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

I do not see morose or glum, I see a guy coming into his own whose oldest mates won't even listen to his sound advice

he is a total diva, i dunno how you dont see it

with Alfred on this one, sorry.

A diva ignores others for the sake of her self-image.

Isn't this Paul?

Like, were inverting power dynamics. Ringo and George had less bargaining power from the beginning. Which dine! But circumstances changed.

*We're

No way am I saying George was equal to John and Paul. I AM saying, though, that John and Paul were not prepared to deal with an evolution in the band's dynamics.

i said that too at the end of my blarp, that they were all to blame for falling into familiar roles & not allowing for their needs to have changed over time

Otm

I should know. I'm the John or Paul in a relationship with one of my oldest and youngest mates. It fucking suxks.

The Beatles: Get Back part one pic.twitter.com/qWoNpS4cgs

— Dean Says 'No' To Pot-Smoking FBI Members (@danceyrselfdean) November 26, 2021

john & paul writing together from the start while absolutely critical to their success definitely poisoned the creative well for the band as a whole. paul cant do what he does w john & doesnt know how to nurture george’s creativity, and george finds paul’s confidence & take chargeness offputting & patronizing - which is also v liverpudlian
but instead of finding another way they just push harder in the only ways they know how, ie ~the ways that dont work~
they sort of doomed themselves in a way

The way all these threads of stanning / nonstanning are in play itt remains interesting to me (despite what I wrote yesterday).

Like, there's a caricature of Paul as too eager to please. Music-hall tunesmith, somewhat melodically gifted, too much in love with his corny/choochy output to edit himself sufficiently. In public persona, cuddly and cute but in collaboration, a domineering tyrant. Hence, fake (where "fake" is the ultimate bad word for someone whose job is to make noises that cause happiness in teenagers).

This narrative goes nicely with the caricature of John as a more authentic artist, a more committed activist, less eager to please and therefore realer. His snark, his sneer, his habit of resisting public expectations, his hostility to fans and to fandom... all are points in his favor because he's, well, you know, more real or whatever. (Where "real" is the ultimate compliment for someone whose job is to make noises that cause happiness in teenagers.)

If you follow this caricature version out to their solo careers it is easy to embrace the notion that Paul's tragic flaw is trying to please everyone (which John mitigated when they were songwriting partners). And John's tragic flaw is trying to please no one (which Paul mitigated when they were songwriting partners).

I think both of those narratives are oversimplified, and if it takes 800 hours of footage to complicate the picture, well, bring it on. Stans of Saint John might begin to understand that he was a dick, often full of completely irrational hostility, and not in ways that indicate his artistic purity. They can also gain some appreciation for Paul's work ethic and the simple fact that he is/was a very talented musician, and the world is richer for him having been in it.

We all love George's music but even still, sometimes it's hard to root for him even if you instinctively root for underdogs.

Have to also add that on a personal/professional/nerdy level as a film/tv editor and being fully cognizant that this thing is comprised of loads of loose snippets as well as fully synced video/audio -- there is a ton of cheesy editing here done mainly in the use of reaction shots.

^^^ also, repeating the exact SAME reaction shot within seconds. Kind of knew there was going to her some editing shenanigans going into this though.

Thought George was hilarious when reacting to everyone's goofy concert ideas overseas: "We still haven't made our money back from Magical Mystery Tour!"

And Ringo comes across so sweet - particularly when watching Paul play piano: "We should just film this."

when theyre all sitting morosely at the end of part 1 after george has left and MLH pipes up “should we discuss the concert”, like OMG READ THE ROOM

George Martin, himself a man who repeatedly condescended to George (and to his credit spent decades apologizing for it), got it right in the Harrison doc: "John and Paul had each other to play against...George had to do it himself." God knows how George's considerable melodic talent + musicianship might have benefited from the nourishment of actual Harrison-Lennon or Harrison-McCartney collaborations. It's a miracle he came up with "Something," "Here Comes the Sun," and an album or two of solo chestnuts.

OTM the narratives are oversimplified. It's Christgau and the other boomers who advanced the John is Genius narrative, repelled by Paul's "professionalism" or whatever. Many of Harrison's mid '70s albums are glum, grotty affairs, but they're no worse than Paul and John's (which, again, is not to suggest his talent was equal to theirs).

I guess many of us too young to have known The Beatles as occupants of the center of popular culture remember the Ironic George of the Cloud Nine-Wilburys-Anthology who, finally nourished by the genuine respect from Orbison (!), Dylan (!!), etc., emerges as a singularly acerbic and anti-nostalgic voice from a generation replete with too many fatheaded sentimentalists. Maybe Paul, with his ad man's instinct, ceded so much ground to George in the Anthology because he recognized George was simply a better camera subject; it's easy to think if you knew nothing about the Beatles that, watching the thing, George was the leader, not John or Paul.

Finally, when y'all get to the final third, a discussion occurs about how the film will look. George assures everyone that the 16mm film will look fine if blown up to 35 mm. Paul -- immediately, without pausing for breath -- says NOPE SORRY YOU'E WRONG THEY LOOK LIKE CRAP. Lindsay-Hogg or someone steps in and says, "Um, well, actually, he's right."

And George would be the only one to produce films twenty years later.

john & paul writing together from the start while absolutely critical to their success definitely poisoned the creative well for the band as a whole

There's a part in the Lewisohn book where he talks about the second contract L&M signed with Epstein in October 62, specifically to do with their songwriting.

George perceived a subtle shift in the Beatles' chemistry, as George would put it, 'An attitude came over John and Paul of "We're the grooves and you two just watch it"'

the Dick James interlude in part 1 def underscores that fact

Yeah. Paul himself mentioned a walk he and John took in the early sixties where they wondered if they should include George in the partnership.

georges hk dudes just sitting there are way more annoying than yoko!

xp - Sets pre-1963 provided nearly equal lead vocal time for Paul, George and John.

loool @ those hari’s

Finished Ep.1 and adored it. I was transfixed. Ringo adores Paul, especially when he's creative. How honest is the depiction of John discussing plastic sets while Paul creates Long and Winding Road, I d'know. George going on about Clapton, then leaving and John's quip that they should replace him with Clapton had me laughing for about a minute.

What's with the Enoch Powell stuff when jamming Get Back? I've honestly never really thought about the politics of that track. Slightly unnerving. Especially with the Clapton context.

I do love when the band slip effortlessly and without conflict into recording "For You Blue," a song that means nothing to me.

My favorite moment in part 1 is “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”

Am I right that while Jackson put this together, the Beatles estates had in essence final cut?

Olivia, Yoko, and Paul over martinis fighting over the remote.

btw here's my review of the whole thing.

Excellent review!

god it is worth trudging through the first 3.5 hours just to feel the full measure of relief and joy when billy preston shows up

I know, it's an enormous change. I posted this upthread, but when the companion book to the film and box set was published earlier this year, a lot of readers zeroed in on George's remarks about Billy Preston. With Preston's organ taking on all the fills George was going to do, it was major relief for George and took away the source of his biggest arguments at Twickenham.

"For You Blue," a song that means nothing to me

They probably had no conflicts because it meant nothing to any of them as well.

Hell, George gave them the easiest songs in his stash because they'd trigger the least trouble.

George was writing shitty dirges the night before and bringing them in the next morning as legit pieces I'd be mean too

"I Me Mine" is the only shitty dirge he brought. "Old Brown Shoe," "All Things Must Pass," "Something," "For You Blue"? Nah.

what is it with you and old brown shoe lol

finally, the main question on ilm comes out

I was kind of shocked that Paul had completely forgotten "All Things Must Pass" when he did at Harrison's tribute concert a year after his death - like he had no idea how the song went and had to be taught it from scratch. Granted it had been 32 years since they rehearsed it (even if they did run through it MANY times over multiple days), but it wound up being the title track of George's multiplatinum, chart-topping AOTY-nominated album. Like even then, Paul still didn't give a shit.

*when he did it at

you cant be serious

First thing I do when I pick up a bass is play the opening lick of "Old Brown Shoe".

Old Brown Shoe is balls.

AMAZEballs, that is.

It always sounds like nobody knows what speed they should be playing.

lol

What's with the Enoch Powell stuff when jamming Get Back? I've honestly never really thought about the politics of that track. Slightly unnerving. Especially with the Clapton context.

Watching GH helping Ringo along with Octopus' Garden at the start of Ep3, so so great.

And in their generally musically fraught environment, it comes across as an act of genuine friendship.

Swap out “Maxwell’s” for “Old Brown Shoe” and Abbey Road improves considerably.

Watching GH helping Ringo along with Octopus' Garden at the start of Ep3, so so great.

― Maresn3st, Saturday, November 27, 2021 4:52 AM (thirteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

best part of the original film, the episode i’m most looking forward to