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November 16, 2008 4:35 PM   Subscribe

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."
posted by chuckdarwin (34 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Sir Paul explained: "I said all I want you to do is just wander around all the stuff, bang it, shout, play it, it doesn't need to make any sense. Hit a drum then wander on to the piano, hit a few notes, just wander around.

How...um...awesome?
posted by Roman Graves at 4:46 PM on November 16, 2008


RG, it was apparently inspired by Stockhausen and Cage... although Paul's description makes it sound a little more, um, random than their stuff.
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:55 PM on November 16, 2008


...apparently inspired by Stockhausen...

How did they manage to get a helicopter inside Abby Road?
posted by chillmost at 4:58 PM on November 16, 2008


Sir Paul said he was fond of the track, which was inspired by experimental composers John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen: "I like it because it's The Beatles free, going off piste."

Had to go to the nets to find out what "off piste" means. I thought maybe it was a typo which should've read "...the Beatles free, going off pissed."
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:00 PM on November 16, 2008 [2 favorites]


...apparently inspired by... Cage...

How did they manage to turn Abbey Road into an anechoic chamber?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:04 PM on November 16, 2008 [1 favorite]


flapjax, I think he means going 'off the beaten path'.
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:06 PM on November 16, 2008


Yeah, chuckd, as soon as I learned (thanks Wikipedia!) what "piste" means, I gathered as much. Is that a common phrase, BTW? Or one only used by skiers, I wonder? I'd never heard it before.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:09 PM on November 16, 2008


Rouge Rouge Rouge ...
posted by Eekacat at 5:11 PM on November 16, 2008


A lost Beatles track called Carnival of Light does exist and could almost certainly will be released. Sir Paul McCartney has a master tape of the piece, adding: "The time has come for it to get its moment me to release a piece of Beatles music that's bound to help me recoup some of the £24.3 million I lost when I had my arse handed to me in the divorce."
posted by Effigy2000 at 5:13 PM on November 16, 2008 [5 favorites]


Seems like mainly a skiing term. I have heard it before, but not often.
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:15 PM on November 16, 2008


What? Paul's alive?
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:19 PM on November 16, 2008 [2 favorites]


"Hit a drum then wander on to the piano, hit a few notes, just wander around."

Apparently you can hear a barrel being scraped too.
posted by fire&wings at 5:22 PM on November 16, 2008 [28 favorites]


So this was the B-side of Revolution No 9?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:30 PM on November 16, 2008 [1 favorite]


So this was the B-side of Revolution No 9?

Heh heh. Which I'd always heard that Paul was against having on The White Album...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:33 PM on November 16, 2008


flapjax, I think everyone was against that tune, other than John and Yoko...
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:40 PM on November 16, 2008


"The time has come for it to get its moment."

...and that time happens to be right after an expensive divorce.
posted by mazola at 5:49 PM on November 16, 2008 [1 favorite]


"What? Paul's alive?"

Not for long. *locks and loads*
posted by Eideteker at 6:13 PM on November 16, 2008 [1 favorite]


Like the blackbird, it was only waiting for this moment to arise.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 6:50 PM on November 16, 2008


You become naked.
posted by stinkycheese at 7:08 PM on November 16, 2008


Obscure Beatles reference.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:08 PM on November 16, 2008


Just what we needed - 14 more minutes of The Beatles Song That We Usually Skip.
posted by Afroblanco at 8:51 PM on November 16, 2008 [3 favorites]


I'm as big a Beatles nut as anyone, more than most probably. This just does not excite me.

I want them to release the three takes of "Helter Skelter" from July 18, 1968. As described in Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Recording Sessions:

"Take one lasted 10'40", take two 12'35", and take three an epic 27'11". All three versions were similar: drums, bass, lead and rhythm guitars played live - positively no overdubs - with a very heavy drum sound, heavy guitars and magnificent vocal delivery by Paul...one of the versions of 'Helter Skelter' developed into a jam which went into and then back out of a somewhat bizarre version of 'Blue Moon'...the Beatles were jamming away, completely oblivious to the world."

McCartney later took a copy of the tapes home. Hey Paul, how about releasing that as the B-side of "Carnival of Light"?
posted by marxchivist at 10:02 PM on November 16, 2008 [5 favorites]


I was just reading an article about Stockhausen in the New Yorker (Oct 13...I'm a little behind) and was reminded that he was one of the faces on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's.

They were hip. Not just hippies.
posted by kozad at 10:32 PM on November 16, 2008


A Mystery Achievement... PM probably ran into Syd Barret (remember him? ) at one of those raves.


http://www.geocities.com/hammodotcom/beathoven/r9under.htm
"
I've gathered together source information on some events that took place in London in late 1966, 1967 and early 1968. The summary below includes other dates of interest.


1966 September AMM Concert AMM Paul
October IT Launch AMM, Pink Floyd, Yoko Ono, etc Paul
November Unfinished Objects Yoko Ono, (AMM) John
1967 January Carnival Of Light (Beatles tape) ??? Paul?
April Technicolor Dream AMM, Pink Floyd, Yoko Ono, etc John
1968 April 2001 Strauss, Ligeti, etc John "
posted by celerystick at 11:03 PM on November 16, 2008


I guess Sir Paul is feeling a little impoverished after the legless wonder took him to the cleaners. I'll bet he has dozens of songs tucked away for a rainy day...
posted by five fresh fish at 11:09 PM on November 16, 2008


Let me guess : New Track Comes Free With Every Soy Machiato Purchased, right?

What a douche. I'm sure to get some fanboy hate from this, but they would have been so much better as a three piece.
posted by mannequito at 3:31 AM on November 17, 2008


He said: "I said it would be great to put this on because it would show we were working with really avant-garde stuff."

Sorry Paul, but no matter how many times you tell us you took drugs first, and pushed the envelope of music, John will always be the cool Beatle.
posted by djgh at 4:26 AM on November 17, 2008


Obscure Beatles reference.

No such thing, actually.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:48 AM on November 17, 2008


I was all excited about this until I read the description of the... thing.
posted by languagehat at 7:23 AM on November 17, 2008


Beatles fans: Hate "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" as late additions to the Beatles' catalogue? Well get ready for a new least-favorite Beatles song!

No no, that's the wrong tack to take.

Let's all celebrate! I'll by a round of single plums, floating in perfume, served in men's hats for everyone!
posted by SpiffyRob at 8:38 AM on November 17, 2008



I want them to release the three takes of "Helter Skelter" from July 18, 1968

This is relevant to my interests.
posted by Ber at 9:04 AM on November 17, 2008


Please stop with the "Sir". Didn't they all hate the royals when they were all "rebels"?
posted by Zambrano at 10:13 AM on November 17, 2008


"All he needs now is the blessing of Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and George Harrison's widow Olivia,"

Something tells me he may have a hard time getting Ringo to sign anything he may send over...
posted by anazgnos at 8:43 PM on November 17, 2008


Please stop with the "Sir". Didn't they all hate the royals when they were all "rebels"?

*shrug*

He was knighted. Wasn't my idea...
posted by chuckdarwin at 1:32 AM on November 18, 2008 [1 favorite]


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