Tea for Ten, Management Zen

( an observation relevent to the 9-managers-and-one-worker scenario )

I gotta dig in,
far into the earth.
The managers stand around
and discuss what I'm worth.
Considering what
they add to the plot
the story is pretty shortlived
you'd have thought.
They don't have a pick
a shovel or spade
but axes to grind
that precess for an age
And when they suggest
it is time for a tea,
how come the guy
who's to boil it
is ME ?

Ban Poems !!

I have a strict rule
to only do songs
(cos the lyrical form
is more tight and strong)

But note,
that note-less again today
its gone awry, to my dismay.

Its not helped at all,
by blogspots strange quirks
that removes single quotes
instead question marks lurk.

Eat shoot and leaf ?
it is a matter of surrender
and makes One wish
to go out on a bender.

Weld Domination (for The Boy Who Heard Music)

For weld domination,
the dog pack's obeying.
Rather whines, sniffs and wimpers
and wearing christmas jumpers,
than competitive issues
and drunken Miss Construes.

There must be a squeaky wheel
demanding and fighting
They rush to the front
don't care who they're bargin'.

But mostly they're thinkers
and world bleary writers
an interesting mixture
of intrigue and blighters.

I've hidden this here
so it won't be read
At least not until
I've disappeared off to bed.

And the Last Clunky bit
I haven't time to fix :

Oh look
how big
the commenters count is,
from a hundred to thousands
per chapter
like swarms where bees drip off.

Hope they haven't clicked yet
(that) Life House musical themes
and maybe even Grid dreams
could be retrieved,
nay be rewired, solely from this.

Your Favourite Rock Quote

Your Favourite Rock Quote.

As a matter of course
rocks don't speak
but if they could
it would take a week
though sound travels fast
through rock,
in roll it's muffled like a sock.

If rok birds could speak
they would be awk awk awkward
stutter and squeak
with little thought about it.
but the Stones
are well known
for pebbles of wisdom
I suppose it depends
on which beach you are living

Status Quo,
ever the same,
are quite quotable in
the rock n roll game.
Those same twelve bars
"rockin' all over the world"
while Rick Parfitt rythmns
Telecaster blue licks
beneath blonde curls

John Peel, bless his socks
had a favorite quote thus
"I was born with a plastic
spoon in my mouth".
Who would substitute any other song.
"I can't explain, but,"
he was never wrong.

Spike Milligan, alas passed,
had furore for planning permission
his tombstone in gaelic had to be written
(a two year wait before the diocese gave in)
"I told you I was ill" he wanted his epitaph to say
they still hide his comedic expression today.
Strange decision,
considering his iconoclastic precision.

The Missing Ellipsis

The missing ellipsis
fell off the stage.
It careered off the floor,
then rattled a page.

The lookers looked on,
while others enraged.
When bounced to a halt three
dots
faded
away

The enraged exploded
in fits of peak peek pique
and ripped out what remained
of the rest of the seats.

The lookers that looked
just looked a bit de-stressed
then headed backstage
for a ligger like fest.

Pete's Film. The Sing Along Version.

Before we get to the Lyric :

Pete Townshend has made a film, Shown on WhoTV,
that shows how tricky it can be to work on music amongst a general domestic situation.
This lyric represents some aspects of that film, and uses direct quotes from Pete,
especially in the chorus.
But I guess, PT might not like the additions interposed, anymore than the direct quotes.

So don't forget to visit http://petetownshend.com and click on the little icon that says WhoTV

(a)The use of "Ol' Pete" refers not to age, but is more like "the same old me".
Perhaps a fix is to title it 'Good old Pete' ? I prefer "ol' " written as "ole"
but voting has it thus so far.
(b) Swapped to make nearly all of it first person, rather than swapping at the first chorus,
so the narrator's out of a job.
(c) Further adjusted for some timing.
The "< >" indicates a rest.
( but mostly it's based on fixed syllable count, rather than a short vs long syllable etc so its fairly crude. Also there is currently a verse which might need to go, as it's pace is a bit off.)
(d) In 2 cases, The is on a line before the verse. Its a little bit optional, but would overlap the prior bar
(e) Last lines may represent spoken/hanging comments and be deliberately out of pattern, although that can be annoying. Sorry, may hack them off later, or italicise when I'm in a formatting editor.
(f) When I work out how to do the Journal bit about this, I can split it up so it makes sense...
perhaps.


I'm ol' Pete, < >
feeling sick'ning,
percussion beating up my mind,
Watching films in private darkness,
headache stalls the daily grind.
Here is how to tinker drum fills
with TV screen harsh on the eyes
The headache shuts down useful thought
and tinnitus does it every time

Exercising some guitaring.
Echoes cross the studio. < >
will the next song,
please come rushing,
from the Ether. Musico. < >

(Chorus)
I'm not Ray High,
I'm not Roger,
I'm not a fan of the Who,
I'm not Jimmy,
I'm not Tommy,
I'm just ol' Pete,
and who knows who.

Delightful outside rainy day,
clear my desk so I can play, < >
chord and crib notes on display,
but no biography today. (no, no)
Blank page keeps on staring back
pick up blonde guitar and hack < >

recording room, stack, electronics
patching bay and eight track on it
backing tracks selected allright
re-tune strings so chords ring just right
(really that's about easier fretting
but rhymes like that are tougher getting)

I'm not Ray High,
I'm not Roger,
not a Who fan,
But I'm One,
I'm not Jimmy,
I'm not Tommy,
I'm just ol' Pete,
a story telling Man.

rock enrolling hall of fame,< >
introspection what a game < >
Have you seen the daily pain, < >
frequent stops to have a worry
then notes come inside a flurry

The
flow is stifled and so it goes
the headaches rack
the will to roll.
Percussion's noted
as the poison,
causing those blue eyes to tighten.
later springs a jamming session,
where the rhythm runs like lightnin'.

I'm not Ray High,
I'm not Roger,
not a Who fan,
But I'm Home,
I'm not Jimmy,
I'm not Tommy,
I'm just ol' Pete,
story telling done.

The
flow is stifled,
I'll accept no copy,
Reporters banned
for at least a time.
( Eventually, suppose I'll give in,
rattle on for quite a while).

Tried out my new strained voice, < >
unlike pure notes it sounds just hoarse.
Still natural to me, of course.
It fits the music like a greyhound,
runs along as I rehearse,
but I never catch the rabbit first
(not tempted by a rabid thirst)
There'll be more words fit in this verse

I'm not Ray High,
I'm not Roger,
not a Who fan,
But I'm One,
I'm not Jimmy,
I'm not Tommy,
I'm just ol' Pete,
the story is still going on.
Perhaps for a change, I will film this one.

I Left my Heart in San Francisco

(A little light Trek humour, to the popular tune, "I left my heart in san francisco")

I left my heart
in San Francisco
Or rather
someome beamed it
Out of me
It was a shame
it ticked along quite nicely
and then some Kazon
came and whipped it
all away.

I should have known
it wouldn?t pulse
forever
Right from the start
it would thud
in times of stress
But I never thought
parting would be electric
went in a moment
with a soggy sort of hiss.

WhoTV

The fur doesn't fly,
and no one dies,
on WhoTV.
Elsewhere slights and poison,
messages slide,
across the forum.

Some say they never listen,
but they still gotta ignore us,
there's a gap in there,
big enough to drive a Taunus
(if you're taurus).

There's mention of crazy fans
getting in a camera tent,
Maybe We will be,
on WhoTV

The boy who heard music
is serialised,
and everyone tries to overcook it.
A million bit comment
to fill out the screen,
let's just skip over all of it.

There's some serious knockers
and some joe bloggers
on here though,
so we'll run and hide
from the Islander guy, in his Evil Overseer guise.

Hey man, bender rules,
is it wall to wall smiles and beer for you too.
On WhoTV.

( WhoTv - available at petetownshend.com as we speak)

A free Launch

There's no such thing
as a free lunch.
But starting here,
there seems a bunch.

I will get off
to a flying start
as soon as I've worked up
an appetite.

Its heady up here
in the Blogosphere
floating on bit speed
wire we hear.

I'm glad you asked
Its not a sure thing
one knows
But a free Launch
needs a free style approach.

(c)stef.s. 7Nov2005