Latest news from Pete's site on the upcoming release:

*excited

[b] 6 September 2006

Endless Wire

After 24 years, the wait is almost over and October 31st will see the release of Endless Wire, the keenly-anticipated first new Who studio album since 1982's It's Hard.

The album features extended versions of the various sections that formed the Wire & Glass mini-opera as well as exploring other themes from Pete's novella The Boy Who Heard Music.

Opening track, Fragments, utilises the pioneering Method music software developed by Pete in conjunction with mathematician/composer Lawrence Ball and software-designer Dave Snowdon.

More details to follow soon but, for now, here's the full track-listing.

1. Fragments
2. Man In A Purple Dress
3. Mike Post Theme
4. In The Ether
5. Black Widow Eyes
6. Two Thousand Years
7. God Speaks To Marty Robbins
8. It's Not Enough
9. You Stand By Me
10. Sound Round
11. Pick Up The Peace
12. Unholy Trinity
13. Trilby's Piano
14. Out On The Endless Wire
15. Fragments Of Fragments
16. We Got A Hit
17. They Made My Dreams Come True
18. Mirror Door
19. Tea & Theatre[/b]

phew unbanned again. I was just about to post that Isolated Bass thing when I realized that John beat me to it

:p

This is an open letter to America from Pete's Diaries, taken from his website as the eve of The Who's North American Tour approaches:


[b]3 September 2006

A Letter To America


This is the last day I spend with my son, my family, our five dogs, in my garden, enjoying the end of the English summer, the blue dragon-flies over the mill-pond, the sound of the coots: Tomorrow I begin my journey to come and play to you. The European tour ended just before August began, and I’d hoped to spend the entire month relaxing, preparing for the two American legs of our tour this autumn. That was not to be. I have been finishing off the mixing of the Who album, liaising on the art work, doing some early interviews about it, and finally working to complete full-length versions of two songs from Wire & Glass (the Mini-Opera included on the album). If you have listened to the condensed version we put out in July, or watched any of our early live webcasts that featured the Mini-Opera, you will know the two tracks: Endless Wire and We Got A Hit.

I’ve been busy and so has my partner Rachel. We’ve recorded a few great new tracks of hers at home together, and she’s been working out how best to arrange her time on tour to promote her EP Shine and keep up her work on In The Attic. We try hard both to get in each other’s way as much as possible, and give each other career-space.

This weekend though has been deliberately slow. Two days running my son has had to do some inductions at his school, and show new kids around now he is a sixth-former. One of my two daughters is coming this evening to have a meal, and to catch up, and say goodbye. I walked the dogs this morning in a light rain on a deserted heath, passing only three people in ninety minutes, and stopped and chatted to a charming man who I didn’t recognise who said he had been the music director on the English theatre version of Tommy.

This entry is a kind of goodbye – for now – to this pleasant English life I lead when I am not being a rock musician. It is hello to hotels, media inquisitions, being shouted at in the street, and the security and safety of being sequestered at Who shows, ready to play, ready to fly, ready to try to forget who I was, who I am, and who I might one day soon become, and occupy the ‘zone’ for a few moments – and perhaps play as well as I did in Madrid.

I’m not going to pretend I’m looking forward to being away from home, but neither am I going to pretend I’m not looking forward to the tour. These are the last few hours I have to enjoy the almost absolute silence of the countryside, and the ability to instantly meditate as one can when sitting on a bench in a wood, or a field, or on a hill, with no body and no building in sight.

I heard some tracks from Bob Dylan’s new CD on BBC radio last night. They are great. Mature just as Bruce Springsteen’s last album was. The critics were favourable about the way Bob Dylan is facing his ageing process and is remaining connected with his ageing audience. It made me think; I believe I have done something like this on some of the songs on the Who album. But on some of them I have borrowed the voices of an imaginary young band of musicians, and allowed them to speak when very young, when young and middle-aged, and then when they are even older than I am today. I wonder why we, the song-writers of today, feel the need to even think about this? Did Cole Porter worry about the creatures of his craft growing old gracefully, bitterly or resolutely? Did Frank and Ella concern themselves about how strange it might be to sing songs about young love, when both of them were in old age?

Rock ‘n’roll – and Bob Dylan exploded from the slowly evolving folk traditions of Dave Van Ronk and Ritchie Havens and embraced the rock form by sheer force of will – is getting old. If it embraces the issues of ageing, it will age. Or would you say it is becoming universal now, free of limitation and constraint? Against all the odds I put up in my own jaundiced middle-age, rock is not dead. Neither is it right. Or wrong. Or a new religion. Or an answer. Or even a question. It’s a process. An island. Walk on, walk off. The kids in my imaginary band The Glass Household in Wire & Glass describe the process as breathing, exploding, imploding, climbing a stairway to a door made from a mirror, and walking through, expecting oblivion in a Black Hole, instead finding a slow after-show party.

I feel as though I’m walking out of the sleepy party, back through the door, down the stairway, to the stage. There’s some cleaning up to do down there before I can go back up and chit-chat about past lives.

-PT [/b]

:D

I always love reading his blog/diary thing. He's such a great writer with even those.

whoa. just got in from the most boring day of the year. possibly the decade. perhaps my life.

pete is very entertaining, i agree. i've always appreciated his literary way with words and how he expresses himself. ever since i first became a Who fan that has been the case. he really drew me into the band. i just find him a fascinating character.

man, i'm so tired....

Pete Rocks BALLS

"I'm Pete Townshend, all I ever do is over analyze everything to the point where I sound way too smart for all my fans to understand me, therefore placing me above them with my pretentious attitude about all music and life."


JK I <3 you Pete.


...Just not as much as the other three guys.

My two favorites are dead. But Pete and Roger still rock and are awesome guys.

I'm looking forward to the new album. Unfortunately, I'm missing out on them live.

John>Keith>Roger>Pete, in terms of how much I like each member.

Seafroggys mentioned that even though he was a drummer, John was his favorite member. That's obviously how I am too. I love Keith and think he is the greatest rock drummer of all time, so that really says something about what I think of John. Entwistle is probably one of my top two or three favorite musicians of all-time.

I think it says a lot about how awesome each of them were individually that I can't rank them. There are very few singers with more power than Roger, fewer drummers that can compete with Keith, and just about nobody can compete with John. As for Pete, well there are loads of better guitarists, but when you consider that he's also a great songwriter and underrated singer he compares well.

Pete is just dynamite to watch live, too.

[QUOTE=Lunch]"I'm Pete Townshend, all I ever do is over analyze everything to the point where I sound way too smart for all my fans to understand me, therefore placing me above them with my pretentious attitude about all music and life."


JK I <3 you Pete.


...Just not as much as the other three guys.[/QUOTE]
the other three would of been much less without Pete. remember that, you lover of the most "pretentious" work about music and life Pete ever produced. which was Tommy, of course.

Pete> John > Keith > Roger

just for the record. :)


/smashes Lunch on the head with electric guitar

Moor deets

Nov. 13 - Salt Lake City, UT at the Delta Center
Nov. 14 - Denver, CO at the Pepsi Center
Nov. 17 - Dallas, TX at the American Airlines Center
Nov. 18 - Houston, TX at the Toyota Center
Nov. 20 - Miami, FL at the Bank Atlantic Center
Nov. 22 - Atlanta, GA at the The Arena at Gwinnett Center
Nov. 27 - Hershey, PA at the Giant Center
Dec. 1 - Uncasville, CT at Mohegan Sun
Dec. 5 - Grand Rapids, MI at the Van Andel Arena
Dec. 7 - Omaha, NE at the Qwest Center
Dec. 8 - Minneapolis, MN at the Xcel Energy Center
Dec. 11 - Columbus, OH at the Value City Arena


;) :D I think there are going to be a few people happy with the new dates(not me though)

Canadian Dates
Sep 30, 2006 London ON CA John Labatt Centre
Oct 03, 2006 Winnipeg MB CA MTS Centre
Oct 05, 2006 Calgary AB CA Pengrowth Saddledome
Oct 06, 2006 Edmonton AB CA Rexall Place
Oct 08, 2006 Vancouver BC CA GM Place
Oct 10, 2006 Portland OR US Rose Garden
Oct 11, 2006 Seattle WA US Key Arena
Nov 05, 2006 Los Angeles CA US Hollywood Bowl
Nov 24, 2006 Atlantic City, NJBorgata
Dec 04, 2006 Toronto ON Air Canada Centre

[QUOTE=JXD]the other three would of been much less without Pete. remember that, you lover of the most "pretentious" work about music and life Pete ever produced. which was Tommy, of course.

Pete> John > Keith > Roger

just for the record. :)


/smashes Lunch on the head with electric guitar[/QUOTE]

Yea, but there's a big difference between creative leader and direcetor of a band and Pete Townshend. I like all his artsy writing and musical concepts, but he just rambles on about them forever. Especially Tommy. I'm not even trying to pretend to defend Tommy in those terms.

/sends you to hosptial with swift upper cut

I hope that CT date is near NY. Because I'm really pissed off I missed out on tickets for them considering their pretty much playing in NY all week right now.

Edit- Crap it's at Mohegan Sun. I'm pretty sure that that's in the middle of nowhere like 1.5-2 hours away from me.

Edit 2- Crap again, I just mapquested it and it's 2 hours away. Which is too far. I wish I had my own car. But there's no way my parents will drive me 2 hours to a concert, and there's no way they'd trust one of my friends driving 2 hours to a concert.

[QUOTE=Lunch]Yea, but there's a big difference between creative leader and direcetor of a band and Pete Townshend. I like all his artsy writing and musical concepts, but he just rambles on about them forever. Especially Tommy. I'm not even trying to pretend to defend Tommy in those terms.

/sends you to hosptial with swift upper cut[/QUOTE]
ouch! :upset:

yes. you are right. he does tend to explain things, ad infinitum. and i must admit it has bothered me when he does it from the stage. and he is never shy about telling an audience member to shut up or fuc.k off if they get impatient. which i've always thought was ok. even Roger has come to his aid on stage sometimes. or he laughs. the refreshing thing about pete though is that he is very self depreciationg, never taking himself too seriously. or at least admitting he is a self-indulgent twit at times. for all his highness i have always found him incredibly down to earth, accessible, honest, and humble. thats always been attractive to me. i also like his guitar playing. i think he does what he does very well. i also like the way his acoustic guitar leads the way on many of even the most explosive Who songs. right out front in the mix. in the studio, at least. from beginning to end he propels the songs forward with his acoustic playing. like on the new cut "We Got A Hit". pete is just rocking that acoustic. very unusual for bands like The Who.
[QUOTE=robo2448]I hope that CT date is near NY. Because I'm really pissed off I missed out on tickets for them considering their pretty much playing in NY all week right now.

Edit- Crap it's at Mohegan Sun. I'm pretty sure that that's in the middle of nowhere like 1.5-2 hours away from me.

Edit 2- Crap again, I just mapquested it and it's 2 hours away. Which is too far. I wish I had my own car. But there's no way my parents will drive me 2 hours to a concert, and there's no way they'd trust one of my friends driving 2 hours to a concert.[/QUOTE]
bummer, robo. that sucks. maybe something good will happen and you'll get to see them.

Hollywood Bowl FTW :)

[QUOTE=robo2448]I hope that CT date is near NY. Because I'm really pissed off I missed out on tickets for them considering their pretty much playing in NY all week right now.

Edit- Crap it's at Mohegan Sun. I'm pretty sure that that's in the middle of nowhere like 1.5-2 hours away from me.

Edit 2- Crap again, I just mapquested it and it's 2 hours away. Which is too far. I wish I had my own car. But there's no way my parents will drive me 2 hours to a concert, and there's no way they'd trust one of my friends driving 2 hours to a concert.[/QUOTE]

Maybe you could dupe them into staying overnihgt at Mohegan sun? Maybe they would have cheap places to stay asuming that you would be blowing all of your money on casino-ing
otherwise I would recommend trying to find a bus


I'm bussing all the way to Boston for 5 hours or so. I hope the creep I have to sit next to isn't the worst smelling on the bus, but some sacrafices must be made for the Who

Too bad my parents aren't cool loose hippies like yours. They wouldn't let me near a bus. "Oh no, you'd get kidnapped!" Actually, they wouldn't say that, they'd laugh and assume I was joking.

But by then, I'll also be 18... which means I can do whatever the hell I want so maybe.

[QUOTE=robo2448]Too bad my parents aren't cool loose hippies like yours.[/QUOTE]
Unlucky.

well guys the band has kicked off the tour and it sounds like a good show. although some reports say the new stuff was a bit shaky in places. i'm sure they will work it out and hopefully keep performing it, as the the show is 2 hours 15 minutes. more then enough time to fit [i]everything[/i] in. the new stuff takes maybe 25 minutes of that time. no setlist yet, but here is a good summary.



[b]September 13, 2006


The Who by numbers -- high and low -- in Philadelphia
By Geoff Gehman Of The Morning Call

8:33 p.m. Tuesday, Wachovia Center, Philadelphia: The Who open their North American tour -- the first in four years and the first complete one led by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend -- with a meaty, beaty and bouncy version of "Can't Explain," under a video of their 1960s and '70s hijinks as a quartet. The Mod anthem of defiant confusion launches a two-hour show that's glorious, dubious and curious, with all the highs and lows of rock opera.

8:44: "Baba O'Riley" crests on Townshend's knifing, pummeling power chords and Daltrey's funneled, foaming, furious vocals. At 62 he can still smash and cut glass with a scream.


8:55: Daltrey shows his raw, touchingly vulnerable side on "Real Good Looking Boy," Townshend's ruminative ode to Elvis Presley, one of his and Daltrey's heroes.

9:00: Townshend explains that he wrote "Real Good Looking Boy" years ago to jump-start a Who reunion with Daltrey and John Entwistle, the band's bassist who died in 2002. Ultimately, though, the project, which Tuesday night included a Townshend elegy to Entwistle, "ran out of steam."

9:03: "Wire & Glass," the mini-rock opera that convinced the frequently bickering Townshend and Daltrey to tour again, is a 15-minute spin through Townshend's typical obsessions: the heaven and hell of fame, the saving grace of music, the circuitous search for meaning. The centerpiece of The Who's new CD "Endless Wire," due in stores next month, it's a cracked mosaic of fragmented riffs and lyrical trifles. By comparison, "A Quick One While He's Away," the Who's nine-minute, witty, wacky medley from 1966, is downright unified.

9:20: "Relay," from Townshend's aborted "Lifehouse" project, features cutting, thrashing drumming from Zak Starkey, who was tutored by none other than Keith Moon, the Who's late, lamented maniacal genius. Steadier than Moon and flashier than Kenny Jones, The Who's second drummer, Ringo Starr's son plays detonating, levitating fills on everything from "Who Are You" to "Substitute."

9:40: Daltrey and Townshend duet on another track from "Endless Wire," "Man in a Purple Dress," a savage attack on hypocritical priests ("You're invisible to me/Like vapor on the sea"). Daltrey's rugged righteous wrath proves once again why he's Townshend's best interpreter.

10:01: "Won't Get Fooled Again," The Who's most operatic, foolproof tune, is a massive dose of ecstasy, a tribal orgy. It's thrilling to watch thousands of listeners swing their arms in tandem with Townshend as they become air-guitar gods.

10:19: A "Tommy" suite is stretched into an inter-galactic epic, propelled by Townshend's hammering, wailing, sky-biting "Purple Haze" solo on "Underture." Nevertheless, it sounds anticlimactic after "Won't Get Fooled Again." Even better would have been "Love Reign O'er Me"; sadly, strangely, there were no numbers from "Quadrophenia."

10:38: The concert ends with Daltrey and Townshend performing "Tea and Theatre," a sad, tender reunion of mad creators from Townshend's blog novella "The Boy Who Heard Music." Spectators toast the grizzled, gracious comrades with a thunderous "WHO!!!," a thank-you for 33 years of maximum R&B.

7:32: Peeping Tom starts the evening with a bizarrely engaging, somewhat endearing blend of hip-hop and death metal. The eight musicians mix turntable scratching and Arabic/outer-space fiddle, a bashing wall of rhythm and catchy rapping ("You don't like anchovies/You actin' salty)." Dressed all in white, lead singer Mike Patton whips his body and voice like David Bowie imitating Sly Stone, or Rob Zombie channeling Cole Porter. Despite their impressive chops, they're a poor opening act; the only one thing they share with The Who is a middle-finger attitude[/b]

Sirius Satellite Radio are to launch a 24-hour Who radio channel in the States. Press release below and a couple of other links attached with more details.

Hamish


* New 24-hour channel dedicated to legendary band

* Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey to produce channel

* Exclusive interviews with band members

* Broadcasts of current US tour dates and past concerts

* Backstage tour reports from musician Rachel Fuller

SIRIUS Satellite Radio (announced today that it will launch a commercial-free music channel dedicated to legendary rock band The Who. The company made the announcement during a press event attended by all current members of The Who at SIRIUS' New York City headquarters.

The Who Channel will debut on SIRIUS on Thursday, September 21. The limited-run channel will feature five decades of music by The Who, including rare tracks and live cuts, and SIRIUS-exclusive interviews with band members. Also featured will be nightly broadcasts of concerts on the band's current tour of the US and Canada, featuring commentary and backstage reports hosted by musician Rachel Fuller.

SIRIUS will also broadcast selected shows from The Who's massive archives, including some never before-heard shows and backstage conversations with the band, some with the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle.

Said The Who's Pete Townshend, "This is the most exciting thing I can imagine -- our own radio channel, straight to our fans. I'm completely revved about this. Who's serious about SIRIUS? You bet."

Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS President of Sports and Entertainment, said, "The band that revolutionized rock and roll as we know it will continue to make history by partnering with SIRIUS Satellite Radio for this groundbreaking channel. Our subscribers will be connected to all aspects of the band with an 'all access' pass granted to them by Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey in a unique and unprecedented way, including, with the advent of technology, the return of Keith Moon and John Entwistle."

The pioneering British rock band has reached a new level in its storied career. Endless Wire, The Who's first studio album in 24 years, will be released by Universal on October 31. The 19-track album features extended versions of the various sections that formed their Wire & Glass mini-opera (released in July 2006) as well as exploring other themes from Pete Townshend's novella, The Boy Who Heard Music.

Surviving original Who band members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are joined by bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Zak Starkey, guitarist Simon Townshend and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick on the new album as well as in their live performances. The Who launched their first world tour in more than 20 years on September 12 in Philadelphia, PA. More tour and ticket info is available at WhoTour.com.

SIRIUS, the content leader in radio, is the first to dedicate entire 24-hour, commercial-free music channels to some of the world's greatest artists. For three months in 2005, SIRIUS broadcast the E Street Radio channel, devoted to the music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which featured exclusive interviews with Springsteen and band members, among other special programs. In September 2005, SIRIUS premiered Rolling Stones Radio (channel 98), devoted to the music of the Rolling Stones, and in March 2006, dedicated a channel for a limited time to the music of David Gilmour and Pink Floyd. SIRIUS launched Elvis Radio (channel 13), the world's only official, all-Elvis Presley radio channel broadcasting live from Graceland in Memphis, in June 2004. SIRIUS is also the exclusive satellite radio home of Shade 45 (channel 45), the uncut hip-hop channel co-created with Eminem, "Little Steven" Van Zandt's Underground Garage (channel 25) and Jimmy Buffett's Radio Margaritaville (channel 31).

For more information about SIRIUS, click HERE.




:D

So apparently The Who was on Letterman last night... I just found out today =\. Anyone watch?

I caught them at Jones Beach on Wednesday night. :)

Setlist:

I Can't Explain
The Seeker
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
Baba O'Reilly
Behind Blue Eyes
Real Good Lookin' Boy
Wire and Glass
Relay
Who Are You
(New material I didn't recognize)
My Generation
Won't Get Fooled Again

Encore:
Substitute
Pinball Wizard
Amazing Journey/Sparks into Overture into See Me, Feel Me
(New material- very pretty acoustic song)

Damn that was the show I should have been at. I'm super jealous. That sounds great.

It really was the most amazing thing in the world. You might be able to find Garden tickets on ebay or something if you're willing to spend that much money. Even my tickets from Ticketmaster were $100 each. So worth it, though.

Ooo. I can't wait until I see them.

So you all looking forward to Endlees Wire next month ??

I want Tommy before I get that tho'

OMG its getting closer to The Who!

Yeah, I saw them on Letterman, my mom was all upset because they didn't do their 'old songs' :rolleyes:

As long as I see See Me Feel Me live, I am content.

saw 'em on Letterman. looking forward to a hollywood bowl gig, hopefully. tickets still available both nights. seen 'em three times but want to hear the new stuff. plus the album comes out less then a week before. ought to be exciting.

rockinbass how does the new stuff sound? what is your impression? i hope they keep playing it.