A Grasshopper, his party, and a sceptical wife - 9

[Kevin and Tania O'Neal]

I love Dogs Part II !
Kevin in VT

http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/diary/display.cfm?id=455&zone=diary


27 November 2006
A Grasshopper, his party, and a sceptical wife - 9

Back to Diary Dates
 This seeker is Kyle Munson of the Des Moines Register. These questions 
started off by somewhat flattering my vanity, and the tone of self-serving 
cleverness I display embarrasses me now. However, this has always been one 
of my faults, and in order to answer these interesting questions I found it 
necessary to take a rather pompous stance.

GRASSHOPPER: I'd rank "Street in the City" - pure melody, elegant string 
arrangement, vivid lyric that betrays your sense of humor - as the finest 
single tune in your solo catalog, newly remastered/reissued. "Rough Boys" 
and "The Sea Refuses No River" are runners-up, perhaps. (I'd loft "Pure & 
Easy" up there as well, but I prefer the Who's feistier version.) On 
occasion of the reissues, what makes you proud, embarrassed or (insert 
emotion) when you take stock of your solo career?
WISE ONE: It started in earnest with my work with Ronnie Lane on "Rough Mix". 
Ronnie had always said that my demos (home recordings) had something the Who's 
subsequent elaborations didn't have. I had always valued my own recordings, 
and knew he was right, but subsequently I came to believe that the only 
difference between a song I recorded at home and one recorded by the Who was 
that the Who used professional studios, and guiding producers. When I began 
to work with producers on solo work - starting with Glyn Johns on "Rough 
 Mix" I understood that my studio performances of my own demos could be just 
as re-interpretative as those of the Who: I could bring a new 'moment' to my 
work, just as I did when I played on stage. When I listen to the songs you 
single out, I hear a performer as well as a composer. I'm very proud of the 
work I did then as a singer.
It's hardly a stretch to say that among the pillars of British classic 
rock - Lennon/McCartney, Mick and Keef, the Davies - your songs stand out 
for how they probe the fractured psyche. I mean, Lennon's "Cold Turkey" is 
one thing. His "Imagine" is another. But talkin' 'bout your generation to 
"Tommy" to today is an altogether different psychological roller coaster. 
What essentially has made you such a confessional, volatile, fragile 
songwriter-rock star? You've certainly taken to the online forum with a 
gusto that none of your peers can match.
The fractured psyche they probe is not my own. It is yours. I use my own 
psyche as a model, that is obvious, but my role as a writer and performer is 
as an irritant, a reflective counselor, an advocate, an interrogator, a 
peace-maker, a war-monger. I draw my creative ideas from within, but I 
gather them using craftsmanship based on theses that come from my audience. 
I regard the audience as valued patrons, who have charged me with a job, one 
I have often found hard, but that they seem to feel I do well. I haven't 
really changed my method for years, I still harp on about the expiation of 
childhood trauma that has been instilled in us all (to varying degrees) as a 
result of more than seventy years of post war denial. Post-fifties pop music 
(and its macho brother rock music) was founded on a completely new idea: 
That music should have a function over and above creating pleasure and 
forgetfulness. We danced, just like our parents and grandparents, except we 
often didn't feel the need to dance together. That's because our dancing was 
not for pleasure, it was a form of therapy.
What is widely misunderstood/overlooked about Pete Townshend the guitarist, 
since you're so often reduced to power chords-windmill-smash?
I love the windmills and the power chords. They are expressions of the 
audience's need for valediction, a sense of power and a desire for 
leadership. I also regard the power chord moments as a demand for attention 
that precedes music.
Many fans seem to assume these days that you're all but deaf. How are your 
inner ears?
They couldn't be more wrong but it is understandable. In the early seventies 
I was diagnosed with premature hearing damage, that was slight. However, I 
spoke of it and dealt with it very seriously. As a result of my action I 
saved my hearing. I can hear pretty well for a man of my age.
Is it more nerve-wracking hashing out the new Who songs with Roger, or 
offering them up to fans (not to mention petty/pathetic critics)?
None of is wracks my nerves because I have none. Very little frightens me. 
This is not because I am brave, but because I know what is important about 
what I do. I find it necessary sometimes to speak (on my website) about 
Roger's process with respect to me, because he tends to exalt me rather. It's 
as though he believes my talent is God-given, when in fact it is based on 
what I was born with, but honed and supported by terrific teachers, 
wonderful managers (especially Kit Lambert in my early days), fantastic 
friends and of course Roger himself.
What book(s) have you brought with you on tour?
'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco. 'JapanAmerica' by Rolan Kelts (early 
copy), a number of crime novels.
Sex, drugs, spirituality, rock 'n' roll: Your strong views on which of these 
topics has changed the most radically since the last proper Who album?
I still see them as shadows of everyday life, thus they all reflect what 
they are in themselves, but most importantly the way they function for the 
rock audience. Different people need different things from the artists they 
allow into their lives. I am not trying to set myself up as an authority on 
sex, drugs, spirituality or rock, I just know that these four facets of life 
seem to be more important to most Who fans than politics.
The first of two questions from Iowa fans, submitted via my blog 
(DesMoinesRegister.com/Munson): "You were once quoted a few years after 
Keith Moon's death, you felt The Who should have had one final tour to say 
goodbye. Now, even after John Entwistle's passing, what is driving you and 
Roger to continue with the band? Creatively, either of you could have done 
anything new as a solo project." (From Steve, Des Moines)
Steve, you need to ask Roger this question. In a sense, he has always felt 
that the great musicians of pop and rock would never stop working until they 
died. He has been proved right. I believed we should stop before we became 
tired, blasé or just plain embarrassing. I would not have released the new 
Who album as a solo album, I wouldn't have had the nerve. It is far too 
epic.
Another fan question: "It seems fewer and few legendary rock bands remain 
relevant by releasing vital new music that the public is still interested 
in. (Bob Dylan is a good example of one artist that began in the '60s and 
has new material that is still of interest.) Is it difficult to write 
material that you feel will find a large audience, and are there any of your 
contemporaries that you feel are just as relevant today as when they first 
achieved mass popularity?" (From Mike, Des Moines)
It gets harder I think. I have had to wait twenty-four years to write music 
I felt would work against the immense wall of classic tunes the Who had 
already made famous. I wrote several hundred songs in that time, and made a 
few solo albums, and I'm proud of what I did, but that word 'relevance' is 
the important one: it is measured only by the audience. What is relevant to 
me might not be so to you, but I really need to hear the work of Flaming 
Lips, Eels, Sigur Ros, Sufjan Stevens, Martha Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright, 
and many others in order to feel alive today.
The following questioner is Nate Niceswanger who runs Zzz Records 
(www.zzzrecords.com), a used vinyl shop in Des Moines' eclectic East Village 
district.
"Hey Kyle,
My wife wants you to ask Townshend:
"Are the members of the Who fans of the TV show 'CSI'? Or, did they get sold 
out by their own record label?"
I am a huge CSI fan, but that came after they used our music for their first 
series. I'm just a big fan of TV soaps and series-dramas and find the theme 
music especially much a part of my enjoyment. I love the eleven-beat refrain 
at the beginning of "Alias" for example - I literally start to jump and down 
in excitement when I hear it. There is a mischievous question hidden here: 
'Doesn't this music belong to us? Should you be allowed to change the 
context? Are you not an Indian Giver when you sell us this music then 
re-sell it to TV?' Answer: 'When you're right you're right. Sadly you are 
also powerless, so give it up.'
Kyle says: "I don't really have any good questions for him myself. The only 
good Who story I have is that when I was a kid, I used to listen to my dad's 
45s a lot. One of my favorites was always "Dogs, Part Two", which was the 
B-side to the "Pinball Wizard" 45, I believe. You've got to trust me that 
this was, and still is, a great song."
That is not a 'song'. Keith was sometimes a pain, but mostly he was funny to 
be around. It was his turn to 'write' a B-side, and this is what he came up 
with. He was gracious enough to cut us in on the publishing (because we 
barked so well).