Sinister: Lifehouse

[Blake E. Hamilton]

All my teacups--

To address the subject of The Who's sudden newly found motivation--

Pete Townshend has been commissioned by the BBC (the first article appeared
two sundays ago, in the London Times, I'm sure you can find it through the
online archives) to complete his Lifehouse project and recreate it on the
BBC in December.  This week Pete and BBC officials met to discuss Pete's
overall vision (and he is the only one who truly knows) of Lifehouse.  It
also appears that Pete is preparing to talk to Roger Daltrey and John
Entwistle to discuss making this a Who affair.

For those of you who might not be aware, Lifehouse is the second of
Townshend's 'rock operas' that he wrote, following Tommy.  The scope of the
project was too big--the story took place in a somewhat post apocalyptic
gloomy fictional country, where all forms of human expression are banned,
and somehow Bobby (the protagonist) and his buds find a rock and roll band
whose music is a religious and spiritual revelation.  Thusly, at the
Lifehouse, the walls are torn down.  Another facet of the project is that
everyone in the world would be able to hear the music emitting from the
Lifehouse via a virtual reality system of somekind.  (very ambitious for
1971)  Of course at the time, everyone in the world could not view the
concert at the same time, according to Pete's vision.  What medium would he
have used?  Well, the dream has come true, and the Internet is that medium.

That's a very loose description, but it should be known that PT wanted the
project to include an album, movie, and a series of concerts.  (one aspect
of the project had people being numerically entered into a computer, thus
translating into notes, making the  barrier between audience band fall,
hence the 'Join Together' motif)  The concerts were held, at the Young Vic
in Waterloo, but those concerts didn't really fit Pete's true vision.  (if
you can get your hands on a boot of one of these shows, do.  It's
incredible, vintage Who)

Lifehouse turned into the Who studio album "Who's Next", released in 1971,
which reached #1 in the UK, though the songs didn't have any apparent
connection.  (however at the end of "The Song is Over", Daltrey sings a line
from "Pure and Easy", a track that was never released on a standard Who
album, though was THE pivot point of Lifehouse)

If you happened to pick up Pete's 1993 album "Psychoderelict" the Lifehouse
story may seem familiar to you.  Incoporated into that album were some
aspects from Lifehouse.  It seems that Lifehouse continues to motivate, and
yet haunt Pete in everything he does.

Now the questions are many, while the answers are not...
-Will this be a concert as well as a BBC production, which will inevitably
include voice overs, and actors?
-Will Pete write any new music for the event?
-Will it become a Who or TED event, or just Pete and his band?
-Will this finally spark that Lifehouse Who album that we've always dreamed
of?

Sorry to ramble.  Hopefully there are some Who fans out there whom are just
as excited as I am.

-blake
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
I'm sorry like atari...

"We try harder and harder, tryin' to get our way,  but it's a long, long
wait until Judgement Day.  So settle your affairs and take your time,
for everything in the world is yours and mine.  Yours and mine."
--Pete Townshend, '68

"I'm looking back and I can't see the past anymore, so hazy.
I'm on a track and I'm travelling so fast, oh for sure I'm crazy.
I will be immersed, queen of the fucking universe, and i don't
know what i have anymore, anymore than you do."
--Pete Townshend, '80

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