PETE TOWNSHEND: WHO I AM DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK Pete Townshend | 544 pages | 11 Oct 2012 | HarperCollins Publishers | 9780007466047 | English | London, United Kingdom Smashed Guitars and Other Damage The book details Townshend's work as an editor at London publisher Faber and Fabersome of the literary personalities he worked with, and some the books he commissioned. View 1 comment. Townshend's style of guitar playing vastly influenced mine as I developed it as well. He claims to have accidentally gone to a child porn web page as part of his ongoing "campaign" against child sex abuse, but never mentions any such campaign before this; in fact, I found nothing online about him being involved in the issue at all prior to the charge. The material on the inner workings of The Who, how these four personalities meshed, and often clashed, is generous and fascinating. But it was too late, because I was already transported by it. He does say he regrets having continued the tour and playing the Pete Townshend: Who I am next night. That being said, this is an honest memoir from a person who knew at a certain point in his young life, that rock and roll music would be his future, even if he had to destroy it. Retrieved 4 January Pete wrote of the party and Roger et al: We saw fighting aplenty, and I have Roger to thank for the fact that no one ever laid a hand on me. Hardcoverpages. View all 6 comments. Thought I would never get thru it! The Pete Townshend: Who I am Crisis less than two years before had proved that. In these sober and self-effacing times, Townshend gardens, sails, walks his dogs, loves his long-term companion Rachel Fuller, plans a new musical suite called Flossand compiles definitive box sets. One aim of this book is to add cachet to the rafts of art Townshend has floated since the death of the drummer Keith Moon effectively ended the Who, no Pete Townshend: Who I am how many tours and albums the surviving members worked up thereafter. He proves equally engaging as a sort of rock historian, describing the musical landscape in Britain in the early s, when rock exploded on the scene. Instead, he wants to understand his failings and plumb his insecurities. View all 7 comments. Other editions. There is a lot of macho posturing, usually about women, but most strangely about eating flowers. Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata EngvarB from September Use dmy dates from September The internets kindly allowed me to track it down and read it again. Richards, Mr. But he eases up a bit when he surveys the musical landscape, very much in elder statesman mode. The book is insightful about the creative process, haphazard and accidental as this often is; Tommy only makes sense to its creator once it has been performed live. He's not always easy to like but he's definitely honest and sincere. Even his handling of the Pete Townshend: Who I am pornography charge is superficial Pete Townshend: Who I am takes only a couple of pages. It's just too perfect. In fact, he has written numerous short stories, worked as an editor at Faber and authored columns for British music magazines. Jul 14, Donna Thomas rated it liked it. Maybe he heard all his prose with musical arrangement; that seems likely, given what he discusses in the book. From his 45 years of devotion to Meher Baba to his adoration of Keith Jarrett to his lifelong fascination with the synthesizer to decades of advanced prog-rock, this understandable ambition illuminates a lot about Pete Townshend. It was, at moments Even when we glimpse the answer, we forget it 20 pages later. At times, he comes across as cold and just plain mean. For assistance, contact your corporate administrator. So many enticing beauties! Reuse this content. Tl;dr: I'm glad this book finally got published. So many yachts! Videos About This Book. But there's little joy in his storytelling, little soul in his onion-peeling. I've always adored their movies so I was sad to find out they were assholes. Pete Townshend: Who I am the book, Townshend makes himself uncomfortably vulnerable, especially in his deeply saddening memories of childhood sexual abuse. Certainly, while there is some commonality between Keef and Pete on their Pete Townshend: Who I am intake, Townsend's biggest issue is more emotionally based, with self doubt and depression, prominent bed fellows until fairly recently. Was it some hard-bitten post-war thing? Townshend, it must be said, is a spectacularly successful musician in anyone's terms - he has Pete Townshend: Who I am all the gold records, critical acclaim, and financial success that any of us could wish for. Even a nasty drunk knew better than to provoke him. Russell answers, Nic as it happens is off in Paris, and Pete instantly decides he's besotted a recurring thing it would appear. Rock Opera I've always said that I've never been a big fan of the Beatles: to me rock was the Stones, and before that Chuck Berry, and before that, maybe a few people who lived in fields in Louisiana. Inevitably in a biography such as this, once you get a fair distance past the glory days, interest wanes a bit. View all 6 comments. I told my mom I was going to do that and I don't think she believed me. They were disaffected and they were loud, and often with rock that's all you need. Unusually for me, it didn't inspire a rush to the iPod or Spotify, and it didn't leave me with the Pete Townshend: Who I am of elation I normally feel after brushes with the Who. Really, if you want a list of the most sympathetic figures in the book, it would begin, 1. It is also interesting that Townsend scrupulously avoids his run-in with the law over child pornography. Thought I would never get thru it! Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Books Smashed Guitars and Other Damage. The death of his own longtime friend and bandmate Keith Moon seemed glossed over, barely getting more than a few Pete Townshend: Who I am. To help keep your account secure, please log-in again. As Townsend's narrative proceeds into the post-Who timeframe, it seemed as though his life became a repetitive cycle of compositions of songs that Townsend almost always sought to develop into a movie, or a stage play and spent a tremendous amount of time, energy and money to make these grandiose plans happen, sometimes with a degree of Pete Townshend: Who I am. He never really crows Pete Townshend: Who I am his 'victories', is tortured about balancing his work with his family, which includes the members of The Who. I'm glad he has recognized his issues and gotten therapy and worked on his Pete Townshend: Who I am and emotional lives but he seems to be a work in progress. As a long time Who fan I've been looking forward to Pete Townsend's frank appraisal of life with the Who and beyond. Readers also enjoyed. Springsteen, but Pete beat you by a good five or six years. This is a worthwhile, comprehensive and culturally valuable account of a life, but its solidity is slightly enervating; it's no celebration machine. I mean, can you imagine the Pete referenced above being served such a factoid and not grabbing it with both hands? In my view Townsend at least matches it, if not eclipses it. More videos It appears he had no time for them as they grew up. At times, he comes across as cold and just plain mean. I think Pete is going to be okay Most popular. I remember reading a Rolling Stone interview in the student bookstore of my university some eons ago, trying not to laugh too conspicuously while Pete held forth on various peers. Sadly, much of the book reads like an expanded list of events that occurred from a totally narrative, newspaper-y point of view. The other subtext that builds almost from the very first page is Townshend's effort to convince you that he was innocent of viewing child porn, although he pleaded no contest. I think if I had been reading this I would not have finished it. Overall a good book about the man, where he came from, his shitty times, his good times, and how he manag This is an Pete Townshend: Who I am autobiography by one of the most talented musicians of our time. I found I actually disliked him and his admitting to being selfish, self absorbed and flawed didn't make me like him any more. Maybe I'm being selfish. And yet for all the boats, houses and mixing boards he buys, there's rarely a sense that he's about to hit the poorhouse -- though Pete Townshend: Who I am talks about his thin savings time and time again. He does not go into depth about his personal life. Although known mainly for being a guitarist, he is also an accomplished Pete Townshend: Who I am and keyboard player, and has played many other instruments on his solo albums, and on some Who albums such as banjo, accordian, synthesizer, piano, bass guitar, drums. After this and more, it's amazing that on p. And he is an amazingly generous evaluator of others' music, sometimes to a fawning extreme.