I had George's All Things Must Pass regularly playing in the car a couple weeks back, and it delivered as usual. I realize I'm hardly breaking new ground when I say it's his finest work. That seems obvious enough as the album boasts a very accomplished level of songwriting. And the kind of songs George was composing at the time - loose, warm, and free-spirited folk-rock -, combined with the album's prolific 6-side length, makes for a most inviting feel: George is beckoning us to commune with him and share in this bounteous wealth of music. We, of course, happily comply. Is All Things Must Pass too long? Yes. But that shagginess is part of its rich charm.
Another uncontroversial statement: "My Sweet Lord," George's beaming pop hymn to the Hindu god Krishna, is the album's high point. Like many others, I've felt this way since the first time that I listened to All Things Must Pass. It's the clear standout. Only in the last few weeks, though, have I come to truly understand (or so I think, anyway) the song's appeal beyond its lush and hypnotic sonics. For the longest time, the essence of the lyric eluded me. What didn't register was the exact tone of his words. And that is, George is avowing not mere spiritual devotion to Krishna but a deep tenderness for him: "I really want to see you/Really want to be with you." It almost amounts to a lover's affection (minus the sexual dimension, I should add). George desires to embrace, and be embraced by, his "sweet lord." He wants to feel the sense of completeness or fulfillment that close companionship can bring and that spiritual pursuits often have as their aim. He wants to meet his dear friend, and what seems to be driving him is an earnest, child-like love. This sentiment, delivered so sincerely, gives the song its beating heart.
Maybe a childhood filled with Christian church-going helps to explain why I find this so noteworthy. In my youth, I came across many hymns (which is, in part, what I'm approaching "My Sweet Lord" as), and they usually entailed confessions of faith or expressions of praise to God. Love, of course, is an essential element of this, but it's a love more rooted in reverence and thanks. From my experience, affection of the kind that George gives voice to on "My Sweet Lord" doesn't play much of a role in these hymns. Hence its striking quality for me.
Now maybe I'm mischaracterizing Christian hymns, or maybe I'm not familiar with a sufficiently wide range of them to comment like this. Maybe my comparison of a Krishna-celebrating pop hit from the '70s and Christian songs of worship is just too inexact to yield useful insights. I'm not sure. Either way, I'll stand by my central point: the yearning affection that George imparts on "My Sweet Lord" makes something divinely touching out of a mere pop song. And its power is only enhanced by how simple and plainly stated it is.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Are The Beatles still "cool"?
"Cool" is a vague word. What Neil McCormick of the Telegraph basically explores in this piece is how The Beatles' art has overcome the passage of time to remain compelling and vital.
Excerpt:
The Beatles universal appeal was not just about being the right band in the right time and the right place, it was a direct response to the most extraordinary musical journey in pop history. In just seven years, the Beatles went from a rock and roll dance band to psychedelic visionaries to mature singer-songwriters, from musical adolescents to adult artists. And it is a journey listeners can still take with them. Indeed, it is the very thing that makes The Beatles adaptable to the world of computers: this is not just a musical game, it is a mystical quest.
Kids might start in the playground with ’Yellow Submarine’ but they can suffer adolescent existential crises singing ’Help!’, fall in love to ’Here, There And Everywhere’, rage against society on ’Revolution’ and contemplate the utter strangeness of the universe to the tune of ’I Am The Walrus’. There is a whole education in The Beatles.
Excerpt:
The Beatles universal appeal was not just about being the right band in the right time and the right place, it was a direct response to the most extraordinary musical journey in pop history. In just seven years, the Beatles went from a rock and roll dance band to psychedelic visionaries to mature singer-songwriters, from musical adolescents to adult artists. And it is a journey listeners can still take with them. Indeed, it is the very thing that makes The Beatles adaptable to the world of computers: this is not just a musical game, it is a mystical quest.
Kids might start in the playground with ’Yellow Submarine’ but they can suffer adolescent existential crises singing ’Help!’, fall in love to ’Here, There And Everywhere’, rage against society on ’Revolution’ and contemplate the utter strangeness of the universe to the tune of ’I Am The Walrus’. There is a whole education in The Beatles.
Beatles not on iTunes
Rolling Stone details the happenings at Apple's "It's Only Rock n Roll" media event in San Francisco.
Excerpt:
The coolest addition to the music service, however, is iTunes LP, or the long-rumored “Cocktail” project that Rolling Stone previously noted. The plan is to reproduce the forgotten thrill of rummaging around the artwork and liner notes of an LP, except on your computer screen. iTunes LP albums will boast artist photos, lyrics, liner notes, full artwork, videos and much more, essentially reinventing the album art. The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty, the Doors’ self-titled and Dave Matthews Band’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King were among those albums whose iTunes LP features were shown during the demo. Other new iTunes features include the ability to manage Apps on your iPhone, share your iTunes contents and Apps with up to five computers in your home and a better ability to Sync your media players.
And:
As for the rumored announcement that the Beatles were coming to iTunes — despite the conspicuous scheduling of the Apple conference on the same 9.9.09 release date of the Beatles’ remasters and Rock Band — there was no mention of the Fab Four’s catalog would be available on iTunes, meaning fans will still have to pick up the new remasters the old fashioned way: At 7/11s and Restoration Hardware stores.
Excerpt:
The coolest addition to the music service, however, is iTunes LP, or the long-rumored “Cocktail” project that Rolling Stone previously noted. The plan is to reproduce the forgotten thrill of rummaging around the artwork and liner notes of an LP, except on your computer screen. iTunes LP albums will boast artist photos, lyrics, liner notes, full artwork, videos and much more, essentially reinventing the album art. The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty, the Doors’ self-titled and Dave Matthews Band’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King were among those albums whose iTunes LP features were shown during the demo. Other new iTunes features include the ability to manage Apps on your iPhone, share your iTunes contents and Apps with up to five computers in your home and a better ability to Sync your media players.
And:
As for the rumored announcement that the Beatles were coming to iTunes — despite the conspicuous scheduling of the Apple conference on the same 9.9.09 release date of the Beatles’ remasters and Rock Band — there was no mention of the Fab Four’s catalog would be available on iTunes, meaning fans will still have to pick up the new remasters the old fashioned way: At 7/11s and Restoration Hardware stores.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Onion on the remasters
Writing for The Onion, the great Chuck Klosterman dissects the remasters in an alternately hilarious and somewhat annoying piece. Either way, it's refreshing to see that sacred cows don't always need to be treated as such.
My favorite line:
A concept album about finding a halfway decent song for Ringo, Sgt. Pepper has a few satisfactory moments (“Lovely Rita” totally nails the experience of almost having sex with a city employee), but this is only B+ work.
Runner-up:
Now hitting on all 16 cylinders, the Beatles bolted back to the woodshed for The Beatles, a blandly designed masterwork that could inspire any reasonable citizen of California to launch a race war.
My favorite line:
A concept album about finding a halfway decent song for Ringo, Sgt. Pepper has a few satisfactory moments (“Lovely Rita” totally nails the experience of almost having sex with a city employee), but this is only B+ work.
Runner-up:
Now hitting on all 16 cylinders, the Beatles bolted back to the woodshed for The Beatles, a blandly designed masterwork that could inspire any reasonable citizen of California to launch a race war.
"Rolling Stone" reviews...
... the remasters and The Beatles: Rock Band.
Excerpt from the former:
An enormous effort was made to stay true to the original mixes, so there aren't going to be any easy revelations for Beatles fans. Instead, these albums sound deeper, richer and fleshed-out. The buoyancy of "Something" becomes more comprehensible when you hear clearly Paul McCartney's nimble bass line. You knew that "Twist and Shout" featured one of John Lennon's most visceral performances, but here you can feel his vocal cords shred. The horns on "Good Morning Good Morning" roar, driving the song in a way you may not have noticed before. Lennon and George Harrison's guitars on "You Can't Do That" sharpen to a gleaming edge.
And the latter:
But thanks to richly detailed and artful graphics — highlighted by the psychedelic images that pop up once the Beatles quit playing concerts — it is the most refined music video game ever. From the Beatles’ facial expressions to the signs at Shea Stadium, there’s enough verisimilitude that it’s forgivable when no animated Eric Clapton turns up for “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” or when cartoon Ringo is shown playing drums on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” (it was really Paul).
Excerpt from the former:
An enormous effort was made to stay true to the original mixes, so there aren't going to be any easy revelations for Beatles fans. Instead, these albums sound deeper, richer and fleshed-out. The buoyancy of "Something" becomes more comprehensible when you hear clearly Paul McCartney's nimble bass line. You knew that "Twist and Shout" featured one of John Lennon's most visceral performances, but here you can feel his vocal cords shred. The horns on "Good Morning Good Morning" roar, driving the song in a way you may not have noticed before. Lennon and George Harrison's guitars on "You Can't Do That" sharpen to a gleaming edge.
And the latter:
But thanks to richly detailed and artful graphics — highlighted by the psychedelic images that pop up once the Beatles quit playing concerts — it is the most refined music video game ever. From the Beatles’ facial expressions to the signs at Shea Stadium, there’s enough verisimilitude that it’s forgivable when no animated Eric Clapton turns up for “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” or when cartoon Ringo is shown playing drums on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” (it was really Paul).
Monday, September 7, 2009
Gamer reviews of "Rock Band"...
... over at Metacritic. High marks thus far. The website also has a "Launch Center" page for the game.
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