On June 25, 1967, The Beatles recorded their masterpiece, All You Need is Love, in front of a live studio audience. The track was also recorded with the world in attendance. Their recording session was the first ever live, worldwide satellite broadcast.
It's fascinating to watch. Enjoy...
Showing posts with label The Beatles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Beatles. Show all posts
Monday, June 25, 2012
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Happy 71st Birthday, John Lennon
Today would have been John Lennon's 71st birthday.
He was highly influential in my life. That's obvious. My daughter is his namesake. We're teaching her about Karma, and about doing her best to make this world a peaceful place to live in.
Below is one of our favorite Lennon songs as a family. Jessi and I had planned to get married to it, at one point. It originated as a demo recorded in 1979 entitled 'Real Life'. After six sessions, it became 'Real Love'. It wasn't released until years after his death, when the documentary 'Imagine: John Lennon' debuted in theaters.
Here is Regina Spektor's cover of the song, which is simple and beautiful.
In totally unrelated Beatles news, Paul McCartney got married earlier today to New Jersey trucking heiress (I'm not making this up) Nancy Shevell. They exchanged vows at London's Marlyebone Town Hall, the same location that Paul married his first wife, Linda, in 1969.
He was highly influential in my life. That's obvious. My daughter is his namesake. We're teaching her about Karma, and about doing her best to make this world a peaceful place to live in.
Below is one of our favorite Lennon songs as a family. Jessi and I had planned to get married to it, at one point. It originated as a demo recorded in 1979 entitled 'Real Life'. After six sessions, it became 'Real Love'. It wasn't released until years after his death, when the documentary 'Imagine: John Lennon' debuted in theaters.
Here is Regina Spektor's cover of the song, which is simple and beautiful.
In totally unrelated Beatles news, Paul McCartney got married earlier today to New Jersey trucking heiress (I'm not making this up) Nancy Shevell. They exchanged vows at London's Marlyebone Town Hall, the same location that Paul married his first wife, Linda, in 1969.
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Return Of Mash Up Monday
After a brief hiatus (four weeks), I think it's about time that I start posting one of my favorite weekly blog posts. Regrettably, there hasn't been much that has been released lately that is...how should I put it?...noteworthy.
Norwegian Recycling released a new mashup last week, but it isn't as good as the tracks that he normally produces. Don't get me wrong. It's still pretty good, but just not at the "genius" level that I have come to expect from him in recent months.
SpareElbowSkin has released a couple of new tracks within the last month, or so. I really like his Katy Perry/Genesis mashup that he released on March 29th. I would normally post a video of that today, but I feel like I am starting to play favorites, especially since my last two posts focused on his music.
Instead, I started to do a Youtube search for mashups that included my favorite artists. Today, I found a couple of really impressive mixes that have Radiohead tunes as their base. I was quite a bit apprehensive when I first saw the descriptions of the songs. Conceptually, they sound like a nightmare, but they were pleasant surprises. In fact, the first one has become one of my favorite tracks to listen to.
The first track is taken from a site called MaxMashups.com. Unfortunately, since this was uploaded over two years ago, I can't find where the creator of the mashup was given credit. It's a mix of Radiohead's 'No Surprises', with Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World'. It's called 'What a Wonderful Surprise'. Indeed it is.
The second mashup of the day comes from Go Home Productions. It has, believe it or not, been floating around the channels of Youtube for more than three years now. It combines Radiohead's 'Karma Police', with The Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'. It's entitled 'Karma In The Life'. It narrows the song down to a manageable three and a half minutes, and takes out McCartney's lyrics from the song, which, in my opinion, never really should have been in there to begin with. It was if the two songs were made for each other. Peanut butter and jelly.
I hope you enjoyed the tracks. For one, I put the 'What a Wonderful Surprise' as a favorite on my Youtube list. It's that good.
Norwegian Recycling released a new mashup last week, but it isn't as good as the tracks that he normally produces. Don't get me wrong. It's still pretty good, but just not at the "genius" level that I have come to expect from him in recent months.
SpareElbowSkin has released a couple of new tracks within the last month, or so. I really like his Katy Perry/Genesis mashup that he released on March 29th. I would normally post a video of that today, but I feel like I am starting to play favorites, especially since my last two posts focused on his music.
Instead, I started to do a Youtube search for mashups that included my favorite artists. Today, I found a couple of really impressive mixes that have Radiohead tunes as their base. I was quite a bit apprehensive when I first saw the descriptions of the songs. Conceptually, they sound like a nightmare, but they were pleasant surprises. In fact, the first one has become one of my favorite tracks to listen to.
The first track is taken from a site called MaxMashups.com. Unfortunately, since this was uploaded over two years ago, I can't find where the creator of the mashup was given credit. It's a mix of Radiohead's 'No Surprises', with Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World'. It's called 'What a Wonderful Surprise'. Indeed it is.
The second mashup of the day comes from Go Home Productions. It has, believe it or not, been floating around the channels of Youtube for more than three years now. It combines Radiohead's 'Karma Police', with The Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'. It's entitled 'Karma In The Life'. It narrows the song down to a manageable three and a half minutes, and takes out McCartney's lyrics from the song, which, in my opinion, never really should have been in there to begin with. It was if the two songs were made for each other. Peanut butter and jelly.
I hope you enjoyed the tracks. For one, I put the 'What a Wonderful Surprise' as a favorite on my Youtube list. It's that good.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Mash Up Monday
It takes confidence to tinker with the best. You have to know that you're good at what you do, to take apart something that most people already consider perfect to begin with. Most remixes or mashups that you hear are made up of two or three songs that are the standard pop or dance tune that's being played on the radio every three minutes. When you start messing with The Beatles, it becomes a different matter altogether.
Interestingly, when you go searching for Beatles mashups, the vast majority of them are very good. They're so good, in fact, that I had a difficult time making a decision as to which one to feature this week. So, this week I'm featuring a Beatles double header.
The first track is from Electric Method. It's a mix of Outkast's 'Hey Ya', and The Beatles' 'Paperback Writer'. It's called 'Paperback Hey Ya'. Have a listen.
The second of the two songs is from DJ Zebra. It is a mashup of The Beatles' 'Come Together', and Nine Inch Nails' 'Closer'. I have actually featured these two songs separately in other posts, but together, they make an interesting mix. It's called 'Come Closer Together'.
As you can tell from the last few weeks of my 'Mash Up Monday' posts, I have my favorites, whether it be DJs or artists. I need to branch out more. Stay tuned.
Interestingly, when you go searching for Beatles mashups, the vast majority of them are very good. They're so good, in fact, that I had a difficult time making a decision as to which one to feature this week. So, this week I'm featuring a Beatles double header.
The first track is from Electric Method. It's a mix of Outkast's 'Hey Ya', and The Beatles' 'Paperback Writer'. It's called 'Paperback Hey Ya'. Have a listen.
The second of the two songs is from DJ Zebra. It is a mashup of The Beatles' 'Come Together', and Nine Inch Nails' 'Closer'. I have actually featured these two songs separately in other posts, but together, they make an interesting mix. It's called 'Come Closer Together'.
As you can tell from the last few weeks of my 'Mash Up Monday' posts, I have my favorites, whether it be DJs or artists. I need to branch out more. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Tale Of True Love
It's a remarkable thing to know the exact moment that your life changed. To be able to tell someone the day, hour, and minute that light shined down onto your path and mapped out the rest of your life. For me, that moment was September 21, 2005, at 8:29pm.
At the time, I had just turned 30. I was working as a dispatcher and office manager for the family trucking company, and I was hating every minute of it. My previous relationships, if you wanted to call them that, were utter failures. I would go on maybe a couple of dates with a girl and realize there was zero compatibility between us. Had a number of one night stands. Nothing meaningful. I hadn't been in a boyfriend/girlfriend type of scenario since that previous February, and that ended badly. At the time, I was ready to just give up.
On the evening of September 21st, I received the following message in my Myspace inbox:
So I responded,
I can honestly say now that the spaghetti really wasn't that good. I think she put sugar in the sauce. Regardless, I was polite and ate it. Later that evening, as I was laying on the couch in her living room, she gave me a "cow kiss" across the entire right side of my face. I almost vomited, but it attracted me to her. I always wanted someone that was a lover and a buddy. Someone that would try to give me a "wet Willy" when I was half asleep. To me, that was a sign of someone that was interested in you, in a sick and twisted sort of way. It was the best first date I ever had.
Later that week, we were on our second date, and I was realizing that I was falling in love with this woman. Normally, that would be scaring the shit out of me, but something deep down inside of me knew that this was the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I had already been engaged in the past, and she was the first person I felt safe with. I could tell her things, things that I was scared to admit to myself. I tried to scare her away. I told her all of my secrets, and she only got closer to me.
In January of 2006, I moved in with her. It was a huge adjustment to make. I had never lived with a partner before. Nine months later, the two of us were walking through the mall. A jewelry store was having a sapphire sale. Sapphires are her favorite stone. We went in, just to look at the ring settings. As she was looking at the rings, I called her mom on my cell phone. I told her mom that I was going to propose to her daughter right now, but first I need her permission. Her mom was sobbing, but I think she said "yes". I got down on one knee in the middle of the store. I told her that I have loved her from the moment I saw her. I told her that I couldn't imagine my life without her in it, and I asked her to marry me. She said "yes" too. I told her to pick any ring she wanted.
As the weeks and months went by, we discovered ourselves. We realized that all of these years we had been living our lives to make the people around us happy. Speaking for myself, there were things that I didn't know about myself at 30 that I should have figured out at 15. It was almost as if we grew up together. We found each other and found ourselves. We started planning our wedding. We decided on Las Vegas, February 29, 2008, Mandalay Bay Hotel.
We had everything picked out. It was going to be a Beatles themed wedding. The processional was going to be Regina Spektor's cover of John Lennon's 'Real Love' and we were going to walk down the aisle as husband and wife to the Beatles' 'All You Need Is Love'. We had hotel reservations and restaurant reservations. Everything was figured out. Then at about 2am on a night in early October 2007, Jessi rolled over and softly said, "I think I'm late".
"Late to what?"
"You know, late."
"Like?"
"Yeah."
A half hour later, I'm at a 24 hour Walgreens buying pregnancy tests and a two liter bottle of Coke. At 4am, we realized we were having a baby. We also realized that meant on February 29, 2008, my wife would be nearly 7 months pregnant. "If I'm going to Vegas, I'm drinking." That's a quote from her. Not me. So, on November 23rd, 2007, I married my lover, my buddy, my best friend, and the mother of what would soon be my daughter. It was a simple ceremony. We had it in the kitchen of our apartment. It was just us and three close friends. Afterward, we had sparkling grape juice and Blue Bunny chocolate chip ice cream. So, on every November 23rd of every year, we celebrate by having sparkling grape juice and Blue Bunny chocolate chip ice cream.
It has been about five and a half years since that first message. 1,973 days. And it has been the best 1,973 days of my life. We have the type of relationship that movies are written about. Besides the occasional appointment or trip to the grocery store, we have not been more than 30 feet away from each other for the last five years. Even when I was working, we worked in the same office, for the same department, within 25 feet of each other. We had the same hours and had the same lunch schedule. We were together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we wouldn't have had it any other way.
We have never had a fight. We have had maybe two little arguments in the last five years. We very rarely disagree. If there is one perfect person out there in the world for you, I have found that person. I am never letting her go. Only death will separate us, and even after I die, I have promised to haunt her. It is the only way she would be able to go on without me.
Happy Valentine's Day Jessi. You are my love, my strength, my rock, and in so many ways, my better half. I love you.
At the time, I had just turned 30. I was working as a dispatcher and office manager for the family trucking company, and I was hating every minute of it. My previous relationships, if you wanted to call them that, were utter failures. I would go on maybe a couple of dates with a girl and realize there was zero compatibility between us. Had a number of one night stands. Nothing meaningful. I hadn't been in a boyfriend/girlfriend type of scenario since that previous February, and that ended badly. At the time, I was ready to just give up.
On the evening of September 21st, I received the following message in my Myspace inbox:
"Hey happened to stumble across your profile......great song clip!"Her name was Jessi. She was 22. I looked at her profile. She had a couple of country music song clips (ugh), but she was pretty cute:
 |
| (She's the one on the right) |
"Thanks....was sorta fitting at the time....still is...lol. I really liked your page....except for the country music part...but you made up for it with Nelly......Like your sense of humor.....you're a bit twisted....NICE."She continued,
"Hahaha yeah that definetely sums me up ... twisted...And i will agree not ALL country music is good but there are exceptions! if ya wanna chat sometime i'm on yahoo or msn as ixxxxxx_xxxxxs"I had recently gone to see the documentary 'March of the Penguins', and wrote a review of it on my Myspace blog. I also wrote a small blog about my memories of 9/11/2001. She sent me another message a couple of minutes later,
"WOW just got done reading your blogs.....happened to stumble across those too...the 9/11 one made me cry....don't feel bad but i seriously bawled...it took me back to what exactly i was doing when i heard...at the time i was working for MCI and it was located literally right next door to the air force base (in iowa) so i couldn't go to work not that i could have anyways....its amazing how much can change in such a short time.... also very jealous you have seen march of the penguins....i LOVE penguins and haven't had time to see it....guess i will have to catch it on pay per view or something...thats all!"Our email conversation continued the next morning. I sent her a message saying,
"that penguin movie was amazing....im a big fan of documentaries.....would like to chat with you later....you seem pretty cool....cute too...lol"From that point on, we either sent each other instant messages or talked to each other on the phone. That was on September 22nd. She invited me to come over to her place for spaghetti on Tuesday, September 27th. I knocked on her door. When it opened, I was frozen. I looked in her eyes, and said "Oh my God, you're beautiful." Then I kissed her.
I can honestly say now that the spaghetti really wasn't that good. I think she put sugar in the sauce. Regardless, I was polite and ate it. Later that evening, as I was laying on the couch in her living room, she gave me a "cow kiss" across the entire right side of my face. I almost vomited, but it attracted me to her. I always wanted someone that was a lover and a buddy. Someone that would try to give me a "wet Willy" when I was half asleep. To me, that was a sign of someone that was interested in you, in a sick and twisted sort of way. It was the best first date I ever had.
Later that week, we were on our second date, and I was realizing that I was falling in love with this woman. Normally, that would be scaring the shit out of me, but something deep down inside of me knew that this was the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I had already been engaged in the past, and she was the first person I felt safe with. I could tell her things, things that I was scared to admit to myself. I tried to scare her away. I told her all of my secrets, and she only got closer to me.
In January of 2006, I moved in with her. It was a huge adjustment to make. I had never lived with a partner before. Nine months later, the two of us were walking through the mall. A jewelry store was having a sapphire sale. Sapphires are her favorite stone. We went in, just to look at the ring settings. As she was looking at the rings, I called her mom on my cell phone. I told her mom that I was going to propose to her daughter right now, but first I need her permission. Her mom was sobbing, but I think she said "yes". I got down on one knee in the middle of the store. I told her that I have loved her from the moment I saw her. I told her that I couldn't imagine my life without her in it, and I asked her to marry me. She said "yes" too. I told her to pick any ring she wanted.
As the weeks and months went by, we discovered ourselves. We realized that all of these years we had been living our lives to make the people around us happy. Speaking for myself, there were things that I didn't know about myself at 30 that I should have figured out at 15. It was almost as if we grew up together. We found each other and found ourselves. We started planning our wedding. We decided on Las Vegas, February 29, 2008, Mandalay Bay Hotel.
We had everything picked out. It was going to be a Beatles themed wedding. The processional was going to be Regina Spektor's cover of John Lennon's 'Real Love' and we were going to walk down the aisle as husband and wife to the Beatles' 'All You Need Is Love'. We had hotel reservations and restaurant reservations. Everything was figured out. Then at about 2am on a night in early October 2007, Jessi rolled over and softly said, "I think I'm late".
"Late to what?"
"You know, late."
"Like?"
"Yeah."
A half hour later, I'm at a 24 hour Walgreens buying pregnancy tests and a two liter bottle of Coke. At 4am, we realized we were having a baby. We also realized that meant on February 29, 2008, my wife would be nearly 7 months pregnant. "If I'm going to Vegas, I'm drinking." That's a quote from her. Not me. So, on November 23rd, 2007, I married my lover, my buddy, my best friend, and the mother of what would soon be my daughter. It was a simple ceremony. We had it in the kitchen of our apartment. It was just us and three close friends. Afterward, we had sparkling grape juice and Blue Bunny chocolate chip ice cream. So, on every November 23rd of every year, we celebrate by having sparkling grape juice and Blue Bunny chocolate chip ice cream.
It has been about five and a half years since that first message. 1,973 days. And it has been the best 1,973 days of my life. We have the type of relationship that movies are written about. Besides the occasional appointment or trip to the grocery store, we have not been more than 30 feet away from each other for the last five years. Even when I was working, we worked in the same office, for the same department, within 25 feet of each other. We had the same hours and had the same lunch schedule. We were together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we wouldn't have had it any other way.
We have never had a fight. We have had maybe two little arguments in the last five years. We very rarely disagree. If there is one perfect person out there in the world for you, I have found that person. I am never letting her go. Only death will separate us, and even after I die, I have promised to haunt her. It is the only way she would be able to go on without me.
Happy Valentine's Day Jessi. You are my love, my strength, my rock, and in so many ways, my better half. I love you.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Mash Up Monday - Beatles Extravaganza
I was scanning the net last night for a tune to post on the blog today, and I ended up finding two. The Beatles are arguably the most influential rock band in history, and it's interesting to see how there influence carries over to other genres of music.
Both of today's mixes were done by DJ Faroff, who was responsible for last week's Ray No Speak Americano.
The first mash up is of the following songs:
The Beatles - Come Together
Joan Jett - I Love Rock and Roll
House of Pain - Jump Around
Cypress Hill - Insane in the Brain
The first few seconds of the song has the opening bars of Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing In The Name', which was really unnecessary. I couldn't stop smiling while listening to the rest of the song, though.
The second mash up of the day is surprisingly quite simple. It's a mash up of Bob Marley's 'No Woman, No Cry', with The Beatles' 'Let It Be'. I never realized how strikingly similar these songs were in regard to tempo and melody.
Both of today's mixes were done by DJ Faroff, who was responsible for last week's Ray No Speak Americano.
The first mash up is of the following songs:
The Beatles - Come Together
Joan Jett - I Love Rock and Roll
House of Pain - Jump Around
Cypress Hill - Insane in the Brain
The first few seconds of the song has the opening bars of Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing In The Name', which was really unnecessary. I couldn't stop smiling while listening to the rest of the song, though.
The second mash up of the day is surprisingly quite simple. It's a mash up of Bob Marley's 'No Woman, No Cry', with The Beatles' 'Let It Be'. I never realized how strikingly similar these songs were in regard to tempo and melody.
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