Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

I write this at 7.15am on Sunday morning. I'm not usually awake at this time but the thumping bass of a MOR radio station is descending from the flat above me. Fine. Doesn't matter. I have things to do anyway.

I have one of the finest pieces of music produced in my earphones: Sufjan Stevens - Come on Feel The Illinoise. I've written about him before. His music is at once contemporary and timeless. The scope of his work is huge. Minimalist and maximalist all at the same time. For those unaware, he is attempting to write an album dedicated to each (United) state (of America). Michigan was superb but Illinois is something else entirely. A new confidence can be heard, as if he has accepted his place in the pantheon, his role as interpreter of the history of the US almost. The song titles are literary and add to the sense of timelessness ('A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis in the GREAT GODFREY MAZE'). I wrote this in a post around a year ago:

They represent all that is great about American music. It feels like it could have been recorded at any time since the 1800s. And yet its fresh and progressive. Astonishing.

Anyway, I'm just reading this article in today's Observer. The Who are back. I can't say I'm a huge fan, although I've never checked them out in any substantial way. Rusted Willy has always pestered me to listen to them. Anyway, I found Pete Townshend's blog which fascinates. A truly gifted writer, a voracious interpreter of his past, his mistakes, his achievments, his own canon and the issues surrounding music. I was surprised but any research of the man tells me such a reaction was foolish. The only album I've heard (and I'm starting to get into at last) is Tommy.

Here he depicts his songwriting process, quoting Brecht, Gainsbourg and Weil and his thoughts about the internet. Here, he eloquently annihilates Harold Pinter's frothing-at-the-mouth bile and explains his decision to not let Michael Moore use his song Won't Get Fooled Again in Farenheit 911. Here he describes the decline in his hearing, something that we talk about a lot at the studio and have since resorted to using earplugs. And here he writes about his, yes, you guessed it, charity work. It's an honest account and that goes for all his statements. You sometimes get too much, but it's better than what you get from most artists his age.

His partner is Rachel Fuller. She produces these TV shows from backstage with The Who called In The Attic. The shows have featured acoustic performances and interviews with The Flaming Lips and Eels. Fuller and Townshend both promote online communication and online communities. Her blog reveals all the minutiae of a rock star's life. I couldn't believe that he/they would want that information 'out there' but it's a great mix of shopping/lunches with famous friends, holiday homes in South France, walking the dog etc...Today's article fascinates equally.

(Is it me or do I sound like I read Hello and all I'm interested in is the lives of the rich and famous????? And why have I started quoting my own blog?! What an ego...)