MetaFilter posts tagged with beatles and music

Love, sayang, pyaar, bhalo bashi, amore...

divabat — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:54:49 -0800

All you need is love - from 156 countries, all at the same time. Join in the chorus; each video leads to a 5-cent donation from Starbucks to the RED Global Fund for AIDS in Africa.

Moog-y Christmas

Joe Beese — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:21:42 -0800

Do you like musical instruments with lots of keyboards? And lots and lots of dials? Then you may like 36 15 MOOG: Stuff with Moog and/or 60's and 70's vintage synths in it. (related Ask MeFi) Stuff like George Harrison's Electronic Sound (1969). The soundtrack to the "Bubbleator" exhibit at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. Music For Robots. And some cover art that may mess with your mind. It also has the legendary "Esper Edition" of Vangelis's Blade Runner soundtrack - without which you have never properly heard this music.

To put right what once went wrong

danhon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:25:12 -0800

Christopher Bird at Mighty God King has written some corkers in the past - from his ejection from Livejournal owing to his review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to his frequent conversations with Flapjacks and Photoshopping of Final Fantasy Covers (previously). He's really outdone himself this time, with Scenes From An Alternate Universe Where The Beatles Accepted Lorne Michaels’ Generous Offer. Read it, and, quite possibly, weep. Bonus points to the first person who constructs a Primer-level explanation of what happened.

Did you know Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?

klangklangston — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:26:42 -0800

The Beatles never broke up.

the girl with kaleidoscope eyes

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:52:30 -0800

Though many have long suspected that the title of John Lennon's Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds was a barely-concealed reference to the drug he was so fond of, Lennon himself always maintained otherwise, as in this interview with Dick Cavett, explaining that the inspiration for the fanciful name was from his son Julian, who'd brought him a drawing of his nursery school friend. That friend, one Lucy O'Donnell, just passed away.

Shakespeare in music

Matthias Rascher — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:25:12 -0800

Amazing to see how differently Shakespeare's work has been dealt with in music: there is Jerry Lee Lewis doing a blues on Othello. David Gilmour, former Pink Floyd lead singer, guitarist and songwriter, turned Sonnet 18 into a touchingly beautiful ballad. The Metal Shakespeare Company wrote a heavy metal song about Hamlet (III/1), "To bleed or not to bleed". And yes, there is Shakespeare rap, too: William Shatner (the very same!) raps about Caesar and British rapper Akala thinks he is a reincarnation of the bard. Last but not least, the Beatles tried their luck at Shakespeare, too (no music this time): they did a skit on the famous Pyramus and Thisbe scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream (very rare footage!).

"I wish Phil Spector were here..."

Artw — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:30:04 -0800

Zombies Vs Beatles (slyt)

Goodall Music

Magnakai — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:15:28 -0800

British composer and TV presenter Howard Goodall presents a documentary exploring the influences and theory behind the music of The Beatles, and the transformation of their sound over their recording career. Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 on Youtube. But that's not all... A fascinating program, to be sure. Howard Goodall's other programs are equally interesting: His series How Music Works examined four of the building blocks of music: Melody, Harmony, Rhythm and Bass. (previously on Metafilter) He also presented a series where he looks at important classical works and how they fit into their contemporary culture: Wagner 1874 (Pt 1 2 3 4 5) Mozart 1791 (Pt 1 2 3 4 5) Unfortunately, none of these programs, or unmentioned others, are available on DVD. Howard Goodall is also a noted composer, famously writing the theme tunes for Red Dwarf (and backwards!), Mr Bean and QI, among others. He has also been a guest on QI on a number of occasions.

All you need is one channel ... waah-wa-wa-wa-waaaaaah

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:55:39 -0800

You'd be forgiven for rolling your eyes as soon as you hear about yet another Beatles box set reissue whatever, but the upcoming release of practically their entire catalog in the original MONO MIXES is certainly cause for genuine celebration for anyone who cares to hear the Beatles' music in the audio format that they themselves signed off on. Once we hear for ourselves, come September 9, we'll see if we agree with producer George Martin: "You've never really heard Sgt Pepper until you've heard it in mono."

Gordon Waller dead at 64

garnetgirl — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:17:54 -0800

Gordon Waller of British duo Peter and Gordon had died at 64 Gordon Waller, from the British duo Peter and Gordon has died of cardiac arrest in CT this past weekend. The songs I really like to listen to from them was the one Paul McCartney wrote "A World Without Love" and "True Love Ways". Sad to hear he's passed.

Mass Karaoke

The Devil Tesla — Sun, 03 May 2009 14:19:04 -0800

13,500 people singing Hey Jude in London's Trafalgar Square. Thanks T-Mobile! (previously)

Playing The Beatles Backwards: The Ultimate Countdown

swift — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:59:46 -0800

185. "Revolution 9"

Shortly after recording "Revolution 9", John Lennon allegedly went around telling friends that his new song was the music of the future. Well, here we are, 40 years later, and I don’t see the pop charts filled with experimental song collages featuring recording engineers, chanting football crowds, mangled orchestras, and bizarre non-sequiturs. [...] 184. "Honey Pie" If we could imagine The White Album as a poker game, then "Honey Pie" was Paul McCartney’s re-raise to John Lennon’s "Revolution 9." As in, "I’ll see your unlistenable, aggressively off-putting, avant-garde nonsense and raise you a piece of faux-vaudeville drivel so corny that Lawrence Welk turned it down for not being edgy enough." [...] Etc.

The Queen of Beatles Spouses?

Xurando — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:23:33 -0800

The Oriental Nightfish. A Chanukah/Christmas gift of sorts. "Listening to Linda proceed tunelessly through "Endless Days" (she "sings" the "song" the way that Ken Lay "protected employees" or Ryan Leaf "quarterbacked") is an experience to be treasured, if by treasured you mean buried in a chest by pirates."

The White Album hits middle age.

sleepy pete — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:16:35 -0800

The White album turns 40.

Barcelona!

chuckdarwin — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:35:24 -0800

A lost Beatles track called Carnival of Light does exist and could be released. Sir Paul McCartney has a master tape of the piece, adding: "The time has come for it to get its moment."

I heard there was a secret chord

twoleftfeet — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:29:31 -0800

Mathematician Cracks Mystery Beatles Chord. Not to be confused with the Hendrix chord or the sacred chord.

Wait, this Nicol guy played with the SPOTNICKS? Oh, and that other little outfit from Liverpool, who were they again?

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:56:57 -0800

These Beatles clips from a 1965 NME show are straight off the mixing desk, so the voices are way up front. Man, those vocals are so loud you can hardly hear Ringo! But let's back it up just a year, to Holland in 1964, and catch one of the rare performances without Ringo. Aside from his brief stint as a Beatle, session drummer Jimmy Nicol also played with zany Swedish instrumental surf rock band The Spotnicks. So, there you have it: Jimmy Nicol, a lucky fella who got to play with two of the greatest bands in the world! [NOTE: see hoverovers for link descriptions] The Spotnicks also had a few vocal numbers in their repertoire, such as Please Say Yes, complete with awkward lyrics typical of non-native speakers. Then there was their curiously unexpected version of Ol' Man River. Here's the Spotnicks playing just last year, and sounding great. But, whaddaya say, a little more Beatles? These clips from a 1964 Melbourne, Australia show (Ringo had recovered from illness and rejoined the band after their first few Oz gigs with Nicol) also feature some pretty up-front vocals, and they're a bit more hi-fi, as well. Must be those Sennheiser mics. You Can't Do That, Twist and Shout, She Loves You and Long Tall Sally. And finally, it should be noted that the Spotnicks were mentioned here previously. The Beatles, on the other hand, have never until now been featured on MetaFilter, and I'm just pleased as punch to have the opportunity to introduce them to everyone here.

The Beatles, in their native habitat

Tlogmer — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:30:42 -0800

1964 means the Beatles. But listen to the other #1 hits that year! No wonder Douglas Adams broke into the matron's room. Via my second favorite music blog.

Hey Jude

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:28:55 -0800

Best Beatles cover ever.

Lennon and McCartney Reunite

New Frontier — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:19:15 -0800

Lennon and McCartney's Studio Reunion. On March 28, 1974, John Lennon was in a Burbank studio producing Harry Nilsson's "Pussy Cats" album when Paul McCartney dropped in. The room froze and remained silent until John said, "Valiant Paul McCartney, I presume?" Paul responded: "Sir Jasper Lennon, I presume?" The tension broken, a jam session [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] ensued featuring Lennon on guitar and vocals, McCartney on drums and vocals, Stevie Wonder on electric piano and vocals, Harry Nilsson on vocals, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar and Bobby Keys on saxophone. A bootleg of the session has circulated under the title "A Toot and a Snore in '74".

Nothing's gonna change my world?

monospace — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:05:21 -0800

Fears that malevolent aliens will tune into this week's broadcast of The Beatles' song "Across the Universe" have been voiced by scientists.

Does anybody remember she loves you?

psmealey — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:40:33 -0800

I Wanna Hold Your Stairway The Beatnix perform Stairway to Heaven... as the Beatles might have done it. Probably not much different than the Rutles might have done it.

Here Today Is The Now Sound of Yesterday

jonp72 — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:47:20 -0800

The Now Sound of the Sixties is what's groovy, baby! Even Big Bands and Canadians are getting warm, wild, wonderful with the crazy sounds of that love generation. Check out Ella Fitzgerald singing Sunshine of Your Love and Lord Sitar's I Can See for Miles. Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 do Wichita Lineman and Day Tripper, while lounge act Jackie & Roy do a rare cover version of the Beatles' The Word. The Alan Copeland Singers can't stop Goin' Out of My Head, but the Back Porch Majority looks like an outtake from A Mighty Wind with the hippie anthem, Get Together. But the hippest hep daddy of them all is Bing Crosby, who has both a Beatles medley and another medley of hit '60s tunes.

Twist and Shout. And Twist. And Shout.

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:50:24 -0800

Twist and Shout. Twist and Shout. Twist. Twist and Shout. Twist. Shout. Twist and Shout. Twist. Twist and Shout. Shout. Twist. Shout. Twist and Shout. Twist. Twist and Shout. Twist. Twist. Twist. Shout. A simple twist of fate.

How Would Jesus Rock?

jonp72 — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:13:48 -0800

Christs, Communists, & Rock 'n' Roll is an excellent introduction to a tradition of anti-rock writings and recordings by the Religious Right. In the 1960s, there was David Noebel who wrote Communism, Hypnotism, & the Beatles and The Marxist Minstrels. In the early 1970s, Reverend Riblett constructs a seven-foot cross out of rock music records and sets it aflame with gasoline. Michael Mills finds hidden Satanic messages in Bow Wow Wow and the Grateful Dead, while Bob Larson valiantly debates Mandy, a 13-year-old fan of the Cure. The motherlode is probably the cassettes of John Todd, who traveled the fundamentalist circuit in the 1970s claiming to be a former witch and a member of the Illuminati, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. (more inside)