tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post6928614789556971076..comments2024-03-28T14:09:53.330-07:00Comments on The Song In My Head Today: Holly A Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17828633442418722187noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-63814316655410329132010-06-08T19:49:05.804-07:002010-06-08T19:49:05.804-07:00Holly, I was smoking the drapes. It was the UK ver...Holly, I was smoking the drapes. It was the UK version I was listening to. When you mentioned instrumentals, I said "wha?" and looked up the difference. As for Across the Universe, I haven't seen it but I do know that the young people I work with have become hard core Beatles fans because of it.wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06899889818724088564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-8065494426199276062010-06-06T19:44:36.036-07:002010-06-06T19:44:36.036-07:00Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by that film too....Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by that film too. I expected to be outraged that other people were singing all the Beatles songs, but absolutely every cover version was interesting, and didn't just try to reproduce the Beatles version. The lead-ins were a bit artificial -- like when the girl "came in through the bathroom window"! -- but even that became part of the movie's charm, like solving a riddle. It did assume you'd know the songbook very well!Holly A Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17828633442418722187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-23513541041034442402010-06-06T17:58:43.531-07:002010-06-06T17:58:43.531-07:00Last night I finally watched the 2006 movie Across...Last night I finally watched the 2006 movie <i>Across the Universe</i> for the first time. This flick had opened to "mixed reviews" as they say in the biz, and I did not have high expectations.<br /><br />Yet it was a fine movie, and primarily because the director & screenwriter understood precisely the very conversational sensibility of the lyrics of which you guys speak. The Beatles songbook does lend itself to a musical: Who knew?<br /><br />But the film opens with the Lennon-ish character asking "Is there anybody going to listen to my story all about the girl who came to stay?" ... and we're off.Who Am Us Anyway?https://www.blogger.com/profile/08260586634760800759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-19652842526173867302010-06-06T17:49:47.759-07:002010-06-06T17:49:47.759-07:00Funny that you'd be listening to the US versio...Funny that you'd be listening to the US version. I'm forever hooked on that one -- even the corny instrumentals. <br /><br />I love your observation about their lyrics. Someone recently pointed out to me how many of the early Beatle songs had "you" or "me" or "I" in the title. I don't know whether it was John or Brian Epstein who had this revelation, but they very consciously framed their songs to seem like conversations directly with the listener -- usually assuming the listener was a teenage girl who'd identify 100% with the female "you" of the title. Forget about scene setting or color details; they went for lyrics that were thoroughly conversational, and as generic as possible, to forge an immediate connection with the listener. Later they'd get more into the poetry of their lyrics, but this early stuff WAS totally "in the language."Holly A Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17828633442418722187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-35896579407405633452010-06-06T16:29:48.861-07:002010-06-06T16:29:48.861-07:00We're on each other's blogs at the same ti...We're on each other's blogs at the same time! :)<br /><br />By some coincidence, I have been listening obsessively to the American CD of AHDN back and forth to work all week. Well, singing, really. <br /><br />Most of the cuts, including AHDN itself, are still an amazement to me. How did they compose songs that revealed themselves like actual speech - they were so 'in the language' in lyrics and in the rhythms of the lyrics, remarkably free of the contrivances that yell out "this is a song, people!" I don't think I'm expressing this clearly, but over and over I notice this. <br /><br />And John, more often than not, is the best at pulling this off.wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06899889818724088564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-39211851042187470632010-06-03T20:09:37.730-07:002010-06-03T20:09:37.730-07:00I have others of Parker's, including the most ...I have others of Parker's, including the most recent two releases. They all contain some gems, though I don't always love every song. I'll be a fan forever. (Beatles 4ever, too!)Natsthenamehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03027430649885763618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-57439699077084688902010-06-03T08:25:37.988-07:002010-06-03T08:25:37.988-07:00Viva, you prove my point about parents imprinting ...Viva, you prove my point about parents imprinting good musical taste on their children at an early age. ;)<br /><br />Nat, I urge you to catch up on Graham's post-Sparks catalog -- it's a revelation!<br /><br />Hard Day's Night really is a wonder of a song -- it's one of those I come back to, thinking "Oh, one of the big hits, how obvious," and then I'm blown away all over again. <br /><br />There are bands whose only good songs are the hits; there are bands whose best songs are the obscure back track stuff; and then there's the Beatles, who knocked it out of the park pretty much every time....Holly A Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17828633442418722187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-36660792694837408202010-06-02T09:29:16.908-07:002010-06-02T09:29:16.908-07:00Although I can't remember this (I was 2 months...Although I can't remember this (I was 2 months old) the opening chord was the first thing written by Lennon & McCartney I heard in my life. :) I don't listen to the Beatles a lot recently but when I feel like doing it the first album that comes to my mind is A Hard Day's Night.Vivalabeathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11636432690758432319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-67157589450514984932010-06-01T19:41:43.546-07:002010-06-01T19:41:43.546-07:00Ah, it's been a long, long, long time ... favo...Ah, it's been a long, long, long time ... favorite amongst my favorites -- and now you've made it new again. Great song, great commentary.Who Am Us Anyway?https://www.blogger.com/profile/08260586634760800759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-34237285204782843672010-06-01T18:41:41.447-07:002010-06-01T18:41:41.447-07:00Um, for the record, I have loved Parker since Howl...Um, for the record, I have loved Parker since Howlin' Wind, and Squeezing Out Sparks is one of my favorite albums ever!Natsthenamehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03027430649885763618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-31726795129345142862010-05-31T22:44:31.788-07:002010-05-31T22:44:31.788-07:00Dang me! I was so excited to reply that I forgot ...Dang me! I was so excited to reply that I forgot to comment on the blog itself, and A Hard Day's Night... leaving me in danger of losing my Beatles cred entirely. So to make up for it, here's a tidbit about that famous opening chord: http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2008/11/beatles-hard-days-night-mystery-chord-solved/LizM againnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-67649002051031643752010-05-31T22:05:25.258-07:002010-05-31T22:05:25.258-07:00Thanks for "Have I the Right?"!! It'...Thanks for "Have I the Right?"!! It's been in my brain ever since Friday night, and I don't mind at all!<br />Love the blog, and I'm now a regular!<br />:) LizLizMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-28158876596448992462010-05-31T19:14:00.217-07:002010-05-31T19:14:00.217-07:00Hehehehee. Trust you to pick that up!Hehehehee. Trust you to pick that up!Holly A Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17828633442418722187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-16023157736788700792010-05-31T18:58:06.509-07:002010-05-31T18:58:06.509-07:00Oh, Holly, another good one! And I love your Tina ...Oh, Holly, another good one! And I love your Tina Turner reference, too.ssspunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01109515778742993486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-21951888328723920502010-05-31T14:57:24.417-07:002010-05-31T14:57:24.417-07:00I believe you're right -- with the doubled voc...I believe you're right -- with the doubled vocals, the switch-off is subtle, but Paul's voice does take the lead there. (All the better for yearning and flattering.) With the key change, the melody might have been too high for John; quite possibly Paul wrote this bridge, too -- it's a more Paul-like melody, that's for sure. <br /><br />Still, their voices are similar enough to seem like one continuous protagonist. It's as if Paul's contribution is a mood fluctuation -- a sigh of relief as our "hero" collapses into his armchair and kicks off his shoes. But then John's voice returns, and the randiness picks up again.Holly A Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17828633442418722187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36596203.post-91966333040429628332010-05-31T14:31:01.139-07:002010-05-31T14:31:01.139-07:00Ms. Holly, you can write about The Beatles anytime...Ms. Holly, you can write about The Beatles anytime at all! You're positively right about this song's ability to encapsulate the feeling from an entire day. Ya' know, I'd always thought it was Paul singing the bridge?mervapnoreply@blogger.com