Today in Beatles history

"Elvis Presley is born in Tupelo, Mississippi." The King looms large in Beatles history.

Fading daylight for the digital Beatles

An update from Rolling Stone on the Norwegian Beatles podcasts.

The Beatles Anthology, disc 2

Random thoughts and bits of commentary:

- How many bands do we encounter today who, like The Beatles did, smile so effusively throughout much of their act?

- A thrill shoots through me whenever I hear Paul let out the kind of scream that he does on "I Saw Her Standing There."

- The live performances of their early hits positively crackle.

- "If I Fell" is a song of such pristine beauty.

- It's weird and even mildly upsetting to watch Jimmy Nicol parade around as one of The Beatles in Ringo's absence.

- It's remarkable to consider how, on tour, The Beatles played shows which sometimes lasted as little as 30 minutes. Think of the hysterical anticipation on the part of the fans; think of how this defining event for them, this pinnacle of their existence, might only run the length of a sitcom. Though, in light of the iconic images of incapacitated Beatlemaniacs (almost invariably young girls), perhaps longer concerts would've been just dangerously overwhelming.

- Ringo's description of his maiden experience with weed is classic: "...and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed. It was fabulous."

- Finally, from what I can glean on these DVDs, Ringo seems to be the Beatle most openly appreciative of the vast perks and opportunities that attended The Beatles' historic success. The way he fondly talks about first coming to America or vacationing in a warm climate or even avoiding the riotous fans strikes a very likable chord.

Daylight for the digital Beatles

From Rolling Stone: "The Beatles’ Catalog Finally Goes Digital Thanks To Norwegian Podcasts."

Money quote

After recently buying a used copy of Let It Be... Naked, I trolled the web (via Metacritic) for some reviews and came across this poignant paragraph that concluded Dominique Leone's piece for Pitchfork:

Ultimately, Naked is not essential. Unlike scattered moments in the Anthology series, this music, though immaculately presented, doesn't really expand on either the music of Let It Be, or The Beatles' legacy. At this point, I'm not sure many people are prepared to accept a new take on the band anyway, but I might at least be happy knowing they didn't take me for a raving completist. And yet, I stood in line for this, just like millions of other like-minded fans will, merely for the chance to hear some small kernel leading me back to the reason I started listening in the first place. The albums will always be there, and the legend will forever be imprinted on the hearts of anyone believing in the affirming power of their music. In the end, regardless of what I write, this is The Beatles, and you already know what that means.

I love the bolded line.

John's "One Laptop per Child" commercial

I've noticed a fair amount of annoyance, frustration, even outrage over the artless inclusion of John in that "One Laptop per Child" commercial. The main points of contention go as follows: a)it's of questionable propriety for the ad to have words come from John's mouth which he never uttered; b)on a related note, who knows if John would have consented to this; c)the impersonation verges on comically poor; and d)it's curious that Yoko would choose this cause over others that focus on more pressing concerns.

I would say it's not especially productive to speculate on how John might have felt about this particular campaign. Even Yoko couldn't know. And if it's in poor taste for the makers of this commercial to put words into John's mouth, then so it is for overzealous fans to proclaim what his opinions might have been (though I recognize the considerable disparity in scope and content between each side's agenda). Thus I find much of the disgust that's boiling on the web to be misplaced and overwrought. It just strikes me as a petty battle.

However, I do agree that it's beyond tacky for the commercial to insert a contrived voice track into the video footage of John and act as if it's actually him speaking. And yes, the impersonation is cringe-worthy. And yes, the rhetoric "John" employs seems a bit extravagant for the cause ("You can give a child a laptop. And, more than imagine, you can change the world").

In my view, a more sensible approach would have been to include an authentic audio clip of Lennon extolling progress, peace, change, etc. and then play that to images of children with their laptops. Obviously an explanation of the campaign would also have to run, but I can't imagine it would be difficult to skillfully incorporate that around John's part.

A commercial of this kind would still likely arouse resentment among the Lennon faithful. But at least it might avoid the charge of having appropriated John's visage for such phony and tactless results.



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2008: Year in review for The Beatles

From BeatleNews.com.