The Beatles – 21 Songs For 7 Reasons

Beatles 50th Anniversaries to the End of Beatles 50th Anniversaries

21 Songs For 7 Reasons

How good is your memory? If you have heard this before, you surely don’t remember the words or when you heard them:

“Anacin –

the headache remedy with the special combination of ingredients to relieve pain, to relax tension, soothe irritability” – Anacin, and by

Pillsbury –

makers of light, fluffy Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits and a complete line of fresh dough foods in the dairy case.”

These are the first in a large batch of annoying commercials that ran at the beginning of The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, February 9, 1964 just before the public would get to see the world’s most in-demand musical performers, The Beatles.

I’ve been loving the first of many future Beatles 50th anniversaries – their inspiring, shocking and life-altering first Ed Sullivan Show appearance, in black and white. Color film was not needed – what people were about to see and hear was provocative, exciting, inspirational and transcendent enough.

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Beatles 50th Anniversaries

In 2014, “it was 50 years ago today” refers to the 50th anniversary of

The Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” “Can’t Buy Me Love, “I Saw Her Standing There” and the other initial wave of Beatles’ hits, and

A Hard Day’s Night film (“I fought the war for your sort. — I bet you’re sorry you won.”)

In 2015, “it was 50 years ago today” will refer to the 50th anniversary of the

Help! film (“so the police are extended giving the famous protection for which we are justly proud in this country, for a finger, eh”) and

Rubber Soul (“and when I awoke I was alone this bird had flown. So, I lit a fire isn’t it good Norwegian wood?”).

In 2016, “it was 50 years ago today” will refer to the 50th anniversary of

Revolver (“I know what it’s like to be dead, I know what it’s like to be sad and she’s making me feel like I’ve never been born”)

their final tour and final scheduled concert on August 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco.

In 2017, “it was 50 years ago today” will refer to the 50th anniversary of the release of

Sgt. Pepper (“and the bag across her shoulder made her look a little like a military man”) and

Magical Mystery Tour (“corporation t-shirt stupid bloody Tuesday, Man you’ve been a naughty boy you’ve let your face grow long”).

In 2018, “it was 50 years ago today” will refer to the 50th anniversary of the

Yellow Submarine film (“if you are listening to this song you may think the chords are going wrong, but they’re not. We just wrote it like that”) and

The Beatles, better known as The White Album (“you were only waiting for this moment to be free”).

In 2019, “it was 50 years ago today” will refer to the 50th anniversary of

Abbey Road (“you only give me your funny paper”).

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END of

Beatles 50th Anniversaries

In 2020, “it was 50 years ago today,” will refer to the 50th anniversary of

Let It Be (“phase one in which Doris gets her oats”), the breakup of The Beatles, the release of

Paul McCartney’s first solo album, McCartney (“I used to ride on my fast city line singing songs that I thought were mine alone, alone”), the release of

George Harrison’s first solo album, a gigantic triple album, All Things Must Pass (“watch out now, take care, beware of greedy leaders, they take you where you should not go while weeping atlas cedars they just want to grow, grow, grow”) and the release of

John Lennon’s first solo album, Plastic Ono Band (“I don’t believe in Elvis, I don’t believe in Zimmerman, I don’t believe in Beatles…I was the walrus but now I’m John, and so dear friends you’ll just have to carry on, the dream is over”).

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To continue from my past two (2) posts about The Beatles…. I left off with a collection of songs that I felt would work well for these groups and/or ideas:

children

aging adults

rockers

mystics

politically motivated

cry in your beer

The groups/purposes I want to highlight today are:

humanists

optimists

lovers of love songs

community activists

weddings

divorcees

ponderers

To continue from the last post – humanists will still want to save the world with “All You Need Is Love,” “Let It Be,” and “The Word,” optimists will be optimistic with “Good Day Sunshine,” “It’s Getting Better,” and “Here Comes The Sun,” lovers of love songs will sing “If I Fell,” “And I Love Her,” and “I Will,” community activists will be inspired by “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “We Can Work it Out,” and “All Together Now,” weddings will still feature “Something,” “In My Life,” and “When I’m Sixty-Four,” divorcees will be haunted by “Carry That Weight,” I’m A Loser,” and “Hello Goodbye,” and critics will still argue over the meanings of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” and “I Am The Walrus.”

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songs for humanists

All You Need Is Love

Let It Be

The Word

songs for optimists

Good Day Sunshine

It’s Getting Better

Here Comes The Sun

songs for lovers of love songs

If I Fell

And I Love Her

I Will

songs for community activists

With A Little Help From My Friends

We Can Work it Out

All Together Now

songs for weddings

Something

In My Life

When I’m Sixty-Four

songs for divorcees

Carry That Weight

I’m A Loser

Hello Goodbye

songs for ponderers

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Strawberry Fields Forever

I Am The Walrus

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Their final words on their final album* were meant to inspire: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

THE END

* (By “final album,” I am referring to the last/final album The Beatles recorded – Abbey Road. The final Beatles album to be released was Let It Be.)

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February 12, 2014February 18, 2014

The Beatles – 18 songs for 6 reasons

From my previous post, I want to continue with the idea that The Beatles arrival in the U. S. would be of great significance. Perhaps better than “arrival”, I should write that they “landed,” a better term that could imply the landing of a spacecraft from afar and not just the arrival of a Boeing jet from London. The Beatles landing would change music and culture and probably insert in a wedge between generations that would become larger than that experienced by previous generations and their forebears. The Beatles did so much to obliterate society’s tastes and standards, and so quickly (as detailed in the last post). If you were ten (10) years old when they came, you weren’t as engrained and indebted to the present culture (and perhaps it did not speak to you). So receiving this new music and objects from outside of planet Earth was very welcome and not threatening to American kids. The Beatles were, however horrifying to other areas of society, especially those who felt “safe” and in command of their culture. The four English musicians between the ages of 20 – 23 would change music and change and detonate the recording industry.

The Beatles were the antithesis of “safe” – with each album released, they had the “safe” and extremely successful product. Almost any other artist/s who could attain this much success would certainly do only ONE thing next – repeat the exact steps to try to repeat the exact success. Almost all artists then and now would not stray from a winning formula.

This is exactly where the Beatles differed completely from everyone else. The Beatles would always take the adventurous and risky path by throwing away the proven recipe for business success and doing something which ARTISTICALLY pleased them. Against all odds and “common” sense, they would succeed and then lead society and other musicians down a new road.

They wrote music for all ages and all the ages. This might sound like a cliche but having lived with The Beatles since February 9, 1964, I have been able to witness people of all ages identifying with The Beatles as THEIR music. At almost any time since 1964, a 4 year old can educate an adult about this music that s/he is singing, namely a Beatles song. The music is at the core and passion of the child who wants to tell everyone about what really matters here – that this is wonderful music that this very young person wants to share with the world.

The Beatles, however, would in time – over the next few weeks, months and years – bring everyone along. The Beatles won, though no one lost. Even the cautious and conservative who feared change would get swept up in new music and its accessories.

In the future, I think this will continue as new generations of children will be mesmerized by “Yellow Submarine,” “Rocky Raccoon,” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” aging adults will still want “Hey Jude” “Yesterday,” and “Michelle,” rockers will still push “Yer Blues,” “Helter Skelter” and “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?,” mystics will ponder “Across The Universe,” “Glass Onion,” and “Because,” the politically motivated will act according to “Revolution,” “Come Together,” and “Give Peace A Chance,” and you’ll still be able to cry in your beer over “I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party,” “Baby’s In Black,” and “Misery.”

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Here, below, are categories that strike me as arising from Beatle songs (just mentioned above) along with three (3) songs and appropriate links that fit each category. I’ll expand upon this and provide more links in the next post.

songs for children

“Yellow Submarine“

“Rocky Raccoon“

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”

songs for aging adults

“Hey Jude”

“Yesterday”

“Michelle”

songs for rockers

“Yer Blues”

“Helter Skelter”

“Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?”

songs for mystics

“Across The Universe”

“Glass Onion”

“Because”

songs for the politically motivated

“Revolution”

“Come Together”

“Give Peace A Chance”

songs for the cry in your beer crowd

“I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party”

“Baby’s In Black”

“Misery”

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WHAT? I’m ending this post on the “cry in your beer” songs? Sure. There are many more Beatles songs to fulfill more reasons in my next post and we’ll lift any depressed spirits then.

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February 11, 2014March 17, 2014

The Beatles – It Was 50 Years Ago Today

T H E B E A T L E S

Any Date From Now Through April 10, 2020 Should Be An Excuse For A Beatles 50th Anniversary Celebration

1. The Beatles are back. 2. The Beatles never went away. 3. In the future, the Beatles will be back and never go away. (New Beatles fans will assure that their music is still heard.)

Although they disbanded 44 years ago, the Beatles’ impact is still felt as their shadow is cast over almost every musical style and aspect of the U.S. and international music industry. With the release of new social media accounts, websites, CD’s, DVD’s, books, collaborations, interactive media, “authorized mashups,” television specials and more, longtime fans are being reminded of their greatness, while new generations of Beatles’ fans are being created. They still sound great to those who were there in the 1960’s, and because no other comparable artists have come along since, they keep sounding better in hindsight.

The Beatles revolutionized popular music – the intensity and depth of the public’s reaction to them has never never been approached since that they first burst onto the world’s stage. Elvis had 14 #1 hits before the Beatles, but only 1 after the Beatles. Only a few Motown acts and the Beach Boys were popular before and after the Beatles.

The Beatles arrived at the perfect moment historically when they began recording in 1963 and invading the U. S. and the rest of the world in 1964. Between 1959-1963, rock & roll was in its dullest period as the careers of many of its pioneers were in hiatus or had ended. A plane crash had taken the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson, Chuck Berry had been jailed for violation of the Mann Act, Little Richard had left the secular for the religious world, Jerry Lee Lewis had drawn the wrath of the public for marrying his 13 yr. old cousin before legally divorcing his second wife, and Elvis Presley was softening his image by trying to appeal to adults and becoming a movie star. In addition, the large out-of-touch record labels were trying to hoist bland and safe white cover artists (principally, Pat Boone, Frankie Avalon and Fabian) onto the public. And on November 22, 1963, three important events occurred, only one of which caught the world’s attention – President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. (The Beatles released their second album in England – “With The Beatles” – and novelist Aldous Huxley died also on that day. Who could have known that the best and worst events of 1963 would have occurred on the same day?) Many of us alive then will remember just how bleak a time it was – our popular young President had been killed, it was a cold winter, and except for a few Motown artists, there was little exciting popular music.

So, on February 9, 1964, when the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, the public was ready for good news and good revolution. The reaction to this television show and the Beatles cannot be overestimated. In 1964 alone, The Beatles had 19 Top 40 hits! In comparison, Michael Jackson’s best year was 1983 with 6 Top 40 hits; Elvis’s was 1956 with 11 Top 40 hits.

The Beatles convincingly fused widely disparate influences throughout their seven-year recording career as they assimilated U.S. rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, country, Motown, R & B, soul, Tin Pan Alley, Afro-Cuban, bossanova, classical, and Indian music influences. They also steadfastly avoided following any fads or attempting to be “cool” or something which they were not. Each of their albums was a significant musical event complete with the seemingly incongruous achievements of important artistic innovations and great popular appeal.

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The Beatles had many firsts. They were the

first to have all five of the Top 5 songs in the same week (April 4, 1964)

first to have 11 songs in the Top 100 in the same month

first to create music videos (16 years before the debut of MTV) –   Paperback Writer

first to use feedback and distortion at the opening of a recording – I Feel Fine (0.00-0.06)

first to use the fade-in – Eight Days A Week (0.00-0.07)

first to use the electric 12-string guitar – You Can’t Do That (0.00)

first to use the sitar – Norwegian Wood  (0.08)

first to use an Indian ensemble – Within You Without You  (0.00)

first to record a song for string quartet and acoustic guitar – Yesterday  (0.23)

first to record a song using only string octet – Eleanor Rigby (0.00)

first band to use the French horn as a solo instrument – For No One (0.49-1.02; 1.27-1.38. 1.53-1.56)

first band to use the piccolo trumpet as a solo instrument – Penny Lane (1.09-1.27; 1.56-2.00, 2.21-2.26, 2.38-2.43, 2.47-2.49)

first band to use tape speed manipulation – In My Life (1.29-1.47)

first band to use backwards tape – Rain (2.35-2.58)

to name only a few Beatles’ firsts.

In the next post, we will explore the universality and themes of many Beatles songs.

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January 27, 2014February 12, 2014

My Take on The 2014 Grammys Show

Last night – Sunday, January 26, 2014 – I watched the 2014 Grammys show. I rarely watch the Grammys or any awards shows – Emmys, Academy Awards, Peoples’ Choice, the Oscars, the Madisons, the Ungers, etc. I thought I’d post/drink a 140, an FB and then sign off and watch Dexter Season 4. For some reason, I kept watching & commenting on the Grammys. (But I managed to watch Dexter later.)

(Isn’t my “G7” cube cover photograph nice and nicely apropos? The “G” stands for Grammy and the “7” is associated with the “G.” Together this chocolate and peanut butter concatenation means, “G7,” aka “G Dominant 7th chord,” a favorite and old hit among us guitarists.)

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My first post was to Facebook:

1(a). I’m a Grammys member & am supposed to be thrilled & engaged. The opening is perfectly predictable like every Grammy show. But for once I don’t think we’ll get an EDUCATIONAL lecture about the evils of downloading & that downloaders, Pandora and the ANTICHRIST herself aka GOOGLE who have stopped the performance & creation of music. I wish the teleprompter readers the very best of luck tonight. And I am pro-my clients, friends and the old people (Beatles rhythm section guys and any other 60+ ancient folk). Time for Twitter where there is peace.

I was about to leave when suddenly I didn’t. I was at my iMac and just kept writing in response to what I was seeing and hearing at the Grammys.

Warning – silliness, sarcasm, exaggeration, commentary, kindness and fodder for lawyers

who will someday interrogate me lie ahead!

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Here are those less-140-character statements:

1. I’m a Grammys member & am supposed to be thrilled & engaged with this B. A. show. The opening is perfectly predictable like the rest.

2. “We made this record without a record label.” And then in comes the music. STOP THAT ANTI-RECORD LABEL rant! Right now! #Grammys

3. I’m so puzzled. Lord or Lorde with that extra “E” is a damn big deal. Her Royal is heart felt & I damn well don’t get it. #Grammys

4. And let’s remember, “Sponsored by CBS.” Even the commercials show pretty women who have been deprived of body fat. #Grammys

5. CBS Radio salutes the artists who create the music. And now Hunter Hayes. The Unarrested Justin Bieber. #Grammys

6. Hunter Hayes can play piano with his right hand & emote FEELINGS with his left hand as he gets soulful. Wow, only in LA! #Grammys

7. I’m wrong – Hunter Hayes is doing Miley Ray Cyrus. I can’t get this modern stuff straight! #Grammys

8. Wow! A man & a woman are approaching the center of the stage to read the nominations. This is why I watch! #Grammys

9. Robin Thicke’s Marvin Gaye cover did not win! But they teased us by having them in the selection pool. #Grammys

Spinal Tap – Tap Into America

10. Dude – your bicycle helmets are getting me thinking UP and FIRM! And thank you to the Academy. #Grammys

11. “Dude, I am very funny in England. Remember I’m from England like Ringo and left-handed Paul.” “Miss Katy Perry.” #Grammys

12. Now we get Spinal Tap’s Druids and Stonehenge done RIGHT! The horns & repeated lyric phrases work “& look at my crotch.” #Grammys

13. Even the horses are looking up at the sky, even if the horses are dark blue. And a rap is being delivered in a serious way. #Grammys

14. Up next – “An intimate performance by Taylor Swift…” Dear God, may it be not TOO intimate. I like moderation (& no blue horses) #Grammys

15. Robin Thicke & his grandparents & some of their assisted living friends, a band from Illinois called “Chicago,” are next! #Grammys

16. “Reunited a classic group” with “someone who exploded this year…We’re gonna blur the lines a little bit…” Write your own joke #Grammys

17. The Great Thicke Grandson knows so many of the Elders’ songs! And a rapper does too! #Grammys

18. I’ve never been to Branson (no nearby interstates) but tonight I’m blessed to be getting Branson’s finest (& with rap guy!)! #Grammys

19. Get the Elders off the stage as now Grandson wants to tell her that he “knows she wants it.” Awful sex stuff! #Grammys

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20. I see Australian guy on short leash. He sings “You’re so innocent.” Next a guy is restrained & imitates a white singer. #Grammys

21. I love this instrumental solo/rendition of Prince’s “When the doves cry.” Just the good notes up high on that ax! #Grammys

22. YEA! Commercials are great too! Austin Mahone is back! I’m so glad he broke off from the rest of his domineering family. #Grammys

23. “Your love keeps lifting me higher & higher.” As guy sniffs sheets happily, up comes warning about sniffing sheets. Huh? #GrammysCommerical

24. 9-Time Grammy Winner John Legend sings from his heart & about the value of his legal name change. Not “Novella” but “Legend.” #Grammys

25. That closing LEGEND piano chord was to say “I’m deep.” And “this was deep.” #Grammys

26. My wild guess!!! A song called “God Was Dead” won’t win an award! #Grammys

27. Nirvana drummer & Beatles bass player wins something. Go Vegan! They “knocked it out in a couple of hours” NO age jokes. #Grammys

28. “My good friend Taylor Swift.” WARNING – Perfect intonation ahead. WARNING – intonation perfect or not does not matter. 🙂 #Grammys

29. If she doesn’t bob her head up and down fiercely the loudness level won’t rise – it will stay a sensitive ballad. WINNING bob! #Grammys

30. For those of us who love music theory, we can notice tonight that if you’re deep, you don’t end on the One Chord. #Grammys

31. Absolutely bizarre COINCIDENCE! John “Please Consider Me A” Legend sang at the Grammys & is singing for a car commercial #Grammys

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I quickly looked away to the Twitterverse & laughed at this tweet connecting a particular Grammy performer with Mick Huckabee’s “women” statement. (Why do some white male “Get Off My Lawn” politicians so often describe/prescribe for women?)

LOLGOP ‏@LOLGOP

Mike Huckabee wants you to know he thinks Taylor Swift can control her libido and it’s totally not weird that he’s thinking about that.

32. He sings at the Superbowl but immorally says, “Strap yourselves in…” This is not family time TV. And now Color Pink sings #Grammys

33. I don’t follow these shows closely but I think the stripping thing is having an impact. Pink swings. Where’s her pole? #Grammys

34. NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT’s SINGING AGAIN with this

diminutive mustache guy’s attempt to sing #Grammys

35. I think she & mustache are singing at each other trying to one up the other. She’ll win. #Grammys

36. Lord + e wins! “This is the one thing that I did not expect the most about tonight…” giggle #Grammys #Grammar

37. “Unleash your love for music…” More of this double entendre language by my Grammy people. What’s with this enticing talk? #Grammys

38. Next time I sing in public, i’ll make sure my red lipstick & my red mic match! Love these commercials! #BandPerry #Grammys

In the words of Ozzy

39. Ozzy says, ” FTVGYJK iojhu …%^TY&ing ^TY&U*fab f^&*(ck…. Ringo Starr!” #Grammys

40. Yea! White hair at the Grammys! Even the trumpet player is singing (fortunately without a mic). Go Ringo! #Grammys

41. I just heard from her parents. In print her parents prefer, “Lord Plus E.” Apologies. I stand corrected. #Grammys

42. He must be important. He’s reading from a teleprompter without a female counterpart. “The nominees are…” #Grammys

43. Love the “all the pregnant women are like what do I got to…” And pregnant woman’s man WINS! #Grammys

44. “I want to thank God a little bit…” A LITTLE BIT? Wow – there should be hell and damnation coming down on him soon! #Grammys

45. Yea to Def Jam! This is the educational moment instead of DON’T DONWLOAD YOU BAD & evil stealin’ YOUNG ‘UNS. #Grammys

46. He sings about “prison binds” & is dressed in a tight white top. Now there are more dressed in those tight whites. #Prisonmongers #Grammys

47. This will be another one of those great nursing home anthems in 2050. The residents will all dress in white & wave their arms.

48. An exciting new voice in country music & in case you don’t believe it, we’ve provided neon cactus as background. #Grammys

49. That pink neon female cactus with the protruding middle finger/TALL part is about grrrrllll cccactusssss empowerment. #Grammys

50. The most creative people are in advertising and I’m thrilled that I get to work with a lot of them! Stone time. #Grammys

51. Julia Roberts is here as a reminder that her film needs more ticket buyers. “I’m still hot & my film is in theaters.” #Grammys

New Beatles/Paul McCartney Song

52. Paul & Ringo will play a new song. The audience will demand it be short or sound like a Beatles song they know. #Grammys

53. It’s what you’d expect from Paul – melodic, instantly identifiable & in a few sections a la Uncle Albert. #Grammys

54. Legally, Yoko would not have been allowed to dance to Paul’s singing back when they were suing each other for decades. #Grammys

55. I LOVE SEEING TWO BEATLES TOGETHER on stage or anywhere! Wonderful! #Grammys

56. Pharrell with lots of r’s and l’s … Isn’t he one of the guys who stole Marvin Gaye’s sex song? #GRAMMYs

57. Thanking your Mom is the best thing you can do. Very good to hear! (even if after thanking his manager.) #Grammys

58. This can’t be! Paul just sang this song for the 1st time & Surface stole it & put it in their commercial! No way! #Grammys

59. Finally, someone champions the color grey! #Grammys But importantly these are great musicians/artists!

60. Awesome music history then & now here on stage. Willie & Kris & Merle! #Grammys Jokingly in 2014, Don’t do pot!|

61. Irony and William Shattner-ism galore on stage! Just say NO to pot, shaggy hair & cowboy-as-a-career path! #Grammys

62. More country musicians on stage (she & he as should be), this time without signifying neon cactus/cact-eye! #Grammys

63. I didn’t see Faith Hill offstage mouthing, “WHAT?!?!?!” Was Faith there? Yes, thank Nashville & Mercury Records. #Grammys

64. Every player on that stage should be introduced on this Daft Punk Stevie Wonder song. Punk Punk Stevie. #Grammys

65. Sure, sing “Freak out, freak out!” but someone BADLY needs an introduction! Music history moment again! #Grammys

66. Excellent transition to “Another Star” by Stevie Wonder! Oh yeah. The best of 1976 fits here! Great performance! #Grammys

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67. Loving many of these commercials – Google & Zorba The Greek mashup. #Grammys

68. Cyndi Lauper is always original, self-deprecating, funny and timeless. Cool to intro Carole King from Brooklyn! #Grammys

69. Carole & Sara work great together. Proof that age/gender/color/religion etc are to be ignored. #Grammys

70. Oh. They gave this song away & it resulted in just a bit of success? Really? Free can lead to success? A business model! #Grammys

71. I’m still waiting for the introduction of that musician – 3 syllables – who performed earlier with Punk Punk Stevie. #Grammys

72. Lou Reed well-deserved accolades. Music history time again. #Grammys

73. Jaymz Lennfield – The great & supportive Metallica! Unlike Sony, these guys are in Beatallica’s (our) corner! #Grammys

74. Day-uhm! Metallica are more than just holding up! Nice! No rust, no decay! #Grammys

75. Beethoven’s 9th, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Lord + E’s Royal. I’m starting to understand how popularity works. #Grammys

76. Well, they’ve introduced the ROBOTS but no… wait, they did! Nile Rodgers has been mentioned verbally & on stage! #Grammys

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Weddings

77. Oh cool! The commitment to love can only mean one thing – the freedom to date & marry! Human rights, dignity & music can work! #Grammys

78. I was turned on to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in 2012 by Harvard Law students. I’m very appreciative to have learned about them. #Grammys

79. Yea! The freedom to choose friends, start to date and maybe get married. Why oppose this? Good move #Grammys

80. Portnow usually is the worst part of the Grammys show. But this time, I predict no rant against technology. #Grammys

81. Passing of Van Cliburn, George Jones, Ray Manzarek, McPartland, George Duke, Ramone, Winters, Cowboy Jack, Starker… #Grammys

82. Very good Armstrong/Lambert rendition of Everly Brothers. Everlys will last. #Grammys

83. Glad to see my friend Milt Olin mentioned as a great who recently died. I didn’t see Mulgrew Miler’s name. Was he mentioned? #Grammys

84. Tragic that the name John Legend can sound when John LENNON is intended. My teaching moment – John Lennon was better. #Grammys

85. Paul Williams & Nile Rodgers! Williams – 2 robots called Williams after he was sober & asked him to write music. Funny! #Grammys

86. @john_kubicsko That’s a real shame & bad oversight. Mulgrew Miller’s passing was really significant. Thanks for letting me know, John!

87. Pretty good Grammys show – no STOP DOWNLOADING silliness. I’m glad I watched – I rarely do. Now, back to Netflix. Dexter again? #Grammys

December 25, 2013December 24, 2017

Christmas Music – Dave Brubeck, John Lennon, Cuba LA, The Monkees, Donny Hathaway & more

Merry Christmas 2013.

Here are twelve (12) of my favorite Christmas recordings, from Band Aid to Poncho Sanchez. (My list ends with the letter, “S?!?” No Tchaikovsky and nut cracking? And none of the letters post-S. That means no Van Halen, Vivaldi, Webern, Xenakis, Neil Young, Frank Zappa or Jan Dismas Zelenka.)

As with most music, what attracts me to many of the recordings below is creative, surprising and atypical uses of chords, melody, rhythm, tone color, lyrics and/or structure. And in the case of Bob Dylan’s “It Must Be Santa” recording and video, great humor.

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Dave Brubeck was a special gift to the planet. Anything he created fascinated, led and taught me.

Dave Brubeck – The Christmas Song

This was quite a surprise and very un-Monkee-like.

The Monkees – Riu Chiu

This is the same song the Monkees recorded above. It is a beautiful work that does not need frills or excessive ornamentation.

Kalenda Maya – Riu Chiu

Band Aid was one of those gathering of large rock & roll egos but one in which a new song would be recorded. The song was meant as a reminder that there were millions of people living in poverty throughout the world who needed our empathy and support especially at Christmas time, and to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas

This was one of John Lennon’s instant classics – a new Christmas song that did not preach or pronounce typical Christmas sentiments but instead reminded us that we could live better and more peaceably.

John Lennon – Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

As with some Christmas songs and Christmas carols, the origin of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is not specifically known. But the melody and chords set in a minor key lend themselves to many brilliant interpretations.

Cuba L. A. – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

This is the most unusual recording I have selected. It is surprising and insane to hear the names of many American presidents inserted into “It Must Be Santa.” From 1.56 – 2.03: “…Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon…Ronald Reagan…”

Bob Dylan – It Must Be Santa

Dave Brubeck with his band performing “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”

Dave Brubeck – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

There are at least two (2) albums by Cuba L. A. “Deck The Halls” is from their Christmas album, Navidad Cubana, in my opinion, one of the best Christmas albums.

Cuba L. A. – Deck The Halls

A very nice but overlooked and not well known Christmas song written and recorded by Donny Hathaway.

Donny Hathaway – This Christmas

Poncho Sanchez is an often-overlooked Mexican-American percussionist, band leader and singer who has worked with musicians as diverse as Claire Fischer, Hugh Masekala, Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria and others.

Poncho Sanchez – What Child Is This

A Christmas mashup not intended as a mashup but of the mashup style that is sometimes heard in the music of Bob Marley.

Bob Marley – Christmas Reggae

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Here, without additional text, is the set list in the specific order I favor today, December 25, 2013. This could change in change in 10 minutes but for now for me this order is right and most satisfying!

Dave Brubeck – The Christmas Song

The Monkees – Riu Chiu

Kalenda Maya – Riu Chiu

Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas

John Lennon – Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

Cuba L. A. – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Bob Dylan – It Must Be Santa

Dave Brubeck – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Cuba L. A. – Deck The Halls

Donny Hathaway – This Christmas

Poncho Sanchez – What Child Is This

Bob Marley – Christmas Reggae

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Here is the set list if you want to listen to these songs in alphabetical order via recording artist (a fun thing to do!):

Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas

Dave Brubeck – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Dave Brubeck – The Christmas Song

Cuba L. A. – Deck The Halls

Cuba L. A. – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Bob Dylan – It Must Be Santa

Donny Hathaway – This Christmas

John Lennon – Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

Bob Marley – Christmas Reggae

Kalenda Maya – Riu Chiu

The Monkees – Riu Chiu

Poncho Sanchez – What Child Is This

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M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

October 20, 2013February 11, 2014

The Beatles, Red Sox, Cardinals, Boston, St. Louis & Arizona

The Beatles, Red Sox, Cardinals, Boston, St. Louis & Arizona

For Any Anniversary of The Beatles – An Overview of The Beatles

Meeting E. Michael Harrington

The Boston Red Sox won the American League Championship Series last night beating a great Detroit Tigers team 4 games to 2. We Bostonians will always remember with pain and disdain the number:

86 years

The Red Sox went 86 years without winning a World Series – 1918 until 2004. I am tempted to write a lot about last night and these fantastic baseball games between the Red Sox & Tigers and before that the Red Sox – Tampa Bay Rays series. (I wish they were still the DEVIL RAYS but some anti-devil people got their way with forcing that two-syllable word out of their name.)

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I was in Arizona last week where the NFL team is the Cardinals who are from St. Louis. St. Louis has the MLB Cardinals. I’ll be speaking in St. Louis (at St. Louis University Law School) this Wednesday, October 23, 2013 which is also the date of Game 1 of the 2013 World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals will be in Boston to play the (my) Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the World Series. This is an odd but fun confluence of baseball, cardinals, Red Sox, Arizona, St. Louis, Boston and the color red (logos and uniforms of these teams, birds, color of rocks in Sedona and Arizona, etc.).

And one more – my friend, the late famous Michael Harrington, author of the ground-breaking, The Other America: Poverty In America, was really Edward Michael Harrington and from St. Louis. I too am Edward Michael Harrington. The famous Michael Harrington, while in graduate school at the University of Chicago, was told by very good-looking women, that he should go by his middle name, “Michael,” because it was “much sexier than ‘Edward.'” That is why he is known as “Michael Harrington” and not “Edward Harrington.”

I was called “Michael” from birth so as to not be called, “Junior” or “Little Ed.” My father did not want his son to be called “little” or “Junior” or worse! I started to be called “E. Michael” by friends in high school because we were great fans of Harvard organist and Columbia Records artist, E. Power Biggs. That is how I became “E. Michael” (although some friends call me, E. Power). It is also a perfect way to be connected via the letter “E” to my Dad.

The important and famous E. Michael Harrington and I also were only children born into Irish Catholic families, an extremely noteworthy and rare event in 20th century United States of America. Our Irish fathers were policemen and our Irish mothers were nurses (not very unusual). We also shared the same politics (I love that). He was from St. Louis and I am from Boston (we are both hometown pride people).

E. Michael Harrington and I met in Pittsburgh on May 7, 1982 (a great and easy day for me to remember). He asked me what the “E” stood for. When I told him, he said, “look at this” and pulled out his American Express card. (May 7, 1982 was also when I first saw an American Express credit card – his. In May 1982, I did not make enough money to have a credit card.) Having those important Irish, cultural, parental, political and lover-of-women things in common started our friendship.)

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THE BEATLES

I was asked to write a piece about The Beatles for a national publication about 12 years ago. As part of the deal, I was going to be paid a few hundred dollars and forced to give up my copyright in what I had written. I thought that giving up my copyright – the right to use my own words – for such a small sum was foolish. So, I declined their offer and kept the article.

Every few years, or even every year, there are great reasons to have Beatles’ anniversaries. The “it was twenty years ago today” line can keep getting larger. Eventually it will be a triple digit event – I expect people in 2092 will celebrate, “It was 125 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play.”

Here is most of what I wrote about The Beatles. I’ll alter the original digits to make this accurate for 2013, and leave out the best part so that I can return with really good links to improve this post.

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T H E B E A T L E S

Any Date Should Be An Excuse For An Anniversary Celebration

1. The Beatles are back. 2. The Beatles never went away. 3. In the future, the Beatles will be back and never go away. (New Beatles fans will assure that their music is still heard.)

Although they disbanded 43 years ago, the Beatles’ impact is still felt as their shadow is cast over almost every musical style and aspect of the U.S. and international music industry. With the release of new social media accounts, websites, CD’s, DVD’s, books, collaborations, interactive media, “authorized mashups,” television specials and more, longtime fans are being reminded of their greatness, while new generations of Beatles’ fans are being created. They still sound great to those who were there in the 1960’s, and because no other comparable artists have come along since, they keep sounding better in hindsight.

The Beatles revolutionized popular music – the intensity and depth of the public’s reaction to them has never been approached. Only a handful of the popular music artists who were prominent before the Beatles remained popular after the Beatles. Elvis had 14 #1 hits before the Beatles, but only 1 after the Beatles. Only a few Motown acts and the Beach Boys were popular before and after the Beatles.

The Beatles arrived at the perfect moment historically when they began recording in 1963 and invading the U. S. and the rest of the world in 1964. Between 1959-1963, rock & roll was in its dullest period as the careers of many of its pioneers were in hiatus or had ended. A plane crash had taken the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson, Chuck Berry had been jailed for violation of the Mann Act, Little Richard had left the secular for the religious world, Jerry Lee Lewis had drawn the wrath of the public for marrying his 14 yr. old cousin before legally divorcing his second wife, and Elvis Presley was softening his image by trying to appeal to adults and becoming a movie star. In addition, the large out-of-touch record labels were trying to hoist bland and safe white cover artists (principally, Pat Boone, Frankie Avalon and Fabian) onto the public. And on November 22, 1963, three important events occurred, only one of which caught the world’s attention – President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. (The Beatles released their second album in England – “With The Beatles” – and novelist Aldous Huxley died also on that day. Who could have known that the best and worst events of 1963 would have occurred on the same day?) Many of us alive then will remember just how bleak a time it was – our popular young President had been killed, it was a cold winter, and except for a few Motown artists, there was little exciting popular music.

The Beatles had many firsts. They were the first rock group to have all five of the Top 5 songs in the same week, 11 songs in the Top 100 in the same month, to create music videos (16 years before the debut of MTV), use feedback and distortion on a recording, use the fade-in, the electric 12-string guitar, the sitar, an Indian ensemble, record a song for string quartet and acoustic guitar, record a song using only string octet, use the French horn and piccolo trumpet as solo instruments, use tape speed manipulation, and backwards tape, to name a few.

They wrote music for all ages and all the ages. These are some of my favorite categories in which to place Beatles songs (I’ll expand upon this and provide great links in another post):

children

aging adults

rockers

mystics

the politically motivated

the cry in your beer crowd

humanists

optimists

lovers of love songs

community activists

songs for weddings

songs for divorcees

song for deep thinkers and critics (an oxymoron similar to “military intelligence?”)

In 2014, we’ll be singing, “it was 50 years ago today….” as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” “Can’t Buy Me Love” and the other initial wave of Beatles ‘ hits. In 2017, “it was 50 years ago today,” will refer to the 50th anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper – in 2020, the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ breakup. And so on and on with future Beatles’ anniversaries.

Their final words on their final album were meant to inspire: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

THE END

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September 15, 2013February 11, 2014

Buddy Holly stutters. John Lennon stutters. Are their stutters copyrightable expression?

Stuttering the hits from Buddy Holly to John Lennon.

Can one copyright a stutter? What is a “stutter?”

A stutter, according to Dictionary.com, is “the act or habit of stuttering.” As a verb, stutter means, “to speak in such a way that the rhythm is interrupted by repetitions, blocks or spasms…” “Spasms” might help describe stutter as well (especially in the music below).

I am interested in slightly modifying the Dictionary dot com definition of stutter by changing the verb at the beginning of the definition of stutter from

“to SPEAK in such a way…”

to

“to SING in such a way…”

Is a stutter unmusical? Could something as unmusical as a stutter be subject to copyright protection? If a stutter is sung, is it more likely to be musical? If a stutter is musical, is it more likely copyrightable? Could “stutter” be simply a stutter, or a well-crafted, complex vocal articulation that is musical, difficult to reproduce and original expression that is subject to copyright protection?

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Buddy Holly wrote and recorded Rave On in 1958. It opens with Buddy Holly singing the word, “well,” in a stuttered, polysyllabic, prolonged fashion. Holly’s articulation of “well” seems to take seven (7) syllables and notes rather than the one (1) syllable a listener would likely expect. By performing/singing “well” in this manner – a stutter/spasm – has Buddy Holly created original expression? The seven (7) articulations of “well” constitute a seven-note melodic phrase. Although this melodic phrase is short in duration, is it original expression? Is it copyrightable? Is a stutter copyrightable expression? Could any stutter conceivably be copyrightable expression?

John Lennon also turned a single syllable into a precocious, stuttering (and stunning?) musical moment. John Lennon wrote and recorded Dear Yoko in 1980. At 0.11 of Dear Yoko, Lennon sings “well” also as a seven (7) syllable seven (7)-note “well.”

“Well, even after all these years I miss you when you’re not here, I wish you were here my dear Yoko…”

But to reiterate, Buddy Holly wrote and recorded Rave On in 1958, twenty-two (22) years before John Lennon’s Dear Yoko. At 0.00 of Rave On, Holly sings “well” also as a seven (7) syllable seven (7)-note “well.”

“Well, the little things you say and do, make me want to be with you, rave on it’s a crazy feeling and I know it’s got me reeling…”

It is obvious that John Lennon’s 1980 polysyllabic, “well,” is extremely similar to Buddy Holly’s 1958 polysyllabic, “well.”

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Is this similarity a problem?

Is the polysyllabic, “well,” copyrightable expression?

Did John Lennon COPY Buddy Holly or was this independently created?

Does copying the polysyllabic, “well,” constitute copyright infringement?

Is this an example of John Lennon parodying Buddy Holly?

Is this an example of John Lennon satirizing Buddy Holly?

Is this an example of John Lennon honoring Buddy Holly?

Is this an example of John Lennon paying tribute to Buddy Holly?

Would it make a difference, in terms of potential copyright problems, if John Lennon is honoring or criticizing Buddy Holly?

How similar are the songs aside from the polysyllabic “well“?

Does John Lennon’s song, aside from the polysyllabic “well,” infringe the copyright in Buddy Holly’s song?

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These are a few questions (of potentially many more) about these moments in these two songs.
I look forward to your responses.

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August 1, 2013February 17, 2014

Yesterday, Another Day, John Lennon Fires & Ends The War on Paul

My last post (July 30, 2013) was about Paul McCartney’s attack on John Lennon, during the historical time period known as

1971

Paul wrote and recorded Too Many People, and John would soon respond with a song on his Imagine album. To regurgitate some of the past – with the release of McCartney’s second solo (post-Beatles) album, Ram, the feud between Paul McCartney and John Lennon went public.

On the front cover of Ram, McCartney is holding a ram by the horns. Lennon responded. On the back cover of his album, Imagine, John mocked Paul by holding a pig by the ears.

On the back cover of Ram is a picture of two beetles copulating.

If John only had responded with a photo holding a pig by the ears, this feud likely would not have been significant. Paul’s attack on John was most conspicuous and unmistakable because of the following lyrics:

That was your first mistake

You took your lucky break and broke it in two

The only interpretation seemed to be that John was lucky to have been a Beatle and that he destroyed his “lucky break” be breaking up The Beatles. The rest of the lyrics of Too Many People were far too subtle in comparison – “too many reaching for a pice of cake…” – and were not intended to signal an attack.

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To fully grasp all that John Lennon would do in his SONG OF REVENGE (and then some), How Do You Sleep?, it is important to understand a difference between John and Paul – production. Fully-fledged productions often favored by Paul, as opposed to simpler raw rock songs favored by John. The Beatles’ Abbey Road album is an excellent example of these two philosophies at work – John liked Side 1, Paul liked Side 2.

Side 1 is simple – record six songs and be done with it. Side 2 is complex – record songs, some of which have many parts, and with great time and care, meticulously tie the enormous work together. Side 1 would be easy to play live; Side 2 would not.

Side 1 of Abbey Road

On side 1 of Abbey Road, there are six (6) songs written and recorded by The Beatles. Each of the six songs are stand-alone, unconnected songs. Every song is separated by a few seconds of silence. In other words, it is album side of songs that do not convey a special message. They do not have to flow into each other to create a greater whole or suggest something deeper than the message of the single song. John preferred an album of stand-alone songs, like those on side 1.

Side 2 of Abbey Road

Side 2 of Abbey Road is a collection of songs that after the first two – Here Comes The Sun and Because – are connected, i.e. flow together without pause (except for the brief separation before Golden Slumbers) until the end. The final song heard on the album – Her Majesty – begins at the end of side 2 – The End. (Her Majesty may have been the first “hidden track,” a favorite trick found on many CD’s.)

You Never Give Me Your Money which begins the suite of songs at the center of Abbey Road Side 2 is itself a microcosm of Side 2 as it is a complex musical work consisting of multiple short well-produced songs that transition into one another. You Never Give Me Your Money was not the simpler offering that comprised side 1.

0.00 – 1.09 “You never give me your money…”

1.10 – 1.30 “Out of college money spent…”

1.31 – 2.11 “but oh the magic feeling…”

2.12 – 2.27 instrumental transition

2.28 – 2.47 “one sweet dream…”

2.48 – 4.02 “came true today…

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AN ORCHESTRA TUNING (becomes a weapon)

The concept of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had been Paul’s idea – the opening song, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band , was Paul’s composition. The sound of the orchestra heard at the opening was also Paul’s idea. The Sgt. Pepper show had a beginning that was large in scope featuring a large ensemble (a classical/art music orchestra) to open the large show. Orchestras first tune just before the big show opens. Orchestras are big. An orchestra tuning must be a big idea. Just as the Sgt. Pepper show opened with an orchestra tuning, so too would How Do You Sleep? open with an orchestra tuning. Paul liked Big Ideas. John ridiculed Paul’s Big Idea penchant even before the first note of John’s message song to Paul had begun.

Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (the opening sounds of strings in an orchestra tuning before the concert or show).

How Do You Sleep? opens with the obvious reference to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – an orchestra tuning along with an audience member clearing his throat. ____________________________________________________________________________

Unlike Paul McCartney in Too Many People, John Lennon in How Do You Sleep? is blunt and direct with no room left for subtlety or interpretation. John brings on the blunt immediately beginning with the word, “so,” as if the conversation had been ongoing – John had been in the room already letting Paul have the benefit of his wisdom.

So, Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise

You better see right through that mother’s eyes

Those freaks was right when they said you was dead

There had been a worldwide rumor that Paul had died some time before the recording of Sgt. Pepper. John’s reference to the death of Paul is particularly hard hitting. How is Paul “dead?” As a person? An artist? A friend?

You live with straights who tell you you was king

Jump when your momma tell you anything

“Straights” were those who were of The Establishment – the bland, boring, uncreative sheep who had the power and ran the worlds of business and politics, and brought on The Vietnam War.

“Jump” when Linda Eastman McCartney, Paul’s wife, tells Paul to jump – that was John’s one and only direct attack on Paul’s wife (in the song).

The only thing you done was Yesterday

And since you’re gone you’re just Another Day

This was the most direct attack so far in the song. John gives Paul credit for having written one good song during the Beatles – Yesterday – and one good song post-Beatles – Another Day.

A pretty face may last a year or two

But pretty soon they’ll see what you can do

Paul is good looking – that doesn’t last – but how will he fare without his partnership with John, and the Beatles?

The sound you make is Muzak to my ears

You must have learned something in all those years

John saves the toughest assault for the end – Paul’s songwriting isn’t good and there’s no excuse for it – why didn’t he learn more in his songwriting and performing days with John and The Beatles?

To add more insult to injury, George Harrison plays guitar on How Do You Sleep?. George had grown weary of Paul’s demanding ways during the last days of the Beatles as can be seen in this tense, to-hell-with-you-Paul excerpt from the Beatles Let It Be film.

And Ringo had already recorded with John post-Beatles, but not with Paul.

The John Paul Wars were the best and most thoughtful of all of the rock music wars.

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July 30, 2013February 17, 2014

Piece of cake, copulating beetles & Paul McCartney attacks John Lennon

McCartney attacks Lennon. Lennon attacks McCartney. Later, there is peace (but only after “cake” became a 7-syllable word).

Q. When is “cake” a seven (7)-syllable word?

A. When Paul McCartney wants to attack John Lennon.

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This post came about because of this short article a friend posted on Facebook: The 30 Harshest Musician-on-Musician Insults in History. I believe the article missed the greatest, most effective and significant insults, and I am leaving aside even greater vitriol that has taken place throughout the centuries of Classical music/art music. (Wagner, anyone?)

There are some good insults (insults can be good?) found in this 30 Harshest post originally from August 15, 2011. I prefer the clever insults or those that really did more than state something as dunce-headed as, “your mother wears army boots.” Out of the thirty (30) in the post, my favorite is from Elvis Costello:

“Morrissey writes wonderful song titles, but sadly he often forgets to write the song.”

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I think the multifaceted insults cast from Paul McCartney to John Lennon and back are so better worth highlighting than any of the 30 contained in the Flavorwire.com post. How could the McCartney-Lennon feud have been omitted from the “30 Harshest?”

If one hasn’t studied the Beatles or been alive during the time of the Beatles (1964-1970, if one is American, and 1963-1970, or 1957-1970 if one is from the UK), then it is understandable that one missed out on these very good songs, barbs and photographs hurled from one side to the other. And not only did John and Paul have vitriol to cast at each other, the other two Beatles – George and Ringo – as well as many Beatles fans, also took sides.

As a band and as friends, it seemed that the Beatles would need to part ways, at least temporarily, at some point. They had recorded at least two great albums per year, released many great double A-sided singles in addition to those albums (The Beatles did not want to include their hit singles on their hit albums as they did not want to gouge the public and make them buy the same song twice – the opposite of The Beach Boys, for example), made movies, and toured frequently while consistently changing music and leading musicians and audiences in stunning new directions. (By double A-sided, I am referring to the fact that both songs on the single – the A-side and the B-side – were brilliant and either of them could have been the “A-side.” One of the best examples of a double A-side(d) single is “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane.” Which of those two songs should be the A-side?)

The Beatles also were very young during those times and would have needed time to simply live life. When The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, they ranged in age from 20 (George) to 21 (Paul) to 23 (John and Ringo).

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PHOTOGRAPHS

With the release of McCartney’s second solo (post-Beatles) album, Ram, the feud between Paul McCartney and John Lennon went public.

On the front cover of Ram, McCartney is holding a ram by the horns. Ram (front album cover)

Lennon responded. On the back cover of his album, Imagine, John mocked Paul by holding a pig by the ears. (John holding a pig by the ears)

On the back cover of Ram is a picture of two beetles copulating. (Notice the insect spelling, b-e-e-t-l-e, and not musicians spelling, B-e-a-t-l-e-s, which looks correct.) This is ripe for multiple interpretations. Is one beetle named “Paul?” Is one named “John?” Whose idea was it to use beetles rather than spiders or ants?

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MUSIC and WORDS

The opening song on Ram, Too Many People, is an attack on Lennon’s politically and socially critical obsessions as well as McCartney’s derision on Lennon’s importance in The Beatles.

Too many people going underground

Too many reaching for a piece of cake

Too many people pulled and pushed around…

McCartney was criticizing Lennon and those who were out to change society. “Underground” usually referred to those who were not “The Establishment,” the mainstream of society.

“Piece of cake” could refer to missing the main course and focusing on the more trivial sweet things – cake. “Piece of cake” often refers to the ease of a task – it is a piece of cake. Perhaps this is a further criticism of those who hadn’t put real effort into changing society. They went into the underground because so many others did, and that this foray into the underground was, by 1971, a shallow and less substantive venture.

“Pushed and pulled around” could also be a reference to the masses who wanted a piece of (not “cake” but) John Lennon and Paul McCartney as Beatles – they wanted them as BEATLES to join the undergournd and anti-war movements that were omnipresent. The Beatles, however, mostly avoided speaking (and singing) about Vietnam and the most pressing topics of the 1960’s. (Late-Beatles and especially post-Beatles, John would venture far into anti-war efforts and social movements of the times while the other Beatles did not. Here is Bed Peace starring John Lennon & Yoko Ono. This was released by Yoko in August 2011. It captures the spirit of John & Yoko’s “Bed-Ins,” the late 1960’s anti-war activism, as well as John and Yoko’s proclamation of peace (“War is over if you want it”). It is a wonderful historical artifact – the conversations with Dick Gregory and Tom Smothers were among my favorite parts of the film.)

The most strident and obvious attack on John came with the lines:

That was your first mistake

You took your lucky break and broke it in two

This was the lyric that went too far for many fans and unlike phrases such as “too many people going underground” or “too many people being pushed and pulled around,” this meaning was conspicuous and unmistakable. Paul McCartney seemed to be telling John Lennon and the entire world that The Beatles were a “lucky break” for John even though back in the 1950’s, John had asked Paul to join HIS band, and Paul joined JOHN’S band.

And to go a step further – Paul was asserting that John broke up the band. John “broke it in two.” The idea that a four-man band would break into two, rather than four solo parts, was significant to those in the inner circle of The Beatles but probably not yet to the outside world. The idea that The Beatles had broke into two factions would become clear to many when John released his Imagine album in September 1971.

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McCartney, perhaps in a brief effort to ameliorate some of the pain he may have caused Lennon (the guy who was lucky to have been a Beatle), might be assigning blame for the legal and financial problems that the Beatles experienced near the end of their time as Beatles (the death of Beatles manager Brian Epstein and the hazards of new management, the establishment and serious problems of future Beatles’ management, the dissolution of the Beatles, etc.) to business managers and lawyers “breaching practices.”

Too many people breaching practices

Don’t let them tell you what you want to be

At the end of the verse, McCartney might even cast the Beatles’ and Lennon’s problems as not all of John’s fault.

Too many people holding back

This is crazy and maybe it’s not like me

Perhaps important people are holding back and not able to help Lennon, The Beatles and their predicaments?

The situation is crazy and maybe it’s not like McCartney – no, perhaps Paul is stating that it is really not like him to be the one to level an attack on John (“maybe” was the only indecisive word of the song).

But perhaps this last note of possible positivity is an illusion. If Paul had only ended Too Many People at this point, the song would still be a strong personal attack on John “Lucky” Lennon but one that might have ended on an uptick. Instead, Paul now descends into “your girlfriend’s a dog, mine’s hot, and your mother wears army boots” territory as he saves his most personal and unnecessary sneer for the end.

That was your last mistake

I find my love awake and waiting to be

Now what can be done for you?

She’s waiting for me

Paul’s love is “awake” (enlightened?) and “waiting to be” (at peace and not being “pulled and pushed around”).

Paul saves the phrase, “to be,” for the final sections of Too Many People. Would a listener be reading too much into the twice-stated “to be” –

Don’t let them tell you what you want to be…

I find my love awake and waiting to be…

as possible references to Paul’s famous song, Let It Be, or a slight dig at John’s songwriting significance or ability? John might have seen it that way as John would, in turn, attack Paul and the significance and ability of his songwriting in a song on John Lennon’s next solo album, Imagine.

And as mentioned above George Harrison and Ringo Starr would also be involved in this war. To be continued…

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January 4, 2013February 17, 2014

Big Butter & Egg Man, Banana in Your Fruit Basket, Grinding Mill and other carnal songs

I should’ve been shocked but, post-Tea Party, was only mildly surprised to read that in 2013 a Utah school district canceled an upcoming high school performance of “All Shook Up,” a musical that features the music of Elvis Presley. Elvis The Pelvis was controversial in the mid-1950’s and it seems that some parents in Utah want to keep that shock and controversy alive. Elvis has the power to still cause hate and fear for anything biological that he might represent or arouse. These concerned conservatives have succeeded at stopping this immoral, raunchy musical/spectacle – surely Utah is cleaner for their actions. To me this is reminiscent of Tipper Gore’s Parent Music Resource Center back in the 1980’s, but this new Utah group seems more reactionary and antiquated.

There are so many other better targets, I feel, that these conservatives have overlooked, and I’d like to offer a few more songs for their excruciated listening and study pleasure. These activists should strive to rip out the roots that caused the Elvis problem to grow and yield the frightening crop and moral decay of contemporary society. (I think Aristotle also blamed bad music for the moral decay of his time.) Who could listen to Elvis and then want to lead a chaste life and lifestyle? If these parents work together perhaps they can get millions more to stop singing about sex.

Here are some songs I recommend they pursue. Somehow these songs are still available for listening and purchasing pleasure (deviance) in 2013. I hope Puritans and Talibanistas everywhere will labor to learn more music and discover the world of metaphors. Perhaps they’ll be able to have these and more carnal songs squashed.

* * * * * * * *

“I want a butter and egg man. Won’t some great big butter and egg man want me?”

Why does this woman sing so emphatically about wanting a man who possesses BIG BUTTER and EGGS? Is she headed down a dangerous dairy path? With all that is known in 2013 about a diet high in cholesterol, this song might already be maiming young minds but could the butter and eggs be representative of something more than food? Is this a tongue-in-cheek metaphor?

Louis Armstrong – Big Butter and Egg Man

Memphis Minnie talks to Kansas Joe McCoy about the broken down mill….

“Can’t get no grindin’ tell me what’s the matter with the mill?”

And this was decades before Cialis. If only this couple could have had our 2013 chemicals, that could have been one happy and functioning mill.

Memphis Minnie – What’s The Matter With The Mill

Why would someone write and sing a song about a pencil and its lead, and lack of lead? Without lead, one can’t write. Or is all of this pencil and lead talk metaphorical?

“I met a hot mama, I want to love her so bad

I left all the lead in my pencil I had

Now the lead’s all gone, oh the lead’s all gone

Oh the lead’s all gone, this pencil won’t write no more”

Sadly, the man also realizes that, “You sure can tell when a man’s pencil is wrong, his mama’s always shiftin’ from home…”

Bo Carter – My Pencil Won’t Write No More

The Beatles recorded the John Lennon song, “Girl,” on their 1965 album, Rubber Soul. Just what is John so forcefully inhaling five (5) tokes/times in the song, at 0.24 – 0.25, 0.54 – 0.56, 1.23 – 1.25, 1.53 – 1.55, and 2.23 – 2.25? Marijuana? And what are the Beatles singing at 1.01 – 1.20 ? I think the lyric is “tit” stated 64 times (foreshadowing Paul’s song, “When I’m 64?”). I don’t think the Beatles are engaged in metaphors in “Girl.” This is young and direct.

“tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit

tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit

tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit

tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit    tit tit tit tit”

That would make this seemingly innocent song, “Girl,” the ULTIMATE song about sex and drugs. Or if not sex and drugs, a woman’s breast and the increasingly legal soft drug, pot-i-juana.

The Beatles – Girl

Finally, Bo Carter sings another song about his brand new skillet, burning his bread, and arranging to add his fruit, in particular, a banana, to her fruit basket. Surely this song is only about cooking, dairy products and fruit arrangements.

“Now i got the dasher, my baby got the churn

We gonna churn, churn, churn until the butter come

Then I’m tellin’ you baby, I sure ain’t gonna deny,

Let me put my banana in your fruit basket, then I’ll be satisfied”

Bo Carter – Banana In Your Fruitbasket

* * * * * * * *

Wishing everyone a buttery, fruitful 2013 : )

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