The concert film Stop Making Sense with live performances by the Talking Heads, directed by the late Jonathan Demme, is the best rock concert film EVER, and it’s now showing on Amazon Prime. It’s even better than The Kids Are … Continue reading The 3/24 Day Thread Stops Making Sense
40 years ago today, Hair, one of acclaimed director Milos Forman’s most underrated films, was released. Forman (1932-2018) was born in Czechoslovakia, began his film career there, emigrated to New York in 1968 and is best-known for The Fireman’s Ball, One … Continue reading The Hair Day Thread
Hello, comrade poets and poetry lovers! Sam Barber/comicalArchitect came up with this thread originally, last year. If you’re out there, Sam, I’m not trying to steal your idea. But I thought I’d resurrect your idea of a spot where we … Continue reading Poetry Corner
In 1994, Apple Records and the BBC combined forces to unlock the gates of unreleased recordings being issued officially with the two CD release of Live at the BBC. These songs, recorded from 1963 to 1965, owe their existence to … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—The BBC Recordings
Although EMI and Capitol wanted to release a live recording of the Beatles for years, many obstacles prevented it. At the time the band was touring, the equipment wasn’t advanced enough to overcome the noise levels created by the screams … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—[Live] At The Hollywood Bowl
Once an artist hits it big, it’s only a matter of time before compilation albums of her or his work begin to be released: Greatest Hits, Best Of and the like. Since the Beatles were one of the most successful … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Compilations
MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW Netflix dropped Black Mirror: Bandersnatch on December 28th to a flurry of interest and publicity. The episode is one of the first of its kind: an interactive movie. Viewers receive a brief tutorial on how to make … Continue reading TV Review: Black Mirror—Bandersnatch
Compared to the first two albums in the series, Anthology 3 came off as an afterthought, a somewhat limp finish to the collection. It lacked the brand-new “Beatles” song which opened the first two records, and while EMI promised … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Anthology 3
Like most of you, I get sick of Christmas music pretty rapidly around this time of year. Radios everywhere are blasting a weird mix of Mariah Carey, the Beach Boys, Burl Ives and David Bowie/Bing Crosby nonstop 24/7 until I … Continue reading Christmas Music: Why It Fascinates Me
Almost fifty years ago exactly, The Beatles’ tenth album and their only double album of new material was released, five years to the day after With the Beatles. When you think about what a progression their music had undergone in … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—The Beatles (The White Album)
If the Anthology 1 album was of historic importance, Anthology 2 is far more interesting musically. However, it’s also padded quite a bit. There are two tracks that definitely don’t belong here, and a number of others are pretty but … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Anthology 2
The Beatles Anthology was years in the making, dating back to shortly after the group broke up. Their friend and roadie, Neil Aspinall, began compiling footage of the band for a documentary to be entitled The Long and Winding Road. … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Anthology 1
Paul McCartney has released so many solo albums (thirty at least, including Wings but excluding his classical efforts) that I’ve given up trying to rank them. Egypt Station, his latest, is probably not in the top five, but it is … Continue reading Album Spotlight: Paul McCartney—Egypt Station
When the Beatles’ album catalog was released in 1987 for the first time on CD, EMI realized that there were a number of songs that had never been included on albums which would become otherwise unavailable. So they put together … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Past Masters
Abbey Road, one of the Beatles’ best records, was also their final recording, although Let It Be would be released the following year. Apparently, the group had decided, consciously or subconsciously, to make an album which would erase the bad … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Abbey Road
Like Magical Mystery Tour, Let It Be can’t be discussed without an extensive knowledge of what the Beatles intended for the record. Following is a brief rundown, but there’s plenty more to learn if you take the time. The Beatles … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Let It Be
If Magical Mystery Tour was the double EP set that should have been (and soon was) an album, then Yellow Submarine, the Beatles’ eleventh record, was the album that should have been an EP. With only four new songs and … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Yellow Submarine
Many Beatles albums exist outside of the context of the events that were happening in real life at the time of the work’s recording. Magical Mystery Tour, the group’s ninth album, is not one of those records. In order … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles’ eighth album, released June 1st, 1967, is their most famous and had the greatest musical impact of any of their records. In the famed Summer of Love of that year, everyone—EVERYONE—was listening to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Today was the 78th birthday of Sir Richard Starkey, formerly Richard Starkey, M.B.E., known to his family and close friends as Richy, known to the world as Ringo Starr. He acts, sings, and drums a little. Actually, he’s quite an … Continue reading Sir Richard Starkey Night Thread
Revolver, the Beatles’ seventh album, is their greatest overall achievement and the dividing line between their Early and Late periods of work. (You could also say it’s the peak of their Middle period if you wanted to divide their career … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Revolver
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