#paul's musicianship

[lennonenglish]

Icecold Prince Solo

[theoriginallittledarling]

This did not disappoint I think my favorite was definitely Breasts Are Great

GUYS WHAT THE FUCK ARE THE BOOBLES HOW AM I JUST FINDING OUT ABOUT THIS😭😭😭

THEY HAVE A WHOLE ALBUM WITH BEATLES SONGS BUT…BOOB VERSION?

[billysjoel]

TAYLOR ALISON SWIFT is an American singer-songwriter recognized for her songwriting, musical versatility, artistic reinventions, and influence on the music industry.

Swift has been referred to as one of the greatest songwriters of all time by several publications. English-language scholars have noted that her literary and melodic sensibility and verbal writing style are rare amongst her peers. Swift divides her writing into three types: "quill lyrics," referring to songs rooted in antiquated poeticism; "fountain pen lyrics," based on modern and vivid storylines; and "glitter gel pen lyrics," which are lively and frivolous. Swift has influenced numerous music artists and her albums have inspired an entire generation of singer-songwriters. Journalists praise her ability to reform industry practices, noting how her actions changed streaming policies, prompted awareness of intellectual property in new musicians, and reshaped ticketing models. Senior artists such as Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Madonna, and Dolly Parton have praised her musicianship. Carole King regards Swift her "professional granddaughter" and thanked her for "carrying the torch forward." Springsteen called her a "tremendous" writer, while Ringo Starr and Billy Joel considered Swift the Beatles' successor. Britney Spears labeled Swift "the most iconic pop woman of our generation."

[ironmaidenworld]

On September 26, 1981, IRON MAIDEN underwent a pivotal transformation in its history by replacing vocalist PAUL Di'ANNO with the legendary BRUCE DICKINSON. This change marked a new era for the band, ushering in a sound and energy that would elevate them to rock royalty. The first three albums featuring Dickinson—The Number of The Beast, Piece of Mind and Powerslave—are often hailed as masterpieces, showcasing not only Dickinson’s powerful and dynamic vocals but also the band's exceptional musicianship and songwriting prowess. Each track delivers a blend of intricate melodies, hard-hitting rhythms, and thought-provoking lyrics, creating a unique experience for listeners.

In your opinion, which album stands out as Maiden's magnum opus? Is it the iconic storytelling of The Number of the Beast, or does the raw energy of Killers resonate more with you?

Via: Facebook

[krispyweiss]

Pete Best Band with the Cyrkle at Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, July 28, 2024

Pete Best says his four-show American swing is designed to take audiences “back to the days I played with four guys named John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe.”

That it did. Though the crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling of Columbus, Ohio’s 1920s-era Valley Dale Ballroom likely didn’t remind Best of the dingy U.K. and European clubs in which he put the backbeat in the Beatles from 1960-’62.

Best made the comment after his eponymous Band’s opening salvo of “Rock and Roll Music,” “What I’d Say,” “One after 909” and “Chains,” which were played on a stage bookended by screens that showed images of the Best-era Beatles together on- and off-stage.

It was the one time on July 28 the 82-year-old, black-clad Best would emerge from behind his white Gretsch drum set, from which he, alongside brother Roag on an adjacent kit, drove the all-Liverpudlian quintet though 23 songs and 90 minutes of authentically rendered, pre-Fab Beatles music.

Recreating Beatles tracks is a ridiculously difficult proposition, as Best’s tour mates, the Cyrkle, demonstrated during their hourlong opening set. The Brian Epstein-managed group, which has two members remaining from the lineup that played on the Fabs’ ’66 tour, offered such selections as “If I Needed Someone,” “Eight Days a Week” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps;” numbers by the Ides of March (“Vehicle”) and Ohio Express (“Chewy Chewy”); and its own two hits, “Turn Down Day” and “Red Rubber Ball.” The musicianship was shaky; the set list often beyond the Cyrkle’s grasp, particularly on the Beatles songs and McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed.”

But where the Cyrkle stumbled, the PBB soared, reigniting a 60-plus-year-old jumble of energy on Beatles numbers both mostly forgotten (the Lennon-Harrison instrumental “Cry for a Shadow,” Lennon-McCartney’s “Hello Little Girl”) and still-beloved as with “P.S. I Love You” and “I Saw Her Standing There.”

Best’s wisdom lay in his sticking with his era and avoiding songs with which he wasn’t involved. Tony Flynn, who proved his Britishness by praising the virtues of Olive Garden’s Italian food, was particularly adept on throat-shredding numbers such as “Please Mr. Postman” and “Mr. Moonlight,” yet softer fare, including “Besame Mucho,” “Till There was You” and “Like Dreamers Do” fared just as well, sounding right at home in America in 2024.

And by the time the Pete Best Band said cheerio with the pairing of “Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey,” fans could only be grateful Best returned to music in the 1980s and continues to share the fruits of his truncated career with Beatlemaniacs who are better off for his musical generosity.

Sound Bites still isn’t sure what he expected from Best. But it surely wasn’t an exceptional gig such as this.

Pete Best Band setlist: “Rock and Roll Music;” “What I’d Say;” “One after 909;” “Chains;” “Please Mr. Postman;” “Hello Little Girl;” “Mr. Moonlight;” “P.S. I Love You;” “Roll over Beethoven;” “Besame Mucho;” “Cry for a Shadow;” “Till there Was You;” “Slow Down;” “Money (That’s What I Want);” “Like Dreamers Do;” “Ain’t She Sweet;” “My Bonnie;” “Lucille;” “Memphis, Tennessee;” “Some other Guy;” “I Saw Her Standing There;” “Twist and Shout;” “Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey”

Grade card: Pete Best Band with the Cyrkle at Valley Dale Ballroom - 7/28/24 - A/C-

7/29/24

[torchlitinthedesert]

"Now the film is restored and re-released and it’s a complete joy, quite as entertaining for me as Peter Jackson’s account of the Beatles’ Let It Be. McCartney’s extraordinary, unforced gusto and the delight he takes in every creative moment, his natural extrovert musicianship and casual virtuosity are such a tonic."

[ourshadowstallerthanoursoul]

Ask-in with a LZ a week - interview to JPJ

(by Ritchie Yorke, NME - April 4, 1970)

What were you doing before Led Zeppelin formed?

Vegetating in studios in London mainly. Jimmy’s also done his share of that. But he got out and went into the Yardbirds. Just before joining the band, I had gotten into arranging and general studio directing, which was better than just sitting and being told what to do. I did a lot of Donovan's stuff. The first thing I did for him was 'Sunshine Superman'. I happened to be on the session and I ended up arranging it. The arranger who was there really didn’t know about anything. I sort of got the rhythm section together and we went from there. 'Mellow Yellow' I did entirely on my own. I was pleased with it; It was different to what was happening in the general session scene.

Were you surprised at the success of LZ?

Yes, I was surprised as to the extent of our success. You see, we’d been doing all this for a long time and, after a while, you can see how a group breaks up and what causes all the ups and downs. You reckon that if you should consciously put together a group that won’t have a lot of stupid troubles; and the basic thing of what people want to listen to; good musicianship; and a certain amount of professionalism; the right promotion — with those things you figure you must stand a good chance. But to what extent, nobody knows. To this extent, its unbelievable!

Do you think your success came because there was a gap in the rock scene after Cream and a perennial need for a hard-hard rock band?

If you think from a pure popologist’s point of view, you could say it was foreseen, inevitable, predictable. There was a gap there and we filled the gap. But there’s a lot of other things which may do it. I think the business did need something different because Cream was going around in circles. They never talked to one another, it seemed. The groups that did have a good sound were successful but they always seemed to have internal troubles; while the groups that did get on never got heard, and somehow you had to get the two together. An amicable group, a good sound and exposure.

LZ seems to be a group which gets on well.

Yeah, especially as we’re all different people. Robert and John have got the Birmingham band thing in common. Nobody had actually worked together before LZ though. We just got together in a 6ft. x 6ft. room and started playing and looked at everybody else and realize what was going to happen.

Who influenced your bass playing?

Not a lot of people because it was only recently that you could even hear the bass on records. So apart from obvious jazz influences — like every good jazz bass player in history; Mingus, Ray Brown, Scott LaFaro… I was into jazz organ for quite a while until I couldn’t stand the musicians any longer and I had to get back to rock'n'roll. I listened to a lot of jazz bass players and that influenced my session playing, and then I cannot tell a lie, the Motown bass players! You just can’t get away from it. Every bass players in every rock group is still doing Motown phrases, whether he wants to admit it or not.

It's a shame that so few artists have credited the Motown bass influence.

Right. Yet it’s been one of the Motown sound’s biggest selling points. I used to know a few names of Motown bass players, but I can’t remember them. Motown was a bass player’s paradise, because they’d actually found a way to record it so that you could hear every note. Their bass players were just unbelievable; some of the Motown records used to end up as sort of concertos for bass guitar.

What do you think of Jack Bruce's playing?

Jack is very good. I’m not too keen on the sound he has, but that’s personal taste. Being a bass player, I obviously have more idea of the sound I like than someone who just listens to records. I like his LP 'Songs For A Tailor' though.

What about Paul McCartney?

Well, I think he’s perfect. He’s always been good. Everything he’s done has always been right, even if he didn’t do too much, it was still just right. He’s improved so much since early Beatles days, and everything is still right. They’re really beautiful, the things he plays.

How about Rick Grech?

I don’t know anything about him.

Bass has really become important in the past two years.

Bass players have really got annoyed and said to engineers “You’ve got to get it through.” Then they went to the people who cut the record, because you can get it on tape and then lose it on record. The cutters start screaming that it won’t play with too much bass and people’s expensive magnetic cartridges will jump up into the air every time you hit a bottom string. I think Cassidy did an awful lot, and he’s still doing so. He designs bass guitars which are utterly unbelievable.

Did you hear Moms Marbley's record of 'Abraham, Martin and John'? It had fantastic bass reproduction.

No, I didn’t hear that. The Motown record that really impressed me was 'I Was Made To Love Her' by Stevie Wonder. When it came out, I just couldn’t believe it.

You must be one of the few people who actually sits down just to hear a bass pattern on a new record.

Bass players are always like that. The first record that really turned me on to bass guitar was 'You Can’t Sit Down' by Phil Upchurch, which had an incredible bass solo and was a good record as well. Very simple musically, but it had an incredible amount in it.

After years of session work, how does it feel to be in a group?

It’s a strain, but it’s a different kind of strain. I much prefer it. In sessions you just vegetate and you reach a certain period where you’re working a helluva lot and that’s it. You can’t do anything musically and it’s horrible. You became a well-used session musician with no imagination. I used to be the only bass player in England that knew anything about the Motown stuff so I used to do all the cover versions. I often used to almost be in tears at the sound they’d get and the way they used to mess up the songs.

The English session scene is rather unique in that. They really only have one man for each instrument, and if you're the man, you get to do every session going.

Right. But it’s not specialised, which is the strangest thing. You can do anything. Every record that’s been made in England you could have been on, if they used your particular instrument — from Petula Clark to visiting Americans. I remember one day — firstly at Decca Studios with the Bachelors; then Little Richard, who’d come over to do a couple of English sessions — and it was bloody awful.

It must have been rough at first, though with people only thinking of LZ as Jimmy Page's band?

Well if Jimmy had been incredibly insecure and really wanted to be a star, he would have picked lesser musicians and gone on the road and done the whole star trip. Everybody in the band recognised that at first having Jimmy’s name was a great help. In fact, it opened a lot of doors, and once you realised that, and because aware that you had a job to do, it worked out all right. I’ve been playing bass for ten years now. I’ve been on the road since I was two years old — my parents were in the business, too… in variety. They had a double act, musical comedy thing. I was in a professional band with Jet Harris and Tony Meehan. That was when I was 17.

What do you think of Robert Plant?

Robert is unique. We’re all unique really, but Robert is really something. I couldn’t imagine any other singer with us. I just couldn’t. Robert is Robert and there’s nothing else to say.

How about John Bonham?

John is the find of the year as far as British drummers are concerned. I can’t remember anyone like him either. It’s obvious why these people have ended up in the same group. We’ve all the right people. If anybody had to leave, the group would have to split up because it wouldn't be LZ anymore. Each of us is irreplaceable in this band.

How about Jimmy?

For years and years, I’ve rated Jimmy. We both come from South London and even then I can remember people saying: “You’ve got to go and listen to Neil Christian and the Crusaders, they’ve got this unbelievable guitarist.” I’d heard of him before I heard of Clapton and Beck. I probably listen to more of Clapton through Jimmy telling me to than any other reason. I’ve always thought Jimmy to be far superior to all of them. It sounds like a mutual admiration society; people don’t believe me when I say this. but I mean it.

Why do you think English bands are beginning to be stronger chartwise, than American bands again?

The Americans have got lazy. They’ve had it their way for so long. As soon as some competition comes along and does well, the not-so-good bands get uptight because they think they’re missing out on all the work. The better bands pull their fingers out and really come up with something great, and they do as well as the best English bands.

Do you think we're in the middle of a second English invasion of the US charts?

I think it can be taken as a criticism of American bands that so many English groups are getting into the US charts. American groups should look at themselves and their music if this is the case, and ask themselves why all these foreigners are going so well when they’re not. And I’m sure if they looked hard enough they’d come up with one reason or another, and they’d be able to get it back together and make it again.

[coolxconfused]

New interview the BBC did with The Real People after the reunion announcement and they're talking about Liam's star quality again:

It was the early hours of the morning, but the bar of the Columbia hotel in London's Lancaster Gate was packed with musicians who were in the capital for gigs, or just hanging out at what had become the go-to haunt for artists and performers in the early 1990s.

Then, like a scene from a western, the noise gave way to a hush, then a near silence, and all eyes turned towards the door.

Ian Prowse, who at that time was in the signed Liverpool band Pele, was among the drinkers, and he too angled his gaze to see who or what had brought everything to a standstill.

"This guy had walked in, and there was just something about him, an aura, some sort of magic," he says.

Behind the enigmatic young man swaggering his way into the bar was Tony Griffiths, one of the two brothers who were the creative engine of the Liverpool band The Real People.

Prowse caught up with The Real People's bass player and singer and asked him who the guy was, and was told it was "his mate Liam".

At this point, the name Liam Gallagher meant little to most people, but to Tony Griffiths, he and his band were going to be "the biggest thing ever".

"This was a few months before they had anything out," says Prowse. "They were unknown. But he was able to just walk into a packed bar at four o'clock in the morning and turn heads."

Liam Gallagher’s charisma had made an impression, but Prowse was yet to hear the fledgling band's sound. When he returned home to Liverpool, he asked his agent – whom his band shared with Oasis – to let him listen to something by this new group.

"He played me this track," he says, "and I just thought, 'Whatever we're doing, it's not this'. It just wasn't capturing the zeitgeist the way this was."

The recording he'd heard was Supersonic, which was written and recorded in one day in December 1993 at the Pink Museum Studio in Lark Lane, Liverpool, with The Real People's Tony Griffiths on backing vocals.

According to former Oasis drummer Tony McCarroll's 2010 book The Truth, Tony and his brother Chris were "integral" to the creation of the song, which would be released in April the following year to huge acclaim.

Oasis, which consisted of Noel and Liam Gallagher, McCarroll, Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs and Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan, were at that time as much a Liverpool band as a Manchester band, cutting their teeth at venues such as Le Bateau and The Krazy House, where they supported The Real People.

It was striking the relationship with The Real People that put Oasis on the road to stardom.

'Your kid's a star'

The Real People had been around since 1987, and by 1989 were signed to Columbia Records. Soon afterwards they sold 100,000 copies of their eponymous album, whose shuffling drums, overdriven guitars and Beatle-esque harmonies won them an international following.

By contrast, Liam Gallagher was still at school and Noel was yet to pen the soaring sentiments of Live Forever in the warehouse in which he had a decidedly un-rock 'n' roll job as a British Gas sub-contractor.

Chris and Tony would meet the Gallagher brothers in 1992, while The Real People were on tour with the Inspiral Carpets, for whom Noel was a roadie.

"I would always take my own Pot Noodles with me on tour and he'd come over and be after one, so that’s how we struck up conversation," says Chris Griffiths.

"But when we met Liam, we were saying to Noel, 'Your kid's a star, he is'. And this is before we'd even heard him sing.

[...]

For Griffiths, their success was as much down to Liam's star quality as the music or musicianship.

"Noel was a good musician, but he was no [Ocean Colour Scene lead guitarist] Steve Craddock. A lot of it was down to Liam, his attitude and his voice.

[...]

Read the full article to learn more about The Real People's involvement and the early days here

[iballou]

Famous People Who Love Radiohead

Danielle Radcliffe: I was mainly listening to Radiohead for Harry in this film. Somebody did ask me yesterday if there was one album that could be Harry’s soundtrack during this movie. I think it would be Ok Computer by Radiohead, which I think tells you all you need to know about his character

Matt Smith: That’s it. That’s what I want when I go to the theatre, when I’m in a play, is them, and that experience that I get from them. I admire the musicianship, I admire the soul that goes into it, and the execution and the work, the preparation. Everything is done right, I think, and done with good intention and soul and heart and good spirit. They are a lesson to us all.

Brad Pitt: What was Brad Pitt talking about all the time? You won’t believe me, but no matter what the question was about, he always ended up talking about Radiohead. He seemed to be obsessed with the band and told that during the filming of “The Fight Club” he spent all his time listening to Radiohead, particularly Ok Computer, which is his favorite album. He argued that his movie wasn’t art, that contemporary art was about Thom Yorke because, according to him, the Radiohead´s singer was so important for his generation as Kafka and Beckett... He was completely captured by his devotion for Thom Yorke.

Christopher Nolan: I spent an afternoon talking about movies, memory and fragmented narrative with the 30-year old director at his apartment near the LACMA while he played Radiohead's Kid A on a boom box...Nolan wanted Paranoid Android to play over the credits of Memento, but the rights were too much so instead he uses Treefingers in the film.

Aaron Paul: When I was in London I followed Radiohead around - I went to both their concerts at the O2. Then I took the train to Paris, met up with my friend Vida and saw them at there as well. Seeing Radiohead in Paris is pretty magical.

Edward Norton: I'm friends with the guys in Radiohead, And Johnny Greenwood...And he and Thom (Yorke) had been playing a lot of weird ambient stuff at the time and so, amazingly,

Ellen Page: They became my first sincere love in music. Before that, I was jumping on my bed and listening to Aqua.

Elijah Wood: Elijah Wood was starstruck when he met Thom Yorke. The 'Lord of the Rings' star - who owns his own record label - says the most overwhelming moment of his life was he met the Radiohead singer, because he has been such a huge influence on him.

Stephen Colbert: He can’t be influenced by the agendas of politicians and public officials, but if you’re [Radiohead] he will gladly roll over for you.

Woody Harrelson: I’ve really become obsessed with Radiohead. In fact, the other day, there was a concert with Thom Yorke and Flea. So, I went — Flea’s a good buddy of mine. Great show! Phenomenal music. Just incredible, of course!

Tobey Maguire: I really respect them. I've been to a couple of their shows and it's pretty great. They've been really consistent in making great music and I really feel like they are true artists and put all of themselves in their music, so it will be interesting to hang out with them.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

AUDIO STORY

The Emergence of Joni Mitchell

"The Emergence of Joni Mitchell," is a two-hour examination of one of the most heralded songwriters of her time. In this third installment of his series on the seminal work of important figures in popular music, Ingles and his guests explore how Joni Mitchell crafted her artistry and connected with audiences over four decades. Mitchell put the experience of being a woman and being human on artful display through her blatantly honest and confessional lyrics, innovative open guitar tunings and jazz-inflected vocals. The program focuses on Mitchell's key releases to illuminate the musicianship of the woman "Rolling Stone" called "one of rock's most daring and uncompromising innovators."

By mixing Mitchell's music from these pivotal moments with informed commentary from musicians, fans, music critics and archival interviews with Mitchell herself, "The Emergence of Joni Mitchell" articulates what music lovers have found so compelling about this thoughtful and innovative writer and performer. Over 50 Mitchell songs are featured. Special guests include music writers Ann Powers, Anthony DeCurtis, Paul Zollo, Lydia Hutchinson and Holly George-Warren. Also featured are musicians Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplansky and others.

The two hour version is adaptable to a newscast necessary clock.

[muzaktomyears]

We took to the stage in the depths of depression. Bruno, very much in evidence, yelled at us that we must ‘make show’, which we did, more as a release for our mounting anger rather than to please him.

“All the way from Liverpool to leap around like a lot of idiots!” Lennon summed up. For that’s what ‘making show’ was all about – jumping around aimlessly, stamping, writhing on the floor. None of us had ever acted the fool like this on stage before.

[…] We went from one extreme to the other. John and Paul were the looniest. John did his best to imitate Gene Vincent, grabbing up the microphone as if he were going to lay into the audience with it, carrying it around with him, leaping about with it like a maniac. Paul roared around screaming like Little Richard and, as the days passed, an act developed.

Stu behaved something like a puppet and managed to hold on to the sort of James Dean image he had fostered, quietly trying to stay cool in the background behind his dark shades. There was not much I could do from behind the drums other than stand up and hop around the kit with a tom-tom under my arm. George paid serious attention to his guitar-playing, trying to prevent the sets from becoming too ridiculous.

The German rockers loved it and no one realized – least of all Bruno – that we were trying to take the piss out of them. But in the end it worked against us. This was the Beatles developing, creating excitement. ‘Making show’ would eventually take us over. However, at first it was a protest for the treatment we were receiving, letting ourselves rip because of the lousy digs and the sub-survival wages of £15 a week each.

We had one number we used to put in that began very slowly and sounded like smooch music. The audience would take to the floor and get all cuddly and close, then suddenly we would erupt into a frenzied rock tempo. At first it took the Germans by surprise – to us it was another form of protest – but then they started to request the song where we changed gear in mid-stream! Another back fire.

We used to stomp around half crazed for more than seven hours a night. Making show? You’ve never seen anything like it. Sometimes Paul wouldn’t even have his guitar plugged in, but no one noticed the omission with all the noise that went on. John used to roll around on stage when he wasn’t throwing the mike in the air; then he would twist himself into a hunch-back pose. By way of a change he would jump on Paul’s back and charge at George and Stu and send them reeling. Sometimes they would give each other piggy-backs. What little music there was would be made by George and Stu and most of that was simply rhythm. Other times John would hurl himself into a sort of flying ballet leap from the stage into the audience and end up doing the splits.

While the audience was dancing, John and Paul often jumped down from the stage and bundled into them like wild bulls; or maybe they would do ring-of-roses with them. But this is what the punters wanted and had paid money for. They didn’t want to sit around the listen to original Beatles’ music – not that a lot existed at this stage – and it was obvious that they appreciated the outrageous slapstick rather than the musicianship. They started to call us the beknakked Beatles – a German slang word that described us as the mad or crazy Beatles – but we never stopped to worry about it.

[…] Many of the stories that have been told over the years about the way we used to behave on stage allege that the Beatles used to have serious fights in front of the audiences. That wasn’t strictly true: a lot of it was just part of ‘making show’. What used to appear to be a brawl on stage began at the Indra, where nightly we began to take more liberties in the cause of ‘making show’. Paul, with possibly only one string on an unplugged guitar, would rush up to John while he was singing and pretend to butt hm. Feigning anger, Lennon would retaliate. It must have all appeared to be very real to the patrons and used to wind them up, but it was sheer pretence, a mock battle in which nobody was hurt. In those early days we were extremely close and the best of friends at all times and we would go through much together in the spirit of five rather seedy musketeers.

There is no doubt that John and Paul gave their all to ‘making show’ – even If they did find it a release from the frustrations besetting us all. Lennon gradually became bolder with each week that passed, haranguing the paying customers as ‘fucking Krauts’, or Nazis or Hitlerites. Later he extended this repertoire of venom to ‘German spassies’ (spastics), indulging in his obsession with the disabled which would later manifest itself more publicly in his writings, drawings and statements during interviews. For their part, the Germans, whom he also advised to ‘get up and dance, you lazy bastards!’, rarely showed any sign of understanding and would often applaud his insults.

[…] He gave many people in the audiences the impression that he was a buffoon, but what he did on stage was simply a form of escapism for him. He played the idiot who shouted his mouth off and yelled obscenities but was the outright victor in any slanging match. It was the kind of behaviour they came to expect of him. After these bitter attacks on the people who were paying our wages Lennon would simmer down as though he had just aired some long pent-up grievance and was relieved to have got it off his chest.

I used to try and explain this abuse of audiences to myself but could only conclude that John harboured no deep hatred of the Germans and that they were simply the scapegoats for his increasing frustration at having to entertain them in a fashion that really wasn’t his style.

At the Indra we acquired a friend who would stand by the Beatles for a long time to come. She was a lavatory attendant, a lady whom we christened Mutti. Anyone over the age of twenty seemed old to us, but I reckon Mutti must have been in her fifties, hence our nickname for her, sounding something like the German word for mother – Mutter. She was in nightly attendance backstage, where our poky dressing room adjoined the toilets (where else?). When we came off stage she would be waiting for the perspiring Beatles with towels and paper napkins and changes of shirt, which was very necessary after the rigours of ‘making show’.

Almost nightly as well she had to prepare a needle and thread for John to repair his pants after his dare-devil Nureyev leaps. But he always insisted on making his own renovations, just sitting there in his underpants, sewing away and using something like sailor’s tacks and a few reef knots. (Needless to say the repair would give way after the next performance!) If anyone arrived backstage – male or female – while he was working away in his underwear he would simply invite them to ‘come in and make yourself at home’ and continue with the task.

Beatle! The Pete Best Story, Pete Best and Patrick Doncaster (1985)

[severalpossiblemusiks]

2, 10 and 30?

2. A band I always come back to.

I think this is gonna sound cringe, but one of the first bands to get me into metal was a Christian glam metal group called Stryper. While their lyrics are overtly Christian and prosletizing, their musicianship is incredible and I have yet to find a dual-guitarist lineup I like better. Their early stuff in the 80s is like a mixture of glam and power/speed, and their more recent stuff after getting back together in the 2010s gives me a lot of Judas Priest vibes, lots of classic heavy metal with touches of power metal.

10. Most underrated musician.

I could list many musicians here. Some of them are actually quite popular within their own circles, but in terms of the general population they may not have a large following. First is Django Reinhardt, a Belgian/French Romani guitarist who effectively created the jazz manouche style (sometimes called g*psy jazz), and accomplished this with only two functioning fingers on his left hand due to severe burns. He also influenced the likes of Tony Iommi, Jerry Garcia, and Eddie Van Halen. Second is Paco de Lucia, a Spanish/Portuguese flamenco guitarist who branched into jazz and made "new flamenco" a world fusion style of flamenco and jazz. His works with jazz fusion guitar legends like Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin are some of my favourite pieces of music ever. Third is Buckethead. The man just hangs out and releases like 20 albums a year, almost all of them instrumentals. There are some other artists and groups like Leah McHenry (who goes by LEAH), Eye of Melian, dArtagnan, Steeleye Span, Imperial Age, Lords of the Trident, Sunburst, Blazon Stone, Númenor, Fire Whale, Grimgotts, Daniel Amos, Fief, Ziggurath, Crazy Lixx, Bloodywood, Crown Lands, Haralabos Stafylakis, T. Patrick Carrabre, Harmonium, Auri, Wilderun, Vials of Wrath, Karen Sunabacka, Oceans of Slumber, Signum Regis, and Paul O'Dette. (Sorry about the lengthy list. Also this covers metal, rock, classical, jazz, folk, and more)

30. A song from your favourite band.

[colonelpepper]

Hi! Welcome to my music blog👋 I'm in the process of systematically rating, reviewing, and ranking the discographies of my favorite artists (because why not😂) and am focusing on The Beatles (including their solo careers). This sideblog is essentially just a place for me to write down all my thoughts about the process as I do it, so don't mind me as I ramble into the void!

If you're curious about what I'm doing, I've explained my methodology under the cut. I'm not a professional researcher by any means so it might be goofy but it works well enough for me. I have some music/music theory knowledge, but I don't pretend to be an expert on any of this. It started as an exercise to learn more excel formulas, and now it's just an excuse to listen to music as much as time allows.

Should be fun!🎸🎸🎸🎸

Methodology

For each song, I broke it down into 4 major categories:

lyrics

production

vocals

musicianship

I am giving each song a numerical rating for each category on a scale of 1-10 (1-awful, 10-perfect). I then average those numbers together to find the overall score for each individual song, and then these individual song scores are averaged together to calculate the score for the overall album. 

In addition to the scores, I am also giving each song a rating, which is separate from the score and is determined solely by my reaction to the song, which reflects how much I like it, also on a scale from 1-10. The rating for each song is also averaged together to calculate the overall rating of the album. 

So, the basic idea is, “Score” = how good is this song/album & “Rating” = how much do I like this song/album. There's obviously no way to fully remove subjectivity from the process, so my guess is the scores and ratings will end up being very similar. But I'm just curious to see if there's any meaningful differences.

In cases in which an individual song is determined to be especially influential or significant to popular culture/music history, a 0.5 bonus will be added to the song's score. The idea is to use this sparingly, but I thought that would be an interesting thing to keep in mind when thinking about the Beatles.

In addition to calculating the overall score, I am also calculating the “writing score” and “performance score” for each song (and averaging those together to find the writing score and performance score for each album). The writing score is found by averaging the lyrics and production ratings for each song. The performance score is found by averaging the musicianship and vocals ratings for each song.

My spreadsheet is generating numerous album and song rankings as I go. But the album score, album rating, individual song score, and individual song rating rankings are the four that I'm paying closest attention to.

Idk if any of that was clear to anyone other than me, so feel free to ask me questions!

** all scores are obviously subjective, and should be taken with many grains of salt considering I am not by any means a musical theory expert or professional musician. I am just a silly goofy gal who likes music and spreadsheets 🤙 **

Note: Only studio albums written primarily by (or for) John, Paul, George and Ringo are being evaluated for this project. Live albums and cover albums (such as John’s Rock ‘n’ Roll and Paul’s Run Devil Run and Kisses From The Bottom) were excluded. Some unique songs (by unique meaning not an alternative take/remix) from the Beatles' Anthology series will be evaluated for song rankings, but the Anthology albums will not be included in the album rankings.

[lemonlyman-dotcom]

Lemon! You might have already seen/heard this song already, but I just stumbled upon the new MV for Death Valley High. It took me a second to recognize why Beck was so familiar, but then I remembered your fic from last year! Anyways, I though I'd just let you know that I still adore that fic and I hope you're having a good Friday 💜

Omgggggf Dalawa!!!! Thank you!!! I just watched the video and oh my gosh, Beck is just such an innovative musician I swear he could do a collab with anybody in any genre and it would be pure gold!! Like. Love him or hate him (how could anybody hate him tho, let’s be real) there’s no denying the genius and musicianship of this weird, wonderful man.

And thank you so much for loving All Your Colors Make Me Feel Alive!!! I really really love that fic and I was so excited to share it and it ended up being my least popular fic lmao. It was so much fun, though, digging deep into Beck’s catalogue and finding songs that lined up with all these important moments in Tarlos’s relationship 🥰 So it’s really touching when someone tells me they liked it!!!

Happy Friday to you too!!!! 💛💐

A little sneak peek of the fic below the cut if anyone is interested 😊

“Umm,” Carlos says with a side eye towards TK, who’s just cranked the volume from the passenger seat, and is bouncing along to the beat of the abomination coming out of the car’s nine high-performance surround-sound speakers; the ones he splurged on in lieu of the more practical LoJack GPS service. “What are we listening to?”

It's my life, your life

Live it once, can't live it twice

So nice, so nice

Smooth like a tidal wave, take you on a getaway

They’re on the way to Paul’s for the first group hang since TK was shot; it’s Carlos’s first time seeing anyone from TK’s group of friends since they decided to make their relationship official. And while he’s hung out with them a handful of times, and always felt welcomed with a comfortable ease, tonight he’s surprised to find he feels as nervous as he did the night he attended his very first 126 hang.

TK took over control of the stereo as soon as he got in the car when Carlos picked him up from his dad’s house a few minutes ago. He’d connected his phone after a quick kiss, cutting off Carlos’s usual soundtrack of whatever the local public radio station is playing, saying he was in the mood for some dance music.

Now Carlos is suffering.

“It’s Beck!” TK declares between beats; he’s begun enthusiastically drumming along on the dashboard. Carlos finds he has to bite his tongue to stop himself from admonishing TK for abusing his baby — it’s just a car, he reminds himself. And this guy in his passenger seat is, inexplicably, his dream man.

“Beck?”

“Yeah! Beck,” TK says with a raised eyebrow. Like it’s somehow outrageous that he doesn’t know who is singing this atrocious song.

“The 90s grunge guy?”

“I mean, I guess.”

“He’s doing …pop music now?”

“Carlos, Beck transcends genres,” TK says with an emphatic wave of his hands. “He’s like Prince.”

“Why are his lyrics so weird?”

“They’re not weird!”

It's irrelevant, elephant in the room goes "boom"

Standing on a line doin' jiu-jitsu

Girl in a bikini with the Lamborghini shih tzu

“Lamborghini shih tzu?” Carlos asks, unable to hold back his laughter at the absurdity. “What does that even mean? These lyrics make no sense.”

“Carlos,” TK says in a scandalized tone, “It doesn’t need to make sense, it just needs to make you feel!”

“It’s making me feel like I’m getting a headache.”

[danielsiegelalonso]

Altering Music Careers: The Benefits and Challenges of Collaborating with Other Musicians | Daniel Siegel Alonso

When two (or more) musicians collide, magic can happen—or occasionally, it's more like a polite, artistic wrestling match. The music industry is rife with iconic collaborations that altered the course of genres and careers, from unexpected partnerships to power-packed duos. But like all things in life, collaboration in music brings both highs and lows. Daniel Siegel Alonso looks at the benefits and challenges of working with other artists with some iconic examples.

The Benefits

Fresh Perspectives

Siegel Alonso points out that when you collaborate with another artist, you invite their creativity and influences into the studio. This injection of new ideas can be what your music needs to evolve. Take Blondie's Debbie Harry and Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, for example. In 1981, the punk frontwoman teamed up with the duo for her solo debut. The result? A hybrid of genres. KooKoo was one of the earliest fusions of funk, rock, and dance music that would become the trademark of Rodgers and Edwards, and this style would later be evident on albums such as David Bowie's Let's Dance. Harry's punk edge combined with Chic's disco groove created something distinctive—proof that stepping outside your comfort zone can lead to timeless innovation.

Skill Expansion

Sometimes, your collaborators possess technical skills or a level of musicianship that helps you grow. Siegel Alonso says a classic case is musical chameleon David Bowie teaming up with The Donny McCaslin Group on his Blackstar record. Bowie was known for pushing boundaries, and in his final album, he turned to McCaslin's jazz group to elevate his sound. The partnership propelled both parties to explore experimental territory that blurred the lines between art-rock and jazz. Collaborating with seasoned musicians allowed Bowie to embrace an avant-garde sound, while McCaslin's group gained exposure to a new audience. Win-win.

The Power of Reinvention

Collaborating can also help musicians refresh a staid image or explore new genres without fully stepping into the unknown. Enter Dolly Parton's 2023 rock album, Rockstar. At 77, the queen of country shocked the world by teaming up with rock legends like Paul McCartney and Steven Tyler to create an album of hard-hitting covers and originals. Dolly's leap into rock allowed her to break out of country music's constraints while remaining true to her roots as a larger-than-life entertainer. This kind of reinvention keeps musicians relevant and surprising—and Parton's ability to seamlessly navigate a new genre shows just how potent partnerships can be.

The Challenges

1. Creative Control

Siegel Alonso advises that one of the primary challenges in collaboration is the shift from being the sole decision-maker. It's like co-driving a car—you might not always agree on the destination or the path. Collaborations can sour when both parties have assertive, conflicting creative visions. However, managing egos, preferences, and creative direction with respect is critical. It's a delicate balance, but when handled respectfully, these obstacles can lead to a stronger result than either party could achieve alone.

2. Balancing Styles

Sometimes, artists from different genres or styles collide—and it's not always seamless. While Harry and Chic pulled off their genre fusion, not every alliance is seamless. Merging two distinct musical worlds can feel like squeezing square pegs into round holes. If the styles don't gel or someone feels like they're sacrificing too much of their signature sound, the project can feel forced or disjointed.

3. Schedules and Logistics

As ordinary as it sounds, scheduling can be a considerable challenge. Busy musicians often have packed touring and recording schedules, making it difficult to carve out time for collaboration. Even worse, the spontaneity and flow of creative chemistry can get lost when you're working across different time zones or coordinating through emails and Zoom meetings.

Conclusion

Teaming up with other musicians is a fragile balancing act. It can lead to career-defining breakthroughs, as seen in Harry's genre-bending debut with Chic, Bowie's jazz-tinged swan song, or Dolly's genre jump into rock territory. At the same time, it requires compromise, flexibility, and a willingness to renounce one's ego.

While collaboration is not without its challenges, the potential rewards are worth the effort—musicians can explore new sounds, expand their skill sets, and even breathe new life into their careers. So, Daniel Siegel Alonso notes that while it's not always simple, for musicians willing to embrace the unpredictable magic of partnership, the potential upside is nothing short of transformational.

[anotherkindofmindpod]

I don't really have a question, I just have some comments. First, I love the series already, two episodes in, and am looking forward to the rest of it!

Second, one of the two things that pissed me off the most about Tune In is how ML talks about Paul during the Beatles' first trip to Hamburg. The lack of empathy for Paul's shaky financial position there, instead calling him cheap, is bad enough, but then ascribing pretty much all of Paul's issue with Stu as jealousy about Stu's relationship with John, instead of to Paul's understandable annoyance with Stu's lack of bass playing skills, is even worse. He doesn't even acknowledge that Astrid said that she understood Paul's issue with Stu, because Stu would give Paul his bass to play so Stu could hang out with Astrid, and Stu never practiced. Of course Paul, who was already known as being driven to improve his musicianship, and that of the band, would be pissed off at this. But I guess this doesn't go along with Lewisohn's narrative that it was just about jealousy. ML also quotes Stu as telling his sister that "everyone hates Paul" without providing a bit of evidence that the other Beatles (J, G, P) actually felt that way.

The other was how he handles the deaths of Paul's mother, and the aftermath for Paul (1.5 pages, and apparently Paul was just fine and dandy after that - it had no impact on his future behavior at all, if we are to believe ML), vs. the death of Julia, and the aftermath for John (loads of pages, and he goes to great pains to show how it colors all of John's bad future behavior, which he's given massive leeway for, unlike Paul). I'm looking forward to that episode, even though I know I'll probably be outraged.

None of this is to say that I think Paul shouldn't be criticized, because he should be, when his behavior warrants it. Same goes for the others. However, he should also be treated equally to the others, and the others should be held to the same standard Paul is held to. If Lewisohn is going to call himself the foremost Beatle expert, it's incumbent on him that he be as even-handed as possible, and examine his own biases to ensure that he's applying the same standards to all of them, as actual historians do, if they are really trying to do justice to the topic. It's not too late for him to change the course for Volumes 2 and 3, but sadly I doubt he will.

Hello @laserenitissima! Thank you for this piece of mail, which we received at the beginning of the series. Obviously, you knew much of what we were going to say in A Prolonged Jealousy and Shells and Barriers before the eps even dropped! :)

Also, let me add that we've enjoyed all your commentary here on tumblr throughout Fine Tuning! Thank you so much for not only listening but engaging with our posts and making great points and observations along the way. Take care and we hope you keep listening!