleven additional years off your life and cost five times as much); just when you are about to have a nervous breakdown because you find out Pete Townshend—your most favorite, most admired artist—played a small gig at Joe’s Pub, and you weren’t there because you were too busy yawning in Woodstock, and spending countless hours on the internet reading about other peoples’ exciting lives; just when you are about to question why the hell you left New York City in the first place, a friend calls you up and tells you Pete Townshend’s new rock opera, the Boy Who Heard Music, is going to be workshopped just across the river in Poughkeepsie New York.

“Are you serious?” I said. And then: “Why?”

Poughkeepsie is not the sort of place you’d expect International Debuts of anything. Poughkeepsie is one of those places no one wants to live, but they have to because they either go to or teach at Vassar. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a beautiful city; a river town, a faded Grande Dame of the Hudson. But it has suffered, dear readers, from years of neglect. Just the sort of place for great Art and Theater wouldn’t you say? Abso-f-ing-lutely.

I looked online and found a few sites selling tickets for $300. This led to a half-hour’s worth of depression and self pity at the thought of not being able to go, but then I had one second of intelligence and called Vassar direct. Tickets via the theater itself were only $25. Won’t get fooled again.

And now, a brief tangent:

In my teens, twenties and thirties I was a rabid Who fan and considered Pete Townshend some sort of soul brother (I still do). The vibration he put out in his music and the vibration I felt as a teen (and wasn’t even aware of ) perfectly matched and that, my dear, is how a fan is born. You connect, you clink, a chink is made in a long, lovely, electric chain, and you find yourself entwined to a person you never met. Forever. These things cannot be undone, although they can certainly be forgotten. By the conscious mind.

In my late thirties, I was told by my then-husband that I had to “grow up” and for some reason I thought that meant having to give up my love for rock and roll. I told myself I had “grown out” of Pete and Robert and Jimmy and Jim and that I should be doing something more sophisticated with my time, (like working at a job I hated, writing stories that nobody read, and arguing with a husband I didn’t really like). Anyway, that is another story, which you can read about in my second memoir which will come out in 2009.

My whole point is to explain why I had never heard of The Boy Who Heard Music until this summer, when it landed in my lap. You see, apparently my soul brother Pete had been writing TBWHM as a novella, and he had published this novella online, and he has hundreds of fans with whom he corresponded online regarding the revisions of the novella. So while I was busy trying to dig my way out of an avalanche of a marriage, Pete’s fans—folks like me—were busy offering input on story lines, plot developments, characters and scenes. They were like talking to Pete! God bless them!

(This is what I do for a living, by the way. I edit writers’ manuscripts. Adult literary fiction mostly. And anything written by my favorite rock stars. So Robert Plant, if you’re looking for an editor, I’m yours.) End of tangent.

Now you know why I am one of the few people who saw TBWHM “blind,” meaning I have not yet had the pleasure of reading the novella on which the play is based.

Pan to the Powerhouse Theater: an alarmingly clean, civilized, user-friendly theater nestled on a college campus so picture-perfect you bemoan the fact that you did not attend college there. I got to Vassar two hours early, expecting paparazzi and mobs, and a parking lot full of middle-aged men blaring Quadrophenia from their car stereos and stoking up hot dogs on their tail-gate grills. Instead, I found a sleepy college campus—sleeping in that lazy summer way: cicadas softly buzzing, willow trees swaying in a light breeze, the grass freshly cut and green, despite a drought, because Vassar has big bucks and can afford to keep the sprinklers sprinkling. I couldn’t find the theater straightaway, but that was fine, because my dog was with me and she needed to pee, so we strolled along the wide paths, she trolling among the old oak trees and clipped hedges, me looking for another Pete fan who could steer me toward the Powerhouse.

But it was the dog who ultimately led me to the theater. She caught a scent trail and bee-lined it toward an impressive looking building: clearly modern, but modern in a tasteful way that did not violate the august codes of the Ivy League, which say a college must have old stone buildings and a colonial scale and a limestone library flanked by lions or statues of dead white men or some such thing....this building was unmistakably a School of the Arts. And the crowd milling outside was a good sign, too: a man wearing a "Keith Moon Lives" t-shirt, a photographer trying to talk his way into the no-photos-no-voice-recorders show; a young dude with pink hair standing next to a woman who must have been his mother. And you could tell his mother had been to Woodstock. She had the halter tap, the long hippie skirt, and most of all that look--a look that says I was there. Her son kept addressing her as "Dude" and she didn't care.

Anyway, my dog seemed to be on a mission. English Setters are always on a mission of course, but mine seemed to have caught a very special scent trail. Pete’s perhaps? Was she determined to go sniff out Pete and get his autograph? “He’s not here,” I told her, sadly. “But that guy from ‘Sex and the City’ is. He's a total babe.”

She howled when I told her it was show time and I had to put her back in the car.

And now, on with the show.

The Boy Who Heard Music was described in the program as a "hallucinatory tale about the rise and fall of a band made up of three teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds as seen through the eyes of an aging rock star." I knew that the aging rock star was Ray High (I’m not that out of the loop) and I knew Ray High pretty well from Psychoderelict. What stuck in my mind most about that concept album was the little S&M scene between Ruth and Rastus Knight (which to me is one of the best names a fictional character has every received. I want to ask Pete some day if I can steal that and name one of my own characters Rastus). Anyway, as I sat waiting for the show to begin, I wondered just how much of Ray, and/or Psychoderelict, would be in this play. I wondered if there would be any underage sex and or whipping scenes. But the program did not allude to this whatsoever. It was a delightfully humble program--no photographs, black and white type, stapled; so humble I knew I could sell it on ebay someday for like eight hundred bucks (but I'd never!)

I sat in the front row between two Little Old Ladies—both of them seasoned theatergoers who had subscribed to the Powerhouse Theater for many years. We chatted before the show and I asked them, with a straight, kind face, if they knew anything about the show, or the playwright, because I could tell they didn’t. They spoke of a “Peter Townshend” who lived in New York, and was a “musician of some sort.” They certainly did not know of The Who, or of the windmill arm swinging or of the guitar smashing, of Psychoderelict or the original conception of Ray High. They didn’t know about Rastus and his taste for whips. I am not saying they were at a loss for not knowing this, or that I am a superior human being because I can recite and sing all of anything Pete has ever written word-by-word. I just worried a little that they might be, well, surprised, at Mr. Peter Townshend’s interpretation of the term “musical theater.” There would be no men in top hats and canes in this piece, I didn’t think. But there was a formidable looking drumkit up there on that stage. I couldn’t wait!

And sure enough, when the first bass note hit after a lovely piano prelude, and the drums smashed, and the band’s keyboardist, drummer, bassist, and two guitarists ripped into “Pick up the Peace,” the little old lady at my right literally jumped in her seat. We happened to be sitting right in front of a triple stack of speakers, and I was psyched to discover that I could feel each bass note in my heart—kind of a pounding in my chest, like those machines they use to jolt a heart-attack victim back to life---
What are they called? I’m no medic. Just a big-ass Who fan who felt the bass bringing me back to life.

But my neighbor had her ears blocked. I smiled at her, nodded at the stage and gave her kind of a “check it out” look. She smiled back and unplugged her ears. I told her I’d hold her hand if she’d like, and she laughed, and I told myself to remember this moment if I ever got to that age when I decided rock and roll was just “too loud.” :)
Once, when I was seventeen, my father literally kicked me out of the house because I wouldn't turn the music down. I must remind myself of that one too.....

Anyway, The first act consisted of thirteen songs, and begins with Ray High delivering a short monologue about, um, I’m not really sure. He exists in the future, and—as the lovely, lovely director Ethan Silverman pointed out before the curtain was drawn—is living in an insane asylum in London. The casting of Ray was perfect. Because I was in the front row I had the pleasure of studying John Hickok’s face, and the nuanced facial expressions and body language he maintained throughout the performance, even when he was just a spectator to the “main” story.

But I have to confess here that, from the get-go, the plot of this play, and its myriad story lines, were almost totally lost on me. This, I gather, is because I did not read the novella and came into this totally blind. I really tried to follow the story, and latch onto at least some of the plot points, but most of it was over my head. I will take full blame for this, of course. I don’t consider myself a great intellect, and Pete clearly is. But as a writer and an editor, it is programmed in me to always try to find a very clear story in a theatrical piece, and its forward motion. So again, take me with a grain of salt. I actually started to take notes, writing down the areas where I felt confused, making notes of the dialogue that was effective, and the dialogue that was less so, thinking all the while that my input would somehow help the director and the author, until finally, my nice Little Old Lady neighbor asked me what on earth I was doing. “Are you a journalist?” she asked. “Well yes,” I told her, "but not officially tonight. I’m just here to see the show.” Her eyes flickered down to my notepad and she smiled, and I caught her meaning (Check it out, sister!) and put the pad away.

So let’s get back to the music. There I was worrying about the LOLs and how they would react to the volume, but as the show progressed and I surveyed the crowd behind me, I saw that all the Little Old Ladies in the audience were rocking out. Feet tapping, chins nodding, bodies swaying to the rhythm. And smiles everywhere. Some of them looked almost beatific, as if they were being carried to a far-off time, when they were young, and wore bobby socks and poodle skirts, and liked to turn the car radio as far up as it would go and dance on the hood.

This is a real tribute to Pete, of course, and the band. I made notes about the music too—which songs I loved the most, which ones sounded the most “Pete,” which ones fell more into the category of musical theater—but alas, I have misplaced those notes. (Because I did actually pack it all up and move back to New York City after all. And now that I am in NYC and it's like 800 degrees and Pete is hidden away in London, I want to go back to Woodstock, but that is another story.)

The audience seemed to respond most to the “Townsend moments”: “Fragments” with its echoes of both Quadrophenia and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” ; “We Got A Hit,” with its classic Townshend guitar solo; and the kick-ass “Sound Round.” One must keep in mind that most of the audience was wearing old Who concert T-shirts from the 70s and 80s. I’d say the audience once one-eighth little old ladies and 7/8 Who fans, with a Vassar College student or two skulking around at the back.) I too seemed to respond most to those Townsend moments, and found that my body moved of its own accord. Perhaps it’s because hearing those riffs awakens something ancient in me, and reminds me of my teenage years, and brings to the surface those teenage feelings of hope and daring and euphoria and rebellion.

But I also recognized, in Pete’s opera, moments of pure musical theater—which as we know is its own unique genre with its own rules—which made me realize Pete really is branching into new territory with this piece. To hear both elements of rock and “musical theater” in a single song, or (in Act II) in a sequence was delightful. Truly progressive artists will bridge gaps. Kind of like me and my little old lady friend, who’s name, I learned, was (bless her) Gertie. Anyway, the most “Broadway-ish” songs (and the ones that seemed to get the most positive response from the LOLs), were “He Said She Said” (narrated by a couple trying to understand one another); and the lovely, light, and romantic “Tea and Theater.”

Just the line “Will you have some tea/after theater with me” is one of the most romantic things I have heard all year. I love the way Roger sings it on the album and I loved it on the stage. Gertie and I shared a tissue when that song was over. Would that someone would ask that of me!

My favorite song from the show, and from the album ENDLESS WIRE, is “In The Ether,” and I’d have to say it’s because of the lyrics. I’m Buddhist, and we Buddhists are all about that Ether (what we call “Emptiness”) and it just seems like such a nice place to be. We’re all there, actually, ‘tho most of us humans are too ignorant to realize it. Myself included. This is one of those songs that reminds me that there is more to life that what “meets the eye.” We were treated to it three times in TBWHM. Thanks, Pete

I had a writing professor tell me once that, if you want to get a true critique of your play script, don’t turn to Frank Rich of the New York Times; no, you should hide in the ladies’ room during intermission. There, you will find your true critics—the earnest, hapless theater goers who sincerely want to be enlivened, enriched, and entertained.

These are the subscribers—the little old ladies, the retired English professors and librarians—who see virtually every single play every single day. They do not speak through the warped sieve of an ego, or of a failed playwright; no, as I said, they just want to see Good Theater.

This is what they had to say about The Boy Who Heard Music (remember these opinions do not reflect my own:

“It sure is loud.”

“They should turn the music down.”

“It’s a rock concert, Hettie, it’s supposed to be loud.”

“That girl (Bree Sharp) is weak. She does not have a stage voice. Where did they find her?”

“I think she’s supposed to look like a Muslim.”

“Well she can’t sing. Those boys can though.”

“I’ve seen that other young man (Jon Patrick Walker) on Sex and the City. He’s very good.”

“Yes very good.

“Very loud.”

“Good looking, too.”

"Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

Then they got onto the topic of the story line:

“What year is this set in though? Are we in the future or in the past? What’s taking place in real time?” No one seemed clear on this. At the beginning Ray High mentions something about living in the future, but we weren’t sure if he was flashing back to memories of the Band, or if the Band’s story took place in real time, or what. But the band’s story couldn’t be in real time, someone pointed out from inside the stall, because they are presenting it as a reminiscence. “And you simply can’t expect to have true forward motion in a play set up as a reminiscence.” I never got to see the owner of this disembodied voice. But she sounded like my writing professor.

But the general consensus seemed to be that the plot, if any, was hard to follow, but that was all right because it was a “rock concert.” And remember, dear readers, this was only Act I. Act II was much more clear. The audience was much more engaged during Act II, I thought. The songs were just phenomenal, and dear Bree Sharp finally came into her own and delivered some of her notes with real authority. We were treated to: We Got A Hit, Heart Condition, He Said, In the Ether (again!) and Mirror Door.

The band were phenomenal, too. Ted Baker, the pianist/keyboardist and also musical director of the show, seemed to have a complete and full grasp of the inner workings of Pete Townshend. I heard, in his work, traces of Quadrophenia and Psychoderlict and even, unless I imagined it, a whisper of Tommy. And yet I heard him, too. That’s a true artistic collaboration—both musicians meeting at a higher place than either could have taken alone. And the way Baker translated Townshend large concepts to this small, intimate stage were astonishing. Bravo.

The best sign of a show’s success is, of course, how long the audience lingers after the close. TBWHM closed with, as already noted, Tea and Theater. It made us all want to go out and have tea together, out on the one of those wide green Vassar lawns, perhaps, with a picnic basket and a nip of champagne. The moon that night was inviting and gentle—the perfect moon under which to discuss a play. We all wanted to linger and discuss. Sure, we had our questions (about plot, etc), but the most important point is we knew we had been in most capable hands. I, for one, was honored to have been able to witness this work-in-progress. The cast and crew had had only eight rehearsals, and yet you could feel the moment they stepped on the stage that they trusted us. They could, to put it in sixties terms, feel the love. It was really quite a lovely and precious experience.

AND NOW HERE’S ANOTHER PARAGRAPH IN WHICH I REPEAT MYSELF. BUT I DON’T HAVE TIME TO CONDENSE THE TWO PARS RIGHT NOW:

Back outside, after the show, it was one of those warm summer nights you fantasize about all winter long: soft, balmy, with a smattering of light stars. There was just enough breeze to ruffle up your skirt and make you feel feminine; but not enough to make your skirt goes flying up around your waist and make you wonder why you bother to wear skirts at all. I made my way through the post-theater crowd, too shy to talk to anyone but not afraid to listen. Most of the audience, it seemed, felt that the music was great but the story was hard to follow. The better act, they said, was Act II because “at least it had some real story, and some real humor.” Most of them seemed to have read the novella online, and were using that as a reference point for the things about the play they did understand. I felt so left out, so behind anything that mattered. I felt—good grief—as alienated as I did when I was sixteen.

So I went to the parking lot and let my dog out of the car. Nothing like a dog to bring you back to earth. She immediately ran back toward the theater, seemingly on that same mission to find Pete, leap on him, cover him with slathery kisses, and tell him, in her unique doggie way, how much she loved loved loved him. Dogs can say all the things we can't, without fear of rejection.

I reminded her that he wasn’t here, “But he was in spirit,” I think. I told her it was a terrific show.

But she wasn’t listening. I don’t think she ever does. But that doesn’t stop me from speaking to her, in a baby voice, in public. She was following a possum, or some such thing. The possum disappeared under a dumpster and stayed there. My dog bent over, poked her nose underneath the dumpster and barked and barked, demanding that it come out and surrender itself. Some of the Pete fans laughed. I admire how when my dog sees something she wants and goes after it. Who cares if the whole world is now looking straight up her butt.

I wondered if that’s what it felt like to be on stage.

Eventually I convinced my dog that no possum in his right mind was going to surrender. So she ran up to a middle-aged woman wearing a very cool “Who Came First” t-shirt and gave her some love. The woman told me she’d made the t-shirt herself. "But don't tell Pete that becuase ain't this copyrighted?"

“What did you think of the show?” I asked, hoping to get into a nuanced discussion about story line and forward motion and the disadvantages of flashbacks in a stage play. But all she did was light a cigarette, blow out some smoke, and said, “Hey, it’s Pete being Pete. What’s to say? It’s all good.” And I realized she was absolutely right.

Then we saw Gertie. She hugged me goodbye and I saw that her hands were shaking. “I have arthritis,” she told me. “And Parkinson’s.” I told her, in response, that I’d send her a copy of “Who By Numbers.” This wasn’t meant to be a reaction to her unfortunate ailments; it’s just what came out. She seemed to understand. In fact, she took the slip of paper on which I had written my address as one might a prescription. Albeit with shaking hands. “Well have tea one of these days, dear,” she told me. “After theater.”

PS – For those who need a clear summary of what TBWHM is about, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Heard_Music. Whoever wrote this entry knows a heck of a lot more than me!

The Who - Behind Blue Eyes

2007-07-25T17:17:00.001-04:00

to be hated.. to be fated.. to telling only lies..

This is one of my favorite Who songs. Always has been.

One of Pete's Biggest Fans is moving to Taiwan!!!

2007-07-24T22:06:00.001-04:00

So, since the blog has been a bit quiet for a week or so I thought I would just come in and say something to one of Pete's biggest fans and one of the first people I befriended on Rachel's site, for anyone who does not know SUESJOY is moving to Taipei in a couple of days. I don't know the entire story but I do know that she has already left California and is on the East Coast right now saying goodbye to a few of her peeps and then she is off to Taipei at the end of this week I believe.

She is a fantastic person and supersweet. I am sending her and her daughter Anjoli and her hubby all my best wishes for a safe flight and a happy new life there. I know she will still be stopping in here and that she will still have the internet in her new country but I still feel that we should all wish her a happy and safe journey and send her lots of blogger love.

It has to be mind-boggling to move half way across the world so, please tell us how it went when you arrive, Sue, after you catch your breath.
I am sure you can encourage The Who to come and play in your neck of the woods.

Anyway, happy trails...
send us all some cool stuff that we can't get here.

Love ya,

-Lin

Aaron, Jr.

2007-07-17T10:03:00.000-04:00

Could this kid get any cuter??

http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n240/eyesite2theblind/?action=view&current=M4V00001.flv

TBWHM Vassar program and info

2007-07-16T17:18:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone:

I realize I am a couple of days late with this review and program from Vassar's TBWHM performances but I still wanted to share some extra info with anyone who was interested or who wanted to make their own comments and reviews of the 3 performances.

I scanned in a copy of the 8 page program that was handed out and I placed it here for viewing in case anyone wanted to see how the Acts were laid out or who the readers and musicians were. I think if you click on the picture you will be able to read it.

Everyone was quite talented.

I was at the Friday evening performance.

I know that Brian in NY gave a review on Pete's blog the next morning so I will not cover what he covered and I agreed with everything he observed although I did not get to meet Brian that night. I did , however see GeorgeL from CT and gave him a shout out. HI GEORGE!

So, let me just say that it was WONDERFUL to hear this STRONG music live again after having withdrawls since the Endless Wire tour ended in the U. S.

Everyone performed in a British accent. Some seemed forced and some seemed natural.

Josh and Leila had wonderful voices although Leila did struggle a bit in the beginning, she came around about 3 songs into it. Gabriel was well suited for the role (he reminded me of Michael Palin a bit in appearance) he was very happy to be there and it showed although I thought his voice was the weakest of all the performers. Nevertheless, I give them all a tremendous amount of RESPECT since it was said that they only had 8 days to prepare (which was surely the reason they were still reading their parts out of notebooks on music stands).

Many of the songs were extended from their album and tour versions and it was a pleasant surprise with some songs even having extra verses I had never heard before.

'She said, He said' was beautifully sung and was one of the top numbers in terms of cohesiveness.

'Mirror Door' was badly botched in a few places as sung by Ray High. He did try hard and the song did rock, but many lyrics were missed (and there was an extra verse)

'In The Ether' was expanded as well and featured a beautiful duet in the middle. I really enjoyed it as well as it's recurrance throughout segments of the performance, such a beautiful & thought provoking theme.

The 2 guitarists were phenomenal. Soloing away in several places. Pete would have been proud!

There is so much more that I am forgetting I am sure...

All I can say is that for me it really drove home & brought depth to the novella. You could really see more of their relationships, interactions and overall characters in a way that you could never glean from simply reading the novella on paper. They really brought each character to life in a special way. Josh had a little bit of rock star in him (as a performer) and he was the one who really let loose and jumped around and even came out to perform barefoot in the second Act. He was my favorite.

The performance was a special and touching foregleam into how truly AMAZING this play/novella/musical can and will be when it is adapted for a full Broadway or West End production with a proper Mirror Door with exploding fireworks and not three simple black steps leading to nowhere atop which Gabriel simply stands facing the curtain.

So, again, it is the power of Pete's music that really gives life to this story. Previously it was hard for me to read TBWHM and imagine how everyone and every song fit together, and now, with the help of this excellent first step, I am able to dive into TBWHM more deeply than ever.

I have deep respect for everyone who was involved and I would love to see their interpretation again after having about a month to get to know their characters and the music.

Anyone wishing to post their reviews or comments, please do.

Thanks again, Pete, for what is sure to be the next powerful Broadway musical backed by fantastic and meaningful Who tunes.

ROCK ON, Everyone...

& thanks to Patti for coming with me...

-Lin

My Generation

2007-07-15T13:41:00.001-04:00

And speaking of deconstructing drumsets...

Team Members

2007-07-15T08:59:00.001-04:00

Anyone who has requested to become an admin team member so far has received an email. You must respond to it to begin posting blog entries to TOWHM. Once you respond, this blog will appear on your dashboad along with your other blog(s). You can then post to TOWHM the same way you post entries to your own blog already.

Blog on!