We flip She Loves You over to cover its B-side this episode with the largely-forgotten I’ll Get You. Does the song deserve to languish in obscurity? How does it fare stylistically? And just how long can JG vamp for while Andrew desperately tries to find some statistics?
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
It’s the mighty She Loves You this week on Stuffology, the biggest-selling Beatles single of them all. Does the song deservie its totemic reputation? How does Brian Epstein factor into this? And when discussing production, just how pretentious can JG get? (hint: fairly!)
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
We flip the disc for our song choice this week and discuss the B-side “Thank You Girl”. Did the song deserve to be an A-side as originally intended? What was going on in the charts at this time? And why the diversion into Cliff Richard talk? (to be honest, the last of those questions may not be answered after listening). Thanks, “Thank You Girl”!
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
We leave Please Please Me behind and stroll into the world of non-album singles as JG and Andrew get to grips with The Beatles very first number one, “From Me To You”. Does the song deserve its place as the very first of the band’s to top the charts? How long will it take until Ringo gets mentioned? And how good is the “song length to podcast episode length” ratio?
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
With each individual track now covered it’s time to turn our attention to the album as a whole, as JG and Andrew discuss Please Please Me as a singular work rather than a broken-up series of tracks. How does the album stand up when considered as a whole? Just how much cultural context can be squeezed into one episode before they actually get round to talking about the album this episode is ostensibly about? Where will things go from here? Plus, most gloriously of all, we have the first discussion of The Rutles! You can’t ask for more than that!
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
We make it to the end of Please Please Me this week with the totemic “Twist And Shout”. Does the song deserve its mythical reputation? Is it the perfect capper to the album? And how many off-the-subject diversions can one episode manage to encapsulate?
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
We’re nearly there! This episode sees the second-last track on Please Please Me covered, as JG and Andrew chat about “There’s A Place”. How does the song stand up? How are the harmonies? Can anyone find anything to say about this particular track? (glance at the running time and see if YOU can figure it out!)
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Twitter: @beatles_ology
As we shuffle gainfully (gainfully? Sure!) towards the end of the album we first get to sample “A Taste Of Honey”. How does a ballad like this stack up against the rest of the album? What do liminal spaces have to do with anything? Why is Billy Dee Williams mentioned? And, perhaps most importantly of all, why do our Mexican and Swedish listeners get a shout-out?
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
Bond themes are, in the end, a curious proposition. They are also pretty much unique in both cinema and music. On the one hand they need to function as part of the film they are attached to – providing an atmospheric accompaniment to whatever silhouette-and-suggestive title sequence has been dreamed up this time. On the other hand they also need need to stand on their own two feet as a song, they are expected to do well in the singles chart, and help to absolutely define the movie they appear in.Lots of movies have memorable songs attached to them but no other movie sequence has that kind of music/film crossover, and no other type of song quite has the same burden placed on it. Get it right – “Goldfinger”, “Live And Let Die”, “Skyfall” – and immortality awaits and you become an essential part of cinema lore. Get it wrong – “Tomorrow Never Dies”, “The Writing’s On The Wall”, “Die Another Day” – and infamy and mockery will follow you forever. It’s a fine balancing act to get right, and not an easy calculation.
Continue reading “We’re Number Eleven: 1967 – “You Only Live Twice”, Nancy Sinatra”It’s George’s turn at the old microphone stand with this Side Two ditty, “Do You Want To Know A Secret”. How does he compare alongside messers Lennon and McCartney when it comes to vocals? Is everything being taken entirely seriously? And why did anyone think it was a good idea to mention the semiotic thickness of the text? These, and many fewer, questions are answered right here!
eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com
Twitter: @beatles_ology
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