Day after day

I’ve been known to show a foolish grin occasionally.

“But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round”

I noticed a few things while watching our world spinning round. Coming down from the hill, I’ll share my feelings on a few topics here before they spin out of my head.

day after day

The Land of Lincoln needs help

The poorly run state of mine, Illinois, was recently mentioned as debt example on a business channel during a discussion of Puerto Rico’s debt problem. (my state of mind does always run well either)

world spinning round 

While checking out a foolish end-of-the-world forecasts (I forecast the world spinning around for many centuries to come). I came across an interesting fact about our earth’s magnetic field. You might recall that earth’s magnetic field is cause by the spinning of the liquid outer core. What was news to me is the fact the magnetic north pole moves and has moved quite a distance since scientists determined its location back in the 1800’s.

A NASA’s article says the magnetic pole is moving faster now. Scientists estimate the pole is migrating northward about 40 miles per year, as opposed to about 10 miles per year in the early 20th century. It won't be long before its pace will outpace my pace.

fool on the hill 

Did you notice the recent fool on the hill? A devious fool testified on the hill (the hill in DC) this week. The eyes in my head noticed the creative way an activist protested at the Equifax hearing. Amanda Werner, arbitration campaign manager for Public Citizen and Americans for Financial Reform, dressed up as the Monopoly Man. She managed a seat near the Equifax fool so she would be in camera shots.(more about her protest follow this link).

ooooh 
Hills can be strenuous so maybe I should hang out at the mall instead. However, I avoid the mall for fear I might be summoned to food court for a bagel violation.

Lost Dreams

Lately, I can get lost in a dream.

How delightful - right? It’s not delightful at all.

I should reword my explanation. I’ve been having dreams in which I find myself lost. Not scary but very frustrating. I like to enjoy dreams not be annoyed by them. Once I was wandering an office complex. Next time I’m on a small island filled with tourist traps with no direction home.

a chair bear

I wonder if posting about this will reinforce my failed nighttime navigation. Maybe I could produce a smartphone with good GPS app in my next dream.

I typically enjoy dreaming. I only recall a few and like most people I soon forget them.

I’ve read that ideas from dreams can produce real results. Once I solved a problem at work from a dream. You may have heard about DNA scientist, James Watson, attributing his double helix DNA structure discovery to his dream.

I found a wikipedia page listing notable dreams.

John Lennon said his song "#9 Dream" came to him in a dream. I don't know if the title came to him also in that dream, since the numbering appears to be off.

Not dream related but I want to share this odd "piece of art" I spotted at MCA in Chicago. I consider it more of a piece of comedy.

positive thinking

 

Come what May. Now it’s June.

Wow it is June. The arrow of time keeps flying into the future as it always has. This past May, I enjoyed a live musical, a piano recital, and this big performance of Chicago school kids at Millennial Park which included bubble machines. Who doesn't enjoy bubbles?

bubbles add to the fun

"It was twenty years ago today..."

Well you may have noticed it was fifty years ago on June 1 that the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album was released. I was 14. Doing the simple math and you'll calculate that I'm 64 now (another great song from this album). Described by Rolling Stone magazine as “The most important rock & roll album ever made…”. I don't know about that but I do enjoy the album. After watching a the PBS special last night and reading the various analysis on the internet, I'm more appreciative of it's ground breaking studio work.

I dug out our old copy of the album. Here's a pic of the back of the album cover (yeah yeah the front cover was astounding but not as useful). You'll see the lyrics to all the songs. Having the lyrics was a big benefit of albums. I'm using the first lines of the songs on the album as prompts for this post. Thanks John Lennon and Paul McCartney for your great song writing.

a bit of wear

"A little help from my friends..."

We all can use a little help at times.

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river..."

Oh a good float down a river would be great. I have fond memories of tubing on rivers.

"It’s getting better all the time..."

Good to think positive. Yeah it's getting better all the time, I'm just not sure what it is.

"I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in..."

This could be about house repairs but it's not. Today it seems political to me but so does so many things these days.

"Wednesday morning at five o’clock as the day begins..."

I'm not a morning person so if she was leaving home at this time of day I probably would not notice. Actually, we have noticed that she has returned. Now we are wondering when she will be leaving home again. Someone with more talent than me should write a version for the new boomerang kids.

"For the benefit of Mr. Kite..."

Always thought this one was very odd. While watching the PBS special about the album I learned it was based on an old poster John bought in an antique shop.

"We were talking - about the space between us all..."

IMHO - this is the strangest song of the album. The Indian music influence on George Harrison can't be missed here. Great song for yoga.

"When I get older losing my hair..."

Thank goodness not! I'm 64 with a full head of hair. I'm still getting feed at 64 too.

"Lovely Rita meter maid..."

There's a meter maid in our family history and that's all I'm saying about that.

"Nothing to do to save his life call his wife in..."

Ok, I would not recognize this song from it's first line. The repeating "good morning good morning" parts are more memorable. "I've got nothing to say but it's ok..." The lyrics match up with today's social media description.

"We’re Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band..."

The reprise of the first song. IMHO it would have been better to include another new song instead of basically repeating.

"I read the news today oh boy..."

1967 or 2017 - the news of the day is typically not good. No news is good news?




A splendid time is guaranteed for all in the comment section. Hey Jude, Get Back you Day Tripper. Yesterday, Lady Madonna commented about A Hard Day’s Night.

I’m looking through you

I'm looking through you,
Where did you go?
I thought I knew you,
What did I know?
You don't look different, but you have changed.
I'm looking through you, you're not the same. (Beatles, Rubber Soul album)

Now according to all knowing wikipedia, this song was about Paul McCartney’s girlfriend Jane Asher. The lyrics describe that relationship moment when you start to see a different image of the other person than you had at the beginning.

Just the other day as I looked at my old self in the mirror it occurred to me these lyrics could apply to oneself. Where did that younger me go? I’m not the same. Why not apply it to the relationship we all have with ourselves?

I think the initial reaction to a noticing a change is negative but what if it is a change for the better. A few things have changed for the better. We can still step forward even though we have slipped behind.

The song reminded of the movie, “i am sam”. Great movie.

maybe I'm amazed easily

Maybe I'm amazed at the great youtube videos I discover. 

Regular readers and irregular readers (hopefully just a minor irregularity and they will be able to finish this post) know that Lisleman hits the youtube often. Back in January this year I discovered a very touching ad that used brotherly love instead of horses and puppy dogs. (link)

Today I found another clip about a type of brotherly love. You know how you can have a brother from another mother? In other words, a friend's relationship can feel as close a sister or brother. Depending on your family maybe even closer.

I believe the following is a true story. Pabst Blue Ribbon heard of it and made a short documentary about it. The only ad type thing in this story is the product placement. PBR was a very popular beer back in the sixties. I don't care much for it today.



I'm posting about this today not to promote any beer (however you want to buy me beer let me know) but rather to share this amazing story. Maybe I'm just amazed. (more about the story here)

My brother served in Vietnam. He has told some amazing stories. I shared this with him too.

Oh my title just gave me another reason to play a great cover of "Maybe I'm Amazed". Yes I'm amazed.

  

wah wah fragments

My being mathematically inclined once (most of my fun differential equations solving is in the far past) I believe, could be the source of my discontent with the way the words “random” and “tons” are used today. Not like a headache producing discontent.(George Harrison called a headache a wah wah - more about that later). No big deal compared to the many other serious world problems, but still, c'mon, current usage of those words doesn't make sense.  They seem to have replaced "spontaneous" and "many/lots".

Here’s a perfect bad example: The Friday Fragment posts are fun to write since you can include tons of random thoughts. (how can you weigh a thought? integrate it?)

Who am I to nit pick another generation's lexicon?  Our baby boomer speak became too far out to be cool and lost it's chill factor.  The Laugh-in show told the censors, "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls!"  Slang will always be constantly changing.


Slang is not as bad biz/corporate speak. Biz speak -

"We remain constructive on the long-term outlook … reflects an overly conservative scenario."

Why don’t they just say “We don’t think we are going to hell-in-a-handbasket anytime soon?

How about an overly radical scenario? If you live in Chicagoland you know the big overblown Grateful Dead Concert was talked and written about for months. Not being a deadhead, I had no problem skipping this crowded overpriced event.

Photo by: Casey Moffitt / Chicagoist

I really don’t remember why but I listened to the old song, Wah Wah this week. That lead me to ask myself this odd question:

Was a wah wah pedal used in the Wah Wah song?

Such an important question to occupy my idle mind.  I was fairly sure it was used, but today, with the vast internet, odd questions can be answered with supporting facts. Wikipedia has a lengthy background on George Harrison’s Wah Wah song. Here’s the line from it that answered my question: 

The recording begins with Harrison's guitar riff, which is then joined by Clapton's guitar, played through a wah-wah pedal. 

The song was written by George immediately after leaving the Beatles. It has good advice at the end.

Now I don't need no wah-wah's
And I know how sweet life can be
If I keep myself free - of wah-wah
I don't need no wah-wah

Don’t give me a wah wah. Instead give me a comment.

This fragmented post has been linked over at A Star In My Own Universe.  You can find more FF posts over there.

 

 

some respect for the drummer

I wanted to join a rock-n-roll band when I was a teen. Turns out that musical talent wasn't in the gene pool I swam in.  Back then, I tried playing an electric bass guitar I bought. I would have been better off spending the money on albums or concert tickets. I enjoy the fantasy for awhile.

I've heard band members joke about drummers. Good drummers are very talented. Today a simple drum beat can be produced by an electronic drum machine. Drummers might not get the respect they deserve.

Do you recognize former Beatle Ringo in the picture below? I was a Beatle fan and I will admit I probably would rate Ringo below the other three Beatles. Hey he was just a drummer - right?

While browsing youtube the following clip was shown as an ad. Probably 90% of the time I click the "skip the ad" but not this time. I found the clip interesting and it is a good cause - peace. Afterwards I looked up the background on the video. Here's a story about it from the LA times.

Ringo Starr celebrates his 74th birthday with his wife Barbara Bach in front of the Capitol Records Building. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

I hope the peace sign makes a comeback!

new Beatles fan

As an American teen in the sixties I was practically assured exposure to Beatles music. I became a fan but also enjoyed many of the other bands at the time. I still consider them at the top of my list.  (Abbey Road is my favorite album if you are wondering)

It doesn’t surprise me that there are many tribute bands based on the Beatles today. What I like about tribute bands or bands that cover popular rock classics is being able to enjoy live performances of my old favorites. This past weekend our daughter and her husband were extra nice to invite me to watch American English with them at a nearby suburban festival. This was the third time I’ve seen American English. They sound great and play the Beatles role well with their costume changes. If interested check out their web site American English.

American English

Our daughter gave me a pleasant surprise (oh not all of her surprises were pleasant) during her teens when she became a fan of the Beatles. Now it appears that her daughter is becoming a Beatles fan. Our daughter likes this if only for the break from the non-stop Disney Frozen songs.

Of the many songs she heard the other evening, I think our new fan enjoyed “Get Back” the most. I was holding her during the song and singing along (benefit of her young age - she doesn’t ask me to stop singing but I’m sure she will before long) when I noticed a huge smile on her face when I sang “get back jo jo.” I asked her dad about the significance of “jo jo”. He laughed and said it is also the name of a cookie at Trader Joe’s. She also related to the word “Arizona” because she had gone on trip there not long ago.

new fan

Yesterday I found a clip of “Get Back” and sent her mom the link. Here’s the conversation they had:

Mom: Papa sent you something.
GrandDaughter: Where is he?
M: It's a music video
GD: Arizona!!! (very excited)
M: Get back Joe-Joe
GD: It's the Beatles (even more excited)

get back to a cookie

Well maybe I need a trip to Trader Joe’s to get back to Joe-Joe’s.

in times of trouble fragments come to me

In your hour of darkness, write a blog post. Posting words of wisdom. Let it be.

If you have only fragments of thought, package them together into one post and link it into Mrs. 4444's Friday Fragment collection.

Last Sunday did you enjoy the tribute to the Beatles’ 50th anniversary of their American television debut? I did. I even watched most of it again on Wednesday rebroadcast. If you assume I thought it was great, you’re right. Here’s post I did about it.

When I first listened to Isabelle Sounding, my ears were ringing for days. I’ve always enjoyed a creative name. While browsing through the news of the passing of Shirley Temple, I found one character she played was named Morelegs Sweetrick. I reminds me of a girl I met once. I found out her name was Neva Touchleg. I nicknamed her Quickslap. I was jealous since my buddy kept bragging about dating Emma B. Hotstuff.

Another Lisleman idea - If we keep having super cold winter like this one I’ll start Buttbook, a social site for your dogs. When it’s too cold to sniff anything, sign your dog up on buttbook. If only I could figure out how to create a downloadable scratch and sniff app. Also, this winter is making the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” extremely popular.

One more fragment on the Beatles.  Back in the summer of '08, Paul and his then girlfriend (now wife who joined him at the tribute) took a road trip down the "Mother Road", route 66.  If you didn't know, it starts in Illinois.  Here's an interesting news clip from then.




Hey Jude, Get Back you Day Tripper. Yesterday, Lady Madonna commented about A Hard Day’s Night. Here, There and Everywhere, I'm So Tired.

Do you think I could be a Paperback Blogger someday?

great night for boomer music lovers

Maybe I’m amazed at the way, the Beatles songs are still so entertaining after more than 50+ years.  Of course there are many other great composers/songwriters whose art keeps going strong for long times.  50+ years - these songs are staying around.

in 2007 I posted about the 40 year ago release of this album

In my 2007 Sgt. Peppers album post I wrote:

Wow - forty years - remember vinyl? turntables that weren't just used for rap sound effects? How about playing albums backwards and listening for secret messages about Paul being dead? underground FM stations you could only pick-up late at night?
Some of that stuff - you reflect on it and find some of the teenage stuff today is different but maybe not much weirder.

If you hadn't noticed last Sunday, Feb. 9, was the 50th anniversary of the Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.  CBS ran a great tribute to honor the event.  I remember watching that black & white performance 50 years ago, sitting on our family living room floor.  Not only was it black & white but the sound was not nearly as good as this anniversary show.

Also, during the commercial breaks of the tribute I discovered PBS was showing Beatles performance too.  I flipped back and forth a few times.

Our daughter texted me in the afternoon to remind me to watch.  She is a fan too.  It's so cool that their music has crossed generations.  Dave Grohl (Foo Fighter founder) summed up their multi-generational appeal at the start of his performance of "Hey Bulldog" (a favorite of mine).

We are experiencing technical difficulty

(update)

Only those who browsed by here in the first few hours my post was up were able to watch the clip of Dave Grohl performing "Hey Bulldog".  Unfortunately it was been removed/deleted/become part of a lawsuit?

I looked around for another more "official" copy of it but no luck.  I did find this behind the scenes story uploaded by CBS (don't expect any legal issues with them).  It's a interesting little story.  Also, thanks to Gorilla Bananas for adding a "Hey Bulldog" clip in his comment below.

So nice that McCarthy and Starr are still performing and widows of Lennon and Harrison attended.  Some of these memories must be hard for them.  George's son, Dhani Harrison helped perform his father’s song “Something”.  

I enjoy good covers.  Singers age and their voices change.  Maroon 5 did a great cover of the early Beatles songs.  Here's a clip.

The only change in the line-up for cover performances would be to drop Katy Perry.  I've enjoyed a few of her songs but her cover just didn't sound right to me.

Maybe I’m amazed at the wonderful world around me. Maybe I’m amazed at the comments I get from readers. Maybe I’m amazed at the simple things that amaze me. What makes you amazed?

don’t

Don’t cry for me Argentina.
(probably not too many Argentinian readers anyway)

It won’t be easy.
You’ll think it strange.
When I try to post this idea.
You won’t believe me.
All you see is a blogger you once knew.

Stop, get that song out of your ears. It’s too distracting.

I was just looking up a Beatles song because of a youtube clip I found and … Well I got stuck in my I-tunes list on the ‘D’s and noticed there are many songs titles starting with “don’t”.

Don't Let Me Down was dropped from the first Let It Be album

Don’t Be Cruel and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. Read the rest of the post please.

Now if you just Don’t Stand So Close To Me, I’ll get to the youtube clip.



Oh one last thought,
Don't Leave Me This Way. Leave me a comment. 

maybe I'm amazed again

Had a great day yesterday that included a parade and tap dancing. I've come up short for a post today, so possibly I will amaze you with a repeat.

  

If you missed the following post back in February, maybe you'll be amazed.  

Maybe I’m amazed (Feb. post)

at the way, youtube is entertaining all the time.

Regular readers and irregular readers (hopefully a minor irregularity and they are able to finish this post) know that Lisleman hits the youtube often. It’s physically impossible to watch every youtube clip published (72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute). Really, being top youtube watcher is not my goal but I do wish my clips would get more views.

Maybe I’m amazed that this song makes a great duet.



An amazing number of covers of “Maybe I’m Amazed” written by Paul McCarthy can be viewed on youtube. It’s a most fitting song for February’s Valentine's Day. Sir Paul has a youtube channel and back in 2011 they ran a cover contest with this song.

While I only listened to a small fraction of the entries (some have since been removed) I found the one winning the most “likes” to be very good. It’s an instrumental guitar only version.



If they had a humor category in the contest I think this one would have won. Funny and a good voice.

Maybe I’m amazed at the wonderful world around me.
Maybe I’m amazed at the comments I get from readers.
Maybe I’m amazed at the simple things that amaze me.
What makes you amazed?

maybe I’m amazed

Maybe I’m amazed at the way, youtube is entertaining all the time.

Regular readers and irregular readers (hopefully a minor irregularity and they are able to finish this post) know that Lisleman hits the youtube often. It’s physically impossible to watch every youtube clip published (72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute). Really, being top youtube watcher is not my goal but I do wish my clips would get more views.

Maybe I’m amazed that this song makes a great duet.

 

An amazing number of covers of “Maybe I’m Amazed” written by Paul McCarthy can be viewed on youtube. It’s a most fitting song for February’s Valentine's Day. Sir Paul has a youtube channel and back in 2011 they ran a cover contest with this song.

While I only listened to a small fraction of the entries (some have since been removed) I found the one winning the most “likes” to be very good. It’s an instrumental guitar only version.

 

If they had a humor category in the contest I think this one would have won. Funny and a good voice.

 

Maybe I’m amazed at the wonderful world around me.
Maybe I’m amazed at the comments I get from readers.
Maybe I’m amazed at the simple things that amaze me.
What makes you amazed?

you and tube make me laugh

I have mentioned before my attraction to youtube. I mostly watch funny odd clips and music clips. Youtube is not just for entertainment. There are serious informational and educational clips offered there too. Tribute clips that will make you cry.

I’m more of a beer drinker than wine drinker. I do enjoy good red wine but my pronunciation of the French names typically trip me up especially after too many glasses. I was pleasantly surprised by my youtube find today.


 
As you might expect there were many other French pronunciations to be found on youtube. Since the clips are short, I was quickly working my way through an ad hoc French lesson until I stumbled onto this one: 





Now that last one gave me a good laugh. Here’s one more (there are over 200) from the group that pronounce new words like me.



 

One problem with youtube clips is some people read your blog at work or a place where they can't listen to a clip or are blocked from youtube. Another frustrating problem is the copyright problem when lawyers show up.

If you decided to check out my youtube collection over on my “Another Circus” blog, you might find a few clips that have been hit by a copyright problem.

another circus 

when I was younger

so much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in anyway

Well that's not totally true. I was helped by family and many others throughout my life.  Thank you helpers.

but now these days are gone
I'm not so self assured
now I find I've changed my mind
and opened up the doors

Very true many days are gone, along with some naive confidence I had. No, I wasn't born yesterday.

and now my blog has changed 

in oh so many ways 

post ideas seem 

to vanish in the haze

Do you have an extra minute and maybe a thought or two?  Want to help me with blog ideas?  Click over to my "I can't blog" blog. Clicking on the eyeball picture takes you there. For those that may not know the lyrics to "Help" see the youtube clip below.

baby you can read my post

Baby you can’t drive my car. I’m using it. 

Have you been much driving this summer? 

Help! 

Driving directions are abundant in today’s GPS Google map world. My BIL's SUV (you would think I was texting with all those initials) has GPS built into his vehicle.  It's nice to have it handy right there in the dashboard. We have a portable GPS unit that I seldom take with me.  I find the application great but I can’t stand the lady that comes with it. I call her GPS Gwen. I introduced GPS Gwen in this past post:

~~~%$#&*~~~

My wife and I just returned from a trip. A fun trip of family visiting and a little sight seeing. It was planned to be just us traveling.

but no 

She had to bring the bitchy GPS lady along. When I use the gadget, I mute her (the GPS lady not my wife). We have never given her a name but we should. For now, it will be GPS Gwen.

GPS Gwen doesn't know where this is

She is so bossy and rude. 

More than once during an interesting conversation, GPS Gwen would interrupt with “loss of satellites”. Lady I don’t give a damn about your tracking. 

At our age being interrupted often just kills the conversation because who can remember what they were about to say. 

Good thing I had checked with google maps beforehand because Gwen had the football stadium for our grandson’s game on the wrong side of the highway. Oh she was recalculating on that one for a bit. 

I’m very suspicious of GPS Gwen intentions. She started a fight between my wife and I. She meddled with our dinner decision. 

First GPS Gwen tricks us into believing the restaurant was only 5 miles up the road. After about 4.5 miles we realize she meant 5 miles to the first turn which happened to be in the opposite direction of our final destination for the day.  (Gwen starts a fight which keeps me up later) 

We followed along for about 12 miles only to discover that the restaurant probably went out-of-business or didn’t paid their electric bill. We never saw a sign for it. 

I thought of not recharging her after that. 

~~~%$#&*~~~

Hey Jude Get Back you Day Tripper.

Yesterday Lady Madonna read about A Hard Day’s Night I posted. 

Do you think I could be a Paperback Blogger someday?

scrambled eggs

A great morning song.

Scrambled eggs

I'm not a regular TV watcher.  Often I flip to CNN during commercials on other programs.  This past weekend I flipped over and found Jimmy Fallon on "Piers Morgan Tonight".  

Jimmy Fallon can sing/play song impersonations.  If you like this post check him out doing "troll dolly jingles".


During the Piers Morgan show he told how he was so fortunate to be able to sing with rock stars like Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen.


He did a duet with Paul McCartney in which they sang "Yesterday" with it's working title scrambled eggs.  According to wikipedia, the melody came first.  The working opening verse "Scrambled Eggs/Oh, my baby how I love your legs" was used for the song until something more suitable was written.

So get your toast and coffee ready and enjoy -

Fresh cracked pepper sprinkled on top - hmm I'm hungry. 

Want a little Jimmy Fallon?  He did "Reading Rainbow" (PBS kids show) in the style of Jim Morrison of the Doors. 

i am the walrus

Hey here’s a question for the ones out there that listen to the lyrics. 

What would you think if I wrote nonsense in this blog? 

Would stand up and click away from me? 

Lend me your time and I’ll write you a post. 

When I reflect (it was called spaced-out during my youth) on the many lyrics of rock and roll, I find many of them contained words of wisdom.

yes I know I Am The Walrus was NOT on this album

You Can't Always Get What You Want but you get what you need, The Rolling Stones taught me long ago. 

Do the rappers of today give any good advice? 

Three Dog Night reminded me once, Mama Told Me (Not To Come). Did I listen? No. Hey they removed that incident from my record. I’m good.

Today looking more like a walrus, I went looking for the meaning of John Lennon’s verse. The odd story I found was that he purposely wrote some nonsensical words because he received a letter from a student telling him that analyzing Beatle songs was an assignment at his school. 

The song also tells of the eggman. According to wikipedia (more reliable than my friends on the street corner) eggman is Eric Burdon. He apparently was some kind of animal because his eggman nickname came from his fondness for breaking eggs over naked women's bodies. (to think some say that eggs are bad for you - ha)

Eric and The Animals did teach me about job burn-out in their We Gotta Get Out Of This Place song. 

In my latest youtube mining, I uncovered another message laden song by The Animals. The most interesting part of this video clip is the “trophy wife” in the background (you'll notice it right at the beginning). How did they get away with that one?

I get by with a little help from my friends (good advice for your whole life).

another circus 

Baby you can drive my car

Just be sure to take The Long and Winding Road. I need some time to write a blog post.

Well if you haven’t heard that the Beatles are now available on Apple’s ITunes, you probably don’t care much for Beatles’ music or digital versions of their music. It would have been a much bigger deal if it had happened years ago but it still makes more of the their songs available as individual songs.

(most of you can skip over this background explanation)

Kids that became a teenager AG (after google) would not understand the whole single vs. album buying difference. Way back in time, there was the 45 which had 2 songs (A side, B side) and then the LP (long-playing) album would have a dozen plus songs on it. Very often you would buy an album only to discover that you really liked only one or two songs.

Now with ITunes you can easily just buy the one song you want and not pay for the ones you don’t care about.

But there’s even more side benefits of the ITunes Beatles page.

Apple has included some interesting videos you can watch for free. Watching the beginning of their Washington DC concert is interesting because you can just tell that the whole rock concert thing was still so new. They took the train from New York and you can watch Ringo moving his drum set around on stage. No roadies I assume.

There’s a lengthy biography page covering the band members from the 50’s to the 90’s.

Last summer I posted my take on the RollingStone magazine’s rating of Beatles songs. Most of you agreed with me, it was wrong. If you didn’t read that post go take a look. It’s right here.

Now that the songs are available individually to today’s audience it’s interesting to see what songs are making it to the top. I suspect the songs will change position over time. Right now according to ITunes sales the top 3 songs are:

1. Here Comes The Sun (maybe it will drop down after winter?)
2. Let It Be
3. In My Life

This Boy who is just The Fool On The Hill already had these so I bought some others.

I like the convenience of being able to pick up a favorite of mine without the whole album. Maybe you remember it. It was not a big hit but I enjoy Lennon’s energy singing and howling “Hey Bulldog”.