Something About the Beatles

Latest Episodes:

226C The Musician's Get Back part three Jan 30, 2022

Show notes

In this concluding hour of the conversation with Dennis Diken (The Smithereens), Pat Sansone (Wilco), Arion Salazar (ex-Third Eye Blind) and Luther Russell (Those Pretty Wrongs), we discuss: The Get Back film as therapy for fans (and the world) Billy Preston Ringo and Paul observations Jamming with Heather

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

226B: The Musician's Get Back part two Jan 22, 2022

Show notes

Our panel of Pat, Arion, Luther and Dennis continues their conversation on Peter Jackson's Get Back documentary. Among the topics: The rooftop performance The "Flowerpot conversation" Bass stuff The road to Abbey Road Let It Be - the film Partial transcript of the "Flowerpot Conversation" here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

226A: The Musician's Get Back part one Jan 15, 2022

Show notes

Any analysis of the Get Back documentary would be remiss in not factoring in insights gleaned from those who've followed in The Beatles' professional footsteps: working musicians. To that end, I assembled a panel of some illustrious pros who also happen to be hardcore fans. Three are returning guests; one is new to SATB: Luther Russell: (Those Pretty Wrongs) - multi-instrumentalist Currently performing as one half of the duo Those Pretty Wrongs alongside ex-Big Star Jody Stephens, Luther has become a semi-regular on the podcast. As a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist/producer, he has discussed The Beatles' recording techniques, work as a collaborative, and the magic of Ringo's drumming. The first two albums from Those Pretty Wrongs are being reissued as a double album set, while a third is due out this year. He will also have a new solo set out as well. Arion Salazar: (ex-Third Eye Blind) - bass In his first appearance on SATB, he discussed Paul McCartney as an innovator, impacting generations beyond the 1960s. It was Arion who offered up the back cover design of Third Eye Blind's multi-platinum 1997 debut ("Semi-Charmed Life") which evoked the back cover of The Beatles' 1966 Revolver album. In early 2021, the bassist put together ensembles of musicians from bands including Smash Mouth, Smashing Pumpkins, Stevie Wonder and Testament, among others, to perform heartfelt covers of Beatle-related material for the first Fab4ConJam. He recently recorded with Flipsyde in Muscle Shoals for a pending release this year. Pat Sansone: (Wilco) - multi-instrumentalist He waxed eloquently for over two hours on the Sgt. Pepper album on a 2021 episode of SATB. Pat's radio show: Baroque Down Palace - a 2 hour show every month that centers on Rock, Pop, Soul, Folk music of the 1960s and 1970s that feature symphonic embellishments, or influence in some way from the classical music world:https://wyxr.org/baroque-down-palace/ Pat has released a 7" vinyl single ; a book of his photography, 100 Polaroids, was recently reissued. New to the show (but not The Beatles): drummer Dennis Diken, founding member of The Smithereens. In addition to their work over the course of several gold and platinum releases, he and his band recorded a pair of studio albums and one live one honoring The Beatles. They currently continue to perform live, alternately fronted by Gin Blossoms vocalist Robin Wilson and recording artist Marshall Crenshaw (also a previous SATB guest), in place of the late Pat DiNizio. He also records with Bell Sound, whose critically acclaimed album Late Music was released in 2009. Look for new material from both bands in '22. Dennis's radio show: Denny's Den airs weekly on Wednesday at 2-4pm Eastern Standard Time. Go to wfmu.org and hover over "LISTEN" then go down to "ROCK 'n' SOUL RADIO", slide to the right and click on "ROCK 'n' SOUL RADIO HOMEPAGE" to access archives and the weekly broadcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

225B: Beatles Olympiad II Jan 01, 2022

Show notes

In which returning guest Gary Wenstrup and I continue our ranking conversation of faves, discussing A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale. Along the way, we analyze their vocals and blendings, as well as what personal experiences may inform the writing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

225A: Beatles Olympiad Dec 25, 2021

Show notes

In which we pull away from the Get Back film for a while and converse about something completely different. Returning guest Gary Wenstrup and I conduct a conversation going through the first four Beatles albums, selecting our picks for Gold, Silver and Bronze status. Along the way we examine our criteria for what constitutes "favorite" songs, and how the criteria is fluid and evolving.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

224C The Making of Get Back part three with Peter Jackson Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

In the third and final hour, Dan Rivkin (They May be Parted blog) and I explore more of the Get Back project with its director. Among the subjects discussed: ~ Coordination between the Get Back book, the Let It Be album reissue and this film (hint: none) ~ Directives from the Beatle heirs and Apple (hint: none) ~ Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s original draft of Let It Be ~ The missing Nagra audio ~ An extended cut? Be sure to check out party one and two, as well as the write up in Forbes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

224B: The Making of Get Back part two with Peter Jackson Dec 13, 2021

Show notes

Dan Rivkin (They May Be Parted blog) and I continue our conversation with director Peter Jackson about the innovation used to create the film - some technique used to advance the story - and a number of other observations gleaned from viewing so many hours of footage, both in and outside of the final cut. The history of the Get Back project is at last coming into focus, challenging a number of previously held assumptions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

224A: The Making of Get Back Dec 02, 2021

Show notes

Well, it's finally here. Worth the wait? Oh, we think so! But before we get into discussions on SATB about what we thought about it, we thought it would be worthwhile to discuss the making of it - the intent behind it; the goals; the challenges; the nuts-and-bolts - with someone who worked on it. To that end, a listener in New Zealand offered himself up as a guest who could offer an insight or two. My co-host for this one is Dan Rivkin (They May Be Parted), who of course is one of the leading scholars on this material, presented on his blog. Normally, Dr. Duncan Driver would be part of the discussion too, but he had beg off on short notice. (We'll have him back next time...) Meanwhile, we hope that this - presented in the grand tradition of Peter Jackson - in three parts - will suffice.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

223: The Beatles 1971 - 1973 Nov 15, 2021

Show notes

We have all made compilations of Beatles solo material, but within this large group, a smaller group has imagined taking some of this material and arranging it as The Beatles might have, had they recorded this material and issued it as "Beatles," the collective. There's actor Ethan Hawke's famous Black Album; Spencer Leigh's Finishing School, as well as any number of other efforts out there. Then, there are the ones created by myself and my guest, Glenn Greenberg. You can find his list here, or else listen to the show and hear our choices and justifications, which are every bit as good as anything you listeners can come up with. See what you think - we can talk about this stuff endlessly!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

222: On Pepper Oct 03, 2021

Show notes

SATB has touched on the Sgt. Pepper album in the past, but never like this. My guests, Pat Sansone (of Wilco and The Autumn Defense) and Luther Russell (Those Pretty Wrongs) are each accomplished singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalists/performers/producers/engineers AND hardcore Beatle geeks. This album became a touchstone for both of them during their formative years, and it is with decades of insight that we discussed the magic and mystique of the landmark release. Luther has been working on the third album by Those Pretty Wrongs with Jody Stephens this year, while Pat has a book of his photography coming out soon: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelraso/galleries/72157624760590414/ Wilco has just began a string of live dates around the US but extending into Mexico, the UK and Spain next year. See https://wilcoworld.net/ for details.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Something About the Beatles

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected