This blog represents the study of The Beatles as done by a high school class devoted to this topic. All posts here are made by the students or the teacher of the class. They represent the views of a great array of people and will hopefully provide insight on how The Beatles continue to inspire and influence our culture today.
Saturday, June 5, 2021
Friday, June 4, 2021
Strawberry Fields Forever Song Review
(1967) and is one of my personal favorites.
The song was written by John Lennon and is credited to Lennon-
McCartney. Lennon took inspiration from his childhood to write this song. He lived
near a salvation army orphanage named Strawberry Fields. The music video for the
song contains many childish elements, including a piano whose strings are
connected to a tree that Paul climbs. The video gives us a lot of closeups of the
band's face, letting you stare into their eyes and possibly into their soul.
It's not the traditional rock sound: the song's opening sound is one played off of the
Mellotron, a relatively new instrument at the time. The Mellotron was originally
supposed to be used for sound effects, but the Beatles used the flute loop. Certain
lyrics of the song could be interpreted as references to LSD, and some elements of
the music video gives off that feeling.
The link below is to a video of voice artist, Thunderstorm Artis, singing Blackbird by The Beatles. Blackbird is one of my favorite Beatles songs. I just love the guitar because of the calming sound to it. Thunderstorm created a different version of Blackbird; a more acoustic sound to it. Thunderstorm’s version is also a bit slower which adds to this solemn feel when listening to it. Thunderstorm also has to impress the coaches with this song, so he adds runs and holds notes longer which makes the song even better.
In the original song, The Beatles have a less acoustic version because there are drums for a beat. The Beatles play at a fast tempo; faster than Thunderstorm’s version. The Beatles also did not need to impress anyone because they already had so many fans that love The Beatles, so there is no need for runs or long notes
Overall, both versions of “Blackbird” are great songs and worth listening to. Each version has its uniqueness to it but sticks to the lyrics and the overall message. Both versions are very loveable, and I will always think of “Blackbird” as a favorite.
Thursday, June 3, 2021
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Art Piece
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, a song by The Beatles, has very odd imagery and lyrics. John Lennon, the Beatle who wrote the song, said that his inspiration for the song came from a picture his son drew. I decided to create an art piece with my interpretation of the imagery in the song. I used a combination of watercolor, drawing, collage, and 3d objects to create a multimedia piece that I feel represents the different elements of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. When listening to the song, the lyrics and melody create a world of fantasy, so I used an imaginative and child-like artistic approach to try and portray that world. Some of the imagery in the song, for example, "newspaper taxis" and "a girl with kaleidoscope eyes" I created using collage. The "tangerine trees" and "cellophane flowers of yellow and green" I drew, and the river and "marmalade skies" I painted. Even though the song only mentions "a boat on a river", I decided to put The Beatles in the boat because I felt like they should be represented in the piece.
'The Ballad of John and Yoko' Analysis/Background
The linked slideshow gives the background of the story told by 'The Ballad of John and Yoko.'
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FiffxgAIaRuRmxiS89DJ6Q79KERtXznS8-pP53zA11k/edit?usp=sharing
Here Comes the Sun Song Review
I found the Album Abbey Road very upbeat. My favorite song, Here Comes the Sun, is what this blog post is about.
Here Comes the Sun was written by George Harrison in Eric Clapton’s garden, and you can hear the acoustic guitar very clearly throughout the song, which is played by George using Clapton’s guitar! “It was just sunny and it was all just the release of that tension that had been building up on me” said Harrison. The tension he was referring to was their manager, Brian Epstein’s death. The Beatles workload suddenly doubled in size, and George used this song to relax. I find it comforting as well, and Geroge’s points resound in my mind. This song just went on my “Calm” playlist.
Here Comes the Sun was done in 9 takes, and is the first song on Side 2 of the album. While the album Abbey Road had many standout songs such as Come Together, Octopus’s Garden and Golden Slumbers, Here Comes the Sun is by far the most popular song on the album. It is also my favorite song on the album. My favorite lyrics of the song are “Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting. Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear.” It has a more literal sense in terms of “Melting” and “Clear”, and I think while most of the song is metaphoric, some of it has a literal meaning, and I like that a lot.
—Daniel Sommerfeld
Beatles Portrait
I drew this portrait of the four Beatles members using only a pencil and paper. From left to right, the order is George, Paul, John, Ringo. I was going for an early-career look (like maybe around the release of “Beatles For Sale”, or “Rubber Soul”). Rather than using one photograph of the whole group for reference, I used individual reference photos for each Beatle but drew them all together so my final product was a totally unique image. After I had finished, I took a photo of the art and decided to play with the lighting/contrast to make it look cleaner.
This blog shows the 3 album covers I have designed. Each cover is based around one song written by The Beatles and is accompanied by a brief description of the cover and its connection to the song or its message.
This album cover, my attempt to represent that story behind the song While My Guitar Gently Weeps into a photo, uses individual images of each band member cut out and photoshopped together to appear somewhat like a photo of the band. Each member is purposefully looking away from the camera, and each other, to represent the tension and separation going on between the band members that this song sings about and that was happening when this song was released. I have also included the three members who ever played guitar in the band holding guitars to represent the words and title of the song as well as including an image of studio 2 in the background (the studio room in Abbey Road Studios often used to record The Beatles music), to try and create an image taken of the band that does not truly exist.
This album cover, my attempt to represent that story behind the song While My Guitar Gently Weeps into a photo, uses individual images of each band member cut out and photoshopped together to appear somewhat like a photo of the band. Each member is purposefully looking away from the camera, and each other, to represent the tension and separation going on between the band members that this song sings about and that was happening when this song was released. I have also included the three members who ever played guitar in the band holding guitars to represent the words and title of the song as well as including an image of studio 2 in the background (the studio room in Abbey Road Studios often used to record The Beatles music), to try and create an image taken of the band that does not truly exist.
Though Yellow Submarine is not my favorite song written by The Beatles, it is a very nostalgic song for me as it was one of the first songs I heard written by The Beatles while in Jose and Tisha’s Kindergarten class ten years ago. This album cover compiles all the characters and many events and scenes from the Yellow Submarine Movie released by The Beatles as well as the four Beatles themselves, seen in the front (from left to right: John, Paul, George and Ringo). This album cover also includes several smaller details such as the original font used for the Yellow Submarine movie title used on The Beatles band name and The Beatles ties each featuring their favorite color.
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
The Beatles and their influence on Queen
The Beatles were one of the largest influences on not only rock and roll, but music as a whole. The Beatles pioneered several of the most important recording techniques ever, and in that is looping. In their song, "Tomorrow Never Knows" they record one phrase of Ringo's playing and loop it throughout their entire song. One band who uses this technique is the 1970's band Queen. Queen, led by Freddie Mercury, uses looping in many of their works, almost to a point of excess. One really good example of this is "The Prophet's Song" from the album, A Night at the Opera. In this, Freddie goes a cappella for the middle portion of the song, in which he loops his on vocals over and over again, singing in descending cadences with himself. This produces a very interesting effect on the overall tone of the song, as it comes back with guitar, drums and backing vocals. This song, and many of Queen's other songs would be very different (or just not exist) had The Beatles never used this technique of recording.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Above Us Only Sky: Movie Review
I started watching this documentary late on Saturday night, and I was quickly taken from my bedroom into Tittenhurst Park in the late 1960s. The movie depicted John and Yoko's estate, their insanely large English mansion with a garden big enough to explore for a whole lifetime. To me, it seemed odd to see John outside of the studio without the other Beatles at first, but after a couple minutes it became clear that his life now was more peaceful and relaxed, which was probably how he wanted it. The footage, of him in his own studio or rowing through his own pond on the grounds, was like watching John transform from John Lennon of the Beatles into just John. It was magical, in a sense, to watch John and Yoko as they interacted and sort of became one with each other. The main focus of the movie, I would say, was the creation of the song imagine. From the moment John played the song, everyone knew it was, and would be for a long time, a huge hit. Yoko said in the movie she felt as though she met John so that Imagine could come into existence. Although I have always personally loved the song, this movie made me realize the total impact of it considering the huge cultural movement for peace. The song itself became almost a manifesto or symbol of the movement. It was beautiful watching John and Yoko come together to create this piece, one that has remained relevant and timeless ever since its creation, and this movie did a great job of explaining just a small portion of their story.
Friday, May 31, 2019
“I am the Walrus”
"I Am The Walrus," is the song with no rhyme or reason, and it was written in three parts: part one was written by John during an acid trip, part two was written during another acid trip the next week, and part three was filled in after met Yoko. Even though John claims it is gibberish many of the song's lyrics did have an inspiration
The song's opening verse, "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together," comes from the song "Marching to Pretoria," which contains the lyric, "I'm with you as you're with me and we are all together." "See how they run, like pigs from a gun, see how they fly..." came the next week directly from John's second acid trip. These are just two examples that demonstrate John’s mindset and writing process during this song.
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Years later, after being married and divorced from both George Harrison and later Eric Clapton, Patty made a name for herself in her own right when she published photographs she had taken of The Beatles and Eric Clapton.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
In My Life
The song "In My Life" written by John Lennon is a reflection on his life at the moment. John had a very difficult time with all the fame and the feeling of being trapped. His writing is recalling moments, and people he knew from before his fame restricted him from living his life. However this piece seems to be about moving forward. John may always love his life in the early years of The Beatles more, but he is coming to terms and understanding this is how he must live. He was very unsatisfied with his life when writing this because he felt like life was more fulfilling before he became the rock star he dreamed of becoming. It creates this cycle of his thirst for fame but unenjoyment when he has to face the consequences like being homebound or attacked by fans.
Ticket to Ride
Acording to A Hard Day's Write by Steve Turner, many Americans concluded the "ticket" was from British Railways, and "ride" was the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. McCartney confessed to his biographer Barry Miles that they were partly right. Paul had a cousin who ran a bar in Ryde and he and John had visited them there. Paul later mentioned that although the song was primarily about a girl riding out of the life of the narrator, they were conscious of the potential for a double meaning.
On the other hand, John coined the phrase "Ticket to Ride" for another meaning. He was referencing the girls who worked the streets in Hamburg had to have a clean bill of health and the authorities would give them a card saying they were clean.
Monday, May 20, 2019
Hard Day's Night
The Beatles movie "A Hard Day's Night" was entertaining and certainly in a category of its own. The film was light-hearted and showed each of the members of the group to be unique characters with quirky personalities. The jokes and humorous scenes in the film were corny in a way that somehow fit with the band's image. Despite the fact there was really no particular plot (other than a sort of 'day-in-the-life theme), it held my attention. The Beatles are clearly not actors and don't pretend to be--which is why, in my opinion, this sort of film worked to show their personalities and showcase their songs. The scene in the picture above honestly felt like four guys just having fun and messing around in a very quirky fashion and this was the kind of feeling I got from the overall film.
Yesterday
Yesterday is a song was written primarily by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in their fourth album titled “Help”. John Lennon went through the loss of someone he loved and this is reflected through some of the lyrics he was writing within the album. For example, the song Help and Yesterday are both apparent cries for help and yet they aren’t recognized until later in their career. With the entire albums slower rhythm and less of their famous upbeat tempo showed a shift within their attitude towards making music. Overall, these songs are examples and give us some insight into how their emotions influence what style of music they release.
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Released in August 1965, the Beatles fifth album, Help! contains many of the songs that people commonly recognize, including Yesterday, Help, and Ticket to Ride. One of the other songs on the album is titled You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, it, as with many Beatles songs, was written and sung by John Lennon. The song has a very clear influence from Bob Dylan; Lennon himself said “That’s me in my Dylan period again.” Due to the influence from Dylan, the song has more of a folk feel to it than other Beatles songs. The main aspect that differs from Dylan’s work is that a flute is used in the Lennon song rather than the harmonica that Dylan used in his works.
The meaning of the song has been debated among Beatles enthusiasts. There are many sides to the debate but the main two are that Lennon wrote the song about Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager who was gay, and the other is that Lennon wrote it about having to keep the fact that he was married under wraps. Either way, the song tells of someone who must hide their love due to either societal pressure or simply fear.
Due to its presence on such a famous album, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away is often overlooked when people who aren’t Beatles fans listen to Help! As a song, it is underrated and needs to be brought into the spotlight alongside songs like Yesterday.
Classical Influences of the Beatles
The Beatles became one of the most unique rock bands of all time due to their unique style that distinguished them from the other bands of the era. Part of this unique sound is their incorporation of many different styles of music, including much influence of classical music. While most music can claim classical influences, the Beatles used this greatly, with their harmonies and chord progressions mimicking many baroque, classical and romantic composers. One of the songs we listened to today was Paul McCartney’s Yesterday, which features a classical string quartet in the background, giving a softer tone to the piece. One of their influences, the Everly Brothers, used harmonies that would appear in many early Beatles songs, those same harmonies being very classical in nature.
The Yellow Submarine
The Yellow Submarine was a popular song years ago and is till taught at school to little kids. It was originally written by The Beatles, more specifically by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. There are a few ways on interpretating the exact meaning one way is that throughout the Beatles music career they had to stay in hotels while they were pressured by people as well as the fans. This would be seen as the submarine. Next the color yellow is supposed to signify friends inside the submarine. During the song it mentions sea of green wich reprsents money and costs. This song was put in the Revolver album and was written especially for Ringo to lead the singing. Paul McCartney later explained after its release in 1966: "'Yellow Submarine' is very simple but very different. It's a fun song, a children's song. Originally we intended it to be 'Sparky' a children's record. But now it's the idea of a yellow submarine where all the kids went to have fun. I find this cool in a way because most of their songs are songs that teens and adults would listen to and that was like an expectation of them. However, they create this song that will last who knows how long. I meant that In a positive way.
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