Comments on: Basement Songs: Wings, “Silly Love Songs”

By: John B

John B — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:52:34 +0000

I still question your insanity, but it's a great post, Scott.
Only just picked up on this – been down on the farm in NZ and I almost dropped in on you last week.

By: John B

John B — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:52:34 +0000

I still question your insanity, but it's a great post, Scott.
Only just picked up on this – been down on the farm in NZ and I almost dropped in on you last week.

By: Mclenarr

Mclenarr — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:08:02 +0000

By: Mclenarr

Mclenarr — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:01:02 +0000

By: rwcass

rwcass — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:37:53 +0000

I hadn't even thought about how Lennon would have positioned himself in the political arena, so that's interesting to hear, Elaine. I agree that he probably wouldn't have been a political shill for the Democrats. Have you heard how Todd Rundgren's song “Rock and Roll Pussy” is about Lennon not living up to his revolutionary beliefs and how Mark Chapman took the song way too seriously?

http://www.rhino.tv/page/FeaturesDetail/0,,1253...

I just think Lennon would've made some mediocre music in his 40s and 50s and 60s just like McCartney has. I think he made mediocre music in his 30s just like McCartney. But he's an accidental martyr, so everyone acts like he was infallible. That's what I've never liked about the situation.

I'm sure Lennon and McCartney were jealous of each other on many occasions and that they loved each other very much all at the same time. Friendships can be intense, y'all.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:41:50 +0000

Regarding if John Lennon and lived, I've thought about it. I came to two conclusions: 1) if he still lived all these years in the U.S., he'd have led the way for more non-Americans to feel free to get seriously involved in our politics. (I'm sure you notice that British and Canadian famous people are often shouted down with snorts of, 'what do YOU know about it!' I believe Lennon could have changed that.) If not specifically, seriously involved in our politics, then maybe I'm thinking he'd have bridged a wider gap between our two countries in general. I dunno, it's just a theory. 2) I'll probably get shout-downs myself for this, but I believe John Lennon would NOT have ended up a DNC shill a la Streisand and Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and the like. I've seen things he said, for example about the concert for Bangladesh (which he described as "caca" - search for that word in the article and you'll scroll to it), and the futility of massive fundraising on a global scale. And, by the way, how America takes the rap unfairly. And how wearing the socialist label wasn't something he endorsed. He rightly said, hey, I work hard for my money and I'm wealthy. So what of it?!

So, all in all, I think he was a pretty cool dude who made up his mind based on his brain, not what others were doing and saying in a trendy way. My own opinion is that Yoko has been a bit of an embarrassment to that legacy, but I'm not going to bash her for it. I do recall reading an interview where she said John used to lament that no one wanted to cover his songs the way people seemed to flock to cover Paul's. To find out that Paul was jealous and insecure about John being better than him is a bit ironic.

By: rwcass

rwcass — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:42:41 +0000

Hey, I'M the editor of Scott's post! Them's fightin' words! ... but I'm with Scott in that I'm not sure if you meant what you meant. His "Basement Songs" posts are meant to be about his memories as much as they're supposed to be about a song or artist, so if you were hoping for more Macca info, sorry, but that's not how this writer rolls.

Anyway, Scott and I, in the editing process, were talking about how much trash is talked about McCartney, and I said the only thing that bothered me recently about him was when he supervised "Let It Be ... Naked" in 2003. I told Scott I don't like when people George Lucas-ize their past work, but he said that McCartney was the one who convinced the group to do "Let It Be" when they were on the verge of breaking up; I've seen the footage (outtakes?) from the "Let It Be" documentary of Harrison getting mad at McCartney for telling him what to do when it really just seems like McCartney's trying to get the damn project going in the first place. I didn't envy him in that position.

As for the public thinking it must've been great being Beatles, yes, it's easy to think that, but anyone who's been in a band or on a team or even in a sketch-comedy group like I have knows that it ain't no fun being in a group after a while, and just because the final product of your work turns out great doesn't mean your painful memories of arguments and resentments are suddenly golden.

I'm rambling. Edit THIS, McLenarr! (Just kidding, but as you can see in my first comment in this thread, I thought your name was Scott based on your punctuation. I'd have a field day editing you, sir ...)

By: Mclenarr

Mclenarr — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:59:05 +0000

Hi, Iv'e never thought about what if it had been the other way round…On the evidence of Double Fantasy i'm glad it wasn't…I'm glad you responded like you did you sound a lot more moderate than me. I'm new to this kind of site, infact i've only been on-line a week. They definatley made up after the acrimony of the break up. I think for us to look at them we can't understand why they weren't just loving being the Beatles. That's another thing about the critics they don't realise that Mccartney kept the prestige of the Beatles singles success going for the last 3 years. So, maybe John was jealous of Hey Jude and Get back. And that got in the way of his enjoyment of playing on Pauls songs. There's still a real mystery to what happened during the White L.P sessions. Ive read loads about the Beatles and you never him much specific…just that there was a lot of tension. I only found out recently that Paul didn't contribute to She said she said 'cause he'd walked out after an arguement!!Anyway, i'm also a member of Beatles number 9 fansite if you want to check out some of the stuff there. You'll definatley make a good contribution. I'm going to try and get to grips with this site…I don't even know what it is…
Bye baby bye> Subject: [Disqus] Re: Basement Songs: Wings, “Silly Love Songs”> From: > To: stephenguest4> Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:14:06 +0000> > rwcass wrote:> > McCartney is given a lot of shit in the U.S. as well, Scott, and I sometimes wonder: What if McCartney had been murdered in 1980 and Lennon had lived? How would people view his Wings material then? I'm not sure, but Lennon certainly has the martyr factor working in his favor, as crass as that may sound. I do think it's unfair that Lennon was always seen as “the true artist ” while McCartney was treated more like a guy who could just crank out the radio-ready hooks whenever he needed to, as if that sort of thing doesn't take artistry or talent.> > I'm just glad to know that despite the things they said about each other in the press after the Beatles broke up, Lennon and McCartney did remain friends. I'm sure they weren't as close as they had been before, but even the friendships of mere mortals fade in intensity over time.> > Link: http://popdose.disqus.com/basement_songs_wings_...> > –> You may reply to this email to post your response. To turn off notifications, go to your Disqus settings at: http://disqus.com/settings/notifications/
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By: Malchus

Malchus — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:44:55 +0000

I'm not quite sure what needs editing with the piece. In no way was I trying to diss Paul McCartney. In fact, I absolutely love Paul's post Beatles music and give all of his record s a chance. For every “World Tonight” here is a “Spies Like Us.” I appreciate your passion and devotion to Paul, Mclenarr, but I'm a little confused by your closing statement.

By: rwcass

rwcass — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:13:46 +0000

McCartney is given a lot of shit in the U.S. as well, Scott, and I sometimes wonder: What if McCartney had been murdered in 1980 and Lennon had lived? How would people view his Wings material then? I'm not sure, but Lennon certainly has the martyr factor working in his favor, as crass as that may sound. I do think it's unfair that Lennon was always seen as “the true artist ” while McCartney was treated more like a guy who could just crank out the radio-ready hooks whenever he needed to, as if that sort of thing doesn't take artistry or talent.

I'm just glad to know that despite the things they said about each other in the press after the Beatles broke up, Lennon and McCartney did remain friends. I'm sure they weren't as close as they had been before, but even the friendships of mere mortals fade in intensity over time.