Tag Archives: boy

#1362: The Beatles – This Boy

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Oh, look at that, another Beatles track. I don’t make up how these things go, I’m just following the list. When it comes to ‘This Boy’, I don’t think I heard the actual Beatles recording first, but rather the instrumental version of it known as ‘Ringo’s Theme’. That plays in the background during a scene in A Hard Day’s Night where Ringo Starr walks around London on his own. You see, back in 2009, you could watch an upload of A Hard Day’s Night on YouTube with no problem, except it was separated into a number of videos because of the 10-minute duration limit the site used to have. But I don’t think it would have been too long after that I did listen to the tune as The Beatles originally did it. Was in my Beatles phase, which if you’d like to know more about I did a whole post on that. Eventually I came round to the Past Masters compilation, where ‘This Boy’ can be found on the collection’s first disc.

That compilation is made up of the singles and B-sides The Beatles released in the eight years they were around for, the first disc containing those from 1962 to 1965 and the second, 1965 to 1970. ‘This Boy’ was a B-side, released as the companion piece to ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ – the track that got the band their first US number one and kicked off the years of Beatlemania hysteria. A smart move having the energetic rocket on side of the vinyl and the slower ballad on the other. I’m sure it was a calculated one. They get to show off their range with two very different songs. While ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ has a narrator that’s very much in a relationship, ‘This Boy’ contains a sadder one who wants to be in a relationship again, specifically with the girl they were once with who’s now with another man. ‘That Boy’. The narrator is in his feelings, singing the words he wants to say to the girl, but can’t, watching from afar as she goes about her business. He waits in the wings, ready to swoop in and take her back when ‘That Boy’ messes up, which ‘This Boy’ is convinced he will sooner or later.

The Beatles were usually a very good band on the vocal harmony front, and there’s probably no other song of theirs that showcases those better than this track right here. Well, actually, maybe ‘Because’. But ‘This Boy’ is up there too. John Lennon takes the lower range, singing the main melody. Paul McCartney provides the higher backing harmony, and George Harrison’s bridges the gap in the middle. You just have to listen and admire. Things ramp up a gear when Lennon forces his way to the front with the “Ohh, annnd this boy…” bridge, the big vocal serenade moment of the track, before an audible edit where two takes were spliced together takes us back to the quieter final verse like that moment never happened. The three vocalists repeat the song title alongside a swooning guitar line as it trails off into silence. A nice, little wistful number. George Harrison was a fan of it. John Lennon must have liked it himself, as he tried to rewrite it a couple years later resulting another B-side, ‘Yes It Is’. That’s something for another day. The band play it at the Washington Coliseum in 1964 below. The crowd go wild.

#990: Simon & Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy in New York

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Upon going through Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water album in about 2012/13, there were two clear highlights, at least to me, that stuck out on that first listen. Those were ‘Keep the Customer Satisfied’ and today’s song ‘The Only Living Boy in New York’. Sure, the title track is right there. But it’s never been one that I’ve wilfully gone out of my way to listen to. Probably ever. The rest of the album tracks all have their moments. But it’s always been those two for me. And since I’ve written the post about ‘Customer’, well, I better start going on about this one.

‘…Living Boy…’ was written by Paul Simon during a time when singing partner Art Garfunkel took an acting role and had to travel to Mexico for a lengthy period in order to shoot his scenes. Simon, overcome with these feelings of loneliness, transferred all of this emotion the best way he could into song. He wishes his partner the best of luck and wishes him well; he addresses him as ‘Tom’, which is what Garfunkel would go under when the pair performed as ‘Tom and Jerry’ in their early years. He gets some delight from the mundane things like checking out the weather report for the latest news. Still, the separation doesn’t stop Simon from feeling like the only person existing in the big city of New York. There’s a subtle hint of conflict too, as it seems Simon knows that this acting bit is something that Art is really into. He pleas to him that if he wants to follow through with it, then he should just tell him instead of making excuses. It’s a bit of a turbulent affair, and it would all end when the act broke up and went their separate ways some time after the album’s release.

However the lyrics are interpreted, it doesn’t get in the way of how comforting a listen this track always is. Simon takes the lead vocal here, double-tracked and maybe singing really close to the microphone. I don’t know what it is, maybe he’s using a certain type of mic, maybe it’s an effect, but whatever is used gives his vocal a real close and intimate feel. Like he’s singing you to sleep or something. It’s a gentle delivery with a fine melody with a backdrop of acoustic guitars and a skipping bassline. The whole track delivers for the most part, but then comes that glorious moment when those glorious harmonies from the two singers enter the frame, brought in effect by performing those vocals in an echo chamber and multi-tracking it around eight times. They’re heavenly moments, like lights at the end of the tunnel. It’s at these parts where I guess Garfunkel appears in front of Simon after everything’s happened, telling him to not worry because “Here I am.” Maybe that’s looking too deep. All in all, like a few other songs on Trouble Water, ‘…Living Boy…’ is another personal look into what made those two guys tick.

#829: Deerhunter – Memory Boy

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My first Deerhunter song on here too. Two first timers in two consecutive posts. It gets crazy around here. Deerhunter was another band I discovered when I was in my first year of uni and trying to find new music to listen to. Particularly through Pitchfork. I also think I was just downloading any good album I could find so I could plays songs from there on the radio show I used to host on the uni’s radio station. But anyway, Deerhunter are cool. I think I enjoy a lot of the individual songs than their full albums… but 2010’s Halcyon Digest is the one of theirs that I can play through from front to back with no problem at all.

Today’s song, ‘Memory Boy’, is taken from that record. It’s a cheery tune about parental abandonment that lasts for just over two minutes. The song’s narrator remembers being a young boy and seeing his father leave with the television. The dad comes back to see him every day in October and play carrying the smell of weed on him. The the narrative flips around to the father’s perspective as he’s unable to recognise his son the more he gets older. A sad situation, right? But with that cheery guitar melody on the right and that blaring major-chord harmonica in the middle, it’s hard to tell.

Now, I know I said this was the first Deerhunter song that here. You’d think that would imply that there would be more to come. In the process of writing this, I’ve realised it could be the last one too. At least for a while, anything could change. All of the songs I really enjoy by them are before the letter ‘M’. But I’ll state them here just because they deserve a shout out. ‘Don’t Cry’, ‘Basement Scene’, ‘Coronado’ – all from Halcyon Digest, all great in my eyes. You should probably listen to that album all the way through though. ‘Agoraphobia’ is a wonderful song. I’d also recommend ‘Back to the Middle’ and ‘Backspace Century’. Some good ones to get accustomed to. Thank you for your time.

My iPod #469: Fall Out Boy – Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy

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I haven’t listened to this song in a long time. Doesn’t feel the same as it did when I was younger. Maybe because I’ve heard it too many times. The bite it used to have isn’t as sharp anymore. I can still write about it though, even if my heart won’t be into it so much.

So “Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy” was Fall Out Boy’s second ever single, released in 2003 on the group’s first album Take This to Your Grave. It may as well just be called “Where Is Your Boy” because that’s the main line of the chorus. Not sure what the “Grand Theft Autumn” part means. Possibly the song was recorded during the season, or it’s inspired by the rapid guitar introduction. Whatever it is….. it just sounds good for some reason, even if it doesn’t relate to anything in the song.

A lot of people will know the track. For those of you who don’t, it’s about wanting to be in a relationship where you feel you would treat the girl better than the guy she’s already with. It is also possibly the poppiest-punk track the band have done to this day. Not that that’s bad. Its relatable subject matter in the lyrics matched with its upbeat tempo and nice melodies make it very accessible. Probably why it’s one of the band’s most popular songs. Just sounds a bit dated to me, I’m just saying.

My iPod #255: Paul & Linda McCartney – Dear Boy

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“Dear Boy” is the fourth track on Paul McCartney’s second solo album (credited to both he and wife-at-the-time Linda) Ram, released all the way back in 1971.

Paul believed he was very lucky to have Linda as his wife, and wrote this song as a tribute to her. It is also an address to her former husband; they married years earlier in 1962 before divorcing in 1965. McCartney ‘tells’ him that he was a silly man to let Linda go, and that he will never find another one like her.

Although most of it is in a minor key, the dramatic, layered backing vocals and airy rhythm make things a little lighter. You can probably imagine the smugness he had when writing and singing this: “I hope you never know, dear boy, how much you missed/And even when you fall in love, dear boy, it won’t be half as good as this”.

Burn.