Tag Archives: the beatles

Mash-Ups

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So as I was saying yesterday, 2009-2010 was my Beatles year. And because of my sudden interest in the group, I got “The Beatles Rock Band” as a present early in the first month of the new decade. Now I was able to play along with George, Ringo, John and Paul on 45 of their signature tracks (and three albums extra as DLC). Undeniable fun was had. Though once all the songs were there and I’d played them all that fun faded away. Hope that every Beatles song would be added to game was dashed as days passed.

But  buying the game led me to joining its official forum where I chatted to some cool people. They owned the game, and liked The Beatles as much as I did. What could go wrong? That’s when you expect the heel-turn. But nothing did go wrong. It was a good few months on there.

The best thing I did on there, was contribute to a ‘community mash-up’ album conceived by another member. It was meant to be in the style of the ‘LOVE’ album of 2006 made for the Cirque du Soleil show. Obviously, ours weren’t as professional or on the same level as those tracks. But the process of making it was one of the most exciting things, and the ending product was pretty well done. The album’s title? “Melodies of Memories”. Very nice.

You can follow the album’s making by clicking here. You can also watch each song’s video on YouTube via clicking on this whole sentence. I am the member named ‘JAMZFTW’. I have reasons behind the name, but I won’t tell them. I also made some extra songs that didn’t make it on there, either because they didn’t fit or because it was too late. That ended up being an “EP” which I appropriately named “PEACE”. ‘Cause ‘Peace and Love’, get it? Click on here to download it.

I got so hyped up over the ‘mash-up’ idea that I ended up making many more. A sequel to “Melodies of Memories” was initiated by another forum member literally days after the first. That member then disappeared, and didn’t log in for a long time. How did it end? Well, the sequel was released eventually entitled “All Things Must Return”. That album and the songs from “Peace” would be on YouTube had the company not terminated my account, which I’m still sad about to this day.

I was even determined to start a part 2 to *that* incorporating the use of Beatles solo material to do the mash-ups. That album died. No one cared. And to be honest, I didn’t either. Songs were made though. Those are all in my Mediafire account. I will share those below. A Green Day Mash-Up album was also started. That died too. As did a Pink Floyd/Beatles mash-up album.

But a huge shout-out goes to the members on those forums. Glad I got the chance to participate in something that was so fun, creative and very productive.

IN SUMMARY, CLICK ON THESE LINKS:

Melodies of Memories (April 2010 – May 2010): The Beatles Community Mash-Up Album and the aftermath of its ‘release’.

PEACE (May 2010): The above’s accompanying “EP”.

Echoes of Love (Started July 2010 – died): The Beatles/Pink Floyd Mash-up album that didn’t quite happen. Though here are two tracks I did for it. Download here and here.

Green Day Community Mash-Up Album (Started August 2010 – finished never): Started in dedication to the then new release of “Green Day: Rock Band”. Wasn’t finished. Good songs were made for it though. All download links are on that forum.

The Beatles Acoustic Medley Pt. 3 (October 2010): A little something something requested by a forum member which I was happy to do.

All Things Must Return (May 2010 – January 2011): The sequel to “Melodies of Memories”. The Beatles Community Mash-Up Album II and the aftermath of its ‘release’. As I already said it’s not on YouTube anymore. You can still download the album here though.

All Things Must Return II (Started 2010 – Never finished): I actually did the first song for the album in 2010, combining “How Do You Sleep” by Lennon, “Too Many People” by McCartney and “Wah-Wah” by Harrison to make the song “Thinking of You” – a phrase taken from the latter song. Fitting because all three songs were written with the other Beatles in mind. However, actual work on the album didn’t start until February 2011, when the first “All Things Must Return” was done. As you can see, nothing really came of it. The mash-up era was over.

Enjoy listening to whatever you can though. Hope you have as much fun listening as I did making them.

Five Years of Listening to The Beatles

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On the ninth of September 2009 after four years of arduous work using the latest technology available, The Beatles’ discography from “Please, Please Me” from ’63 to 1970’s “Let It Be” were released, remastered in both mono and stereo mixes. For what must have been a long wait for those who owned the last remasters from 1987, every snare hit, string pluck and glorious melody were now able to be heard in a revitalised condition. “The Beatles: Rock Band” game was also released on the same date, allowing the young and old to play along with the four guys through their journey from the Cavern Club to Abbey Road studios. It was a good day for Beatles fans…. though it wasn’t really for me.

It isn’t that something bad happened to me on that day. It was another day in the opening week of a new year at school as far as I was concerned. I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on. I had never given the band a look before that month, but it was then that everything changed. Whilst casually browsing the Internet as you do, I noticed on the television that the now-defunct channel VH1 Classic was dedicating one half an hour slots everyday to The Beatles suitably titled “Beatlemania”. This was because of 09/09/09, but I didn’t know this so I assumed it was just a random move on their part to show The Beatles videos on music television.

Any of you who read my posts in the Blogger may remember a statement in my “Across the Universe” entry, where I controversially stated that when I was younger I didn’t actually think The Beatles existed. I say controversial – not a lot of people cared or probably even read the post in the first place – but I said that and then just moved on as if I hadn’t. I feel as if I should address this. To cut it short, the “Paul Is Dead” theories played a massive part, the supposed backward messages as well as the general consensus that The Beatles were ‘the greatest band of all time’ and Sgt. Pepper is the best album ever all threw me off a bit. They couldn’t be as good as everyone said they were. I bet I wouldn’t like them if I listened to their stuff. I listened to “Sgt. Pepper” to try and understand, and it still underwhelmed me. Maybe The Beatles just weren’t the band for me.

But I had to admit the sight of them together, laughing, joking and generally having a good time in videos such as “The Night Before“, “Penny Lane“, “Hey Bulldog“, “One After 909” on “Beatlemania” was honestly the first time I had watched the four men perform/mime their songs whilst being within the vicinity of each others’ personal space, which essentially nullified all prior thoughts I had about the group. The band actually had been on Earth for a period of time in the past. And the few of their songs that were shown on the programme I really got to like, especially “Penny Lane” I must have hummed that tune to myself as I was walking to school every day. Those were good days.

I felt as if I had missed out by listening to The Beatles at the age of fourteen. For some reason I thought that I should have known their songs for years by that time. But on the contrary there was so much to discover. I am just lucky that I started before it was too late. By the end of the year I had downloaded most of their albums and my obsession continued well into 2010, as I received “The Beatles: Rock Band” as a late Christmas present. Had a good time with that game, even if my interest in it faded as weeks went on. But its official forum was pretty cool. I was a member on there, and along with its community pulled off something of epic proportions. I’ll talk about that tomorrow.

The group were undeniably unique – the charisma and chemistry between all four members are qualities that arguably haven’t been matched – and their music was of such great quality that it continues to stand the test of time. From Key Stage 4 to the second year of university, The Beatles have been in my head. Here is to many more years.

My iPod #337: The Beatles – Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey

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Hey what’s up how’s it going?

Today’s first song is from disc two (or side four for all you vinyl people) of The Beatles self-titled album from 1968. Or “The White Album” as almost everyone refers to it. That year was when John, Paul, George and Ringo started to dislike each other a bit. Why? Well there’s one word that the latter three, and a lot of fans would answer that question with. Yoko. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were hardly ever apart, even during recording sessions, and this aggravated George, Paul, and Ringo quite a bit. How did John answer this? Possibly by many ways which would have gone on behind closed doors, but for us he wrote “Me and My Monkey”.

“Monkey” should be played very loudly out of speakers. It gets me in the mood to party. It sounds like the band had a very fun time recording it, what with the random howls and screams which appear after almost every “Come on” that John yells, that incessant bell that never seems to end and when John also appears to start becoming a sheep right when the song begins to fade out.

It may be about heroin use and there may be some sexual connotations thrown in too, but those are just interpretations.

Dunno about you, but has anyone else noticed during the breakdown near when only the guitars and bass are playing that the bass plays a sharper note than the guitar chords? Just irks me a bit. But still, it’s cool. Very good hard rock song.

My iPod #324: The Beatles – The End

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It all came down to this in 1969. This was The Beatles’ last song ever. Well, it was meant to be. “Let It Be” was released a few months later after “Abbey Road“, and even on the latter album itself “The End” is followed up by “Her Majesty“. But even then, the track was recorded with the full understanding between the four guys that this would be the last thing they would do together. How did they decide to it? In one of the most epic ways possible. And all in two minutes too.

If you have “Abbey Road”, you know that the second half of it is the famous medley where all the songs run into each other. So not only are you treated to that, a musical movement beautifully put together with orchestra and guitars everywhere, but this is the climax of it all. The big finale. With a drum solo by Ringo Starr (the first and only one he ever did with the group) symbolising his recognition 0f being the steady, solid drummer and the rotating guitar solos by Paul, George and John which seem to go on and on and on until a piano plays, the four members sing ‘that’ line and the finishes on a rising chord progression.

Now you may read that and think “Well, that doesn’t sound that good. What’s all that about?” And I know I can’t do it enough justice in writing. You do have to hear it to be convinced. Actually listen to ‘The Abbey Road Medley”. Search it up on YouTube. You will not be disappointed.

My iPod #316: The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby

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I don’t like “Eleanor Rigby” that much. I feel like it should grip me somehow with its dramatic strings and depressing lyrics, but it never does. Is there something wrong with me? Because from what I’ve read and researched, this track is one of the most popular by The Beatles and definitely one of the most loved on the band’s album “Revolver”. But I have to be that guy who prefers “I Want to Tell You” and “Doctor Robert”.

The song is the second one on “Revolver”, and the first time Paul takes lead vocal on the album. It’s not one to listen to if you’re in a good mood. The lyrics focus on two lonely characters, Eleanor Rigby and Father MacKenzie. The former wishes to be married and the latter writes sermons that apparently no one will hear. At the end of the track, the former character has died and the latter conducts her funeral. The irony.

I may not like it that much. But this track was a sign of many exhibiting the band’s evolution from the mop-top pop group that amazed everyone in the 60s to the experimental group that maintained that admiration.