I just got out of the shower and am standing in my upstairs bathroom in my warm robe.  Through the wall I can hear Kevin singing  Hello, Goodbye  by the Beetles on his Wii.  Wow it brings me back to a time when I was his age, 10.  Pretty Cool.  Connecting with my kid.

He’s a little off key.  But the hey na hey na na hey na are so perfectly timed.    And then comes the WOOO HOOOO  ala Paul Mc Cartney. I can visualize him dancing in there, wiggling around.  WOOO HOOOO.  I am smiling.  Totally Connected.

 Should I go in there and surprise and/or embarrass him?  Or should I just let him be and listen?

I think I’ll Let It Be. 

Peace.

"Does this even need a witty caption?"

Lady Gaga is a confusing artist. I’ll say this right now; her songs are cringe-worthy, and incredibly pretentious at times. However, she creeps up on you, and before you know it you are singing along to every chorus, and trying to join in on the absurd dance moves in her videos. Lady Gaga is the both the worst of pop, and the best of it all at once, and I don’t know if I’ll ever wrap my head around her fully. If her first album wasn’t confusing enough, this special edition bonus tracks-cum-EP-cum-new album that she calls ‘The Fame Monster’ just adds to the Gaga enigma.

Just let me take on the Lady as a whole, first off. She’s incredibly odd, in terms of look, costume, public persona, music, and especially her music videos. By rights, she should have gone the way of Bjork in the public perception, a one hit wonder that drops out of the mainstream but still has hardcore fans who can accept her strange aesthetic and unique musical style. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, endures. I think this is because she isn’t unique. Whether this is pure lack of creativity, or as I like to see her, a big postmodernist comment on the world of pop and celebrity, is still up for debate. What Gaga does well is take on the wide range of what we call pop, smash it all together through massive layers of production and create something decidedly weird, but catchy as hell and so bombastically unoriginal that it comes full circle and feels fresh and new.

I hate to go track by track, but I’m going to party have to for ‘The Fame Monster’ as it is not really a coherent album. Oh sure, it’s being sold as that now, but it was originally planned as a bonus disc for her debut release ‘The Fame’, filled with tracks that were either new or left off that release, depending on which articles you read. The only thing that seems to pull the album together is the repetition of the words “free bitch” in a few of the songs. The reason for highlighting certain tracks will just give you an idea of what to expect, and an idea of how eclectic an album ‘The Fame Monster’ is:

Bad Romance is the closest to what I’ve come to expect of Gaga thus far, with a similar sound to previous songs like Paparazzi, though with a vocal hook that reminds me of Boney M’s Rasputin, and a verse in French for no other reason than it’s a Lady Gaga song. Alejandro opens with a spoken intro in a bad, pan-European accent, and carries on in that vein, sounding like Shakira taken to the Europop extreme. Monster is booming R&B and features the line “he ate my heart and then he ate my brain.” ‘nuff said. Speechless would sound like Abbey Road/Let It Be era Beatles mixed with Christina Aguilera, if it weren’t for the strange accent Lady Gaga puts on to sing it. Try to imagine a country drawl mixed with Dick Van Dyke quality cockney and you’ll be about half way there. Dance In The Dark sounds a little like a darker version of her earlier song ‘Just Dance’, funnily enough. Telephone (feat. Beyonce) opens with a harp, and then breaks out into a thumping club track. If you like random vocal effects and hearing Beyonce for a verse, then you’ll probably enjoy it, there’s not much else to it really. So Happy I Could Die is what Rhianna would sound like if she’d been around in the 90s, pop R&B scene. Finally we have Teeth, which to my ears is the love child of Fanz Ferdinand’s ‘Ulysses’ and everything Scissor Sisters ever released. Though sadly, unlike those bands, Lady Gaga’s tongue is nowhere near her cheek in this one.

So where does that leave us? The Fame Monster is an eclectic mix of songs, which while possibly enjoyable on their own, don’t totally work together. Actually even on their own, just as you start to get into a song something, be it the lyrics, or an odd sound effect Gaga decided to add, will make you cringe. The subject matter is a little more mainstream than her main her first album, with each track seeming more about relationships than celebrity. Here’s the rub. Nothing I or any other reviewer says about this album will matter. This album will sell. It will pump out single after single, and Lady Gaga will make video after absurd video to promote it. I still can’t work out whether Lady Gaga is a genius or just very lucky to hit on some untouched artery of the market, but it doesn’t really matter. She’s cemented in pop culture now, and this album is doing nothing to endanger that.

5/10

Standout Tracks:

Bad Romance

Speechless

Telephone (feat. Beyonce)

It wasn’t me, let it be. Video is notable both for the excellent mashup, and for its super-cute young Paul McCartney footage.

Apart from the title song, the most celebrated tune on Let it Be is John’s masterful ‘Across the Universe.’ This is one of those quintessential Beatles tunes that really gets to the heart of what made them special… the combination of simple melody, inspired production and enlightened lyrics.

It’s ironic that John repeats the phrase “nothing’s gonna change my world” when this song is a perfect example of how he and The Beatles changed everybody else’s world through their music.

Like many great songs, ‘Across the Universe’ has been covered by a host of artists over the years, including a couple of my favorites. I featured Fiona Apple’s version (from the Pleasantville soundtrack) back in March. Rufus Wainwright recorded his version for the I Am Sam soundtrack (which is made up entirely of Beatles covers). And of course the film Across the Universe contains a version of the song performed by lead actor Jim Sturgess.

Here’s some Asian dude on YouTube covering the song… he’s damn good and covers everybody from Green Day to Taylor Swift on his channel.

Nothing can match the original, of course, so I’ll let John take it from here.

Hyung Jin Nim’s
21,000 Bows

http://vimeo.com/6705025
by iUnificationist.org

——-

also…

Declaring Father Moon as the Messiah

——-

See full size image and the video sermon at:   www.hyungjinmoon.iunificationist.org     Hyung Jin Address to the Members ——- Hyung Jin Moon International President, Unification Church Sunday, September 4, 2009 ——- Brothers and sisters, it’s a pleasure to see you here in Washington. Actually I never planned to be in the States for all this time. I was actually supposed to be in Korea now. We have a lot of work to do. The temple is coming up very soon. But we were in Las Vegas at the Pal Jeong Shik ceremony, and Father all of a sudden one morning said, “You’re not going back to Korea, not on Monday.” I said, “Father, I have to get back to Korea on Monday. I have a lot of work to do.” He said, “You’re not going back, Son. You’re first going around America; you’re going to visit some cities and then you can go back.” I said, “Father, I have some things.” He said, “You go now.” I said, “Yes, Daddy!”  Read the story »

Let it Be is one of my least favorite Beatles albums (all things being relative, of course… it’s better than just about everything but other Beatles records). Some of the songs are just ok and the great songs have been over-produced by Phil Spector.

I’m curious about the Let it Be… Naked release of a few years ago, which presented the album without Spector’s embellishments, although I’ve heard that one is a bit disappointing too.

But the album does have its great moments, not least today’s Song of the Day, Paul’s soulful, groovy masterpiece ‘Get Back.’ The clip below shows the band performing the song during their famous rooftop concert, though I’m not sure if the audio is truly from that performance or spliced in from a studio version.

Billy Preston, one of the few who earned the title “fifth Beatle” over the years, contributes a masterful performance on the electric piano that really gives this song its identity. Preston is the only performer to ever be credited with the band on an official release — the ‘Get Back’ single reads “The Beatles with Billy Preston.” If you look very closely, you’ll see him in the background toward the end of the clip.

L'ex-Beatles Paul McCartney

Tutti coloro i quali pensano che Paul McCartney sia ancora vivo e che non si tratti di un sosia come sostenuto dai seguaci della teoria PID (Paul is Dead) che verrebbero simboli e allusioni della prematura scomparsa dell’artista in molte canzoni e copertine di album dei Beatles, potranno ascoltare il cantante inglese a Parigi il 10 Dicembre.

L’ex membro dei Faboulous Four inizierà la sua tournée europea il 2 Dicembre ad Amburgo per finire il 22 a Londra. Questo tour, battezzato «Good Evening Europe», passerà anche per Berlino, Arnhem in Olanda, Colonia, Dublino e farà tappa a Parigi il 10 Dicembre.

Si tratta dell’unico passaggio in Francia di Sir Paul se non si considera il concerto che tenne all’ Olympia nel 2007

Palais Omnisport de Bercy
8, boulevard de Bercy
75012 Paris

10 Dicembre 2009

21. “You Never Give Me Your Money” – Abbey Road

20. “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight” – Abbey Road

Few songs capture the same kind of feeling that the Abbey Road Medley does. Plus, singing “Carry That Weight” is fun. Seems like a bar song.

19. “Strawberry Fields Forever” – Magical Mystery Tour

18. “A Hard Day’s Night” - A Hard Day’s Night

Entertainment Weekly put this song at #1. Then, I stopped reading Entertainment Weekly. Great song, yes, as are all of these. BEST? Not by a long shot. Maybe it’s just because I’m not in love with their early recordings. I’m a Sgt. Pepper and beyond type guy.

17. “Birthday” - The Beatles (The White Album)

This song is just catchy. I’m sorry. That bridge is contagious.

16. “The End” - Abbey Road

If there’s a way for the greatest band in history to go out, this is it…well, that and “Her Majesty”, of course.

15. “Something” - Abbey Road

Unfortunately, George Harrison was just beginning to shine as a songwriter when the group decided to call it quits.

14. “Get Back” – Let It Be

While Abbey Road was recorded after Let It Be, making it The Beatles’ last album, many people believed that “Get Back” was the last song in their catalog because Let It Be was recorded, then shelved, then released after Abbey Road shortly after the band’s breakup.

13. “Hello Goodbye” - Magical Mystery Tour

…and here on display is Paul McCartney’s complicated wordplay that constantly keeps the listener guessing…”You say yes, I say no, you stay stop, and I say go go go…”

12. “Here Comes the Sun” – Abbey Road

More proff that three of the four Beatles could write an incredible song. Ringo’s still working on it, most likely.

11. “Elanor Rigby” – Revolver

Father Mackenzie seems like an awful man, and after hearing this song so many times, I am yet to realize why I feel the way I do.

10. “All You Need is Love” - Magical Mystery Tour + Yellow Submarine

Everything The Beatles were about summed up in five words.

9. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

John Lennon said that he was inspired to write this song when his son Julian showed him a painting that he had made in school that he called “Lucy in the Sky”. The rest of the song was also inspired by Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (LSD).

8. “Hey Jude” - Past Masters [recorded during sessions for “The Beatles (The White Album)”

This is the first Beatles song I ever heard, and I love it, everything from the everlasting chant to John walking in and saying “bloody hell!”.

7. “Revolution” - Past Masters [originally recorded for “The Beatles (The White Album)”

The B-side to the previous song. This actually did appear on The White Album, but in a more mellow tone rather than the real rock tone that this version delivers.

6. “Come Together” - Abbey Road

Rumor has it that each of the four verses describes one of them. I’m yet to discover which one has “toe jam football”, and I think they all would fit the “spinal cracker” definition. I think.

Wait, what the hell is a “spinal cracker”?

5. “I’ve Got A Feeling” – Let It Be

From the album that almost wasn’t, this track was recorded from the famous rooftop concert that The Beatles gave, which would end up being their last concert. After about 45 minutes, the police asked for the concert to be stopped. I bet they regret that move to this day.

4. “Glass Onion” - The Beatles (The White Album)

This song is basically a review of songs from Magical Mystery Tour, which happens to be my favorite Beatles album, this album being my 2nd favorite. The song shows that John Lennon did indeed have a sense of humor, confusing conspiracy theorists even further with this line: “I told you bout the walrus and me, man / You know that we’re as close as can be, man! / Well here’s another clue for you all / The walrus was Paul…”, even though John appeared as the walrus in the video for “I Am the Walrus”, sang “I Am the Walrus”, and appeared as the walrus on the cover of Magical Mystery Tour.

3. “Helter Skelter” – The Beatles (The White Album)

Paul McCartney’s one moment of recorded spaz became what is probably the first metal rock recording, and who can forget Ringo’s quote at the end of the song?

I GOT BLISTERS ON MA FINGAS!!!

2. “Don’t Let Me Down” - Past Masters [originally recorded for “Let It Be”

Probably one of the most under appreciated songs of The Beatles whole catalog.

1. “I Am the Walrus” - Magical Mystery Tour

Everything about this song is amazing. Enough said. This song makes absolutely no sense, but it proved that not everything has to make sense. Some things can just be interpreted as they are.

Jag tänkte att jag skulle inleda mitt bloggande genom att visa två videor av ett av världens bästa band. Kan ni gissa vilket? The Beatles såklart!

Två riktigt bra låtar. Och två riktigt bra videor. Enkelhet slår det mesta. Även om dyra videor med komplexa handlingar kan vara intressanta ibland är det så himla skönt att de här låter musiken tala för sig själv. Och för alla tjejer som önskar något mer än detta är kameran zoomad så att de båda videorna nästan enbart består av närbilder på underbara Paul.

För övrigt är Hey Jude en av mina favoriter. En av de första Beatles-låtarna jag hörde. Satte sig direkt.

A banda paulistana Beatles 4Ever apresenta, nos dias 20 e 21 de novembro,
sexta e sábado, a Maratona The Beatles Complete Works, no Teatro União
Cultural, em São Paulo, das 14 às 22 horas.

Nesta maratona de shows serão apresentadas todas as músicas gravadas,
oficialmente, pelos Beatles, em seqüência cronológica e precisa
dos 15 álbuns da discografia do quarteto de Liverpool. A cada hora,
o Beatles 4Ever executará um álbum, totalizando 16 horas de apresentação
(oito horas a cada dia), já que o Álbum Branco, de 1968, é duplo.

LEIA MAIS NOS SITES
:: SORTIMENTOS.COM >> http://www.sortimentos.net/?p=4051
:: GEBBEG >> http://gebbeg.com.br/?p=7255

.

At this early moment in my blog’s history I should probably go ahead and confess that I am actually almost as new a fan of the Beatles as I am a novice player of the guitar.  Of course, growing up in any English speaking culture means that it’s impossible not to be at least somewhat familiar with The Beatles, but I somehow avoided the “Beatles phase” that so many people seem to go through either in high school or college.

A few years ago, I decided it was time to finally figure out what the big deal was about these mysterious Beatles I had heard so much about, so I started working my way through the catalog in somewhat chronological order.  The only problem was that when I hit Abbey Road I was so blown away that I kind of got stuck on it and never got to Let it Be.

And boy was I missing out. “Across the Universe” is a beautiful piece of music.  Lyrically, this might be one of the best songs The Beatles ever produced and a fine example of John Lennon at the peak of his powers.

The first verse establishes a contrast between the universal (“they slip away across the universe”) and the personal (“waves of joy are drifting through my open mind/ Possessing and caressing me”) that will remain a theme throughout the song.  It also uses beautiful water imagery to mirror the fluidity of Lennon’s thoughts (“Words are flowing out like endless rain”).

All of this leads to the chorus, which only consists of a simple Sanskrit phrase (“Jai Guru Deva, Om”) and a repetition of the line “Nothing’s gonna change my world”.  A quick survey of the interwebs taught me that the Sanskrit phrase loosely translates to “I give thanks to the heavenly teacher, om,” but the literal meaning seems secondary to the serenity that the phrase establishes – a serenity that makes the chorus’s second line seem like a statement of acceptance and tranquility rather than one of lament or defiance.

The second and third verses follow in this tranquil strain.  Like the first verse, they continue to explore the paradox of balancing the individual psyche and its thoughts that  “meander like a restless wind inside a letter box” with finding joy in a universal “undying love which shines around [him] like a/Million suns.”  These verses also establish an interesting paradox by expressing a kind of meta-physical one-ness with the universe through very sensual imagery: the second verse focuses on visual imagery (“Images of broken light”) while the third utilizes sound  (“Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing”).

Of course, for an English PhD. like myself, analyzing the lyrics was the easy part.  Learning the guitar part took a little more work.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad and actually ended up reaffirming the value of this process for my guitar playing.  One of the reasons that I’m doing this is to force myself to learn more difficult skills rather than just sticking to songs that I can play easily.  “Across the Universe” was just the kind of song that I would usually have avoided for the simple reason that it contains my nemesis: barre-chords.

The barre chords in “Across the Universe,” though, aren’t too bad.  There are only a few of them and they are usually based on the “Em” shape, which is probably the easiest one to learn.  So, I spent the last few days forcing my hands to do something that’s contrary to everything the human hand has evolved to do and, eventually, getting them to cooperate.  I still don’t hit those chords perfectly each and every time but I get to them often enough (and fast enough) now that I actually look forward to the challenge they present in the song rather than dreading the moment when the music would previously have come to a crashing halt.

Other than the barre-chords, though, this song is relatively simple – after a brief introduction (which to me sounds a lot like the beginning of “Nowhere Man”, and that wasn’t too hard to learn with the help of a metronome) the song is really just strumming chords.

Despite (or perhaps because of) this simplicity, though, the music works with the lyrics beautifully.  Most of the chord changes happen in the verses and, from time to time, these verses briefly change time signatures, which took some getting used to (try counting the beat when he sings the line “across the universe” the first time and you’ll hear what I’m talking about).  The many chords and changing time signatures combine to reflect the paradoxes that are so important to the verses’ lyrical themes since the resulting rhythm feels simultaneously steady and unsettled.  It also helps to establish a contrast with the chorus, which consists of a steady rhythm and only a couple of very basic chord changes – thus musically reflecting the simple tranquility of the chorus’s lyrics.

All in all, this is a beautiful song and one that I’m glad to have added to my repertoire.

Now, I’m off to start practicing “Act Naturally”…

Lyrics to “Across the Universe”

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.
Jai guru de va om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
That call me on and on across the universe,
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box they
Tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe
Jai guru de va om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing
Through my open views inviting and inciting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a
Million suns, it calls me on and on
Across the universe
Jai guru de va om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

Ledsen för de sena uppdateringarna för tillfället, men jag befinner mig fortfarande i staterna så jag tänker fortsätta skylla på tidsskillnaden. Denna vecka har musikredaktionen passande nog valt att lägga upp bland annat lite New Yorkinspirerat!

Nytt med följande:
Singlar
The Sound of arrows – Into the clouds
Frightened Rabbit – Swim until you can’t see land
Two Door Cinema Club – I can talk
The Kick – Let it be
Yeasayer – Ambling Alp
Vampire Weekend – Horchata
Dag för dag – Animal

Stjärna i kanten

Yeasayer
Ja. Så ska det stavas. Störigt men sant. Undrar du över uttalet så varsågo:

/ˈjeɪseɪ.ər/

Men Yeasayer är superfina. Och var är de ifrån om inte – BROOKLYN. My kind of people. Kanske har du liksom jag tidigare hört dem via låten Tightrope som var med på fantastiska indie-plattan Dark was the night från tidigare i år? Det är lite psykadeliskt, knastrigt och kastrulligt.

Behöver faktiskt inte streama nån you-tubevideo i knasterskvalitet, utan du kan gå in på deras hemsida så kan du ladda ner Ambling alp gratis. Man tackar.

The sound of arrows
A.k.a. Stefan Storm och Oskar Gullstrand (men på Myspace räknar de även med sina syntar som bandmedlemmar.. ack så nördmysigt).

Kolla in den vackra hemsidan här. Snyggt och svenskt såklart, där du även kan se den lika vackra videon. 03:48 min där hipsterpojkarna träder in i sagans värld. Jag känner en okontrollerad dragning till Peter Pan och vill inget hellre än att leka Tingeling.

Frightened rabbit
Uttrycker sig själva simpelt för oss på sin Myspace.

They are a band who live in Glasgow and have done for some time. They record in bedrooms, cupboards and kitchens. Anyone can be in Frightened Rabbit. They have played some live shows in this city, but want to meet people from other cities, in order that they can come and blow into tubes when they play live. Lets keep pop music alive by getting it out of that dress and into a sweater.

Bland sina top friends har de We were promised jetpacks. Hello new friend.

Spelar indie på ett välkänt men trevligt sätt. Du anar kanske soundet vid informationen om att de just nu turnerar i Irland och Storbritannien på egen hand och även supportar Gomez och Modest Mouse. Lyssna själv nedan.

Vampire weekend
Vampire weekend då. Det är ingen A-punk, men ganska mysigt och plingplongigt. Lyssna nedan för bedömning.

This videos are picked carefully for your “so bad its good” laughters.

By the Way (RHCP cover)

Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover)

Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson cover)

Let it Be (The Beatles cover)

The Final Countdown (Europe cover)

John Lennon

John Lennon:
Die Biographie von Philip Norman
Droemer Knaur Verlag

Ein Muss für alle Beatles-Fans: das biographische Meisterwerk über die größte Legende der Popmusik – John Lennon.

Philip Norman liefert ein facettenreiches Porträt des Gründers der Beatles, der mit seinen genialen Songs Musikgeschichte schrieb. Eine grandiose Hommage an die Pop-Ikone…
Buchperlen-Bewertung: *****

John Winston Lennon (später John Winston Ono Lennon), MBE (* 9. Oktober 1940 in Liverpool, England; † 8. Dezember 1980 in New York, USA) war ein englischer Musiker, Komponist und Autor.

Weltweit berühmt wurde er als Mitgründer, Sänger und Gitarrist der britischen Musikgruppe The Beatles, für die er neben Paul McCartney die meisten Stücke schrieb. Die Komponistenpartnerschaft Lennon / McCartney gilt als eine der bekanntesten und erfolgreichsten in der Geschichte der Popmusik.

Gemeinsam mit seiner zweiten Ehefrau Yoko Ono veranstaltete Lennon ab Ende der 1960er-Jahre verschiedene Aktionen für den Weltfrieden und widmete sich auch zunehmend künstlerisch neuen Gebieten.

Nach der Trennung der Beatles startete Lennon eine erfolgreiche Solokarriere mit Alben wie John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band (1970) und Imagine (1971).

Als erste Single der Beatles wurde 1962 die Lennon/McCartney-Komposition Love Me Do veröffentlicht. Bereits die zweite Single Please Please Me, hauptsächlich aus der Feder Lennons, erreichte Spitzenplätze in der britischen Hitparade. Das gleichnamige Album aus dem Jahr 1963 war ebenso erfolgreich.

Mit I Want to Hold Your Hand (Januar 1964) gelang es den Beatles, auch die USA musikalisch zu „erobern“. Am 7. Februar reisten sie erstmals nach New York und wurden überschwänglich empfangen.

Nach dem Erfolg des Spielfilms A Hard Day’s Night und dem gleichnamigen Soundtrack im Sommer 1964 widmete sich Lennon zunehmend den Texten seiner Stücke. Angeregt von Bob Dylan, versuchte er, sich als ernsthafter Songwriter zu etablieren. So finden sich auf dem Album Beatles for Sale (Dezember 1964) vermehrt auch nachdenklichere Stücke Lennons, wie I’m a Loser oder No Reply.

Auch künstlerisch entwickelten sich die Beatles weiter. Rubber Soul enthält herausragende Lennon-Stücke wie Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), Nowhere Man und Girl. Das Stück In My Life wurde vom britischen Musikmagazin Mojo zum besten Song aller Zeiten gewählt.

Lennons Kontakt mit der halluzinogenen Droge LSD schlug sich in dem Nachfolge-Album Revolver (August 1966) nieder. Es enthält psychedelische Stücke wie Tomorrow Never Knows und gilt als eines der stärksten der Gruppe.

Eine erneute Welttournee der Beatles begann im Juni 1966 mit drei Konzerten in Deutschland. Auf den Philippinen wurde die Gruppe bei ihrer Abreise von der aufgebrachten Menge attackiert, da sie sich geweigert hatte, einer Einladung von Imelda Marcos zu folgen.

In den USA sorgte ein Interview für Aufregung, das Lennon im März der britischen Journalistin Maureen Cleave für den Evening Standard gegeben hatte. Darin äußerte sich Lennon unter anderem zum Christentum.

In Großbritannien fanden diese Äußerungen wenig Beachtung. Als das Interview allerdings vier Monate nach seinem Erscheinen in den Vereinigten Staaten veröffentlicht wurde, trat es eine Welle der Entrüstung los.

Mehrere Radiosender boykottierten Beatles-Lieder, und es gab sogar organisierte Verbrennungen ihrer Schallplatten. Auf Anraten Brian Epsteins entschuldigte sich John Lennon ausführlich bei einer Pressekonferenz in Chicago. Dennoch wurden die Auftritte der Beatles von Aufmärschen des Ku-Klux-Klans überschattet, und Lennon fürchtete um sein Leben. Am 29. August gaben die Beatles ihr letztes Konzert in San Francisco und beschlossen, nicht mehr auf Tournee zu gehen.

Nach dem Ende der Tourneen widmeten sich die Beatles gänzlich der Arbeit im Studio. Lennon komponierte in dieser Zeit das Stück Strawberry Fields Forever, das im Februar 1967 mit McCartneys Penny Lane als Single veröffentlicht wurde.

Mit seinem nachdenklichen Text, den aufwendigen Studioeffekten und der komplexen musikalischen Umsetzung gilt das Stück als Meisterwerk Lennons und markiert den Weg der Beatles vom Pop zur Kunst.

Zum Erfolg des Konzeptalbums Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band trug Lennon maßgeblich mit Stücken wie Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds und A Day in the Life bei. Für die erste weltweit ausgestrahlte Fernsehsendung Our World schrieb Lennon All You Need Is Love, die Hymne des „Summer of Love“ 1967.

Unfinished Music No.1

Am 29. November 1968 veröffentlichte Lennon zusammen mit der japanischen Avantgarde-Künstlerin Yoko Ono, die er 1966 kennen gelernt hatte, das Album Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins. Das erste gemeinsame Werk des Paars erregte viel Aufsehen, allerdings weniger wegen der avantgardistischen Klangcollagen, sondern auf Grund des Covers – es zeigte John Lennon und Yoko Ono nackt.

Onos künstlerischer Einfluss schlug sich auch auf das Weiße Album der Beatles nieder. So findet sich dort die experimentelle Klangcollage Revolution 9. Mit Revolution 1 nahm Lennon auch politisch Stellung und bezog sich auf die Pariser Maiunruhen.

1969 gründete das Paar die Plastic Ono Band, deren erste Single, das während des Bed-Ins in Montreal aufgenommene Give Peace a Chance, es im Juli des Jahres weltweit unter die Top 20 der Hitparaden schaffte. Im November folgte die Single Cold Turkey (Kalter Entzug), die sich allerdings vergleichsweise schlecht verkaufte.

Im Zuge dieser Projekte mit Yoko Ono entfernte sich Lennon zunehmend von den Beatles. Das Projekt eines Dokumentarfilms über die Beatles unter dem Titel „Get Back“ war geprägt von der Zerstrittenheit der Gruppe und wurde erst 1970 unter dem Titel Let It Be veröffentlicht.

Das letzte gemeinsame Projekt der Beatles war ihr Album Abbey Road, das im September 1969 auf den Markt kam. Lennon kritisierte das Album später oft in Interviews. Trotzdem wurde es eines der erfolgreichsten der Gruppe überhaupt.

Am 8. Dezember 1980 wurde John Lennon von dem geistig verwirrten Attentäter Mark David Chapman in New York vor dem Dakota Building erschossen. Lennons Tod erzeugte einen Sturm der Entrüstung. Noch in der Nacht des Mords versammelten sich mehrere tausend Menschen vor dem Dakota Building, um gemeinsam die Lieder Lennons zu singen.

Philip Norman begann in den siebziger Jahren als Journalist bei der “Sunday Times”. Mit seinen Kolumnen über Stars des Kulturlebens wurde er schnell berühmt. 1981 veröffentlichte er die bahnbrechende Biographie der Beatles “Shout!” – ein großer Bestseller. Es folgten Werke über die Rolling Stones (Droemer 1984), Elton John und Buddy Holly. Er lebt mit seiner Frau und seinem Kind in London.

John Lennon: wikipedia
The Beatles: wikipedia

John Lennon. Die Biographie. Das biographische Meisterwerk über die grösste Legende der Popmusik und Diskografie-Übersicht. Bezugs-Quellen für alle John Lennon und Beatles-Bücher, DVDs und CDs – auch gebrauchte Ausgaben bzw. Sonderausgaben zu reduzierten Preisen. Bitte klicken Sie hier für ausführliche Informationen und Bestellmöglichkeiten.

1. LP – The Beatles “Let It Be” UK Original Box Set Sealed – $10,099.00

2. LP – John Heartsman And Circles “Music Of My Heart” Private – $5,300.00

3. LP – The Beatles “White Album” UK Pressing 0006864 – $4,899.66

4. LP – The Beatles “Please Please Me” Parlophone UK Gold Black label 1st Stereo – $2,571.43

5. LP – Bob Dylan “John Wesley Harding” Red Vinyl – $3,249.00

Thanks to http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com for this info

Oha! Also da gab es neulich ja schon einen wahnsinnigen Hype um die re-masterten Beatles-Alben und jetzt hauen EMI und Apple noch einen raus. Ab dem 7. Dezember gibt es einen Apfelfömigen Beatles USB-Stick mit allen re-masterten Alben drauf (MP3 320 Kbps) und 13 Mini-Dokumentationen über die Studio-Alben, Fotos, erweiterte Liner Notes und vieles mehr. Das gute Stück ist auf 30.000 Exemplare weltweit limitiert.

Auf den Fotos macht das Ding schon einiges her. Der Haken dürfte der Preis sein: Bei amazon.com kann man die Dinger schon für gepfefferte 238.99$ vorbestellen, was nach heutigem Kurs etwas über 160 Euro wären. Bei amazon Deutschland gab’s das Ding noch nicht vorzubestellen. Damit liegt er schätzungsweise auf dem Preis-Niveau der normalen Beatles CD-Box – ist also nicht wirklich ein Schnäppchen. Ich finde ja wenn man sowas anbietet, was im MP3-Zeitalter ja durchaus cool ist, sollte man das doch deutlich billiger als die CDs machen, sonst bleib ich lieber beim Silberling – is ja am Ende doch schöner.

Mehr dazu: thebeatles.com

Foreword to autobiography of

Sun Myung Moon

March 1, 2009
Chung Pyung, South Korea

A steady spring rain fell last night, ending a winter drought. It was so nice to have had the rain, that I spent all this morning walking about in the garden. The ground had that fragrant aroma of moist earth I had missed all through the winter, and the weeping willow and cherry trees were showing signs of new spring buds. I felt I could hear the popping sounds of new life sprouting here and there around the garden. Before I knew it, my wife, who had followed me out, was picking young mugwort shoots that had managed to poke their heads up through the dry lawn. The night’s rain had turned the whole world into a fragrant spring garden.

No matter how much commotion may be in the world, when the calendar turns to March, spring is on its way. The older I become, the more it means to me, that in nature spring follows winter and brings it flowers in full bloom. What am I, that God in each season, allows flowers to bloom and the snow fall, so that I might know the joy of being alive? Love wells up from the deepest recesses of my heart, and I am overcome with emotion. I am moved to tears to think that everything of real value has been given to me freely. In my life I have circled the globe many times over in my efforts to bring about a world of peace, and yet it is here in this garden in spring, that I am able to taste real peace. Peace, too, was given to us by God, but we lost it somewhere and now we spend our lives looking for it in all the wrong places.

To bring a world of peace, I have spent my live going to the most lonely and secluded places. I met mothers in Africa who could only watch helplessly as their children died of hunger, and I met fathers in South America who lived by a river full of fish but couldn’t feed their children because they didn’t know how to fish. All I did was giving them a small amount of food, but they granted me their love in return. Intoxicated with the power of love, I cultivated virgin forests and planted seeds. I cut down trees to build a school, and I caught fish to feed hungry children. I was happy even as mosquitoes bit me all over as I fished all through the night. Even when my feet were sinking knee-deep into mud, I was happy because I could see the shadows of loneliness disappear from the faces of my neighbors.

Seeking the shortest path to a world of peace, I devoted myself to inspiring change in the political process and to changing people’s ways of thinking. I met President Gorbachev of the Soviet Union as part of my effort to bring reconciliation between communism and democracy, and I met President Kim Il Sung of North Korea for a serious discussion on how to bring peace to the Korean peninsula. I went to a United States in moral decline and played the role of a fireman responding to a call in an effort to reawaken its Puritan spirit. I dedicated myself to solving various conflicts in the world. For the sake of reconciliation between Muslims and Jews, I did not hesitate to go to Palestine at a time when terror was rampant. I have gathered thousands of Jews, Muslims and Christians together in forums for reconciliation. And I have organized peace marches. But conflict continues….

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More: Foreword to “As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen”

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Global Citizen of Peace – part 1

Global Citizen of Peace – part 2

Autobiography Sun Myung Moon – A Peace-loving

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Via Fatos Inuteis

Let It Be

Let It Be fue el último álbum LP lanzado por los Beatles como grupo, a pesar de que fue grabado antes que Abbey Road. Editado en Estados Unidos, salió a la venta el8 de mayo de 1970.

Se trata de un álbum controvertido desde su concepción: una vez que dejaron de tocar en vivo en 1966 por la imposibilidad de plasmar su música en el escenario, los Beatles se propusieron grabar un álbum para tocar un último concierto en vivo, tal vez en un barco o en un lugar público. Por tanto, las sesiones de grabación del disco (que por aquel entonces se llamaba Get Back, aludiendo al regresar a las raíces rocanroleras del grupo) comenzaron a ser filmadas, en 1969, por el cineasta Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Los ensayos fueron tensos, con constantes discusiones entre los miembros, que desde discos anteriores denotaban una convivencia cada vez peor y más hostil.

Descargar AQUI:

http://www.megaupload.com/?f=MBQ1SEYO

1. Two Of Us

2. Dig A Pony

3. Across The Universe

4. I Me Mine

5. Dig It

6. Let It Be

7. Maggie Mae

9. One After 909

10. The Long And Winding Road

11. For You Blue

12. Get Back

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