... as covered by the proud Beatlephile, Elliott Smith:
(If the video is removed, go here.)
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Reviews of the remasters
Alexis Petridis of The Guardian explains how the mono mixes of The Beatles' early albums will vividly remind us that the Greatest Band Ever was making classics well before Rubber Soul.
And over at his Chicago Tribune music blog, Turn It Up, Greg Kot acknowledges the improvements offered by the remasters, but questions the utility of spending a lot of money on a dying music format.
And over at his Chicago Tribune music blog, Turn It Up, Greg Kot acknowledges the improvements offered by the remasters, but questions the utility of spending a lot of money on a dying music format.
Friday, September 4, 2009
EW's cover
Here's the cover for the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. It's a striking shot: haunting and playful, touching and packed with meaning. There are the two creative giants behind The Beatles, two artists whose divergent styles and tastes could sync up to produce pop magic or go to war and spell disarray. Their bodies are in contact; yet on a separate level, the two seem distant from one another. The pose they adopted conveys some sort of affection, yet the discontent on their faces doesn't appear contrived. It really is a loaded image. But it's also clearly incomplete. How can EW devote the bulk of an issue to The Beatles but only put two of them on the cover? It doesn't add up and isn't very tactful.
Also, what song did EW judge to be The Beatles' finest? "A Hard Day's Night." Great tune; weak selection. Lastly, here are 15 rare photos of The Beatles, also courtesy of EW.
Also, what song did EW judge to be The Beatles' finest? "A Hard Day's Night." Great tune; weak selection. Lastly, here are 15 rare photos of The Beatles, also courtesy of EW.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ann Powers on "Do You Want to Know a Secret"
Earlier today at Pop & Hiss, Ann Powers wrote about her favorite song off of Please Please Me. It's the first entry in an ongoing series that will list and detail the one track she enjoys most from each of The Beatles' 13 canon albums (i.e., the albums that will soon be released in digitally remastered form). For The Beatles' firecracker of a debut, she went with "Do You Want to Know a Secret," a modest song she generously describes as "the perfect entryway into the Beatles."
Now it would be unfair to fault Powers at all for designating "Secret" her favorite. I'm almost certain it's an entirely separate matter what she considers the best track off of Please Please Me. While whimsical and charming, "Secret" probably still occupies the lower part of the album's second tier. Powers, though, finds value where others might not, and writes, "Do You Want to Know a Secret" is about beginnings, and it is a beginning; thus the perfect place to start."
I honestly question how much conviction is in this claim. In other words, how serious is Powers about elevating "Secret" to the status of "the perfect entryway into the Beatles?" If she had to play one song for someone who had never before heard the Fabs but wanted the "perfect" introduction to their body of work, would she hold to these words? Let's further stipulate that the selection would have to come from Please Please Me. This would likely make the hypothetical more in line with the spirit of her post (i.e. that "Secret" is "the perfect entryway into the Beatles" off that album). With those 14 songs at her disposal, would she actually play "Secret" instead of the title track or "I Saw Her Standing There" or "Twist and Shout?" "Secret" is just such a non-starter, and it isn't terribly representative of The Beatles' early style and quality. Where's the youthful vigor and excitement?
I'm not trying to engage flippantly in a game of "gotcha." It's just that Powers' "perfect entryway" remark strikes me as a clear-cut overstatement and not at all consistent with her usually perceptive commentary on pop music. Having said that, I'm very much looking forward to the rest of her selections.
Now it would be unfair to fault Powers at all for designating "Secret" her favorite. I'm almost certain it's an entirely separate matter what she considers the best track off of Please Please Me. While whimsical and charming, "Secret" probably still occupies the lower part of the album's second tier. Powers, though, finds value where others might not, and writes, "Do You Want to Know a Secret" is about beginnings, and it is a beginning; thus the perfect place to start."
I honestly question how much conviction is in this claim. In other words, how serious is Powers about elevating "Secret" to the status of "the perfect entryway into the Beatles?" If she had to play one song for someone who had never before heard the Fabs but wanted the "perfect" introduction to their body of work, would she hold to these words? Let's further stipulate that the selection would have to come from Please Please Me. This would likely make the hypothetical more in line with the spirit of her post (i.e. that "Secret" is "the perfect entryway into the Beatles" off that album). With those 14 songs at her disposal, would she actually play "Secret" instead of the title track or "I Saw Her Standing There" or "Twist and Shout?" "Secret" is just such a non-starter, and it isn't terribly representative of The Beatles' early style and quality. Where's the youthful vigor and excitement?
I'm not trying to engage flippantly in a game of "gotcha." It's just that Powers' "perfect entryway" remark strikes me as a clear-cut overstatement and not at all consistent with her usually perceptive commentary on pop music. Having said that, I'm very much looking forward to the rest of her selections.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Two "Rock Band" reviews
One is from the New York Times, and the other is courtesy of Salon. Both offer more than favorable takes; but in contrast to Alex Koppelman's measured praise in the Salon piece, Seth Schiesel of the Times positively wets himself with swooning admiration for the game.
He glowingly writes:
The Beatles: Rock Band is nothing less than a cultural watershed, one that may prove only slightly less influential than the band’s famous appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. By reinterpreting an essential symbol of one generation in the medium and technology of another, The Beatles: Rock Band provides a transformative entertainment experience.
In that sense it may be the most important video game yet made.
And he passionately concludes:
But music is eternal. Each new tool for creating it, and each new technology for experiencing it, only brings the joy of more music to more people. This new game is a fabulous entertainment that will not only introduce the Beatles’ music to a new audience but also will simultaneously bring millions of their less-hidebound parents into gaming. For that its makers are entitled to a deep simultaneous bow, Beatles style.
He glowingly writes:
The Beatles: Rock Band is nothing less than a cultural watershed, one that may prove only slightly less influential than the band’s famous appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. By reinterpreting an essential symbol of one generation in the medium and technology of another, The Beatles: Rock Band provides a transformative entertainment experience.
In that sense it may be the most important video game yet made.
And he passionately concludes:
But music is eternal. Each new tool for creating it, and each new technology for experiencing it, only brings the joy of more music to more people. This new game is a fabulous entertainment that will not only introduce the Beatles’ music to a new audience but also will simultaneously bring millions of their less-hidebound parents into gaming. For that its makers are entitled to a deep simultaneous bow, Beatles style.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"Beatles reissues sold out at Amazon"
Entertainment Weekly reports.
Excerpt:
For true Beatles obsessives, the Sept. 9 release of all the band’s albums as a lovingly remastered box set is a huge deal. Sure, it’s expensive, but this is arguably music’s greatest catalog, finally brought properly into the CD era, sounding better than ever, with awesome-looking packaging to boot. So I happily went to Amazon.com last week to file my pre-order — only to learn that I was already too late. “We have sold out of our initial allocation of Beatles stereo box sets,” the impassive emporium told me, “but we will be receiving more inventory after release date.” After release date? Are you kidding me, Amazon?! You expect me to spend 9/9/09 sitting around listening to something other than this box set?
Excerpt:
For true Beatles obsessives, the Sept. 9 release of all the band’s albums as a lovingly remastered box set is a huge deal. Sure, it’s expensive, but this is arguably music’s greatest catalog, finally brought properly into the CD era, sounding better than ever, with awesome-looking packaging to boot. So I happily went to Amazon.com last week to file my pre-order — only to learn that I was already too late. “We have sold out of our initial allocation of Beatles stereo box sets,” the impassive emporium told me, “but we will be receiving more inventory after release date.” After release date? Are you kidding me, Amazon?! You expect me to spend 9/9/09 sitting around listening to something other than this box set?
More Beatles to iTunes chatter
"It's only rock and roll, but we like it."
These words adorn the invitations that Apple recently sent out for its media event next Wednesday (9/9/09). Such a tagline, of course, is only going to fuel rumors about The Beatles coming to iTunes. An AFP article also notes: "The invitation sparked speculation on technology blogs that Apple planned to release a new line of iPod music players." But why would Apple single out "rock and roll?" Was it just to have a music-oriented tagline that's also coy and snappy? At the same time, using a Rolling Stones lyric as part of the buildup to a major Beatles-related announcement would perhaps make for a strategy marked by too much misdirection and subterfuge. Or is it perfectly played? More here.
These words adorn the invitations that Apple recently sent out for its media event next Wednesday (9/9/09). Such a tagline, of course, is only going to fuel rumors about The Beatles coming to iTunes. An AFP article also notes: "The invitation sparked speculation on technology blogs that Apple planned to release a new line of iPod music players." But why would Apple single out "rock and roll?" Was it just to have a music-oriented tagline that's also coy and snappy? At the same time, using a Rolling Stones lyric as part of the buildup to a major Beatles-related announcement would perhaps make for a strategy marked by too much misdirection and subterfuge. Or is it perfectly played? More here.
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