Friday, March 21, 2008

I'm Just a Giver. I Really Can't Help Myself!

So yesterday over at Whatever, we played "What's your favorite Beatles song?" In that spirit, I'll ask what's your favorite "Post Beatles" song. This is open to solo careers, mashups like the Traveling Wilburys, etc. The only rule is that the ex-Beatle involved has to have been one of the writers.

I'm going for George Harrison's Wah Wah. I really don't know why. The lyrics don't make a lick of sense. I just like the sound of it. Here's two versions for you. The first is from The Concert for Bangladesh. The second is from The Concert for George. It doesn't sound quite as good as the George Harrison version, but just look at what a blast they're all having playing it. And Ringo Starr and some other guy I probably should recognize are just beating the living crap out of those two drum set. Enjoy. Oh, and you can't sync them up. I tried. (Woulda been cool tho, huh?)




20 comments:

Jeff Hentosz said...

Easy choice, paradoxically. "It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr. Close runner up is "Photograph" by same Mr. Starkey.

I would have put the "No No Song" forth for the silver, but that was a cover.

Ringo is my favorite ex-Beatle. I like Harrison, too (the SNL thing -- showing up alone to claim the $400 or whatever -- was the coolest post-Beatles Beatles gag ever), and I enjoy me some "Crackerbox Palace" from time to time.

Lennon is my wife's favorite former Liverpudlian. I deem "Number 9 Dream" pretty good.

That's it. The other one -- name escapes me -- started off meh and got worse through the years. That duet with Michael Jackson? So the biggest post-Beatles embarrassment in my not-really very humble opinion.

Nathan said...

Jeff, I had intended to write my opinion of the "post" careers and forgot to.

Lennon and Harrison continued to put out some of the best music of their time. Ringo had some cool stuff and hey, its Ringo. He totally has goof-cred. (I did see him on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson a few weeks ago and he was...not good. His backup band all looked like they wanted their paychecks right now and a ticket home.

Paul? Jayzuz! His post-Beatles career has had one or two decent moments, but for the most part seemed to be plumbing the depths of suck.

Nathan said...

And I really hope you were joking about the No No Song.

Jeff Hentosz said...

X-D

Dude, I was in middle school when the "No No Song" came out, and was a big Cheech y Chong fan (though I never imbibed, myself). I love the "No No Song."

Can I still hang out here?

Nathan said...

You're on double-secret probation. You're supposed to grow out of some of that stuff.

Eric said...

Now that's a much more interesting question than the one Scalzi asked!

At the risk of cheating, I'm going to name Plastic Ono Band in its entirety because I think it works very well as a concept album: it pretty much covers nearly all of the territory Roger Waters would later cover on Pink Floyd's The Wall in half the time and with a much more mature denouement on the track "God." This is something I'll eventually get back to on my own blog when my little "Oh By The Way" series gets around to The Wall.

If I do have to narrow it down, I guess I'll pick "Working Class Hero" off POB: leave it to John Lennon to make scathing snark towards his own fans sound like a vicious self-flagellation. The genius of the song is that it's not really directed at the listener, and yet it totally is. Brilliant.

Random Michelle K said...

I loved the Traveling Wilburys.

But I have to say that for sheer happiness value, my favorite song is, "I've Got My Mind Set On You" by George Harrison, not just because it's catchy, but it evokes a memory full of goofy high school students (actually the football team [I was a student trainer]) and the team goofball dancing down the aisle singing that song directly to our (fat and often cranky) coach.

Mind you, our football team only had 14 players (actually, 13 by that time, with one guy out due to a spinal injury [he was okay, just forbidden to ever play contact sports again]) so we were all pretty close, but mostly that moment was so absolutely silly, every time I heard that song it still makes me smile.

And apropos of nothing, I may have mentioned I went to a Catholic HS. our mascot was the Trojan (unfortunate in so many ways really, I mean, why name your team after the LOSERS in the battle? Am I missing something?) so when we played another Catholic school, the even less fortunately named Immaculate Conception High School (I think there is something seriously wrong with Catholic schools--I mean something beyond the obvious) my friend and I, when making the signs to hang in the halls (we didn't even have cheerleaders that year) made a giant sign that said: "TROJANS STOP CONCEPTION!"

Unfortunately, the vice-principal tore it down the next morning, but she laughed when she told us it was probably inappropriate.

Steve Buchheit said...

Sorry, gotta go with "Imagine." Although "Instant Karma" is a close second.

Nathan said...

Michelle,

Thanks for that.

Jeff Hentosz said...

Awesome sign, Michelle. Another X-D, for you.

Interesting question about the Trojans as mascots. Maybe because it was a group of Trojans who survived the war who went on to found Rome in The Aeneid? People who established our schools in the 19th and early 20th centuries would have been much more discerning readers and appreciated subtleties like that. But I can't be bothered to Google the subject because I'm busy here trying to Hijack™ Nathan's Beatles thread. Unfortunately for me, though, I can't. The truth is, I just realized Aeneas and his boys were the original "Band on the Run." So I'm on point despite my best efforts.

I'll get you next time, Gendzier! And your pretty blog, too!

Nathan said...

Everybody's out-clevering me on my own damn blog. No fair. :(

Random Michelle K said...

Nathan,

You're welcome. :)

Jeff,

Thanks a lot. Now I'm going to have to try harder to finish Herodotus's' The Histories, so I can go back and read Virgil's Aeneid and Ovid's Theogony.

Because I have apparently forgotten everything I read in them.

Of course, finishing The Histories quickly is going to b difficult, because it is BORING AS ALL GET OUT. I'm on book four and the only thing that's been any good is that it puts me right to sleep after stressful days.

But still, I mean the only one who came out of that whole mess relatively unscathed was Odysseus, and it took a heck of a long time for him to get home, and he arrived to find the wolves at the door panting after his wife.

I mean really, I think the hero of the whole thing is Penelope. At least she's the only one who seemed to have her plans work out well for her.

Umm...

Err....

And, after all that she should have sung "Handle with Care" to Odysseus?

Random Michelle K said...

Ringo Starr played on the video for Tom Petty's song "I Won't Back Down"

So that's my winner.

Nathan said...

Rules violation.

Ringo didn't co-write it. Doesn't count.

Random Michelle K said...

Drat.

I really wanted to work Tom Petty in here somehow. :)

Tania said...

Caveman! That's my favorite post-Beatles vehicle.

Oh. I bet you meant a song. C'mon, if they could make Hard Days Night as a group, I should be able to count Caveman.

John the Scientist said...

I can't stand the sophistry of Mr. Lennon, pre- or post-Beatle breakup. "Imagine no possessions". Yeah, right asshole, imagine the entire population of the world treating the entire world like a public park. Who's going to clean up the garbage?

I've gotta go with "My Sweet Lord".

Eric said...

"He's So Fine" is better.

Nathan said...

John,

In all fairness, he was stoned out of his gourd for a while there. Thankfully, there's no permanent record of some of my stark raving lunatic ideas from my college days.

Eric,

Watch it or you'll be joining Jeff on double-secret probation. XD

kimby said...

"Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon.

It is one of the only songs post Beatles that i like from any of them.
(although My Sweet Lord isn't too bad either)