With the first throes of August we succumb once again to the oppressive heat and humidity that passes uninvited across our threshold, another telling sign that the reputation of the eastern seaboard hinges upon the dire misery of its squatters. However, with heat comes relief, either in reality or during a final hallucinatory fadeout. Just […]
Tag: The Beatles
The Beach Boys: That’s Why God Made the Radio
Of the many manifestations of California throughout the years – Gold Country (1849), Yosemite Valley & Natural Beauty (1864), Ravaged by Earthquake & Fire (1906), Glamorous Glenn (1947), Anti-War & Free-Speech Protests (1964), Valley Girls (1980), Silicon Valley (1971-present) – perhaps the most valuable & long-lasting image has been that of tanned beauties lounging on […]
George Harrison: Early Takes, Volume 1
Of all the Beatles, George Harrison is easily the most sympathetic. Unlike Paul & John, George was quiet and introspective, his music was visceral and sincere. Harrison’s only son, Dhani, confessed last year in an interview with Rolling Stone that for a long time growing up he had no idea that his father was one […]
Henry Mancini: A Shot in the Dark
Yes, indeed. It was in the 1960s that humanity arguably witnessed the pinnacle of creative film scoring: Ennio Morricone’s seminal work for Sergio Leone on A Fist Full of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly; Serge Gainsbourg’s Anna and the sitar driven, psychadelic-funk sounds from La Pacha (which inspired, […]
John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band
“It is, at once, a scream from the pain and a liberating event… where [one’s] defense system is dramatically opened up”. The scream “results from the pressure of holding the real self back. “Neurosis is a disease of the feeling. At its core is the suppression of feeling and its transmutation into a wide range of neurolic […]
Paul McCartney: Kisses On The Bottom
McCartney hits a home run with his new album, Kisses On The Bottom, the sound is lightyears ahead of the garbage-rock work he did on 1971’s Ram. I’m not sure why I compare the two albums… I guess I just enjoy complaining about Ram any chance I can get. The McCartney-as-lounge-singer motif is perfect: a […]