If I Needed Someone

Today's song is "If I Needed Someone", George's requisite one song on Rubber Soul. Apparently Harrison was greatly inspired by the music of The Byrds. Wikipedia tells us that "'If I Needed Someone' was the only Harrison composition played during any of The Beatles' tours; otherwise Harrison sang only covers onstage." Also, this song is one of only two from Rubber Soul that the guys performed in concert; the other is "Nowhere Man". 

This one is interesting to me... I like the lyrics, in which the singer states he's too busy for love, but if you'll please leave your number he (may) call you back (probably... maybe). The heavily harmonized vocals are pretty good, though I think John and Paul's backup singing overshadows George's voice. Maybe that's just me, though. I'm always getting them confused. :P

That's all for today... See you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 97

Wait

Today's song is "Wait", which was written by either John and Paul, or just Paul, depending on who you ask. The lyrics tell us about the singer's anxiety about finally returning to his lover, unsure of where they stand since he's been away for a while. He advises her, "But if your heart breaks, don't wait, turn me away / And if your heart's strong, hold on, I won't delay." 

I like this one a lot, because it sounds unique. It's got a whole different thing going on than most of their other songs up to this point. The music matches the vocals, with the beats occurring at the same time. This gives the song a slightly stronger and more insistent emphasis, letting the audience feel the singer's insecurity on a deeper level. 

That's all for now! See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 96

In My Life

"In My Life" is today's song. It was written by John, who based it off memories and recollections from his childhood. George Martin, playing an electric piano, contributed the pretty awesome instrumental bridge in the middle. Paul contributed some to the song, but of course it's in dispute how much. However, Paul seems pretty content as far as the credits go, having once said, "I find it very gratifying that out of everything we wrote, we only appear to disagree over two songs" (the other being "Eleanor Rigby").

This one makes you want to reminisce. It's got a comforting melody, and that bridge that Martin plays uses very high notes that lend a classical, and yet almost childlike, atmosphere to the song. My favorite part, besides the lyrics, are the opening notes. There's just something about them. However I do sort of think that vocally, the song might have worked better with just one singer, minus the double-tracked vocals and harmonizing. A single voice would've been more personal, at least. :)

That's all for today. See you later!

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 95

I'm Looking Through You

"I'm Looking Through You" was written by Paul about his girlfriend, Jane Asher. It tells the familiar story of how two people can grow apart when one person changes. At this point in time, Paul and Jane had been together for five years--but it had been a pretty crazy and intense five years. The Beatles had shot to super-stardom, and stuff like that understandably changes people.

I like this one; Paul sings in a higher range, which gives the song a more urgent and questioning feel. The music is stabby, poking and prodding and almost accusing, an excellent match for the lyrics. Overall a great, albeit sad, song. :)

That's all for today. See you guys tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 94

Girl

"Girl" is the (amazing) song of the day. Written by John and Paul, it talks about a girl "you want so much it makes you sorry"--not the most romantic love song, and certainly not a positive one. 

As with many of their songs, John and Paul had differing memories as far as who wrote what and what it was supposed to mean. While Paul maintains that he wrote the lines, "Was she told when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure" and "That a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure", John said in a 1970 interview that those lines "were a dig at the Roman Catholic Church."

Despite its depressing lyrics, this is one of my favorite Beatles songs. I love the original, and I love the version from Across the Universe just as much. I think Jim Sturgess's accent just adds this fantastic sound to the song, even though he only sings the first verse in the film.

Well, that's all for today! See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 18
Songs Completed: 93

What Goes On

Today's song, "What Goes On", is the only Beatles song to be credited to John, Paul, and Ringo. It also features Ringo on vocals, giving the song a distinctive sound (sometimes I still have trouble telling Lennon and McCartney apart, but rarely George and never Ringo. They're too unique). Wikipedia tells us more about the songwriting credit:

Starr contributed to the lyrics, his first-ever composing credit on a Beatles song. However, when asked what his contribution was to the song, Starr jokingly stated, "About five words, and I haven't done a thing since." To his chagrin, the first pressing of the single accidentally omitted "Starkey" in the song-writing credit.

I'm rather fond of this one--not for its music style (it's very country western), and not necessarily for its lyrics, but because Ringo sings it. :) Overall, not a bad song; John wrote most of the lyrics during The Quarrymen days and dusted it off for a brush-up with the guys for Rubber Soul, so it does have an older feel stylistically, but it's not too distracting since they did a good job with its execution. :)

Well, that's all for today... See you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 17
Songs Completed: 92

Michelle

"Michelle" is today's song; the lyrics and most of the music was written by Paul, and John co-wrote the middle eight. The lyrics are unique from other Beatles songs in that they alternate English and French. "Michelle" was wildly popular in France and won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1966. 

Wikipedia tells us the song's origins in more detail.

The words and style of "Michelle" has its origins in the popularity of French Left Bank culture during McCartney's Liverpool days. McCartney had gone to a party of art students where a student with a goatee and a striped T-shirt was singing a French song. He soon wrote a farcical imitation to entertain his friends that involved French-sounding groaning instead of real words. The song remained a party piece until 1965, when John Lennon suggested he rework it into a proper song for inclusion on Rubber Soul. 

It took me a couple of listens to get into it. Once I imagined myself listening to it in France it clicked better in my head. :P This is definitely a song that puts you in mind of some incredibly attractive Parisians sitting at a cafe, sipping red wine, wearing dark sunglasses and smoking cigarettes with infinite coolness. The name "Michelle" is French itself; it means "who resembles God?" and was the most popular baby name in 1969.

Well, that's it for today! See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 17
Songs Completed: 91

The Word

Today's song is "The Word". It marks a change from The Beatles' normal method of speaking about love (that is, between a boy and a girl). Instead, the lyrics (written on a multicolored lyric sheet by John and Paul after smoking some pot) are more abstract. "It's so fine, it's sunshine / It's the word, love" describes the idea of love rather than a specific instance of it. 

I think this song's pretty groovy; the high vocal range and the guitar parts really put me in mind of the sound of the 70's musically, while the lyrics are solidly 60's and the first Beatles song I've encountered to start talking about free love (in a roundabout way). :) It's definitely a unique love song. 

That's all for today! See you guys tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 17
Songs Completed: 90

Think for Yourself

Today's song, "Think for Yourself", is by George and serves as "a warning against listening to lies." Later, in his book I Me Mine, he wrote, "But all this time later, I don't quite recall who inspired that tune. Probably the government."  

Rubber Soul came out in December of 1965, which was a year of turmoil for the world. It was the year Lyndon B. Johnson took office and the year the U.S. landed troops in Vietnam; the year Malcolm X was assassinated and Winston Churchill died; the year of Bloody Sunday, civil rights protests and marches, and the Voting Rights Act; and it was the year Pope Paul VI announced that it's been decided the Jews are not collectively responsible for killing Christ; among other events. 

So, George probably had a lot of political events to choose from when writing "Think for Yourself." Specifically in Britain and in the United States where The Beatles often performed, there was a great deal of tension over various issues, including Rhodesia's (later South Africa) struggle for independence, the Vietnam War and the draft (as well as draft card burnings, Vietnam War protests on Washington, and some of the first televised images and films of the true horrors of war). A lot of the turmoil of the Sixties was shown pretty well in Across the Universe, which links those Beatles songs to events in that time period. 

Coming back to the song itself, "Think for Yourself" is a pretty good song. Wikipedia tells us an interesting fact:

In a departure from all precedent at the time, the song has two bass lines, a normal one and one created by Paul McCartney's then-unique application of a fuzzbox to his bass.

That fuzzbox gives the bass a pretty neat growl, which really complements Harrison's admonishing lyrics well. I believe this is the first Beatles song that could be interpreted to have a political meaning--but certainly not the last, as we'll see.

That's it for today... See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 17
Songs Completed: 89

Nowhere Man

Today's song, "Nowhere Man", according to Wikipedia, "is among the very first Beatles' songs to be entirely unrelated to romance or love, and marks a notable instance of Lennon's philosophically-oriented songwriting." John, Paul and George sing the lyrics in three-part harmony, lending kind of a unique, echoing sound to the song.

Lennon wrote the lyrics about himself; he'd apparently been frustrated for hours, trying to write a decent song. 

Lennon told Playboy: "I'd spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then 'Nowhere Man' came, words and music, the whole damn thing as I lay down."

Interestingly, the melody of the song's verses resembles parts of Chopin's Mazurka No. 48 in F Major, Op. 68/3.

I like this song; I've heard it before, but years and years ago. The guys' voices are a bit haunting, and the lyrics that John wrote seem to be a self-deprecating and encouraging at the same time, as if he was trying to shake himself out of it. My favorite line is "Isn't he a bit like you and me?" 

Well, that's all for today. Hope you enjoyed the song (as well as the movie review I just posted). :) See you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 17
Songs Completed: 88

Movie Review: Help!

Help! was The Beatles' second (and last) full-length, live-action, theatrical movie. It was filmed in a variety of locations, such as Salisbury Plain (home of Stonehenge), the Bahamas, Austria, and of course England. Some critics disliked the film:

Leslie Halliwell describes it as an "[e]xhausting attempt to outdo A Hard Day's Night in lunatic frenzy, which goes to show that some talents work best on low budgets. The humour is a frantic cross between Hellzapoppin', The Goons, Goofy, Mr. Magoo and the shade of Monty Python to come. It looks good but becomes too tiresome to entertain."

I actually kind of agree with that last part; during the second half of the movie, I found myself being sucked into the film, eyes glazed over (and not necessarily in a good way). At the same time, I enjoyed the film. It works well as a spy-movie spoof, even with its inappropriate portrayal of supposedly Indian characters (a parody of the Thuggee cult).

According to Wikipedia, "The Beatles did not particularly enjoy the filming of the movie, nor were they pleased with the end product. In 1970, John Lennon said they felt like extras in their own movie." John also admitted that they "were smoking marijuana for breakfast during that period. Nobody could communicate with us, it was all glazed eyes and giggling all the time. In our own world. It's like doing nothing most of the time, but still having to rise at 7 am, so we became bored." 

The guys stated later that the film was shot in a "haze of marijuana". While filming the part about the guys curling, Paul and Ringo ran off in the middle of the scene to smoke a joint behind a hill. :P Ringo said of the incident:

Well, Paul and I ran about seven miles, we ran and ran, just so we could stop and have a joint before we came back. We could have run all the way to Switzerland. If you look at pictures of us you can see a lot of red-eyed shots; they were red from the dope we were smoking. And these were those clean-cut boys!

Despite the shortcomings of the movie, Help! isn't really a bad film. It kept most of the great vibe from A Hard Day's Night and the guys, even if they weren't having much fun and were getting high all the time, actually shine in several scenes. My particular favorite was when they were skiing and messing around in the snow. :)

Overall, a good movie, and fun to watch. I'll post some of my favorite quotes down below, just because. :) See you soon, for today's song.

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Ringo: What was it that first attracted you to me?
John: Well, you're very polite, aren't you?

John: There's somebody been in this soup.

George, realizing the curling stone is actually a bomb: Hey, it's a thingy! A fiendish thingy!

George: I'm always getting winked at these days. It used to be you, didn't it Paul?

Superintendent: Oh come on now lads, don't be windy, where's that famous pluck?
John: I haven't got any, have you George?
George: Did have.
Paul: I have had.
Ringo: I will have! Lead on!

Ringo: The Fire Brigade once got my head out of some railings.
John: Did you want them to?
Ringo: No, I used to leave it there when I wasn't using it for school. You can see a lot of the world from railings.

You Won't See Me

"You Won't See Me" is a song that Paul wrote while having troubles with his girlfriend, Jane Asher, who was apparently refusing to speak to him or return his calls. Understandably, the lyrics are somewhat less cheerful than his usual love ballads. At 3 minutes, 22 seconds, it's also the longest song the guys had recorded up to that point.

This song also gives us a sighting of yet another fifth Beatle (I'm calling him that, but I'm not sure anyone else is. I think he counts). 

Mal "Organ" Evans (one of The Beatles' roadies throughout their career) is credited on the album sleeve as having played Hammond organ on this track, his contribution consisting solely of an A note quietly held throughout the last part of the song.

See? Any Beatles roadie named "Organ" and who contributed to a song should be considered among the ranks of the fifth Beatles. :P

Interestingly, "You Won't See Me" wasn't in The Beatles' concert repertoire, but in later years, Paul played it during his own solo concerts: "The song wasn't performed live by Paul McCartney until his '04 Summer Tour (in 2004), with McCartney telling the audience that, up until then, he literally had not played the song since recording it 39 years prior." I wonder if he had to practice it a few times, to brush up on it. Probably. :P

Well, kind of a short post today... But I'll see you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 16
Songs Completed: 87

Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

Today's song is the lovely and enigmatic "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". George Harrison plays the sitar; he had started becoming strongly influenced by Indian culture and music (later he would be particularly inspired by Indian musician Ravi Shankar). Lennon wrote and sang the song; apparently he wrote it about the extramarital affairs he was having around that time. He stated:

"Norwegian Wood" is my song completely. It was about an affair I was having. I was very careful and paranoid because I didn't want my wife, Cyn, to know that there really was something going on outside of the household. I'd always had some kind of affairs going on, so I was trying to be sophisticated in writing about an affair. But in such a smoke-screen way that you couldn't tell. But I can't remember any specific woman it had to do with.

There are different opinions as to who the particular woman was, if there was one. However, more interestingly, during a 1966 press conference in Los Angeles, a reporter asked the guys some questions regarding the song.

Reporter: I'd like to direct this question to messrs. Lennon and McCartney. In a recent article, Time magazine put down pop music. And they referred to "Day Tripper" as being about a prostitute...
Paul: Oh yeah.
Reporter: ...and "Norwegian Wood" as being about a lesbian.
Paul: Oh yeah.
Reporter: I just wanted to know what your intent was when you wrote it, and what your feeling is about the Time magazine criticism of the music that is being written today.
Paul: We were just trying to write songs about prostitutes and lesbians, that's all.

That made me laugh. :P 

The song tells the story of a girl who leads the singer on and at the last minute makes him sleep in the bathtub. The last lines of "Norwegian Wood" mention that the singer lights a fire; Paul and John said the audience is meant to believe that he has burned the girl's house down in revenge. Paul said of the title of the song:

It was pine, really, cheap pine. But it's not as good a title, "Cheap Pine", baby. So it was a little parody really on those kind of girls who when you'd go to their flat there would be a lot of Norwegian wood. It was completely imaginary from my point of view but in John's it was based on an affair he had.... So she makes him sleep in the bath and then finally in the last verse I had this idea to set the Norwegian wood on fire as revenge, so we did it very tongue in cheek. She led him on, then said, "You'd better sleep in the bath." In our world the guy had to have some sort of revenge ... so it meant I burned the place down.

Rather violent, I think, setting a girl's house on fire just because she's a tease. :P Still, I rather like "Norwegian Wood". The sitar lends the song an indescribable but enchanting quality, pairing an India-infused melody with facetious British lyrics. I honestly cannot remember if I've heard this song before; it sounds incredibly familiar, but since I can't be sure, unfortunately I'll have to hold off adding it to the tally.

That's all for today. The film Help! is winging its way to me as we speak, and I'm looking forward to watching it soon. :) I'll see you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 16
Songs Completed: 86

Drive My Car

Today we begin the album Rubber Soul. Released in December of 1965, the album was rushed to meet the Christmas market and thus it's the only Beatles album to have been recorded during a specific period of time (as opposed to written and recorded haphazardly over a long period). Interestingly, the UK version of the album has a more soulful feel, whereas the U.S. version, which included two songs from Help!, has a more folk-rock vibe (similar to Bob Dylan and The Byrds). As we go through the album, we'll discuss more about it. 

The first song, "Drive My Car", opens with some blasting guitar notes and tells the story of a girl who's dead-set on getting famous. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic.com praises the subtlety of the song, saying

While initially the song seems like the standard macho boasting of some guy showing off his car, it transpires that actually the girl in the song is leading the narrator on by half-hinting that she'll let him be her chauffeur, and maybe be his lover too. That's a subtle, one might say almost O. Henry-like, slant that was most likely totally beyond the reach of the usual Californian hot-rod act, or most other pop and rock singers for that matter. The most ironic touch, however, was applied when the Beatles merrily sang "beep beep" at the end of the chorus' punch line: a nifty way of making nonsense words compliment the images and the sounds.

I really dig this song; it's got a strong and confident female lead, excellent singing and instrument-playing from the guys, and an overall fun-loving and catchy sound. [You may notice that on the main Wikipedia page for the album, "Drive My Car" is described as a "a satirical piece of sexism". However, I have to disagree that this is sexism at all.] 

Well, that's it for today... Hope you enjoyed the song as much as I did. :) See you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 16
Songs Completed: 85

Album Summary: Help!

As I'm sure you can guess, Help! is by far my favorite album (at least up to this point!). Some critics and music experts may say that the true turning point for The Beatles musically was a specific song in some earlier album, but I think the action truly happened right here. There's just something about the feel of these songs together that makes this album something pretty awesome.

I loved almost every song on Help! which makes it difficult to narrow down my favorites. So difficult, in fact, that I won't do it. It would be like asking a parent to choose her favorite child--she might have one, but she'll never admit it (unless she's kind of a crappy parent, I suppose). A couple of the tracks on the album were songs we've already heard (specifically "Tell Me What You See" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" from Beatles VI), but the rest were original, musical gold.

As far as the album's relationship to the film is concerned, I'll have to wait to talk about that until Netflix sends me the movie--I'll discuss that aspect of the album in the movie review. Until then, stay tuned for today's post, the first song from Rubber Soul. :)

Yesterday

One of my all-time favorite Beatles songs today... "Yesterday" is probably Paul's most famous song, and cemented his role as the Beatles' balladeer. 

There is a great deal of information available for this song--such as the fact it holds the Guinness world record for most covers (around 1,600 recorded versions) of any song ever written ever, or the fact it's been voted #1 song (of the 20th century, of all time, etc.) on multiple occasions, despite never having been released as a single in the UK. Reportedly, that last one was because, since the song was purely Paul's work, the other three Beatles vetoed allowing it to be released as an official single. (It finally was, however, in the UK in 1976.)

Paul was apparently inspired to write the music of the song in a dream. Waking up, he wrote the melody down quickly to avoid forgetting it, but initially feared he'd accidentally plagiarized it (cryptomnesia). After showing it around and establishing its originality, he was relieved. 

However, "Yesterday" wasn't the song's original title.

As Lennon and McCartney were known to do at the time, a substitute working lyric, entitled "Scrambled Eggs" (the working opening verse was "Scrambled Eggs/Oh, my baby how I love your legs"), was used for the song until something more suitable was written.

John, George and Ringo were very reluctant to let the song be included in their repertoire. They felt that since it featured only one Beatle (Paul was accompanied only by a string quartet), it didn't mesh well with the image they had constructed of "The Beatles". However, fans worldwide disagreed, and "Yesterday" was the most-played song on American radio for eight straight years. Not bad. :P

I personally love this song. It's sad, yet sweet, and has been the anthem for more than a few break-ups, I would imagine. Surprisingly, I haven't heard that many covers of the song--the only one I know I've heard was from the movie Bean. :P

Well, that's it for the song, and we're also done with Help!. I'll watch the movie ASAP and tell you what I thought. In the meantime, I'll see you tomorrow with a new song and a new album. :)

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Heard It Tally: 15
Songs Completed: 84

I've Just Seen a Face

One of my favorite Beatles songs today! "I've Just Seen a Face" is a country classic by Paul McCartney, who both wrote it and sang lead vocals. Rather ironically (since Paul mostly played bass), this is one of the few Beatles songs that completely lacks a bass track. 

Wikipedia gives us a great quote from Paul about his song, which has remained one of his favorites over the years (he performed the song with Wings and more recent DVD releases).

McCartney has stated, “It was slightly country and western from my point of view... it was faster, though, it was a strange uptempo thing. I was quite pleased with it. The lyric works; it keeps dragging you forward, it keeps pulling you to the next line, there’s an insistent quality to it that I liked."

Like I mentioned above, this is one of my favorites. I absolutely adore the version by Jim Sturgess in Across the Universe, but I find the original equally enjoyable. The lyrics are sweet--the singer's just fallen head over heels for a girl he's just seen. The lyrics come rushing up at you, guided along by that twangy guitar work by George. It's simply excellent! :)


That's all for today... Just one more new song on Help! (and it's a big one!) and then I'll watch the film and post a movie review. I can't wait! See you then. :)




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Heard It Tally: 14
Songs Completed: 83

It's Only Love

"It's Only Love" is a short & sweet little crooner sung by John, who coincidentally hated the song. As a "filler" song, this tune was less than stellar, and certainly not one of the guys' favorites. Wikipedia clarifies:

In his 1994 biography Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, McCartney said of the song: "Sometimes we didn't fight it if the lyric came out rather bland on some of those filler songs like 'It's Only Love'. If a lyric was really bad we'd edit it, but we weren't that fussy about it, because it's only a rock 'n' roll song. I mean, this is not literature."

Apparently they were alright with rationing their efforts, saving them for truly great songs and not fretting if the fillers weren't that good. After all, "It's Only Love" was originally "composed with the working title, 'That's A Nice Hat.'" :P I'm alright with the song; it's not terrible, but it's definitely not the best song ever. I like the guitar parts--George filtered his guitar through a rotating Leslie speaker which gives it an interesting sound. Overall, not horrible. I've heard worse.

That's it for today! See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 13

Songs Completed: 82

Act Naturally

"Act Naturally" is a classic. Who hasn't heard one version or another? Written by Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison, the song was originally recorded by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos. The Beatles' version is sung by Ringo--his requisite one-or-two songs per album. 

The lyrics are classic country, and despite the slightly different themes I'm quite sure Shel Silverstein had "Act Naturally" in mind when he wrote "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" (performed by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show). Ringo was made to sing this song--or the song just happens to be perfect for his abilities; either way, "Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it 'an ideal showcase for Ringo's amiable vocals.'" Ringo's version is so famous, in fact, that it is second only to the original by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos. In 1989, Starr and Owens teamed up for a new version of the song and even recorded a music video.

Personally, I'm pretty fond of this one. It's barely recognizable as a breakup song, yet that theme is there if you listen carefully. Overall, it's a fun hillbilly tune, a song that even haters of the country genre can enjoy--after all, what gives more cred to a country song than having The Beatles do a cover of it? :P

That's all for today... See you tomorrow! 

[Also, I'm adding this song to the Heard It Tally because I'm almost positive this is the version I'm familiar with, so yay!]

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Heard It Tally: 13

Songs Completed: 81

Ticket to Ride

"Ticket to Ride" is the final song on the first side of Help! and the last from the film as well. There's a dispute over who contributed more to its writing, Lennon or McCartney. Most people agree John was the primary creator, but Paul's role is less certain. John said once that Paul's contribution was the equivalent of "the way Ringo played the drums", suggesting a limited role, while Paul maintained he was responsible for at least 40%. Honestly, the more interesting part for me is not who was mostly responsible for writing a song, but rather who would claim he contributed more afterward. :P

The lyrics talk about a girl who's leaving her man, the singer. The music is great; it has a slower tempo than a lot of the songs on this album (so far), and it's also the longest, clocking in at three minutes, ten seconds. Interestingly, "Lennon proudly claimed that it was the first heavy metal song given the droning bassline, repeating drums, and loaded guitar lines." I'm not sure I agree with labeling "Ticket to Ride" a heavy metal song, but maybe I'm just too stuck in our modern definition of "heavy metal". :P

There are several possible sources for the lyrics, particularly for the phrase "ticket to ride". Wikipedia gives us some to consider: 

While the song lyrics describe a girl "riding out of the life of the narrator", the inspiration of the title phrase is unclear. McCartney said it was "a British Railways ticket to the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight", and Lennon said it described cards indicating a clean bill of health carried by Hamburg prostitutes in the 1960s. The Beatles played in Hamburg early in their musical career, and "ride/riding" was slang for having sex.

There you have it. :P

That's all for today... Another mark for the Heard It Tally, and another song for tomorrow. :) See you then.

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Heard It Tally: 12

Songs Completed: 80

You're Going to Lose That Girl

Today's song, "You're Going to Lose That Girl" was written by Paul and John. In the song, the singer threatens to steal his friend's girl away; his friend hasn't been treating her well and she deserves better: "I'll make a point of taking her away from you (watch what you do) / Yeah, the way you treat her, what else can I do?" I like this one, and I'm sure it was very popular with the ladies--who wouldn't find it romantic to be "rescued" from a boring or bad relationship by someone who cares about your happiness and wellbeing? :P 

Wikipedia tells us that "Lennon's lead singing is set in a call-and-response with the enthusiastic answering harmonies of McCartney and George Harrison, offering a last glimpse of the early Beatles' musical home turf." The classic call-and-response technique we saw so much of falls by the wayside from here on out as the guys mature and start to take bigger risks in their music and lyrics. 

Well that's all for today! See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 11

Songs Completed: 79

Another Girl

"Another Girl", written by Paul, has to be the coldest breakup song I've ever heard. It goes from an "apparent threat to a jealous girl" but then "turns into a sweet tribute to the 'other' girl who 'will always be my friend'" (according to Wikipedia). I'm not sure how much I like this song, personally; it's a little bit bipolar for my tastes, and quite harsh to the singer's original ladyfriend. 

Musically, one might be tempted to label this a "filler" song, but McCartney takes exception to that (which, he would... he wrote it) when he said in defense of this song and others: "It's a bit much to call them fillers because I think they were a bit more than that, and each one of them made it past the Beatles test. We all had to like it." One final tidbit: Interestingly, "Another Girl" is one of only a handful of songs in which Paul plays lead guitar as well as bass. 

That's all for today! See you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 11

Songs Completed: 78

I Need You

"I Need You" is a great song written and sung by George. :) It's a quirky little song and I love it. Its corresponding scene in the film Help! "is the first video produced showing George Harrison singing lead vocal on a song" according to Wikipedia. Yay George!

It's generally thought that George wrote the song about his girlfriend (and later wife), Pattie Boyd. Also, Wikipedia tells us that the song's "distinctive lead guitar cadences [were] achieved by Harrison's first recorded use of a volume pedal" which is no doubt fascinating to hardcore Beatles historians as well as music buffs. :)

Listening to this album before watching the movie is actually pretty hard; it's so tempting to watch the YouTube video while I'm listening, but so far I've resisted doing so, knowing the movie will be more excellent without sneaking a peek beforehand. :P Today's song is a really great one though; I like the lyrics, which are suitably bummed, and I enjoy the music, which is oddly upbeat with those great guitar cadences. Overall a fabulous little song. :)

That's all for today! See you guys tomorrow.

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Heard It Tally: 11

Songs Completed: 77

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

Today's song is "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away". John, enchanted by Bob Dylan and already having written several songs that honor his style, mimicked Dylan's acoustic sound. Wikipedia says "the song is in a folkish strophic form"  and that Lennon used "a Dylanesque acoustic guitar figure in compound time, chiefly acoustic accompaniment, no backing voices and light percussion from brushed snare, tambourine and maraca." (You can check out the links if you're curious--it's all way too technical for non-musical me, especially when we get into things like "strophic form" and "compound time".) This is the first Beatles song (since "Love Me Do") to feature a non-Beatle; John Scott recorded tenor and alto flute parts for the track.

I really love this song. Like, love love love it. Ironically, I am decidedly not a Dylan fan--there's just something about John's unique take on Dylan that I really enjoy. Apparently the words "two foot small" in the lyrics were originally a mistake; John was supposed to sing "two foot tall" but eventually decided his blooper sounded better (and I agree). Wikipedia goes more in depth as to why John wanted it left in:

Musician/singer Tom Robinson connected the song's lyrics to Brian Epstein, the group's manager, who was a closeted homosexual (homosexuality was a criminal offense in Britain.) When Lennon made a mistake during the recording, singing "two foot small" instead of "two foot tall", he is reported to have said: "Let's leave that in, actually. All those pseuds will really love it." at the time).

I looked up "pseuds"--apparently it signifies "a false, artificial, or pretentious person". Honestly, I can't make the connection between Brian Epstein being gay and Lennon wanting all the fake people out there to fawn over his lyrical mistake. Does anyone know? Rybaczewski, on his page for this song, doesn't seem to think there's a connection either--so maybe whoever wrote the wiki article was mistaken.

Anyway, that's all for today! Hope you enjoyed the song. :) See you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 11

Songs Completed: 76

The Night Before

Today's song is "The Night Before", not to be confused with the Keanu Reeves movie. :P This one was written by Paul, and John plays the Hohner Pianet electric piano we heard in "Help!" yesterday.

I like this song--the call and response technique works really well with the song's structure and McCartney's guitar solo in the middle is pretty bangin'. I also like his vocals--he really belts it out and you can hear the feeling behind the words. :)

At BeatlesEBooks.com, author Rybaczewski points out similarities between "The Night Before" and what is possibly Paul's greatest song, "Yesterday". Both songs have a familiar theme, that everything was great yesterday but today things have fallen apart. Other than that, however, the two couldn't be more different (but we'll find out more about that in the future, when we get to "Yesterday"). Rybaczewski does mention that it's unlikely Paul wrote "The Night Before" about Jane Asher, since they went on a long vacation right after he wrote it. He says, "...it makes more sense to assume the lyrics are fictional, 'projecting myself into a situation and writing a nice story about it,' as John would describe it." 

That's it for today. See you tomorrow! :)

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Heard It Tally: 10

Songs Completed: 75

Help!

Today we start a great album--Help! is the Beatles' fifth British and ninth American album, as well as the soundtrack from the film of the same name. As we saw with A Hard Day's Night, the first half of the album contains songs from the movie, while the second half contains mostly original material as well as a couple of covers. Although Rolling Stone rank it only #332 on their list, we may decide after hearing it that it deserves a higher spot. We'll have to wait and see!

Interesting fact about the cover art: If you check out the cover here, you'll see the guys holding their arms out at wonky angles. Some of you may recognize that they're spelling in flag semaphore--however, those of you familiar with it know they aren't actually spelling "help". They're actually spelling "NUJV", for reasons unknown. :P

We start the album with the titular "Help!", written by John. This was another important marker in the road for Lennon; according to Wikipedia:

The documentary series The Beatles Anthology revealed that Lennon wrote the lyrics of the song to express his stress after the Beatles' quick rise to success. "I was fat and depressed and I was crying out for 'Help'," Lennon told Playboy. Writer Ian MacDonald describes the song as the "first crack in the protective shell" Lennon had built around his fragile emotions during the Beatles' rise to fame, and an important milestone in his songwriting style.

By the time the album Help! was released in the States in August of 1965, The Beatles were firmly established and no strangers to fame, nor to the pressure to perform and live up to their image. They found solace and expression in their music: 

In the 1970 Rolling Stone "Lennon Remembers" interviews, Lennon said that because of its honesty it was one of his favourites among the Beatles songs he wrote, but he wished they had recorded it at a slower tempo. In these interviews, Lennon said he felt that "Help!" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were his most genuine Beatles songs and not just songs written to order.

We'll definitely see a lot of interesting expressing going on as we delve deeper into the sixties and The Beatles' songwriting zenith. 

Another interesting fact: 

In February 1985, "Help!" became the first Beatles song licensed for a US television commercial. The Lincoln–Mercury division of Ford Motor Company paid $100,000 for the rights to the song, but not for the use of the original Beatles' recording. The song was re-created by a sound-alike group with assistance from George Martin.

As for my opinion of the song, I love it. :) It's one of my favorite Beatles songs of all time (so far!). I wonder, however, how it would've sounded with a slower tempo, the way Lennon originally wanted to do it. It might have ended up so heartbreaking that no one would want to listen to it. :P Overall, it's a great song, and one that everyone can relate to--everybody feels alone and needs company every now and then. Who better than The Beatles to cheer you up?

That's all for today... See you tomorrow! :)

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Heard It Tally: 10

Songs Completed: 74

Tell Me What You See

"Tell Me What You See" is the name of today's song. It was written mostly by Paul (he first said the work was 60-40 between him and John, but later claimed all the work was his own, so who knows?), who labeled the song "not awfully memorable". 

The song features a lot of neat, quirky instruments including a Hohner Pianet and a güiro (both played by Paul), a tambourine and a pair of claves (both played by Ringo). "Tell Me What You See" is also remarkable in that it "shows the musical growth of the Beatles since Please Please Me, and foreshadows their further exploration on Rubber Soul and Revolver." The guys were exploring with more than just inverted syntax ("If you put your trust in me / I'll make bright your day"). According to Wikipedia, "Evident in the song's structure and instrumentation is the group's then growing folk influence, with lyrics more mature and reflective than was standard in their earlier output."

As for me, when the song started it took me a while to figure out what was going on. Once I got deeper into the song, though, I caught the hang of it and I began to enjoy it. Learning about all the neat instruments the boys used definitely made it more interesting for me, too. :)

That's all for today... We've finished Beatles VI and we'll be starting Help! tomorrow. I'm definitely looking forward to it! After I've completed the album, I'll watch the video and do another movie review. :) See you guys tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 9

Songs Completed: 73

Dizzy Miss Lizzy

"Dizzy Miss Lizzy" is a cover of a Larry Williams song believed by Paul to be one of The Beatles' best recordings. I have to agree--normally I'm not too fond of the rock and roll songs but this one's great. John kills it on vocals (which Wikipedia calls "particularly rousing"), the guitar work is excellent, and you can really hear Ringo's love for the beat.

The title of the original was "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy", which makes sense since the lyrics aren't about a young lady with an inner ear problem. "You make me dizzy, Miss Lizzy", says the singer, who is crazy in love with the girl. According to Wikipedia, Ringo heard about the song from band manager Brian Epstein and encouraged his band-mates to record the song "after loving its upbeat rhythm and interesting lyrics." 

I also checked out the original, which is somewhat cleaner-cut, but it seemed like it lacked the sheer force of passion that Lennon and the guys imbued in their version. The original is good, but I think the cover is great. So, "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" is overall a well-loved and well-done song, with or without the comma. :)

That's it for today! Hope to see you tomorrow. :)

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Heard It Tally: 9

Songs Completed: 72

Yes It Is

Bummer of a song today... "Yes It Is" was written by John (in a morose mood, apparently) and "features some of the Beatles' most complex and dissonant three-part vocal harmonies and showcases George Harrison's early use of volume pedal guitar."

While John wasn't too impressed by his own effort on this one (essentially calling it a poor man's "This Boy"), Paul seemed to think it was "a very fine song of John's". I'm leaning more towards Paul on this one; it's inexplicably fascinating. Maybe it's the weird, off-balance harmonies or the weird, off-balance guitar of George's... or the weird, off-balance lyrics in which John rhymes "tonight" with "tonight". Maybe all of these things together. Whatever it is, I like it. :) It makes you want to kind of sway back and forth while you're listening to it--and it's worth listening to, if even to marvel at the weirdness. :P

That's it for today... See you tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 9

Songs Completed: 71

Bad Boy

"Bad Boy" is the name of today's song. It's a Larry Williams cover, one of two on Beatles '65 that the guys made for a North American audience. It's a really fun rock and roll jam, and it sounds like the Beatles had a lot of fun playing it. :)

The lyrics are great--it's a story about a kid who loves rock and roll and seems to be a juvenile delinquent. He puts tacks on the teacher's chair, sticks gum in the hair of his female classmate, and spends every dime he gets on playing rock and roll in the jukebox. Some things are timeless, and that includes being a wild youth who loves loud, strange music and gives his mother grief. :P According to Rybaczewski on the song page for "Bad Boy" at BeatlesEBooks.com, "his rebellion even gets downright evil, feeding the canary 'to the neighbor's cat' and giving 'the cocker spaniel a bath in mother's laudromat.'" Ruh-roh!

That's all for today--hope you had a great Fourth of July! :) See you guys tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 9

Songs Completed: 70

You Like Me Too Much

Today we start the album Beatles VI, which has a lot of old songs but several new ones for us to hear. :) Beatles VI was the ninth Beatles album to be released in the U.S. in less than a year and a half--talk about prolific. It also contains two songs (both covers) recorded specifically for the North American market, which was a unique event in Beatles recording history. 

The first new song from the album is "You Like Me Too Much". My first impression is that the lyrics are a bit off. The song itself sounds great--the guitar is excellent (which makes perfect sense because George wrote it), and the vocals are top notch. However, the words themselves almost give me the same feeling Twilight or Beauty and the Beast do; it describes a kind of creepy, stalkerish, almost-abusive relationship. I'm sure most people don't read the song that way, and I'm sure I only do because I look for things like that, and I know the song's meant as an innocent love song about two people who make it work even though it's hard sometimes. 

But. But but but. When I hear lines like, "You've tried before to leave me / but you haven't got the nerve", "I will follow you / and bring you back where you belong" and "I wouldn't let you leave me", what comes to mind isn't a romantic and impulsive gentleman, it's a manipulative and abusive man. Similarly, most people view Edward Cullen (from the Twilight novels and films) as Bella's dark and mysterious protector. However, if you read more closely, he's quite violent and obsessive, and it's not just because he's a vampire. His treatment of Bella and her submission to his control (even when she's "doing her own thing" like visiting a friend of whom Edward disapproves--because she's still forced to sneak around behind his back to do so) might encourage girls in real life to look for partners who take absolute control over their lives from day one, thinking that's how love is supposed to be or that they can somehow "fix" the bad boys. To me, "You Like Me Too Much" echoes that dangerous sentiment.

Granted, this song is a far, far cry from Twilight. It's not nearly as bad as even the least sexist Rolling Stones song. :P This is just my impression of the lyrics. The song itself, like I mentioned above, is a great song. Without reading too deeply into it, I sincerely enjoyed it, particularly the instruments. :)

That's all for today! Hope you enjoyed the lecture. :P See you guys tomorrow!

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Heard It Tally: 9

Songs Completed: 69