Beatles’ rock band gets a release date.

Fire up your XBOX 360’s and get ready to rock the wiimote Rickenbakcers and Casios my friends.  The Beatles are coming soon to a video game console near you.  It looks like I may need to finally upgrade my video game system because of this.  I am still running an Nintendo 64 and an XBOX. 

The time has come to upgrade and this may be the thing that pushes me to do it.  9.9.09 catchy.  John’s lucky numbers just seem to pop up everywhere even after he’s gone.

Here’s what we’ve read.

The music of the Beatles will arrive as a playable video game for the first time on September 9, 2009 when The Beatles: Rock Band hits stores in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The game, which will be available for Xbox, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii on the same day, “takes players on a journey through the legacy and evolution of the band’s legendary career,” according to a press release issued by the title’s makers, Apple Corps, Harmonix and MTV Games. While there’s no playlist or word about venues and avatars, there will be a limited number of instruments issued that are modeled after guitars, basses and drums John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr used (regular Rock Band peripherals will be compatible, too).

Three offerings will be released on September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band software; standalone guitars; and a limited edition premium bundle that will presumably include the game and some configuration of instruments. And there’s an incentive to pre-order now: the game’s makers say exclusive content will be accessible to those who reserve the game in advance through major retailers over the next few months. The game’s official Website is active and promises updates.

Paul McCartney: A Fireman Interviewed.

Paul McCartney has been on nothing but a roll with his latest string of albums.  OK, really since Flaming Pie, he’s been on an outstanding run that has been nothing but outstanding.  Those late-career solo albums are all simply stunning.  It’s really hard to find a true clunker in there at all.  His latest masterpiece, while not a proper McCartney solo album, is one his best solo releases period.

The same can be said for interviews as of late with Sir Paul.  Since his divorce Paul has approached the media with a sense of openess and reflection that we have not seen or heard for many many years.  Yes, sone of Paul’s interview answers are canned and retreads, but ever the public figure, Paul is able to always give us new insights into his mind, and life.  Ever informative and entertaining.

Here’s what we’ve read.

I imagine you know who Paul McCartney is, but here are some recent data: He’s 66 years old, single and financially secure. He recently released Electric Arguments, the third album by Fireman, an ongoing McCartney side project that represents the former Beatle’s foray into trance and dance music. Composed of McCartney and British producer/deejay Youth, Fireman opens its third full-length release with “Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight,” a tune that features the most bone-rattling vocal McCartney’s delivered since “Helter Skelter.” The first time I heard it on the radio, I thought it was Jack White. Not bad for a 66-year-old. On the occasion of the album’s release, McCartney agreed to a short chat.

L.A. WEEKLY: At what point did you become an adult?

PAUL McCARTNEY: When my first baby was born.

How old do you feel emotionally?
Twenty-five.

What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve overcome in your life?
Linda’s death.

What was it about Linda Eastman that made her such a stabilizing force in your life?
She was just such a supercool girl. She just was. She was supercool.

Do you believe in destiny?
Yes.

Paul on The View: He keeps two personnas + VIDEO.

Could you imagine spending your entire adult life being one of the most famous people on the planet?  Truthfully, as much as I would wish and dream for it, it must be total hell.  I imagine you have to be a pretty guarded individual.  You have to constantly worry about the things you say, and the things you do in the court of public opinion.

I really don’t find what Paul says as too revealing.  It’s his way of coping.  I just find it interesting that he twists it around to focus on The Fireman.  Yes, we know that Paul’s creative muses have many faces, but it’s a bit of it as a stretch to say it’s another personna.  Yes, The Fireman-leanings of Paul McCartney are different, but it’s still a McCartney record afterall.  Just a thought.

Paul on The View (Part I)

Paul on The View (Part II)

Here’s what we’ve read.

Paul McCartney keeps fame from driving him crazy by maintaining two versions of himself.

McCartney tells ABC’s “The View” he separates the real Paul from the famous Paul. He says Famous Paul does the shows and Real Paul goes home and watches TV.

McCartney releases “Amoeba Secret Show” on CD.

It looks like Paul McCartney will have a new EP coming out in a week or two.  Yes sir, the Paul McCartney vinyl-only EP from Paul’s secret Amoeba gig last year is finally coming out on CD.

The CD tracks will be the same as the vinyl EP — “Only Mama Knows,” “C Moon,” “That Was Me” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” The bonus tracks from the show used on the “Ever Present Past” CD and vinyl singles will not be on the CD, Henderson said. The artwork will also be the same as the EP, he told us. Two of the tracks are nominated for Grammys — “That Was Me” for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance and “I Saw Her Standing There” for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. The Grammy Awards will take place Feb. 8.

Paul McCartney’s “Amoeba Secret,” the vinyl EP recording of his live show at Los Angeles’ Amoeba Records on June 27, 2007, that’s nominated for two Grammy Awards, is quietly coming out on CD Jan. 27, according to a listing at Amazon.com and other online retailers. That’s just in time for the Grammy Awards show Feb. 8, likely the only reason this is coming to CD at all.

The Grammy nominees from the disc are “That Was Me” for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance and “I Saw Her Standing There” for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. Those two tracks comprise half of what was on the original vinyl EP release — “Only Mama Knows” and “C Moon” were also on it.

One listing we saw said the CD will contain just the four tracks of the vinyl, though two other tracks from the show, “House of Wax” and “Dance Tonight,” were added to the vinyl and CD single releases, respectively, of “Ever Present Past” from the album “Memory Almost Full.” Here’s an idea: Why not release the whole show?

Several online sources explicitly rumored that the EP would never come out on CD or digitally. I guess that truly was only a rumor.

• Check out the amazon.com listing for the CD.  It looks like you can make a pre-order at the site.

Another year and no Beatles under the Christmas tree.

We all hope that Santa Claus brought you several Beatle goodies under the Christmas tree this year, and you all were able to ring in the New Year with a loved one.  The end of this year was a bit odd.  As of late, Beatle fans have had a few items to put on their Christmas wish-list.  This year was a bit unique.  We were treated to a new, and stellar, McCartney album, a Beatles monopoly game, a White Album puzzle, and the All Together Now DVD.  But really, there was no truly HUGE gift worthy item under the tree that really got us going.

There wasn’t a new album that was released as a Christmas item, there really was no big item officially from the Fabs to make us reorganize our Christmas lists. We do hope that Santa was good to you this year, and that you had a wonderful New Year, and that 2009 is a truly good one for you and yours.  We have a lot to look forward to as Beatle fans as we face a new year.  We still have the possibility of  the remastered back catalog being released and you all know how much that gets us speculating and drooling.

• Let us know all of those goodies that Santa left under your tree. We’d love to hear in the comments below.

Here’s what we’ve read.

If you still believe in Santa Claus, you might also have expected to wake up on Christmas morning and find an iPod stocked with the long-promised reissues of all the Beatles albums. But if you know the shocking truth about Santa, you probably know that the vaunted Beatles reissues don’t exist either, outside the vaults of EMI, the group’s record label, and Apple, the company the band set up in 1967 to oversee its interests.

Other long-anticipated Apple projects, such as DVD versions of the Beatles’ Shea Stadium concert and the Let It Be film, also failed to turn up for the holidays. If you put any faith in Paul McCartney’s passing mention, in November, that the 1967 avant-garde track “Carnival of Light” might be released, don’t hold your breath: This track has been dangled before (about 10 years ago, when McCartney used it as the soundtrack of an unreleased “photofilm,” made from photographs of the Beatles taken by his first wife, Linda).

Indeed, whenever McCartney releases a new album (as he did the week “Carnival of Light” was mentioned), reports of “long-lost” Beatles tracks that “might be released” suddenly surface, but the recordings themselves do not.

Even the most believable of reports, floated by EMI insiders, proved fruitless last year. During the summer EMI was said to be preparing a deluxe remastered edition of the The Beatles (popularly known as The White Album) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release. The anniversary came and went, with no sign of the reissue.

Sir Paul McCartney: sort out Beatles iTunes deal

The advent of a new year is always a time to reflect on the year(s) past, but it’s also a time to look forward as well.  As Beatle fans we have a lot to look forward to as we wait hopefully for the remastered Beatle catalog.  Fans have specculated for years.  Fans have made their own deluxe compilations, often rivaling the officially released products (ahem-Purple Chick collective).  Rumors about the fabled release of the Beatles back catalog have been around for decades now.

The time is now to release them.  Put them out on iTunes, put them out on CD, heck put them out on Blue Ray I don’t care.  Just put them out.  As the world continues to turn, The Beatles are missing the boat.  At this point the boat has come back and sailed off twice over.

With such a good set of recent releases from Paul and Ringo this past year the fire is hot.  Just put those puppies out.  I have a feeling that 2009 will bring fans a treasure of remastered material.  We’ll have to stay tuned.

Ahh the joys of being a Beatle fan.  I guess part of the pleasure is in the waiting. Happy New Year folks!

Here’s what we’ve read.

SIR Paul McCartney has called for an end to the deadlock stopping Beatles fans being able to download their back catalogue.

The Fab Four’s work is not available online due to legal wrangling between two companies – Apple Inc and Apple Corps.

The former is the firm behind iTunes and the iPod, while the latter was set up by Sir Paul with the rest of The Beatles in 1968 to look after their affairs and recordings.

He said: “I hope it happens.

“It is out of our hands, really. It is a business thing and there is some gridlock somewhere.

“It is the usual thing – when it is a Beatles deal, it is a big deal. It is not like we are just some new act.

Inebriated Lennon tape grab 30k at auction with AUDIO.

No this may not have been John Lennon’s finest hour, but it certainly is a fun listen.  If you haven’t heard any of the bootleg or outtakes from John’s fabled “lost weekend” then you me dear friends are in for a fun inebriated ride.  I personally find the drunken ramblings of an ex-Beatle playing the moldy oldies quite hillarious.  You have to give John credit for trying to get through these.  Ahh to have been a fly on the wall.  The “lost weekend” outtakes are some of my favorites out there.

Plus, it’s really funny to hear John sing about nipples.  Enjoy!  The tape has been leaked onto youtube in both stereo and mono.  To those of you who are fans of the Lost Lennon radio tapes show this tape should sound a little familiar.

John Lennon – Just Because (mono)

Here’s what we’ve read.

Maybe it wasn’t John Lennon’s best musical effort, but a tape of an apparently inebriated Lennon warbling a cover of Lloyd Price’s “Just Because” brought a sobering $30,000 at auction Sunday in Los Angeles.

John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono, seen here in 1969 at a Paris Flea Market.

New McCartney/Fireman album to be re-issued.

Folks, if you have not already purchased, or gotten Paul’s newest album, Electric Arguments, then you may have a reason to hold off.  Or,  if you are a collector of all-things Beatle related, then you may have an excuse to get a second copy for your shelf.  It looks like Paul is, yet again, re-issuing his album in another format.  Do we really need another version of the same album?

Probably not, but this album is so good, we just may have to buy it twice.  Yeah, we really do like it that much!

Here’s what we’ve read.

Save up those pennies, folks. The Paul McCartney-Youth Fireman album “Electric Arguments,” already available on CD, in mp3 form and on vinyl LP, has been in stores on CD just about a month and we’re told it’s already being reissued. McCartney’s press office tells us the slipcase is changing and new copies will be in stores, either in the UK or U.S.,  this coming week.

The White Album: 40 Years Later

As the year draws to a close many of us spend time reflecting on the year, and our own past(s). As 2008 draws to a close it is a time to look back and celebrate a year, and usher in a new beginning.  Many times we are caught looking back to a time of yesteryear.  For some, it’s a way to relish a past that we were not able to experience first-hand.

In this way we are able to celebrate a collected past and come together.  This year, we celebrate the storied and varied anniversary of the Beatles’ White Album.  While I, personally, was not around to experience it first-hand this essay allows me to relive the magic once again.

As we look towards the time of year where the white stuff is flying in the air for some, we look back at the panorama of rock and roll that is The Beatles’ White Album.

Special thanks to John Kays for sending me the link to his wonderful article.

Here’s what we’ve read.

1968 was a year of dramatic change. A few of those pivotal events were: the Tet Offensive, the Paris war protests in May, the killing of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, as well as a blossoming partnership between John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I will link a helpful timeline of 1968 for you, so that you can gain a working knowledge of events for that turbulent year. The Beatles` White Album, which turned forty a few weeks ago, was a quintessential reflection of that era; I still remember that day (11/25/`68) clearly as if it was yesterday. This double album contains, by way of kinetic expression in pop song, much of the energy of 1968.

Now rewind the fragile reel tape back to the day. Just a week before a comment from a colleague at Jesuit Prep piqued my interest, “Did you hear John, that a new Beatles` album is set for release next week?” I got in gear and did some yard work to earn ‘record money’ and also rolled some quarters, dimes, and nickels in anticipation of B-Day. I was fidgety for several days, and invented ways in my mind that the new songs might possibly sound. I reviewed all of the older records so that I would be well oiled to make accurate assessments for the new release. This was a Standard Operating Procedure of that day.

12 Days of Beatle Christmas: Second Day- Paul ‘s Electric Arguments

Paul McCartney is arguably on the greatest streak of his solo career with the latest installment in his catalog.  OK, OK we know that this is not an “official” McCartney album, but it is by far his most accessible Fireman long-play.  It is also our dear Paul at his most adventurous.  It’s almost as if he was listening to his people this time.  I can imagine them saying, take those risks, Paul.  When you think you’ve gone too far out there, go out a little further.  It’s exactly the type of album that I’ve always wanted Paul to make. 

If you haven’t gotten it yet, and why not people?  Then you have to have it in your  Christmas stocking. Maybe the elves will leave you a McCartney treat.  The reviews have been nothing but stellar.  Any McCartney fan worth their salt should be buying this album for their music friends.

Here’s the scoop on the album if you haven’t read enough about it yet.

Electric Arguments is the third album by The Fireman, an experimental music duo comprising Paul McCartney and producer Youth. The album was first announced September 29, 2008, on Paul McCartney’s Web site, and was released on November 24, 2008.[1] It is the first Fireman release to be publicly acknowledged by McCartney, and the album cover features both names of the contributors.

The album, unlike the earlier albums, features prominent vocals. Each song on the album was recorded in one day, the album itself done in only thirteen days, spread over the course of a year.[1]

It debuted at #79 on the UK Album Charts, marking the first appearance for The Fireman in the British charts. They also made their inaugural appearance on the Billboard 200, reaching #67.

The duo borrowed the title “Electric Arguments” from the poem “Kansas City to St. Louis” by Allen Ginsberg.[2] Ginsberg describes driving along the highway in a “white Volkswagen” (i.e., a “beetle”) while listening to music and call-in shows on the radio and looking at signs and billboards:

“Michelle, John Lennon & Paul McCartney / wooing the decade / gaps from the 30s returned / Old earth rolling mile after mile patient / The ground / I roll on / the ground / the music soars above / The ground electric arguments / ray over / The ground dotted with signs for Dave’s Eat Eat”[3]

Thus, “electric arguments” refers both to the radio waves carrying talk-show arguments and also to illuminated billboards and neon signs.

Notably, the album contains songs titled “Traveling Light” and “Highway” (apparently echoing the Ginsberg poem). Also, in the brief few lines at issue, the poem contains a three-time repetition of the phrase “the ground” in the context of “electric arguments” “over” (and Beatles music “soar[ing] above”) the ground; and, indeed, The Fireman’s first album consisted solely of variations on McCartney’s album Off the Ground.

Contents [hide]
1 Track listing
2 Release history
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Track listing
All tracks written by Paul McCartney.

“Nothing Too Much Just out of Sight” – 4:55
An edited version premiered on Radio One on 9/29/08.[4]
“Two Magpies” – 2:12
“Sing the Changes” – 3:44
“Travelling Light” – 5:06
“Highway” – 4:17
“Light From Your Lighthouse” – 2:31
“Sun is Shining” – 5:12
“Dance ‘Til We’re High” – 3:37
“Lifelong Passion” – 4:49
Was available briefly as a charity download for Adopt-A-Minefield.[5]
“Is this Love?” – 5:52
“Lovers in a Dream” – 5:22
“Universal Here, Everlasting Now” – 5:05
“Don’t Stop Running” – 10:31
The song ends at 5:54; a bonus track (the style of which resembles earlier works by The Fireman) begins 7:57
“Sawain Ambient Acapella (iTunes Bonus Track)” – 4:53

Here’s what we’ve read.

SHARE A ‘LATE BREAKFAST’ WITH PAUL McCARTNEY…THEN FINISH OFF YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!

HMV are very proud to announce that music legend Sir Paul McCartney will make a personal appearance at their London Oxford Circus flagship store, 150 Oxford Street next Sunday, 21st December 2008 between 10.00am – 11.00am to sign copies of ‘Electric Arguments’, the new highly critically acclaimed album by Paul’s under the guise of The Fireman.