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::a timeline of Pete Townshend and the Internet:: part III



::2000::
February: Lifehouse Chronicles released as a six CD
set of demos, experiments, and the radio play. 
EelPie.Com e-commerce site opened.  Pete performed
Lifehouse songs at Sadlers Wells.

March: Pete closed the chat room on his website after,
in his words, an ongoing shit-stream of obnoxious
postings by one user.

May: In a web chat on BarnesandNoble.Com Pete reported
that actor Peter Gallagher and Ethan Silverman were
developing a stage version of Psychoderelict.  When
asked if virtual encounters can substitute for real
ones, he replied that he found email and web chat
conversations more disturbing than real
conversation.  If you mean however the AOL handjob,
then I would prefer that to an encounter with a
heroin-addicted hooker who was abused by her
grandfather and thus believes all men are inherently
evil.  

June  Nov: The Who toured the U.S. and UK featuring
songs from Whos Next and Lifehouse. At the end of the
tour The Who and special guests played Royal Albert
Hall to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust.  Throughout
the tour Pete posted dozens of video diaries about the
tour and MP3s of selected performances on his website.

December: The Associated Press reported on the
conviction of the operators of Landslide Productions,
Inc. in a U.S. court in Texas.

::2001::
June: Pete played two acoustic shows to benefit the La
Jolla Playhouse.  Between masterful sets he regaled
the audiences with musings, anecdotes, and humor.   In
the Lifehouse story, he said, only a few things could
counteract the emotional, spiritual, and physical
detachment from reality imposed by the
media-controlled Grid. Congregation, love, and music
were among them.  Real life today  in the face of
huge media conglomerates  is not that different.  We
still have the same desire for story, for love
affairs, for the simple things, a good meal, a walk
with a friend.  Our own media Grid takes many simple
pleasures and exploits them:  The Internet has been
really driven technically - hugely - by pornography. 
And my sense was that in Lifehouse one of the things
that would happen to us all if we became subject to
the will of all those people out there is that where
they would try to get us is through our soft spots. 
You know, sexually  try to get inside us and move us
and control us erotically. In a sense one of the
things was to create really wonderful love stories in
the piece and, you know, Im not a really good
dramatist so I found it very difficult. This is one of
my attempts.  He then played the song Greyhound
Girl.

August: The U.S. Department of Justice took the
occasion of the sentencing of Thomas Reedy, the
operator of Landslide Productions, to 1,235 years in
prison to announce the existence of Operation
Avalanche.  Authorities had continued the
investigation undercover, including sting operations
against the most egregious customers of the site, and
assembling lists of foreign subscribers for Interpol
and other police organizations outside the U.S. 

November: The Who played at the Concert for New York
City to benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund, providing
aid to New Yorkers victimized by the September 11th
terrorist attacks.  It was John Entwistles last North
American performance with the band.

Compiled by Ken Hawkins ) 2003 

This chronology records Pete Townshends statements
about the Internet and against the child pornography
widely available on it.  His statements are presented
along with the concurrent timelines of his music and
performances, the Whos activities, the Gary Glitter
case, and the investigations of U.S. and U.K.
authorities.  It is intended to shed light on the
when and what if not the how and why. 
Endnotes document the quotes and sources.  Corrections
or additions are welcome. 




=====
UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR PETE TOWNSHEND. 
NO 'What Ifs' NECESSARY.
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