2022-06: Hunter Davies on Sir PM

Interesting words from the biographer:

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1627325/paul-mccartney-eightieth-birthday-the-beatles-hunter-davies-beatles-fab-four

2022-05: Superfan talks...

Interesting article by a person mentioned in a BBC recordings sleeve notes.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10816621/Beatles-superfan-bedroom-recordings-bands-hits-thanked-album-32-years-later.html

Quoting:

"On the last page of the booklet that came with the 1994 Beatles double CD, Live At The BBC, in very small print, are the credits. 

Mentioned first is 'Executive Producer: George Martin.' 

Then it reads: 'Thanks to Margaret Ashworth' and then the names of six others. "

1968: The Rishikesh compound in India today

Some photos and a little bit of context (and an error, 1969 is mentioned as the year for the white album):

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-beatles-ashram-left-behind-india-travel/amp/

Quoting;

"The property became the victim of government politics for some time but nevertheless maintained its artsy vibe. It has been a site of illustrious graffiti since 1990 where trespassers decorated the wall as a tribute to the Beatles. Encouraged by the street artist Pan Trinity Das, the government, after initial hesitation, officially opened the ashram to the public in 2015. In February 2016, The Beatles Ashram Mural Project saw Das along with four other artists producing murals for what used to be the ashram’s lecture hall. Marking the 50th anniversary of Lennon and Harrison’s visit to Rishikesh, the celebration in the Chaurasi kutia followed the example of the two-year Liverpool museum exhibition.

Take a glimpse at the ashram that nourished the Beatles’ creativity, below."

2020-05: Kraftwerk and the Beatles...

https://www.laweekly.com/kraftwerk-are-more-influential-than-the-beatles-let-us-explain/

"The pop century has been dominated by the goliath shadow of Mount Beatle. We presume that every musician and every listener were constantly aware of The Beatles’ sassy silhouette and wedding cake frosted recordings as they thought about what it meant to make music, hear music, be a part of the Popsi Generation.

But take a look at the pop music world in 2017. Take a good look. You will find that The Beatles are no longer the most influential pop band in the Western world.

Kraftwerk are."

2019-12-01: Crowded House, The Beatles, and the making of a melody [ARTICLE, BOOK]

Um artigo baseado no livro "The Song Remains the Same" recentemente saído e que deve estar repleto de referências aos Beatles, naturalmente:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/01/dont-dream-its-over-crowded-house-the-beatles-and-the-making-of-a-melody

Citando:
"“There is freedom within, there is freedom without

Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup …”

According to Neil Finn, you can’t put a “paper cup” in a song without it being a reference to John Lennon. So why not go the whole hog? In the Beatles’ Across the Universe, it’s words that are flowing ‘like endless rain into a paper cup’. Finn’s cup is attempting to contain a veritable flood.

The Beatles were such a monumental force in pop music that for a decade after their disbanding, other musical acts seemed consciously to avoid their influence. In Split Enz, however, New Zealand’s Finn brothers, Tim and Neil, embraced it wholeheartedly (this was long before 1990s Britpop, when everyone was at it), and the influence carried over to Neil’s Australian band, Crowded House. In general, perhaps too much has been made of the Beatles–Crowded House connection, but it’s there for all to hear in Don’t Dream It’s Over, where the narrow melody of the verse, all stepwise intervals, might easily have been written by Lennon. There is, however, nothing of Lennon in the famous chorus."

2017-06-01: Sgt. Pepper's faz 50 anos (edição de 2 CDs e 1 CD já nas lojas desde final de Maio)

Faz hoje 50 anos da edição em UK do Sgt. Pepper's: já meti as mãos e os ouvidos há uns 2 dias na edição comemorativa (2 CDs). E apesar de muito do que vem no CD circular por aí há anos, é sempre interessante de ouvir (remisturado e remasterizado). Para quem nunca ouviu é interessante para perceber o quão bons (e discretos) músicos os Beatles eram. Ouve-se layers e layers de percussão e outros instrumentos (alguns desaparecem com a mistura final no uníssono que se torna) e só quem já brincou com gravações (como eu e muitos outros) sabe dar valor ao difícil que é no final tudo soar coerente e coeso.
Uma versão das cordas do SLH é também interessante (a somar à do Eleanor Rigby da Anthology). E as versões remasterizadas do SFF e do PL estão mais fresquinhas. Entre aspas. Bonito de se (ou)ver.

2016-02-19: The making of Eleanor Rigby, the Beatles’ most mysterious song.

The making of Eleanor Rigby, the Beatles’ most mysterious song.