23 Pete Townshend Quotes for You to Enjoy

Pete Townshend

British Musician

Born: May 19, 1945

Guitar Me Music People Think You

Related authors: Brian Eno Cat Stevens Freddie Mercury George Harrison George Michael Jimmy Page Robert Plant Sting

A lot of my audience are in their 50s. But they want me to pretend to continue to be pretending. Pete Townshend

Me Pretending Pretend Audience Continue Lot Want

I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth. Pete Townshend

Mouth Born Spoon Plastic

I have to say that anger is the blanket that comes around me, and that blunts and blurs my sense of proportion. Pete Townshend

Me Anger Sense Say Proportion Blanket Around

Entertainment came out of this thing called a television, and it was gray. Most of the films that we saw at the cinema were black and white. It was a gray world. And music somehow was in color. Pete Townshend

Music Entertainment World Cinema Black Black And White White Films Saw Television Out Somehow Color Most Came Were Thing Gray

My father was in a dance band, and I wanted to do what he did, play the saxophone, but I couldn't blow a note, so he suggested the guitar. Chromatic harmonica was actually my first instrument, and I got very good at it - not quite Stevie Wonder, but very good. Pete Townshend

Good Guitar Father Dance First Band Harmonica Saxophone He Instrument Stevie Stevie Wonder Got Very Wonder Did Blow Quite Wanted Note Play Actually Suggested

I saw the Internet as being something which would allow power mongers to control us, and that we would willingly go to that if it promised us salvation - if it promised to show us who we were and let us find ourselves as we had, uniquely in our generation, through rock music. Pete Townshend

Music Generation Internet Power Control Our Saw Our Generation Ourselves Promised Willingly Would Find Something Through Allow Had Rock Rock Music Go Were Salvation Being Which Us Show Who Uniquely Let Us

What the Who is all about is exactly that and it always has been. If it exists today for this concert, it's in response again to a function which is happening out there on the street. Pete Townshend

Today Out Response Has-Been Exactly About Concert Always Been Exists Happening The Who Which Again Who Function Street

It's like the mod thing is happening again. Pete Townshend

Like Happening Again Thing

What theatre started to look at much earlier than any other form was the internal operations of ordinary people, sometimes using mythic models in order to tell the story. Pete Townshend

What I took back, because of my exposure to the Jewish music of the 30s and the 40s in my upbringing with my father, was that kind of theatrical songwriting. It was always a part of my character. This desire to make people laugh. Pete Townshend

Music Character People Father Took Back Laugh Kind Part Songwriting Make Because Always Upbringing Theatrical Exposure Desire Jewish

I don't really know any other musicians like me. I grew up backstage with my dad who played in a post-war dance band, so I always feel at home at a venue. Pete Townshend

I used to try and make up visually for what I couldn't play as a musician. I used to get into very incredible visual things where, in order just to make one chord more lethal, I'd make it a really lethal looking thing, whereas really it's just going to be picked normally. Pete Townshend

Try Looking Incredible Musician Visual More Picked Make Make Up Up Very Normally Get Going Just Where Order Whereas Really Used Chord Lethal Play Thing Things

When The Who first started, we were playing blues, and I dug the blues and I knew what I was supposed to be playing, but I couldn't play it. I couldn't get it out. I knew what I had to play; it was in my head. I could hear the notes in my head, but I couldn't get them out on the guitar. Pete Townshend

A lot of writing I do on tour. I do a lot on airplanes. At home, I write a lot, obviously. When I write a song, what I usually do is work the lyric out first from some basic idea that I had, and then I get an acoustic guitar and I sit by the tape recorder and I try to bang it out as it comes. Pete Townshend

Work Home Song Writing Guitar Try First Sit Lyric Airplane Out Some Recorder Write Tour Had Idea Obviously Tape Tape Recorder Lot Get Bang Acoustic Acoustic Guitar Then Basic

English banjo players really were a law unto themselves - you don't find that kind of brisk banjo playing on the original Louis Armstrong or Bix Beiderbecke records. Pete Townshend

You Law Kind Find Records Unto Armstrong Were Louis Louis Armstrong Banjo Themselves Really English Original Players Playing

In a sense, the god we trust politically is a slightly different god than the one we bring into the fray when we enter a rock concert. One of the things I can say with absolute conviction is that I worship that god. Pete Townshend

God Trust Sense Conviction Worship Say Slightly Enter One Of The Things Absolute Concert Rock Than Politically Different Things Bring

I don't view the fans in the way that most performers do. As a mass of people who have paid money, I know what they want. It's a very, very, very, very, very low common denominator. Pete Townshend

People Money Fans Way Mass Performers Know Most Denominator Very Common Common Denominator Want Low View Paid Who

Early British pop was helped tremendously by the writing of Bob Dylan who had proved you could write about political and quite controversial subjects. Certainly what we did followed on from what was happening with the angry young men in the theatre. Pete Townshend

Angry You Theatre Writing Political Men Young Tremendously Followed About Could Write Had Proved Subjects Did Quite Controversial Dylan Happening Young Men Bob Bob Dylan Pop Certainly Who Helped Early British

Pete Townshend Quotes

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