Hello and welcome to Morganchem, the home of all things NErDy at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School and the official web presence of Michael Morgan.
I take your child's education very seriously. It is with that intention that I have provided this webpage for you and your child to help get a better understanding of what goes on in their Chemistry class. Here you will find our weekly and semester long schedules, copies of all the homework assignments and laboratories, daily announcements, and important information to help parents keep their children on track.
To learn more about my academic activities and the success of my students view my biography under the "about" menu. For those interested in the many different academic activities that my students are involved in on a daily basis outside normal class hours look at the Chem Club page on the "about" menu.
Over the past twenty years music education has disappeared from our schools. This becomes obvious when listening to new music on the radio only to hear music that is unoriginal or even bad. Most of today's so called artists do not write their own music or even play their own instruments.
So in the spirit of teaching you everything we can, this page features an Album of the Week. These are not ordinary albums in the history of music. These are the groundbreaking pieces of music that truly shaped how music was presented, recorded, and how it influenced other musicians and the public.
A few notes about the choices. They are albums and not collections of single songs thrown together willy-nilly. They were meant to be played in order. They often told a story or set a mood. Some of them defined a genre and some defined a generation. I strongly recommend that you ask your Parents/Grandparents to dig through their record collections and find their old copies of these and put them on the turntable and experience them the way they were meant to be experienced.
The Who have been synonymous with British rock and roll since 1964. They almost defined the role model of rebellious rocker with their 1964 anthem “My Generation” featuring the classic line “I hope I die before I get old”. Roger Daltrey has come to see the humor in that since he is still touring in his mid 70’s. In late 1968/early 1969 guitarist Pete Townsend wanted to push the envelope of the three minute pop song and began developing a rock and roll opera based on a deaf, dumb, and blind boy called Tommy. The Who were international stars but their over the top stage show and lifestyle left them broke and in need of a solid cash infusion.
By 1969 Tommy was recorded and was not like anything else that had ever been heard. They took some clues from the progressive rock bands and let the music tell a story. The album was engineered so that one song bled into the next. Some of the material was inspired by Townsend’s personal guru Maher Baba and some on his experiences as a child during the war in Britain. The Who were able to tour the whole act very successfully including a full performance at...(continued)
The Who have been synonymous with British rock and roll since 1964. They almost defined the role model of rebellious rocker with their 1964 anthem “My Generation” featuring the classic line “I hope I die before I get old”. Roger Daltrey has come to see the humor in that since he is still touring in his mid 70’s. In late 1968/early 1969 guitarist Pete Townsend wanted to push the envelope of the three minute pop song and began developing a rock and roll opera based on a deaf, dumb, and blind boy called Tommy. The Who were international stars but their over the top stage show and lifestyle left them broke and in need of a solid cash infusion.
By 1969 Tommy was recorded and was not like anything else that had ever been heard. They took some clues from the progressive rock bands and let the music tell a story. The album was engineered so that one song bled into the next. Some of the material was inspired by Townsend’s personal guru Maher Baba and some on his experiences as a child during the war in Britain. The Who were able to tour the whole act very successfully including a full performance at Woodstock (in the middle of the night) and made a good chunk of money getting themselves out of debt. Their success led them back to the studio to create what many think is also a masterpiece the album called “Who’s Next”. In 1989 they dusted off the opera and performed it live in New York and Los Angeles to much acclaim. The music holds up well today and still gets lots of airplay.
The story has been debated quite a bit but this synopsis from Wikipedia is a nice short version of what it all means:
British Army Captain Walker goes missing during an expedition and is believed dead ("Overture"). His wife, Mrs. Walker, gives birth to their son, Tommy ("It's a Boy"). Years later, Captain Walker returns home and discovers that his wife has found a new lover. The Captain murders this man in an altercation. Tommy's mother brainwashes him into believing he didn't see or hear anything, shutting down his senses and making him deaf, dumb and blind to the outside world ("1921"). Tommy now relies on his sense of touch and imagination, developing a fascinating inner psyche ("Amazing Journey/Sparks").[2]
A quack claims his wife can cure Tommy ("The Hawker"), while Tommy's parents are increasingly frustrated that he will never find religion in the midst of his isolation ("Christmas"). They begin to neglect him, leaving him to be tortured by his sadistic "Cousin Kevin" and molested by his uncle Ernie ("Fiddle About"). The Hawker's drug addicted wife, "The Acid Queen", gives Tommy a dose of LSD, causing a hallucinogenic experience that is expressed musically ("Underture").[2]
As Tommy grows older, he discovers that he can feel vibrations sufficiently well to become an expert pinball player ("Pinball Wizard"). His parents take him to a respected doctor ("There's a Doctor"), who determines that the boy's disabilities are psychosomatic rather than physical. Tommy is told by the Doctor to "Go to the Mirror!", and his parents notice he can stare at his reflection. After seeing Tommy spend extended periods staring at a mirror in the house, his mother smashes it out of frustration ("Smash the Mirror"). This removes Tommy's mental block, and he recovers his senses, realizing he can become a powerful leader ("Sensation"). He starts a religious movement ("I'm Free"), which generates fervor among its adherents ("Sally Simpson") and expands into a holiday camp ("Welcome" / "Tommy's Holiday Camp"). However, Tommy's followers ultimately reject his teachings and leave the camp ("We're Not Gonna Take It"). Tommy retreats inward again ("See Me, Feel Me") with his "continuing statement of wonder at that which encompasses him".