The focus of this completely meta second episode of Guitar & Pen is . . . “Guitar and Pen,” Pete Townshend’s “songwriter’s song” from The Who’s 1978 album Who Are You. Once again, I’m joined by Craig Branch, host of the Can’t Find My Way Home podcast, with whom I analyze the lyrics and the music of Townshend’s “allegory of the songwriter’s predicament.” Highlights of our chat include meditations on the necessity of solitude for the songwriter and the inevitability of frustration in the songwriting process, as well as the sage advice, echoed by Andy Partridge of XTC, to never throw out one’s “bits and pieces” as one may find uses for them later—even “after years of delay.” As always, I hope songwriters, composers, musicians, music producers, and music fans find something inspirational and/or of practical value herein.
Recommended reading:
Errata:
The album for which members of The Who were expected to share songwriting duties more equitably was A Quick One, not The Who Sell Out.
The song “A Quick One, While He’s Away” is from the album A Quick One, not The Who Sell Out.
Pete Townshend’s unrealized musical project was called Lifehouse, not Lighthouse.
"You've Got Something to Write" - The Who's "Guitar and Pen"