Tag Archives: white album

My iPod #432: The Beatles – Glass Onion

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My introduction to “Glass Onion” wasn’t via listening to The Beatles self-titled album (or The White Album) from 1968, but through The Beatles’ official mash-up album “LOVE“. Mind you the version on that album only contains John Lennon singing “Oh yeah”, “Nothing is real”, and the last verse before the creepy string outro mixed with a lot of elements from other Beatles songs. But I still thought it was alright. It made me want to listen to the whole track. So I did.

“Glass Onion” is a track written by John Lennon in which he makes several references to other Beatles songs in order to freak out the conspiracists and general strange people who thought there was more to The Beatles than the four members were actually letting on. The song references range from “There’s a Place” from their 1963 debut to “https://www.youtube.com/embed/v2i1WhHXyBY“>The Fool on the Hill” from 1967’s “Magical Mystery Tour” – the latter getting its own musical nod when Paul plays the recorder near the end of the song. Ringo Starr actually plays on this track too; he does not appear on “Back in the U.S.S.R.” or “Dear Prudence” has he had temporarily left the band when times were rough. So whether the track starting off with the jarring drum fill was meant to signal his entrance or just a coincidence is up for questioning. The vocals and rhythm section come to an abrupt end and give way to the aforementioned scaling strings section that brings the song to an ominous end, fading out (and sounds like it begins to slow down weirdly in the last few seconds) before the clanging pianos of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” begin.

And so there you have it. Probably the most meta track The Beatles ever made. And one of their most darker sounding ones too.

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 #256: The Beatles – Dear Prudence

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“Dear Prudence” is the second track on the first disc of The Beatles’ self titled album from 1968. It was one of many to be written by John Lennon when the group visited India earlier in the year for a meditation course, in order to get away from all the added attraction the band brought onto themselves the previous year. Many people joined the band on their visit and would be entertained by the group whenever there weren’t any lectures occurring, but there was one who would retreat back to their room, meditate some more and barely keep in contact with anyone. That person was Prudence Farrow, this was John’s message to her.

That’s just a bit of background info.

I became a huge Beatles fan in late 2009. Around the time the new album remasters and The Beatles: Rock Band came out, coincidentally. I downloaded (almost) every Beatles album as I was awed at just how consistently good their songs were, even as they changed through the years.

If only I was typing this to you from the computer back home, I could tell you when I actually first downloaded “The Beatles” and therefore listened to “Dear Prudence” for the first time. I can’t remember if I had seen its dreamscape from the game before listening to the whole album, or vice-versa……. It’s nothing to dwell upon, really.

I don’t think I’ve typed anything that would have convinced you to listen to the song. I’m not able to tell you just how good this song is with the less-than-satisfactory vocabulary I have.

It is one of Lennon’s best – a beautiful and timeless track.

My iPod #225: The Beatles – Cry Baby Cry

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Uni work starts again from tomorrow until April. Can’t wait. Early wake ups three times a week and sitting through two hour lectures on a Friday. What could be better.

Never mind. Life goes on.

“Cry Baby Cry” may be another track out of the many on “The Beatles” that some consider to be filler. On the contrary I think it has as much worth as “Dear Prudence” and “Glass Onion” on the track list, even if it is not as highly regarded as the former or as continuously questioned as the latter.

“Sing a Song of Sixpence” always comes to mind when I hear this song, seeing as many words in that nursery rhyme are found in the track. A king is there, a parlour is mentioned, a queen and so on and so forth. But this track does not have a cheerful melody like that rhyme. In fact, this is the total opposite of what a nursery rhyme should be.

The descending phrase from E Major to G Major within the verses mixed with some minor chords along the way, John Lennon’s light and barely double tracked vocal and that harmonium in the introduction make this track very moody and quite saddening to listen to. It makes it even worse knowing that it’s the last time you hear Lennon’s voice on the album.

The actual track ends before it switches to Paul McCartney with a guitar singing “Can You Take Me Back”, which makes it even weirder and creepy. Then the next track “Revolution 9” starts and it goes all over the place from there.

My iPod #208: The Beatles – The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

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Finally! After almost three years from its release, I have seen the last Harry Potter film. The feels! I kid you not, just two minutes ago I finished watching it. Thank you MegaShare. I never thought I could get an actual working link as the top result on Google, but there you go.

Today’s track is one that would not be acclaimed by a lot of Beatle fans. It was one of my most played tracks in iTunes, which would either impress some people or gain some curious looks by others.

Well I don’t care! I like it. The song’s quite funny. And one based on real events. An American man went to visit his mother in India, where John Lennon and the rest of the band were staying at the time, and set out on elephants to hunt a tiger. A tiger was killed, John didn’t like it, the rest is history.

The song is also noted for the one and only appearance of a female lead vocal on a Beatles track. This pisses off some people, as it was provided by Yoko Ono. For me…. meh. I am indifferent. It is over before you know it.