Épisodes

  • 290: "Hey Jude" Reconstructed

    290: "Hey Jude" Reconstructed
    Sep 24 2024
    In 2023, I hosted writer James Campion with Jeff Martin for a discussion of The Beatles' 1968 mega-hit and Apple Records debut. This time, we're drilling down deep for an analysis of the song's composition (as well as possible sources of inspiration) with the musicologists of RPM School: Walter Everett (author of volumes one and two of The Beatles As Musicians) plus working musicians and recording artists Jack Petruzzelli and Cameron Greider. This is where we get deep into the weeds with musical theory and a breakdown of the song's lyrical construction, as well as elements from other pieces of music that may have influenced the principal author, Paul McCartney. RPM's new semester (on Let It Be) begins soon - see their site for details: https://www.rpm-school.com/
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    1 h et 21 min
  • 289: A Hard Day's Night At 60

    289: A Hard Day's Night At 60
    Sep 13 2024
    With The Beatles' film debut turning 60 this summer, the time was right for a deep dive into the cultural and cinematic significance of it all. Joining the conversation are two new guests: Sarah Pleydell and Moya Luckett. Both were born in the UK, one's a first-gen fan, and both are authors and academics with cred particularly suited to the topic. Rounding out the talk are our three fave 1st-gen fans, Sibbie O'Sullivan, Carol Tyler and Debbie Gendler, authors all.
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    1 h et 34 min
  • 288: Band On The Run (Hand Clapping) with Luca Perasi

    288: Band On The Run (Hand Clapping) with Luca Perasi
    Aug 31 2024
    My guest, Luca Perasi, first appeared on the show in 2023 (262). He is the McCartney historian based in Italy, whose previous works include Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas 1970 - 1989 as well as his newest, Paul McCartney and Wings Band On The Run: The Story of A Classic Album. You can check out all his works on his site here. In this conversation, we discuss the tumultuous creation of Paul's post-Beatles breakthrough album, as well as 1974's One Hand Clapping project, just released as an album in 2024 and soon to be in theatres.
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    1 h et 19 min
  • 287: The Historian and Get Back with Erin Weber

    287: The Historian and Get Back with Erin Weber
    Aug 10 2024
    In the years since Peter Jackson's epic re-imagining of the January 1969 saga landed, SATb has examined it through a number of angles: from Brits - women - musicians - authors - and so forth. But this will be the first time I have actually had a conversation about it with a professional historian, your friend and mine, Erin Weber. This conversation analyzes the film through the prism of (secondary) source material, and brings into focus how the work should be viewed by fans of a more serious scholarly bent.
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    1 h et 52 min
  • 286: Nowhere Man '24 with Robert Rosen

    286: Nowhere Man '24 with Robert Rosen
    Aug 8 2024
    In this conversation, my returning guest (see episodes 189 - 245 - 266) discusses his recent visit to Spain, where a belated Beatlemania is in full swing. He also offers his insights on the recent May Pang documentary, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, as well as his take on David Whelan's investigation into John Lennon's murder and the latter's preoccupation with "lucid dreaming." Check out Robert's writings at https://www.robertrosennyc.com/index.htm Highlights of his evening in Sevilla (with Mary Lyn Maiscott) can be found here: https://youtu.be/qiin_ZOt9gw?si=65MgdhrGvNOUqsmv
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    1 h et 20 min
  • 285: Sixty Years Ago in America with Lee Abrams, Dennis Diken, and Elliot Easton

    285: Sixty Years Ago in America with Lee Abrams, Dennis Diken, and Elliot Easton
    Jul 21 2024
    As part of the ongoing campaign in 2024 to look back at 1964, we present another conversation with first-gen fans, this time focusing on the Capitol issues as well as US Top 40 radio. Returning guests Elliot Easton and Dennis Diken (The Cars and The Smithereens respectively) are joined by Lee Abrams, radio visionary and co-founder of Sirius XM. We discuss their fandom as it unfolded in real time, the impact and influence of radio, as well as their takes on the US releases (and the Beach Boys too). You can find Lee's writings here: https://www.leeabramsmediavisions.com/blog Something About The Beatles is an Evergreen podcast.
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    1 h et 33 min
  • 284: Sixty Years On with Ivor Davis

    284: Sixty Years On with Ivor Davis
    Jul 12 2024
    Returning guest (episodes 130 and 174) Ivor Davis is a British journalist who, in 1964, went on tour with The Beatles for the Daily Express, covering their North American dates while ghost-writing a column for George Harrison (having taken over the assignment from Derek Taylor). He did similar duties for the following year, and after which, he settled in California as west coast correspondent. His job saw him cover the Warren Commission findings, the gubernatorial campaign trail for Ronald Reagan (governor) and in 1968, Bobby Kennedy (whose murder Ivor was a witness to). The following year, Ivor was at the center of the Manson Family case when he became the first journalist to visit Spahn ranch, as well as the first writer to publish a book on the Tate-LaBianca murders, Five To Die. (We discussed this in the two previous shows.) Ivor was there when Bob Dylan introduced The Fabs to weed; he was also there when they met Elvis. In short, he's been around. He first published his memoir of The Beatles' experience as The Beatles and Me On Tour ten years ago for the 50th; it's now been expanded and republished for the 60th anniversary. In his conversation, Ivor offers his observations from the current perspective, post Get Back and "Now and Then," as well as inner-circle personas he came to know along the way. He also has a new true crime book out, The Devil in My Friend about a 1980s double murder in Malibu. You can find info on all at his website, https://ivordavisbooks.com/
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    1 h et 8 min
  • 283: Giles on Trial - The Reissues Critiqued with John Leckie and Jerry Hammack

    283: Giles on Trial - The Reissues Critiqued with John Leckie and Jerry Hammack
    Jun 5 2024
    Beginning with the 2017 Sgt. Pepper 50th anniversary release, a series of deluxe reissues (The Beatles, Abbey Road, Let It Be, Revolver, 1962-1966, 1967-1970) featuring remixing and the application of MAL (“machine-assisted learning”) to deconstruct and re-assemble the master recordings have hit the streets. Supervised by engineer Sam Okell and Giles Martin, these issues have met with mixed reactions from fans, especially those who hold the original recordings sacrosanct. For some they are revelatory; for others, an abomination. I convened a 2-man panel of returning guests with expert ears to assess them. John Leckie (Abbey Road engineer for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pink Floyd and producer for Radiohead, XTC, The Stone Roses, The Verve, New Order) has one of the finest sets of ears in the business, as does producer/engineer/author Jerry Hammack (https://www.beatlesrecordingreferencemanuals.com/), whose newest work, The Beatles’ Recording Techniques: Recreating The Classic EMI Studios Sound In Your Home Studio, has just been published. This conversation is front-loaded with techie-talk, but soon finds its level with an analysis of the work done for these new sets and whether or not they achieved a clear-cut goal. For Jerry’s newest: https://www.beatlesrecordingtechniques.com/
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    1 h et 38 min