HELTER SKELTER!

6.03.2007

No Plugs.
One of those on the 7th day thingies.

You are Listening too . .
Perhaps the most infamous song of the Beatles catalogue, Helter Skelter. This song was the anthem for Charles Manson's supposed prophecy messages from The White Album regarding race war and upcoming apocalypse.

This was was very different than anything the Beatles had done before, proto hard rock, punk, and metal, this song was created mostly by McCartney and was a deliberate effort to create a sound as loud and dirty as possible.

McCartney's inspiration was a interview with The Who's main songwriter Pete Townsend in which he describes their latest single I Can See For Miles as the loudest, rawest, and dirtiest song The Who ever created. McCartney immediatly got inspired to write the most raucous vocals, nastiest drums, wailing guitar he could. He was inspired by a old amusement park ride the Helter Skelter. Using that symbolism of that ride, he went on to sing about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. McCartney also made the song as a response to a number of critics who contended he could only write ballads.

The Beatles recorded the song a number of times over a number of months including a slow hypnotic 27 minute version. The last attempt at recording after 18 previous takes, Ringo Tossed his drumstick across the room, screaming the now famous "I've got blisters on me fingers!" line. The song fades out, the comes crashing back in with Ringo's line ending the piece.

People who were present at the multiple recordings recall strange incidents while recording, such as Harrion lighting a ashtray on fire and running around the studio with it on his head. Ringo has the best quote: "'Helter Skelter' was a track we did in total madness and hysterics in the studio. Sometimes you just had to shake out the jams."

According to Manson, Helter Skelter, along with several other tracks on The White Album, contained coded prophecy of an apocalyptic war in which racist and non-racist whites would be maneuvered into virtually exterminating each other over treatment of blacks. Upon the war's conclusion, after Black Muslims would kill off the few whites they would know to have survived, Manson and his companions, having ridden out the conflict in an underground city, would emerge from hiding and, as the actual remaining whites, rule blacks, who, as the vision went, would be incapable of running things. Manson employed Helter Skelter as the term for this epic sequence of events. In addition, a misspelling of "Healter Skelter" was found scrawled on the fridge in blood at the LaBianca Murder scene. Yeah pretty coo-coo.

Helter Skelter was a huge influence on a lot of bands ranging from Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols in the 70's, Sonic Youth and U2 in the 80's, The Pixies and Nirvana in the 90's and so on. Personally in a fave of mine.

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Once again won a game in any way they could, tonight they are in the 4th, 1-0 badguys. Mood: Baseball's version of the Bellichick era Patriots.

His Name is Castro . .
He don't look too scary now do he?

Vladimir Putin.
Now that's more like it. First you poison a spy, now your acting like the good old USSR. Hopefully you can put the kissing little boys stomach thing behind you, you know Catholic Church did.

Man.
Someone needs to put Carl Everett, Torii Hunter, and Gary Sheffield on a debate team. On second thought, if Gary's right, he just gave David Stern the way to clean the NBA.



Funny Pictures
So this group of people has been appearing behind the Yankees on deck circle at Fenway everytime A-Rod goes up to bat . . funny stuff.


Malach's Quote/Video of the Day
Dinosaurs didn't exist. God created the sun, the stars, the heavens and the earth, and then made Adam and Eve. The Bible never says anything about dinosaurs. You can't say there were dinosaurs when you never saw them. Someone actually saw Adam and Eve. No one ever saw a Tyrannosaurus rex. - Carl Everett

I am Malach and yes, the were coo-coo's aplenty in today's blog, oh and uh, Mr. Everett "don't believe in bein' gay".

When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind.

5.31.2007

Plug?
Yes, the return of 8 1/2 by Eleven! Expect a plethora of plugs tomorrow.

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
No game tonight, and yet again, another weekend series with the Yankees at fenway.

Speaking of the Yankees.
Not only does it seem A-Rod is screwing around in his wife, it seems yesterday that he yelled "Mine" or "Hah" while running base as the Toronto 3rd baseman and Short Stop were trying to field a fly ball, causing them to stop and the ball to drop. It is interesting to read and hear some of the reactions to the incident on the field, especially from his team mates. All the years I have played baseball and softball, I don't think I have ever seen something like this, but again, it is up to the player to also catch the ball.

What is going to be really interesting is when A-Rod opts out, and the Sox make move for him. This is about the most hated man in Boston . . .

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT???
MIKE-MIKE-MIKE VICK!

DUDE!
Your no longer working for Dell!

YES!
The Cold War was so much more fun than the War on Terror!

Nessie (and BigFoot).
There is a new Nessie video shot this past Saturday, they say it is by far some of the best video of it ever. I've seen it, not really impressed. But looking at other Nessie video on YouTube, I found one of the best cryptozoology video ever, the Patterson BigFoot video, and this one cleaned up by computer. I remember first seeing this as a kid, it really freaked me out, as this is very realistic and natural. I love still to this day, no matter who they hire and how hard they try, they can never duplicate this video, it figure, and it's ambulation.

MMMMMM
Rare endangered northern white rhino.

So.
Paris is going to jail her other half is going to jail . . does anyone else see the reality TV potential in this?

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day

I am Malach, and Samuel L. Jackson makes good white guy.

Goo Goo G'joob

5.06.2007

Plugs.
There is a very special Sunshine up. Number 35 features an extra special message of brotherly love and peace starring the great and mighty Cthulhu.

You are listening too . .
I am the Walrus. Very interesting song, lyrics wise. The first real use of stream of concious type lyrics in a pop song. You look at these lyrics now, and you see Beck's inspiration for many of his songs.

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.

See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.

I'm crying.

Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.

Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday.

Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long.

I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.

I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.

Mister City Policeman sitting

Pretty little policemen in a row.

See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky, see how they run.

I'm crying, I'm crying.

I'm crying, I'm crying.

Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye.

Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess,

Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down.

I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.

I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.

Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun.

If the sun don't come, you get a tan

From standing in the English rain.

I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.

I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob.

Expert textpert choking smokers,

Don't you think the joker laughs at you?

See how they smile like pigs in a sty,

See how they snide.

I'm crying.

Semolina pilchard, climbing up the Eiffel Tower.

Elementary penguin singing Hari Krishna.

Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe.

I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.

I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob.

Goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob g'goo.

It is noted as one The Beatles most experimental and striking songs from the psychedelic period. It is also noted as Lennons most experimental songs for wordplay.

Also weirdly, the song was a B-Side to the number one single Hello/Goodbye. Talk about 2 totally different songs. Lennon readily admits he wrote a bit of the song while tripping on acid. In addition the song combines three originally seperate songs Lennon had been working on at the time. Also as a bit of an inside joke, Lennon added a verse of non-sensical words in the last verse, specifically because he had heard a former teacher of his was analyzing the lyric content of Beatles songs in the classroom. The song also carries some references to Lewis Carrol's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter. Unfortunately, Lennon did not realize the Walrus was the bad guy in the poem, and should of used the Carpenter, which readily admitted in an 1980 interview (Quote Lennon: "It never dawned on me that Lewis Carroll was commenting on the capitalist and social system. I never went into that bit about what he really meant, like people are doing with the Beatles' work. Later, I went back and looked at it and realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, Oh, shit, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, 'I am the carpenter.' But that wouldn't have been the same, would it? [Singing] 'I am the carpenter....'" ).

The song has a pretty rich and well recorded history about many of the lyrics and how they were created. Some is based in real life (ie the police man lyrics, were written while tripping, hearing a siren and singing the lyric along with the siren). There were a number of little song snippets like this, and Lennon began mixing them as one song. Another verse was taken from a nursery ryhme Lennon and his young friends used to sing:

"Yellow matter custard, green slop pie,
All mixed together with a dead dog's eye,
Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick,
Then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick".

Several friends were present when Lennon finished the song, and telling them he was writing it to screw around with people who read into the lyrics is quote as saying: "Let the fuckers work that one out." As for the unsual expression goo goo g'joob, ir has never really been explained by any of The Beatles bu several hypothesis exist. Many feel it is a take off of Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson (koo koo ka choo), but Lennon would not have heard that until the release of The Graduate, which debut almost a month after I am the Walrus was released. Lennon was also a reader of Joyce, and their is a similar kind of exclamation in his final novel Finnegan's Wake. Again, no one is really sure.

Musically the song is very interesting. The song is done in all major or 7th chords, and all the musical letters of the alphabet are used (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). There is also a sample of a radio broadcast of King Lear buried in the song mix. As for the rest of the music, it is accopanied by an orchestra that included violins, cellos, horns, clarinets, and a 16 piece choir.

The song also became instrumental in the Paul is dead rumors that would begin to spread in 1969. Of course Lennon helped to confuse people by stating on a later song, the "Here's another clue for you all, the walrus was Paul."" and then on a 1970 solo album ""I was the walrus, but now I'm John.".

For the video, another innovative early music video, Lennon was wearing the Walrus costume, but on the cover of the album, McCartney was.

HEY!

It is almost 2010, where is my hydrogen car?

Clemens.

Ok bear with me on this. The Yankees signed Clemens for a 1 year $28 million dollar contract. He is basically going to pitch half a year. He just turned 45, and hasn't pitched in the AL since 2003. This will be interesting, for sure. And to make matters worse, he might not get there until the middle of June, what happens in the Bombers are 11 - 12 games out?

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.

We feel like Schilling, disappointed, I would love to see one of my heros comeback to where he started, but honestly, we don't need him. I would rather have Lester, who will be back in a few weeks.

2 out of 3 in Minnesota, not easy to do, and should have won yesturday. The Mood: Missing the Past, but looking forward to the future.

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day

I am the Malach!

Happy Birthday Memere

4.30.2007

Plugs . . .
There is a new 8 1/2 by Eleven as well as a new Fetus-X. Also you need to read Dr. Murks uproariously funny recent blogs. First read his sports blog on the Randy Moss trade and the state of Boston sports and also read his slang primer of alternative ways to say breasts, add a few of your own.

Also, Malach is a huge fan of Bill Simmons. You need to read his blog on Moss, and the rest of the draft.

Happy Birthday Memere.
We love you, your great grand kids love you, and we hope you have a wonderful year

You are Listening too . . .
Penny Lane, from Magical Mystery Tour, by the Beatles. Actually Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever are both from the Sgt. Pepper recording but were pulled and done as a double sinble, then added to Magical Mystery Tour. Both songs are very interesting, as they are basically the same subject, one from McCartney's point of view, the other from Lennon's. It shows the marked difference and split their music was developing into. It was brilliant to market them together. As a general rule, McCartney was writing very smart pop songs, and Lennon experimenting more. McCartney's songs were generating more hits also. This also created a division among Beatles fans. Malach admits he is more of a Lennon guy, but McCartney was genius too.

First Magical Mystery Tour. A strange album and an even stranger movie (I saw in once in college, but I was a little drunk). The album was a double EP in the UK, and a regular 2 sided studio album in the US (EP did not generally do well in the US). The first side of the album was the soundtrack to the movie, side two contained previously released singles, All You Need is Love, from Our World, and a song for the upcoming Yellow Submarine movie. Much of the music on this album were sessions from earlier albums. It is a strange mix of songs, from things like Hello, Goodbye to I am the Walrus.

The movie itself was a huge disaster one of the only disasters The Beatles had in their career. The hour long movie was specifically created for television, and was a flop. Critic totally panned it, but as time has passed it became a sort of cult classic.

Much of the movie was concieved during an acid trip. There was no script, just a series of handwritten ideas, drawings, and sketches. Much of the movie was stream of concious. The basic plot was a group of people were on a bus tour. During the tour strange things begin to happen at the whim of several magicians (The Beatles and road manager Mal Evans). It is really something you have to see.

While the movie was pretty much destroyed critically in the 60's it has become a bit of a classic, with it's concept, and is a favorite of Stephen Speilbergs.

Penny Lane is a semi-autobiographical song, about a street in Liverpool, where Lennon and McCartney grew up. They would meet as teens at the Penny Lane junction to catch the bus to get to the center of Liverpool. Needless to say, the theft of Penny Lane street signs over the years caused local officials to begin painting it on the side of buildings. The song describes all real and actual places in and around Penny Lane. The song goes through a number of temporal stream of concious moments with McCartney describing sunny weather, rain, Rememberance Day, Summer, and Fall.

Penny Lane's music is very similar to The Beach Boys God Only Knows, which is one of McCartney's favorite all time songs. It is especially notable of the sections of the song, attrubuted to McCartney; the block piano chords, and the rythmn of the base.

Also used was a piccolo trumpet solo, which was the first instance of it's use in a pop song, and that instrument is now pretty common. McCartney was inspired after lackluster solos of other instruments by a Dave Mason performance he heard on the radio. Mason agreed to do a solo for this song. Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields both had extremely influential early"music videos".

Becuase of the song, the real Penny Lane, basically a bus route, became a trendy art and shopping district, which it still is today. In addition in 2006, Liverpool attempted to abolish street names recognizing people of the slave trade, of course Penny Lane was one of them, named after James Penny. Ultimaltely, city elders decided it would be unwise to change the street name.

Penny Lane began setting the groundwork for soft rock, and pop of the 70's. It also begins to show The Beatles slowly moving back to some of their earlier pop garage rock. Magical Mystery Tour is also a very strange transition album from Sgt. Pepper to the White Album.

See what the Yankees do?
They turn people evil. And you know, I don't really see this Steinbrennae press conference as a huge vote of confidence. Hey Joe Torre, if the do fire you, what better way to get some revenge but come work for the Red Sox as a bench coach? Sox are off tonight.

Malach Quote/Video of the Day

I am Malach, and I remeber this video from the early days of MTV.