The Beatles - Get Back (by Peter Jackson)

[DougO 5243]

I'm sure the Peter Jackson doc pushes the more cheery aspects of the sessions, while the original Let It Be movie presented a dark and gloomy episode of a band breaking up. Neither is likely to be an entirely accurate depiction, though one can speculate that PJ's version is more complete.

People should learn from this that movies and media aren't a good way to learn history or gather truths about real events. Even when all the cameras are there, it's all through the lens of an individual shaping a narrative, sliced and exaggerated in context.

[dcbc 14465]

When they came back to do Abbey Road, they knew it was the last album.  They were growing in different directions and there are only so many times you can come together (no pun) in a studio setting and expect to outdo your last recording effort (and I'm of the opinion that Abbey Road is an example of last time pays for all).  Bands need, or at least most want, to play live to keep things fresh and to grow.  But the Beatles couldn't, based on past experience, do that anymore from a practical standpoint (or so they probably believed).  All they could do was be isolated with one another (even if it was on the road).  I get that their fans may have matured over the years, and the screamfest and smothering road life may have subsided.  But who could know?  As it happened, we got great music from them individually over the years that followed as well as and this nicely bookended story of one of the most iconic bands in rock music, which is extremely well memorialized both by the Anthology and, now, by Get Back. 

 

The Stones, by comparison, mostly are memorialized on stage or on the road.  And that's cool too---really cool, in fact. 

 

I'm struck by what the Beatles might have been if they could have been turned into a touring act during the 70s when performing live could have been more practical from a being able to hear yourself play perspective.  How would they have evolved?  How would their music have evolved?  And this is by no means a Beatles vs. Stones statement.  I'm actually glad to live in a world where Beatles and Stones doesn't have to be an either-or question. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by dcbc

[dcbc 14465]

22 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Yeah, as crappy as it was the KISS concept of each guy putting out there own album and then coming back together would have been cool for the Beatles. 

Or maybe they were just done. It happens. Regardless, I blame Yoko.

Ace's album was the first record I bought as a kid (8-track, in fact).  I blistered that thing up over the years.

[oSuJeff97 3435]

15 minutes ago, DougO said:

I don't doubt that the Beatles would have gotten back together a few years later to make another album if Rolling Stone and the rest of the pop culture media didn't start taking sides and blowing a lot of stuff out of proportion, encouraging rifts between the individuals, and just reporting things that were false.

I don't know. Just based on what I saw in the film, I don't think they took any of that stuff seriously. They were literally reading the tabloid stuff out loud and laughing about it.

I think the simpler explanation is that they just got busy with their lives doing different things. And they were separated by an Ocean also. John was living in New York while the others mostly stayed in the U.K.  The sheer physical distance had to play a part.

At any rate, I think that they almost certainly would have played together again and possibly made more music had John not been killed. 

[Chad Fuck 17658]

40 minutes ago, oSuJeff97 said:

Yeah I've thought about this a lot because this thing really changed my perception about this era of the band. I just feel like the narrative out there (at least in my perception) was that the Get Back sessions were a miserable slog that "broke" the band.  I didn't see that AT ALL.

I get that some people will say they may have been hamming it up for the cameras, but over THIS MANY hours of footage, I just don't buy the "they all hated each other" narrative at all.  There was obviously tension at Twickenham because (a) it was almost totally unstructured and (b) George was feeling disrespected. 

But once George came back and they were at Apple with George Martin being a more consistent presence to keep things moving, this was undoubtedly a bunch of guys mostly having a great time.  

And yeah, in later years John specifically talked shit about these sessions, but that was probably selective memory based on other issues. I don't care what he said later, John was having as much fun as the rest of them. 

I just feel like the band ended probably because of some internal tension but also just because these guys had been together for a LONG TIME and done a TON of stuff at this point.  Paul probably would have kept it going because he seems like he's the one who is most into "the band" aspect of it, but clearly George was ready to do his own thing, as was John.  It doesn't mean they hated each other it just means they were ready for something new, IMO.

This is pretty much my sense of it as well.  They'd been living on top of each other for a decade and a half.  They'd accomplished everything they ever could have hoped to accomplish with the Beatles.  I think as you recognize, Paul knew they had lightning in a bottle, and wanted to keep it going, while John and George probably recognized the same thing - but didn't.  They just wanted a break from being Beatles.  I think Paul thrived upon being a Beatle, George thought it was a loathsome bore, and John was more mercurial, shifting between the two frequently on a whim it seems.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

30 minutes ago, Go Pokes said:

It was interesting when George brought up releasing a solo album while the band was still together.  I get his point.  He had an avalanche of music and the guys would only let him trickle it out two songs at a time.  I wish they had gone with George's idea.  They could have all taken a break, released a solo album, and then got back together to release an occasional album and maybe more shows like the rooftop or even a full blown tour.  Ah, what could have been.  

George was also the one who suggested they could get other "guests" like Billy Preston (he mentioned Bob Dylan specifically - which is interesting when you think about the Wilburys later) - and John was right on board with that referencing "Beatles & Co."  That is a fun idea to ponder.  

[oSuJeff97 3435]

1 minute ago, Chad Fuck said:

This is pretty much my sense of it as well.  They'd been living on top of each other for a decade and a half.  They'd accomplished everything they ever could have hoped to accomplish with the Beatles.  I think as you recognize, Paul knew they had lightning in a bottle, and wanted to keep it going, while John and George probably recognized the same thing - but didn't.  They just wanted a break from being Beatles.  I think Paul thrived upon being a Beatle, George thought it was a loathsome bore, and John was more mercurial, shifting between the two frequently on a whim it seems.

LOL yes. John seems very much like the chaos agent I always assumed he was.

It had to drive George mad. 

One minute, John is consoling George and encouraging him... the next minute he's joking and making light of the India trip with Paul right in front of George. LOL 

[Chad Fuck 17658]

1 minute ago, oSuJeff97 said:

LOL yes. John seems very much like the chaos agent I always assumed he was.

It had to drive George mad. 

One minute, John is consoling George and encouraging him... the next minute he's joking and making light of the India trip with Paul right in front of George. LOL 

Egggzactly. 

Also, neither John nor George did many more live shows after the Beatles.  Those tours must've made a very negative impression.  While Paul, is still out there and killing it I may add.  He's never stopped loving performing for a live audience.  I'm not sure how you reconcile those things within the Beatles construct after 1966.  Ultimately, I think the data shows you cannot.  

[Chad Fuck 17658]

12 minutes ago, oSuJeff97 said:

I don't know. Just based on what I saw in the film, I don't think they took any of that stuff seriously. They were literally reading the tabloid stuff out loud and laughing about it.

I think the simpler explanation is that they just got busy with their lives doing different things. And they were separated by an Ocean also. John was living in New York while the others mostly stayed in the U.K.  The sheer physical distance had to play a part.

At any rate, I think that they almost certainly would have played together again and possibly made more music had John not been killed. 

Re the media stuff, I get more of the impression that they were laughing it off, but there's definitely an undercurrent of "people are reading this shit about us and believing it" worry.  I mean, if they didn't care, why were they reading it in the first place and bringing it up with their press agent?  These guys were way, way too media savvy not to care about that aspect of it.  I mean, they're bringing up the offending author by name a couple of times.  They know this guy and aren't happy with him.  

Add to that the insecurities inherent in their attempts to do a live show on short notice and come up with new material. As it was said upthread, they viewed the roof top thing as a failure - a face plant - not the storied epic myth it is now seen as.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Chad Fuck

[DCLonghorn 244]

Ace's album was the first record I bought as a kid (8-track, in fact).  I blistered that thing up over the years.

Same for me... Ace was my first purchase. Although I previously and after burned up Mom's Sgt. Peppers album over and over.

About to sit down for part 3. I purposely and painfully delayed and waited (until XM free listen ended). I don't want it to be over.

They all knew those cameras were there. They may have forgotten for a bit, been too high to remember, or not thought to check the shubbery in the commissary, but this media savvy gang knew a movie was being filmed. I don't think we can, beyond great hope, find true reality in any version of this footage. There is no way to know the full scope of what was said or done before/after cameras rolled.

I hate to say it as it is the seminal moment for the whole Jackson thing, but I wonder if John planned to work through Get Back for the cameras. He's looking at paper, likely his old notes. And George and Ringo look off at something a couple times almost like possible direction (but probably just something benign). I hope I'm wrong and we all saw spontaneous genius, but movie making, even behind the scenes documentary making will always put things together to tightly convey a possible truth.

But it is all so damn good! We are all eating up the Jackson deep fakes and can't get enough!!

Now moving on to every song in album order:

[Chad Fuck 17658]

4 minutes ago, DCLonghorn said:

Same for me... Ace was my first purchase. Although I previously and after burned up Mom's Sgt. Peppers album over and over.

About to sit down for part 3. I purposely and painfully delayed and waited (until XM free listen ended). I don't want it to be over.

They all knew those cameras were there. They may have forgotten for a bit, been too high to remember, or not thought to check the shubbery in the commissary, but this media savvy gang knew a movie was being filmed. I don't think we can, beyond great hope, find true reality in any version of this footage. There is no way to know the full scope of what was said or done before/after cameras rolled.

I hate to say it as it is the seminal moment for the whole Jackson thing, but I wonder if John planned to work through Get Back for the cameras. He's looking at paper, likely his old notes. And George and Ringo look off at something a couple times almost like possible direction (but probably just something benign). I hope I'm wrong and we all saw spontaneous genius, but movie making, even behind the scenes documentary making will always put things together to tightly convey a possible truth.

But it is all so damn good! We are all eating up the Jackson deep fakes and can't get enough!!

Now moving on to every song in album order:
 

Get Back was a Paul song.  So are you referencing Paul doing for the cameras?  Or thinking of Don't Let Me Down, which was John's top contribution?

[Go Pokes 979]

2 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

George was also the one who suggested they could get other "guests" like Billy Preston (he mentioned Bob Dylan specifically - which is interesting when you think about the Wilburys later) - and John was right on board with that referencing "Beatles & Co."  That is a fun idea to ponder.  

It would be a fun idea to ponder.  Except for that damn Yoko*.

 

*Blatant pandering 

[Go Pokes 979]

2 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Get Back was a Paul song.  So are you referencing Paul doing for the cameras?  Or thinking of Don't Let Me Down, which was John's top contribution?

He has to be talking about Paul and Get Back.  That was so incredible it makes you start looking for an explanation of how that was even possible. 

 

One thing we know it's not due to:  Yoko.  

[UTCzech III 2907]

A few random comments on the breakup and all that.  First, they did not go into Abbey Road planning it as their swan song.  A tape came out two years ago that Mark Lewisohn, when he heard it, claimed on Twitter, 'This tape rewrites everything we knew about the Beatles'.  Here's a link to the article, but major points are quoted below:

LINK

Quote

The Beatles weren’t a group much given to squabbling, says Mark Lewisohn, who probably knows more about them than they knew about themselves. But then he plays me the tape of a meeting held 50 years ago this month – on 8 September 1969 – containing a disagreement that sheds new light on their breakup.

They’ve wrapped up the recording of Abbey Road, which would turn out to be their last studio album, and are awaiting its release in two weeks’ time. Ringo Starr is in hospital, undergoing tests for an intestinal complaint. In his absence, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison convene at Apple’s HQ in Savile Row. John has brought a portable tape recorder. He puts it on the table, switches it on and says: “Ringo – you can’t be here, but this is so you can hear what we’re discussing.”

What they talk about is the plan to make another album – and perhaps a single for release in time for Christmas, a commercial strategy going back to the earliest days of Beatlemania. “It’s a revelation,” Lewisohn says. “The books have always told us that they knew Abbey Road was their last album and they wanted to go out on an artistic high. But no – they’re discussing the next album. And you think that John is the one who wanted to break them up but, when you hear this, he isn’t. Doesn’t that rewrite pretty much everything we thought we knew?”

Lewisohn turns the tape back on, and we hear John suggesting that each of them should bring in songs as candidates for the single. He also proposes a new formula for assembling their next album: four songs apiece from Paul, George and himself, and two from Ringo – “If he wants them.” John refers to “the Lennon-and-McCartney myth”, clearly indicating that the authorship of their songs, hitherto presented to the public as a sacrosanct partnership, should at last be individually credited.

Then Paul – sounding, shall we say, relaxed – responds to the news that George now has equal standing as a composer with John and himself by muttering something mildly provocative. “I thought until this album that George’s songs weren’t that good,” he says, which is a pretty double-edged compliment since the earlier compositions he’s implicitly disparaging include Taxman and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. There’s a nettled rejoinder from George: “That’s a matter of taste. All down the line, people have liked my songs.”

John reacts by telling Paul that nobody else in the group “dug” his Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, a song they’ve just recorded for Abbey Road, and that it might be a good idea if he gave songs of that kind – which, John suggests, he probably didn’t even dig himself – to outside artists in whom he had an interest, such as Mary Hopkin, the Welsh folk singer. “I recorded it,” a drowsy Paul says, “because I liked it.”

 

I too think that if they had taken some time off, maybe a year or so, each done a solo album, and then got back together to reassess everything, things might have been different.  But they also were just growing apart.  They each wanted to do their own thing.  The real death knell to me was when John, George and Ringo outvoted Paul 3-1 on hiring Allen Klein to handle their affairs.  Paul wanted Linda's brother, he was out voted.  "That was the crack in the Liberty Bell" Paul says. And I really think the other 3, at least John and George, just grew tired of Paul's "bossiness" (again not precisely that), but also musically.  Paul is pure pop, some of it "Paul's granny music" as John once said.  John and George were going in vastly different directions, John stripping his music down to the bare minimum (Give Peace a Chance, Instant Karma, Plastic Ono Band album).  George was really exploring his spiritual side, beautiful music but not necessarily Top 40 material (not that he couldn't crank a great pop tune out).  John, George and Ringo all played on each others' albums through out the early to mid 70's, John and George loved Ringo and gave him some of his best singles.  The flip side to "It Don't Come Easy" is a song Ringo wrote called "Early 1970" that pretty much sums it up:

Quote

Lives on a farm, got plenty of charm, beep, beep.
He's got no cows but he's sure got a whole lotta sheep.
And brand new wife and a family,
And when he comes to town,
I wonder if he'll play with me.

 

Laying in bed, watching tv, cookie!
With his mama by his side, she's japanese.
They scream and they cried, now they're free,
And when he comes to town,
I know he's gonna play with me.

 

He's a long-haired, cross-legged guitar picker, um-um.
With his long-legged lady in the garden picking daisies for his soup.
A forty acre house he doesn't see,
'Cause he's always in town
Playing for you with me.

 

I play guitar, a - d - e.
I don't play bass 'cause that's too hard for me.
I play the piano if it's in c.
And when I go to town I wanna see all three,
And when I go to town I wanna see all three,
And when I go to town I wanna see all three.

I think the biggest thing they missed (especially John) in the 70's was being challenged, or having someone to reign in some of their impulses.  Even Paul, his albums are littered with pop masterpieces, as are John and George's, but there is also a ton of just self-indulgent crap as well.  I guess that's what solo albums are for, though.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

13 minutes ago, Go Pokes said:

It would be a fun idea to ponder.  Except for that damn Yoko*.

 

*Blatant pandering 

Maybe in this alternate timeline he comes up with someone better?  May Pang?

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

The Plastic Pang Band sounds much better.

[Guest Lobo]

2 hours ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Plastic Pang

Quit buying generic and just get a regular Fleshlight.  

[atomheartbevo 89618]

9 hours ago, oSuJeff97 said:

I get that some people will say they may have been hamming it up for the cameras, but over THIS MANY hours of footage, I just don't buy the "they all hated each other" narrative at all.  There was obviously tension at Twickenham because (a) it was almost totally unstructured and (b) George was feeling disrespected. 

Also, at Twickenham they were under a ridiculous time crunch that should never have existed, especially since they started in on Abbey Road just 3-4 weeks after the rooftop concert.  They are the fucking Beatles, and they could have easily taken a break (which they did).  

This was proven by the fact that what MLH originally set out to do/film kept getting changed, everything from a live concert in North Africa to a small concert in a park to the rooftop, and everything from a big documentary to an arthouse film to a wide-release film - they even discussed upscaling from 16mm to 35mm for cinemas.

 

[atomheartbevo 89618]

9 hours ago, oSuJeff97 said:

LOL yes. John seems very much like the chaos agent I always assumed he was.

It had to drive George mad. 

One minute, John is consoling George and encouraging him... the next minute he's joking and making light of the India trip with Paul right in front of George. LOL 

I kind of wonder if George was hoping to bring somebody in like Billy Preston or whoever, that he would have in his corner when it came to dealing with Paul and George.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

I kind of wonder if George was hoping to bring somebody in like Billy Preston or whoever, that he would have in his corner when it came to dealing with Paul and George.

He said they all played nice when they brought in Eric Clapton to play the solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps during the White Album sessions. That can’t have been too far from his mind.

[Sbbruin 21827]

Just finished it.  I loved every minute of it.  Seemed like George thought the idea of breaking off for just a one time solo project would reinspire them all to greater collective creativity.  That would have been awesome.  Oh well.

[Gil Bang 25907]

y'all need to accept the fact that John was a major asshole with a total cunt as a girlfriend.

[DougO 5243]

That was another thing that struck me when I saw it. Paul was slammed for putting out a solo album before the Beatles had broken up. Like it was some scandal and violation of a sacred pact. But there's George talking about doing a solo album and John being supportive of the idea. 

 

 

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

8 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

He said they all played nice when they brought in Eric Clapton to play the solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps during the White Album sessions.

Especially George's wife...

[Chad Fuck 17658]

y'all need to accept the fact that John was a major asshole with a total cunt as a girlfriend.

Accepted without reservations.

He was also a brilliant song writer and decent guitar picker.

All of these can be true.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

That was another thing that struck me when I saw it. Paul was slammed for putting out a solo album before the Beatles had broken up. Like it was some scandal and violation of a sacred pact. But there's George talking about doing a solo album and John being supportive of the idea. 
 
 

Because he didn’t feel threatened by George doing it.

[Sbbruin 21827]

9 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

y'all need to accept the fact that John was a major asshole with a total cunt as a girlfriend.

I have made my feelings known in this thread regarding Yoko.  But I didn’t see John as so much of an asshole but rather just a jagoff who would just goof around nonstop.

But I did find it interesting that when it was time to perform on the rooftop, he was as dialed in and spot on as much or more so than any of the others.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

14 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

I have made my feelings known in this thread regarding Yoko.  But I didn’t see John as so much of an asshole but rather just a jagoff who would just goof around nonstop.

But I did find it interesting that when it was time to perform on the rooftop, he was as dialed in and spot on as much or more so than any of the others.

Really?  He forgot his own lyrics...

 

[Go Pokes 979]

27 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Really?  He forgot his own lyrics...

 

Both things can be true.  He was awesome on the rooftop.  

[Chad Fuck 17658]

23 minutes ago, Go Pokes said:

Both things can be true.  He was awesome on the rooftop.  

Yeah, there was one shot that was very "Rawk Gawd!"

Guitar up, screaming into the mic, wind blowing in the long hair. 

[Gil Bang 25907]

1 hour ago, Sbbruin said:

I have made my feelings known in this thread regarding Yoko.  But I didn’t see John as so much of an asshole but rather just a jagoff who would just goof around nonstop.

But I did find it interesting that when it was time to perform on the rooftop, he was as dialed in and spot on as much or more so than any of the others.

If abandoning your son is "goofing off" then I agree with you.

[oSuJeff97 3435]

John was definitely kind of an asshole. That's not really disputable.

 

[atomheartbevo 89618]

19 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

y'all need to accept the fact that John was a major asshole with a total cunt as a girlfriend.

8 hours ago, oSuJeff97 said:

John was definitely kind of an asshole. That's not really disputable.

And Paul was as well.  I still can't decide if he just didn't think much of George's songwriting abilities, or if he was threatened by them.

 

[Neonmoon 38129]

This doc also made me appreciate Ringo. I mean, he just seems very likeable. He was always up for whatever and had to put up with 3 divas. 

[DougO 5243]

10 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Accepted without reservations.

He was also a brilliant song writer and decent guitar picker.

All of these can be true.

Another thing I got from the doc is that John is a much better guitar player than I thought he was.

[tigol 2395]

12 minutes ago, DougO said:

Another thing I got from the doc is that John is a much better guitar player than I thought he was.

Don't worry.  He knew he was.

[DougO 5243]

32 minutes ago, tigol said:

Don't worry.  He knew he was.

Terrible bass player, though.

[atomheartbevo 89618]

1 hour ago, DougO said:

Another thing I got from the doc is that John is a much better guitar player than I thought he was.

Same here. Overshadowed by George for obvious reasons. There were plenty of times in the documentary where John would just start playing really well - he wasn't hunting around or trying to figure something out, he just played it. Sure, you can do that for songs that you've played a hundred times, but this was on a lot of the new/newer stuff.  He knew how to play a lot of non-Beatles stuff as well.

[tbone_ 14106]

This doc also made me appreciate Ringo. I mean, he just seems very likeable. He was always up for whatever and had to put up with 3 divas. 

Yea three divas who gave him the opportunity to be Ringo Starr.

[honolulu horn 6158]

15 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

Yea three divas who gave him the opportunity to be Ringo Starr.

I have to think that Ringo understood that he was the luckiest drummer in the world. 

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

11 hours ago, DougO said:

Another thing I got from the doc is that John is a much better guitar player than I thought he was.

If you've ever picked up a guitar...holy shit, some of those chords are finger breakers.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

3 hours ago, Cheeseweasel said:

If you've ever picked up a guitar...holy shit, some of those chords are finger breakers.

The thing that struck me was he'd break out into some pretty esoteric stuff.  Like, seeing them run through some old 50s rockers - that was nothing.  We all knew that's what they cut their teeth on.  But when he busted out into the Third Man Theme?  And he clearly knew it well and had played it before.  He wasn't fumbling his way through it.  And he did some fun/weird things like that throughout.  These guys drew from a pretty broad musical palette.

[atomheartbevo 89618]

7 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

The thing that struck me was he'd break out into some pretty esoteric stuff.  Like, seeing them run through some old 50s rockers - that was nothing.  We all knew that's what they cut their teeth on.  But when he busted out into the Third Man Theme?  And he clearly knew it well and had played it before.  He wasn't fumbling his way through it.  And he did some fun/weird things like that throughout.  These guys drew from a pretty broad musical palette.

I was trying to see what some of the LPs that George or whoever was thumbing through - I saw some Smokey Robinson I think.

They clearly listened to a helluva lot of other 60s music and genres.

[honolulu horn 6158]

10 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

The thing that struck me was he'd break out into some pretty esoteric stuff.  Like, seeing them run through some old 50s rockers - that was nothing.  We all knew that's what they cut their teeth on.  But when he busted out into the Third Man Theme?  And he clearly knew it well and had played it before.  He wasn't fumbling his way through it.  And he did some fun/weird things like that throughout.  These guys drew from a pretty broad musical palette.

Playing God Save the Queen on the rooftop was unexpected as well. The musical palette was indeed broad. And Paul just busting into that Canned Heat song, and George just belting out the Dylan tune. Effortless. 

Also so cool to see their interest in protest songs, MLK, civil rights, etc. The early version of I Want You (She's So Heavy) that John played with Billy was badass. Get Back and Commonwealth had similar themes. 

[atomheartbevo 89618]

3 hours ago, honolulu horn said:

Playing God Save the Queen on the rooftop was unexpected as well. The musical palette was indeed broad. And Paul just busting into that Canned Heat song, and George just belting out the Dylan tune. Effortless. 

Also so cool to see their interest in protest songs, MLK, civil rights, etc. The early version of I Want You (She's So Heavy) that John played with Billy was badass. Get Back and Commonwealth had similar themes. 

It's crazy when you think about the fact that they started in 1956, yet somehow were still relevant/staying in touch with shit that was going on 13 years later...it's wild.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

It's crazy when you think about the fact that they started in 1956, yet somehow were still relevant/staying in touch with shit that was going on 13 years later...it's wild.

It is but that’s also about the time in most peoples lives when they get on the settle down track and that’s what was happening to the Beatles as well. It’s an argument in favor of them breaking up before they became “old” compared to the core demo of the record buying public.

Nevertheless they were canny pros on all levels and that’s probably why most of us agree they could’ve stayed relevant as a group about as long as they cared too. At least through the 70s. Maybe even more. They just stopped caring to put in the enormous amount of work required to do so.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

What I thought was cool about Lennon riffing on the MLK speech is he was one artist recognizing another. He saw the speech for the work of art it was, beyond just the message. John saw the craft of delivering that message in an extraordinarily well conceived and executed manner. Game recognize game.

[atomheartbevo 89618]

6 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

What I thought was cool about Lennon riffing on the MLK speech is he was one artist recognizing another. He saw the speech for the work of art it was, beyond just the message. John saw the craft of delivering that message in an extraordinarily well conceived and executed manner. Game recognize game.

When John compared him to Tennyson, I thought "90% of Americans watching this won't know what the fuck he is talking about."

[Chad Fuck 17658]

25 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

When John compared him to Tennyson, I thought "90% of Americans watching this won't know what the fuck he is talking about."

If you were saying 90% of Americans, I'd agree with you. But the 90% of Americans who made it that far into the movie?  They probably did.  At the very least, they Googled/Wikipediaed Tennyson. 

[Guest Lobo]

Yeah, Alfred.  He was co-engineer on the White Album.  Big whoop, who cares?  

Gonna treat myself this evening to a longer viewing stretch than usual.  Wife and oldest are at ballet until 10.  If I can get the little one down by 8, I can listen to Part III in its entirety unbothered with proper sound and a drink.  I've been watching the first two huddled in my office on the laptop, but I'm gonna go bigger on the sound tonight.  I can already tell I'm gonna watch this whole thing multiple times over the next few years and hopefully show it to my daughters who are showing some musical promise, at least the parts where you can literally see/hear songs coming out of the clear blue sky.  Just amazing.