The second track from Mind Games that stood out was 'Out Of The Blue'. The opening guitar work is reminiscent of 'Julia' from The White Album. Character: Both are intimate in both musical and lyrical character, and both are written about Yoko ('Julia' being an Oedipal blend of love for his mother, Julia Lennon, and his burgeoning love in Yoko). Tempo: Given the intimate and emotional character, a slow tempo is appropriate for both tracks. 'Julia' clocks in at 68 beats per minute; 'Blue' at a slightly faster 72 bpm. Finger picking patterns: The third measure of 'Blue' uses the same finger picking pattern used throughout 'Julia'. (And 'Dear Prudence', too, for that matter.) It's the technique Donovan taught Lennon in India in 1968. Finally, 'Blue' employs homophones - two different words that are pronounced identically. John regularly used homophones in Beatles music:
The final week of October's New England tour begins tomorrow.
Sunday, 23 October 2016, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Ave, Milton, MA From the Shadow of JFK: The Rise of Beatlemania in America Many Beatles authors have cited John F. Kennedy's assassination on 22 November 1963 as a cause of the Beatles' sudden popularity in the United States in early 1964. Their logic: Kennedy's assassination made America sad, then the Beatles made America happy again. But this commonly accepted answer is overly simplistic. The real answer is that Kennedy's life and death inadvertently primed the nation for the Beatles' arrival and success. This 60-minute program will explain how and why.
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In addition to listening to John Lennon's 1972 album Some Time in New York City, the other day I listened to his 1973 album Mind Games. Two tracks in particular struck me as being strongly related to Beatles tracks. The first was 'I Know (I Know)', whose opening is remarkably similar to 'I've Got A Feeling'. Instrumentation similarities: Both are lead guitar riffs. Harmonic similarities: Both are in the key of A major and alternate every two beats between A and D chords. Rhythmic similarities: The pattern of 8th and 16th notes are very nearly identical. Melodic similarities: The melodic contour is similar, though 'I Know' is more compact (spanning just a major tenth) whereas 'Feeling' spans two octaves. Is it coincidence that McCartney, famously more melodic than Lennon, wrote 'Feeling', where John wrote 'I Know'? It's possible that Lennon wrote 'I Know' without realizing how similar it was to 'Feeling', but that seems highly unlikely. While his memory for dates and details is often inaccurate, his musical memory was quite strong. Further suggesting a Beatles parallel is the line at about 2:30: "it's getting better all the time" is strongly related to the lyrics from the Beatles track 'Getting Better'. And so, assuming that Lennon is consciously referencing 'Feeling', the question becomes: Why? While I'm quite familiar with The Beatles' output, I know the band's solo works far less intimately. So I pose the question to readers who might be more familiar with John's solo work: What is 'I Know (I Know)' about? Who is he singing to? Are there multiple individuals? And how does referencing 'I've Got A Feeling' and 'Getting Better' enhance 'I Know'? I will address the second comparison from Mind Games tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm eager to hear reader responses to this comparison. My fourth and final (and third consecutive) double-booking is tomorrow:
Saturday, 22 October 2016, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Thomas Memorial Library, 6 Scott Dyer Rd, Cape Elizabeth, ME The Influence of American Rock 'n' Roll on The Beatles Before the Beatles ever wrote their own songs or performed on stage, they were inspired to do so by American rock 'n' roll records. This 90-minute multimedia program will illustrate the influence of Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and other American recording artists from the 1950's on the Beatles through side-by-side comparisons and musical analysis of Beatles covers and original recordings. Saturday, 22 October 2016, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Thomas Memorial Library, 6 Scott Dyer Rd, Cape Elizabeth, ME The Beatles: Band of the Sixties Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members. Today, being the 20th day of the month, is the day I send out my newsletter. Inspired by popular interest, I began this free monthly email newsletter in March 2014, when I sent that initial issue to 6 people. Little by little, it's grown to the point where this morning's newsletter (November 2016) was sent to 880 recipients. Each newsletter details my schedule for the remainder of the current month through the end of the next month - which presentation I'm giving, where, and when. Here is this month's newsletter in PDF form:
Anybody with a valid email address may register for the newsletter on my website: http://www.aaronkrerowicz.com/newsletter-sign-up.html. Just be sure to type the “prove you are human” part. (I get a lot of spam, so any submissions that skip that step are deleted.) Newsletter subscription is the best way to stay in touch. The emails are sent from my personal Gmail account, which allows recipients to respond easily and efficiently. This permits me to maintain a monthly dialog with Beatles fans across the globe. Plus, they feature adorable puppy pictures. In honor of my pooch, Abbey (as in Road), I started including a photo of her in each newsletter beginning in 2016. Here's November's: Those who don't sign up online may do so in person following any of my speaking engagements, including tomorrow's:
Friday, 21 October 2016, noon - 1:00 p.m. Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, 4 Oak St, Boothbay Harbor, ME The Beatles: Band of the Sixties Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members. Friday, 21 October 2016, 7:00-8:00 p.m. D. A. Hurd Library, 41 High St, North Berwick, ME The Music of Star Wars: A Celebration of John Williams' Film Scores Often called a “space opera”, one aspect of the Star Wars films that helped make them such a pop culture phenomenon was composer John Williams' ultra-romantic orchestral score. This 60-minute multimedia presentation will showcase the music of all seven movies, citing historical precedents and comparing musical influences with the twofold purpose of (1) illustrating how the music developed, and (2) enlightening listening and furthering enjoyment of the music. On 10 February 1964, the day after The Beatles' debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, Leroy Aarons wrote an article titled "The Beatles Prove Fairly Tame Chaps" reviewing the performance in The Washington Post: "They behaved in a more civilized manner than most of our own rock and roll heroes. There were no Presleyan gyrations, no leering, no grimacing, no screeching. Except for the outrageous bathmat coiffures, the four young men seemed downright conservative. In matter of fact, the Beatles are rather asexual . . . homely . . . Their faces are fixed in vacant, almost angelic expressions when they sing and their most provocative maneuver is a slight shaking of the head and a smile . . . The songs, while very much in the teen age genre, were restrained in comparison with the jungle calls popular here." It's an article that has been quoted frequently in a variety of contexts (including on p. 473 of Bob Spitz's admittedly factually challenged The Beatles: The Biography and on this Washington Post website). There's only one problem... While researching for From the Shadow of JFK: The Rise of Beatlemania in America last year, I probably scoured a few miles of microfilm of The New York Times and The Washington Post (including every page of The Post between 8-25 February 1964) in search of Kennedy- and Beatles-related articles. I found a great many, of course, but I never did find Aarons'. I assumed I had just missed it - that it was there, but my bleary eyes simply failed me - so on 27 May 2015 I contacted The Post directly, asking for assistance in finding the article. A Post employee promptly replied confirming that he could find no trace of the article, either. My bleary eyes hadn't failed me, after all! My attempt to contact Aarons' estate directly, however, did fail. My email to the address provided on their website bounced, which forced me to at least temporarily conclude that the article is unreliable. Because I could not substantiate it, I had to remove Aarons' quotes from my book. Then the other day, while driving through Connecticut, I stopped at Wesleyan University, where I conducted much of my microfilm research. I knew they had the complete Washington Post, so since I was in town anyway and had the extra time, I made one final search. I found two Beatles references in the 10 February 1964 Post... The first, on page B6, is a caption for three photos of Ringo starr. The second, on page B20, is an ad for the album Meet The Beatles (just $2.77!). ... but I did NOT find the Aarons article. It is possible that the microfilm was incomplete, though that seems highly unlikely. The microfilm I searched had 24 pages of A section, and an equal number of B section pages. I suppose there could have been additional pages of either section, or a C section that was somehow omitted from the microfilm, but that seems like an even greater stretch - especially since other weekdays also had only A and B section. In any case, given the evidence, I am convinced that Leroy Aarons' "asexual" article DID NOT appear in the 10 February 1964 Washington Post. To be clear, none of this means the article is necessarily fabricated, nor does it mean that the ideas are inaccurate (even if it is fabricated). Example: There is a quote floating around the internet (and of course if it's on the internet it must be true!) attributed to John Lennon about why The Beatles fired Pete Best and hired Ringo Starr instead: "Pete was good drummer; Ringo was a good Beatle." But that quote is manufactured - John Lennon never said that. Nevertheless, there is a degree of truth behind those counterfeit words: Ringo played the role of Beatle better than Pete did. So even though the quote is contrived, its meaning is still accurate. And the same applies for Aarons' comments. They might or might not be fabricated, but either way it has no influence on the validity of the ideas, whether you agree with his assessments or not. Where October 11-29 will be the busiest 19-day stretch of my career so far (23 speaking engagements in 19 days), tomorrow through Saturday will be the busiest 3-day stretch (6 speaking engagements - 2 per day for each of those 3 days).
Thursday, 20 October 2016, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Wilmington Memorial Library, 175 Middlesex Ave, Wilmington, MA The Beatles: Band of the Sixties Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members. Thursday, 20 October 2016, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Peabody Institute Library, 15 Sylvan St, Danvers, MA The Beatles: Band of the Sixties Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members. Over the past few years, with so many Beatles-related speaking engagements, I've amassed a substantial collection of Beatles neckties. Some of my favorites are Sgt. Pepper (a gift from my dad), a collage of their album covers, and the band members' faces. A guy stopped me at Abbey Road on the River last May to ask if he could buy that last tie from me. I declined. I even have a Beatles tie clip to complete the ensemble. (I love eBay!) But I also speak on several other topics, and so have plenty of non-Beatles neckwear for such occasions. For my Star Wars presentation last Saturday, I wore a Star Wars tie. And during yesterday's Shadow Ball: A History of Negro League Baseball, I of course wore a baseball tie. And tomorrow I time warp to a decade earlier than usual - not to the 1960s, but to the 1950s - to present The History of Rock 'n' Roll, a topic I've spoken on many times (though nowhere near as frequently as The Beatles). But for a long time, I didn't have any good rock 'n' roll ties. I'd been keeping an eye out for an Elvis one, but for some reason Presley ties seem to be way more expensive than Beatles ties. Then, on 16 June 2016 at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a woman in attendance generously gave me this one: I've been waiting for an appropriate opportunity to debut it since June. And I get my first chance tomorrow evening:
Wednesday, 19 October 2016, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St, Wellesley MA The History of Rock 'n' Roll This 60-minute program will trace the development of Rock 'n' Roll (as distinct from Rock of the 1960s) from its roots in the blues and country music, through its pinnacle in the mid 1950s, and its abrupt decline in the late 50s. Artists discussed will include Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Elvis Presley, among others. On This Date (October 17) in 1963, The Beatles recorded 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. Ringo's drumming on the track is particularly adroit, as I detail in my BEATLES MINUTE on the topic: I debut a new program tomorrow - the first debut since 1 September 2016, when I premiered Come Together: Structure in Beatles Music at Butler University.
Tuesday, 18 October 2016, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Newton Free Library, 330 Homer St, Newton, MA Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Lennon/McCartney Dynamic Few songwriting teams are as well respected as John Lennon and Paul McCartney. This 60-minute multimedia presentation will compare and contrast their songwriting over the course of The Beatles' career. Choruses are defined by three primary elements: 1) repeated lyrics, 2) high energy, and 3) thick texture. These three factors all contrast verses, which typically use different lyrics with each iteration, are comparatively less energetic, and usually feature a thinner texture. Take 'Yellow Submarine', for example. 1) repeated lyrics Each of the four verses of 'Submarine' implement the same music but different lyrics. Verse 1: "In the town where I was born..." Verse 2: "So we sailed unto the sun..." Verse 3: "And our friends are all aboard...." Verse 4: "As we live a life of ease..." But the choruses feature both the same music and the same lyrics: Choruses 1, 2, and 3: "We all live in a yellow submarine...." 2) high energy The choruses, in comparison to the verses, elevate the energy levels. That's not to say that verses are - or have to be - low in energy, but typically they are lower in energy. And that distinction is easily discernible listening to 'Yellow Submarine'. 3) thicker texture Ringo sings the verses by himself, but he's joined by many more voices in each of the choruses. This helps provide the "thicker texture" characteristic of choruses. Those three factors are the primary distinguishing factors when interpreting any given section as a chorus. Of course, there is some ambiguity when it comes to distinguishing choruses from refrains, which also employ the same lyrics on each iteration. But refrains are dependent on the verse, whereas choruses are independent of the verse. In other words, you can't have a refrain all by itself but it's common to find a chorus all by its lonesome For more consideration on the sometimes difficult decision, see my blog Ambiguity in 'The Fool on the Hill'. With those factors in mind, 66 (31.3%) of The Beatles' 211 tracks use at least one chorus. And those 66 songs use their choruses in a number of different ways. 4 (6.1%) of those 66 are based on the verse, meaning the verse and chorus are strongly related (same pacing, same harmonies) even though the choruses are clearly distinct from the verses.
14 (21.2%) of Beatles choruses are "faulty bridges" (John Covach's words, not mine) in deceptive AABA forms. The Beatles looooved AABA form, using it in 57% of their songs. For those not already familiar with AABA structure, the BEATLES MINUTE video below explains it, using 'Please Please Me' as an example. But AABA designs require a bridge. And several songs, though literally AABAs, don't function as such because the B section is a chorus instead of a bridge. These are called "deceptive AABA" structures.
A song's structure typically begins with the first verse. Anything prior to that first verse can be thought of as introductory. Choruses, being high-energy and catchy by nature, often make ideal introductions because they quickly hook a listener's attention. 19 (27.8%) Beatles songs use an introductory chorus:
Similarly, though more ambiguously, choruses can also be used at the ends of songs. Concluding choruses are iterations of the chorus, but are somehow altered to propel the song to its conclusion. This is often a repetition of the final phrase (such as "And with a love that like, you know you should be glad" in 'She Loves You'), or a fade out (example: 'I'm Down'), or occasionally a combination of the two (see 'Little Child'). 33 (50.0%) of songs use a concluding chorus:
Almost all (52 - 78.8%) Beatles songs to use choruses use them as part of a compound module, meaning that the chorus combines with another section (almost always a verse) to create a module that is then repeated (sometimes partially, though usually in full) throughout the song.
Lastly, 6 (9.1%) Beatles songs use the chorus in unique ways, and will therefore be considered individually.
It is tempting to call the first chorus an "introductory chorus" because it precedes the first verse. But, highly unusual, in this case the structure begins with the that first chorus and not with the first verse. The fifth and final chorus, on the other hand, is clearly a concluding chorus.
'Slumbers' is also the only Beatles song to use a "chorus + refrain". A refrain typically cannot appear in a chorus because there's no way to discern the "chorus proper" from the refrain. In 'Golden Slumbers', however, the reprise of the refrain found in the verses makes that distinction. Careful readers might notice that, unlike other Formal Level sections, choruses are typically used in more ways than one within a single song. In fact, only 15 (22.7%) of the 66 tracks listed above use the chorus in one way only:
The remaining 51 (77.3%) use choruses in multiple ways. For example, the four choruses of 'Can't Buy Me Love' are used in four different ways: the first is an introductory chorus, the second is a "faulty bridge" as part of a deceptive AABA, the fourth is a concluding chorus, and the second through fourth are all part of compound modules. Sooooo, The Beatles' use of choruses is widely varied and at times convoluted. And this is complexity is compounded by the fact that so many songs use choruses in multiple ways within the same song. Tomorrow is the first of four double bookings over the next week.
Monday, 17 October 2016, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Beverly Public Library, 32 Essex St, Beverly, MA Shadow Ball: A History of The Negro Leagues When Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball on 15 April 1947, it marked one of the sport's greatest historical moments. But it also served as the beginning of the end for the Negro Leagues. This 60-minute multimedia presentation will observe and discuss the rise and fall of Negro League baseball. Monday, 17 October 2016, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Topsfield Town Library, 1 S Common St, Topsfield, MA The Beatles: Band of the Sixties Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members. Last month at Beatles at the Ridge, Ivor Davis, author of The Beatles And Me On Tour, observed my musical notation drawings and suggested I also sell the cover photo from my book From the Shadow of JFK: The Rise of Beatlemania in America. The photo layers a shot of Kennedy with The Beatles in the background, as if emerging from JFK's shadow. While I'm much more of a musical artist than a visual one, I'm quite proud of what I was able to do with this picture. It took many hours of work and lots of trial and error to get the right alignment, coloration, and contrast. Perhaps some day I'll blog of the various steps behind creating the image, but not today. Anyway, taking Ivor's advice, I printed and framed the picture, and added it to my sales table. Ivor, next time I see you, I'll give you a complementary framed image as a thank-you for making the suggestion. Along with "Darth Yoko" that Kennedy/Beatles image will be available for purchase after all my presentations, but it's especially appropriate for tomorrow's topic.
Sunday, 16 October 2016, 2:00 p.m. Norwell Public Library, 64 South St, Norwell, MA From the Shadow of JFK: The Rise of Beatlemania in America Many Beatles authors have cited John F. Kennedy's assassination on 22 November 1963 as a cause of the Beatles' sudden popularity in the United States in early 1964. Their logic: Kennedy's assassination made America sad, then the Beatles made America happy again. But this commonly accepted answer is overly simplistic. The real answer is that Kennedy's life and death inadvertently primed the nation for the Beatles' arrival and success. This 60-minute program will explain how and why. When not studying The Beatles' music (a rare occasion), I'm likely to be studying John Williams' music. His film scores are just as iconic as The Beatles' albums, and few of his scores are better than those he wrote for the 7 Star Wars movies. Most of my presentations are about The Beatles, and I've created several Beatles-related drawings using musical notation symbols. But since I also do presentations on the music of Star Wars, I recently applied the same idea to Darth Vader. I typically set up the drawings for sale at each of my presentations, and it admittedly looks a little incongruous to have a ton of Beatles-related items, and then a drawing of Vader. But one man at my program in Milford, MA the other day found a connection. "I see you have the Beatles over here," he observed, pointing to the Abbey Road and Help! drawings, "and I see you have Yoko over there," this time pointing to Vader!
"Darth Yoko" will be available for purchase tomorrow after my Star Wars presentation at the Fairfield, CT library. Saturday, 15 October 2016, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Fairfield Public Library, 1080 Old Post Rd, Fairfield, CT The Music of Star Wars: A Celebration of John Williams' Film Scores Often called a “space opera”, one aspect of the Star Wars films that helped make them such a pop culture phenomenon was composer John Williams' ultra-romantic orchestral score. This 60-minute multimedia presentation will showcase the music of all seven movies, citing historical precedents and comparing musical influences with the twofold purpose of (1) illustrating how the music developed, and (2) enlightening listening and furthering enjoyment of the music. When planning lecture tours, I have to be careful that I'm in any given location at an appropriate time. For example, Arizona temperatures surpass triple digits in the summer, so I made sure to visit in March. (It was only 95 when I arrived!) Hurricane season in Florida peaks from August through October, which is why I visited the Sunshine State in February in 2016, and why I will visit in November 2017. And tornado season in the Great Plains occurs twice per year: from May through June, and again in November. That's why I was in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas last month. Wisconsin's winters are worst in February, thus I booked Dairy State speaking engagements for May, August, and November of this year, and June of last year. And New England, famous for its dazzling autumnal colors, is an ideal place to visit in October. I'm reminded of that fact every day as I drive across the Northeast - especially Vermont last week. When driving, I obviously can't take photos of the foliage. But the other day, while jogging in Randolph, MA, I took several shots. This tree in particular caught my attention. Especially how those orange leaves vibrantly contrast the brilliant blue sky. I'm already looking forward to returning to New England in October 2017. In the meantime, I'll continue enjoying the vibrant present.
Friday, 14 October 2016, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Charlton Public Library, 40 Main St, Charlton, MA The Beatles: Band of the Sixties Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members. |
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