I have had it up to here waiting for the Beatles catalogue to be remastered

Macca falls into that fascinating rarified category of artists who have written many of the greatest songs of all time as well as some of the worst of all time.

Okay, which songs has McCartney written that are the worst of all time, then?

The past few years I've probably listened to these more than any official Beatles albums. While I can't make it through an entire solo album aside from Plastic Ono Band, these are a great way to revisit a lot of great tracks.

The Beatles - Instant Karma! (1970)
The Beatles - Imagine Clouds Dripping (1971)
The Beatles - Living In The Material World (1972)
The Beatles - Band On The Run (1973)
The Beatles - Good Night Vienna (1974)

During the segments where the three are interviewed together, George has this look on his face like, "Ugh, this fucking guy again." Not that they didn't genuinely love each other, but Paul's "performing" persona no doubt got on George's nerves.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), M

Yeah, I've written about this phenomenon re George a lot. It's like visiting your parents after you've lived 10 months alone.

Jealous guy writing aout things

I lol'd

I think McCartney is totally at ease with fame and being a celebrity and accepted it all as part of the job and was mentally prepared for it as far back as the early '60s, he understands his place in music and history and has a far smaller ego than most would have if they were thrust into the same position.

Lennon had about a zillion issues, many of which he found fame and riches couldn't fix. He clearly hated dealing with the more crazier end of the fanbase and I think that parts of being famous undoubtedly freaked him out. I think he enjoyed the money and the perks of celebrity and the attention, though.

Harrison struck me as always having been a bit of a grump and often gave the impression he didn't realise how lucky he was - everything just seems to be a chore. I think he enjoyed being in a position where he could hang out and play music with other celebrity musicians and the perks of celebrity but mostly hated being famous. The Harrison of 1963 strikes me as being a very different guy to the Harrison of 1968.

Starr understands and knows he's one of the luckiest people alive.

Being in the Beatles was a traumatic experience for George, and he seems to have emrerged with post-trauamatic stress disorder.

George grew up in a house without indoor plumbing and had to wear shoes with cardboard soles -- he knew exactly how lucky he was. But when he dreamt of being "rich and famous" at 14 in 1957 (or 19 in 1962) he didn't think that meant, among other things, death threats, psychics predicting you'll die in a plane crash, and audiences drowning you out and not caring what or how you play. In Anthology you can see how he still has fond memories of the first year or two of Beatlemania, but that it quickly got to be a bizarre and scary situation.

George grew up in a house without indoor plumbing and had to wear shoes with cardboard soles -- he knew exactly how lucky he was.

Y'know, even with this in mind, I'm not convinced at all that he did. I mean, the guy was in The Beatles and whined about it - he could have been in Gerry and the fuckin' Pacemakers!

Yes, it must have been somewhat scary to deal with the negative aspects of celebrity, but the guy continued to whine about being a Beatle long after the fact.

What is the '90s autobiography/memoir being discussed?

Kinda not into the "Ringo as lucky" trope tbh - though tbf it has its own thread: Is Ringo Starr the luckiest man evah? I think Ringo fucking rules and can't imagine the Beatles without him, but in terms of reaction to fame he does seem to have taken it the most 'in stride' of any of them. Apart from some evident drugs-and-alcohol coming-apart-at-the-seams stuff for some years there, of course.

I don't begrudge George being sort of unimpressed by it all - moreso than Lennon, who more actively disparaged 'The Beatles' as entity/phenomenon, he seemed to actually want to live as if it wasn't really that big a deal that a rock band was really popular and successful. I don't think it's a matter of playing "with other celebrity musicians" as just, he's a guitarist and wants to play music with people, particularly people who aren't bossing him around, treating him like a kid sidekick, and responding to his contributions with half-hearted "uh huh, hmmm, that's interesting I guess." Lucky, sure, they were all lucky, but he was a great guitarist and worked his ass off as much as the other three. He was also the most active voice protesting their continued shitty-sounding touring, and the notion of returning to live performance with Get Back - he wanted to play and like most musicians he didn't want to play like shit and sound like shit.

One of the most revealing moments in the Anthology docs the cut, I think from a montage of Beatlemania at its peak, the Beatles being shuttled into their car by security against the horde of fans beating on the window, to George in interview: "We couldn't really do much." It was a completely exhausting job that didn't make the most of his talents and for which he was never compensated on an equal level with his bandmates, because "it's only a Northern Song."

What's that bit in Anthology? "You know, I was in upstate New York playing with Bob Dylan and the Band and to have to return to the winter of discontent that was the Beatles was a very hard thing."

^^^ was thinking about this bit the other day! Kind of my go-to image for making sense of Let It Be and the breakup generally.

"he does seem to have taken it the most 'in stride' of any of them" maybe, but he refuses to give autographs to fans which is kind of shitty

Yes, it must have been somewhat scary to deal with the negative aspects of celebrity, but the guy continued to whine about being a Beatle long after the fact.

― ...so music and chicken have become intertwined (Turrican), Monday, April 17, 2017 12:43 PM (fifty-six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Sure, he whined about it long after the fact, but also long after the fact he was also almost killed by an intruder/crazed fan, and was subject to humiliating treatment from his doctor while on his death bed.

Xpost Ebony and Ivory are two of the greatest songwriters of all time collaborating on one of the worst songs of all time.

xxxp this is the macca book i was on about

it's OOP now but goes for buttons on Ebay

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-25-greatest-rock-memoirs-of-all-time-20120813/paul-mccartney-many-years-from-now-1997-20120813

One of the most revealing moments in the Anthology docs the cut, I think from a montage of Beatlemania at its peak, the Beatles being shuttled into their car by security against the horde of fans beating on the window, to George in interview: "We couldn't really do much." It was a completely exhausting job that didn't make the most of his talents and for which he was never compensated on an equal level with his bandmates, because "it's only a Northern Song."

― long dark poptart of the rodeo (Doctor Casino), Monday, April 17, 2017 12:47 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm. He also said something like, "The only moment we could be alone with our thoughts was when we went to the toilet to have a cigarette."

Yeah, Many Years from Now changed my thinking about McCartney for sure. Great book.

I don't buy the idea that his '70s songwriting lacks personal content.

Me neither but I'd have to hunt around for personal content on an album like Band on the Run.

One of the most revealing moments in the Anthology docs the cut, I think from a montage of Beatlemania at its peak, the Beatles being shuttled into their car by security against the horde of fans beating on the window, to George in interview: "We couldn't really do much." It was a completely exhausting job that didn't make the most of his talents and for which he was never compensated on an equal level with his bandmates, because "it's only a Northern Song."

― long dark poptart of the rodeo (Doctor Casino), Monday, April 17, 2017 12:47 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm. He also said something like, "The only moment we could be alone with our thoughts was when we went to the toilet to have a cigarette."

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, April 17, 2017 1:00 PM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That new Eight Days a Week documentary by Ron Howard was lacking in a lot of ways but really did do a great job of capturing just how TERRIFYING Beatlemania was, the sheer chaos at points was really breathtaking and I can't imagine having lived through that

like sometimes it seemed like the crowd would have just ripped them to shreds if they could have

Ebony and Ivory are two of the greatest songwriters of all time collaborating on one of the worst songs of all time.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, April 17, 2017 5:57 PM (forty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ah, y'see, to be the worst song of all time it would have be totally devoid of merit and thoroughly detested by everybody. You may not like 'Ebony and Ivory', but it doesn't qualify for "worst song of all time" in any way.

Ringo is totally lucky, as much as I like his drumming. He wasn't even the original drummer in The Beatles and wouldn't have even got onto the records if they hadn't argued strongly with George Martin about it. He was the drummer in a band with Lennon/McCartney! Christ, he coulda been in Freddie and the Dreamers!

They were very lucky as well to have him. It's not just that he was a good drummer; his musicianship reflected the same long, studied, hard-working path that the other three took. He had the exact same roots. Obviously with Pete Best, they were nowhere near as good. But I think the three Beatles with a studio drummer like on the Anthology version of "Please Please Me" could have ultimately been a much less appealing and much less successful enterprise.

The luck the Beatles stumbled into was mind-boggling including, but not limited to, being taken under the wing of a completely inexperienced manager who refused to take more than 15%; getting signed to Parlophone, and shoved onto George Martin's plate, because Martin's boss was upset that Martin was cheating on his wife (there's a bit more to the story than that, but it was never the "they auditioned for me and I signed them" myth that's been propagated over the years).

That's the crazy joy of the Lewishon book. Just vital lucky break after vital lucky break, and that's not even factoring in innate talent.

i think if anyone on earth has earned the right not to sign autographs, it's an ex-beatle

peace and love, peace and love!

https://frinkiac.com/meme/S02E18/1018867.jpg?b64lines=V2VsbCBXZWF0aGVyYnksIHRoZXkgdG9vawp0aGUgdGltZSB0byB3cml0ZSBtZSwKYW5kIEkgZG9uJ3QgY2FyZSBpZiBpdCB0YWtlcyBtZQphbm90aGVyIDIwIHllYXJzLg==

Ringo is totally lucky, as much as I like his drumming. He wasn't even the original drummer in The Beatles and wouldn't have even got onto the records if they hadn't argued strongly with George Martin about it. He was the drummer in a band with Lennon/McCartney! Christ, he coulda been in Freddie and the Dreamers!

― ...so music and chicken have become intertwined (Turrican), Monday, April 17, 2017 2:52 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

freddie and the dreamers come on up-uh
show us your house and show us your cock-uh

Eirn id io joier schoo ban

Ringo is totally lucky, as much as I like his drumming. He wasn't even the original drummer in The Beatles

lol

i wish i could find Lenny Kravitz's mid 90's furious rant about how amazing Ringo was and how anyone who thinks otherwise is a flaming arsehole. my respect for him skyrocketed as a result.

hell yea

they were all lucky that they happened to meet each other at the right time. i think it's pete shotton who says in his book that if john hadn't met paul he might have ended up a ne'er-do-well drifter like his dad.

Ringo is lucky but The Beatles are just as lucky to have him. as much as Ringo has a reputation for being a bad drummer, there are very very few examples of this on record, if any.

John Densmore is more of the lucky drummer. he couldn't play his way out of a paper bag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viAF6CFwU0E

Ringo's a great drummer. Densmore unarguably more technical, though.

Ringo is not the best drummer, but he is the best drummer for the Beatles, which is all that matters.

I like to imagine Keith Moon or John Bonham drumming for the Beatles whenever things like this come up.

Always a productive enterprise.

when did the "ringo = bad drummer" thing even start? clearly the beatles themselves didn't think that.

I like to imagine Keith Moon or John Bonham drumming for the Beatles whenever things like this come up.

heh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaG0Sadav_s

and wtf

https://i.imgur.com/zx2bjCN.jpg

when did the "ringo = bad drummer" thing even start? clearly the beatles themselves didn't think that.

― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, April 18, 2017 1:57 AM (eighteen minutes ago)

so how is it that I have MP3 files of "Carnival Of Light"? I swear it showed up at some point.

In his last interview John got defensive about Ringo -- because Charlie Watts played w/amateur jazz combo or whatever, John claimed, he had the snob vote that Ringo never earned.

Anyway I tried making sense of George a few months ago.

Pretty good list. Had forgotten about "Awaiting On You All." Was under the impression you didn't like Thirty Three & 1/3 but seem to see to tracks from it.

And a Gone Troppo track!