It’s amazing how, nearly 40 years after they split, The Beatles remain extraordinarily relevant. Just in the past five years, their music has been showcased in a cult film beloved by teens and adults alike (Across the Universe), provided the inspiration for an elaborate Cirque du Soleil show and its accompanying soundtrack (Love) and served as the basis for a much anticipated Rock Band video game.
And now, as of last week, all of The Beatles’ album have been remastered and re-released for the first time since they showed up on CD 22 years ago. I gobbled those up when they first came out and at the time they sounded great (they were among the only CDs I owned). But when I listen to those CDs now, they stand out as far more muddied and far lower in volume than most of my music.
So I’m thrilled for the opportunity to rediscover those albums, to hear them for the first time the way they were meant to be heard. As I write this, the new CDs have yet to be released… but by the time anybody reads this, I expect to have at least a couple of them in my possession, and a big smile across my face.
So in honor of this exciting opportunity to renew my love of the best band in popular music history, I hereby kick off a new series — Beatles Weekends.
I’ll start things off the way they did, with ‘I Saw Her Standing There,’ the first song on The Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me.
Well, she was just 17,
You know what I mean,
And the way she looked was way beyond compare
So how could I dance with another
When I saw her standin’ there.
Well she looked at me, and I, I could see
That before too long I’d fall in love with her.
She wouldn’t dance with another
When I saw her standin’ there.
Well, my heart went boom
When I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine…
Well, we danced through the night,
And we held each other tight,
And before too long I fell in love with her.
Now, I’ll never dance with another
When I saw her standing there
Well, my heart went boom
When I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine…
Oh, we danced through the night,
And we held each other tight,
And before too long I fell in love with her.
Now I’ll never dance with another
Since I saw her standing there
Meet Me In Montauk 
Well, this was just an inspired idea 🙂 We were at Borders last night, and the amount of Beatles merchandise that was there – lunch boxes, stickers, pins, journals, DVD’s, and, of course, the new CD’s, was extraordinary. That a band as musically worthy as the Beatles is the one receiving this treatment thrills me; they satisfy all criteria necessary to be both icons and beloved and admired musicians.
And you should be able to sail easily through the next two years with your weekends set to go 😉
Oh, and since you forgot to mention American Idol, when listing off all the ways the Beatles remain relevant – and because your YouTube link doesn’t seem to be working right now, I’ll take this opportunity to provide you with a bit of entertainment from Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis. It wouldn’t be until the following year that the songboook would be open for an entire Beatles theme nights (2 whole weeks of them!), but it was fun to know hundreds of thousands of kids were being exposed to such wonderful music in this season finale.
Oh, and Clay, now that you’re considering becoming an AI viewer to watch Ellen DeGeneres, here’s another glimpse of what she and I have been loving over these past years… a complete unknown can take a relatively unknown Beatles song (“She’s a Woman”), be given nothing less than a week to prepare it, then step on a stage in front of thousands of people to perform it, and NAIL it. Watching Chikezie’s reaction – and the reaction of his family – makes me happy every time.
Good stuff, very sweet.
Jordin looks like she could crush Blake with one blow in that first video. 🙂
My clip is working ok for me… is it still now showing up for you?
Wow–what an inspired weekend theme! Love it!
As for the new CDs, you’ll have to let me know if the difference is worth the purchase (and the comments from Alex as you spend a few hundred dollars to buy music you already own:))
Working now… and I’m loving it! 🙂 The clip was showing up before, but it just loaded and loaded without ever playing. Now instant joy!! (except for not being able to see their adorable mop-topped selves actually singing it).
Wow! Now I’m gonna have to visit your blogs on the weekends 😛 This is a really great idea! ^_^ And a great song to start it all off too ^_^