The Boy Who Heard Music
Encyclopedia
The Boy Who Heard Music is a rock opus that began life as an Internet novella
written by musician and songwriter Pete Townshend
. Townshend wrote in the foreword to the novella that he typically sketches out his opera in this way to lay out the plots and storylines, but in this case he published the material on an Internet blog
site in 2005 and 2006, opening an interactive discussion with readers. The work was later released as a maxi-single and album by The Who
and adapted as a rock opera/musical.
). High is the narrator of the story which starts off in the year 2035, with the old Ray High in a mental institution in London
. He is in an alternate plane of existence called "In the Ether" and looking backward. The younger characters are Gabriel who "could hear music", Josh who "could hear voices" and Leila who "could fly." The three live in the same neighborhood but are of different religious faiths: Gabriel is Christian
, Josh is Jewish and Leila is Muslim
.
Ray High and Leila's father Damoo have been in a partnership called BBZee Studios. As children, Gabriel, Josh and Leila present a play in the studio which involves Josh's Uncle Simon dying and ascending to heaven. The children become interested in Ray and his band after watching tapes of an old concert, and form their own band called The Glass Household, based on Ray's notes and writings. Their fans often refer to the band as "Glass", which becomes a hit under the management of Ray's previous manager Rastus and his company PlusBond. The band's contract puts Leila in control of the company's pop-music distribution and she uses it to begin to make Ray's old ideas about the "grid" come true.
The two boys compete for Leila's affections, and she marries Gabriel, who finds it difficult to satisfy her. He becomes an alcoholic and a web porn addict and voyeur, reported by the press to have affairs with both men and women. While searching on his name, Gabriel discovers pictures of himself being sexually abused as a child. When Gabriel gets another woman pregnant, Leila leaves him to have an affair with Josh. Gabriel's son is killed in a car accident, and Gabriel's grief is used as the public reason why Gabriel will not participate in a Glass reunion concert in New York, though actually he and the other members of Glass are involved in a power struggle over control of rights to the music.
Gabriel is an aging, reclusive drunk living in Ray High's old house when Josh shows up on his doorstep. Because Gabriel has refused use of Glass's music, Josh has run out of money, and he asks Gabriel to release the rights to the music so he can stage a Gridlife concert. Gabriel agrees, and the group travels separately to New York City
, where the concert will be staged. Gabriel meets a woman in the Ritz Carlton, where he hears screaming children. Opening a window, he hears all the tragedies of New York playing out in the streets below. However, the concert will go on as scheduled as a tribute to the victims.
The concert takes place in Central Park
with many bands participating in a programmed "Method" which produces individualized music for audience members, all of it combining to make the sound of an ocean. Ray seems to be there to take his bows, but he is actually watching a representation of the event at his old studio in Isleworth
which is connected to the mental institution.
As the concert concludes, Josh grabs a gun from a security guard and shoots Gabriel. A massive staircase appears, accompanied by demons and angels, and Gabriel ascends. This is mirrored by the staircase at the studio where the children held their play many years ago.
The steps from the children's old stage set now lead to a pub called "The Black Hole
." At an afterparty for the show, Gabriel passes by, entering the pub, and Ray says that he can no longer return because he has passed through The Mirror Door. Josh imagines Gabriel in The Black Hole, "piecing together the fragments with the help of a whiskey." Josh and Leila have tea, and then Leila leaves Josh in his own mental institution cell, alone with his "voices."
This particular story also appears to be a continuation of material presented in Psychoderelict
, using some of the same characters and extending Townshend's ideas about use and abuse of the Internet as a vehicle for media distribution.
The construction which gives the main characters different backgrounds provides a subtext of religious and ethnic discussion relating to issues of cooperation and conflict in current events.
which makes musical portraits for "sitters" through a software application. A musical team including composer Lawrence Ball
expects to further develop some of these portraits into larger compositions for a concert or series of concerts, resembling the "Method" described in the novella.
's mini-opera Wire and Glass was based on the novella story, first released as a maxi-single and then appearing on The Who's 2006 album Endless Wire
. Wire and Glass was released in the UK 17 July 2006 on iTunes and 24 July 2006 as a CD.
Songs from the mini-opera Wire and Glass include:
The mini-opera:
, John D. Putnam (a guitarist for the Tommy
Broadway musical), Bree Sharp, David VanTieghem, and John Patrick Walker. A rough version of The Boy Who Heard Music debuted 13 July 2007 as part of Vassar College
's Powerhouse Summer Theater workshop series. The production was adapted and directed by Ethan Silverman
and presented as a staged concert reading with minimal dialogue. The cast included John Hickok as Ray High, Jon Patrick Walker as Josh, Matt McGrath
as Gabriel, and Bree Sharp
as Leila. Songs in this adaptation included:
Act I
Act II
The song "Real Good Looking Boy" was previously issued on The Who's compilation album Then and Now. The song "I Can Fly" was previously issued on Fuller's EP Shine.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
written by musician and songwriter Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
. Townshend wrote in the foreword to the novella that he typically sketches out his opera in this way to lay out the plots and storylines, but in this case he published the material on an Internet blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
site in 2005 and 2006, opening an interactive discussion with readers. The work was later released as a maxi-single and album by The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and adapted as a rock opera/musical.
Main characters
- Ray HighPsychoderelictPsychoderelict is a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. Some characters and issues presented in this work were continued in Townshend's later opus The Boy Who Heard Music, first presented on The Who's album Endless Wire and then adapted as a rock musical.This is...
- older musician and narrator - Leila Irani - member of Glass
- Gabriel Pirelli - member of Glass
- Joshua Cass - member of Glass
- Victoria - Internet Glass fan
- Angie - Glass fan, mother of Gabriel's son
- Dotty - Leila's friend, member of Glass
- Phil - member of Glass
- Simon - Josh's uncle
- Trilby - Gabriel's aunt
- Myrna - Simon's sister and Josh's mother
- Damoo - Leila's father, Ray's business partner
- Rastus KnightPsychoderelictPsychoderelict is a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. Some characters and issues presented in this work were continued in Townshend's later opus The Boy Who Heard Music, first presented on The Who's album Endless Wire and then adapted as a rock musical.This is...
- Ray's manager - Harold Silverman - Ray's art tutor, mentor and influence
Story events
The story covers a period in the life of three children from different ethnic backgrounds who grow up to form a band and develop the "Gridlife" concepts of older musician Ray High (a character who also appeared in Townshend's musical PsychoderelictPsychoderelict
Psychoderelict is a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. Some characters and issues presented in this work were continued in Townshend's later opus The Boy Who Heard Music, first presented on The Who's album Endless Wire and then adapted as a rock musical.This is...
). High is the narrator of the story which starts off in the year 2035, with the old Ray High in a mental institution in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He is in an alternate plane of existence called "In the Ether" and looking backward. The younger characters are Gabriel who "could hear music", Josh who "could hear voices" and Leila who "could fly." The three live in the same neighborhood but are of different religious faiths: Gabriel is Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, Josh is Jewish and Leila is Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
.
Ray High and Leila's father Damoo have been in a partnership called BBZee Studios. As children, Gabriel, Josh and Leila present a play in the studio which involves Josh's Uncle Simon dying and ascending to heaven. The children become interested in Ray and his band after watching tapes of an old concert, and form their own band called The Glass Household, based on Ray's notes and writings. Their fans often refer to the band as "Glass", which becomes a hit under the management of Ray's previous manager Rastus and his company PlusBond. The band's contract puts Leila in control of the company's pop-music distribution and she uses it to begin to make Ray's old ideas about the "grid" come true.
The two boys compete for Leila's affections, and she marries Gabriel, who finds it difficult to satisfy her. He becomes an alcoholic and a web porn addict and voyeur, reported by the press to have affairs with both men and women. While searching on his name, Gabriel discovers pictures of himself being sexually abused as a child. When Gabriel gets another woman pregnant, Leila leaves him to have an affair with Josh. Gabriel's son is killed in a car accident, and Gabriel's grief is used as the public reason why Gabriel will not participate in a Glass reunion concert in New York, though actually he and the other members of Glass are involved in a power struggle over control of rights to the music.
Gabriel is an aging, reclusive drunk living in Ray High's old house when Josh shows up on his doorstep. Because Gabriel has refused use of Glass's music, Josh has run out of money, and he asks Gabriel to release the rights to the music so he can stage a Gridlife concert. Gabriel agrees, and the group travels separately to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where the concert will be staged. Gabriel meets a woman in the Ritz Carlton, where he hears screaming children. Opening a window, he hears all the tragedies of New York playing out in the streets below. However, the concert will go on as scheduled as a tribute to the victims.
The concert takes place in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
with many bands participating in a programmed "Method" which produces individualized music for audience members, all of it combining to make the sound of an ocean. Ray seems to be there to take his bows, but he is actually watching a representation of the event at his old studio in Isleworth
Isleworth
Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...
which is connected to the mental institution.
As the concert concludes, Josh grabs a gun from a security guard and shoots Gabriel. A massive staircase appears, accompanied by demons and angels, and Gabriel ascends. This is mirrored by the staircase at the studio where the children held their play many years ago.
The steps from the children's old stage set now lead to a pub called "The Black Hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
." At an afterparty for the show, Gabriel passes by, entering the pub, and Ray says that he can no longer return because he has passed through The Mirror Door. Josh imagines Gabriel in The Black Hole, "piecing together the fragments with the help of a whiskey." Josh and Leila have tea, and then Leila leaves Josh in his own mental institution cell, alone with his "voices."
Analysis
As is usual with Townshend's musicals and opera, the material seems semi-autobiographical, with Ray High resembling Townshend himself and the bands' histories paralleling that of The Who before and after the hiatus in the band's active working career.This particular story also appears to be a continuation of material presented in Psychoderelict
Psychoderelict
Psychoderelict is a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. Some characters and issues presented in this work were continued in Townshend's later opus The Boy Who Heard Music, first presented on The Who's album Endless Wire and then adapted as a rock musical.This is...
, using some of the same characters and extending Townshend's ideas about use and abuse of the Internet as a vehicle for media distribution.
The construction which gives the main characters different backgrounds provides a subtext of religious and ethnic discussion relating to issues of cooperation and conflict in current events.
The Method
With the issue of Endless Wire, Townshend opened a website called The Lifehouse MethodThe Lifehouse Method
The Lifehouse Method was an Internet site where applicants could sit for an electronic musical portrait made up from data they enter into the website. This website was the result of a collaboration between The Who's principal songwriter and composer Pete Townshend, composer Lawrence Ball and...
which makes musical portraits for "sitters" through a software application. A musical team including composer Lawrence Ball
Lawrence Ball
Lawrence Ball is an English musician and composer who currently lives in North London. He produces multi-media compositions, performs in concert, and also works as a private tutor in mathematics, music theory and physics....
expects to further develop some of these portraits into larger compositions for a concert or series of concerts, resembling the "Method" described in the novella.
Musicians
Musicians for the mini-opera and full album version include:- Roger DaltreyRoger DaltreyRoger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
: vocals - Pete TownshendPete TownshendPeter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
: guitars, vocals, "mini guitar" - Pino PalladinoPino PalladinoPino Palladino is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk...
: bass guitar - Peter HuntingtonPeter HuntingtonPeter Huntington is a drummer for Rachel Fuller, and occasional drummer for her partner, Pete Townshend. Due to Zak Starkey's touring commitments with the band, Oasis, Huntington was the main drummer for The Who's first album in 24 years, Endless Wire. He has also played for Darren Hayes, formerly...
, Zak StarkeyZak StarkeyZak Starkey is an English rock drummer. He is the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Starr's first wife Maureen Starkey Tigrett. He is also well known for his unofficial membership in the English rock band The Who, with whom he has performed and recorded since 1996. He is also the third...
: drums - John "Rabbit" Bundrick: keyboards, organ
- Simon TownshendSimon TownshendSimon Townshend is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of The Who's Pete Townshend, and is most associated with The Who and the various side projects of its original members, despite many other musical ventures in his career....
& Billy NichollsBilly NichollsBilly Nicholls is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musical director, who first gained fame in the 1960s while still a teenager with his Pet Sounds influenced album, Would You Believe, originally released on Immediate Records.Nicholls' compositions have been covered by many...
: backing vocals
Mini-opera
The WhoThe Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's mini-opera Wire and Glass was based on the novella story, first released as a maxi-single and then appearing on The Who's 2006 album Endless Wire
Endless Wire (The Who album)
Endless Wire is the eleventh album by the English rock band The Who released on 30 October 2006, through Polydor Records and the following day in the United States by Universal Republic. It was their first new album of original material in twenty-four years following the release of It's Hard in 1982...
. Wire and Glass was released in the UK 17 July 2006 on iTunes and 24 July 2006 as a CD.
Songs from the mini-opera Wire and Glass include:
- "Sound Round" - 1:22
- "Pick Up the Peace" - 1:28
- "Endless Wire" - 1:51
- "We Got A Hit" - 1:18
- "They Made My Dream Come True" - 1:13
- "Mirror Door" - 4:16
Full album
The album Endless Wire included the mini-opera, but also other songs which to relate to the opera (*). Endless Wire was released 30 October 2006 in the UK and 31 October 2006 in the U.S. The track listing includes:- "Fragments"* (Townshend, Lawrence BallLawrence BallLawrence Ball is an English musician and composer who currently lives in North London. He produces multi-media compositions, performs in concert, and also works as a private tutor in mathematics, music theory and physics....
) – 3:58 - "A Man in a Purple Dress" – 4:14
- "Mike Post Theme" – 4:28
- "In the Ether"* – 3:35
- "Black Widow's Eyes" – 3:07
- "Two Thousand Years" – 2:50
- "God Speaks of Marty Robbins"* – 3:26
- "It's Not EnoughIt's Not Enough"It's Not Enough" is a song recorded by The Who, written by Pete Townshend and his partner Rachel Fuller, and featured on The Who's 2006 album Endless Wire. The song also appears on a re-issue of The Who's compilation album Then and Now and in Pete Townshend's rock musical The Boy Who Heard Music...
"* (Townshend, Rachel FullerRachel FullerRachel Fuller is a British musician. She is a successful independent pop music artist, a composer and occasional collaborator with rock musician and partner to Pete Townshend.-Early life:...
) – 4:02 - "You Stand by Me" – 1:36
The mini-opera:
- "Sound Round" – 1:21
- "Pick Up the Peace" – 1:28
- "Unholy Trinity" – 2:07
- "Trilby's Piano" – 2:04
- "Endless Wire" – 1:51
- "Fragments of Fragments" (Townshend, Ball) – 2:23
- "We Got a Hit" – 1:18
- "They Made My Dream Come True" – 1:13
- "Mirror Door" – 4:14
- "Tea & Theatre" – 3:24
Rock opera/Musical
Townshend continued working on the story as a full-length rock opera with the help of Steve Beskrone, John Hickok, Kevin Huhn, Matt McGrathMatt McGrath
Matthew John “Matt” McGrath was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, the New York Athletic Club, and the New York City Police Department. At the time of his death at age 65, he attained the rank of Inspector, and during his career received the NYPD's Medal of Valor twice. He competed for...
, John D. Putnam (a guitarist for the Tommy
Tommy (rock opera)
Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
Broadway musical), Bree Sharp, David VanTieghem, and John Patrick Walker. A rough version of The Boy Who Heard Music debuted 13 July 2007 as part of Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
's Powerhouse Summer Theater workshop series. The production was adapted and directed by Ethan Silverman
Ethan Silverman
Ethan Silverman is a writer, theatre director, filmmaker, and producer who was born on November 25, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised in Chicago IL and Albany, New York before attending Oberlin College and The Drama Studio, London....
and presented as a staged concert reading with minimal dialogue. The cast included John Hickok as Ray High, Jon Patrick Walker as Josh, Matt McGrath
Matt McGrath (actor)
Matt McGrath is an American actor.McGrath's film appearances include roles in The Notorious Bettie Page, Boys Don't Cry, The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, and The Impostors. On television, McGrath has appeared in episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Now and Again, and New York...
as Gabriel, and Bree Sharp
Bree Sharp
Bree Sharp is an American singer and songwriter influenced by rock, pop, and folk. She is currently the lead vocalist of the electropop band Beautiful Small Machines.-Biography:...
as Leila. Songs in this adaptation included:
Act I
- "Prelude"
- "Pick Up the Peace" - Ray
- "In the Ether" - Josh, Ray
- "God Predicts Marty Robbins" - Gabriel, Ray
- "Unholy Trinity" - Gabriel, Josh, Leila
- "Trilby's Piano I" - Gabriel
- "I Can Fly" (by Rachel Fuller) - Leila
- "There's No Doubt" - Gabriel, Josh, Ray
- "Endless Wire Prelude" – Josh, Leila, Gabriel, Ray
- "Sound Round" - Ray and Company
- "Real Good Looking Boy" - Ray, Josh, Gabriel
- "Trilby's Piano II" - Trio
- "Fragments" - Company
- "Endless Wire" - Company
Act II
- "We Got a Hit" - Company
- "She Said He Said" - Gabriel, Leila
- "Uncertain Girl" - Josh
- "Heart Condition" - Leila
- "It's Not EnoughIt's Not Enough"It's Not Enough" is a song recorded by The Who, written by Pete Townshend and his partner Rachel Fuller, and featured on The Who's 2006 album Endless Wire. The song also appears on a re-issue of The Who's compilation album Then and Now and in Pete Townshend's rock musical The Boy Who Heard Music...
" (by Pete Townshend and Rachel Fuller) - Gabriel, Josh, Leila - "They Made My Dream Come True" - Ray
- "In the Ether" - Ray
- "Trilby's Piano III" - Gabriel, Josh, Leila
- "Mirror Door" - Company
- "Fragments" - Company
- "Tea & Theatre" - Ray, Josh, Leila
The song "Real Good Looking Boy" was previously issued on The Who's compilation album Then and Now. The song "I Can Fly" was previously issued on Fuller's EP Shine.