The Beatles Anthology
Wednesday, 1 October 2003 02:29![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apollaFinally started packing stuff for leaving on Thursday and started with the most important element- the CDs I'm taking. I bought a new 64disc carrier thing which I've already filled, along with one that takes something like 24 or something that's got all the Beatle albums I'm taking and I still need to use the other one... And knowing me I'll hardly listen to any of it, choosing to listen to the Led Zeppelin stuff. It would be fairly consistent with my character of late. Did I mention that I'm leaving on Thursday and still haven't done much packing? Did I mention that I have to be up to go to Toni & Guy's for 12:45 tomorrow to finally get my ratty old hair sorted out? Fun, fun, fun until her daddy takes her T-Bird away, man.
On a Zeppelin note (which I know I wasn't, but that's never stopped me before), it is never good to be walking through a fairly crowded shopping centre on a Monday afternnon and suddenly decipher what Percy Sodding Plant is singing at one point during a BBC version of 'Whole Lotta Love'. I haven't had much chance to listen to the first disc of said BBC Sessions because I love the second so much, and I was listening while walking through to WH Smiths to buy paper and a diary (note to self- exchange tomorrow for different one). I nearly collapsed laughing when I heard the aforementioned blond suddenly sing 'train arrive, sixteen coaches long' which is a line from the song 'Mystery Train' which is a favourite Old Rock n Roll Song of mine by many people, most notably by Elvis. The context of that particular line in 'Whole Lotta Love' made me laugh out loud there and then because I'm thinking 'surely that's wishful thinking on his part?'. Anyway, where I live, people don't generally walk about laughing, so I got a lot of funny looks that I just disregarded in my usual cavalier fashion while cursing the name of Zeppelin for a: being arrogant bastards who thought girls would just fall at their feet and b: for being fucking right about it.
Finally saw POTC! *does triumphant dance* They showed the Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World teaser trailer beforehand and I did actually lob bits of popcorn at the screen, much to my mother's bemusement. Wish they'd shown the ROTK trailer instead...
POTC does rock quite a lot, although there were a few moments where I wanted Johnny Depp to tone it just a little bit. A bunch of bloody noisy, squealy fangirls were sat behind us too, and they'd clearly seen it before because they were cheering when JD & OB turned up. At the end they cheered their names in the credits and fucking booed Keira Knightley. Started to get quite annoying. I felt like turning around and saying "please shut the fuck up until afterwards and squee in your fucking live journals like normal people!"
It was pretty fantastic, and my dad really loved it, though Mama wasn't quite so fond. He said 'the moment that Sparrow bloke stepped off his boat thing onto the pier the mood was set' which I felt was a fair and accurate thought, although I persoanlly thought it was seeing him triumphantly stood on the mast of his boat... then cutting to show not a fabulous galleon or something but a tiny, sinking little sailboat. Not to mention him actually trying to bail it out.
Orlando was OK, if a little wet-seeming at times. I personally think Errol would've done a better job, but then again, I always do. The love story bits were only OK, partly because Jack Sparrow takes most of the 'cool' bits and Will is left as the romantic lead without any other purpose. Although the duel in the blacksmith's was pretty good- I was sitting there thinking a couple of things. Firstly, that the girls behind me were probably on the verge of wetting themselves at such a cinematic feast of prettiness. Secondly, that I was myself on the verge of giving up blonds...
There's some funny moments. Nothing that made me hysterical or anything (not like watching last night's Never Mind The Buzzcocks) but some laugh out loud moments that most of you know about because 99% of you have already seen it *hugs Dan and Anne*, most notably Sparrow's last attempt at 'this is the day you almost- *trips and falls off the wall*'. Anyway, I now cannot wait for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it whenever I feel like a funnier version of Captain Blood or other pirate movie. If only it had Errol Flynn in it...
And now, something more important. To me, anyway. Read on MacDuff.
You know, I've hardly watched The Beatles Anthology for a long time. I used to watch it a lot, used to watch snippets now and then- Vol. 8 was always my favourite cos it has the promo video for 'Something' on it even if it also features my favourite boys self-destructing. I think I've only watch bits of it all once since George died, partly because I've moved onto other things (read: Zep) and partly because watching 1995 George smiling, talking and making ever-so-slightly snarky remarks ("They gave their screams, but the Beatles gave their nervous systems" and "The Beatles gave the world an excuse to go mad! among his best) is quite hard for someone like me, who has always put far too much of herself into what she listens to. I often seem to describe myself as 'on the verge of tears' when it comes to these boys but today I was tipped over the edge. The reason? I went straight for the Bonus Disc of my shiny new DVD set and clicked on the first part- a chapter called "Recollections- June 1994" which is described as "Paul, George and Ringo spend a happy summer's day together; singing, playing and warmly remembering..." No, it wasn't the saccharine liner notes that made me weep, but the end of the piece. The three are sitting on a blanket in the exquisite gardens at Friar Park and are saying their farewells and aside from a very cute version of 'Ain't She Sweet' on uke, and then George says "we're going to have to see you for the next forty years." That was too much for a delicate, fragile soul such as mine Any euphoria left over from Pirates of the Caribbean completely evaporated and I sat at my computer nine years later and shook my head before bawling like a fucking baby. Because George, my dear boy, we should be so lucky. We should be so fucking lucky.
Which brings me to a question I posed on 30th November 2001: How come Frank Sinatra got to hang around for eighty five fucking years making comeback after bewigged comeback and George was wrested away from us after only fifty-eight. Anyone will tell you that Brainwashed was fantastic and not because it's a posthumous release. Hell, maybe if it got good reviews, he woulda made another one not ever so long after, you never know. It is not fair. It was not fair that John was butchered in the street outside his home and it was not fair that George died. It is not fair and to anyone of the Jareth, King of the Goblins school of thought, my basis for comparison is Francis Albert Sinatra, who hadn't made a decent record in years and years and years. I don't truly begrudge him a life, but I want to know why the same courtesy was not afforded George or John. All I can say is that God had better have given them really great places in Heaven's house band. It's the least the omnipresent git can do, in my opinion.
I do love the three of them saying that 'Free As A Bird' sounds like them- to hear Ringo refer to the Beatles as 'them' filled me with warmth. I do love that song- I know it isn't a lot of people's cup of tea, but I do love it, as I love Real Love (although it's possible I prefer the solo John version of it).
This may sound really very silly, but watching George talking at one point, he has the most beautiful long, shiny brown hair- much more lustrous, thick and long than any man in his fifties deserves... and it was taken away from him just like everything else.
A quite wonderful quote from the Quiet Beatle: "I for one don't mind it [the music] being old and scratchy because most of the music I buy is old and scratchy... I like a bit of tape hiss." I knew there was a reason I love that man. Also, another fab moment is when they're talking about 'Golden Slumbers' and he asks what album it was on! Or perhaps him saying "we were able to experiment because we'd had a few hits." A few hits being slang for 'conquering the entire world', apparently.
I love watching the three of them in the control room with George Martin- they seem so much like eager, mischievous little schoolboys and George Martin is so much like their serious schoolteacher, and I am suddenly desperate to have seen this in action in 196something with Head Mischief-Maker Lennon in the mix.
There is a famous song which posits that the day Buddy Holly was killed was the day that music died. Don McLean is mistaken. Music was Missing in Action the day that Buddy died and was discovered lying near death by the Beatles. The day the music really died was December 8th 1980 and so far I have seen no real proof that anyone has succeeded in reviving it. I would very much like the opportunity to have a go.
I've said many times before that although I yammer on incessantly about Led 'Not Them Again please Clare' Zeppelin, they are not my favourites and unless it turns out that they were the Beatles in disguise, never will be (they do come pretty close though). I want to add something to that: Led Zeppelin will never make me cry like the Beatles can. Recent events have made me suspect how I might react when someone from the Zeppelin dies (dear god, not anytime soon please) but I won't ever, ever cry for them like I already have for the Beatles.
It will be a dark day when I must bid farewell to the final Beatle. Don't let it be anytime in the next twenty (at least) years, is all I ask.
On a Zeppelin note (which I know I wasn't, but that's never stopped me before), it is never good to be walking through a fairly crowded shopping centre on a Monday afternnon and suddenly decipher what Percy Sodding Plant is singing at one point during a BBC version of 'Whole Lotta Love'. I haven't had much chance to listen to the first disc of said BBC Sessions because I love the second so much, and I was listening while walking through to WH Smiths to buy paper and a diary (note to self- exchange tomorrow for different one). I nearly collapsed laughing when I heard the aforementioned blond suddenly sing 'train arrive, sixteen coaches long' which is a line from the song 'Mystery Train' which is a favourite Old Rock n Roll Song of mine by many people, most notably by Elvis. The context of that particular line in 'Whole Lotta Love' made me laugh out loud there and then because I'm thinking 'surely that's wishful thinking on his part?'. Anyway, where I live, people don't generally walk about laughing, so I got a lot of funny looks that I just disregarded in my usual cavalier fashion while cursing the name of Zeppelin for a: being arrogant bastards who thought girls would just fall at their feet and b: for being fucking right about it.
Finally saw POTC! *does triumphant dance* They showed the Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World teaser trailer beforehand and I did actually lob bits of popcorn at the screen, much to my mother's bemusement. Wish they'd shown the ROTK trailer instead...
POTC does rock quite a lot, although there were a few moments where I wanted Johnny Depp to tone it just a little bit. A bunch of bloody noisy, squealy fangirls were sat behind us too, and they'd clearly seen it before because they were cheering when JD & OB turned up. At the end they cheered their names in the credits and fucking booed Keira Knightley. Started to get quite annoying. I felt like turning around and saying "please shut the fuck up until afterwards and squee in your fucking live journals like normal people!"
It was pretty fantastic, and my dad really loved it, though Mama wasn't quite so fond. He said 'the moment that Sparrow bloke stepped off his boat thing onto the pier the mood was set' which I felt was a fair and accurate thought, although I persoanlly thought it was seeing him triumphantly stood on the mast of his boat... then cutting to show not a fabulous galleon or something but a tiny, sinking little sailboat. Not to mention him actually trying to bail it out.
Orlando was OK, if a little wet-seeming at times. I personally think Errol would've done a better job, but then again, I always do. The love story bits were only OK, partly because Jack Sparrow takes most of the 'cool' bits and Will is left as the romantic lead without any other purpose. Although the duel in the blacksmith's was pretty good- I was sitting there thinking a couple of things. Firstly, that the girls behind me were probably on the verge of wetting themselves at such a cinematic feast of prettiness. Secondly, that I was myself on the verge of giving up blonds...
There's some funny moments. Nothing that made me hysterical or anything (not like watching last night's Never Mind The Buzzcocks) but some laugh out loud moments that most of you know about because 99% of you have already seen it *hugs Dan and Anne*, most notably Sparrow's last attempt at 'this is the day you almost- *trips and falls off the wall*'. Anyway, I now cannot wait for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it whenever I feel like a funnier version of Captain Blood or other pirate movie. If only it had Errol Flynn in it...
And now, something more important. To me, anyway. Read on MacDuff.
You know, I've hardly watched The Beatles Anthology for a long time. I used to watch it a lot, used to watch snippets now and then- Vol. 8 was always my favourite cos it has the promo video for 'Something' on it even if it also features my favourite boys self-destructing. I think I've only watch bits of it all once since George died, partly because I've moved onto other things (read: Zep) and partly because watching 1995 George smiling, talking and making ever-so-slightly snarky remarks ("They gave their screams, but the Beatles gave their nervous systems" and "The Beatles gave the world an excuse to go mad! among his best) is quite hard for someone like me, who has always put far too much of herself into what she listens to. I often seem to describe myself as 'on the verge of tears' when it comes to these boys but today I was tipped over the edge. The reason? I went straight for the Bonus Disc of my shiny new DVD set and clicked on the first part- a chapter called "Recollections- June 1994" which is described as "Paul, George and Ringo spend a happy summer's day together; singing, playing and warmly remembering..." No, it wasn't the saccharine liner notes that made me weep, but the end of the piece. The three are sitting on a blanket in the exquisite gardens at Friar Park and are saying their farewells and aside from a very cute version of 'Ain't She Sweet' on uke, and then George says "we're going to have to see you for the next forty years." That was too much for a delicate, fragile soul such as mine Any euphoria left over from Pirates of the Caribbean completely evaporated and I sat at my computer nine years later and shook my head before bawling like a fucking baby. Because George, my dear boy, we should be so lucky. We should be so fucking lucky.
Which brings me to a question I posed on 30th November 2001: How come Frank Sinatra got to hang around for eighty five fucking years making comeback after bewigged comeback and George was wrested away from us after only fifty-eight. Anyone will tell you that Brainwashed was fantastic and not because it's a posthumous release. Hell, maybe if it got good reviews, he woulda made another one not ever so long after, you never know. It is not fair. It was not fair that John was butchered in the street outside his home and it was not fair that George died. It is not fair and to anyone of the Jareth, King of the Goblins school of thought, my basis for comparison is Francis Albert Sinatra, who hadn't made a decent record in years and years and years. I don't truly begrudge him a life, but I want to know why the same courtesy was not afforded George or John. All I can say is that God had better have given them really great places in Heaven's house band. It's the least the omnipresent git can do, in my opinion.
I do love the three of them saying that 'Free As A Bird' sounds like them- to hear Ringo refer to the Beatles as 'them' filled me with warmth. I do love that song- I know it isn't a lot of people's cup of tea, but I do love it, as I love Real Love (although it's possible I prefer the solo John version of it).
This may sound really very silly, but watching George talking at one point, he has the most beautiful long, shiny brown hair- much more lustrous, thick and long than any man in his fifties deserves... and it was taken away from him just like everything else.
A quite wonderful quote from the Quiet Beatle: "I for one don't mind it [the music] being old and scratchy because most of the music I buy is old and scratchy... I like a bit of tape hiss." I knew there was a reason I love that man. Also, another fab moment is when they're talking about 'Golden Slumbers' and he asks what album it was on! Or perhaps him saying "we were able to experiment because we'd had a few hits." A few hits being slang for 'conquering the entire world', apparently.
I love watching the three of them in the control room with George Martin- they seem so much like eager, mischievous little schoolboys and George Martin is so much like their serious schoolteacher, and I am suddenly desperate to have seen this in action in 196something with Head Mischief-Maker Lennon in the mix.
There is a famous song which posits that the day Buddy Holly was killed was the day that music died. Don McLean is mistaken. Music was Missing in Action the day that Buddy died and was discovered lying near death by the Beatles. The day the music really died was December 8th 1980 and so far I have seen no real proof that anyone has succeeded in reviving it. I would very much like the opportunity to have a go.
I've said many times before that although I yammer on incessantly about Led 'Not Them Again please Clare' Zeppelin, they are not my favourites and unless it turns out that they were the Beatles in disguise, never will be (they do come pretty close though). I want to add something to that: Led Zeppelin will never make me cry like the Beatles can. Recent events have made me suspect how I might react when someone from the Zeppelin dies (dear god, not anytime soon please) but I won't ever, ever cry for them like I already have for the Beatles.
It will be a dark day when I must bid farewell to the final Beatle. Don't let it be anytime in the next twenty (at least) years, is all I ask.
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Date: 2003-10-01 12:07 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-02 08:17 (UTC)