Your Thursday Moment of Beatles-Themed Words Fail Me

Another era-specific take on "Now and Then."

I don't know who that kid is, but my hat's off to him.

I mean, wow. Seriously.

[h/t Gummo]

Now If Only Randy Newman Will Write a Song About Her, Then Maybe We've Got Something!

From 2023, and her soon-to-be released Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO album, please enjoy the aforementioned former Blake Babies and Lemonheads chanteuse/alt-rock cover girl and her delightful version of Jeff Lynne's classic "Can't Get It Out of My Head."

That's from the third album of covers Hatfield has done in recent years. I wasn't nuts about the one devoted to The Police (2019), which has the single least attractive version of "Every Breath You Take" ever heard by sentient mammalian ears (don't worry. I won't inflict it on you, but if you insist, you can find it at YOUTUBE). Still, the Olvia Neutron Bomb Newton-John installment (2018) was a lot of fun, and on the basis of the above, which puts a nice contemporary minimalist spin on the arrangement excesses of the original while still retaining its melodic charm, I suspect the new one is going to be equally entertaining.

The album drops, as the kids say, on November 17; in the meantime, you can pre-order it and hear more over at Hatfield's official website HERE.

Closed for Post-Beatles Monkey Business

Whew -- trying not to say something stupid about "Now and Then" really took it out of me.

Regular postings -- including a very interesting new cover of a classic rock standard by an artist you wouldn't necessarily associate with it -- resumes on the morrow.

How Dare Two of the Beatles Be Dead!!!

My two cents about the "new" Beatles song?

I prefer this cover version by an artist heretofore unknown to me -- Timmy Sean.

The short version: Mr. Sean decided the best way to recreate the thing was to do it a la early-middle (1965) Beatles stuff, in the vein of "I'll Be Back," or "Things We Said Today." And I think he was absoutely right.

As for the official version? It's a nice footnote to Beatles history, which is all anybody could have hoped for or expected. Frankly, of the three unfinished John demos Yoko gave to Paul, "Now and Then" was clearly the weakest, and compared to "Free as a Bird" or "Real Love" (and I think the Jeff Lynne version of the latter is an A-list Beatles record) it was always gonna be a disappointment, no matter how the surviving Fabs embellished it.

In any event, as I said, the 2023 Paul and Ringo version is very nice, and frankly, if you profess to dislike it, you're just being difficult and deliberately hepper-than-thou.

In other words, get over yourself.

I should add that I'm now very curious about other stuff by Mr. Sean; you can find out more about him over at his official website HERE.

I should also add that if Jeff Lynne had produced the new one with the same panache as he did the earlier two, we probably wouldn't even be having these arguments.

If It’s Friday, It Must Be a New Beatles Song

I dunno -- I think these four youngsters from Liverpool may have a future in the entertainment industry. And you?

Seriously, I have a couple of opinions about this I'd rather keep close to the vest for a spell -- but I'm very curious to get your initial impressions of this historic occasion.

So play nice kids.

And have a great weekend!!!

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved: Special "Goyim of the Canyon" Edition

From 1971, and their eponymous third album, please enjoy The Flying Burrito Brothers and their utterly lovely cover version of Gene Clark's radiantly Byrds-y "Tried So Hard."

This album kinda fell thhrough the cracks, critically speaking, back in the day, presumably because it didn't feature founding member/tragic genius Gram Parsons, but I think on balance it's their best effort. Reason I bring it up -- and I hadn't listened to the thing in ages -- is because reader J. Loslo suggested in comments yesterday that "Tried So Hard," in particular, could almost pass for proto-power pop balladry -- certainly more so than most of the nascent LA country rock of its day.

On sober reflection, I'm still kind of on the fence about that, but I think we can all agree that whatever it is, genre-wise, it's pretty damn exquisite.

I should add that this one, from the same album, is also pretty cool in a non-genre specific way.

Have I mentioned that TFBB may be the best record they did, the absence of Gram notwithstanding?

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved: Special "Thank You, I'm Here All Week" Edition

From 1970, please enjoy The Flying Burrito Brothers -- with special guest comedian(!) John Byner(!!) -- and their quite remarkable video for the shoulda-been-a-hit-single "Older Guys."

The song itself is non-pareil, of course, and probably the only thing to come out of the whole LA country-rock scene of the period that could qualify as proto-power pop (those eighth notes! those harmonies!). You can particularly hear that in the splendid 1988 cover by the tragically underrated The Skeletons, a/ka/a the pride of Springfield, Missouri, but they're a subject for another post.

As for the Burritos video, it's kind of startling and hilarious to see the song's composer, the late great Gram Parsons, doing a piss-take Mick Jagger impression; I had no idea the guy had it in him. And of course, any glimpse (however briefly) of Byner, who remains one of my favorite hipper-than-you-suspected comedians of the late Sixties/early Seventies, is a thrill. Hey -- try the veal!

[h/t Mike Bieber]

Hey, It's Halloween, Bitches!!!

And I've got MY trick-or-treat outfit.

Okay, the tie's not really authentically skinny enough. So sue me.

PS: Here I am earlier today, having lunch with a friend.

Nobody Ever Erected a Statue to a Rock Critic

John Malkovich in a one-man show about the great classical composers being dissed by their critical contemporaries?

Okay, how did I miss the memo on this?

From the press release:

Schumann fancies himself a "composer“, while Brahms is a "giftless bastard“ and Claude Debussy is "simply ugly." Aleksey Igudesman has created a sardonic mix of the most evil music critiques of the last centuries written about some of the greatest works of music. Equipped with a frivolous potpourri of musical insults, John Malkovich slips into the role of the evil critic who believes the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Prokofiev and the likes to be weary and dreary.

Aleksey Igudesman, Hyung-ki Joo and other great musicians beg to differ and fight back. The grand finale is "The Malkovich Torment“, a horrific review about Malkovich himself, which Igudesman has set to music in a uniquely sardonically humorous way.

“I have always loved the opportunity to collaborate on The Music Critic with Aleksey Igudesman, Hyung-ki Joo, and many other gifted and thoughtful young classical musicians. We are all happy to be back on the road, and for the first time also in the USA, participating in an evening which consists of some of the greatest compositions in the history of classical music, paired with the perhaps rather unexpected initial reactions those compositions elicited from some of the world’s renowned music critics, along with some other surprises.” -- John Malkovich

This actually played in NYC Saturday night just passed, and like a schmuck I didn't get tickets, although in my defense, I wasn't even aware it existed till last Friday.

In any event, the whole idea of it tickles me, for obvious professional reasons, and then, of course -- Malkovich. I need say no more.

Oh, and BTW, the quote paraphrased in today's title has been attributed to various folks over the years, but the concensus is that it was originally uttered by Jean Sibelius, the beloved Finnish composer I'm sure some schmuck scribbler once said something nasty about.

Also, you can find out more about the show, including where it's playing next, over at its official website HERE.

[h/t Tony Forte]

Weekend Listomania: Special "That's Meh Up on the Jukebox!" Edition

Okay, it's Friday, and you know what that means. Yes, my Congressional manual dexterity consultant Rep. Lauren Boebert [R-Victoria's Secret] and I will be repairing to a nearby dinner theater to enjoy a dimly lit road company version of Willie and the Hand Jive: The Musical. So regular posting will necessarily be fitful for the next few days, for obvious reasons.

That being the case, here's a hopefully stress-relieving diversion to keep you all occupied until our sweaty-but-satisfied return. To wit:

Post-Elvis Pop/Rock/Soul/Country Performer(s) Whose Work You Recognize as Important, But Otherwise They Just Don't Do it For You!!!

No arbitrary rules here, but basically we're talking about bands or solo acts who simply aren't your cup of tea, even though you cheerfully concede they have the musical goods. In other words, if their stuff came on the radio, you wouldn't turn it off, but you still wouldn't buy their albums for your personal collection.

And my totally Top of My Head Top Five is...

5. Talking Heads

Daivd Byrne's preppy anxiety attacks have always struck me as just a wee tad pretentious -- so sue me. In any case, this is the only Heads song I have ever listened to for pleasure, and then only in the rocked-out Bob Clearmountain remix, which seems to have vanished mysteriously from YouTube, alas.

4. Led Zeppelin

Figures that the only thing of theirs I love unreservedly would be this stylistically left-field vaguely Latin excursion from their final album. You know -- the one most Zep fans don't care for.

3. Van Halen

Hey -- I've seen Back to the Future; I get why people a generation younger than me dig them, and think Eddie's a cool guitarist. The above is still the only song of theirs that doesn't reduce me to scowling fidgets.

2. The Band

Love 'em being all spooky and stuff behind Dylan, think Garth Hudson is the greatest rock organist ever, but couldn't care less if I never heard any of their records again.

And the number one household name musical icon that pretty much everybody else loves, but I could easily and without regret live without is ---

1. Elton John

What can I tell you -- this one slays me, but other than that I have never listened to a single one of his songs under a pair of headphones for enjoyment. I should add that the "Tiny Dancer" scene in Almost Famous makes me wanna hurl.

Alright then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!