All Those Years Ago

It's easy to forget that The Beatles—the band and the pop culture phenomenon as we know them—were only active for ten years. So much happened in that decade, the ever-intriguing and dynamic Sixties, including the elevation of the Fab Four to unfathomable heights of stardom. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, & Ringo Starr, especially with the passage of time, seem easier to perceive as icons rather than human beings. 

The Beatles: young & not-so-young.

They are, of course, mere mortals (despite what individuals such as myself may want to tell you). In fact, one of the more interesting trajectories seen in The Beatles' career—if you step away from the music itself—is the physical aging process of the four men who comprised arguably the greatest and most influential rock band ever.

All things considered, The Beatles were still boys when they began their meteoric ascent through the ranks of the music industry: George Harrison was just 19 when the group scored their first number-one hit in "Love Me Do." But as the years went by, as they were forced into sharing hotel rooms during the height of "Beatlemania" and into making difficult decisions such as retiring from touring to devote themselves fully to the artistic process of recording, they aged rather rapidly into mature adults. 

Ten years, for just about any other band, could have passed for twenty: 12 studio albums, 20 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, 5 feature films, and innumerable stylistic, artistic, and philosophical transformations. Going strictly by the numbers, The Beatles were remarkably busy during their active years as a band. And the hard work showed: in their unprecedented success & on their faces.

The Fab Four in the early days: pre-mop top in 1962.

When the group disbanded in 1970, its most senior members, Ringo Starr and John Lennon, were just 30 years old. Paul McCartney was 28 and George Harrison had reached the ripe old age of 27. However, in the photos from the band's final shoot at Lennon's Tittenhurst Park home in August 1969, they all appear much older: aged by the trappings of superstardom, by artistic & business disputes, and—yes—by facial hair. 

What a difference five years makes: 1964 vs. 1969.

Although none of us are free from the heavy hands of time, one must admit that John Lennon's transformation between 1965 and 1967 was jarring (and even more so between 1963 and 1969). 

Lennon ('65 vs. '67) & Harrison ('64 vs. '70)

And George Harrison, once a fresh-faced Liverpudlian lad living in the shadow of the vaunted Lennon-McCartney duo, more closely resembled an Orthodox priest when he embarked on his post-Beatles debut, All Things Must Pass.

Some would have it that their changes were merely the result of drug abuse: tobacco, marijuana, amphetamines, LSD, cocaine, even heroin—The Beatles were familiar with all of them on some level. But drugs were far from the only factor: just look at their touring schedule. 

They played nearly every day of the year in 1963 and released two studio LPs. Then, in 1964, they embarked on their first world tour, additional tours in the UK, USA, Canada, and Europe, and still managed to release A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale. More of the same in 1965: international tour dates & two more albums, Help! and Rubber Soul. 

It's no wonder that the band decided to stop touring the next year. It happened to be around then that the "Paul is dead" urban legend came about — well, if that grueling schedule didn't kill him, it at least aged him a few extra years.

The Beatles, of course, stayed active in their last four years together, putting out seven of their most ground-breaking records yet: Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, The Beatles ("White Album"), Abbey Road, and Let It Be. 

By comparison, Eminem—the top selling artist of the 2000s—has managed to release eight records over the course of 18 years.

And so, The Beatles as they appeared in 1969 at Tittenhurst Park were probably burned out: from a decade of constant travel, performance, and exceptional creative output. 

Their career mirrored the era in which it existed: high-paced, full of inspiration & change, and exhausting for those who lived through it.

John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, & Ringo Starr at Tittenhurst Park. August 22, 1969.

A Sampler of Samples

Many have expressed frustration over the lack of originality in Hollywood lately, a trend that has been echoed to some degree by the music industry. The good folks at Universal, Sony, and Warner have been rehashing the same hit singles longer than ‘NSync patriarch Chris Kirkpatrick has been around (the old one, not the Fatone).  Their cyclical hit-peddling can be owed in large part to the use of sampling.

For those of you who haven't listened to any music released after the mid-1970's, a sample is "an excerpt from a musical recording that is used in another artist's recording" ("sample"). In the 1960's, bands such as The Beatles pioneered the use of tape loops (rhythmic or textural parts pre-recorded onto magnetic tape), setting off the psychedelic era of rock music ("Tape Loop"). Within a decade, DJs began manipulating vinyl on two turntables—an experiment in sampling that led to the proliferation of the electronic and disco music, profoundly influencing the sound of current pop & hip hop music.

Thanks, sampling.

Since vinyl exists mostly for hipsters and old people nowadays, most sampling is performed using computer programs. Rhythm breaks from existing songs are traditionally used to construct beats for new songs (see: James Brown’s “Funky Drummer,” sampled by the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, Sublime, and others), while melodic loops are utilized in more conspicuous ways (see: “Under Pressure vs. “Ice Ice Baby”).

Predictably, the use of sampling has prompted both legal and artistic controversy (most recently, over the similarities between Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” & Marvin Gaye’s 1977 classic “Got To Give It Up”).

While I’ll leave the moral and creative aspects of sampling to your own judgment, I will say that works prominently featuring sampled recordings can act as a gateway into the historical catalogue of music.

I promise you, his song is better.

The essence of History lies in viewing the past through the lens of the present, which sampled music allows us to do on a fundamental level. The following recordings are reconfigurations of past music that are analogous to modern historians’ interpretations of past events.

 M.I.A.- "Paper Planes" (Sampling "Straight to Hell," by The Clash)

 The Sugar Hill Gang- "Rapper's Delight"(Sampling "Good Times," by Chic)

Notorious B.I.G.- "Big Poppa" (Sampling "Between the Sheets," by The Isley Brothers)

  

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"Sample." Def. 3. 2013. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Web. <http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/sample>.

"Tape Loop." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tape_loop>.

The Photographic Past, Part I

Photographic images possess the unique ability to provide an intimate, tangible glimpse into the past. Though primary sources such as letters, newspaper articles, speeches, and legal documents provide us with invaluable information, photos often provoke emotional responses that are specific to the medium.

Photographs hold incredible story-telling potential. The atmosphere of conquest surrounding the meteoric success of Nazi Germany in the early stages of WWII is eerily perceptible in this picture of Adolf Hitler in Paris, France. Conversely, the ominous despair of the French people-on the cusp of their nation's darkest hour- is obvious in the eyes of this civilian. Even if these pictures do not tell the complete story, they offer a very compelling snapshot at the very least.

And with that I offer to you the first installment of "The Photographic Past," an exploration of some of my favorite photographs throughout history.

The Great Sphinx, partially excavated, sometime between 1857-1899. In other words, when it didn't look like this.

George Harrison, Abbey Road Studios, July 21, 1967. What were you doing at twenty-three years old? George was only writing & recording arguably the greatest album of all time.

Pablo Picasso was cooler than you or I could ever wish to be. Seventy-five years old, and Brigitte Bardot is positively swooning.

Just a little good natured American propaganda- God Bless it. 

Babe Ruth and his brother Gabe... never mind, that's Al De Vormer. 1921. (P.S. Who's best dressed, the Babe or Russell Westbrook?)

A fascinating view of the unfinished US Capitol in 1863-64, at the height of the Civil War.

Yale Rugby star George W. Bush delivers his famed right hook, nicknamed "Foreign Policy." The opposing player was later shot by Dick Cheney. 1966.