[QUOTE=Lunch]I picked up the new Dvd today and started watching it. Tommy was struggling a bit but was interesting and overall pretty good. I only watched the first few songs.[/QUOTE]
Great. Maybe you can report back with a mini review when all is said and done. Let us know what you think of the Quad portion.

[QUOTE=JohnXDoe]Here is an excerpt from Pete's Journal dated November 5. He's been posting somewhat regularly at his website as of late and has been putting up chapters of a recent book he has written/is working on/completed. I'm not sure which? There is also a new presentation on "Who TV" that one Rachel Fuller puts on. Apparently it airs at Pete's site at 5:00pm (Birt time) every Wendsday. I will post other interesting things I might find at the site from time to time.

This is just Pete being Pete. He's quite the wanker. Wouldn't have him any other way. I wonder how he feels about message boards. :eek:



[B][SIZE="4"]Cun[COLOR=WHITE]ts![/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]

Fireworks. On Rachel's IN THE ATTIC on Thursday she said one shouldn't wander into a Who Chat Room unprepared. Quite what she was doing there is a question. But I said, they are all 'cun[COLOR=WHITE]ts[/COLOR]' in those Chat Rooms.

I was joking. But when I think about it, it was a hurtful joke. Why?

I think that in chat rooms we all become like the press. We push our own agendas, we hide behind our qwerty keyboards, and we allow the feeling of the moment to impose itself on our chosen subject. In Who chat rooms that would seem to be the Who. Someone wakes up with a headache: Pete is an arsehole because he won't work hard enough etc. Next day they wake up feeling better: Pete is OK because he can do what he likes we love him unconditionally.

I really was joking. I don't go into chat rooms. But I was surprised by my own vehemence and so were some chat room 'fans' who have written to me to complain, or to make their position (and their rights to free speech) plain.

Why am I angry about what goes on in chat rooms? Not because I am bullied there, or that fans have ideas about what I should or should not do. It is because when I set up the web site it had a Who Chat Room. Within a few weeks it was being 'flamed' by people who it now emerges ran web sites of their own. Because of who I am I cannot allow the kind of comments that are permissable on sites unrelated to me in a direct way. People were attacking each other, hiding behind false names. We tried to 'mediate' comments for a while, but it is absurd to do that in a free society.

We closed the Chat Room here. Others flourished as a result. That's good. But I suppose I do still have a bit of a resentment that I spent thousands of dollars setting up an arena for Who fans to talk to each other and to me, and it became a battle field. How great is it that today we can set up a Blog for nothing and it becomes an instant Chat Room in a way.

I have to say that the word 'cun[COLOR=WHITE]t[/COLOR]' is a joke word here. It is derogatory, but was truly meant affectionately in this context. I often say: 'We are all cun[COLOR=WHITE]ts[/COLOR]!' Meaning we are all of us real, flawed, hopeful, stupid, lost and gorgeous.

I promise you Chat Room people, I cherish you, I depend on you, I love you, I need you, I rely on you, and I never listen to a word you say.[/QUOTE]

:lol: Thats just hilarious!

Whats up with this new DVD? I might get it depending on what Lunch says on it.

Still haven't watched any more of it, and I'm going to be out all today. I'll let you guys know though.

Update on the new Dvd: I watched bits and pieces of the Quadrophenia disc (The Real Me, Punk and the Godfather, Love Reign O'er Me and a few others) and the performances were great. The only negative is between each song they have an actor playing Jimmy (not on the stage, on a movie set or something) attempting to explain the plot. While somewhat useful, it's really annoying and ruins the concert feel.

I also watched some of the third disc, the encores from these two shows. Again, great performances, especially on Won't Get Fooled Again.

^^That's great to hear. I haven't seen the Tommy part in some years but I do remember it being pretty good. Even if it was on an old beat up VHS tape with poor sound. I'm glad to hear the Quadrophenia portion is good. I had read about the actor thing and thought that sounded odd, also. The story is fairly straight forward, so why they felt a need to include that beats me? And chances are if you buy this you are already aquainted with the Who and Quadrophenia, so it seems especially useless considereing that. At any rate, I'll be picking it up soon. Thanks for getting back about it. And let us know more when you can.

The actor in Quadrophenia is really only a minor inconvenience, and though I do wish it wasn't included it doesn't take anything away from the performance. If you liked the Tommy performance you should definitely pick up the Dvd because from what I saw the Q performance blew it out of the water.

[QUOTE=Lunch]The actor in Quadrophenia is really only a minor inconvenience, and though I do wish it wasn't included it doesn't take anything away from the performance. If you liked the Tommy performance you should definitely pick up the Dvd because from what I saw the Q performance blew it out of the water.[/QUOTE]
Quadrophenia is a beautiful thing performed live. Especially since they weren't able to do it way back in the day because of the limitations they performed under musically speaking. Playing to backing tapes as they tried to do touring behind it was impossible for a band like the Who way back then. It especially threw Moon off his mark. So before this tour their were no complete Quadrophenia performances to be found. So this is really cool. Especially for a Quad die hard like myself. I'm even a little excited about seeing it. That never happens. Except for the Who. And [B]X[/B]. :)

You should be excited, for anything the Who releases.

Blah, Patti LaBelle ruined the Acid Queen. The Tommy finale was great though.

Has anyone read Dave Marsh's biography of the Who (titled [I]Before I Get Old[/I])? I'm nearly finished and thought it was pretty good, you should check it out if you're interested in them.

Actually I remember John posted some excerpts from the book so obviously he's read it. My favorite quote was this:
"Entwistle was more than capable of playing anything required, but John also considered anything that didn't kick a[SIZE="2"]ss[/SIZE] directly a step in the wrong direction."

[QUOTE=Lunch]Has anyone read Dave Marsh's biography of the Who (titled [I]Before I Get Old[/I])? I'm nearly finished and thought it was pretty good, you should check it out if you're interested in them.

Actually I remember John posted some excerpts from the book so obviously he's read it. My favorite quote was this:
"Entwistle was more than capable of playing anything required, but John also considered anything that didn't kick a[SIZE="2"]ss[/SIZE] directly a step in the wrong direction."[/QUOTE]
That's a really good biography. I would also recommend it to any Who fan. It's certainly not a book for fanboys, as Marsh cuts the Who no slack whatsoever. I felt he was a little tough on them, actually. But that opinion comes from a bit of a fanboy, of course. And the fact that he didn't proclaim Quadrophenia the great album it truly is irked me. I think he said it was a "good" rock album but that Townshend "over reached". Bleh to that opinion, is what I say.

Another good book if available is "Maximum R&B" by Richard Barnes. This is also a picture book of sorts. It has a lot of rare photographs by Barnes, among others, as he was a friend and confidant of the band from the early years all the way to the end, and often traveled/toured with them. It's a kinder book to them. Often downright sympathitic. But not without it's criticisms. And the pictures are pretty amazing. I would also recommend that one.

I'm considering purchasing either the new Who DVD or a different one. Ideas?

Yea, Marsh gave no sympathy to the Who, and like you I actually found him a little too harsh at some parts. Their transition to superstardom seemed to come about very abruptly since he never made it seem like anything they did was much of a success. And like John, I have my beef with Marsh about Tommy (and Quadrophenia :p). Anyways, despite this negativity, it's still a great an interesting read.

JonG - If you don't have any Who video definitely get The Kids Are Alright. It's an amazing video documentary of the band's career from their formation till 1978 with great footage and sound quality. After that check out Live at the Isle of Wight 1970. Similar set list to Live at Leeds only with the video and the sound is somewhat dissappointing. I wouldn't recommend the new Dvd if you didn't have those two already.

I just picked up a copy of Who's Missing, which is supposedly pretty rare, for $10 new. And I also got TKAA soundtrack.

Completing the collection++

[QUOTE=Lunch]I just picked up a copy of Who's Missing, which is supposedly pretty rare, for $10 new. And I also got TKAA soundtrack.

Completing the collection++[/QUOTE]

I found Who's Missing at the A&P (a grocery store) a week or two ago. I was pretty surprised.

TKAA soundtrack is awesome. I kind of wish I bought the DVD instead of the soundtrack though. TKAA (DVD) will be on my Christmas list if I don't buy it before then.

The Dvd doesn't have I Can See For Miles or My Wife, but other than that it's better. Still good to have both though.

What year's the DVD a recording of?

TKAA? It has footage from their entire career up to 1978.

Sorry I keep posting here so much, but I just saw Entwislte's solo on 5:15 in the new Dvd. Holy crap, that was unbelievable.

[QUOTE=Lunch]Sorry I keep posting here so much, but I just saw Entwislte's solo on 5:15 in the new Dvd. Holy crap, that was unbelievable.[/QUOTE]
WTF? It's the Who thread, man. Post away!

I'm going to request the new DVD for Christmas. Sounds great. I'm also going to do mini reviews of all available (and perhaps unavailable) who videos and post them here. Just a paragraph or two for each video so people will know what to expect, more or less. Not so much a review, perhaps, but breif overviews. That may be of interest to some. They can't really be reviews because I find it hard to be critical of the Who. So if people have questions thereafter they at least won't be totally in the dark about what they are looking for.

I'm trying to keep this thread alive.

Entwistle is amazing.

And yea John, that would be cool.

Good news from Pete's own diaries. Visit [url]http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/[/url] for all the details and continuing updates. :)


Dated November 20:

[B]WHO TV[/B]


It has always been my intention to pepper the free stuff looped on the WhoTV (free stream) with really good Pay For View events. The first one, planned for December 4th has hit some critical problems. Nothing technical.

My company boss and team leader Nick Goderson has just had to endure a very serious operation, and my Webmaster Matt Kent has just had to take three weeks compulsory sick leave because of a shoulder operation. A couple other members of our team have also had some minor problems. Our first Pay For View will now take place in the New Year - probably February.

The BASEMENT JAM event on Decmber 4th is going ahead FREE. Rachel Fuller and Nicola Joss, along with my studio team Lincoln Fong and Paul Bonnick have everything ready. The downside is that without a ticket/password system in place we cannot guarantee a clean stream feed to every subscriber - I hope I have purchased enough bandwidth to meet demand.

In the next week on WhoTV you will see a number of 'bootleg' style DVDs sent to me in May for my birthday by Carrie Pratt who is developing the LONG LIVE ROCK website to establish a BitTorrent group for future high quality downloads - shareware and commercial. But the stuff I'm showing this week is bootleg material that you might normally expect to pay for. We do not intend to boot the booters here, rather to acknowledge the funky work they are doing and to widen their audience and our own.

The Who are considering setting up a GRATEFUL DEAD style recording/filming area at their concerts so that higher audio and visual quality can be assured. At the moment clever clogs booters snitch Roger's vocal via his radio mike feed, and I have to say it sounds horrible and compromises the balance of the overall stage sound. Every time Roger sings a line, the band sound disappears for a moment. It would be better to have a compressed, equalized feed of the kind that the audience hear rather than whatever happens to be pumped into Roger's earpiece.

More news on all this soon. Exciting huh? You've seen NOTHING!!!!!!!!


[b]- Pete Townshend[/b]

Dated November 21:


[B]Basement Jam - Now Free![/B]


I know I will sound like the President of the local Golf Club when I use this expression, but I am very excited to announce BASEMENT JAM. This webcast happens on December 4th from Oceanic Studios in London, England. It is now going to be offered FREE not Pay For View. This does mean we will, be unable to guarantee a clean feed to every viewer but we are increasing the bandwidth massively to cope with a bigger subscription.

WARNING! You need a WINDOWS MEDIA player to see this show. QuickTime and Real Players which we use on our download areas will not work for this show.

Rachel Fuller's IN THE ATTIC shows every mid-week from Oceanic have been a test bed for this first LIVE MUSIC webcast. Rachel has already announced this show from her Blog, and on IN THE ATTIC last week.

A limited number of people will be able to attend to watch the show live at the studio in London, but the programme is targetted at the internet audience at home.

The show is based on the same cast of guests Rachel invited to appear at her show at the London Bedford Arms show in Balham on October 18th. The same artists will appear live: Pete Townshend, Foy Vance, Simon Townshend, Mikey Cuthbert and of course Rachel will host the evening and perform with her band.

As well as a live music show BASEMENT JAM will feature live interviews, chats and informal music from Rachel's IN THE ATTIC - a format many of you will already have checked out. There will also be a highlightfrom the Bedford Arms show.

A DVD of the combined events will be made available early in 2006.


[B]- Pete Townshend[/B]

Awesome, I can't wait.

This might be kind of old, as news has been around of it for several years. But this is fairly recent news on it, dated this past September. And Roger is officially involved, so I guess it's a go. Credible source, too. So it looks like it's confirmed. Any final thoughts from anyone?

[url]http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117929978?categoryid=16&cs=1&s=h&p=0[/url]

When I first heard about Myers playing Moon I thought it was a bad choice, but the more I think about it the more I could see him pulling it off. Again, I just hope they put the time and effort into making Moon's biography as intriguing as it should be.

Mike Myers sucks so freaking bad. They should have gotten Jason Swartzman.
Myers has ZERO acting ability. He will suck totally...

I'd much rather have Mike Myers than Jason Swartzman. Even though Jason has more of a resemblance to Moon.

OK, it's final. I just can't get into the Who. I've listened to their most popular albums and still nothing. [I]Sell Out[/I] is the only album I like and even that's not a "masterpeice". Can't say I didn't try Lunch. :-/

[QUOTE=wanderer]Mike Myers sucks so freaking bad. They should have gotten Jason Swartzman.
Myers has ZERO acting ability. He will suck totally...[/QUOTE]

No man, Myers has *excellent* acting abillity.

The Who TV has to be the greatest thing to happen in a long time. I saw 5'15 on there, and Entwistle was godly. I mean, they're all at least fifty-five, and yet they still put on the most amazing show.

I thought the Who were easily one of the best bands on the Live 8 broadcast, even without my bias. They still kick as[SIZE="2"]s[/SIZE].

And yes, Entwislte is truly amazing on 5:15.

[I]Sell Outs[/I] is my least favorite Who album.
And I can see Mike pulling a Jamie Fox, Jamie Fox didn't do a real serious movie that I can think of up until [I]Ray[/I] which was excellent.