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The Beatles, Help!
Help! John Lennon managed to cram an unusually clear psychological slogan into one of the best pop songs he’d ever write. It’s hard for most people to just shout out help, especially when they need it. It really must have been difficult for someone as stubborn, independent, and prideful as John Lennon. When you have…
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John Lennon, Come Together, Live!
They say elephants never forget, and they also say fuck Yoko Ono. When John Lennon played Madison Square Garden Live in 1972, he played an afternoon show and an evening show. “Elephant’s Memory,” the backup band for John, claimed that the evening show was far superior, but upon releasing this concert in 1986, long after…
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The Beatles, Long, Long, Long
To paraphrase George Harrison, “the “you” in the song, is God.” Gaining this insight gives the song even more creepy mysticism. “Long, Long, Long,” from the “White Album,” is officially one of my favorite Beatles songs. Like many people growing up with the Beatles, I wasn’t a fan of the song until I got much…
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The Kinks, Australia
I’m moving to Australia! That’s right, come October, I’m packing my life up, grabbing a friend, and taking a 21 hour flight overseas to the land down under. Actually, I’m headed to South Korea for a week first, and then off to the land of kangaroos. Don’t worry, it’s only for a year at most,…
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The Beatles, Watching Rainbows
On January 14th, 1969, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr were sitting around Twickenham Studios. George Harrison had temporarily quit the band, so John was on piano, Paul was on electric guitar, and Ringo was behind the drums. John led the shortened group through a new improvised jam he had been fooling around with…
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Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Twist and Shout
The greatest cover song the Beatles ever did was of The Isley Brothers 1962 hit, “Twist and Shout.” Written by Bert Russell and Phil Medley, the original song was a tepid little dance song, but when John Lennon and the Beatles got their hands on it, they redefined rock and roll, and gave the genre…
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John Lennon Singing Lead on Get Back
The Beatles are one of those bands so famous, that to the untrained ear of the average person, its hard to tell which Beatle is singing what. Of course, such distinctions are “Beatles 101” to hardcore fans, but part of the confusion lies in the seamless harmonic blend Lennon and McCartney produced in many of…
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George Harrison, Trailer for Martin Scorsese's Living in the Material World Documentary
I normally don’t update twice in one day, but news such as this demands action on my part. I am a massive George Harrison fan, and when I heard a few years ago that Martin Scorsese was putting together a three and a half hour George Harrison documentary, I started counting down the days. At…