If anyone will know, it's Mark Lewisohn MIKE GERBER • Volume One of Mark Lewisohn's Beatles bio series is slated for October, promising to be full of Lewisohn's trainspotter-y goodness! Just who was Torchy the Battery-Boy, and how did he influence a young Paul McCartney? Did George Harrison first read two of the Four Noble Truths scrawled on the wall of his father's city bus? Brief but exciting web-teaser is here.
The Cakewrecks blog focuses on those occasions when "professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong," but on Sundays it features successful confectionary feats. If you're in the mood for something sweet, you can read the whole post, which includes a dozen Beatles cakes, here.
I stumbled upon this video and just had to share it, not only because the guy is strangely gripping to watch, but also because it reminded me exactly why I love, and will always come back to, The Beatles: their music is thrillingly, achingly beautiful. Thanks, guys.So enjoy. And I dare you not to sing along.
Tony Sheridan, an essential part of The Beatles' early story, has died. To quote Chris Carter from KLOS' "Breakfast With the Beatles," without Tony Sheridan, "we wouldn't have had The Beatles in the way we did." Allan Kozinn agrees: "Though Mr. Sheridan’s involvement with the Beatles was brief, it proved crucial to their career."Apparently he settled down in northern Germany. Here's the guys with Tony S., doing a song I'd never heard. Mach shau, fellas. http://www.youtube.com/embed/EtcN7HksEDE
The act you've known for all these years, in Santa Monica, 1974. Here are some photos from Retronaut.com — the last photo of John and Paul — taken at Peter Lawford's old beach house here in Santa Monica. Whenever I want to bask in some ghosts (Marilyn and Jack! Marilyn and Bobby! Nilsson and Baron Von Moon!) I bike down six blocks; the house is right on the PCH. It's surprisingly small; glamour required less square-footage back in those days. Anyway, according to Retronaut, these were taken in March 1974, at the time of the infamous "A Toot And a Snore" [...]
Don't ask me which is which. Some of you might remember George's introduction to "I Me Mine" on the Anthology discs where he name-checks this 60s band—which was, apparently, internal Beatles slang for each other. http://youtu.be/ReSuTBoXTWM Now, thanks to this post from Dangerous Minds, I think we perhaps know where The Beatles crossed paths with them…Vic Lownes' Playboy Club. "But," you say, "John, George, and Ringo were all married." To which I respond, "They only went there for the articles." (PS—Just last week, I bought a copy of Playboy from December 1966—a business expense, I assure you—which has a hilarious [...]
From McCartney II (1980). Paul McCartney is an amazing dude. Here I am, positively obsessing over his stuff for 40 out of my 43 years, and yesterday I stumbled upon this great tune, which I'd never heard. "Blue Sway" has proceeded to dominate my consciousness for 36-going-on-48 hours. Paul, please promise to use this awesome power only for good, never for evil. Whatever else you want to say about the man (and there's a lot to say, and we say it here) pop music just pours out of him. I feel very lucky to be living at the same time, [...]
No graffiti pre-'67 I'd bet A commenter asked whether Mark Lewisohn's Beatles Recording Sessions attributed the mellotron beginning of Strawberry Fields Forever. Here's what he says: Thursday 24 November Studio Two: 7:00pm - 2:30am. Recording: "Strawberry Fields Forever" (take 1). P: George Martin. E: Geoff Emerick. 2E: Phil McDonald. ...Of all Beatles recordings, "Strawberry Fields Forever" is known for being among the most complicated and difficult to record. It is also known that the song changed shape in the studio not once but several times. Both facts are certainly true. Take one, recorded on this night, was not only magnificent [...]
When you go to the URL at the bottom, all it says is, "There are seven levels."
If you don't know the blog Dangerous Minds, go take a look. I find it essential reading, and check it nearly every day. This morning they posted a YouTube video which lovingly traces the evolution of Strawberry Fields Forever, which I've embedded below. You'll doubtless recognize the tracks (from It's Not Too Bad, Anthology and other places), but it's a nice piece of work, a good use of the form, and well worth listening to. http://youtu.be/QS6wswlJCB4