This week on Compleatly Beatles, Sneaky Dragon’s Ian Boothby and David Dedrick join The Beatles at the height of their psychedelia and go on a Magical Mystery Tour. Join them as they discuss the songs, the stories behind the songs and a little bit of the history of the Magical Mystery Tour project. They also bid a sad farewell to the first and maybe greatest pop music manager, Brian Epstein. Dave has been looking forward to this one since the album contains probably his favourite Beatles song. You’ll have to listen to find out which one!
Ian and Dave would love to hear what your personal favourite Beatles song is and why. You can write to us here or leave a message on our Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Hey guys!
Love the beatles podcast, and Sneaky Dragon (I listen to you while renovating my house in England). Just wanted to pop by and give you my thoughts on Tomorrow never knows. I wrote an essay at university arguing that it is THE most significant moment in the development of electronic music production. Whadayathinkaboutthathuh? Reason? Music concreté (tape loop random sounds etc), backwards stuff… The Leslie on the vocal. The drone. The hypnotic loop-like treated drum sound. The thing about the Beatles that we forget, when viewing them in our hindsight ridden rose tinted specs, is that they were a boy band… And not regarded as cool, or relevant by many people while they were at their peak. My dad told me the story of his time at University in Oxford. He was playing Abbey Road in the common room, some of the cool kids rolled in… “What’s this man?” They say (nodding at the heavy vibes ruminating from the speakers). “The Beatles” replies my dad….. “Oh…” They say, suddenly disinterested, embarrassed by having nearly liked a song by the fucking beatles..! What?! Jesus.
Although I’d have to agree with the choice(s) of Strawberry fields/walrus as favourite song. Something to think about. Do you think that John’s compositions tend to: a) encapsulate the era in which they were written more. And b) lend themselves to a more collaborative production/arrangements than McCartney’s? I do!
Re the wonderment at The Beatles’ remarkable and rapid evolution from “She Loves You” to yellow matter custard, the one band which has, in my opinion, gone through a similarly vast and rapid growth is Talk Talk. They began as fluffy, if adept, synth pop artists and over the course of 5 albums in 9 years ended up exploring a minimalistic, jazz-influenced post-rock that still sounds strange and fresh today. It’s a breathtaking rate of change, and it’s hard to believe one is listening to the same band, end-to-end.
dave is right – strawberry fields and i am the walrus are tied for the best beatles song. interesting that the straight-laced dave finds 2 of the most drug-influenced songs his favourite.
a more stimulating question is what is the beatles’ worst song? [votes for revolution #9 are instantly disqualified because it is disliked for the kind of song it is rather than on its own merits]. i remember as a boy having a book of lists which included polls of people’s favourite and least favourite beatles songs. the polls were conducted once a year for 10 years or so and i was intrigued how the songs changed (oddly, since at the time i barely knew the beatles). of course john could write some duds, but certainly the worst will be a paul song; he is, after all, appaulling. my top contenders for worst beatles song include fool on the hill [flutes are insufferable], hello, goodbye [its only redeeming quality being the maori finale], and michelle [having no redeeming quality whatsoever].
Just discovered your awesome podcast! In fact – you are my FIRST! You guys have been making my husband and I laugh out loud for days. We love the Beatles and we now adore you! Thanks for the facts, the fun and the friendships!
Lisa : )
That’s great, Lisa! We’re glad we’re making you and your husband laugh out loud. Hopefully for the right reasons!
If you can still stand us after Compleatly Beatles, please check out our sister podcast Sneaky Dragon for a less focused Ian and me.
All the best,
David
I am VERY late to the Compleatly Beatles podcast, but wanted to say that I love it! So much great background info and I love Dave’s insights on the musicology of it all. Thanks for giving a fellow Beatles lover something to pass the time!
Strawberry Fields Forever is the best Beatles song, followed so closely by A Day in the Life.
You can never be late to a podcast! Thanks for listening, Betsy.