The Beatles are fucking good.

[JesusAndYourBush]

ASK HIM ABOUT CARNIVAL OF LIGHT

Ask him to RELEASE Carnival Of Light.  It'll be shite, but a lot of people would still iike to hear it anyway.

[Goldentony]

I went to see Paul talk about his book tonight, I saw an actual Beatle's face with my face. A lot of love in the room for him.

Glad to say he barely lapsed into any of his classic anecdotes, other than one about the feedback on I Feel Fine. They tried to bait him into 'scrambled eggs' but he deftly swerved it as well as an ill-considered attempt to drag him into Guardian-esque contemporary political commentary.

I went in there cynical as hell and came out in love with him all over again. He's fucking amazing and so much more than his showbiz persona.

did he say whether carnival of light is shite or not? we need to settle this on here

[Replies From View]

I would have liked his response to Mark Gatiss' comment that his eyebrows look stained by typewriter ribbon.

[Pauline Walnuts]

I would have liked his response to Mark Gatiss' comment that his eyebrows look stained by typewriter ribbon.

McCartney'll probably just go 'Gatiss?' and point at his own luxuriant full head of hair, and laugh.

[iamcoop]

Alright guys, sorry to crash the thread but I have a question.

My partner is a huge Beatles fan and I was thinking of getting that Tune In book as a Christmas gift.

Is it any cop? It looks fucking massive and as her job involves a ton of reading as it is I'm reluctant to buy something so heavy going if it's going to impenetrable and boring. 

If it is a bit rubbish any recommendations for a good book about them that might be slightly more academic/leftfield than the usual suspects but is still entertaining and good?

Sorry, I've not really made any of that that clear have I? Hope you get the drift.

Cheers in advance x

[studpuppet]

Is it any cop?

Yes - and if she's a huge Beatles fan I'm surprised she doesn't have it already.

[SpiderChrist]

Alright guys, sorry to crash the thread but I have a question.

My partner is a huge Beatles fan and I was thinking of getting that Tune In book as a Christmas gift.

Is it any cop? It looks fucking massive and as her job involves a ton of reading as it is I'm reluctant to buy something so heavy going if it's going to impenetrable and boring. 

If it is a bit rubbish any recommendations for a good book about them that might be slightly more academic/leftfield than the usual suspects but is still entertaining and good?

Sorry, I've not really made any of that that clear have I? Hope you get the drift.

Cheers in advance x

Fab Fools is good: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jem-Roberts/Fab-Fools--The-Last-Ever-Untold-Beatles-Story/24546504

[markburgle]

Alright guys, sorry to crash the thread but I have a question.

My partner is a huge Beatles fan and I was thinking of getting that Tune In book as a Christmas gift.

Is it any cop? It looks fucking massive and as her job involves a ton of reading as it is I'm reluctant to buy something so heavy going if it's going to impenetrable and boring. 

If it is a bit rubbish any recommendations for a good book about them that might be slightly more academic/leftfield than the usual suspects but is still entertaining and good?

Sorry, I've not really made any of that that clear have I? Hope you get the drift.

Cheers in advance x

It's bloody good and not at all heavy going. I was gripped. The audiobook is also very well done so that's another option if she likes those.

If she really likes it you've also got another Christmas covered because next you could get her the uncut version which is twice as long.

If you want something more analytical there's Revolution in the Head, which analyses (from both musicological and sociological angles) every Beatles song in the order they were recorded, as well as exploring how they were written/recorded. Some of the info is now discredited but it's still a great read.

[iamcoop]

It's bloody good and not at all heavy going. I was gripped. The audiobook is also very well done so that's another option if she likes those.

If she really likes it you've also got another Christmas covered because next you could get her the uncut version which is twice as long.

If you want something more analytical there's Revolution in the Head, which analyses (from both musicological and sociological angles) every Beatles song in the order they were recorded, as well as exploring how they were written/recorded. Some of the info is now discredited but it's still a great read.

Thankyou!

That's an (incredibly heavy) stocking filler sorted then!

[weirdbeard]

Alright guys, sorry to crash the thread but I have a question.

My partner is a huge Beatles fan and I was thinking of getting that Tune In book as a Christmas gift.

Is it any cop? It looks fucking massive and as her job involves a ton of reading as it is I'm reluctant to buy something so heavy going if it's going to impenetrable and boring. 

If it is a bit rubbish any recommendations for a good book about them that might be slightly more academic/leftfield than the usual suspects but is still entertaining and good?

Sorry, I've not really made any of that that clear have I? Hope you get the drift.

Cheers in advance x

It is excellent, but be aware it only goes up until the end of 1962, so that's up to Love Me Do and not even reaching the first album.

[the science eel]

and he's taking about 853 years to get volume 2 together

[Goldentony]

you get to read about Ireland in the 1800s though

[SteveDave]

And how a John Lennon died of diarrhoea

[Goldentony]

I thought he got shot

[Replies From View]

Different John Lennon

[Replies From View]

If in real life you do get an opportunity to stroll around 19th Century Ireland, try to see if all the farmers remind you of young Paul McCartneys.

[lazyhour]

If you want something more analytical there's Revolution in the Head, which analyses (from both musicological and sociological angles) every Beatles song in the order they were recorded, as well as exploring how they were written/recorded. Some of the info is now discredited but it's still a great read.

Oof, I didn't know stuff in that book had been discredited! It's one of my favourite books about music of all time and I'm always recommending it to people. I hope the discredited bits aren't too serious...

[Retinend]

I'm also a Ian Campbell fanboy. RITH's genius lies in its mix of musicology, sociology and something even akin to philosophy. It's not a book that stands or falls based on whatever facts it might have gotten wrong. Or maybe I'll eat my words. What were the grandes errores?

[gilbertharding]

Oof, I didn't know stuff in that book had been discredited! It's one of my favourite books about music of all time and I'm always recommending it to people. I hope the discredited bits aren't too serious...

Well, for starters he reckons Helter Skelter is risible toot, whereas the opposite is true.

[Retinend]

yeah he's dead wrong there

[studpuppet]

If she really likes it you've also got another Christmas covered because next you could get her the uncut version which is twice as long.

I think I remember reading that the ePub has the extra bits in it, if you want a cheaper way of accessing it.

[gilbertharding]

yeah he's dead wrong there

I mean, he kind of has a point, but his conclusion is wrong. What he thinks makes it rubbish, in fact makes it brilliant. On the other hand, I'd love to hear a version made by a producer who understood the genre.

[Retinend]

f'reference:





edit: is there an app for Android that easily converts pages to high contrast black white?

[SpiderChrist]

Well, for starters he reckons Helter Skelter is risible toot, whereas the opposite is true.

And Across The Universe.

[the science eel]

Was never that arsed about either song, actually.

He moans about 'While My Guitar...' too, if I remember well.

[Twonty Gostelow]

I'm also a Ian Campbell fanboy.

Folk thread/UB40 thread?

[Retinend]

Oh God, I'm an anti-Scottish racist. And clearly not much of a fanboy, after all. I meant Ian MacDonald, of course.

(This is a regular form of humilation for me - I recently referred to Sean Young as "Sean Bean" 😣)

[Replies From View]

Oh God, I'm an anti-Scottish racist. And clearly not much of a fanboy, after all. I meant Ian MacDonald, of course.

(This is a regular form of humilation for me - I recently referred to Sean Young as "Sean Bean" 😣)

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Light bulb going out after being shot at with a pistol. I watched a teddy bear glitter in the dark with its head scissored off. All those moments will be lost in time, like... head stuck up a plucked turkey's arse. Still Sharpe.

[wrec]

I mean, he kind of has a point, but his conclusion is wrong. What he thinks makes it rubbish, in fact makes it brilliant.

Not to speak ill of the dead but MacDonald: wot a fucking rotter. He wrote off Across the Universe too, if I remember correctly saying the chord sequence was trite, which is hardly the point. I remember he reviewed a bunch of Can reissues in either Uncut or Mojo, gave maybe Tago Mago 3/5 and the rest 2 or something, said they had a couple of innovative tracks but the rest were monotonous, seemingly writing them off for not using enough chord changes. He seemed to focus on what music was doing on paper rather than on sonically, or to allow for visceral or emotional impact, as it suited him. A notation snob really. Also maybe the first proponent of that "at 1.43 this happens" habit which emphasises the coldly analytical approach.

Also had the same name as a member of King Crimson which is just confusing.

I mean, I have RITH and maybe I'm forgetting the good stuff but what I remember is an insistence on seeing rock / popular music through pretty much a conservative classical lens and frequent mean-spiritedness.

What's the deal with his factual accuracy? All I know is McCartney took issue.

[gilbertharding]

Interesting.

Obviously I have my own opinions (I think it's a decent enough book for what it is - if it's inaccurate on details, I don't really care, and I'm old enough to be able to disagree with his opinions without getting too upset), but I remember mentioning RITH to my brother.

Now, my brother pretty much hates pop and rock. He is a serious musician - a professional violinist and composer - who also happened to serve for about 10 years as a kind of Musical Director for the Bootleg Beatles (in fact, he can be seen playing keyboards on a clip of them re-enacting the rooftop concert in 1999)... anyway, as I say, I mentioned RITH to him, to see what he thought of it. Not much, apparently. When I suggested the idea that it was more interesting when it dealt with the social and cultural milieu of the 60s, his reply was something along the lines of 'if I was interested in that, I'd probably think he was wrong about that as well'.

Suffice to say I had to think of something else to get him for xmas that year...