Getting back

The last 15 minutes of the first part of of the sprawling re-look at The Beatles "Let it Be" sessions, “Get Back”, absolutely slayed me. Brilliant doc filmmaking overall by Peter Jackson, lord of these things. Just witnessing these 4 twenty-somethings carve out timeless classics from nothing was awe inspiring. There was a section where it meandered too long about 1.5 hours in, and it could've been shaved about 30-45 mins from there and would've had the same affect, but I knew it would end with George leaving, so I braved it. It’s a document and fans should be able to see as much of it as possible at this point. If you were bored, fast forward.

Highlights of 2nd part: the flower pot talk, watching them come up with the words for “Get Back” and figure out the best way to play “Two of Us” and how they offhandedly discover Preston is the guy they need when he was just casually stopping by. Love hearing Paul’s early stages of “Back of My Car” and other solo stuff too, but seeing them mindbogglingly discard “All Things Must Pass” hurts. Maybe cuz “Let it Be” has a similar sentiment...? Cool seeing John go from subdued on day 1 to the life of the party as we knew him, and the love and respect he and Paul obviously had for each other is palpable. Paul also shows the humility we’ve become accustomed to seeing in his old age, and he’s obviously respected by all for his work ethic and talents. His Elvis impressions are off the charts too. Ringo, is a rock, and his drumming spot-on. I just wish they’d given more time to George’s amazing songs too, guy was so shy at times but when he spoke he was mostly on target. Even after he left and comes back it’s still the Paul and John show, however. Lowest point: Paul reading the headlines about George leaving et all, he goes on and on while others are playing. I woulda said “ok, we get it man, enough”, but George smiles right through it. Seemingly at peace with what happened… or maybe not.

In the 3rd installment of “Get Back” we saw George Harrison play a much larger part, Ringo fart, Linda’s daughter Heather tear up the room, and the Beatles kill it on the roof. George says he doesn’t want to do the roof concert after Paul is now unenthusiastic (those two agreeing?), and then seems flummoxed when Ringo and John do. They didn’t have enough songs Paul thought but who would know they wouldnt have been able to do any more then they did anyway because of the noise complaints?

As for the performance, I thought I remembered them playing more then the 5 songs they did, and didn’t need to see them do a few of them multiple times, but it gave us an opportunity to see the keystone cops respond in real time. I wish they’d played one of George’s tune up there though. All the songs played were/are great, and I hate that some people call the album they were working on their worst. Really? Come on. If that’s bad what is 99% of the other music out there: beneath shit? We even saw George help Ringo work on Starr’s “Octopus’s Garden”, a song, in my opinion, better than anything ever written by the Foo Fighters, and, it was penned by Ringo, who again, mind you, destroys on the drums as well. As a musician and songwriter I would rather him behind the kit then anyone. Case in point, Taylor Hawkins of the Foos, an awesome drummer, could NOT do the “Get Back” shuffle beat at the RnR HOF, while Ringo does it with ease. His fills are tasty, he can swing, what’s not to like? Best band drummer ever in my opinion, no contest. Back to the album: how could they leave “Don’t Let Me Down”, a fucking classic, off it? And Harrison’s “Old Brown Shoe” too? They all seemed to dig both of those songs immensely. Goes to show you the plethora of classics they wrote in a few short weeks, surrounded by film and recording crew and friends and strife no less. Amazing.

“And in the end”, the film dispels the whole “tumultuous sessions” bs. Yeah, there were obsticles, but I never met a recording session or a shoot that didn’t have them. These guys fucking loved each other, and enjoyed working and playing together. I was jealous watching them, knowing how much shit I went though in bands I was in. Maybe Paul wasn’t happy with what became of his grand plan, but he should’ve been. And John, who seems nauseatingly ga ga over Allen Klein, as he longs for a new Brian Epstein, anyone other than Paul perhaps, gets pulled back in from what’s obviously earlier reluctance; a “festering wound” George and he hadn’t attended to. Maybe he was strung out too on heroin at the start as well, he had been hanging with the Stones (fun seeing him rehearse the Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus intro so many times after being invited to do it). What we didn’t get to see or hear I imagine was that Paul did a lot of apologizing when they all met privately, apologizing for keeping the band afloat and for his enthusiasm as well as his boorishness or maybe insisting they HAD to after their Apple Boutique venture went under. Whatever the case, he, or maybe it’s the lovable Ringo or a joking, charismatic John, brings George back in the fold. Their make-up would all soon be forgotten I guess as the business shit would eventually trump all other gripes, come-to-grips and goodwill. It’s sad to see them go their separate ways at the end of this because you know that the Klein/Eastman control thing will be the final wedge that causes John to leave and then Paul to sue, and it will take years for them to dig each other again (by the way, man did those "Dig It" jams rock). In the meantime, Paul and Yoko will shoulder the blame, though, as in the band itself, it takes 4. They had just run their course. George was already talking to John in this about how nice it would be to do his own album, so it was all inevitable. They were so young though still, but, they looked older, more world weary then their years. John didn’t look 28, he looked closer to 40.

But in this thing we get to see them as we never have; 4 great, talented friends working and playing off each other, creating the best pop/rock music that there’s ever been. Paul was, is, obviously a genius. John, though possessing less of a work ethic by this time, or tired of the grind, was one too. And they still help each other with their songs if not totally writing together (man, I wish I had that without fighting in my bands after I returned to music from 2000-2006). George, on the other hand, was just beginning to let his genius shine in this. He plays the beginning of “Something” in the last installment with other words and your jaw drops. All in all, I don’t think they could’ve continued on with 3 geniuses without stiffing one anyway, but it was cool seeing them try here. We also get to see Linda and Yoko (who was not disruptive, at least not here) get on swimmingly!

As a fan and as a musician/songwriter, “Get Back” was priceless viewing, and I only wish there was more, somehow, some way. John Lennon's first son Julian said it was "life changing" for him. Though I wouldn't go that far, that it was for him is kinda special. For me, it accomplished a heluva lot in understanding where they were at at this point in time, and with zero interviews.

It was also fucking fun.

Motherf--kin' Phil Schaap man.

Listening to Phil Schaap. This is his 51st year DJing on WKCR. Crazy. I remember hearing him on hot summer days, while with my Dad when I was 12 years old, talk endlessly about Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller and Benny Goodman, and here I am now at age ___ listening to him do just that, still. My Dad made cassettes of his shows and I still have a few that are over 40 years old. How could he possibly have anything new to say on air after all these years? It blows my mind he’s still doing it. Time is an amazing thing man. Sometimes we get so caught up in the here and now that we take for granted the endless stream of time… and Phil Schaap. Phil Schaap is relative. Not a relative, but the continuum of this man is a phenomenon in itself… Now stop blabbering and play some music already, Phil.

Crisis. Time to act.

D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was assaulted during the Capitol riot, is being called a “crisis actor” by the faux Patriots who tout ‘merican “greatness”.

It’s like when someone knows you’re an actor so they say “are you acting now?” in a real life situation, which is always insulting, demeaning and stupid. In this case the guy isn’t even an actor, but someone they rely on to protect and to serve, and, they're admitting this was a f--king crisis to boot. I thought it was a walk in the park/normal tourism? They want it both ways. Hypocrites to the end of times. This is an accusation made by covidiot racists in a fascist clown car party that it’s been reported has actually paid people to pretend they’re Trump supporters at their hysterical and dangerous super spreader rallies.

The “crises” right now facing their ‘merica are the utterly outrageous behavior of these increasingly bold lying lunatics, a raging (again) pandemic due to Trump and his minions defying science, logic and everybody with a brain and a beating heart, and the speedy unraveling of Democracy in this country that they're causing as we speak.

We've gotta put a lid on this powder keg.

Satan-they-are

Just a thought, but instead of banning Dr. Seus books how about we ban FOX news? One would seem far more evil and worthy of banning than the other, yet we seem so easily distracted. One day it’s the Capital Riots, worthy of major scorn, the next day it’s Cuomo, and he’s Governor Porn. 

Trump’s the issue, we must recall, 

he and FOX, stay on the ball.

No, I do not like them,

Satan-they-are. I do not like

FOX news, nor it’s star. 

Not in a box. For they are FOX. 

Not on the screen. For they are mean.

Not in the White House. Not with a louse.

Not in the Post. Not with a host.

Not with a goat. Not by the throat.

Not in a car. Not in a bar.

Not on a train. Not on a plane. 

Not in park. Not in the dark.

Not in a shop. Not on my laptop.

Not in a store. Not on the floor.

Not in my home. Not on the phone.

Not in space. Not no place.

Not fucking anywhere.

Opening lines of the new Bruce and Barack podcast

Springsteen: “Baby, you were born to run for President.”

Obama: “Ahhh... the glory days. It’s hard to be a saint in the city though, bring that human touch.”

Springsteen: “You WERE born in the USA, however, not Kenya, like he who tried to make us the Badlands said. You were tougher than the rest, and still are Mr. President.”

Obama: “Prove it all night Bruce, prove it all night. I had a hungry heart too. Going into the fire wasn’t easy, it was a jungle land.”

Springsteen: “Streets of fire, no doubt. The price you pay for trying to take us to the promise land.”

Obama: “Gotta walk like a man my friend. Sadly, what I learned though is you can look, but you better not touch in this hard land.”

Springsteen: “So true, but you gave us reason to believe. You held up without a gun. In fact, I wanna marry you.”

Obama: “Whoa whoa whoa I’m on fire.”

10Michael Patrick Lyons, Walter Hoffman and 8 others

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