how does one follow-up on a CULTURAL PHENOMENON?

its something that ARTISTS of commercially and artistically SUCCESSFUL bands have been struggling with since ever.  sometimes that ASCENDENT TRAJECTORY continues UNABATED like with NEW ORDER after JOY DIVISION, FOO FIGHTERS after NIRVANA, PEARL JAM after MOTHER LOVE BONE, GORILLAZ after BLUR, or THE BREEDERS after THE PIXIES.  other times it goes the other way like AUDIOSLAVE after RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, MEGADETH after METALLICA or THE RACONTEURS after THE WHITE STRIPES.  needless to say, its always a CREATIVE and FINANCIAL RISK to mess with or alter that UNIQUE CHEMISTRY that resulted in SUCCESS.   but these ACTS are relatively small time.

what do you do if the band you are following up on is THE BEATLES?

in the case of JOHN LENNON, you use that platform as an opportunity to move forward and create some of the most EXPERIMENTAL, and frankly UNCOMMERCIAL, MUSIC of the period by any MAJOR RECORDING ARTIST with the assembling of THE PLASTIC ONO BAND with his WIFE, JAPANESE AVANT GARDE CONCEPTUAL ARTIST YOKO ONO.  its a SIMILAR TACT that GEORGE HARRISON undertook as well post-BEATLES with his subsequent SOLO ALBUMS which delved deeper and deeper into his INTIMATELY-FELT CONNECTION with HINDU MYSTICISM and INDIAN MUSIC in general.  COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS be DAMNED.  such was not the case with PAUL MCCARTNEY who seemed unable to establish a VOICE after the DISSOLUTION of THE BEATLES and spent most of his decades-long career creating MEDIOCRE PABLUM that bordered from the SCHMALTZY to absolute CRINGE.

but back to LENNON. 

​his FOLLOW-UP RELEASE to the WILD EXPERIMENTALISM of his SOLO DEBUT JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND (APPLE, 1970) was the more SUBDUED and SONG-DRIVEN VEHICLE IMAGINE (APPLE, 1971), which has continually been ranked as one of the great albums of all-time by PROMINENT BOOMER CULTURAL PUBLICATIONS and is widely considered an EQUAL alongside his TOP BEATLES OUTPUT.  it should be said that many of these SONGS are rooted in UNUSED MELODIES and PARTIAL STEMS OF TRACKS dating back to the LATER BEATLES years, as was the case with most of the MEMBERS' first few SOLO RELEASES.  contributing to the sessions were VARIOUS MUSICIANS, ARTISTS, FRIENDS and HIRED GUNS ranging from GEORGE HARRISON to KLAUS VOORMAN (noted for his ILLUSTRATED REVOLVER cover art), ALAN WHITE (YES), MIKE PINDER (THE MOODY BLUES), TED TURNER (WISHBONE ASH), JIM GORDON (DEREK & THE DOMINOS) and JOEY MOLLAND and TOM EVANS of BADFINGER, a recent APPLE RECORDS SIGNEE.  IMAGINE was coproduced by LENNON, ONO and the FAMED WALL OF SOUND PRODUCER PHIL SPECTOR.  the title track "IMAGINE" is one of the most UBIQUITOUS and CELEBRATED SONGS ever written, but also grossly MISUNDERSTOOD.  it is often MISUSED as a WARM, FUZZY PEAN to all things UNITY, PEACE, HARMONY and KUMBAYA, when in actuality it is anything but.  LENNON himself understood this mistake and stated it was "virtually the COMMUNIST MANIFESTO" in interviews, as the TRACK considers a WORLD FREE of GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, POSSESSIONS, HUNGER and GREED (i.e. CAPITALISM), and calls instead for a VISION of the EQUAL BROTHERHOOD OF HUMANITY to take its place.  i feel like this is LOST on everyone, the public and ARTISTS alike, who ABUSE such when doing TELEVISED CHARITY FUNDRAISERS for PANDEMIC and WORLD DISASTER RELIEF EFFORTS.   its almost CLICHE at this point and just plain LAZY.  maybe they should do "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" by LOUIS ARMSTRONG instead.  just saying. 

"IMAGINE" is undoubtedly the TRANSCENDENT BEHEMOTH of a TRACK on LENNON's LEGENDARY second post-BEATLES RELEASE, but its not the only GREAT SONG. 

"JEALOUS GUY" is one of the most achingly BEAUTIFUL, and quite frankly REALISTIC, EXPRESSIONS of the PAIN and inner TURMOIL that comes with being in a LOVING RELATIONSHIP, where one is constantly reevaluating their own MOTIVES, EXPECTATIONS, PERSONAL HISTORIES and INSECURITIES regarding such.  its an admission of GUILT and acknowledgement of IMPERFECTION, as well as an INTRIGUING declaration of INTENT.  lyrically the SPEAKER is seeking GREATER INTIMACY with their SIGNIFICANT OTHER in spite of their FLAWS.  in my mind that is pretty TIDY DESCRIPTION of what constitutes a MATURE RELATIONSHIP based on OPEN DIALOGUE. 

"OH YOKO!" is a BUOYANT FOLKSY TUNE that effectively showcases the ENERGY and PASSION of a NEW RELATIONSHIP.  it is so ENDEARING, and not in a contrived SACCHARINE MANNER, that i have a hard time listening to it in light of LENNON's DEMISE and the UNSPEAKABLE PAIN that came with his LOSS by his LOVED ONES, not limited to ONO herself.  same EXCRUCIATING DYNAMIC with "BEAUTIFUL BOY" off of his FINAL ALBUM, DOUBLE FANTASY (GEFFEN, 1980). 

"GIMME SOME TRUTH" is an pointedly ACERBIC protest SONG focused intently on the then-ONGOING VIETNAM WAR and the IDIOTIC HYPOCRISY and what we would now term TOXIC MASCULINITY that both initiated and sustained it during this period.  this PLAINTIVE question at its core is almost a GENERATIONAL DEMAND of the AMERICAN GOVERNMENT to explain its MOTIVES, as POLITICAL secrecy and WARPED PET THEORIES about the EXPANSION of COMMUNISM sent an estimated two million people to their DEATHS (on both sides) in a NEEDLESS CONFLICT over IDEOLOGY and BRUTE, UNADULTERATED POWER. 

lastly, and arguably my FAVORITE, is the MCCARTNEY DISS TRACK "HOW DO YOU SLEEP?" which is a response to then-recent DISPARAGING INTERVIEWS and SONG LYRICS his FORMER BANDMATE leveled at LENNON and ONO as being BUFFOONISH and UNSERIOUS.  given how deeply POLITICAL and PERSONAL LENNON's EFFORTS were during this period, it is no surprise that such PUBLIC ATTEMPTS at cutting him at the knees were not welcome in the slightest.  the deeply CUTTING COUNTERATTACK by LENNON is one in which he directs that MCCARTNEY had run out of IDEAS, pityingly rehashing and even pilfering his own past MELODIES ("ANOTHER DAY" and "YESTERDAY") for NEW MATERIAL and that his post-BEATLES OUTPUT was but a FAINT SHADOW of his former GREATNESS.  it should be said that all of this has remained TRUE over the decades, whereas LENNON and his post-BEATLES CATALOGUE has only grown in STATURE and CULTURAL PROMINENCE to date.

so how do you follow-up THE BEATLES?  by writing TRANSCENDENT SONGS for the ages.  a whole generation of PROMINENT BRITISH SINGER-SONGWRITERS ranging from NOEL GALLAGHER, PAUL WELLER, DAMON ALBARN, JARVIS COCKER and JOHNNY MARR no doubt have taken note of LENNON and see his path of SONIC EXPLORATION and deeply felt LYRICAL CONVICTIONS as a north star of sorts to judge one's next career phase against.

it goes without saying that IMAGINE is an absolutely ESSENTIAL album that is well worth checking out and repeatedly revisiting.

RUBBER SOUL (PARLOPHONE, 1965) is often attributed as being the specific release where THE BEATLES took a critical step forward in terms of their SONGWRITING and sonic production that very much cleared the way for later ARTISTIC and CONCEPTUAL INNOVATIONS, most famously on much CELEBRATED subsequent releases such as REVOLVER (PARLOPHONE, 1966) and SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (PARLOPHONE, 1967).  done were SONGS dealing with the BOY-MEETS-GIRL THEMATIC cul-de-sac that marked the first era of the band and in its stead were more lyrically SOPHISTICATED and OPAQUE (no doubt influenced by FOLK singer-songwriter BOB DYLAN) takes on LIFE, LOVE and the nature of EXISTENCE.

far and away my FAVORITE track, both as a child and as an adult, is "NOWHERE MAN" and its EXISTENTIAL EXPLORATION of feeling ISOLATED and SEPARATE from SOCIETY and HUMANITY writ large.  i can only imagine what JOHN LENNON was going through when composing and conceiving those LYRICS, having been bombarded with CELEBRITY CULTURE and loss of ANONYMITY for years at this point.  its so lyrically MOURNFUL yet strangely MELODIC and UPLIFTING that you wonder if it is a PERSONAL FANTASY to go back to being a relative unknown.

"NORWEGIAN WOOD," "GIRL," "YOU WON'T SEE ME" and "IF I NEEDED SOMEONE" are all intimate and decidedly MATURE LOVE SONGS that deal with the maintaining of said AFFECTION and CONNECTION past the initial MUTUAL INFATUATION phase.  for years the band relied on SONGS that were essentially lyrically seducing their AUDIENCE, but this go around you get the sense that they actually wanted to write AUTHENTIC and HONEST MATERIAL of the more ARDUOUS and therefore REWARDING aspects of RELATIONSHIPS and how they naturally develop over time, with all the HOPE, OPTIMISM, INTIMACY and RISK involved.

"DRIVE MY CAR" is another CHILDHOOD favorite of mine, since i was always game for a GREAT SONG about cars, going back to my UNAVOIDABLE CULTURAL EXPOSURE in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA to the BEACH BOYS catalogue.  its just a CLASSIC PAUL MCCARTNEY-penned POP song with TERRIFIC HARMONIES and a PROPULSIVE GROOVE that makes it a case study in QUALITY BEATLES SONG-CRAFT.

for some admirers and critics the highlight of this collection of SONGS was "IN MY LIFE" and its BITTERSWEET retrospective LENNON-penned LYRICS about years and EXPERIENCES long gone by from some FUTURE PERSPECTIVE.  i have always been a big fan of LENNON's VOICE, especially when he is reaching slightly outside of his HIGH BARITONE range, which is on full display on this emotively AFFECTING track.  even knowing full well that he never was allowed the opportunity to live long enough into his golden years to inhabit this PERSPECTIVE, the SONG is a master stroke in IMAGINATIVE PROJECTION and his ability to reduce COMPLICATED feelings into perfect SIMPLIFIED POP MELODIES.  about that, apparently this is one of the few SONGS that both LENNON and MCCARTNEY contested that they authored the MELODY.  we will never know, but in a sense it doesnt matter.  we all benefit from its very EXISTENCE and manifested influence over the WORLD and the rest of their CATALOGUE.

it goes without saying that RUBBER SOUL is an ESSENTIAL landmark release by a SEMINAL band who have no peer.  definitely recommended and absolutely worth checking out.

THE BEATLES' EPIC SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (PARLOPHONE, 1967) record gets perpetually credited for being this LANDMARK CONCEPT album, but to tell you the truth, i dont see it.  not that the songs are not TRANSCENDENT, with INNOVATIVE and absolutely SPECTACULAR tracks like "LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS," "BEING FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. KITE," "SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND" and the STARTLING, GAME-CHANGING, MULTI-SECTION track "A DAY IN THE LIFE," this album is very much worthy of the praise it has received through the generations.  but outside of the first song that sets up the LYRICAL CONCEIT of an extended outfit of lonely people in what i presume is a marching band, the whole "CONCEPT" falls apart.  which is FINE since, as i said before, the songs stack up and more than hold their weight in their ECLECTIC and INVENTIVE GENIUS.

famously in 1966, THE BEATLES gave up touring after years of being unable to hear themselves play and decided to retreat to the more EMPOWERING and FULFILLING confines of the RECORDING STUDIO.  gone was the pretense for creating something that could be recreated or facsimiled live and instead was the artistic gambit to truly utilize the STUDIO as an INSTRUMENT and push it as far as they creatively could.  that sense of AMBITION and loss of pretense for REAL-WORLD applications is the actual CULTURAL LEGACY of SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND and set a STANDARD for generations of ROCK N ROLL bands to attempt to follow.  everyone from THE BEACH BOYS, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, BLUR, THE FLAMING LIPS, RADIOHEAD and KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD have seen the scope and scale of this particular project as a beacon and an open invitation to likewise not limit their own CREATIVITY.  that being said, its technically a MIRACLE that it exists given the PRIMITIVE state of the RECORDING TECHNOLOGY back in the late 1960s, as this album was recorded on a four-track ANALOG TAPE MACHINES.  that means that all those layers of instruments, percussion and vocals had to be paired down to one of those four tracks with no ability to go back and revise.  today with DIGITAL RECORDING TECHNOLOGY there is an ENDLESS amount of TRACKS that can be individually tweaked with near LIMITLESS parameters.  SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND in that sense is as much a TECHNICAL feat as it is a CREATIVE one and the work of longtime producer GEORGE MARTIN and engineer GEOFF EMERICK should be duly commended.

when i think about THE BEATLES, i always have to remind myself that their artistic partnership and UNPARALLELED EVOLUTION as a creative entity lasted only seven years across thirteen studio albums.  it is absolutely MIND-BOGGING the PACE and QUALITY CONTROL of those releases.  admittedly the first few releases from PLEASE PLEASE ME (PARLOPHONE, 1963) up through BEATLES FOR SALE (PARLOPHONE, 1964) had a litany of cover songs to pad their track-listings, but from HELP! (PARLOPHONE, 1965) onwards through ABBEY ROAD (APPLE, 1969) they essentially recorded whatever songs they had available.  its ASTOUNDING that these records are as COHESIVE as they are, with MODERN bands having numerous finished songs left on the CUTTING ROOM FLOOR as par for course.  back in the 1960s there was no sense that this ROCK N ROLL movement or the BRITISH INVASION cohort of bands would be anything but a FLASH-IN-THE-PAN, MOMENTARY CULTURAL PHENOMENON, so PARLOPHONE and other labels likewise pushed their artists for more PRODUCT.  meaning at least two full-lengths a year with holiday non-album singles that also had original b-sides.  i mean just the b-sides alone of THE BEATLES are amazing.  all of this is to say that the POPULAR CONCEPTION of the making of SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND is that it was this huge masterplanned effort, when in reality these were just the next batch of songs.  it is INTERESTING that GEORGE HARRISON and RINGO STARR are low on their assessment of such given their lack of creative participation relative to past efforts.  i love this record, but from this PSYCHEDELIC, sonically ADVENTUROUS and EXPANSIVE period of the band, i prefer the truly DADA-esque and FREE-ASSOCIATIVE nature of the songs on its LESS-CELEBRATED follow-up MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (CAPITOL, 1967).

regardless, SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND is absolutely ESSENTIAL and worthy of all the hype through the generations.  it is most definitely worth checking out.

parodies by nacrowe

so much of the BRITISH INVASION mythology is tied up with BAY BOOMER coming-of-age nostalgia that it is hard not to view it in retrospect from a skewed, decidedly nonobjective perspective.  dont believe me, just look at ROLLING STONE magazine founding editor JANN WENNER's STARTLING recent admission that BLACK and FEMALE artists were not INTELLECTUALLY CURIOUS or ARTICULATE enough to be part of his recent publication of past interviews featuring several WHITE MALE members of bands from this period.  im a 90s child born in the 1980s so this CELEBRATED BRITISH INVASION cultural movement and its lasting pixie-dust over the imaginations of BOOMERS is thankfully a generation removed from me, providing me some distance on the topic.

undoubtedly musicians in these bands from BRITAIN took inspiration from a variety of AMERICAN musical forms during that period, from ROCKABILLY (EDDIE COCHRAN, DUANE EDDY, ROY ORBISON, CARL PERKINS and ELVIS PRESLEY) and early ROCK N ROLL (BUDDY HOLLY, CHUCK BERRY, JERRY LEE LEWIS, THE EVERLY BROTHERS and LITTLE RICHARD) to CHICAGO BLUES (MUDDY WATERS, LITTLE WALTER, JUNIOR WELLS, WILLIE DIXON, BIG BILL BROONZY) and DELTA BLUES (SKIP JAMES, SON HOUSE, ELMORE JAMES, HOWLIN' WOLF and ROBERT JOHNSON).  the list rolls on.  the BRITISH INVASION movement of the 1960s was a COMPELLING cultural phenomenon because in a very literal sense it was an admission and a reflection of AMERICA's musical cultural mirrored and staring right back at itself.  this is especially the case with the FORGOTTEN BLUES artists of the period.  THE ROLLING STONES in particular took several repeatedly on tour and much later in life, it has been reported that they even quietly paid for their funeral expenses.  there is a direct link and an acknowledged debt to BLACK CULTURE that is UNQUESTIONED.

what is interesting is that it took WHITE ARTISTS from another english-speaking country to turn on an EMERGING WHITE AUDIENCE to BLACK CULTURE.  and arguably even that WELL-INTENTIONED exchanged of musical ideas literally got white-washed over the decades in the process, with much of the UNSCHOOLED listenership conceiving ROCK AND ROLL popularly throughout the ensuing decades as a largely CAUCASIAN genre.  to the point that the emergence of a band like LIVING COLOUR in the the late 1980s is interpreted by said WHITE AUDIENCE as a bit of a CURIOSITY.  anecdotally i remember certain BOOMER parents (not my own) DISMISSIVE reaction to early HIP HOP at the beginning of the 90s.  of course three decades later HIP HOP is as ENTRENCHED and OMNIPRESENT as ROCK AND ROLL was a generation earlier.  the cycle continues.

i have nothing against bands like THE ANIMALS, THE BEATLES, THE WHO,  THE YARDBIRDS, THE ROLLING STONES or THE KINKS.  i was raised on them.  in large part they are the bedrock of my appreciation of music culture having been raised by BOOMERS.  more than half a century later what i take issue with is this constant lionizing of that generation above all others by an aging publishing class holding on to cultural relevance for dear life, pushing so hard that they lose all utter perspective.  rendering themselves OBSOLETE in the process, which is just SAD and pretty PATHETIC.  i am all for putting JOHN LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, KEITH RICHARDS, PETE TOWNSEND, JIMMY PAGE, JEFF BECK (R.I.P.) and RAY DAVIES on an ELEVATED plane of critical praise, but i feel strongly that even they would want to include artists like CHUCK BERRY, B.B. KING, ETTA JAMES, LITTLE RICHARD, ALBERT KING, FATS DOMINO and JOHN LEE HOOKER in the discussion.  if only to be identified in the context of their ranks as SHINING beacons and continuations of their REFLECTIVE genius and legacy.  and i dont even know where to begin on the NAKED and ENTRENCHED MISOGYNY against including WOMEN in the mix for WENNER's book.  you're telling me that past and present DIVERSE, INNOVATIVE and PIONEERING songwriters and recording artists like PATTI SMITH, SADE, ANA TIJOUX, LAURYN HILL (THE FUGEES), CAROLE KING, WATA (BORIS), AMANDA PALMER (THE DRESDEN DOLLS), ST. VINCENT, POISON IVY (THE CRAMPS), TINA TURNER, CHRISSIE HYNDE (THE PRETENDERS), KATE BUSH, FATOUMATA DIAWARA, JOAN BAEZ, RONNIE SPECTOR (THE RONETTES) MISSY ELLIOTT, ALISSON MOSSHART (THE KILLS, THE DEAD WEATHER), ROBYN, PATTI LABELLE, ELIZABETH STOKES (THE BETHS), QUEEN LATIFAH, WARPAINT, KATHLEEN HANNA (BIKINI KILL, LE TIGRE), JANIS JOPLIN, ARETHA FRANKLIN, LA LUZ, AMY WINEHOUSE, TIONNE WATKINS (TLC), MADONNA, BONNIE RAITT, ALANIS MORISSETTE, SALT-N-PEPA, JONI MITCHELL, SOL PEREYRA, FIRST AID KIT, ANNIE LENNOX (EURYTHMICS), KATE PIERSON & CINDY WILSON (THE B-52's), LOVEFOXXX (CSS), JUDY MOWATT, LYKKE LI, LOUISE WENER (SLEEPER), EXENE CERVENKA (X), PEACHES, WANDA JACKSON, DEBORAH HARRY (BLONDIE), ERYKAH BADU, TERI GENDER BENDER (LE BUTCHERETTES), BEYONCE, JASAMINE WHITE-GLUZ (NO JOY), KARIN DREIJER (THE KNIFE), EMMA RUTH RUNDLE (MARRIAGES), ELLA FITZGERALD, STELLA DONNELLY, WETLEG, TOVE LO, LOUISE POST (VERUCA SALT), TETIANA SHMAILYUK (JINJER), SINEAD O'CONNOR, ALICE GLASS (CRYSTAL CASTLES), SHIRLEY MANSON (GARBAGE), POLY STYRENE (X-RAY SPEX), RIHANNA, KIM DEAL (PIXIES, THE BREEDERS), FIONA APPLE, BETHANY COSENTINO (BEST COAST), TAYLOR SWIFT, FKA TWIGS, REBA MEYERS (CODE ORANGE), MALA RODRIGUEZ, HELEN MARNIE & MIRA AROYO (LADYTRON), BILLIE HOLIDAY, SAVAGES, CHANTAL CLARET (MORNINGWOOD), KIM GORDON (SONIC YOUTH), COSEY FANNI TUTTI (THROBBING GRISTLE), BESSIE SMITH, NATASHA KHAN (BAT FOR LASHES), DOLORES O' RIORDAN (THE CRANBERRIES), CARLY SIMON, MON LAFERTE, AMY TAYLOR (AMYL & THE SNIFFERS), PJ HARVEY, EMMYLOU HARRIS, BRODY DALLE (THE DISTILLERS), ETTA JAMES, COURTNEY BARNETT, JUSTINE FRISCHMANN (ELASTICA), JAVIERA MENA, KAREN O (THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS), FOXES, ANN WILSON & NANCY WILSON(HEART), LIZ PHAIR, NINA SIMONE, LYDIA LUNCH (TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS), MICHELLE ZAUNER (JAPANESE BREAKFAST), JOAN JETT, DONNA SUMMER, TORI AMOS, COURTNEY LOVE (HOLE), ALICIA KEYS, SIOUXSIE SIOUX, CHELSEA WOLFE, LIDO PIMIENTA, ALICE BAG (THE BAGS), STEVIE NICKS (FLEETWOOD MAC), CHARLIE XCX, DONITA SPARKS (L7), SHARON VAN ETTEN, BJORK, VIV ALBERTINE (THE SLITS) and DOLLY PARTON arent INTELLECTUALLY CURIOUS or ARTICULATE enough for your STUPID publication?  you really couldnt find one interview?  are you serious?!  youre a fool.

FUCK JANN WENNER.  

embedded below is a DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes an ECLECTIC playlist of BRITISH INVASION bands, both obvious and obscure.  enjoy!

much has been discussed, CELEBRATED and parsed out regarding the generational GLOBAL CULTURAL PHENOMENON that as THE BEATLES, so it is always interesting when a recent documentary takes a stab at a narrative most fans feel they already have a handle on. RON HOWARD's THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK - THE TOURING YEARS (APPLE CORPS, 2016) as its title suggests is concerned with the influence that their live performances had on the band's state of mind and thus their CREATIVE MINDSET up through their last touring performance in 1966 (famously the band did a one-off final performance in 1969 from the rooftop of their LONDON APPLE CORPS office to a film crew, coworkers and unsuspecting bystanders). 

in essence their two major stateside touring cycles that saw them play to FANATICALLY ENTHUSIASTIC crowds, first in theaters and later in stadiums, drained the band.  though immensely FINANCIALLY LUCRATIVE (as the band made relatively little from their lopsided record deal), these live gigs due to the feverishly impassioned teenage crowds quickly became an UNCONTROLLABLE CIRCUS.  they played  through terrible PAs and could barely hear themselves on stage.  adroitly the RON HOWARD-directed film picks up on the powder keg of a POLITICAL, SOCIAL and CULTURAL MOMENT that was the UNITED STATES in the mid 1960s in the wake of the JFK assassination, CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT and the VIETNAM WAR.  in a sense THE BEATLES found themselves having to deal with issues such as CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS manipulating their words in bad faith with sinister ulterior motives and SEGREGATION at shows in the AMERICAN SOUTH.  i never knew that THE BEATLES refused to play a series of dates starting in FLORIDA id they did not integrate the crowd.  those shows were historically the first integrated events at those football stadiums, which is INCREDIBLE.

luckily for the band members, they experienced all of this as a group.  unlike say ELVIS PRESLEY who went through similar cultural heights all alone.  the band kept each other grounded and when they made a decision as a group they stuck together on such.  they essentially EMPOWERED themselves with the further assistance of like-minded manager BRIAN EPSTEIN, who had their best interests at heart.  that PRESSURE-COOKER live atmosphere of their gigs led to them developing an INTIMATE sense of group cohesion that led to a deep focus when entering the studio.  for them the studio was a place of respite from the press and outside obligations.  it was a site of CREATIVITY and COLLABORATION.

the push and pull of the road and the studio is something i hadnt considered before.  post 1966 the band abandoned live gigs and dove headfirst into expanding their sonic and conceptual palette into a string of records that basically defined their lasting impact on WORLD CULTURE.

just seems TRAGIC in a way that their stateside live gigs where such a DANGEROUS and ultimately UNFULFILLING affair for the band on nearly every level.  seems a bit of a WASTE.  ​

its been almost ten years ago now i was with my godmother, who is a music supervisor by profession, at an NPR radio program being recorded in some long hallway at LINCOLN CENTER watching the surviving members of MUSCLE SHOALS being interviewed as part of a promotional effort for an upcoming documentary.  famously the house band / studio musicians at MUSCLE SHOALS known as THE SWAMPERS played on legendary tracks by ARETHA FRANKLIN, WILSON PICKETT, ETTA JAMES, PERCY SLEDGE and even THE ROLLING STONES.  now MICK JAGGER, KEITH RICHARDS and company namely recorded three tracks off of STICKY FINGERS (ROLLING STONES, 1971) at MUSCLE SHOALS SOUND STUDIO in ALABAMA with THE SWAMPERS including perennial crowd pleasers "BROWN SUGAR" and "WILD HORSES."  during this NPR interview one of the participants was asked about which ROLLING STONES songs he was a part of and could only remember "BROWN SUGAR" and "YOU GOTTA MOVE."  my godmother turned to me and asked me which one he forgot, to which i muttered sheepishly "i think 'WILD HORSES' is the other song."  without hesitation she blurted out "WILD HORSES" in from our position in the back of the audience, heads turned around and then back to the dude on stage who nodded and said something to effect of, "yeah, 'WILD HORSES,' thats right."  my godmother then told me that she knew there was a reason she asked me to join her.  at that moment i was stunned and petrified.

STICKY FINGERS is a legendary ROLLING STONES album that was part of a string of massively influential generation-defining albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s that also includes the likes of BEGGARS BANQUET (DECCA, 1968), LET IT BLEED (DECCA, 1969) and EXILE ON MAIN ST (ROLLING STONES, 1972).  the band, being part of the BRITISH INVASION cohort of ENGLISH musicians (including but not limited to THE BEATLES, THE KINKS, THE WHO, THE YARDBIRDS, THE ANIMALS and so on), were all obsessed with the AMERICAN BLUES traditions of the deep south.  recording at MUSCLE SHOALS during a break on tour provided such an opportunity at a facility and team known for churning out the best BLUES and SOUL MUSIC of the era.  this record is also notable as it marks the introduction of MICK TAYLOR on a ROLLING STONES studio recording and the first since the death of founding member BRIAN JONES.

"BROWN SUGAR" is one of those CELEBRATED yet MISUNDERSTOOD songs. it very much should be regarded as more PROBLEMATIC and CONTROVERSIAL than it currently is.  originally entitled "BLACK PUSSY," its lyrics pretty explicitly talk about the middle passage from AFRICA of a women that was sold into slavery and then raped by her white master.  i mean end stop right there.  but somehow given the mood and feel of the song, many listeners dont consider the lyrics other than it being vaguely about female black sexuality, which is still PROBLEMATIC.  call me crazy, but i always assumed the song may have been about heroin, as there is a later long storied tradition of BRITISH songs that may possibly be about love or heroin, such as THE BEATLES' "EVERYONE'S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE EXCEPT ME AND MY MONKEY," BLUR's "BEETLEBUM," SUEDE's "SO YOUNG" and THE STRANGLERS' "GOLDEN BROWN" among many others.  despite its immense popularity the song has been retired in recent years due to JAGGER's unease with its subject matter as society has evolved over the past half decade.


"WILD HORSES" is similarly considered another classic first-tier ROLLING STONES song on par with "SATISFACTION," "GIMME SHELTER," "TUMBLING DICE" "RUBY TUESDAY" or "PAINT IT BLACK."  its a PLAINTIVE ballad originally written by RICHARDS that was born out of his TREPIDATION for going out on the road after his son was born.  there is some speculation that JAGGER channeled his relationship with MARIANNE FAITHFUL into the track, but at its core the song seems to speak to the sorry inevitability of the longing and HEARTACHE that comes with physical distance.  its not a road song but it kind of is.  i remember reading that this song had a big impact on the next generation of songwriters, especially with poetic upstarts like PATTI SMITH.  the ROLLING STONES did ballads from time to time but this one still stands out amongst their catalogue and is a crowd favorite.

my personal favorite song on the record is "BITCH."  like all the best ROLLING STONES songs, its just all GROOVE with just a hint of MENACE.  my understanding is that the song is all about JAGGER's LIBIDO.  the idea that love is a bit of an unnecessary trouble when he is interested in is getting down.  you cant say that the dude is not HONEST, i mean that is what JAGGER is known for.  and god bless him for that!

so yeah, dont let me be the first one to encourage you to check out STICKY FINGERS.  like the other much-heralded ROLLING STONES records from this period, STICKY FINGERS is pretty much an institution unto itself.  it is most definitely worth checking out.

photo & text by nacrowe

as a child HELP! (PARLOPHONE, 1965) was probably my favorite BEATLES album.  it reminds my of my first visit to NEW YORK CITY as a child when during my kindergarten year my father and i flew out from CALIFORNIA to visit my grandmother in BROOKLYN.  standout tracks like "TICKET TO RIDE," "IT'S ONLY LOVE," "YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOVE AWAY," "I NEED YOU," "THE NIGHT BEFORE" and of course "HELP!" all have soaring memorable vocal melodies that remind me of walks in CENTRAL PARK and the general sense of overwhelming wonder that came with being in the big city for the first time.  it still sounds to me like a soundtrack to the idea of possibility.

historically HELP! marks the end of an early period of songwriting for the group focused on sappy, overly saccharine love ballads.  this record would be followed up in quick succession by the lyrically and sonically more adventurous RUBBER SOUL (PARLOPHONE, 1965) that would essentially mark the beginning of their mature period.  its understandable why JOHN LENNON and PAUL MCCARTNEY decided to expand their lyrical themes and take more compositional risks thereafter, as writing song after song about puppy love is rather restrictive.  and in a sense that sense of restriction, both thematically and in terms of production, is part of the charm of that early run of records.  in the modern era you have bands like THE BLACK KEYS, DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 or THE WHITE STRIPES that take delight in scaling back their instrumentation to two instruments in order to showcase their musical dexterity and supposed aesthetic sophistication.  with THE BEATLES you have to realize that 1) their whole discography was over an 8 year period (which is insane!) and 2) that they took advantage of every technological innovation in music production which still pales in comparison to basic software today.

like with most early BEATLES songs, there is a bit of MISOGYNY creeping throughout the lyrics, most notably "ANOTHER GIRL"  and "YOU'RE GONNA LOSE THAT GIRL" which both have warned statements about the repercussions that come with not pleasing the narrator.  it showcases a sense of uneven POWER DYNAMICS in which the narrator (assumed to be male) has other options available that may be exercised if the love interest doesnt get with the program.  one of them even speaks about taking another's girl just to prove a point that he can, because the other doesn't treat her right.  how romantic.  its always interesting reading these early lyrics because this sense of assumed MACHISMO and outright MALE CHAUVINISM is abandoned after HELP! with few exceptions.

HELP! is required listening, much like everything else in THE BEATLES catalogue.  definitely worth investigation and a revisit for anyone interested in the BRITISH INVASION or just WESTERN MUSIC in general.  oh yeah, and there is a film.  its terrible.  that you can avoid.

photo manipulation by nacrowe

BUDDY HOLLY: RAVE ON (BBC, 2017) is a recent BRITISH documentary that examines the life and work of early ROCK N ROLL pioneer and cultural icon BUDDY HOLLY.  notable interviewees include the likes of DUANE EDDY, SONNY WEST, DON EVERLY (THE EVERLY BROTHERS), BRIAN MAY (QUEEN), HANK MARVIN (THE SHADOWS), DON MCLEAN, ALBERT LEE, DION, PAUL ANKA as well as original CRICKETS JERRY ALLISON and SONNY CURTIS as well as his brother LARRY and his widow MARIA ELENA HOLLY.

what this documentary does a good job of is presenting the scope and breadth what was a tragically short 18 month recording career.  its unfathomable to consider how impactful his short career actually was, profoundly influencing everything that came after, especially the BRITISH INVASION of the 1960s.

being from the small town of LUBBOCK in rural panhandle TEXAS, HOLLY was originally part of a duo with local BOB MONTGOMERY.  after being signed to DECCA RECORDS, MONTGOMERY was let go unceremoniously as HOLLY was determined to be more marketable.  it is an interesting what if in ROCK N ROLL history.  after an unsuccessful stint recording in NASHVILLE, as the machine there didnt know what to do with him (didnt even let him play guitar or participate in arranging his own compositions), HOLLY relocated back to LUBBOCK and started recording with engineer NORMAN PETTY at his studio located across state lines in nearby CLOVIS, NEW MEXICO.  that is where all the iconic early recordings were made including "PEGGY SUE," "EVERYDAY," "RAVE ON," "NOT FADE AWAY" and "MAYBE BABY" among others.

going into this i didnt know about how experimental those sessions were and their impact on THE BEATLES.  essentially PETTY and HOLLY created unique arrangements that include eccentric recording techniques including the use of palm-muting ("THAT'LL BE THE DAY"), chord soloing and rolling patterns on tom-tom drums ("PEGGY SUE"), hands and knee slapping as percussion ("EVERYDAY"), cardboard boxes as percussion ("NOT FADE AWAY") and long intros that precede the opening verse ("MAYBE BABY").  this studio trickery opened up possibilities and gave permission for young emerging artists of the period to utilize nontraditional techniques in making each song sonically unique. 

case in point are the final orchestra-backed recordings he made in NEW YORK CITY weeks before his passing with help from PAUL ANKA including the touchingly intimate "TRUE LOVE WAYS" written about his new wife MARIA.  you get the sense that he was on to something new and attempting a new phase in his development.  his loss is still senseless and tragic more than half a century later, much as his music is still relevant as ever.

in summation, BUDDY HOLLY: RAVE ON is a touching, insightful documentary well worth watching even for the most ardent ROCKABILLY aficionado or BUDDY HOLLY fan.

parodies by nacrowe

watch HERE this recent streaming episode of DEER GOD RADIO on MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC with a playlist dedicated to the BRITISH INVASION bands of the 1960s.  this brief moment laid the groundwork for popular music for the rest of the century and is still relevant in terms of song-craft, production and lyrical depth well into the new one.
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past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO as well as other MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC shows like MAKE HER SPACE, NOWHERE FAST, THE SYNTHESIZER SHOW  and CLASSICAL-ISH WITH NUTMEG are available here at the DEER GOD website.

and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience!

legendary songwriter, musician and THE WHO creative visionary PETE TOWNSHEND is a hard one to pin down, especially after having read his memoir WHO I AM (HARPER COLLINS, 2012).  on one hand he is on a shortlist of songwriters (others being JOHN LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, MICK JAGGER, KEITH RICHARDS and RAY DAVIES) that sparked the BRITISH INVASION in earnest and permanently transformed music in the ENGLISH speaking world in the 1960s.  the scope and naked literary ambition of his rock operas including TOMMY and QUADROPHENIA sought to expand the concept of an album beyond a collection of songs that no doubt found adherents in everyone from PINK FLOYD to GREEN DAY.  genius is thrown around quite a bit these days, but arguably the creative output by TOWNSHEND makes his case for him.

on the other hand he comes off repeatedly like a stuffy, pretentious, self-obsessed, pedantic, domineering asshole who literally goes on for hundreds of pages about the relevance of his solo albums and half-baked musical theater projects and, most damningly gives little to no space in this book to his bandmates.  not to mention this mindset also led him to rationalize dumb decisions that led to his 2003 arrest for charges i wont go into.  i don't know what to make of his devotion to ZOROASTRIAN mystic MEHER BABAR, who claimed to be god in human form.  all i can say is that TOWNSHEND is a supremely gifted silly person, makes total sense why in later life he identified so much with BILLY CORGAN.

​full disclosure: i am familiar with the main records by THE WHO, but by and large i am a bigger fan of their contemporaries THE BEATLES and THE KINKS.  not even close.  not trying to take anything away from TOWNSHEND's achievements, but all the same just wanted to let you know where my biases lie. 

it would seem that most readers are searching for something beyond the recounting of events or achievements when consuming a memoir.  they are looking for some insight into he mindset of the subject.  TOWNSHEND painfully sets up his narrative by talking about the pain and isolation of being part of the post-WWII generation that had to break away from parents who, understandably, sought safety in conformity and limited ambitions after nearly being obliterated by the NAZIS abroad and at home.  i would have loved for him to go into how his lyrical and musical content was impacted by such.  his father was in a big band and TOWNSHEND as a child spent summers watching him play at beachside gigs for tourists.  how did that affect his view of the audience/performer divide?  was he jaded or excited by the act of performing?

there are so many enticing nuggets he throws out there only to be disregarded in a never-ending avalanche of details about real estate, money, cars and boats and will-he-or-wont-he get divorced that just drag on and on and on.  for me this memoir unfortunately suffered from his ego, which he fully admits is huge, since it seems he is trying to settle for posterity his role in THE WHO and the history of western music in the 20th century.  don't get me wrong, he's there as a prominent creative and deservedly so, but by denying the reader anything interesting concerning his bandmates or collaborators just diminishes the power of his own personal glory, which is undoubtedly his goal in this book.  i also found his need throughout the book to root the value of his work by the judgement of ROCK CRITICS to be lame, especially when he would throw demos at them for feedback.  the fact that he also contributed considerable funds to build the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME is beyond pathetic.  who gives a shit what JANN WERNER and his enablers think is good music.  nobody cares about the ROCK HALL or THE ROLLING STONE magazine.  good i got that out.

overall, this book was a bit of a disappointment.  if you are looking to get an insight into the BRITISH INVASION era or rock history in general, i would highly suggest you consider KEITH RICHARD's excellent LIFE (LITTLE BROWN & CO, 2010) memoir (review linked HERE) which both recognizes the efforts of unsung and forgotten heroes (i.e. sideman) of ROCK AN ROLL and also soberly waxes poetic about the evolution of the form from a knowledgeable firsthand perspective.

LIFE (LITTLE BROWN & CO, 2010), written by the iconic ROLLING STONES guitarist / songwriter KEITH RICHARDS is one of the most expansive memoirs by a  musician i have come across in recent years.  it is exceptionally well written and conceived and was an enthralling read mostly due to the scope of its narrative.

following his early life you really get a feel for how early ROCK & ROLL was transmitted abroad and reintroduced by a bevy of talented BRITISH musicians who were steeped and obsessed with forgotten and dismissed stateside BLUES traditions.  in a very real sense, these BRITISH INVASION bands reintroduced AMERICA to her own musical traditions.

for me that early period is the most interesting section of the book.  you get a sense for how hostile the club scene in LONDON was initially to bands exploring the BLUES in the early 60s, instead focused at the time on ROCKABILLY and early ROCK AND ROLL.  THE ROLLING STONES initially were just a group of CHICAGO BLUES obsessives (i.e. the roster of CHESS RECORDS) that aspired to be the best cover band of that music in town.  songwriting wasn't even in the picture for them.  one interesting tidbit during this period was the fact that there was a loose underground collective of record collectors that would play newly imported hard to find vinyl singles at house gatherings.  these obsessives would argue about the authenticity of the artists while RICHARDS and MICK JAGGER were there only to glean off ideas about how to deconstruct the actual compositions themselves.  its hilarious to think that these BRITISH obsessives thought they knew about the BLUES enough to judge them.  its sad that when these musicians (like MUDDY WATERS) came to play ENGLAND they were booed for not fitting the prescriptive view of what a BLUESMAN should look and sound like (i.e. ROBERT JOHNSON).  typical BRITISH snobbery.  but you get a sense of what RICHARDS was fighting against.

this book goes deep into various parts of his career and personal life, as well as his relationship with drugs.  its funny because RICHARDS has a public persona for being a modern-day PIRATE or DRACULA figure who, much like LEMMY KILMISTER, has consumed in inordinate amount of pharmaceuticals and yet somehow has carried on into his elder years.  in actual fact throughout his memoir RICHARDS makes repeated commentary about the mistakes made by others regarding drugs.   he speaks of using in moderation and consuming a base amount to maintain a steady level alertness, something he did to stay up for days on end recording albums in the late 60s and early 70s.  he never upped the dosage in search of a higher plateau.  it was all about stability.

this concept regarding stability also seems to be how he navigates relationships both personal and business alike.  despite his bacchanalian reputation for debauched depravity, i mean he is practically the poster child for ROCK AND ROLL excess, he speaks about things like groupie-culture as less about sex and more about companionship while on the road for years on end, especially in the earlier years.  its counter-intuitive from your expectations going in, but THE DIRT this is not.  he comes off practically like an ENGLISH gentleman.

but again, for me this book is less about the extracurriculars and more about his appreciation for music and the art of collaboration.  in many ways his strength as a musician, aside from his songwriting prowess, is to seamlessly integrate himself into a rhythm section, maintaining the groove without showboating or drawing attention to himself.  they had JAGGER for that, the ultimate peacock.  JAGGER for himself is given praise throughout but also consternation for his betrayal of the band in the 1980s when seeking a solo deal with the same company on the back of a recently signed multi-album deal for the band.  JAGGER collaborates when necessary but ultimately is made to look like a selfish opportunist of the first order, seeking glory for himself which very much goes against the ethos of the band.

i could go because this book is beyond expansive and well-worth the time of anyone interested in ROCK AND ROLL, BLUES, COUNTRY MUSIC or the historical progression of popular music in the 20th century.  can't wait to read JAGGER's perspective if such ever comes out.

parodies by nacrowe

given that the next DEER GOD RADIO show on SUNDAY MAY 24TH at 8PM EST on MAKERARKRADIO.NYC will be celebrating the BRITISH INVASION, it seemed as good a time as ever to revisit a show six months back that was dedicated to the musical and cultural legacy of THE BEATLES.

really what can be added that hasn't already been said about them? 

all i can come up with is that whenever i feel jaded about art or music, like everything has already been done before (and better!), i just go back and revisit the music of the FAB FOUR and i am taken aback anew by how fresh it still sounds more than half a century later.  its still startling. any era of the band.  still hard to believe they were only together 8 years.

reading books, watching documentaries, listening to podcasts over the years it seems i can never learn too much about the group.  their personal failures, political naivety and even trend jumping only adds to their mystique since (as i've said before) they did everything better than everyone else.

anyway, enough of all that.  enjoy THE BEATLES.

italian director MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI has made several canonical films throughout his career, my favorite being L'AVENTURA (CINO DEL DUCA,1960), but his first english-speaking film BLOW-UP (Bridge Films, 1966) created at the height of the mi-60s BRITISH INVASION is a remarkable film on several levels.

as mentioned before it is a document of an all-too brief moment when there was a liberating sense of artistic, cultural and sexual possibility.  at times it is hard for americans to understand british class politics as it is a bit foreign to our culture which is more underpinned by nefarious forces like structural racism and conservative, puritanical, often binary inherited constructions of sexual preference and gender identity.  in england markers of identity such as clothing and regional accents gave you away as being of this or that class, which was often a permanent strike against an individual despite their success thereafter.  once lower class you are always lower class.  in america we may make fun of a unique accent (i'm looking at you LOUISIANA, BROOKYLN and the SAN FERNANDO VALLEY), but we won't let that stop someone from running a company or holding political office.  for this reason i think american BLUES, R&B and ROCKABILLY provided british youth a foreign cloak to don and transcend whatever their class prescriptions were in england's rigid, almost caste-like social hierarchy.

this freedom can be viewed in a legendary scene where THE YARDBIRDS oerform.  this scene is notable as it was shot during the brief moment that JEFF BECK and JIMMY PAGE where both sharing guitar duties (BECK would amicably depart shortly thereafter).

beyond the era that this film depicts and its influence on modern culture, this film also dives deep into the nature of reality as scene through technology.  the film itself showcases a photographer who notices in his darkroom while processing film from a recent photoshoot in a park that he remarkably has evidence of a murder after magnifying, or blowing up, his film several magnitudes.

i think now ideas of HYPERREALITY in the digital age are common place as concepts such as DIGITAL DATA COLLECTION, VIDEO SURVEILLANCE, PAPARAZZI/TABLOID CULTURE and DEEP FAKES have provided means of both documenting and manipulating our belief that what our eyes relay to our brain cannot be relied upon.  our reality can be dissected and cross-examined by a seemingly endless myriad of perspectives to the point now that TRUTH seems like a relative ideal, not based in actual fact.

science fiction has long toyed with this idea of authenticity and the limits of empricism (as seen in the the work of ISAAC ASIMOV, ARTHUR C. CLARKE), as have minds dating back to antiquity (SHIP OF THESEUS PARADOX, PLATO's ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE).  i think were this film excels is that it asks us at what point do we stop trusting our senses and totally bow to the high reality brought on by technology.  i think right now we are still dealing with this question as DIGITAL MARKETING and RESEARCH TECHNOLOGIES of such corporations like FACEBOOK and GOOGLE have already made us subservient to algorithms.  its already happening.

just saying.

this is a classic film that deserves to be watched repeatedly and i highly recommend it.  also, it is worth paring this film with the later FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA effort THE CONVERSATION (PARAMOUNT PICTURES, 1974) as it is a similar premise, except this time dives into audio manipulation.  in a world accustomed to AUTO-TUNE and the wizardry of PRO TOOLS, this film may also strike a chord, pun intended.