"White Album" - what are the best things about it?
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Sorry, but I'm with Erik on the Revolution #9 subject. That "sound collage" did not belong on a Beatles album. John should have saved it for "Unfinished Music No. 3." He was just being self-indulgent imo.
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SurSteven:
Erik in NJ:
"If you become naked...block that kick, block that kick..."
It doesn't say..."if you become naked"...as in taking your clothes off...it says "if...you become naked"...as in...are you willing to bare your soul?
Whoa...that's heavy man! Let's listen to it again... I fear Yoko has ummmm "bared" a bit more of her "soul"over the years than I have the stomach for!
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If they wanted to "mix it up" and put something daring on there, I'm happy for a "What's the New Mary Jane"... that at least evoked fun.... And I like it.... And I love the later "You Know My Name".... that makes me laugh....Whereas Revolution #9 makes me feel like I should be buying a coffin to bury myself and my great-great-great Grandparents in. All people I've never met. A terribly depressing piece of tripe. It is crap on every level. Depressing piece of shite. Masquerading as "art".... pullease.
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toris:
If they wanted to "mix it up" and put something daring on there, I'm happy for a "What's the New Mary Jane"... that at least evoked fun.... And I like it.... And I love the later "You Know My Name".... that makes me laugh....Whereas Revolution #9 makes me feel like I should be buying a coffin to bury myself and my great-great-great Grandparents in. All people I've never met. A terribly depressing piece of tripe. It is crap on every level. Depressing piece of shite. Masquerading as "art".... pullease.
Well I disagree, and you're welcome to skip it. Too bad this is turning into a negative discussion. It was interesting. How about that song of Paul's - Back In the U.S.S.R. - quite a ripping rocker wouldn't you say? Bold lyrics at the time too!
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beatlesfanrandy:
toris:
If they wanted to "mix it up" and put something daring on there, I'm happy for a "What's the New Mary Jane"... that at least evoked fun.... And I like it.... And I love the later "You Know My Name".... that makes me laugh....Whereas Revolution #9 makes me feel like I should be buying a coffin to bury myself and my great-great-great Grandparents in. All people I've never met. A terribly depressing piece of tripe. It is crap on every level. Depressing piece of shite. Masquerading as "art".... pullease.
Well I disagree, and you're welcome to skip it. Too bad this is turning into a negative discussion. It was interesting. How about that song of Paul's - Back In the U.S.S.R. - quite a ripping rocker wouldn't you say? Bold lyrics at the time too!
I lurve that song! Paul and John rocking it together! Love the intro.
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hey_kittay:
I LOVE all the songs on The White Album. There is SO much diversity of sound as beatlesfanrandy posted above. Revolution #9 has always fascinated me. It soothes me to listen to it. I really dig it. And for, "if...you become naked," as being willing to bare your soul. Last week I had nothing to wear and I just said out loud to these people I hardly knew, "Why don't we just go naked?" They laughed. In hindsight it was the right thing to say. As really I WAS saying, " I am willing to bare my soul." Wow, thanks for the deep thought SurSteven! Really. Peace & Love!
As they showed us with Two Virgins, it really was about being naked. That was the statement. Take off your clothes. Nothing more or less. Even today they won't show it.
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I'm on a train right now commuting to work and I'm naked! BTW, I loved Al Capp's lines in the Stevie Riks parody when he talked about Two Virgins:
(The real interview with Al Capp is just as hilarious!) -
toris:
beatlesfanrandy:
toris:
If they wanted to "mix it up" and put something daring on there, I'm happy for a "What's the New Mary Jane"... that at least evoked fun.... And I like it.... And I love the later "You Know My Name".... that makes me laugh....Whereas Revolution #9 makes me feel like I should be buying a coffin to bury myself and my great-great-great Grandparents in. All people I've never met. A terribly depressing piece of tripe. It is crap on every level. Depressing piece of shite. Masquerading as "art".... pullease.
Well I disagree, and you're welcome to skip it. Too bad this is turning into a negative discussion. It was interesting. How about that song of Paul's - Back In the U.S.S.R. - quite a ripping rocker wouldn't you say? Bold lyrics at the time too!
I lurve that song! Paul and John rocking it together! Love the intro.
That being said, I can't guarantee they were in the studio together at the same time! But I love the harmonies.
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I think it is interesting that this diverse group is so in a tight over the merits of a song none of us could dare to even attempt. That in itself is really mind blowing. But that is what The Beatles were all about creating controversy, making love and peace, making music you've never heard on this planet, etc... Still Revolution #9. and the songs on The White Album stir all the diverse emotions that were happening at that time in history when The White Album was recorded. Man, I wish I could write such a crappy song as Revolution #9. That song will be around long after all of us are ashes in the dirt. But that is my opinion, and no one here has to dig it too. We all should bare our souls more often to each other. That is the point of The Beatles isn't it? That we are One? That we see past everything but being that One. Peace & Love.
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JoeySmith:
Paul should have never allowed John to release Revolution #9. Or at least, give it a 3:00 minute edit - not 8 minutes of noise better suited for 2 Virgins. Big mistake by Paul.
PAUL PAUL PAUL... FFS!!! It was The Beatles! NOT PAUL. "PAUL should NEVER ALLOWED???" :
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RMartinez:
Erik in NJ:
Paul also apparently pioneered the backwards sounds being added to songs. I would love to hear some of Paul sound collages--I wonder if they are available anywhere or if they will ever be released. So much for the pioneering genius of Lennon! I still say Revolution 9 is for the most part swill.
John was the pioneer of backwards sounds. I'M ONLY SLEEPING and RAIN were his songs, and they have backwards sounds all over them.
Thank you my friend.
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hey_kittay:
We all should bare our souls more often to each other. That is the point of The Beatles isn't it? That we are One?
OK Kittay...I'll bare my soul to you if you bare yours (just trying to make you smile on a Tuesday morning! ) I think we can all agree to disagree regarding a track (it's not really as song per se) like Revolution 9. I have a multi-track recorder and it's really not very difficult to put together something like that--in fact it's quite easy. I think the most challeging thing back then was getting the spliced tape loops to not fall out of the tape deck. I heard they used pencils and things to hold the tape loops in place. Of course no in the digital age it's quite trivial to loop sound and play them backwards &c. BTW, do you like Chinese food?
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RMartinez:
John was the pioneer of backwards sounds. I'M ONLY SLEEPING and RAIN were his songs, and they have backwards sounds all over them.
They may have been used on John's songs first, but I'm fairly certain that Paul actually originated the idea in the studio and was experimenting with it. Hopefully someone else will weigh in here with more evidence on this. I do know that Paul was creating these sound collages quite a while before John.
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Erik in NJ:
hey_kittay:
We all should bare our souls more often to each other. That is the point of The Beatles isn't it? That we are One?
OK Kittay...I'll bare my soul to you if you bare yours (just trying to make you smile on a Tuesday morning! ) I think we can all agree to disagree regarding a track (it's not really as song per se) like Revolution 9. I have a multi-track recorder and it's really not very difficult to put together something like that--in fact it's quite easy. I think the most challeging thing back then was getting the spliced tape loops to not fall out of the tape deck. I heard they used pencils and things to hold the tape loops in place. Of course no in the digital age it's quite trivial to loop sound and play them backwards &c. BTW, do you like Chinese food?
Okay I am definitely laughing. I will bare my soul with you IF we can record a better song than Revolution #9 whilst eating Chinese food. I am up 4 the challenge. Let's get the multi-track recorder out. Hope u r laughing too.
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hey_kittay:
Okay I am definitely laughing. I will bare my soul with you IF we can record a better song than Revolution #9 whilst eating Chinese food. I am up 4 the challenge. Let's get the multi-track recorder out. Hope u r laughing too.
Now that's an offer Kittay I can't bear to refuse (or is it bare?)!
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Scarlett14:
Excerpts from the book, "The Beatles, A Hard Day's Write" regarding "Revolution #9: The album track of "Revolution" originally clocked in at over 10 minutes; more than half of it consisting of John and Yoko screaming and moaning over a range of discordant sounds, created to simulate the rumblings of a revolution. Subsequently, they decided to clip the chaotic section and use it as the basis of another track which turned into "Revolution #9". With so many overlapping sounds it is almost impossible to identify all of the individual noises and spoken comments. Mark Lewisohn, who studied the original 4 track recording divided them into a choir, backwards violins, a backwards symphony, an orchestral overdub from "A Day In The Life", banging glasses, applause, opera, backwards mellotron, humming, spoken phrases by John and George and a cassette tape of Yoko and John screaming the word "right" from "Revolution". Once again, Charles Manson thought that John was speaking to him personally through the hubbub, taking the number nine as a reference to Revelations Chapter 9 with its vision of the coming apocalypse. Manson thought John was shouting "rise" rather than "right" and interpreted it as an incitement to the black community to rise against the white middle class. "Rise" became one of Manson's key phrases and was found painted in blood at one of the murder scenes. Paul was in America when "Revolution 9" was put together and was disappointed at its inclusion on "The Beatles", particularly as he had been making sound collages at home since 1966 and realized that John would now be seen as the innovator." ______________________________________________
Paul's "Carnival of Light" is a much better, more innovative collage than "Revolution 9" & should have been included on The White Album instead. I understand why Paul was upset.
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toris:
If they wanted to "mix it up" and put something daring on there, I'm happy for a "What's the New Mary Jane"... that at least evoked fun.... And I like it.... And I love the later "You Know My Name".... that makes me laugh....Whereas Revolution #9 makes me feel like I should be buying a coffin to bury myself and my great-great-great Grandparents in. All people I've never met. A terribly depressing piece of tripe. It is crap on every level. Depressing piece of shite. Masquerading as "art".... pullease.
Tell us how you really feel toris! (and I agree completely!)
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Erik in NJ:
I'm on a train right now commuting to work and I'm naked! BTW, I loved Al Capp's lines in the Stevie Riks parody when he talked about Two Virgins:
(The real interview with Al Capp is just as hilarious!)Did you watch that crazy ad before it where the one cousin is constantly trying to kill the other etc.? And he keeps yelling at him "I'm a vegetarian, bi*ch!"
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hey_kittay:
I think it is interesting that this diverse group is so in a tight over the merits of a song none of us could dare to even attempt. That in itself is really mind blowing. But that is what The Beatles were all about creating controversy, making love and peace, making music you've never heard on this planet, etc... Still Revolution #9. and the songs on The White Album stir all the diverse emotions that were happening at that time in history when The White Album was recorded. Man, I wish I could write such a crappy song as Revolution #9. That song will be around long after all of us are ashes in the dirt. But that is my opinion, and no one here has to dig it too. We all should bare our souls more often to each other. That is the point of The Beatles isn't it? That we are One? That we see past everything but being that One. Peace & Love.
Probably a moot point, but Revolution #9 is hardly a "song." ETA: I see Erik already brought that up.
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Nancy R:
Erik in NJ:
I'm on a train right now commuting to work and I'm naked! BTW, I loved Al Capp's lines in the Stevie Riks parody when he talked about Two Virgins:
(The real interview with Al Capp is just as hilarious!)Did you watch that crazy ad before it where the one cousin is constantly trying to kill the other etc.? And he keeps yelling at him "I'm a vegetarian, bi*ch!"
No I haven't seen it....where is it? On the same video? And I thought you were going to comment on my attire on the train this AM