Pete Townshend slammed the digital music industry, calling internet downloading “heartless.” He prefers the old-fashioned system of buying a CD from a record store.  The Who guitarist explained:

“iTunes simply doesn’t have heart. It is software attached to a bank, nothing more, nothing less. Brilliant, but heartless.”

I can’t blame him for feeling that way. I must be old-fashioned as well because I still prefer going into a music store and looking for a CD or record.

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The Who have announced the beginnings of a US tour this fall. Only two dates have been set so far, a two-night run at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater on November 8 and 9. Fan club tickets and VIP Packages will be available next week on the band’s website, and they are promising that more dates will be announced soon. So this is great news of course for all fans of the band who have been hoping to see The Who perform for what could be the last tour for awhile.

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Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend will get together tomorrow, July 12 in Los Angeles to play a special gig that will be taped and aired on VH1’s third annual “VH1 Rock Honors” next Thursday, July 17.   Roger and Pete will close the show with their 45 minute set, performing after the likes of the Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam and the Flaming Lips, who will do their versions of some of the Who’s hits.   Apparently Mr. Daltry is a big fan of the Foos Dave Grohl…

“I’m a huge fan of (Foo Fighters frontman) Dave Grohl,” Daltrey told Reuters during an interview at his hotel on Thursday. “He’s got the mentality of a rock god.”

After the brief concert, Roger will go back to lounging about until November when The Who returns to Japan for only its second time, playing a 4 date tour of that country.

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As a lead in to VH1’s Rock Honors celebrating The Who, the network will air an exclusive behind the scenes look at the legendary rockers. “On Tour:The Who Virtual Ticket” takes a look at the band as they travel from show to show, and gives viewers a peek at the band members’ daily activities from the time they wake up until the time they decide to call it a day. Viewers will see the hard work and preparation that goes into producing a world tour. Fans will also hear Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey give their own personal accounts on their lives as members of the band, and the ups and downs they have faced along the road to success. Sounds intriguing. I’ve been a fan of The Who forever, as a matter of fact, my very first rock concert that I attended as a teen-ager was a concert by The Who (complete with the late, great Keith Moon), in New York City, and needless to say, it’s one that I’ll never forget. I love that band!

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Roger Daltrey, at age sixty-four, is very health-conscious nowadays, and apparently was quite conscious of it back in the day. Seems that while his rock and roll mates were getting blasted on drugs, booze, and who knows what else, Daltrey refused to overindulge in the stuff. He said:

“I did try some of the drugs, but singers need to be incredibly fit. I wanted to be a good singer, and I could not do it with drugs inside me. It was lonely, especially through the cocaine snowstorm that was the 1980s. All around me, people’s personalities were changing. And everyone becomes incredibly dull on cocaine.”

Good for Roger. Glad he stuck to his guns, didn’t go crazy, and kept his performances right up there. Love The Who!

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