McCartney Talks Carpool Karaoke
The Paul McCartney episode of Carpool Karaoke has been so wildly popular (about 130 million people have watched it on YouTube or Facebook, and it spawned an extended version as well) that it's hard to imagine that the show almost didn't happen. But it's true. McCartney and Corden in the car. I saw McCartney play at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX [...]
All Hail the Rutles!
I've mentioned this sublime Beatles parody band many times before on this blog, but if you love the Fabs there's never a good time not to celebrate the Pre-Fabs: Ron, Dirk, Stig and Barry. This afternoon I quite randomly happened to listen to "Let's Be Natural" and was struck, for the millionth time, what a wonderful bunch of work this all is. [...]
Abbey Road, the Best Non-Beatles Album Made by the Beatles
To me, Abbey Road is one of the least-dated-sounding Beatles albums—possibly the least dated—but it also sounds the least like the Beatles. Oh, there are Beatles playing on it, I’ll grant you that. The generally impeccable songwriting—that melding of optimism, expression, rawness, craft, and pure joy—could only have come from three particular songwriters. And that’s unquestionably John, Paul, George and Ringo strutting [...]
Happy Birthday Paul McCartney, Friend of the Jews
In honor of Macca's 77th, The Forward posted this little squib detailing Paul McCartney's various Jewish spouses, friends, business associates, et cetera. (This from Heeb aside, there is no evidence that McCartney has converted—though of course all his children would be considered Jewish under Hebraic law, because Linda was Jewish.)With all the Jews in and around the music biz, I actually think [...]
Paul McCartney Makes Mashed Potatoes
This man loved his wife. (I'm guessing he was promoting her cookbook.) https://youtu.be/WyyEc-GNDfQ Adding this after I posted it: GodDAMN but Paul McCartney is charming. I don't care if it's all just a big hustle, I just love the guy. Let us take a moment to, once again, be thankful for the brilliant stroke of luck that was The Beatles: what are [...]
Up Against It: BBC Radio Play from 1997
Being a fan of both The Beat Brothers and doomed playwright Joe Orton, Up Against It has always been interesting to me. Brian Epstein rejected it, of course he did; Orton's outlaw sexuality was a total wrong fit for the Beatle-buying public circa 1967—but the mixing of two such strong, really important flavors from Swinging London is fascinating. In 1997, BBC Radio [...]
Above Us Only Sky: New “Imagine” Documentary
"Imagine" is already the most well-examined John Lennon album, but the new A&E documentary Above Us Only Sky is well worth watching. Here's the network's description: "This special traces the untold story of the making of John Lennon's 1971 album "Imagine." Utilizing never-before-seen footage of Lennon and Ono from their private archive, the special delves into the depth of the creative collaboration [...]
“Nobody Loves You When You’re Down and Out” acoustic demo
With a few exceptions, demos are genial curiosities, adding context but little else to the standard version. You don't hear the song any different after. This one is an exception. Like a lot of folks, I've always found this song from Walls and Bridges particularly haunting, given where John Lennon was in his life (and vis a vis the music business); but [...]
Thoughts on Red and Blue?
Songs from Beatlemania! Photo from 1968! AIEEEE Robert Rodriguez, author of Fab Four FAQ 2.0, popped up on my Facebook feed this evening touting an interesting anniversary: Thirty-five years ago tomorrow, on April 2, 1973, Apple/EMI released the Beatles compilations, 1962-66 and 1967-70. Or, as they were universally called, the Beatles Red and Blue Albums, respectively. Not surprisingly, these two LPs [...]