VIDEO: Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl rock the Grammy awards.

In case you missed it, Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl ROCKED the Grammy Awards last night.  This wasn’t Paul and Dave’s first time together performing in recent memory.

“I Saw Her Standing There” (Feb 2009)

Here’s Paul and Dave Grohl live together at Anfield from last year in case you missed it.

“Band on the Run” (June 2008)

No Paul did not win a grammy award for His Amoeba EP, but it was an outstanding star-studded night.  Checkout the complete list of winners here. As the article indicates, it was a mini-British invasion of sorts with several Brits snapping up many many awards.

Dhani Harrison set to hit Coachella.

Not only will Paul McCartney be playing Coachella, but George Harrison’s son Dhani will be playing Coachella with his band thenewno2.

Get more info about thenewno2 at Dhani Harrison’s offcial website, and also thenewno2’s Myspace page.

Tickets for Coachella are on sale now and can be purchased through the festival’s website or Ticketmaster.

McCartney to play at Coachella

Paul is no stranger to performing at festivals, as we all have seen at the Glastonbury festival a few years back, but this announcement comes as a bit of a surprise.  The Coachella Festival is the hipster of all hipsters.  We have to admit that it’s a little strange to hear that a Beatle is playing at this cutting edge festival.  It’s a little weird to be hearing  Portishead or Sigur Ros and even Morrisey in the same breath.  There are hipster indie bands, and then there is the thought of a Beatle.

I guess it’s most strange knowing that Paul never, at least late in his career, aged as a “cool” guy.  He always held his artistic credibility, but did many things that are quite cringe-worthy.  That cool factor kind of dropped a bit.  In recent times, though Paul’s cool temperature is red hot.  He’s got several artistic and adventurous solo albums, and has also produced a remix album, and avant-garde album under a different moniker that would make the coolest hipster nod in approval.  Maybe a Fireman tune or two will make a Coachella appearance as well, it’s nothing too much just out of sight.

Here’s what we’ve read.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival got famous by presenting the sounds of today and tomorrow. But this year California’s most celebrated live-music event is gambling on Paul McCartney and the music of “Yesterday.”

Booking the former Beatle, who is listed in the record books as the most successful musician in pop history, would be the safest choice imaginable for most music festivals. But the internationally respected Coachella festival, which is set for April 17-19, has been pulling in crowds of more than 140,000 fans by taking an edgier path with alt-rock heroes you would hear on a college town’s pirate radio station.

Presented with a chance to tap into music history and veteran star power, the promoters have signed the 66-year-old icon, who personifies the mature pop mainstream. The move could help the festival compete amid a grim economy and a host of imitators that have sprung up across the country; the news of McCartney’s presence — for better or worse — instantly will make Coachella a hot topic with music fans nationwide who have been anxiously awaiting the list of this year’s headliners.

What remains to be seen is whether the choice will cost the festival credibility with its core clientele: young fans who are more likely to listen to the White Stripes than the “White Album” and who are far more familiar with Rage Against the Machine than “Band on the Run.”

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.

Snoop Dogg asks Paul for some help.

I can only imagine what the conversations between a rap icon and Paul McCartney would go like.  Maybe they’d share a bit of the hippie lettuce, and talk some football.  Somehow, I don’t really see that happening actually.

It looks like Snoop is having some visa problems, and wants Paul to give him a push to get past the ban.  Nothing better than a character witness in the form of a football legend and a Knighted musician.

Here’s what we’ve read.

US rapper Snoop Dogg has called on footballer David Beckham and former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney to help overturn his UK visa ban.

The rapper has faced continued visa problems following an altercation between his entourage and police at Heathrow Airport in 2006.

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.

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.

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.

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.