Pete Townshend On Neil Young's Biggest Problem 

Let my love open the door. Classic.

Demographics. Folks that liked the Who have had access to retirement money for 15 years. Look for an 80;'s band next. Not that I don't adore the Who. Who's Next is just worth a whole turntable in ones cabin. But, I'd remix the tracks. I think tha story would be why are the lesser tracks so shoddily mixed?

I am in Selvin, IN. Where you at Otis?

Can imagine hearing "Bargain" as a theme for a television series

I'm One and Naked Eye

Neil Young has made himself look like a joke so many times, I'm surprised it still bothers him.🤡

@@linjicakonikon7666 How do you say you are insecure without saying you are insecure.

​@@linjicakonikon7666Neil Young looks like a lot of things but a "joke" is NOT one of those things. Do you know anything about Farm Aid for example? Andi don't feel the need to justify myself or Neil Young to anyone but it's a matter of principle. Neil Young has more Integrity in his pinky finger than most people have in their whole body. ☮️

everybody sings for somebody

​@@paulgentile1024& we all have egos that take over from time to time & muck up even a good thing..🤷🏼

My favorite solo album.

@@mattrogers1946 It's being released as a 1/2 speed master LP, along with Empty Glass.

@custom55 I saw that, already in my wishlist.

That is a great album. Ronnie Lane was a special one. Cheers

Yes! A timeless classic. Very underrated.

They live inside of my head!

Yes!!! 5 /17/23

Who's Next was next level for me, as were so many albums released in 1971-72. Tommy was also a fav, but the tightness and every aspect of Who's Next was superlative (accident of conciseness, too, because it was meant to be a rock opera, but the only thing I wish is that Pure and Easy had been on it in its entirety (a little is on the end of Song is Over), as it's so joyous and musically fits. The Who saved me from my first and only iconic Orange Sunshine trip (not my first or last LSD trip!)... And my 1st time with a psychedelic Pink Floyd (Ummagumma's weird "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered... "). Things were getting very weird, then someone put on The Who's Live at Leeds, and the familiar world came back! In the most pleasurably musical way possible. That's an iconic Who album, showing them at their amazing performance peak. At 70, that's a great memory of my 18yr old life. It was an amazing trip, on amazing LSD, that you can't take anymore, because Sunshine wasn't distributed much past then, thanks to the DEA. So pure and easy, but crazy potent and wondrous. I fear Live at Leeds isn't the same anymore, remixed and auto tuned, as the original sounded like a well worn record, or bootleg, and they packaged it as such. They really were the first punks! But it didn't matter, even on audiophile equipment. Also watch Monterey Pop, a 1968 festival film where they blew every West Coast band completely off the stage, including Janis Joplin, and held their own against Hendrix, who was Pete's, and every other guitar player's, main concern.

I was six in 1967. I saw the Who in Seattle in 1982 with Clash opening. In the Kingdome.

and i saw them in same building but it was the Village theater---the first rock show i ever went to---never did a ballad or slow blues, they sang like angels and then they smashed everything----incredible

@@richierugs6544 Different building- It was the "old" Fillmore in San Francisco.

The Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band? Please elaborate on every and anything you can recall about this interesting act!!! Thank you!!!

The Who used it as an opening song for their shows for years. Pete said he knew how the show would go based on how that song went. I love watching their performances, because the second it starts, Keith Moon instantly looks like a fanboy, going "THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG!"

being a WHO fanatic, I love 'I can't explain' as a single. but when they became an arena band, it just was forever played too loudly. great pop song, but MOD/arena just don't go together. at Woodstock and before that massive event, they opened w/ 'Heaven and Hell', which was more suitable for massive volume and crowds. BTW, TheCLASH sort of lifted the basic riff/idea from that beloved single, when they recorded 'Guns on the Roof'. and I love that tune, too. I think they gladly sounded like The'Oo, in tribute.

@@tonym994 yeah but I can’t pass judgement on what a song became years later. My comment above is strictly talking about the Shel Talmy produced 7” single released in January 1965, not it’s performance as a bloated arena rock song later. I agree that none of the Who’s earlier material (pre-68) lends itself to being played in a stadium.

Yes, I remember the Who opening with that song. Funny, even after all the brilliant songs Pete has written over all these years, (It's presently, Christmas Day 2023), I still love "I Can't Explain" the most. Cheers all!

agree 100% I get chills every time, it's powerful.

Dead Man is an awesome soundtrack by Neil Young… Johnny Depp is cool in the movie…

Journey Through the Past...

I remember there was some great behind the scenes of Sampedro tearing into Jarmusch calling him a dilettante

@@dahlbaker Human Highway....

One of my favorites too and Exquisitely Bored is more relevant than ever.

It’s a masterpiece. My favorite also. That and I’m One

In 1967, I blew out the speakers in my new Mustang when I Can See For Miles came on the radio, and I cranked the volume to eleven.

Same here, but I was a year or two younger. Loved every sound, every idea on that record. ‘Black ash from the foundry, hangs like a hood, but the air is perfumed, by the burning firewood’ - the lyric combined with the vocal and guitar created an instant world that’s still with me more than 50 years later. And that’s just one example, I could name 20 more.

I'm still laying awake in my room. I always will

That was me in the mid 90's. I was listening to current stuff, like Green Day, but more than anything I listened to the oldies stations. The music wasn't new, but it was new to me, and I learned so much about music from the 50's through the 80's by listening to the radio. I wonder if kids still listen to the radio like that still... probably not. They probably prefer Spotify and RU-vid these days. But I'll always have a special place in my heart for music on the radio that was written and produced to be played over the radio. A bygone era, I guess.

I love "Eminence Front" too! The sound of it is very unique and rather hypnotic. The lyrics are very visual too... such as "the spray flies as the speed boat glides" or "the snow packs as the skier tracks." The song also holds a special place for me because some of the lyrics make me think of a birthday party for Kenny Jones that I very fortunately got to attend at the bar in the Hotel Navarro in New York City... "Come and join the party Dress to kill Won't you come and join the party Dress to kill, dress to kill Drinks flow People forget That big wheel spins, the hair thins People forget Forget they're hiding..."

Because Townshend sings it!

One of the “toughest “ riffs ever , sets a mood like no other

Remind me again why his music was removed from Spotify.?

@@paddyt4043 Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify. It was not removed.

@@paddyt4043 Neil Young was not removed from Spotify. He removed his songs from Spotify as a matter of principle.

@@MsTdougherty yes I know that is what was so sad about it , he betrayed what he wrote about his songs by doing that , I had alot of time for him previously to that , I sincerely hope a manager made that decision with out his properly thought out approval...it was all over c19 info ...which is so stupid . I saw his charity gig in san Jose 3 times ,

@@paddyt4043 Paddy you said he was removed from Spotify. You are wrong. He chose to no longer be on Spotify. Paddy Neil Young does not need Spotify.

"People Forget"

The pearl jam cover at the who tribute is an amazing cover. Gave ne a whole new respect for Eddie's vocals

indeed. An absolute cornerstone of rock music.

I would say the same about his guitar playing. Unique and pure genius.

and thinks to freaks and geeks you know who he is

Almost is right. Dylan did it first.

@@anotherjoshua not sure how you call early Dylan rock, but I get your meaning.

Tommy was a tank ! Quadrophenia was the numbah !

It's a very adult feeling to realize that, not only did we instinctively back a winner with an eternal sound, no one else had aimed any higher than our guy, our music.

John Sebastian!!!! he's the one who tie dyed Roger's cowboy outfit from that tour.

Harold and Maude is a true masterpiece. I’ll never forget the day my high school girlfriend dragged me along to see a matinee,between her and the movie I felt like my whole world view was transformed in a moment.

he actually slammed Abbie in the waist right off the stage, we were really close to see it

Townsend ranks with Lennon, McCartney, Brian Wilson, or any great rock songwriter you can name. The Who is on the classic rock Mount Rushmore. Pete's only negative, to me, was his guitar smashing phase.

My favorite Kinks song

The dead suck

​@@johncummins6655You might not like the Dead, but they are good musicians.

Same here!

YES - Agreed! I was in High School when The Kids Are Alright came out, I just couldn't understand why that version was kept hidden for all of those years.

@@meanmud1 Legend has it the Who were too good and Mick felt the Stones we under par (the Stones went on last, at 3AM (?) and everyone was toast by then).

@@Barry101er Not only that, but they went back months/years later to try to deliver a worthy performance and couldn't - thus they scrapped it for quite a while.

@@meanmud1 Midnight Movie favorite!

I love Young Man Blues from Charlton 1974.

Cat Steven's music should NEVER be played Today. He is a terrorist supporter. I used to love his stuff

I remember buying Quad. Every day for months I’d come home from school and play Quadrophinia. He made something that really got to me.

I had Quadradphenia in quadraphonic

I always think about Baba O'Riley when I hear, "In the future you will own nothing, eat bugs, and be happy." 🎶Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals🎶

@@websurfer5772 the quote 'in the future you will own nothing etc.' was not serious, you do know that?

My favorite is the album Pete made with Ronnie Lane called Rough Mix. Out of all the record releases of the 70's Rough Mix is still in my top 10. It has always been the best sounding record to this day. Glyn Johns (the producer of Zep,Stones, Eagles ect..) says in his book, it remains to this day, the production he's most proud of.

A Quick One While He's Away. Everything great about the Who in one song.

Run run run is another great song on that album……so many great Who songs some of my favourites “bargain” “I’m one” “the seeker” ” “the real me” but if I could only pick one it has to be “won’t get fooled again”

@@dugfalsetti9448 I love the Rough Mix album. My introduction to the wonderful music of Ronnie Lane as well.

I saw the Who four times, including last year. Still put on a great show. It will probably be my final concert since it's just too much of a hassle to go to shows anymore.

That’s a great video! The clerk’s reaction when Neil tells him he’s gonna take the record without paying for it because “it’s MY music..” and the ensuing call to the record store owner are priceless.

Sounds like a good book. Wish it was on Audible or Kindle. I'm disabled and can't read a handheld book very easily.

What gas Neil Young said that you consider “dumb?”

Both Pete and Neil are still getting noticed by this latest generation. There are a couple of reasons. The music that is being made today is somewhat reductive and can't easily reach wider audiences because the architecture that used to do that, record co's and radio stations, don't have as much influence. But let's face it: from the birth of R & R till the birth of on line streaming- that was the Golden age of Pop music. Younger generations are finding this music if they want to on streaming services, the world of music is so much bigger than it used to be. We are listening to music differently. Otis, your approach is like a mini musicology course. So glad I found this message in a bottle floating along in the internet. Thank you.

I think the Scorsese->Tarantino style has become so overused it’s lost its power

I think Dylan won an Oscar for best song in the Wonder Boys

@@davidkareus8167 yes he did for 'Things Have Changed' 🙂

I agree Ryan, and I've always loved the way Keith Moon wouldn't let the song end, he just keeps playing!

'Bargain' is my favorite, too. I loved 'Who's Next' immediately when I heard it in 1971. I didn't have a record player back then, but two years later I got my driver's license and my dad gave me a van. I put an 8-track player in the van and 'Who's Next' was the first recording that I ever bought. In another couple of years, I went to college and got introduced to good stereo systems and weed. I transcended to another plane of consciousness during the first time that I listened to Bargain through a good stereo and Sennheiser headphones while high on good reef. I've never come back to the previous level. Every time I listen to 'Bargain', I can get right back into that moment. In all music of all ages and all genres, my favorite passage is the coda of 'Bargain', starting at about 4:00. Crank it up!

1982 and they didn't play Candlestick park

Saw that tour at Shea Stadium, incredible show

Yes ‘82, I still have the Union Jack bandanna from the show

Sad

I'm really fond of Rough Mix with Ronnie Lane. Quadrophenia is a masterpiece!

@mattrogers1946 Ronnie Lane joins Pete on "Who Came First." He is featured on "Evolution."

@Matt Powell I've owned that album since the 70s... How about you?

@@mattrogers1946 Yes, same.

Avatar Meher Baba ki Jai ❤

Neil should have got the Oscar. What a beautiful song.

Bob, l sat a few feet from them when they played at a small venue in Liverpool 1971 . They were trying out most of the tracks from ‘Who’s Next’ before going on a major tour. The album hadn’t even been released. Ears were totally blasted , but probably the best concert that l ever attended ..

@@lthompson7625 that sounds fantastic! Very cool memory. Thanks for sharing!

@@wittry2 It gets more memorable Bob. Near the end of the concert the crowd were shouting out for them to play a popular Who live song at the time, ‘ Water’. Keith Moon had a bucket of water near his drum kit. He picked it up and threw it over all of us sitting on the floor near the stage! Claim to fame, Keith Moon drenched me😃

@@lthompson7625 you got Mooned! Great story! Thanks!

TOMMY is still my favorite rock opera. I think it kind of started the genre of "Rock Opera."

"Who Are You?" is used in The Masked Singer show, every episode when one of the competitors gets unmasked.

Today is the anniversary of the release of Live at Leeds! Tuesday, May 16 1970. OUCH!

Yeah, I wore that album out when I was 18, "Magic Bus"