#beatles homages

[danciinwith-myself]

in spite of all that may be

wips here !! my dudes. it took me a million years to finish this my god i gave up making the background really like detailed cuz like fuck that , but i did also wanna make it like washed out / dream or memory like lol . please enjoy this <3 my first finished beatles piece since about 2021 i'd say my god

[dovetailjoints]

photographed by Richard Avedon for Look Magazine

[harrisonsblues]

Ladies and gentlemen, my new favorite comment on any beatles youtube video

[glass--beach]

hi do you like ok computer (1997)

because i really just don't get it (especially as the second-best album of all time) but i reeeally want to & i respect your opinion on that a lot

yea that album kinda changed the course of my life lol. wall of text incoming

first - don’t let rym or aoty or whatever tell you what’s good and what isn’t, everybody’s got their own taste & criticisms that go against the grain are very important!! i will say anything that’s that consistently highly rated across different websites & publications is probably undeniably significant and worth listening to. whether listening feels like discovering a new favorite or sitting through a history lesson is where taste comes in. it’s important to interrogate the canon too as there is an enormous amount of implicit bias in what even gets in front of critics and in the metrics they grade music by. review aggregate sites have democratized this process a bit & all the good and bad of democracy has come with that lol.

so, the album gets praised for a couple of reasons - its innovative production, its commentary on the historical zeitgeist, and the pop appeal of much of the songwriting.

production - the album makes heavy use of cutting edge effects units, digital editing, computer trackers, sampling, and even features little bits of voice synthesis. most of it is stuff that had existed in music before radiohead, artists like aphex twin (and much of the rest of warp records’ 90s catalog) and bjork were ahead of the curve in a lot of the aesthetic aspects of okc and had influenced radiohead a lot, which is even more evident on their followup kid a. radiohead was not breaking new ground in using these sounds, but they were among the first to put it all in a rock context, taking cues from the weirder cuts on the beatles’ white album, the experimental “krautrock” band can, and miles davis’ classic jazz fusion album bitches brew.

context - radiohead had grown up during the decline of much of the social democratic programs that had helped to facilitate the education and performing careers of much of their early influences such as joy division and the smiths. by the time okc was being written they had lived through the austerity of the thatcher era, the fall of the soviet union, and now were watching the labour party turn increasingly neoliberal under tony blair. there was a general sentiment in the west that the progress of history had slowed or even stopped in favor of the neoliberal order. at the same time, tech was booming and computers were starting to find their way into more aspects of daily life. the album imagines a boring dystopia, where machines are rabidly advancing but humans are stuck in stasis. a major connecting theme is infrastructure - the airbag through which thom yorke is “born again,” the “cracks in the pavement,” the family politics that separate romeo and juliet in exit music, the mechanical voice of fitter happier giving contradictory directions for maintaining the status quo. even the escapist fantasy of no surprises comes in the form of carbon monoxide. and then, the record ends with the “ding” of an appliance that has completed its task.

songwriting - the band’s previous album the bends really is a pop masterpiece. i recommend it to anybody who wants to get into radiohead but doesn’t vibe with their later work. okc expands that compositional style through, for one thing, the more apparent influence of classical music on tracks like paranoid android or the Chopin homage exit music; let down even features polymetric layering characteristic of Steve Reich. it also features some songs that are too good to even need to push the envelope much, like karma police or one of my favorites, no surprises, which seems to reference the beach boys’ wouldn’t it be nice or the velvet underground’s sunday morning.

to be honest, i like okc mostly because it really spoke to me at a formative time in my life, when i was like 15 and felt heavily disconnected from the world around me. the album deals with those feelings in a very different context but it’s a feeling many people can relate to for many different reasons - i was closeted in a conservative culture, not a depressed british rock star lol. it also was an excellent gateway into many of the bands’ influences, who are also favorites of mine now. most people who love the album don’t really go as deep as i like to with understanding it, but maybe what i said here will give you something else to listen for, idk. maybe you just gave me an excuse to infodump about an album i love lol :)

[muzaktomyears]

George Harrison and Paul McCartney interviewed about Bob Dylan and the Beatles by MOJO magazine in 1993, including extracts from John Lennon being interviewed about Dylan in 1979:

GEORGE HARRISON

Do you remember Dylan at The Albert Hall?

Oh yeah, I was there. I remember it a lot. First of all you had him saying, You remember this song? This is how it used to go and this is how it goes now! But the thing I remember most about it was all these people who'd never heard of folk until Bob Dylan came around and two years later they're staunch folk fans and they're walking out on him when he was playing the electric songs. Which is so stupid. But he actually played rock'n'roll before. Nobody knew that at the time, but Bob had been in Bobby Vee's band as the piano player and he'd played rock'n'roll. And then he became Bob Dylan the Folk Singer so, for him, it was just returning back. And maybe The Beatles - well, not just The Beatles but the whole wave of rock'n'roll that happened again in the '60s - spurred him on into wanting to get back into the electric guitar.

Was there a degree of Beatles/Dylan mutual envy at that time?

Well, he got a little bit of pleasure out of us and we got a lot of pleasure out of him. But you know everybody starts out being slightly grungey, rebels against the world, we were like that too. You know the famous Beatles story: we cleaned up our act a bit because Brian Epstein could get us more work if we had suits. By the time Bob came along it was like, Yeah, we all want to be more funky again, and please put a little more balls into the lyric of the song. There's a funny thing that I don't think anybody else has noticed and that is when John wrote Norwegian Wood, it was obviously a very Bob Dylan song, and right after that Bob's album came out and it had a song called 4th Time Around. You want to check out the tune of that - it's the same song going round and round.

You were very consciously listening to each other?

Well I can't speak for him but we were listening. I think it was his second album we heard first in February or January of '64 and we were in Paris at The Olympia Theatre and we got a copy of Freewheelin' and we just played it, just wore it out. The content of the song lyrics and just the attitude - it was just incredibly original and wonderful, you know.

Did you meet him in '66?

I met him every time. I felt a bit sad for him because he was a bit wasted at that time. He'd been on a world tour and he looked like he'd been on a world tour. He looked like he needed a rest and that was the time he went back home and fell off his bike and almost broke his neck. So...

PAUL MCCARTNEY

What sort of shape was he in? He was just winding up a world tour...

He was pretty wasted. There were a couple of times I went to hotels - one was the Mayfair, I can't remember the other one. But he didn't appear much more wasted than anyone else - you know, we kept up with him! We all sort of lay around together; it wasn't the kind of scene where you had to say anything enlightening.

So it was pretty much Dylan holding court.

Oh it was, very much. It was a little bit An Audience with Dylan in those days: you went round to the Mayfair Hotel and waited in an outer room, while Bob was, you know, in the other room, in the bedroom, and we were getting ushered in one by one. I know Keith was there. And Brian.

Didn't you feel you both had to perform?

No, not really. I was just quite happy to pay homage. The only trouble really was that occasionally people would come out and say, you know, Bob's taking a nap or make terrible excuses, and I'd say, It's OK man, I understand, he'd out of it, you know. And they were a bit guarding, like the Pope's men at The Vatican. He can't see you just now...

Didn't he come round and play you an acetate of Blonde On Blonde? Or you played him an acetate of Revolver?

No, I played him some stuff off Pepper later. And I'd brought it on acetate or a tape of Pepper...

It must have been Revolver. This was '66.

I'm pretty sure it was Pepper 'cos I remember him saying, Oh I get it, you don't want to be cute any more. And I was saying, Yeah, that's it. We really admired him. I'd known his stuff as long as I'd known Ray Charles's, so he was a big hero of ours. He was very keen on I Wanna Hold Your hand - he'd thought the middle eight, "I can't hide, I can't hide" was "I get high, I get high" and was rather amused by that. And we were amused that he was amused. Then we eventually met him in New York, one of the big hotels there, he came round with his road manager who was a nice bloke. Al Aronowitz was there, a kind of mate of ours, Dylan, his road manager and a few other people showed up. And they brought along with some illegal substances of which we partook and had... quite a wild night.

What happened?

Well, I was wandering around looking for a pencil because I discovered the meaning of life that evening and I wanted to get it down on a bit of paper. And I went into a little room and wrote it all down, 'cos I figured that, coming from Liverpool, this was all very exotic and i had to let my ordinary people know, you know, what this was all about: like if you find the meaning of life you've got to kind of put it about! Mal handed me the little bit of paper the next morning after the party and on it was written, in very scrawly handwriting: THERE ARE SEVEN LEVELS. Till ten we'd been sort of hard scotch and coke men. It sort of changed that evening.

In '66 it seemed as though you almost wanted to change places: Dylan was the mystic folk prophet who wanted to be a pop star; The Beatles were the pop stars who wanted to go underground. Was there a kind of mutual envy?

None whatsoever, no. I think it was mutual admiration, certainly from our side there was admiration. I mean to this day... I just met him at the airport about a year ago and he just kind of shambles up and says, Hey Paul, y'alright man, and we give each other a big hug. I was in Heathrow and he was. He had an anorak on and had the hood pulled up. He was really like a kind of bagman, you know. And he just kind of shambled up to me, Hey Paul, alright man.

He seemed very attracted at that time by the idea of being a pop star, the suits, the screaming women...

Well I think he found something attractive about that. I don't really think it changed his stuff an awful lot. I don't know, there might have been some feeling that it was time for him to get off the street and into the hotel or something. I don't know.

That was the time when your music had the most in common, Revolver and Blonde On Blonde. You almost crossed over at that point.

Well, he influenced us and a lot of people. He influenced the Stones. Sympathy For The Devil is very Dylan, just the endless lyrics. I remember us being round at John's house at Weybridge, when I went round to write once, and he'd just got Like A Rolling Stone and we put it on and it seemed to go on and on forever. It was just beautiful. I don't know if he aspired to that showbiz thing you were saying but he showed us all that it was possible to go a little further. But the nice thing about Dylan for me was that he brought back poetry. We'd come from that student scene, 'cos we'd all started as students, you know - I was a kind of sixth form layabout, John was at the art school next door - and we'd started out with things rather like poetry readings in Liverpool. Hamburg was a student scene. There were kids in Hamburg who called themselves The Exies - The Existentialists - and wore a lot of black; Astrid and Jorgen and Klaus, they figured they were Exies. That was one of the sad things about The Beatles: we got so huge that that kind of student thing got cut short, but Dylan reintroduced that into all our lives. I always thought of Dylan as a poet first - him and Allen Ginsberg holding up signs, all very hand-held camera from New York, all very enigmatic.

You were never in awe of each other?

Oh he wasn't in awe of us. He just liked "I get high." As the guy who introduced us to smoking dope he just thought it was hilarious! I always like those sort of things, it's like Jake Riviera thinking "living is easy with eyes closed" was "living is easy with nice clothes". They're always better, those adaptations. But John was probably the most influenced. And George is one of those guys who can quote all Dylan's lyrics. There's always a lyric for an apt situation: George goes, Oh well! Remember! The pumps don't work 'cos the vandals took the handles! George knows the whole works of Dylan. But I think John was the most influenced in the vocal style. Certainly You've Got To Hide Your Love Away is a direct Dylan copy, it's like an impression of Dylan, Yeeew've got to hayed... that lerv ay-wayyy. Just saying ay-wayyy, rather than away...

Did John ever mention that car ride with Dylan which was filmed for Eat The Document?

Mmm?

You know, when the two of them got driven around Hyde Park with Pennebaker filming them?

Well he might have but not at length. We didn't really chat about that too much. I know he was very keen on Dylan.

There's a great bit in the film, when he's in the car with Dylan and it's five in the morning, and Dylan's drunk and completely out of it and threatening to throw up and John says: Do you suffer from sore eyes, groovy forehead or curly hair? Take Zimdon!

Zimdon! Ha ha ha. Zimdon! Well that's nice stuff, but he turned on the whole Zimmerman bit and made a lot of fun of Bob later.

When do you mean?

Later, you know. I got a feeling...

He recorded those Dylan parodies in the '70s, didn't he? [There are tapes of three of them - Serve Yourself, an acid response to Dylan's You've Got To Serve Somebody, the equally self-explanatory Mama Take This Make-Up Offa Me, and a spontaneous moulding of the live TV news into Stuck Inside of Lexicon With The Roget's Thesaurus Blues Again.]

He did. He always had a go at people, John. That was really part of his charm. He was ballsy enough to have a go at you, you know, then he'd lower his little glasses, look at you over the top of them and say, It's only me! John was the mouth. He was a lovely boy but he did shoot his mouth off. Quite often.

Why did he have a go at Bob?

I think he was quite disappointed that his name wasn't Dylan. Finding out that it was a Jewish name that he'd changed I think he felt a bit betrayed. I remember him making quite a stink about that.

But he must have known that from the start.

I'm not sure we did. No. I think we sort of found all that out later. He had a go at everyone then. Including, probably most of all himself. That's who the real go was at. You know, to understand John you had to sort of look at his past. The father leaving home when he was three. Being brought up by his aunt. And his mother, you know. It's extraordinary he made it to the age he made it to. So John had a mighty chip on his shoulder - we all did to some extent. John could say to you, Fuck off yer twat. Then he'd just go, Only kidding! You had to accept that he could swing both ways.

Why did he feel so let down by Dylan?

He loved Dylan so much. He did feel a little let down. John was like that. John like gurus. John was always looking for a guru. When he introduced Magic Alex who was just some Greek guy who was a bit of an expert in electronics. And I remember John coming round to my house and saying (mystic voice) This is my new guru, Magic Alex. And you had to sort of smile a little and go, OK well that's cool, Wow, knowing that this may not last. But... John had found a guru.

Was it the same with Dylan? You know, he wanted to sit at his feet?

Yeah. I think he did worship Dylan to some degree. He was certainly the big one. There was Elvis before that... but Elvis was a different kettle of fish. Elvis was going to shop us on the Nixon Tapes. That's another story...

I want to hear it!

You know those Nixon Tapes that he kept rolling all the time? There's a set of tapes were Elvis is trying to shop The Beatles. (Courteous Southern accent) "You know, Sir, They're very un-American! I believe they smoke drugs!" Elvis! Telling Nixon! He's trying to get made a marshal, trying to get made a US marshal.

Have you heard this tape?

No, I've just seen a transcript of it. It's quite wild. 'Cos Elvis is ryng to shop us. No doubt about it. Definite bad move, El!

That's hysterical!

It is, it's wild! You've got to laugh. But as I say, I think to John these people were great heroes and he found out a little later they were only human. Think about the Maharishi. We all went off with this guru and John got very let down and wrote Sexy Sadie. He was always doing that, he was always having an idol and seeing it knocked down. If you think about it it's probably very symbolic of his whole life, the father figure. Yoko in a way was a father figure. Hate to say it. But John always required that. Complex boy. He was a lovely boy but, perhaps, you know... idols with feet of clay. John always wanted people to be magic and, you know, we're all human.

What did he see in Dylan?

Inspiration, maybe. I don't know. Maybe that he allowed us to go further. He allowed the Stones to go further, then we did Pepper and we allowed everyone else to go further, It was like boots walking... we'd take a step, Dylan'd take a step, Stones'd take a step, we'd take another step, John'd take a step. I'd take a step, I'd do Why Don't We Do It In The Road?, John'd go, Fuck, I wish I'd written that...

Which of John's songs would you like to have written?

John's? Oh... if forced on the point I'd have to say, Help, Imagine, Strawberry Fields. But it doesn't matter, all in all, here we are, born, die, and on the way stuff happens. John did some magic stuff, Dylan did, Stones did, all of us have from time to time. I remember Dylan defending one of his loose vocals - some critic somewhere - by saying, (nasal whine) "Listen man there's an A in there somewhere! It goes from A flat to B flat but it goes through an A. Every note's in tune!" You know, there is an A in the middle of it somewhere but he just chooses to go around it. Great! Rules are meant to be broken.

So do you think he's deliberately 'deconstructing the myth'? How many opportunities has he had to reach a larger audience - Farm Aid, he was the final act of Live Aid, The 30 Year Tribute concert? The last two were absolutely appalling.

I think he does it on purpose, you know. He does it on purpose. I know someone played with him in one of his latest bands - G.E. Smith, New York guy - and I said, How is it, man? And he said Oh great! He said, We'd come up to him after a show and say, Fantastic man, Tambourine Man went down so beautifully, and then he wouldn't do it for two weeks! But I can see that...

Keep a good head and always carry a light bulb!

Yeah, it was nice, all that stuff. But the only pity really is that it's all closed up, like Moses passing through the waters, the Red Sea. We all got through it all, it tended to close up when everyone's got through it. Now it's re-opening a little bit. The modern scene's getting a little crazier again, but it's all a little bit corporate now. Very corporate. Sickeningly so. And you know it wasn't that way before. And he was one of the catalysts in the whole movement.

JOHN LENNON

Extracts from interviews broadcast in 1979 on New York's 1027WENW radio in The Lost Lennon Tapes (interviews by Jonathan Cott, David Shepp and Jann Wenner).

You first heard Dylan on a visit to Paris in 1963?

I think that was the first time I heard him at all. I think Paul got the record (Freewheelin') from a French DJ. We were doing a radio thing there and the guy had the record in the studio and we took it back to the hotel and (gauche accent) fell in luv, like!

Do you still see Dylan as a primary influence on your writing?

No, no. I see him as another poet, you know, or as competition. Just read my books which were written before I'd heard of Dylan or read Dylan or even heard of anybody. It's the same, you know. I didn't come after Elvis and Dylan, I've been around always. But it I see or meet a great artist, I love 'em, you know. I just love 'em. I go fanatical about them - for a short period. And then I get over it! And it they wear green socks, I'm liable to wear green socks for a period, you know.

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away and I'm A Loser?

Yeah, that's me in my Dylan period, 'cos that's got the word 'clown' in it. I always objected to the word 'clown' - or clown image that Bowie was using 'cos that was always artsy-fartsy - but Dylan had used it so I thought it was all right and it rhymed with whatever I was doing. So that was my Dylan period.

So you were saying, If Dylan can go it I can do it?

No, I'm just influenced by whatever's going on. It's the same as if Elvis can do it, I can do it. If the Everly Brothers can do it, me and Paul can do it. If Goffin and King can do it, Paul and I can do it. If Buddy Holly can do it, I can do it. Whatever it is, I can do it!

How would you characterise your relationship with Dylan?

Whenever we used to meet it was always under the most nerve-wracking circumstances. And I know I was always uptight, and I know Bobby was. And people like Al Aronowitz would try and bring us together. And we were together and we'd spend some time but I always used to be too paranoid or I'd be aggressive or something and vice versa. He'd come to my house - can you imagine it? This bourgeois home life I was leading? - and I used to go to his hotel. And I loved him, you know, because he wrote beautiful stuff. I used to love those so-called protest things. I loved the sound of him. I didn't have to listen to his words. He used to come with his acetates and say, Listen to this John, did you hear the words? And I'd say, It doesn't matter, you know, the sound if what counts, the overall thing. You don't have to hear what Bob Dylan says, you just have to hear the way he says it. Like, the medium it the message.

Your appearance in Eat The Document was a little edgy.

I've never seen it! I'm in it, you know! Frightened as hell, you know! I was always so paranoid. He said, I want you to be in this film and I thought, Why? What? He's going to put me down! It's gonna be... you know and I went all through this terrible thing. So in the film I'm just blabbin' off, just commenting all the time like you do when you're very high and stoned. But it was his scene, you know, that was the problem for me. It was his movie. I was on his territory. That's why I was nervous, you know. I was on his session.

MOJO (November 1993)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

The Subtle British Pop Culture/Timeline In CHICKEN RUN

On occasion, I've pointed out when the original CHICKEN RUN is set.

It's often been written that CHICKEN RUN was "set in the '50s", a sort of vague descriptor of its rather dreary post-war England setting. One could assume that from the technology present in the movie, and the homages to 1950s prisoner-of-war films. The obvious ones being STALAG 17 (the number 17 is on the main hut that the chickens all plot in) and THE GREAT ESCAPE. The character Fowler was of the mascot division of the Royal Air Force during World War II. All that talk about his medals. Chocks away!

The easiest way to pinpoint when CHICKEN RUN is set, at the earliest, is knowing what the songs are.

The chickens, in a hut, dance to a cover of Joe Turner's 'Flip, Flop and Fly', Turner's original was released in 1955, an early example of a rock n' roll song. Britain certainly had rock n' roll in a pre-Beatles era, but it doesn't seem as well-known to the average American as American rockers - you know, Elvis, Little Richard, etc. - are to Brits.

Later in the film, Rocky the rooster is jamming out to 'The Wanderer' by Dion.

The song first appeared in North America in November of 1961 - both as a single and as an album track on RUNAROUND SUE (the title track another big hit for him), and if you look in the opening credits sequence, Mrs. Tweedy works with a calendar that says "November"... However, 'The Wanderer' was first released in the UK in January of 1962. And it doesn't seem like much time has passed since the opening credits and the end of the movie...

'The Wanderer' reached #10 in the UK, which was great for an American rock/pop song over there... If anything, the movie is likely set in November/December 1962, so that was plenty of time for 'The Wanderer' to climb the charts, and then be played on the radio every once in a while. Things took a little while in a pre-streaming age, ya know? *waves cane* *I'm actually not that old, nowhere near lol I just love this kinda pop culture history*

So CHICKEN RUN is still kind of a post-war/pre-Beatles England, and it's set in a secluded location inhabited by a middle-aged couple who likely wouldn't have had any idea what was going in the teen beat scene. The Beatles' 'Love Me Do', the single that really put them on the map in the UK, was released in early October of 1962. Being their first true single (not the 'My Bonnie' recording they did in Germany with Tony Sheridan), it charted at a great #17 in the UK... Which of course was nothing compared to what was to come, the strings of #1s, or at least close to that. 'Please Please Me' was the second single, released in January 1963, it hit #2 in the UK. Beatlemania pretty much becomes a thing in the UK by the middle of 1963... It would take a little while for us yanks to catch the fever...

Anyways, CHICKEN RUN is set in November/December 1962. Or maybe it's 1963, who knows, but I think it's pre-Beatlemania rural England. Yorkshire to be exact.

It's kinda funny how the Disney animated ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS shares some similarities in this regard. That film was released in January 1961, and is set in both London and rural England. Its second half during the late fall/early winter no less. The puppies arrive in October, as stated in the film, and the film ends during Christmastime. Snow everywhere, dreary atmosphere, etc.... And then you have the Tweedys in CHICKEN RUN. Mrs. Tweedy is kind of a combination of Cruella de Vil *and* Jasper. She's got the contempt for animals like Cruella, and is taller and the brains like Jasper. Horace, the shorter, pudgier one in the equation - who is onto what the animals are doing but isn't believed, is totally Mr. Tweedy.

That brings us to the recently-released CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET... The sequel swaps prisoner-of-war movies and World War II imagery for James Bond and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. Spy movies in general.

One look at Mrs. Tweedy's high-tech new factory shows that in *spades*. But the folks at Aardman Animations did their homework, a lot of the details and background design and such, it legitimately looks like the lair of a supervillain in a '60s spy movie. Much like how Nomanisan Island does in THE INCREDIBLES, another very midcentury modern-inspired movie and franchise. There's also that charming UPA-esque cartoon on how the chickens are processed into nuggets, great stuff there. I also kind of get a bit of a Gerry Anderson vibe here, too. He was known for marionette shows - done in a process called "Supermarionation" - like THUNDERBIRDS and CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS. I assume most of the crew behind these movies grew up watching those shows.

And of course, a big indicator... Towards the end of the film, all the chickens - brainwashed by mind-control collars that make them all happy-go-lucky - are being forced up an escalator to a popcorn chicken death. In this pretty creepy sequence, they're all doing this while Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday' plays in the background. The bright, pastel-colored set adorned with simplistic countryside-looking hills that these chickens are brainwashed in before they are to be ground into fast food is reminiscent of vintage British and European children's programs. I was thinking of stuff like THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT and such, which was also a stop-motion production.

Oh yeah, 'Summer Holiday'. That song came out in January 1963, it was the title song for a movie that was *huge* in England when it first came out. Cliff Richard is the prime example of a pre-Beatles British pop/rock star, I feel he's almost synonymous with that period of British pop music before John, Paul, George, and Ringo showed up. So, CHICKEN RUN 2 is set *after* January 1963. Plus, Ginger and Rocky's daughter Molly needed some time to grow up a bit.

Either this was intentional or not, but it strangely adds up. It's pretty chronological, either by accident or they made sure they didn't have too many anachronisms... Other than the cartoonishly high tech of Mrs. Tweedy's Fun-Land Farms, but then again, the pie machine in the original CHICKEN RUN was kind of improbable too. But that's the fun of the CHICKEN RUN movies, so it's a staple.

And even in other Aardman works, there are fun nods to British pop culture and media. For example, in WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT, Art Garfunkel's 'Bright Eyes' can be heard on the car radio in one scene. Garfunkel is American, yes, but 'Bright Eyes' was composed and recorded for the soundtrack of the British animated classic WATERSHIP DOWN. Just in case you've never seen or even heard of that movie. WATERSHIP DOWN is about rabbits, and in the WALLACE & GROMIT movie, they're dealing with rabbits! Quite clever.

Another favorite of mine is in FARMAGEDDON: A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE. Of course, Shaun the Sheep is spun off from WALLACE & GROMIT, he appeared in the short film A CLOSE SHAVE. The second SHAUN THE SHEEP movie brings in science fiction and aliens, a real 180 from the small-scale first film. At the end of the film, the Farmer accidentally gets onto the UFO and is not on Earth anymore! Before they get him back, a song called 'Forever Autumn' can be heard playing on a radio.

'Forever Autumn' is a rewrite of a Lego commercial jingle composed by Jeff Wayne in 1969, with lyrics by Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass. The two lyricists recorded the first version of that song in 1972 for an album called QUEUES. A couple years later, Jeff Wayne got the idea to do a musical version of H. G. Wells' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. A musical album, bringing in several mostly British talents to retell - through story and song - the British sci-fi staple. 'Forever Autumn' was covered for the album, with lead vocals sung by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues. Of course, another British group... all for the section of the album in which the protagonist - a journalist - fears his wife had been killed in the Martian invasion. "'Cause you're not here." Which is the lyric heard in FARMAGEDDON when they realize that the Farmer went to outer space!

(It takes a special kind of skill to take such a depressing song and make it FUNNY in any context.)

Anyways, those are just a couple examples off the top of my head. Aardman's work is distinctly British, to the core. And the CHICKEN RUN movies give me a fascinating idea of when they are set, a very cartoon British '60s.

[solarwynd]

Hmm that's so interesting. Songs for "me" and songs for "us". So not fan songs exactly but about the relationship between Jimin and his fans maybe? We are getting serenaded in any case 😊

I also wonder...sgmb is a clear homage to sgt peppers isn't it? So the Beatles are his "muse" in this song. This is sort of a stretch but is it possible every song in muse works that way? An homage to an artist? But CTT doesn't follow that pattern though so I might be completely wrong

From what I’ve researched from that Beatles’ album the aesthetics and everything I’d say so. He definitely drew inspiration from it and artistically I love that. I love that he really thinks things out in terms of research because that just shows the dedication that he has to getting things across to his audience.

It’d be really cool if each song has a specific draw point and also to fell into the MUSE concept. Going off of WHOs description with it said to alluring and mostly RNB im gonna say Neyo again since him taking a selfie with that Beatles album was clearly a hint. He also picked up Neyo’s.

[takashimakato]

I miss you

Fanfiction Based off art by (@bonithica-art )

Years had woven a heavy tapestry of loss and time since the world said goodbye to a Beatles' guitarist, an event that left an indelible mark on each member, casting shadows on their hearts. For Paul, the loss was a tempest of sorrow; John wasn't just a bandmate but a cherished friend whose absence was a void no melody could fill.

In a room saturated with memories and the echo of bygone days, Paul found himself in the company of Ringo and George, their faces etched with lines of years and experience, yet their spirits undiminished by the trials they'd weathered together.

As they sat, enveloped in a silence punctuated by the occasional sigh or distant laughter from outside, the air between them was heavy with contemplation. It had been a decade since "Let It Be" whispered its final note to the world, a period during which their lives had unfolded in directions as diverse as the songs they once created.

Yet, the bond that tethered them to each other, to the music, and to the Beatles' legacy was unbroken.

Paul, the weight of memories pressing on his shoulders, broke the silence first. "It's been a long road since 'Let It Be', hasn't it?" His voice, laden with reminiscence, filled the room, bridging the gap between past and present.

Ringo, with a reflective nod, replied, "Aye, it has. Didn't quite imagine our journey would take us here, through all this... silence without him." His gaze drifted, touching on the empty space where John's laughter once resonated, a somber acknowledgment of the void left behind.

George, leaning back, his eyes lost in thought, added, "Every chord, every melody... it's like he's still a part of it, you know? His spirit lingers in the music, in the spaces between our notes." There was a warmth in his voice, a tribute to the unbreakable connection they shared with John, even in absence.

The room, steeped in the legacy of their shared history, seemed to hold its breath, listening to the unspoken words hanging in the air. Paul sighed, a sound of resignation mixed with determination. "Do you ever think about it? About what John would say if he saw us now, thinking about... moving forward?"

Ringo's chuckle, soft and tinged with sadness, broke the solemn atmosphere. "He'd probably tell us to stop moping around, wouldn't he? Say something about how the show must go on, in his own cheeky way."

George smiled, the first genuine smile of the gathering, as he remembered their friend's indomitable spirit. "He'd want us to keep creating, keep playing... for him, for us, and for all those who found a piece of themselves in our music."

The conversation, once a meandering path through their shared sorrows, began to shift towards a future still uncertain yet filled with the possibility of homage and rebirth. "So," Paul ventured, his voice steadier now, "what if we did something? A concert, an album, something that says 'The Beatles' aren't just a memory. We're a legacy that's still alive, still bringing light to the darkness John left behind."

Ringo and George exchanged looks, the bond of years and shared dreams unspoken between them. "I think it's what he would have wanted," George finally said, his voice a gentle affirmation of their collective resolve.

Ringo, ever the pragmatist, nodded in agreement. "But we do it our way, on our terms. A tribute to John, to us, and to everyone who's ever sung along with us."

In that room, filled with the ghosts of yesterday and the whispers of tomorrow, Paul, Ringo, and George found themselves at the threshold of a new chapter.

A chapter that would honor the past while daring to step into the future, their spirits united in the music that had defined a generation and would continue to inspire those to come.

After a marathon session of reminiscences and what-ifs with Ringo and George, the clock hands aligned at midnight, compelling Paul to seek solace in the familiarity of Liverpool’s streets. The night was a canvas of shadows and streetlight glow, painting the city in hues of nostalgia and melancholy. He wandered aimlessly, each step leading him past haunts filled with echoes of laughter and melodies that he and John had once shared. The sharp sting of loss gripped him as he meandered through these memory-laden locales, each corner a reminder of a bond that was as much a part of Liverpool as the Mersey itself.

Compelled by a mix of sorrow and longing, Paul found his steps leading him to a familiar hill—a silent witness to countless hours spent in idle chatter and shared dreams under its sprawling sky. The ascent was a physical effort that mirrored the emotional climb he'd been enduring since John's passing. Reaching the summit, he collapsed onto the grass, the cityscape stretching below him—a tapestry of light and life that seemed distant from his solitary vigil. "I guess I am the fool on the hill," he whispered into the night, tears cascading freely, each drop a testament to the depth of his grief.

As the words left his lips, a familiar voice pierced the night. "I wouldn't say a fool, but you're definitely something on the hill..." John’s tone, playful and teasing, was unmistakable. The shock was palpable as Paul turned, his heart in his throat, to see John standing there, a spectral image bathed in moonlight. Their embrace was a collision of past and present, a moment so surreal yet achingly desired.

Breaking away, disbelief etched across Paul's features, he stammered, "How is this possible? You were dead..." The question hung in the air, heavy with the gravity of their reunion.

John’s response was a cheeky nod to their shared history. "What's that thing George said in that stupid cartoon movie we did?" A pause, a spark of recollection, and then together, their voices merged: "It's all in the mind." Laughter, genuine and freeing, followed, bridging the gap between reality and whatever magic had allowed this moment.

Paul, encouraged by the presence of his friend, sat down, a silent invitation for John to join him. They looked out over Liverpool, the city that had birthed their dreams, now a canvas of twinkling lights and shadowed streets. Despite the joy of the moment, a shadow of sadness tugged at Paul's heart, a whispering reminder of the impossibility of this encounter.

Surrendering to the moment, Paul wrapped an arm around John, their gaze shared across the cityscape. John leaned in, his head resting on Paul's shoulder, a gesture of comfort and camaraderie. In this suspended slice of time, Paul allowed himself the fantasy, the warmth of John's presence a balm against the sharp edges of his grief.

As the night deepened, the city below them a silent witness, two friends sat together on the hill, united by memories, music, and an unbreakable bond that not even death could sever. The fool on the hill and his spectral companion, together in silence, a poignant reminder of what was and what could never be again.

"Sorry I never told you before but.., I love you man.." Paul says, he didn't get a response that made him look over to see John gone.. he smiled before shedding a tear.

Under the vast, star-streaked sky, the moment stretched thin, a fragile bridge spanning the gap between reality and yearning. Paul's voice, barely above a whisper, carried the weight of unsaid words and unspent grief into the night. "Sorry I never told you before but.., I love you, man." The silence that followed was profound, dense with all the words that had gone unspoken over the years, filled with all the music they'd never get to create together again.

When no response came, a soft confusion brushed Paul's heart, prompting him to turn, seeking John's familiar face. But the space beside him was empty, the comforting presence vanished like mist at dawn. The realization, both sweet and sorrowful, dawned on him then; it had been a momentary reprieve, a fleeting communion with the friend he missed so deeply.

A smile, tinged with both gratitude and sadness, found its way across Paul's face as a single tear traced a path down his cheek. It was a smile born of cherished memories, of love spoken too late yet no less sincere, a smile that spoke of understanding the ephemeral nature of their hilltop reunion. The city below continued its nocturnal symphony, unaware of the tender epilogue unfolding in its midst.

As the tear fell, mingling with the grass of the hill that had borne witness to their bond, Paul felt a gentle release. The night, with its velvet embrace, seemed to acknowledge his farewell, his tribute not just to John, but to a chapter of life that had forever altered its course. He stood, the city lights a mosaic of life continuing beneath him, and took a deep breath of the cool night air. It was time to carry forward the legacy of their friendship, the music, and the love that had defined them, in his heart and in his melodies. The fool on the hill had spoken his truth, and in doing so, found a measure of peace under the watchful gaze of the stars.

[libraryledge]

Welcome (Back) to the 60's

“Hey mama, hey mama, look around

Everybody's grooving to a brand new sound”

These are the opening lines in the song “Welcome to the 60’s” from the 2002 musical, Hairspray in which Tracy Turnblad sings to her mother about the new possibilities that the world has to offer in the 1960’s. Tracy is right because about 60 years ago, everyone was grooving to a new sound both literally and metaphorically. The 1960’s were a significant period of time culturally, politically, and socially. New artists like The Beatles, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan were emerging on the scene. Bumper bangs and miniskirts were all the rage. People were fighting for social justice and facing political unrest. Looking back on it from the lens of 2024, so much has changed, yet many elements of the 1960’s are still as relevant today as they were back then.

Without getting too political, it goes without saying that amidst a presidential election in America, people are anxious to see which direction the nation is headed. Student protests, assassination attempts, and ongoing wars are just some of the realities that are reminiscent of the climate of the 1960’s. Despite it all, it is the resilience of young people that triumphs amidst the uncertainty. Both in the 60’s and in the modern day, youth speak up for notable topics and underrepresented voices in their communities in order to spark change.

In terms of pop culture, many of the trends of the past are having a comeback. Sabrina Carpenter is a prime example of a Gen Z performer, whose musical style and fashion is making a retro statement in the twenty-first century. From her signature blowout bangs to her knee high boots to her short skirts, Carpenter’s style screams 60’s fashion. Her latest album, Short n’ Sweet pays homage to the vintage aesthetic as her music videos reference Bonnie and Clyde and songs allude to figures like Slim Pickens. Carpenter proves that the tendencies of decades prior are alive and thriving as ever.

Film is another area bringing the 1960’s back to the front lines. Case and point: the upcoming Bob Dylan film, A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet. It is safe to say that when the film is theatrically released, Bob Dylan and his story will not be a complete unknown as there will be a resurgence in the folk singer's music. This doesn’t imply that Dylan’s music ever disappeared from the scene, but rather that it will now be introduced to a younger audience after they view the film, proving that the iconic sound and lyricism of the 60’s is timeless.

When people reflect on the past, they may recall the good, or not so good old-times. While the moments themselves may have blown away in the wind, the impact of those times is still present. People in the 1960’s shared many of the anxieties and fears that we encounter today. This isn’t to say that the experiences in the 21st century aren’t unique, but rather, they serve as a reminder that history has been here before and we should use the examples of the past to guide us forward. As Tracy Turnblad sings:

“The future's got a million roads for you to choose

But you'll walk a little taller in some high-heeled shoes”

Embrace the old, but be willing to try something new. Create a future that is just right for you.

[krispyweiss]

New “Let it Be” Trailer is Homage to Original

- Restored film premieres May 8 on Disney +

The Beatles are squares - and rectangles - in the new trailer for “Let it Be.”

Set to the title track of the restored 1970 film coming May 8 to Disney +, the clip places the Fabs - Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - in the aforementioned geometric shapes as the narrator intones:

“The Beatles. Rehearsing. Recording. Relaxing. Philosophizing. Creating. The Beatles. Live in a new motion picture.”

The quote - minus the antiquated verb rapping - is culled from the original trailer, which the new teaser nods to while showcasing Peter Jackson’s restorative handiwork.

The enhanced “Let it Be” comes three years after the streaming service hosted the Jackson’s “Get Back” epic; read Sound Bites’ previous coverage here.

4/30/24

[whizzochocolate]

hello :) & welcome to my new little corner of the internet! allow me to introduce myself:

• my name is gray... & i can practically see you raising an eyebrow at your screen right now so. just to clarify: as much as i wish to tell you the name is a homage to chapman. it really isn't. it originated from my father finding a grey hair between my ginger mane not once but twice! a silly nickname that ended up suiting me.

• i go by they/he pronouns.

• i'm an adult. i don't really mind interacting with people from any age group unless you're 15 or below. i'll refrain from dms & any nsfw content you might subject yourself to.

• i'm a rather introverted person but i do love talking to people i feel comfortable with. all of my close friends are internet friends. i love texting & facetiming. so if you're bored or interested in having someone to talk to, just ask or text me.

• i'm aspec. which always makes joining communities a bit harder for me because i'm not one to be asked about fuckability & will answer f-m-k questions rationally. if i do gush about how beautiful someone is it usually has to do with aesthetic attraction or gender envy.

↳ that said: i am the filthiest mlm smut reader & writer out of all of my friends.

• i'm very keen on sustainability, buying things second hand. i might post things i find at flea markets, online or what a bargain my used books were.

• my favourite python film is Meaning of Life.

↳ it's also worth the mention that i'm vegan because it always comes up in conversation at some point & yes, you can share a picture of your delicious food with me if it's not vegan. i'm glad you're having a good meal.

• it took me two years & two tries to finish Flying Circus. not because i hate it but because i'm just so terrible at finishing tv shows. very unfortunate when one likes old british comedy. i watched the last 11 episodes in one day on the 26th of may this year & my brain still hurts.

• my favourite python is graham. (if you knew what i dressed & acted like you wouldn't be surprised).

• i also really like rowan atkinson. i'm definitely going to watch more of his work & might be reblogging some posts about him.

• i like the beatles as well. even though i have to admit i'm more fascinated by them as people rather than their music. ringo is my favourite.

• some other things that interest me: films (particularly old films; silent films & everything), 50s-80s fashion, 20s-30s fashion, collecting, old books, everything old, watching my favourite football (black & white ball) & nba teams, video recording/editing, writing...

• this is the first time i'm trying to actually be active on tumblr, not just a lurker. so bear with me while i figure this out.

that should be enough for now. do ask me questions if you'd like to know more.

[harrisonarchive]

Photo by Alberto Tolot.

About those Wilbury names…

• Nelson Wilbury (aka George Harrison) — Dhani Harrison: “I chose my Wilbury name. My dad had Nelson Wilbury, after Nelson Piquet, the Brazilian Formula One champion. And I chose Ayrton Wilbury, after Ayrton Senna, [another] Brazilian Formula One champion, so we could keep it in the family, you know?” - Hi Res Audio Central, October 16, 2017 • Charlie T. Wilbury Jr. (aka Tom Petty) — Tom Petty: “George had Derek Taylor write an entire history of the Wilbury family. And the father was named Charles Truscott Wilbury. And I took his name as Charles Truscott Wilbury Jnr.” - Breakfast With The Beatles, July 1, 2007 • Lefty Wilbury (aka Roy Orbison) — “Roy took the name ‘Lefty Wilbury’ in homage of the country singer Lefty Frizzell.” - “Roy Orbison: In Dreams,” PRX • Lucky Wilbury (aka Bob Dylan) — Presumably, this is derived from the Dylan song “Idiot Wind,” and the lyric, “I can’t help it if I’m lucky.” • Otis Wilbury (aka Jeff Lynne) — Jeff mentioned in an interview available on the official Wilburys YouTube channel that he chose the name Otis simply because it’s the complete opposite of his own name. (x)

[crepesuzette2023]

New Fic: the Beatles on the Greek Island in the 2020's

The Beatles as a polycule on the Greek Island in the 2020's. An homage (with their permission) to the brilliant deeper than oceans you run by @wonderwall1968. Also a response to the "soft" fiction prompts I got—thank you so much to everyone sending me a prompt, you know who you are! <3

[swaying--daisies]

Omg omg omggg i caann’t 😭

This song is the most Beatles song I’ve ever heard and it’s such a wonderful homage and testament to their Time defying genius, innovation and bond, from Then until Now 🥲

John’s timeless vocals :(

Ringo’s iconic “1, 2, 3, 4” :(

George’s “Something” and “My Sweet Lord” guitar solos :(

The “If I Fell” drumming :(

The “Across the Universe” and “The End” harmonies :(

The “Martha my Dear” piano :(

The “Walrus” and “She’s Leaving Home” orchestra swell and staccato string that reminds us that George Martin really was the indispensable fifth Beatle :(

The tambourine from the early songs :(

The psychedelic eastern inspired strings :(

Paul in the back, harmonizing with John, so recognizable on the Love You 🥲 (because that’s the simplest and purest representation on their relationship and legacy, and really that’s so much of what this song is about 😭)

So many different eras and musical pioneering moments, so much individual creativity and collaboration and love that makes the Beatles absolutely magical, captured in one song 🥲 how is this allowed 😭

[normanjdroid]

If you ask Catnap it's mystery weather out tonight.... But if you asked Bubba he'd say it's Catnap being a ninny.

Wanted to pay homage to the style that allows for this AU to exist via a nice, simple, Beatles cartoon redraw/animatic

[wromwood]

You know, the musical "dance sequence" ending of "The Devil's Chord" would've worked so much better if it actually used a Beatles song. All episode, I was waiting to see what song the show managed to get the rights to, what they'd choose to cover, because... well, it makes sense, doesn't it? Why call out a specific band if you don't pay homage to at least one of their works, or showcase how they're geniuses?

I understand that's probably partly due to copyright/licensing, problems that episodes like "The Shakespeare Code" and "Vincent and the Doctor" don't have. (Although those episodes still honor their historical artists through other methods than just displaying/replicating their work.) But still, I'd hope there's room in the budget to license one song, no matter who made it.

The Beatles literally have a song involving the twist that was recorded in 1963: "Twist and Shout." How cool would it have been for the Doctor to have been included in its recording? Now, if they really insisted on having a song that's as quick and upbeat as "There's Always a Twist at the End", then they could've used "The Twist" by Chubby Checker, which would've been just as iconic. In fact, you could've thrown a gag in there where one Beatle turns to the other and remarks that they've just thought of the PERFECT song to cover, but not this one.

Now if they really NEEDED the song to include the phrase "there's always a twist at the end," I see two solutions:

1) They start by singing "Twist and Shout" or "The Twist", and then partway through, the Doctor and Ruby add in their own verse with the needed lyrics.

2) The Beatles start to play a recognized song (maybe we hear the title or the first few notes), before the Doctor jumps in to say that they've run out of room in the budget for big songs like theirs. Luckily, he has his own tune for them all to use.

It's a shame. "The Devil's Chord" was fun in a lot of ways, which makes its flaws stand out to me all the more. Still, I'm excited to see what the rest of the season has in store.