FLOSS: The Musical

No, I am not writing a show stopping... show, about oral hygiene.

My hero, Pete Townshend of The Who, is currently writing a new musical in the style of Tommy and Quadrophenia, entitled (for now) Floss. Floss is the female lead interest in the story. For those of you not up on the discography of the greatest rock band of all time, Tommy is the story of the deaf, dumb and blind boy... Tommy Walker, or the Pinball Wizard. Quadrophenia is probably lesser known to non-Who fans, but is, in my opinion, Pete's magnum opus. Every lyric in that album drips with philosophy and enlightenment and pure human reality. Quad focuses on a young male, Jimmy Cooper, caught in the battles between mods and rockers in London and his personalities are heard through each member of the band, and there are four, so quad... quad also refers to the concept of surround sound. This album got me through many a dark time.

Anyway, his latest work would best be described in his own words, so I will let you read his latest blog entry regarding his new venture:

"FLOSS is an ambitious new project for me, in the style of TOMMY and QUADROPHENIA. In this case the songs are interspersed with surround-sound 'soundscapes' featuring complex sound-effects and musical montages. FLOSS will be a son-et-lumiére musical piece, intended for outdoor performance, or arenas. Several of the more conventional songs from FLOSS will be featured on a forthcoming Who recording for release in 2010. FLOSS will be heard in concert for the first time in 2011, at a venue and date yet to be established. I am already having talks with producers in New York.

The collected music and sound for FLOSS convey the story of a married couple whose relationship gets into difficulty. Walter, a straight-cut pub rock musician, is able to retire when one of his songs becomes the TV anthem of a big car company. He becomes a house-husband while his wife Floss devotes herself to a riding stables and stud. When he tries to return to music after a fifteen year hiatus, he finds that what he hears and what he composes evoke the ecologically rooted, apocalyptic mindset of his generation. Shaken by this and torn by personal difficulties, he and Floss become estranged. A series of dramatic events in a hospital emergency ward bring them both to their senses.

While Roger Daltrey exercises his ageing vocal chords by embarking on a two month USE OR LOSE IT solo tour, my focus is on FLOSS, which touches on the current issues faced by the Boomer generation. It also addresses their uneasy relationship with their parents, children and grandchildren. As a 19 year old – with My Generation – I wrote the most explicitly ageist song in rock. At 64, I now want to take on ageing and mortality, using the powerfully angry context of rock 'n' roll." - Pete Townshend
courtesy of www.thewho.com

So that's pretty damn great. Pete worked with directors and producers on a staged adaptation of Quadrophenia, and that is currently showing in the UK. My fingers are doubly crossed that it makes a journey over to our neck of the woods. They (The Who) always had a difficult time performing this album live as a 4 piece band because unlike Tommy, Quadrophenia doesn't have a very obvious forward narrative. It really requires extra writing to string together a story line.

I'm very excited to hear this news of a new album and project. I have to agree with another hero of mine, also named Pete, that Pete Townshend is the living embodiment of "The Poet" as defined by Emerson... and I too, will fight you on this one.