The Best I Ever Had

Hey everybody: Guess who has a blog!

Peter Townsend! That's right, Pete Townsend, a real rock star, the guy who wrote "My Generation," who created and performed Tommy, the only "rock opera" worth a shit, who led The Who through thirty-plus years of maximum rock'n'roll and who punched Abbie Hoffman off the stage at Woodstock in 1969.

I have played rock'n'roll for much of my adult life (some would say it has prevented the onset of my adult life), and I have performed with, recorded and talked with a few celebrity types, but the one guy I wish I could meet and get to know is this guy. He is one of the founders of what we now call Rock, and his music has influenced many of the artists whom I consider to be the best in the business. Plus, he's been an articulate spokesperson for his generation (also mine) for all these years.

What's more, he's never developed a hipper-than-thou attitude, even though he is arguably the hippest man in the galaxy, and has earned the right to do a little talking down if anyone has. He is generous and inclusive in his art and in his thinking, and now he is posting a new work of art on Blogger, and is making it freely available to anyone who finds it.

On Blogger! Of course, you're asking "Did he fill out his Blogger profile completely?" Yes, he did! Interests, favorite movies and books, his actual age (Yesss! He's older than me!). And there is even a blogroll of some favorite links.

It's called The Boy Who Heard Music, and it looks like it is going to be a novel. I have just started reading, so I can't really review it here, but so far it appears to have a few autobiographical elements in it. A young man from the countryside goes to the city and manages to become a rock star. Here is a taste of his ghastly look at the future of music, after it has been taken over by corporate interests:

A bizarre but critical aspect of the programming would pivot on the discovery that the one form of entertainment and art that penetrated in a direct way to the audience was music. It would cause unpredictable results. So the barons would slowly begin to exclude the most vigorous music from all their programmes. They would reduce the power and effect of music by making it generic, abstract, universal, insipid, meaningless – it would become like an aural colour wash. The same colours would be used again and again, and for all kinds of purposes. What would once have inspired suspense would inspire disinterest. What would once have induced calm and serenity would inspire apathy. Music would promise spiritual ecstasy at the same time as selling soap. Music that mattered to you would matter equally to someone else. Music that meant little to you would mean just as little to them. Music would be like rain and sunshine, benevolent to everyone. Nothing unique about us would be reflected in this music. Nothing spiritual would be tormented or excited by it.

Yikes! You can check out The Boy Who Heard Music by clicking on Pete's smiling face above. Warning: Somehow he has gotten the chapters out of order, but as of today there are five of them. Chapter Five is all the way at the bottom, preceded by Chapter One. The one at the top is Chapter Four. Just scroll around until you find whatever chapter you need next.