Musicopia: Beatlemania, Part 2

At long last, I have finished Part 2 of Beatlemania. Hope you enjoy it!

1968’s The Beatles (aka The White Album) was the beginning of the end for The Beatles. Whether the appearance of she-devil Yoko Ono was wholly or partly responsible for the discord is open to debate, but my impression is that she was most certainly a monkey wrench in the gears of a previously well-oiled machine. Regardless of the cause of the contentiousness, the studio sessions for The White Album featured a wealth of disagreements, with John and Paul occasionally in different studios recording different songs. Ringo even quit the band for a short period of time before being convinced to come back. The divisiveness of The Beatles at this time is starkly apparent on the double album, which contains a bizarre (yet great) selection of songs.
It’s tough to pare this lot down, but I’ll do my best. I’ll start with George Harrison’s "Piggies", because, as I’ve already mentioned, I love the sound of the harpsichord, I dig the stringed instruments, and get a kick out of the pig sound effects (what can I say? I’m easily amused). "Sexy Sadie" is another great track I just love to sing along to (even those high notes that I can’t hit). Another fun sing-a-long track is "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"; a great song to wail in the shower, I’d say. And speaking of wailing, the simplistic yet highly amusing "Why Don’t We Do It In the Road?" features some excellent wailing by Paul. Love this song, and not just because it was inspired by two monkeys in India going at it (but it helps). "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is supposedly Paul’s favorite song on The White Album, and it’s certainly in my top five. It’s structurally complex, lyrically interesting, and, in the end, just plain fun. "I’m So Tired" may just be my favorite song on the album. While the song isn’t about depression, it certainly strikes a chord in me. I can relate very much with the overriding sentiment of the song (“I’d give you everything I’ve got for a little peace of mind”), and I love the emotion John puts into his vocals (especially around :38-:45).
The White Album is truly great, and there is a wealth of excellent songs that I didn’t mention. If you’re not familiar with it, I highly suggest giving it a listen. And even if you do know it, I suggest revisiting it occasionally. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back to it and thought, “How did I miss this song?!”

Yellow Submarine, released in 1969, is an unusual album. Only half of the twelve songs on the album are performed by the Beatles, and of those six, two were previously released on other albums (“Yellow Submarine” on Revolver and “All You Need Is Love” on Magical Mystery Tour). The other six tracks are symphonic tracks from the film Yellow Submarine. I enjoy a good orchestral piece, but I’m not overly impressed by the offerings on this album, and of the four new tracks only "All Together Now" and "Hey Bulldog" (the best new song on the album, in my opinion) regularly make it onto my playlists. If the Beatles made a forgettable album, this one is it.

1969’s second release, Abbey Road, on the other hand, is chock full of goodness. Actually recorded after the majority of Let It Be (the last studio album released by the band), this album represents their final attempt to put their differences aside and “go out on a high note.” I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many of the songs on the album have a wistful feeling to them.
Nevertheless, the album starts off with a bang. The first song, "Come Together" is not only a classic, but also seems to act as encouragement for the band, as if they’re telling each other, “This is the last time, so let’s do this right.” The second track, "Something", is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest love songs ever written. Too bad Yoko’s in the video. But on a happier note, "Octopus’s Garden", where my blog gets its name, is on the album. It’s a fun bit of nonsense, and probably my favorite Ringo track (not that there are a lot to choose from). And speaking of fun bits of nonsense, you can’t go wrong with the short tale of "Mean Mr. Mustard". An interesting bit of trivia regarding the song "Because": it features the chords of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” played backwards. While it’s hard to pick a favorite off the album, "Oh! Darling" may just be it. I recall listening to it repeatedly when I first discovered it, and it doesn’t hurt that it has one of my favorite things in it: Paul screaming his head off. Just a great track.

The final studio album released by the Beatles was 1970’s Let It Be. A documentary of the same name was filmed during the album’s recording sessions. The film ends with the infamous impromptu rooftop concert held on top of Apple’s building (the record company, not the makers of iPods), which was eventually broken up by the police. Apparently London’s business district found the Beatle’s last live performance distracting.
In honor of their last live performance, I thought I’d share the songs they played on that rooftop in London (although the links I provide will be to the album versions). They started off with a couple goes at what was, at the time, meant to be the title track of the album, "Get Back", which was also the last song they played that day. In fact, John’s comment at the end of the recording, “I’d like to say ‘thank you’ on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition,” was taken from the rooftop recordings and spliced onto the end of the album version. The next song, "Don’t Let Me Down", was recorded during the Get Back (Let It Be) sessions, but ended up being dropped from the album (it appears later on the Past Masters album). I can’t imagine why it wasn’t included, as the raw emotion in John’s vocals makes it one of my favorite Beatles songs. "I’ve Got a Feeling", an amalgam of two different songs (one by Paul, the other by John), was the next song played, and in this case the recording from the rooftop performance actually made it onto the album. On the heels of “I’ve Got a Feeling” came "One After 909", a song that wouldn’t sound out of place on an early Beatles album. This is another track taken straight from their rooftop performance (John’s “Danny Boy” ending being a goofy ad-lib). The last unique song played that day was another of my multitude of favorites, "Dig a Pony". Again, the album version and the rooftop version are one and the same. That “Hold it!” yelled at the beginning is Ringo asking everyone to wait, as he had a cigarette in hand at the time. I can’t say why, but the inclusion of that moment on the album just makes my day. After “Dig a Pony,” they played “I’ve Got a Feeling” again, followed by another performance of “Don’t Let Me Down.” As I said earlier, they finished with “Get Back,” and yes, John, I’m pretty sure you passed the audition.

1988 saw the release of the Past Masters album, 33 tracks on two CDs that included all the bits and bobs that hadn’t made it onto the previously listed albums. Perhaps “bits and bobs” is a deceptive choice of words, since the album contains such seminal Beatles songs as "From Me To You", "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "I Feel Fine". And that’s just Disc 1!
The second disc is full of Beatles classics as well. You can never go wrong with "Hey Jude", and if you can hear “na na na na-na na na” without singing along then you, my friend, have a soul as black as the night. The disc also contains 1965’s lighthearted "Day Tripper", a tongue-in-cheek ditty about half-assed hippies, and "We Can Work It Out", which was originally released on the same single. Another song close to my heart is "Paperback Writer", mostly because it’s a fun song, but also because I wouldn’t mind being a paperback writer myself. You're probably unfamiliar with the song unless you’re a big fan, but I’ve grown quite attached to Harrison’s "Old Brown Shoe". I just wish the audio was better; it definitely sounds like an old "Brown Shoe." Despite Satan’s minion, Yoko, being a prominent feature of the song, I can’t help but enjoy "The Ballad of John & Yoko". If only Mark David Chapman’s aim had been off.

The three Anthology albums were released in late 1995 and early 1996. Not for the casual fan, the albums contain a wealth of alternate versions, demos, live performances, and the like. For Beatlemaniacs, it’s a fascinating look at the creative process of the Beatles. There are recordings of rehearsals where it’s obvious that the lyrics were yet to be finalized (I just hate it when doctors smink of gin), takes featuring false starts, and even a take completely derailed by a giggle fit (I have a feeling all were not sober at the time). And remember “Old Brown Shoe” and it’s bad audio? Oddly, the demo sounds quite a bit better.

In 2006, Cirque du Soleil began their show Love, based upon the music of the Beatles. To the extreme pleasure of this Beatles fan, they tapped George Martin and his son Giles to remix a wonderful selection of the Beatles catalogue. The hard work of the Martins (and George’s intimate familiarity with the music) produced a work of sheer genius.
This album introduced me to a song I had previously overlooked: "Lady Madonna". I fell in love immediately, and, while biased by hearing this version first, I feel that it’s an improvement over the original. I wish I could present "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" and "Octopus’s Garden" as a single piece, because the way they are tied together by the string portion of “Good Night” is absolutely beautiful. Instead, try queuing them both up and starting “Octopus’s Garden” as soon as “Lucy” is done; you’ll get the general idea. For those of you who think “Hey Jude” is too long (and I won’t blame you if you do), give this version a try. Not only is it significantly shorter, but it’s also got a sweet bass line added in for most of the last minute. The bass line actually appears ever so faintly in the last six seconds or so of the original, but bringing it to the fore makes for quite an improvement (as does dropping everything but the vocals and percussion prior to the bass line’s appearance). As mush as I love the revamped “Hey Jude,” I think the new "Strawberry Fields Forever" is the pinnacle of the album (Strawberry Peak?). The original is surely a classic, but I’m batshit crazy for the way the last two minutes or so of this song turned out, seamlessly integrating parts of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “In My Life,” “Penny Lane,” “Piggies” (did I mention that I love the harpsichord?), and, most notably, the “Hey-la” section of “Hello, Goodbye.” This, my friends, is a work of art.

And so we end Beatlemania on as high a note as I can think of. I hope I was able to shed some light on an unfamiliar song or two. I think the Beatles are the high water mark of music, a brilliant mixture of the profound and the profane, the ordinary and the sublime. And as I said before, I dare you to find another band who evolved so much in so little time, and who has inspired so many, both musicians and laymen alike.
Now will someone please perform the ritual that sends Yoko back to her place among the nine circles of Hell?

*I should note that I have once again leaned on Wiki for many of the facts used in Beatlemania. All opinions are my own.

Thoughts On Campaign Finance Reform

American politics today is a joke. It is awash in partisanship and corporate money. Every election year, instead of ads espousing a candidate’s position on actual issues, we all must suffer through endless attack ads paid for by candidates and special interest groups alike. This year the Supreme Court had a chance to reign in part of this problem and failed miserably.
This is an incredibly serious problem. Multi-billion dollar corporations now have the right to flood us with ads for their choice of candidate. This wouldn’t be such a problem if the electorate were well informed and voted according to a candidate’s stance on important issues. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Politics have become a popularity contest, American Idol: Politics. People vote according to whom they know the best or what party the candidate is in, regardless of the candidate’s stance on issues of import. Hell, I’d argue that most people wouldn’t know an “issue of import” if it bit them on the ass. Candidates don’t even need to talk much about their beliefs, their backgrounds, or what they consider to be important in today’s political world. They just hit the talking points that we’ve all been conditioned to care about: abortion, immigration, taxes, and so on. A candidate’s chances of election hang as much on superficialities—such as whether he wears an American flag lapel pin—as they do on anything the guy’s actually said. It’s pathetic.
I don’t know how we can fix the problem of superficiality in today’s politics. My guess is that ensuring a better education for all would help, but good luck with that. I do believe, however, that enacting stringent campaign finance reform can start things moving in the right direction.
As it stands, politicians must spend large amounts of time and energy raising funds for their campaigns. They’re essentially whores, exchanging the promise of favors in return for money. “You give me X amount of dollars, and I promise to look out for the Elderly Jewish Star Trek Fans of Pensacola Florida!” I suppose that’s all well and good when the benefits are promised to aged geeks, but we start to have serious problems when it’s corporations who are owed the favor. This is how corruption breeds in Washington.
So what do we do? We can’t take the money out of politics, right? I don’t think we have to. All we have to do is make contributions to specific candidates illegal. I say we allow people and corporations to donate however much they want, but it must all go into one large pot, to be divided up equally among the candidates. In this way, we have no politician beholden to anyone. At least not due to the campaign process.
I’m unsure on the specifics of this; I’m no expert when it comes to this area. But why can’t it work? I suppose there are at least a couple of ways it could be done. One, all money is contributed to the same large pot, and then divided up among the states and candidates according to population statistics and so on. Or each state or district could have its own fund to be divided equally among the candidates.
And in an effort to educate the electorate and get them focused on what matters, a ban on third party ads should also be enacted. I don’t care what the “Committee For Killing Commies” has to say about the candidates. If we have to endure political ads on TV, let them be solely from the candidates involved. We could even go so far as to ban TV ads altogether and instead allow for specific times for candidates to publicly debate the issues at hand. I’d say campaign money would be much better spent on a series of debates—that include third party candidates, mind you—than on endless attack ads that are generally misleading and beside the point.
What do you think about this idea? That’s not rhetorical; I really want to know. Obviously there’d be a lot of kinks to work out, but I think that this would go a long way towards cleaning up American politics. It could even have the added benefit of allowing third party candidates to get their message out and break the monopoly the Democrats and Republicans have on our political system. Yes, I’m sure there are flaws in this plan (if you can call something so basic a plan), but I think it’s better than the current system. Special interests would still be allowed to delude the masses through mailing leaflets and such, so no whining about the First Amendment (corporations shouldn’t be included in the First Amendment anyway). They could spend their money on reams of lies and misinformation, and hopefully these lies would be relegated to the trash where they belong.