Fact #156374
When:
Short story:
Pete Townshend’s of The Who's solo album White City : A Novel enters the UK albums chart at its peak, No70. It will reach No26 in the USA.Full article:
Pete Townshend : The central point I'm attempting to make (with White City) is that men have been brainwashed into sacrificing themselves for causes which are said to be greater than themselves and which they don't understand. We as a society have all been complicit in encouraging them to sacrifice themselves. Now that the idea of great patriotic causes has been tarnished, we see a tragedy unfolding: the tragedy of young men in the past who willingly threw themselves into futile bloodbaths to amuse chessboard generals and the tragedy of emasculation in the present due to the fact that it's very difficult for Englishmen to find work.
The intent with White City was to suggest that it doesn't have to be this way. Originally I was going to call it The Tragedy of the Boy. With the advance of feminism in western society and with women's capacity to have children and bring them up, women can shape the future. I don't object to feminism, but I think men should have a version of it for themselves.
It's unfortunate that sexuality is a component in the nature of freedom. Throughout history, men have satisfied the drive to create and control by leading, writing, and governing. Men gained power through traditionally rewarded acts of heroism, self-sacrifice, and at the most mundane level - and to this day the thing we find hardest to let go of - by doing a hard day's work and bringing home the money. There are so many men who are unable to do that now, and it's backlashing against society in a monumental way.
I work with a refuge for battered women in England, and working there has led me to conclude that domestic violence is often the last resort of men who are lost and emasculated. The popular solution is to separate men from wives and children because society refuses to tolerate violence in the home. Yet for millions of years violence has been the way we've run our countries and protected our causes. We're presently at a fantastic watershed because we're living under a nuclear umbrella. Moreover, the Vietnam War came to a completely unsatisfactory conclusion, so even that old-fashioned kind of warfare doesn't work anymore.
An aspect of White City that I'm quite proud of is that for once in my life I'm talking about things I know as opposed to expressing opinions as an observer. These aren't opinions. White City is a statement of facts - and they're facts I'm already doing something about. When I wrote "Won't Get Fooled Again", which Roger sang with such venom while I accompanied him with great power chords and arm swings, each power chord was another promise. But all it really promised was that there would be another power chord very close behind it. And in the end everyone looks around and says, "Hold on a minute! When are we gonna get the goods?"
(Source : not known)
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The intent with White City was to suggest that it doesn't have to be this way. Originally I was going to call it The Tragedy of the Boy. With the advance of feminism in western society and with women's capacity to have children and bring them up, women can shape the future. I don't object to feminism, but I think men should have a version of it for themselves.
It's unfortunate that sexuality is a component in the nature of freedom. Throughout history, men have satisfied the drive to create and control by leading, writing, and governing. Men gained power through traditionally rewarded acts of heroism, self-sacrifice, and at the most mundane level - and to this day the thing we find hardest to let go of - by doing a hard day's work and bringing home the money. There are so many men who are unable to do that now, and it's backlashing against society in a monumental way.
I work with a refuge for battered women in England, and working there has led me to conclude that domestic violence is often the last resort of men who are lost and emasculated. The popular solution is to separate men from wives and children because society refuses to tolerate violence in the home. Yet for millions of years violence has been the way we've run our countries and protected our causes. We're presently at a fantastic watershed because we're living under a nuclear umbrella. Moreover, the Vietnam War came to a completely unsatisfactory conclusion, so even that old-fashioned kind of warfare doesn't work anymore.
An aspect of White City that I'm quite proud of is that for once in my life I'm talking about things I know as opposed to expressing opinions as an observer. These aren't opinions. White City is a statement of facts - and they're facts I'm already doing something about. When I wrote "Won't Get Fooled Again", which Roger sang with such venom while I accompanied him with great power chords and arm swings, each power chord was another promise. But all it really promised was that there would be another power chord very close behind it. And in the end everyone looks around and says, "Hold on a minute! When are we gonna get the goods?"
(Source : not known)