Posted on 08/26/2009 11:29:26 AM PDT by a fool in paradise
The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, behind rock operas "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia", is writing a new musical "Floss", about getting old.
"As a 19-year-old, with 'My Generation', I wrote the most explicitly ageist song in rock," Townshend wrote on his band's website... The 1965 hit song includes the line "I hope I die before I get old".
"At 64, I now want to take on aging and mortality, using the powerfully angry context of rock'n'roll."
Floss will be designed for outdoor performance and arenas and Townshend expects it to be ready for a concert premiere in 2011, probably in New York.
Some of the more "conventional" songs from the musical will appear on a The Who album set for release next year, he added.
"Floss is an ambitious new project for me, in the style of Tommy and Quadrophenia," he wrote. "In this case the songs are interspersed with surround-sound 'soundscapes' featuring complex sound-effects and musical montages."
The story centers around a married couple whose relationship runs into difficulties.
Walter, a pub rock musician, finds sudden wealth when one of his songs is used in advertisements for a car company, but life turns sour when he returns to music after a 15-year break...
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Tommy
On the radio today, I heard a song called “Master Jack” by the band Four Jacks and A Jill. That was a pretty good song that reminded me of the “Tommy” days of The Who.
Petie always needed an editor, and didn’t have one (while in recent years he worked as an editor at an publisher.) He could go from greatness to utter mediocrity on one record, and especially on those operas.
I guess it’s a better idea than “Pedophenia”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.