notbored says of Townshend... "Both common sense and personal experience indicate that only someone who hates himself and consequently has no respect whatsoever for the value or quality of the songs he's written -- only a musician who has nothing but contempt or hostility for his fans and admirers -- could do such things.".... and he hits the nail on the head. Thing is, the guy has always hated himself and its always come through in his music; a conflicted, brutal, emotional mess (ie: great f*cking rock and roll).
Earlier in the essay notbored says, "It was obvious that Bowie was never attached or committed to the various personae, singing styles, lyrical concerns and musical forms that he'd pick up, use for a while and then dispose of. It was all a put-on for him. And so there's no sting, no resentment, no anger, when Bowie sells anything he's got to whomever wants to buy it (as long as the price is right)." ...That's true, though more interesting than phrased here. It's not that Bowie didn't care, its that the sellout was already inherent to the work itself. Same with Townshend's self-loathing. The shoot-yourself-in-the-ethical-foot ethos was always part of his music's intrigue. And, as I said (and mis-spelled) elsewhere, Townshend's embarrassing public statements aren't really a shock either. But what is a shock is our loss.
A song (like an artwork) is a gift, and these elements of emotional detachment (Bowie) and depravity (Townshend) were initially given to us listeners to turn over in our hands and examine, interesting artifacts that resonate with our own weird internal shit. Car commercials, on the other hand, are not gifts. And worse, they take back the gift. Townshend reclaims ownership over his song, extracts it from all the resonant connections it made in our brain, and, by giving it to a car company, effectively also removes it from the public sphere. It's his, he can do what he wants, but its still a loss. And sad that he can't then rise to the new situation and "give" a song to Michael Moore instead, or even I'd settle for "as well", as a car company. Townshend has always been self-centered and myopic. And he always talked too much. Part of his charm, but it looked better on the young, hot rock star than it does on the old, fusty millionaire.
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Earlier in the essay notbored says, "It was obvious that Bowie was never attached or committed to the various personae, singing styles, lyrical concerns and musical forms that he'd pick up, use for a while and then dispose of. It was all a put-on for him. And so there's no sting, no resentment, no anger, when Bowie sells anything he's got to whomever wants to buy it (as long as the price is right)." ...That's true, though more interesting than phrased here. It's not that Bowie didn't care, its that the sellout was already inherent to the work itself. Same with Townshend's self-loathing. The shoot-yourself-in-the-ethical-foot ethos was always part of his music's intrigue. And, as I said (and mis-spelled) elsewhere, Townshend's embarrassing public statements aren't really a shock either. But what is a shock is our loss.
A song (like an artwork) is a gift, and these elements of emotional detachment (Bowie) and depravity (Townshend) were initially given to us listeners to turn over in our hands and examine, interesting artifacts that resonate with our own weird internal shit. Car commercials, on the other hand, are not gifts. And worse, they take back the gift. Townshend reclaims ownership over his song, extracts it from all the resonant connections it made in our brain, and, by giving it to a car company, effectively also removes it from the public sphere. It's his, he can do what he wants, but its still a loss. And sad that he can't then rise to the new situation and "give" a song to Michael Moore instead, or even I'd settle for "as well", as a car company. Townshend has always been self-centered and myopic. And he always talked too much. Part of his charm, but it looked better on the young, hot rock star than it does on the old, fusty millionaire.
- sally mckay 7-28-2004 7:40 am