PETER TOWNSHEND ROCK STAR MEMOIR

 

peter townshend and the who

 

Closing in on the end of Peter Townshend's autobiography, Who I Am. First surprise was to find he is such a good writer. A thread that runs through the story is the growth of his writing from forcing himself to write songs for the Who's first recordings. Uncertain, feeling like he didn't know what he was doing. Next album, more songs to write. It became a form he liked and worked at making them better. He had a longing inside to do something with rock on the order of opera. He told the whole process of creating his first rock opera, Tommy, from conception, the writing, the rewriting, the feedback, rewriting, working toward a stage production, practicing with the band, performing it on stage, the film made. He told about almost not making it to Woodstock. His band had just come off a tour, all were worn out. He said no to the initial invitation. He was advised this is big, be there. They went, liked and disliked the experience. Though when it was over and the movie swept the world, the Who went from being another London band to one of the biggest bands in the land. Metaphorically overnight.

 

Woodstock

 

Not long after the Woodstock experience, the band had been so busy touring over the last year they didn't have anything for a new album. They decided to put out a live album from concert tapes past. Instead, recorded their show at Leeds, Live At Leeds, which set them firmly in the new status the band found after Woodstock. The Who was one of my favorite bands in the time of Sixties rock, last half of the Sixties, first half of the Seventies, the time of the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Live at Leeds my favorite of the Who's albums along with Who's Next. I like all their albums, have most of them on LP, Who's Next and Live At Leeds on cd. Instead of replacing all their albums with cd, I picked my two favorites. Had a mess of Rolling Stones LPs, and for cd I have their first album, one of their best, and a live album recorded in small clubs called Stripped. On it, Jagger sings Dylan's, Like A Rolling Stone, and made it his own. It is my "best of" album for the Stones. And Black & Blue. With Allman Brothers, I'm satisfied with Live At The Fillmore for cd, one of the great albums in rock. Blind Faith is my Eric Clapton cd.

 

 

I've been a rock-n-roller since 1955 when Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Bill Haley & the Comets, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly were making a new music. Went through the Fifties in jr hi and high school. American rock n roll came to a halt around 1960 after Little Richard quit music and went to preaching, Chuck Berry went to prison for crossing a state line in the South with a teenage white girl in his car, Jerry Lee married his 13 year old cousin evaporating his fan base instantly, Elvis was in the Army and came out of it singing sickening songs like Teddy Bear. American grownups were furious about the music, calling it communist, subversive, devil music. The preacher at my church said band leader Paul Whiteman went to Africa and learned how to play devil-worshiping music, brought it back to America and made rock n roll. I knew better. It ran a crack through the preacher's credibility for the kid. The entire adult world was dead set against the devil music. Dick Clark was part of the adult world determined to put a stop to rock n roll. It doesn't seem so with the idea of American Bandstand. He emphasized black do-wop groups, pretty Italian boys and Connie Francis. He did not like rock n roll nor did he advance it.

 

the who

 

Early Sixties, the English bands brought rock n roll to life again, Dave Clark Five, Spencer Davis Group, Beatles, Stones, The Who, among many others. There was no more defeating rock n roll. It became a force unstoppable. And now, in a time when nearly everybody living was raised on rock, I'm reading the autobiography of Peter Townshend, one of my top favorite rockers, someone I consider an artist the same as I consider David Hockney an artist. Bill Wyman and Keith Richards of the Stones have published their autobiographies. I read Billy Idol's autobio last year. Patti Smith has a memoir recently published. Sixty years ago, my parents advised me, "Rock n roll will never last." Alas for them, it was Big Band that failed to last. At the time the Sixties bands were at their peak,  when the Who and the other bands were playing big arenas, the shows got bigger and bigger, punk happened. Punk played in small clubs, no light shows, no walls of speakers, beginners with guitars, new rhythms, new attitude, and the Sixties bands were over. Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols said in an interview when asked what he thought of Pete Townshend, "an old fart." At the moment, it was outrageous to say such a thing. The market for the Who's music and for solo albums by everybody in the band never went away, however. There came a time the Who folded as a band because everybody in the band was worn out by it. Keith Moon was dead. The life of a rock star is not an easy one. On stage it is fulfilling.

 

the who

 

 

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AT HOME WITH CATERPILLAR

hans silvester

 

Woke from a long nap today too weary to do anything that required action or thought. Looked at emails, looked at facebook. Read an article I've been seeing for days, scrolling, a comet two and a half miles across due to hit the earth with a window of the last two weeks in September, calculated to fall in the ocean two hundred miles off the coast of Brazil and make tsunami "everywhere." Everywhere? Maybe so. I wondered how the exact location, considering a rotating earth, could be calculated so exactly with a two week window. It was clever, but stank too much of Y2K religion frenzy. Next, I found somebody's interpretation of Revelations prophecy in a documentary kind of film about a half hour long. It held my interest all the way through, not that I took it for anything but mentation. He had some fairly interesting interpretations. Of course, it leads to the biggest disaster ever on earth, snuffing out USA in one sweep. This to happen before January of 2017. But, if you're saved and know the Lord, He will keep you safe throughout the terrible time of tribulation for everybody else, the losers. Buy this book on how to survive and you, too, can live happily in the ruins like nothing ever happened. His short film was loaded with some scholarly research that made a good story, until the end when it turned into an infomercial boring as a late-nite used car lot ad, thumping a Bible.

 

hans silvester

 

Caterpillar walked in the door. She'd been outside in her wild mind another twelve hours. This time without me worrying something might have caught her, like a coyote or a dog, both legitimate concerns. I came upon a young coyote walking in the road yesterday driving, about half way between here and Glade Creek. It walked down the road in front of the car like a dog, loping along unafraid, moved over to the side of the road continuing his lope, like a dog. Passing it, I got a good profile view. Its tail suggested fox, though the legs were too long. It was small for a coyote and its fearlessness alone in the world of the humans told me it was young. Seeming lost from the pack, it paid the car no mind, just like a rambling dog. I felt immense gratitude for the opportunity to see a living coyote so close and it in motion. When I see one, I see the most beautiful dog I've ever seen. I'm uneasy with them being around, though I know, too, they mean no harm. They live amongst themselves. They eat everything small that lives on the ground, rabbits, grouse, turkeys, young deer, small dogs and cats. To them a herd of cows is a herd of cows, a source for food. Now we have coyotes, farmers who buy and sell cattle also keep donkeys. Coyotes learn to stay away from donkeys.

 

hans silvester

 

It puzzled me. Sleep half the day, wake up and check out two end-of-the-world disaster worst-case scenarios, pick up cat and talk to her, letting the images of doom fall from my mind. They went away as fast as water falls out of my hand. Caterpillar snuggled in for awhile. I put her down to get some water. I put a dvd in the player, turned it on, picked up Caterpillar after she'd had some water and a bite of catfood, sat down and watched the last half of the Who concert in 1975. It was a time amazon nailed me with because you bought this we thought you might like this. Because I bought Billy Idol's autobio, Peter Townshend has an autobio, Who I Am. Also a dvd of a 1975 show by the Who, because I bought a Siouxsie & the Banshees concert 1983. The Who my favorite band of the Sixties era. Some people object to this kind of customer-specific advertising, but I don't. The grocery store gives out coupons for things I use, not things I don't use. I was grateful to be pointed to the Townshend autobio and the dvd. I find it comic at this age that I'm reading autobiographies of rock stars. They were my age all the way along. It is now time for them to be publishing their stories.

 

hans silvester

 

Since Caterpillar's matted hair was shaved, our relationship is changing. She was freezing in the night and I took her to bed at night, keeping her warm under the covers. She did well, doesn't move all night long. This worked well for a couple weeks. She stopped liking it. The last couple nights she crawled out, jumped to the floor and went outside. She doesn't like it any more. My feeling is that it changed her rhythm, which is ok for a vacation, but a time comes she wants her rhythm back. She sleeps awhile, explores awhile, drinks some water. She's not used to sleeping all night long. I'm actually glad she's had enough of it. I'm a bit weary of it myself. She has also become more dependent on me holding her and petting her. She has developed the most pitiful mao she's ever done. It's plaintive and long when I pretend to ignore its appeal. Some people would tell me she's spoiled. She is. This is new behavior in her. Old age. She's 18. We don't have a great deal of time left together, so I do spoil her. We're the closest we've ever been. I pick her up when she wants to be held. A few minutes of petting and talking to her, she's ready to go about her day. 

  

hans silvester

 

 

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