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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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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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Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Gotta Serve Somebody vs. Serve Yourself
John Lennon was really offended by Bob Dylan’s latest single, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Dylan recorded the song for his 1979 album Slow Train Coming. The album and the song was part of Bob’s short lived conversion to Christianity. In his diary, John wrote, “The backing was mediocre by Jerry Wexler, the singing was really pathetic,…
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Bob Dylan, Idiot Wind (Live)
I’m not ready to leave this concert from May 23rd, 1976 at Hughes Stadium. For this segment, Bob is leading his band through a scorching rendition of “Idiot Wind,” another track from Blood on the Tracks. This live version is especially nasty the way Dylan just bashes his electric guitar and snarls every lyric. The…
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The Rolling Stones, Play With Fire
“Play With Fire,” a 1965 B-Side by the Stones, was credited to Nanker Phelge, a pseudonym the Stones used when they attributed the songwriting to all the members. Still, its mainly the work of Jagger and Richards, with Phil Spector on bass oddly enough. In fact, Mick and Keith are the only Stones to appear…
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John Lennon Was Wrong About Bob Dylan's New Morning LP
Here is an exchange between John Lennon and Jann S. Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine on Bob Dylan’s 1970 release New Morning, ” WENNER: What do you think of Dylan’s album? LENNON: I thought it wasn’t much. Because I expect more–maybe I expect too much from people – but I expect more. I haven’t been…
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The Beatles, Nowhere Man
We are just one tick away to glorious #100 of my youtube countdown. Until then, you’ll have to make due with part 99 which is of course the Beatles with “Nowhere Man” from 1965’s Rubber Soul. Nowhere Man was the first Beatle song that exclusively had no references to love, girls, or romance. Stepping out…
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Simon and Garfunkel, The Sounds of Silence
It’s part 96 of my youtube countdown, and we are getting so close to the end! This time I have Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sounds of Silence,” from the album of the same name. When I was crafting the title of this entry, I noticed that the original version of the song was not titled,…
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Jeff Bridges, The Man in Me
For part 77 of my countdown, I got Jeff Bridges performing “The Man in Me” at a Lebowski Fest in Los Angeles. The song of course was featured beautifully in the Coen Brothers ultra cult classic, “The Big Lebowski,” when the Dude is riding that magic rug. Dylan wrote this song for his 1970 LP…