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Also From Modern Humorist: Colin Powell's Pop Pals Dear Dick: A Letter From George W. Boredom in the Court Behind the Music Napsteropoly Macdonna's Wedding Box Set of the Year Rock 'n' Roll Factory Worker Phish Fan Resume |
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REACH FOR REVOLVER by Bob Lefsetz "Tomorrow Never Knows" is the best song on Revolver. On the radio tonight I heard "I Want to Hold Your Hand." At first it seemed quite simple. Like something one of today's boy bands would do. So simple, so juvenile. "I want to hold your hand"? And that guitar intro, sounds so cheesy. It introduces the song, but does it really stand the test of time? Sounds very garage-bandy. I mean, if it hadn't been the Beatles... But as the verse played, I realized a subtle magic touch. The handclaps. People spend hours in the studio today making every sound perfect. Whereas some of the greatest records of all time weren't about pure sound, rather the CHOICES of what went on the record. The SOUNDS! But still. Thirty-seven years later, I wasn't sure there was magic. Until I hit the bridge. "And when I touch you I feel happy inside It's such a feelin' that my love I can't hide I can't hide I can't hide." John's making a STATEMENT with the verses. He's ENUNCIATING. With FORCE! And when he hits the chorus, he's almost screaming. But then in the middle of the song, the handclaps disappear. The guitar drops out. And John's tonality changes completely. He's not a rock star out to rape a woman. This isn't "Stray Cat Blues." Nor is it the puppy love of every teenybopper act from Donny Osmond to the Backstreet Boys. Rather, John is TESTIFYING. He's left the party in the den. He's retreated with his paramour to the bedroom. It's almost as if he's on one knee, proposing. He's not concerned with the girl's reaction, he's just got to get his message OUT! Suddenly I realized that all these years later, the mania WAS justified. This wasn't just a fad. There was an undeniable MAGIC that touched transistor listeners all over the WORLD! Made them INSANE that these four boys from England were singing DIRECTLY to them. Without the sludge of the other pop dominating the airwaves. It wasn't a wall of sound, it was pure HEART! Now the Beatles weren't a Lou Pearlman creation, plucked from the Mickey Mouse Club. Nor had the Fab Four read Don Passman's book and decided to pillage teenagers' wallets. Their eyes weren't OPENED by having hits. They were open ALREADY! They lived in the U.K. A place where the American dream didn't exist, and still doesn't. They were born working class. And that's where they were going to end up. But they didn't like this. The only way out they saw was as musicians. Yup, they played music not to become STARS, but to escape, or at least forestall, their inevitable fate. And their first record didn't enter the chart at No. 1. Didn't sell millions of copies. Actually, it was years before they even CUT a record. Rather they were WORKING musicians. Playing gigs to stay alive. Don't let your kids ever play nightclubs. They're going to be CORRUPTED! And this was the fate of the Beatles. They went to Germany and were exposed to prostitutes and drugs. They saw how the world REALLY worked. Still, along the way they were playing an excessive number of sets a night. They weren't perfecting their sound in a home studio. Rather they were playing live, for a crowd, every night. Where there were no do-overs. If you didn't have the chops, if you couldn't hit the notes, you lost the gig. And playing live, they got feedback. They realized what worked and what didn't. |
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