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Design / The Beatles & collaboration

7 December 2006 in music, web | 1 comment

A lot of collaborative work goes on at Cooper (where I work). Designers team up to understand a problem, or to envision a better way of solving it. Sometimes, we collaborate with clients to figure out what’s possible and where possibility and desirability meet. In any case, it’s hard to trace back any particular idea to a particular person or moment; once an idea is out in the world, it gets pushed, pulled, disassembled, reassembled, and so on by everyone until it fits.

My friends and I used to argue over which Beatle wrote a particular song — John? Paul? George? In most cases, it seems pretty clear cut. Cheesy lyrics and a bouncy rhythm? Paul. More complicated, layered lyrics with more straight-ahead rock? John. A sitar in the background? George. In some cases, however, it’s much less clear. “With A Little Help From My Friends,” for instance; or, “Got To Get You Into My Life.” Both have recognizable earmarks of John and Paul.

Are these easy categorizations valid in any way? Is there any way of ultimately knowing who wrote what? I didn’t think so. Until I Googled “beatles songwriting” and found The Beatles Songwriting and Recording Database, an obsessively categorized collection quotes about who wrote what, pulled from various interviews conducted over the last 40 years.

For example:

With A Little Help From My Friends

JOHN 1970: “Paul had the line about ‘a little help from my friends.’ He had some kind of structure for it, and we wrote it pretty well fifty-fifty from his original idea.”

JOHN 1980: “That’s Paul, with a little help from me. ‘What do you see when you turn out the light/ I can’t tell you but I know it’s mine’ is mine.”

PAUL circa-1994: “This was written out at John’s house in Weybridge for Ringo... I think that was probably the best of our songs that we wrote for Ringo actually. I remember giggling with John as we wrote the lines, ‘What do you see when you turn out the light/ I can’t tell you but I know it’s mine.’ It could have been him playing with his willie under the covers, or it could have been taken on a deeper level. This is what it meant but it was a nice way to say it– a very non-specific way to say it. I always liked that.”

Especially intriguing: John wrote “And Your Bird Can Sing,” which (to me) seems to be the most obvious Paul song ever. Perhaps those earmarks I discussed earlier are less applicable than one would expect.

Music / Sad anniverary for the quiet Beatle

29 November 2006 in music | No comments

Today is the fifth anniversary of George Harrison’s death, as I found out when NPR ran a sweet tribute to him this evening. Back when such things mattered, George was my favorite Beatle. Why do such things not matter anymore? I mean, really, is there any question that is more revealing than “Who is your favorite Beatle?” Sure, it’s dated, but any rational, music-aware person should have one, and if they don’t, well, that says a lot right there.

Here’s a cheat sheet for what you can expect from the people you ask, based on very unscientific “research” ...

  • If they say “Paul,” you can expect some (mostly superficial) charm, and a liberal helping of cheesiness. People who like Paul tend to see Sgt. Pepper as the height of Beatle achievement, and they probably enjoy “Yellow Submarine” and “story songs” about Beatles characters like Eleanor Rigby more than “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” or “Norwegian Wood.”
  • If they say “John,” you can expect seriousness, outward lefty politics, a love of “meaningful” songs, and perhaps a disdain for both cheesiness and Paul. People who like John, I would guess, simply didn’t like Paul to begin with, or liked him until they heard “When I’m 64″ one too many times, and then dug around to see who wrote the lyrics to “A Day in the Life.”
  • No one ever says “Ringo” in this day and age, and that’s too bad. He’s charming, a good sport, and (I think) not as bad a drummer as people seem to remember. I challenge you: Listen to “Rain” and tell me that Ringo is an insufferably bad drummer.
  • George, finally, will always be the favorite of people who you want to know. He represents humility, first of all. He’s never mugging in the movies, and mostly he looks somewhat like you or I would look if we were thrown into the Beatles commercial juggernaut in the early 60’s. On the creativity side, he wasn’t Lennon/McCartney, but his guitar sound was an integral part of the Beatles appeal. It’s always tasteful, and he never tries to get all Eric Clapton on any song, which is why I — for one — can listen to roughly 50 Beatles songs for every Eric Clapton song. Finally, George’s solo stuff was way better than either Paul’s or John’s, and his low profile is endearing in a world in which the faces of rock stars’ are perpetually up in your grill.

Beatles, Taxman — from Alternate Revolver

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Lately, I’ve been listening to Alternate Revolver, a bootleg album of demoes from the Revolver sessions. George’s first contribution to the Beatles’ catalogue — “Taxman” — is on Revolver; it’s not my favorite Beatles song, but it’s a little more straightforward and rockin’ than later George songs. Is it contradictory to commemorate an artist by listening to a pirated version of his/her work? Hmm. I’ll venture a guess that George would appreciate it, so check out Alternate Revolver’s mono mix of the song, and toast the quiet Beatle.