The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.

-George Washington-



Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Goo Goo Googley

Two Rules!

1 - For each question, type the answer into Google search.
2 - Post a picture from the first results page (I used the "image search".)

1.
Age at next birthday




2. A place I'd like to travel





3. My favorite place





4. My favorite object





5. My favorite food





6. My favorite animal





7. My favorite color





8.Town where I was born



I was surprised to see this come up on the "Elgin, Il." search. This is the house on the corner of Liberty & Chicago, one of the grandest in this old blue collar town. I used to know the couple that lived in it, but we didn't really hit it off as friends.


9.
Town where I live





10. Name of a past pet





11. First name of a past love



Mine was a redhead, though.


12.Best friend's nickname



I have no idea why this came up in the search, since I wasn't looking for "Hulk", "Leader," or "Comic Book Guy." It was the most interesting one to come up, however.


13. My screen name





14. My first name





15. My middle name





16. My last name





17. Bad habit of mine





18. My first job





19. My grandmother's name





20. My college major






Now, some of you may be thinking that I cheated on at least two of these, not actually Googling the pictures, but you're wrong!! I only cheated on one.

As you know, I don't normally tag people for memes, preferring to let people choose for themselves what they'll blog about. So I'll only tag O'Tim.




Posted at 08:03 am by Joe_the_Troll
(8) Billy Goats  




Friday, December 07, 2007
O.K., maybe I'm dumb, but I have to ask.



What the hell IS that thing?????????

Posted at 11:26 am by Joe_the_Troll
(11) Billy Goats  




Thursday, December 06, 2007
Trolling the Studio : Traffic's "Low Spark" Sessions




I can still remember the first time I heard The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. I was in high school, and it must have been my senior year because I had just smoked a bowl in the basement. When I came upstairs and went to my room, my buzz was just starting to kick in, and I flipped on the radio. That song was playing, and that hypnotic, steady bass line dragged my ass right down to the floor. I sat there like Buddha - cross legged, eyes closed, and letting every beautiful note wash over and through me. I've been a Traffic fan since. I still don't know what the song is about, but here's a boatload of theories to start with.

While Traffic was a band with a distinguished career and many great albums, Low Spark just seems to stand out. The entire thing is great from start to finish, and most of it was available to FM listeners of the day. I remember at least four of the LP's six songs getting regular play - a ratio even today's most popular releases do not enjoy anymore. It was the band's most successful album in the U.S. Not bad for a band everyone had given up for dead many years before.

I was fortunate to see the core of Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi (and I'm not sure who else, certainly not Chris Wood, who was long dead, or Dave Mason, who was in Fleetwood Mac that year) reunite as Traffic in 1994, when they toured as the opener for the Grateful Dead. While I frequently blew off the opening acts in favor of the parking lot scene, I made sure I was in to see Traffic both nights. I'm glad I did - both sets were fantastic (despite the poor live performances I've heard on some older boots) , and as of Capaldi's passing will never happen again.  Unfortunately this was post Brent GD, therefore no big Dear Mr. Fantasy jam, which sounds just awesome in my imagination.



Aside from Winwood (guitar, keys, vocals), Capaldi (percussion, vocals) and Wood (sax, flute) the band also consisted at this point of Rick Grech (bass, violin), Reebop Kwaku Baah (percussion) and Jim Gordon (drums) who is the unfortunate lunatic I referred to in yesterday's final clue.

The music I'm sharing today comes from the Low Spark sessions at the Olympic Studios in London in 1971. I'm sure there is plenty more - this is just one disc and doesn't cover all the songs on the album. It does, however, include three "unknown jams" and demos for a couple Capaldi tunes that Traffic never did (he may have done them solo, I don't know.)

While I wish I could post a nifty version of Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, I can't. The version here has some different percussion, and the sax solo doesn't sound exactly the same, but the piano solo does, as do the vocals. Overall, it's not that different from what we know. I can share a completely different arrangement of the album's single, though. Rock & Roll Stew has long been one of my favorite Traffic tunes, and this alternate arrangement is cool as hell. It's a little simpler and less layered than the release, and feels a little more like a straightforward rock song.


Capaldi, Reebop Kwaku Baah, Winwood

The next is one of the unknown jams, all of which are cool. This is the third and longest, and it features the Muscle Shoals Horns. It's called Unknown Jam #3 w/Muscle Shoals Horns. I swear, I have no idea where they come up with these titles. What do you think of it?





At the last minute, I've decided to include a third cut, simply because it it so unlike anything Traffic ever actually did. In fact, it sounds more like something Arlo Guthrie would do. It one of the Capaldi demos, and is a solo acoustic, very folksy sounding tune. It's called Easter Weekend demo #2. According to Google, this bootleg is the only way to hear this song, because no Capaldi albums came up in the search. Oh well. I do have to say that I enjoy the novelty of an acoustic guitar demo from a drummer!



Posted at 04:39 am by Joe_the_Troll
(13) Billy Goats  




Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Musically Speaking.......



Have you seen what O'Tim & Jefe are up to? You should!

Are you in the Christmas spirit? Nat is! She's not doing the same old same old, though. She's posting a different Christmas song every day, and so far there has only been ONE that I've heard before. If you think you're ready for some new tunes this season, Nat's is the place to be!

And if that isn't enough to soothe your savage breast, return here tomorrow for a new Trolling the Studio, where I'll explore one of the most popular albums of the 70s. Any guesses?

Posted at 12:49 pm by Joe_the_Troll
(13) Billy Goats  




Saturday, December 01, 2007
American Asshole: November


Add myspace games at GameDip

Whaddaya think? New American Asshole theme song?

Well, as if Blogovia didn't have enough assholes by itself, here are some from the news! Remember, anonymous votes don't count! Aside from that, ANYONE can vote. Here we go!

Dog the Bounty Hunter - Nice way to talk about your son's girlfriend.

Rep. Carla Blanchard Dartez - Nice way to treat someone who's doing a job for you.

Fred Phelps - I'm glad you're finally getting yours. (3)

Sen. Hillary Clinton - Why not just require a loyalty oath while you're at it? Is anything you say real?

UHP trooper John Gardner - When people don't help the police because they don't trust them, you're part of the reason why. (1)

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee - Cheap shots do NOT make good Presidential material. (1)

Lori Drew - If you can't be given prison, I hope at least you're never given one moment's peace for the rest of your life. (10)


Below and to the right is another poll, as well! You can't say I never asked for your opinion!

Posted at 06:50 am by Joe_the_Troll
(24) Billy Goats  




Friday, November 30, 2007
It's poll time!

Here's the results of the last poll:

Entry: Gallows Poll



Should the kids be charged with murder?
yes, that's what it was.
23%
No, it was an accident.
46%
Other - explain in comments.
31%
Total Votes: 13
   8 comments

 Posted by Miz UV @ 10/30/2007 11:36 AM PDT
It sounds like an angry impulse that went all wrong. The original charges were harsh enough, so I say just keep those. I don't think the kid should go unpunished.
 Posted by Cody Bones @ 10/30/2007 12:07 PM PDT
As the parent of a teenage boy, and lets be honest, these situations are about boys, I feel qualified to give an answer. Teenagers do NOT have the mental capacity or the same maturity as an adult. Their brains are not fully developed. Does this mean let them off scot-free, NO. There is a juvenile court system in place for this type of ACCIDENT. Lets also be honest. This was an accident, this kid did not mean to kill his father, he needs therapy more than anything. We set the age of maturity at 18 in this country, why do we charge children as adults? I don't know anyone who thinks that it's a good idea. Kids are stupid, and I defy anyone reading this post to say that they never did anything stupid as a child, or even things that might have caused arrest or bodily harm. USE THE JUVENILE COURT SYSTEM. IT"S THERE FOR A REASON.
 Posted by Lucyp @ 10/30/2007 12:48 PM PDT
Although he threw the pole at his father, murder seems too harsh a sentence and i would call it manslaughter at the very most. Here the age for criminal responsibilty is 10 and in Scotland it is 8 which makes for some interesting thoughts on different countries views.
 Posted by nat @ 10/30/2007 04:53 PM PDT
I'd agree that the original charge might be more in line. I, too, parented a teen boy, and those angry outbursts can be somewhat unexpected and quite severe. I have heard doors slam, seen fists go through hollow doors, etc. Once he grew a bit older, his hormonal outbursts mellowed, though. I mean, the dad sounded like a REAL piece of work, so how do we know that the guy wasn't egging the kid on in some way? Can't you just hear drunk/drugged up loser dad yelling something at the kids as he pulled away?
 Posted by O' Tim @ 10/30/2007 10:52 PM PDT
Though I'm loathe to align with the numbskull newscasters, I'm having a hard time seeing that lightweight aluminum pole piercing a skull with a throw that ostensibly had a hang time long enough for the dad to spin the truck into a target zone. Were there any witnesses? The kid's explanation sounds fishy.
 Posted by Cheezy @ 10/31/2007 01:10 AM PDT
I voted 'Other' because it wasn't an accident, but I don't think it has too many of the hallmarks of actual murder either. For a start, as you say, there is the age to consider...

So I think any reasonable lawyer could get the kids off a murder charge... even without having to resort to 'the Chewbacca defence'.
 Posted by raejane @ 10/31/2007 09:11 AM PDT
I vote 'other' also.
It wasn't accident. The kid clearly wanted to throw it at his dad.. his intent, however, was not to kill him.
They should be punished, but not for murder.

Gawd... they are probably hurting so much right now.
 Posted by Sinja @ 11/03/2007 05:14 PM PDT
I actually feel pretty terrible for the kids, and the whole family in general. I don't think any punishment should be too severe, and they shouldn't be tried for murder. I think something more along the lines of involuntary manslaughter to be tried as juveniles.

I can't stress enough how much these kids need therapy, though. The drinking and drug use by their father (and I'm sure other members of their family and/or environment) puts them in a frame of mind that cannot be viewed as anywhere near competent emotionally.

While some felt it was murder and should be treated as such, they didn't really comment. I thought Cody's comment was spot on - we have set these benchmarks of maturity - 18 for war, 21 for beer - yet we will grant a child adult status for the purpose of punishment.

I won't worry too much about these kids, though. Remember this one? He'll be out when he's twenty one, based on evidence of abuse that came pretty much just from him. Certainly the teenage girl deserved better, if not the mom and dad. Plainly put, I saw no reason, in that case, why a juvenile sentence should not extend past the age of 21, but that's the way it is. The white ones usually tend to get a break, it seems.

And so, thanks to Cody Bones, we have the topic for another poll. Thanks, Cody!




Posted at 10:53 am by Joe_the_Troll
(2) Billy Goats  




Thursday, November 29, 2007
Mark F. is really a cocksucker. (Updated) (and now edited to assuage the Whiner's bruised little feelings)

As many of you know, Mark and I have not always gotten along. In fact, we came out of the gate fighting as soon as we met. Despite that, we started getting along when his dog passed on. Having recently put a beloved cat to sleep, I wrote him a consolatory e-mail. We became friends after that, but as you all know, it didn't last.

Now, in return, when my dog was put to sleep, I heard nothing from him. When my MOTHER died, he actually MOCKED her on his blog. He took it down later - far be it from a coward like him to actually stand behind his cruelty. He knows, as we all do, that mocking someone's dead mother is about as low as a piece of human shit can be. But several people saw it including Paula and DangerDoll.

Many of you are aware that I recently lost my job. The company was bought out by Xerox, and having nothing to do, the President who had founded the company moved on to start another one. After that, the "restructuring" began. MY position, along with several others, was eliminated. A couple managers got it, too. I have been granted a referral from the company, and the former President is one of my references. If I were fired for cause, I would not get unemployment, but I do. There has been no advertisement for my position, because it was the position itself that was eliminated, along with the manager's. There was no enmity against me.

So imagine how I feel when I see this posted at Mark's.

Buy A Clue With That Severance Pay

Gee, maybe you got canned for fucking off on blogs all day when you were supposed to be working. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Merry Christmas!

Domain Name comcast.net ? (Network)
IP Address 68.35.161.# (Comcast Cable)
Visitor's Time Nov 28 2007 9:47:04 am

(BTW, stupid, people who are fired for cause don't generally get severance pay.)

First off, yes, I looked at his blog. I do that because he keeps writing about me. He has this obsession, you see. If you don't like it, Mark, why not be like your cowardly lawyer friend and go private? IT'S A PUBLIC BLOG YOU ARE POSTING ON, YOU STUPID FUCK. EVERYONE HAS A LEGAL RIGHT TO LOOK AT IT. YOU'RE JUST MAD BECAUSE I DON'T ALLOW YOU TO LIE ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK.

Beside this, it shows what I've been saying all along- that Mark is a PHONY. How many times has he gone on about shadenfreude? He loves to tell everyone that he is above taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others. But what about the above? WHAT ABOUT MOCKING MY MOTHER'S DEATH? What about any actor he doesn't like who has a bad time. He does it constantly. He thinks that just SAYING he has a quality makes it so. It doesn't. It just shows what a liar and a phony he is.

Besides, who thinks this guy has ANY information about my work? Any whatsoever? Just because he can make something up, he thinks he can make others think it's true. That's called a LIAR.

Has everyone had enough of this cocksucker yet? I have. Yet still some will still want to associate with him, because it "isn't your problem." If that is how you feel, please make sure that I am no longer your problem as well. I'm sorry, I've had enough. There are people who tell me not to react, but those people aren't a target for lies and abuse every few months. If you think that Mark has a greater right to throw stones than I have to defend myself, then let's just leave each other be.

If you go here, you can see the site he's posted for his work. See the phone number?

It's {Mark posted this number himself, but since he's a sniveling little cocksucker he whined to Blogdrive about me having it and made them threaten me to take it down. I wonder if they blew his nose and dired his little pussy tears, too}. That's the number to call if you ever want to tell him what you think of cowardly, dishonest phonies that shit all over Blogovia and make things less fun for all of us.

Now go to the White pages reverse lookup page. Drop that number in. What do you get? You get this.

Or you can Google the words "Mark F. (edited due to whining) carpenter" and look at the last entry on page one.

You see, Mark has frequently lied, as have at least two of his female friends, about how I posted his address and put him in danger, however, that is false for two reasons.

First, being publicly listed and posting a phone number as he did, he himself made the information public. Do you see any information here that it would take a detective to find? No, anyone smarter than Mark - which includes my cats- can find this info that HE has provided.

Second, if his family is in danger, it isn't because of me. It's because he traipses from blog to blog being a petty, dishonest asshole. People don't dislike him because he is always so right about everything, and OH, SO courageous in calling it like it is. People dislike him because he is rude, obnoxious, and abusive.

Oh, and I'm not removing this publicly available information this time, Mark. FUCK YOU. If you don't want to be endangered, it's time to stop being such a prick and start treating people with the respect you want for yourself. In other words, stop deserving it. Try not being a hypocrite for a change.

The fact is, you're jealous. You're jealous because, despite how much you want everyone to hate me, you can't do it. You're mad because when you try, you only lose more friends yourself. You're jealous because everyone knows that on your BEST day you cannot out-debate me on my WORST day. I mean, look at Cody's blog. You couldn't answer my last comment from a week ago, could you? You aren't SMART enough. You're mad because I have logic and facts on my side when all you have is neo-con lies and assumptions that you want everyone to see as facts.

And you're mad because your own actions have shown people what a petty, pathetic, cowardly, lying little phony you are. Don't like my saying that? Then come here and shove these words down my throat like you said you would six months ago, you loudmouth pussy. You have my address, right? Oh, that's right - you were only willing to threaten, not act, unless I came to YOU.

How typical.

Update: Hey, look! Dingleberry posted an update. It says this:

UPDATE: Visitor's Time Nov 29 2007 7:26:34 am

I guess someone's learning to be a pest on his own time now...Amazing what happens when your boss puts his foot up your ass in the form of a pink slip. Better luck in that next Habitrail habitat you manage to slither into. You might leave the pot at home, too...


Once again, he claims information he could not have, proving he made it up. Never mind that the managers I answered to either retired before the lay-off or were laid off with me. And that remark about pot?

Well, that's another thing Mark is jealous about. He had a long-running love affair with drugs and alcohol once, but found that he wasn't able to handle them.He must hate it when he meets someone who can smoke pot, drink, and still be at work everyday, along with going to college part time and getting a 3.94 GPA. That kind of self-control must just burn him up.



Posted at 08:11 am by Joe_the_Troll
(46) Billy Goats  




Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Separation.

I saw this in the news today. Like the case of the woman in Saudi Arabia, this is sure to have lots of Americans wringing their hands in rightful indignation.

What's darkly funny, however, is that a lot of people who will condemn this vocally (and don't get me wrong, I DO condemn it) are folks that want to see America made a "Christian nation", as they will tell you it started as, officially. Many more are supporters of the Iraq war, which is also laughable.

They will tell you that this is why Islam is a "gutter religion." I say it is exactly why NO religion should be in any government whatsoever.

After all, does anyone with any objectivity in the matter actually believe that if the separation of church and state were removed, that this could not happen here?

Look at the things that HAVE happened here. Slavery. Women as second class citizens. Jim Crow. The Japanese-American prison camps. The weakening of the Bill of Rights. The loss of habeus corpus, the very cornerstone of liberty. Terrorist bombings on American soil, mostly by Americans, and many by Christians.

The fact is, anything, be it good or evil, can happen here. There is no such thing as "It can't happen here." People who say that are not just wrong - they are lying, and they know it.

I have no doubt whatsoever that if this becomes an official "Christian nation", we'll see similar things happen here. Perhaps not flogging, but what religious country is NOT going to outlaw disrespect for their God? Do we think that the same people who get upset every year because December is not strictly about Christmas will not stick you in jail for a week or so for saying "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas? Is it so unlikely that church attendence would become mandatory?

I mean, it must be what these people want. There are already laws against Biblical wrongs such as murder, theft, and perjury - those things that harm others. What else would the religious right want in tearing down this wall, if not  mandated respect for their religion, and  all Commandments codified into law? What other point could there possibly be to this excercise? What else do they have to gain by it?

And Iraq  now has a more Sharia-based government than it had four years ago, thanks to us.  Sure, we saved them  from Sadaam, only to turn them over to someone worse - themselves. Many of the people who claim that this is exactly what we're fighting against will miss the fact that this is exactly what we've helped to spread.

So while I think that the sentence - hell, the law itself - is a travesty, I must argue against those that will see this as an example of Christianity's superiority over Islam. People are people, and religious people are religious people. If we had no separation between our government and religion, we'd have the same type of laws here. 

To put it succinctly, "There but by the grace of the Founding Fathers go we." I really wish more people could appreciate that.


You can't run a country
By a book of religion
Not by a heap
Or a lump or a smidgeon
Of foolish rules
Of ancient date
Designed to make
You all feel great
While you fold, spindle
And mutilate
Those unbelievers
From a neighboring state

Frank Zappa


Update: The stupidity begins at CNN.com. Go here and scroll down, looking at the right side of the screen. See the "Quick Poll"?

Can anyone tell me the point of taking a poll in a non-Muslim country about what constitutes blasphemy in a Muslim country? OF COURSE very few people will see it that way HERE, you morons! The fact is they are not obligated to care what we think about it, as we don't care what other countries think of our laws.

In fact, we expect people from other countries to know and obey our laws when they are here, do we not? We don't make exceptions for laws that these people consider ridiculous.

When an American was to be caned in Singapore for graffiti about 15 years ago, most Americans had no problem with it. Go there and break their laws, you deserve the punishment, they said. Many said that America should be more like Singapore. Corporal punishment gets results, they said.

Well, how many of those same people will have that same attitude about THIS law? Very few, I'd wager. After all, the Singapore thing was about damage to property. This is only about disrespecting someone else's God on their own turf.

Posted at 08:47 am by Joe_the_Troll
(14) Billy Goats  




Thursday, November 22, 2007
Trolling the Underground : Alice's Restaurant.



I was thinking about this song today, as I do every Thanksgiving. If you don't know why that is, you need professional help - the help of a professional CD retailer, that is. Alice's Restaurant is both a folk and a protest classic, and in many homes a Thanksgiving tradition.

The song is based on a true event in Arlo's life, and on real people and places as well. There was an Alice, she did live with her husband in an old church, and she did have a restaurant, although it wasn't called "Alice's Restaurant." Eighteen year old Arlo and his friend WERE busted for illegal dumping on Thanksgiving, 1965. While Arlo exaggerated liberally, the tale has still endured for 40 years as a folk favorite and anti-war anthem.

So I wasn't surprised to see a torrent available today that was entirely composed of underground versions of Alice's Restaurant. This torrent is a testimony to Arlo's uncanny ability to ramble on and on in the most entertaining manner, even when you can tell he really isn't rambling toward any particular destination. There were a total of four, ranging from 1966 to 1984, and there are two that I think you should hear this year. Don't worry - it won't be redundant. Not at all.


This is the church in Mass. where Alice lived with her husband. Note the bell tower to the left .

I've chosen these two versions because they not only sound great, being FM versions, but also because each one will be a new listening experience for you no matter how many times you've listened to the album. And I mean a new experience.

The first comes from Gerde's Folk City in NYC (in fact, this might be a soundboard recording rather than an FM recording, I don't know) sometime in 1966. That puts it a year before the album was released, and it is very obvious that the song was still in the development stage. In fact, the elements that we would consider the main parts of the story are missing entirely. What the song consists of, mainly, is a far greater elaboration on another element that you will know from the album, and I think you'll be very surprised to hear what element it was that dominated the early version of the song. At a mere 13:33, it's about 5 minutes shorter than the studio version also. You can get it right here.

The second is from The Bob Fass radio show in May of 1967, just three months after Arlo played a more faithful rendering of the song on the same show. This is entirely different from the first or the official version. First, this version has piano accompaniment, which changes the entire texture of the song. With just a guitar, it is a very folksy song, but the jangly piano in the background brings an aura of New Orleans honky-tonk that changes the face of the familiar tune completely. Not only that, but the story is entirely different.This is, in fact, sort of a sequel to the original story. It's called Alice's Restaurant Multi-Colored Rainbow Roach Affair, and is a bizarre story involving the restaurant, brightly colored insects, and cold war espionage. It's only three seconds longer than the 1966 version. It has to be heard to be believed. Hear it here.

Of course, we know what Arlo was smoking when he came up with it, right?

The other two versions I downloaded were much more faithful to the album, although one has plenty of improv in it and comes in a almost 25 minutes. Maybe I'll post that one next year. For now, what do those of you who know the song think of these two alternate takes? You have the floor.


Arlo was John Travolta before being John Travolta was cool.


Posted at 03:37 pm by Joe_the_Troll
(4) Billy Goats  




Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Trolling the Studio : The Esher Tapes



I was scratching my head, a little dumbfounded as I pored over my list of underground recordings. While I've had two people refer to it as a "library" due to its size and variety, I had found a glaring hole in the collection. I sat and wondered how I had managed to amass a collection of almost 1500 entries without a single Beatles bootleg. I set out to rectify that oversight immediately.

And rectify I did.

I find it mildly surprising that stealth recordings exist for a lot of their shows, since the shows themselves were so long ago. It's likely that these recordings were made with reel-to-reel decks, and one has to admire the guy who can sneak one of those into a venue. I'm amazed that boots from the Cavern Club days even exist, but they do.

Now, this stuff sounds like you'd expect it to sound, perhaps even better. It IS listenable, after all, and may be very interesting. The examples of live Beatles were very poorly seeded, however, so I gave all but the Cavern Club tapes a pass for now. They'll be back.

Much better sounding and far better seeded were the studio gems that I found.

Now, there are a lot of things Beatle that I can't get, because so much has been released. Just about every possible bootleg has missing parts because of official release, even if it's just a 10 second sniglet in the Anthology video. Frustrating that is, but what is still out there is very interesting. The first part I'll share is called the Esher Tapes. This was the best seeded boot I found - the torrent has been active for two years already and still had over 50 seeds. This is popular music.



The tapes were recorded after the Beatles famous trip to India, where they went to explore Transcendental Meditation and probably score some hash. The main three writers of the band had been busy in India writing new tunes. When they returned, they all got together at George's house in Esher to lay down the demos. There seems to be a lot of conjecture about why George's house was chosen, since they usually worked on their music at John or Paul's. There are theories regarding John and the boys being unwelcome at John's since Cythia had just caught him with Yoko, theories involving Paul's recent meeting with Linda, and theories about George having the best equipment.

Why does anyone care why? They went to George's. He had a four-track.

The three of them then spent a week or so seperately recording the tracks that they had written in India. They were able to overdub themselves, so each demo has background vocals and accompaniment, as rough as it may be. While several of these songs were unused,  the lion's share of them ended up on the White Album. These recordings are the first ever made of these songs. They were made not only for EMI, but also for the other members of the band to hear. Thus, the first time any Beatle heard a song that another Beatle wrote for the White Album, it was via these very recordings.



Of the original 30 tracks, 20 are still available in the underground. Most of those that didn't make it to the White Album popped up somewhere else later, though in several cases you can see why they didn't make the cut. Many of the ones that did make it were very similar to the finished arrangements, especially Paul's. It still sounds cool to have an acoustic version, though, especially knowing that this is the song's very first realization.

Going through it, I selected three songs that stand out - one for each Beatle that was recording in this home session. I'll start with John.




This song, called Child of Nature, is one that didn't make the cut, possibly because of a thematic similarity with Paul's Mother Nature's Son. Lennon sure must have liked it, though, because there was a fuller version done during the Let It Be sessions (oh, yeah, I downloaded what's left of that, too). It didn't make the cut then, either. John must have had an earworm for it, though, because it did get used, eventually, with completely different lyrics and a different title. A Beatle or Lennon fan should recognize the melody - do you? If so, you may be surprised at how long that melody had been around.




As I mentioned, the Paul songs were basically all mapped out from the get-go. Adding the other members and tweaking a lyric or two is all they got. This cut, however, is a lot of fun to listen to, because it was obviously a lot of fun to make. Of course, I always got the impression that the Beatles had a great time doing Obla-di, Obli-da. With the pressures that the band was under at the time, this stands out as a sign that they were able to get away from the things that were bothering them (most notably Cynthia Lennon and Paul's soon-to-be-replaced fiance) and get down to the music.

This track is also fun to listen to because it's so fucked up. Paul completely botched the mixing of his two tracks, and the synch is quite entertaining to listen to. He still gets the song across, though, and obviously has a lot of fun doing it, and that fun is readily contagious.




I saved the best one for last.

The true gem in this musical jewelry box has to be George's While My Guitar Gently Weeps. It is a beautiful, soft, but truly haunting rendition, very folksy and thoughtful where the finished version is heavy and woeful. The lyrics are different. This version is considerably shorter as well, mostly because they didn't have Eric Clapton on hand to do that blistering, wailing guitar solo quite yet. This is the one cut that I had to listen to again as soon as it was finished. I'd like to know what you think of it.

It just goes to show - in a library, there's always just a little more shelf room.



Posted at 11:00 am by Joe_the_Troll
(7) Billy Goats  




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