No, it's alienating fans with shiatty software and a crappy format.

no, what's heartless is recording an album where maybe 1 song on the entire album is bearable. then wondering why your sales suck.

Yeah, 'cause nothing says HEART like driving to the mall, walking into an FYE or a Best Buy, and paying $18 for a CD with four good songs on it.

Dear Pete,
You're a rock God, but when The Ox died, keeping The Who together was heartless.

However, iTunes does suck.

Dumbass? uhmmm, I think someone wasnt born when you used to buy an album with actual artworks

I long for the old days when they would hand-pit the bits and bytes onto a CD using a safety pin.

FTFA: Although the rocker admits that the way companies such as iTunes have capitalised on digital downloads is very clever, he much prefers the old fashioned system of buying a CD from a music shop.

I bet you do, Pete. Given the opportunity to have a check mailed to me for either $1 or $15, I generally choose the latter.

That said, one might also call YOU heartless for accepting blindly the residual checks that arrive in your mailbox, seeing that you never actually got to experience the joy of watching your fans play the music at home. But I would guess you don't have a bureau full of uncashed checks at home.

In conclusion, get farked.

Yeah, iTunes is so heartless.

I really prefer to go get an overpriced CD crippled with a Rootkit at Best Buy and then come home and try to import it into iTunes.

Everyone knows that Best Buy has a heart.

That just makes me want to molest children.

GurneyHalleck: Dear Pete, You're a rock God, but when The Ox died, keeping The Who together was heartless.

THIS
I'm a huge fan but refuse to go see them now. the new album is noticeably missing The Ox

Who (sic) the fark cares what a registered sex offender thinks
a registered sex offender that plead no contest (UK version) No contest = guilty.

All this machinery
(Distributing) modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
Its really just a question
Of your honesty

The heartless delivery method is the AAC filetype.

So I guess Pete will be taking all of his music off the download services.

Phoenix_M
Who (sic) the fark cares what a registered sex offender thinks
a registered sex offender that plead no contest (UK version) No contest = guilty.

No. No contest does not mean guilty. If "no contest" meant guilty, then there would be no such plea. In specific regards to Pete Townshend, he wasn't even ever charged with anything. He received a "caution" from the police, and part of that "caution" was registering on a sex offenders list.

Most of the CD bins I have encountered don't have any more heart, it's just harder to weed out the junk. With iTunes Plus, a lot of the music is higher bitrate and DRM-free now, though the 128K AACs always sounded just like CD's to me.

I was ready to agree with him before I read TFA. There probably was a time that going to the local record store and buying the newest vinyl was a very "heart-felt" moment, especially when the music was new & revolutionary and the buyer felt like they were in on something that the mainstream, the masses, weren't part of.

But then I read the article, and found out that he's talking about the good ol' days of CD sales. Nothing to do with nostalgia or breaking new ground, just the eternal pursuit of getting richer.

Fark off, paedo.

GurneyHalleck: Dear Pete,
You're a rock God, but when The Ox Keith Moon died, keeping The Who together was heartless.

However, iTunes does suck.

FTFY

Always loved The Who---but Keith was integral

The Who must always stay together in order to keep Roger from turning to a life of crime.

tgregory: no, what's heartless is recording an album where maybe 1 song on the entire album is bearable. then wondering why your sales suck.

though I fully admit that the music business should not have buried the single format when the CD took over... how often is this really true? Did you really think the brains behind Laffy Taffy would have a full album worth of gold? The only thing I can gather from statements like the "One good song per albums" is that those assholes should just stick to letting the radio tell them what they like.


stop promoting mediocrity.

I agree and I disagree. Early on in the whole filesharing free-for-all, I got a bit burnt-out from downloading. true, it's fast, easy (sometimes free). But I like having albums, complete albums with coherent themes and order that come with album art and notes and stuff. I like the tangibility of a CD/cassette/record.

However, it's been few and far between in recent years that I've bought albums that were good from beginning to end. Most really only have a few songs that are stellar, and the rest seems like filler. That, and there are few "artists" these days that really know how to put together a cohesive album--most simply come off as a random collection of songs.

Clash City Farker: The Who must always stay together in order to keep Roger from turning to a life of crime acting.

I agree with him, even as great as it has been to be able to get so much music electronically, nothing compares to having the physical form of an album and pouring over the liner notes and artwork while you first listen to it. Its best with vinyl in my opinion, because there is still something a bit cold and lifeless about CD's, they're so digital, plastic, and small. It just doesn't even compare to buying records and plopping that needle down for the first spin, while you break your weed up on the back cover, looking over the sweet artwork.

Which gives me an idea... hold on a minute, I'm going to go roll a jay on the cover of Quadrophenia, and then listen to side 4. Be back in about 20 minutes.

Darn, just when I heard that if you buy the "special edition", you get a free photo album filled with "Pete's picks".

jj325: GurneyHalleck: Dear Pete,
You're a rock God, but when Keith Moon died, keeping The Who together was heartless.

FTFY
Always loved The Who---but Keith was integral

did you see them live with Zak Starkey on drums? that was as close to the "real" Who as there could be (while Ox was alive)

People still use iTunes? Why lock yourself into a proprietary DRM format? Amazon MP3s are cheaper with no DRM/watermarks and better bitrate.

/ I learned my leasson with MSN Music and DRMd music awhile back
// All MSN Music support quit working after WM9 was upgraded to WM10 and i was out about $300-400 worth of music

Passive Aggressive Larry: It just doesn't even compare to buying records and plopping that needle down for the first spin, while you break your weed up on the back cover, looking over the sweet artwork.

The back cover? Dude, that's what gatefolds like Quadrophenia were for, so all the seeds & stems would roll down in to the center.

I agree with the first part of your post too, but the downside was, especially in the mid-to-late 70's when vinyl got really thin and shiatty, of having to return an album 2 or 3 times to get a non-warped copy.

The problem I have with CD's is that the original 72 minute playing time allowed bands to put everything they recorded on, which meant stuff that would have been b-sides or relegated to a rarities comp in the vinyl era made the cut.

Henry Holland: The back cover? Dude, that's what gatefolds like Quadrophenia were for, so all the seeds & stems would roll down in to the center.

I preferred shoe box lids
/ooh, did I say that out loud?

Passive Aggressive Larry: as great as it has been to be able to get so much music electronically, nothing compares to having the physical form of an album and pouring over the liner notes and artwork while you first listen to it.

I agree... but I also seldomly read the liner notes after the first few listens. It becomes more or a "Quick Reference to find the CD I want" more than anything after that. That said, I'm far more comfortable buying a CD (at a reasonable price, mind you) than paying for files.

Henry Holland:
The back cover? Dude, that's what gatefolds like Quadrophenia were for, so all the seeds & stems would roll down in to the center.

I agree with the first part of your post too, but the downside was, especially in the mid-to-late 70's when vinyl got really thin and shiatty, of having to return an album 2 or 3 times to get a non-warped copy.

The problem I have with CD's is that the original 72 minute playing time allowed bands to put everything they recorded on, which meant stuff that would have been b-sides or relegated to a rarities comp in the vinyl era made the cut.

Actually I'm not sure why I said the back cover, that's not usually where the coolest artwork is. And I've heard of this using the gatefold to separate seeds and stems, but these days our shiat doesn't really have that stuff, if cured and cut properly (take that, old-timer).

I think for the most part newer vinyls will last a lot longer than the ones from the era you're talking about, especially if they are 180 gram, and especially if you have a nice newer player to take care of them. I've bought a lot older and used stuff, and I think I know what you're talking about, but its a trade-off to buying some of those classics for a couple of bucks a piece anymore.

You also make a good point about CD's. Since they allow for all that extra time, bands don't seem to trim enough to make a cohesive album anymore. You look at those old vinyls, and since you could only put about 40 minutes on them, bands were really conscious of what to leave in, and how to arrange each side to maximize the listening experience. You didn't want to release an album where people were going to get up and move the needle to different songs, or flip sides, because that was just too much work. Once I started collecting records, I could see how and why bands would arrange songs, and every side of a record became its own little listening experience, with its own purposeful highs and lows.

I recently saw an interview with Pete, is it me or is he loosing his mind? (assuming he ever had one) Really, I think he is acting kind of daft of late.

Go to a website, see what is popular, read reviews, rate songs and artists yourself, write a review, share playlists with others, buy just the tracks you want or buy the entire album.

Or.

Walk into the Best Buy and stare at the racks of shrinkwrapped CDs and hope they're as good as the cover looks.

Pete, the old neighborhood record shop is online now. I find it a bit strange that the guy who claims he invented the concept of the Internet (Lifehouse concept album) doesn't get that.

So, Pete, does that mean you DON'T want the royalties from when I downloaded "Who's Next" and several of your solo songs from iTunes recently?

I kinda agree with the guy... I won't pay $15 for a cd but do buy them used because the physical copy is so much more satisfying than downloading tracks from itunes.

mofomisfit:
No. No contest does not mean guilty. If "no contest" meant guilty, then there would be no such plea. In specific regards to Pete Townshend, he wasn't even ever charged with anything. He received a "caution" from the police, and part of that "caution" was registering on a sex offenders list.

You kiddie-diddlers really look out for one another, don't you?

Passive Aggressive Larry:

And I've heard of this using the gatefold to separate seeds and stems, but these days our shiat doesn't really have that stuff, if cured and cut properly (take that, old-timer).

[shakes walking stick at you, yells something incoherent]

Yes, the bud today is lovely, all seedless and mostly stemless and so many different kinds (= different buzzes) instead of the limited options in the early 70's. Whenever a shipment of Thai Sticks hit the local dealers where I lived, hell, a shark feeding frenzy near a capsized boat full of bleeding passengers was a tea party in comparison.

I think for the most part newer vinyls will last a lot longer than the ones from the era you're talking about, especially if they are 180 gram, and especially if you have a nice newer player to take care of them.

It got really bad in the late 70's, trying to find pristine vinyl out of the sleeve. I once had to trade in 6 copies of a Simple Minds album just to get one that was playable. Now, the 180g stuff is so well made. However, with petroleum prices like they are, that might last much longer. :-(

Once I started collecting records, I could see how and why bands would arrange songs, and every side of a record became its own little listening experience, with its own purposeful highs and lows.

My favorite example is how ELP ended Brain Salad Surgery's side one with First Impression, Part 1 and then you'd turn the LP over and the first lyrics were "Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends" from Part 2. Best album cover ever, too.

/Old
//Wants music downloaded directly to cerebral cortex

Who the fark is Pete Townshend and why should I care about what he thinks of the music industry?

/buys cds direct from the band whenever possible
//buys cds on amazon the rest of the time
///steals the rest

reverbblue: Who the fark is Pete Townshend and why should I care about what he thinks of the music industry?

Because he was part of a band that gave us a few good songs 4 decades ago, and FM radio has fooled us into thinking he is still relevant.

/Baba O'Reilly, Pinball Wizard, Magic Bus, Who's Next - that's it.
//don't even try to argue
///I'm on my own lawn

Once again a thread fills with people who buy music so crap, their favourite artists can't even put out decent whole albums.

There's great music and great albums being made out there, just look a little harder - like people used to do before the music industry was swallowed by corporates.

Contact Music kind of takes him out of context. In his original post on The Who website, Pete never says anything about alienating fans. He is talking about iTunes alienating himself. He says he prefers dealing with a record company over iTunes.

"Without a record company I would not have been able to survive awkward periods of my creative cycle, the simple ups and downs of life. I don't sack someone just because they have a baby or get sick or depressed. My record company allowed me the same license to fail to show up for work sometimes. They stood by me. iTunes simply doesn't have the heart, it is software attached to a bank, nothing more, nothing less. Brilliant, but heartless."