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Sunday, December 27, 2020

Fab Foundations # 50: “Peace. Love. Understanding”

(Personal reflections inspired by Beatles songs)

 Song: “All You Need Is Love”
Album: Released as a single
Release Date: July 1967


A snippet from a 1987 Rolling Stone Magazine interview with George Harrison:
Rolling Stone: “Do you still think that all you need is love?”

Beatle George: “Yes, absolutely!”

While pulling together my thoughts early this past week for this final Music and Memory blog entry, a personal late-1960s recollection slowly surfaced to the top of my consciousness. And as the week played out, my mind pieced back together that memory; a day when I was no more than 6 years old, walking with my ~ 4-year old brother Joe in the woods behind our rural ranch home in Franklin, Massachusetts. There were sections of that woods where all of us kids were very comfortable and familiar with, but if we veered off the beaten path to the left (in the direction away from our home) we tended to get disoriented. We called this area the “Lost Forest”. It was a dark and forbidding forest, dominated by stately White Pine trees and little-to-no undergrowth.

Most of the time, my siblings and I (along with a few friends) avoided this area like the plague, but curiosity and boldness occasionally trumped our fears for mad spells, and in turn we would make brief forays into the Lost Forest. Each and every time, it would not be long before we would get disoriented and fearful. Eventually, after some trepidation (which probably felt much longer than real time), we would fumble and stumble our way back to familiar ground (or, Mom would track us down and insist we keep our explorations within the confines of our roughly defined backyard). I’m thinking we were never more than 50 yards from the house, but in our mind, when we entered the Lost Forest, we had crossed into another dimension.

On the occasion that came back to mind this week with Joe alone, the two of us were feeling particularly curious and bold, and so we ventured our way deeper into the Lost Forest than we had ever ventured before. As I reflected this week, I recalled the disoriented feeling that crept in as we hiked up and over a small ridge. On the other side of that ridge was a bubbling brook and hanging out beside it were a handful of young adults. Both the guys and gals had long hair, and they were wearing funky loose clothing, which included beads around their necks. The lot of them were sitting around a small firepit with a transistor radio emitting cool music. Several tents were set up a bit farther up on the opposite bank. These dudes came across as friendly right off the bat, and after a brief exchange they sensed our fears of being lost, whereby they guided us back from whence we came.

My world was an innocent and insular one at the time, and so this was my first encounter – both physically and metaphysically - with the then hippie subculture of America. My young mind actually equated these hippies to Native Americans, and in many ways, I believe I got it right. Afterall, they were surrounding themselves with the natural world, while in the process separating themselves from the material world. In essence, they were establishing an environment - however temporary - that would allow them to connect more readily with their true inner selves. Amazingly I sensed all this at a very young age, although I now believe that that association was quite natural for a then innocent mind like mine to make.

As mentioned before in these blog pages, that hippie subculture – of which those groovy cats represented - had a profound effect on those of us who came of age in the 70s, which personified itself in the music we loved. Another way of putting this is, we didn’t toss aside the music that came immediately before us, as so many other generations have done. On the contrary, we embraced it. And, we added to it with our own fantastic dose of profound music. In this way we ended up with a double-decade-barrel of musical potency to tune into. In the past 13 years, I have tried to capture in writing how that uniquely intense musical world I lived in (and continue to live in) has played out.

Every musician and band that I focused on this Music and Memory blog site was originally known for brilliant output in the 1960s, and all of them continued to produce great stuff into the 1970s and beyond (which incredibly includes the here and now for each and every one of them). 

I started with the Rolling Stones in my 2012 Stepping Stones series. As with all my yearlong series, there were 50 Stepping Stones entries in all, and as with all my series, I would listen only to that given musician’s music all year long (in this case, the Stones). Of all my musician-centric listening/writing ventures, Stepping Stones would end up being my most fun one. I loved revisiting life-changing albums such as Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Some Girls, and Tattoo You. I loved diving deeper into Between the Buttons, Black and Blue, and Bridges to Babylon (I just realized all 3 of these album titles hit you with a double “B”).  I made the breakthrough I always wanted to make with Exile on Main Street as a top-10 rock and roll seminal album (this breakthrough came about ½ way through my Stepping Stones series, and from there on I had to refrain myself from sticking with the album for the remainder of the year).  Most of all, I loved making observations regarding the individual talents of the seven official bandmembers, as well as their support cast through the years (Ian Stewart, Nicky Hopkins, Merry Clayton, Bobby Keys, Chuck Leavell, etc.). The Stepping Stones series had me realizing that in many ways I was channeling the love I have for all the wonderfully-unique people in my own life through the musicians I was writing primarily about.

Next up was my 2014 Forever Young series on Neil Young; the musician who I have witnessed the most in concert. Here was my first stab at a talent that is known more as a solo artist than as part of a band (the other would be Bob Dylan). Of all the musicians I have ever seen live, it was Neil Young who surprised me the most, hitting me far more impressively than my expectations had allowed (particularly when he performed with Crazy Horse). This was why I included Young for his own series. During that Forever Young year, it was mind-bending to flesh out Neil Young’s second-to-none album-oriented output in both the 70s (After the Goldrush, Harvest, Time Fades Away, Tonight’s the Night, On the Beach, Zuma, American Stars ‘n Bars, Come a Time, and Rust Never Sleeps) and the 90s (Freedom, Ragged Glory, Harvest Moon, Sleeps with Angels, Mirror Ball, Broken Arrow, and Silver & Gold). Neil Young is the most passionate of the musicians whom I love to listen to (which is saying a lot), and I would like to think I captured that passion within myself as I wrote during that Forever Young year.

My favorite band, the Who, were next up; they the inspiration for my 2016 Under the Big Top series. I called the series “Under the Big Top”, because I have always felt I was at the perfect “4-ring” circus as I watched and listened to them over these many years. Who do you focus on? Do you listen to the unparalleled drums in Ring 1, or that one-of a kind bass in Ring 2, or those harmonious wide-range backing vocals in Rings 2 and 3, or those lyrics emanating out of Ring 3, or those power chords also in Ring 3, or that lead singing in Ring 4? Each of the original 4 members of the Who is recognized as top-tier by critics in terms of the instrument he excelled at, as well as his stage presence. But collectively is where the real magic was. That was what I was trying to capture and convey that year: Collective magic. Can an ensemble effort in any endeavor rise above individuality when all cylinders are clicking? The Who also tackled difficult subject matter in their music, including war, schizophrenia, pedophilia, ostracization, and the fear of becoming obsolete. I tried to hit on all these topics at one time or another during that Under the Big Top year. Finally, the Who were my first stab at a spiritual element in my writing. They would not be the last.

My Bob Dylan year was in 2018 (actually, it lasted two years, because I spent all of 2017 prepping for it).  I titled that series “Master Blueprints”, because, among the ‘multitudes’ of accolades one can toss in Dylan’s direction is this one: Bob Dylan leaves breathing room in his songs for other musicians to interpret in their own way. This is a key reason why his music will endure. My Master Blueprints year was one full of mystery and intrigue and unexplained phenomena. I also had the opportunity to visit three of Bob Dylan’s personal cornerstone geographies: Hibbing MN, Greenwich Village NY NY, and Woodstock NY. Through these and other events, I connected with numerous individuals in the Dylan world. All in all, I gained abundant new insight into poetic brilliance, the importance of accepting and embracing change in one’s life, and spirituality. And in the end, I found myself so thankful for living these times with this man.

Last but not least was this year’s Fab Foundations series, inspired by the music of the Beatles. This is where it all began for me (hence the title) and I’m glad I saved this band for last. I had to dig farther back here, but most often, it proved to be easy to find the memories. What was hard was keeping up with the writing. Indeed, I have to say this was my hardest year fleshing ideas out week to week. Perhaps it was because I knew the end was near. Perhaps it was because I’m 10 years older than when I started all this. My core idea all along was to find that youthful exuberance. That can be hard to do when your 58 years old.  I was not going to settle for half-rate writing though. Looking back and re-reading a few of the writeups, I’m happy to say that, at least in my mind, I did not.

Weaved in all of this were the personal stories that were pulled out of me as I listened to the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, the Who, Bob Dylan, and the Beatles. That was the other side of the coin, which complimented the musical side. Stories of famous musicians and stories of friends and family blended together, often seamlessly.  Music and Memory. Yeah!

One thing I have not mentioned yet that I find fascinating about the Beatles was how George Harrison and John Lennon stuck it out with Beatlemania for as long as they did.  You see them smiling genuinely on the album covers and in other photo-ops all the way to the breakup. They are supportive in many other ways too. And yet, the extreme commercialism was against their general nature. I think of John Lennon more in the nature of Lou Reed and George Harrison more in the nature of Cat Stevens….and Reed and Stevens shunned the limelight for most of their careers.

But here’s the thing: At the heart of the Beatles message was a message of love. George and John could not resist this. Nobody could if they were in their shoes. I don’t care what your personality trait is. The end game of love was fundamental and as it turns out, irresistible. And it was awesome. Deep inside, Lennon and Harrison most certainly realized this. Neither of them lived as long as he should have. But George Harrison did live long enough to come around in the end and reconcile with his Beatles fame. I believe John Lennon would have done so too. As for Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, it’s actually turned out pretty-darned well that they are the latter-day spokesman for the Beatles; both have honored their deceased brethren and the band magnificently.

In closing, I would like to thank all of you who have put time aside to reading this blog. Some of you have been particularly faithful (you and I know who you are), and I am so very appreciative of that. I’d also would like to thank Google, YouTube and Wiki. Google and YouTube are over-sized monopolistic corporate entities, but without them, I would not have had research and imagination at my fingertips (Wiki is just excellent, period).

Most importantly I was a routine seeker of divine inspiration, writeup to writeup, year to year. God never failed me. In fact, for whatever reason He pushed me forward, especially when I felt as if I had nothing to give.

I can think of no better way to close this Music and Memory series with the following video:

( All you need is love Beatles on Vimeo )

Peace. Love. Understanding.

-        Pete

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Fab Foundations # 49: “On-line-Blog Writer”

(Personal reflections inspired by Beatles songs)

 Song: “Paperback Writer”
Album: Released as a single
Release Date: May 1966

Well, it’s about time I call it a wrap with this Music and Memory blog site. All in all, there will be 350 entries (after next week’s finale), the last 50 being this Fab Foundations series. A significant percentage of the writeups are over 3 pages long (one of the exceptions is this one), which adds up to ~ 1000 pages. 

With all that writing, I think I’ve taken the concept about as far as it can go.

One of the first Beatles songs I ever connected with was “Paperback Writer”, way back in my pre-teen years. As I listened this week, I began thinking that kinship between me and the song may have been a harbinger of things to come, in terms of this website. In other words, I now see a strong correlation between my early love of “Paperback Writer” and my need to write creatively.

And so, in honor of the Beatles (in general), and specifically “Paperback Writer”, I offer up here an alternative take on the lyrics.

Without further ado:

 On-line-Blog Writer
(sung to the music of “Paperback Writer”)


Online-blog writer (Online-blog writer, writer)

Dear Sir or Madame, will you read my blog?
It took me years to write, I’ve reached the epilogue
It’s based on great music and recall memory
And I hope it proves
I’m a well-established online blog writer
Online-blog writer!

There are many stories there are many themes
But without the songs their all just pipe dreams
I’m a guy who grew up in the 70s
When the music ruled
What this called for was an online-blog writer
Online-blog writer!

Online-blog writer (Online-blog writer, writer)

It’s a thousand pages give or take a few
I’ll be writing the last entry in a week or two
I can add more illustrations if they fit the style
I can change it ‘round
And I want to be an online-blog writer
Online-blog writer!

If you get the concept, you’ve got the inside track
With a good case made, I know you’ll have my back
If you must reject it, that is standard fare
But I think there’s something there
And I want to be an online-blog writer
Online-blog writer!

Online-blog writer (Online-blog writer, writer)
(Online-blog writer) Online-blog writer
(Online-blog writer) Online-blog writer
(Online-blog writer) Online-blog writer
(Online-blog writer) Online-blog writer

(Online-blog writer
------------------------------

Until next week….

- Pete

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Fab Foundations # 48: “December 8th, 1980”

(Personal reflections inspired by Beatles songs)

Song: “Watching the Wheels”
Album: Double Fantasy
Release Date: November 1980

Today marks forty years since John Lennon’s murder.

There is a strange synchronicity about this sullen anniversary in terms of numbers divisible by 10You may be able to think of more significant numbers, but here’s is what I’ve got: Here in the year 2020, John Lennon would have been 80; he died 40 years ago in 1980, at the age of 40; his death was 10 years after the Beatles disbanded in 1970, the year Lennon turned 30.

I suppose such ruminations are a defense mechanism from the reality of what happened the night of December 8th, 1980.

The passage of time takes care of the rest.

Where were you the night John Lennon was killed? There are many of us tail-end Baby Boomers who can answer this question without hesitation. It was our JFK moment. The end of the innocence. The moment when we connected vividly with someone’s death beyond our personal circle of influences. John Lennon was larger than life, and he had just returned to the public stage with a new album after a 5 year hiatus. During that reclusive period, the leader of the most acclaimed band of all time was living his ‘30-something’ years as the first self-proclaimed “House Husband”, putting all his love and energy into raising his son Sean, alongside his wife Yoko Ono. Lennon’s “stepping out” (or rather, stepping back out) into the limelight was such a thrill, especially for those of us who were experiencing this Fab-like phenomena for the first time in a here-and-now sort of way.

And just like that, it was all snuffed out. JFK style.

So, where was I on that fateful night? I was nestled in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts, a freshman at North Adams State College. And like many New England Patriots fans, I was watching Monday Night Football. In my particular circumstance I was doing this with my frosh-year roommates, in the living room of our landlady “Ma” Bette’s off-campus home. The Patriots and the Dolphins were heading for overtime when Howard Cosell made the gut-wrenching announcement. I can still hear his one-of-a-kind voice, which was spot on in projecting the severity of the event: “An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City. John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City. The most famous perhaps of all of the Beatles. Shot twice in the back. Rushed to Roosevelt Hospital. Dead on arrival”.

The game ended for me at that moment. I rushed up to my bedroom and flicked on the radio while in an already-stunned state of mind. Fortunately, I was able to tune into 104.1 WBCN Boston, which was hit or miss in that remote western Massachusetts community high in the Berkshires, a good 100 miles from Beantown. The first song I heard was “Watching the Wheels” ( WATCHING THE WHEELS. (Ultimate Mix, 2020) - John Lennon (official music video HD) - YouTube ) off John and Yoko’s brand new album, Double Fantasy (which was also the first time I had heard that song, period). Man, did it ever resonate. “Watching the Wheels” was the perfect tune to take in at that moment. Here was John Lennon explaining his years out of the limelight in song; the serenity of the lyrics in stark contrast to the horrific late-night news. The memory hits me every time I hear this song.

The next morning, I remained stunned, and so blew off school and drove west into Williamstown in my old stick-shift v6 Lincoln Mercury Capri (my first car).  I contemplated going all the way to Central Park NY, NY, where mourners were gathering by the thousands. I even made my way into the Empire State for a good stretch along the Taconic Trail.  From there it would have been a three-hour straight-shot down Rte. 87 into Manhattan.

In the end, I turned around and just drove and drove in zigzag patterns through the vertical landscape of Williamstown, Cheshire, New Ashford, and Adams, continuing my vigil with WBCN from the night before. The DJs (including Charles Laquidara) had suggested that drivers turn on their headlights – in solidarity with fellow John Lennon fans - which I did.  As I headed back into North Adams after a good half-day of driving, I noticed a handful of other cars doing the same. Ok, mercifully, I was not alone. My radio blared with Beatles and John Lennon tunes. Their radios blared these familiar Fab sounds too.

What was it about John Lennon’s life and death that moved so many of us in the early days and weeks of December 1980 (which continues - albeit to a lesser intensity - today)? Well, for one thing, Lennon was uncompromising, which in his case always came across as a strength. John Lennon expressed this attitude in many ways, particularly when he spoke his mind, which he often did in brutally-honest fashion. One way this manifested itself was how he could be harsh on others (particularly Paul McCartney). But he could also be harsh on himself, and so, this gave Beatle John all the leverage he needed to say pretty much whatever he wanted. Lennon was also witty and funny and sarcastic and charming; all traits that draw people in, whether at the personal level (the other Beatles were all forever fascinated in him) or on the big-stage.

John Lennon was also a risk taker, which was appealing to those among us who have a rebellious slant (ok, me). This was exemplified in his “Bed-Ins for peace” with Yoko Ono in 1969, which were wide open to the public (as Derek Taylor, the Beatles publicist once explained, anyone was welcome “as long as they were not obviously carrying a blood-stained axe”). His risk-taking played out in many other ways too, be it in songs like “Revolution”, “Gimme Some Truth” or “Working Class Hero” or in comments, like “we’re (the Beatles, are) more popular than Jesus now” (which was more a lament than anything).

However, I believe the biggest reason why many of us admired (and continue to admire) John Lennon was because at the heart of his voluminous discography was a message of peace and love. Just give another listen this week if you will to the truth-serum sounds of “All You Need is Love”, “Give Peace a Chance”, “Merry X-Mas (War is Over)”), and/or “Imagine”. These are the songs at the core of my generation’s shout-out to all the other generations – before and after us – who we have had the pleasure to live with over the decades. We were looking for different solutions to the world’s problems, and John Lennon was doling out the answers like hotcakes.

Add all of these traits to a boatload of talent, and you have the recipe for moving the masses.

Two years after my ‘mourning’ drive around the Berkshires, I did finally make it into Central Park, as well as the nearby Dakota Apartments (on the West Side), where John Lennon lived throughout his “House Husband” years, and where he was killed. I’ve written about that incredible college winter-break road trip before in these pages. Here I’ll try to keep the focus on this specific part of the journey.

After an involuntary and impromptu all-nighter in lower Manhattan, my three Canadian brethren and I sleepwalked our way to Central Park. At this stage, I began making a beeline west for the Dakota, and I was dragging my friends along with me. We made our way up to “The Lake”, just across from the Dakota. There we spied an old abandoned rowboat with a small hole in the bottom.  We plugged the hole up with a tea shirt and used makeshift oars (sticks, cardboard, you name it) to row across the waterbody.  This was just after dawn. For all we knew, Yoko Ono could have been looking out her apartment window that morning, shaking her head in bemusement.

After landing the boat, we made our way across the remainder of Central Park West and onto 72nd Street. The first doorway was the main entrance into The Dakota. A bellhop greeted us. He was middle aged and appeared a veteran of his trade. I explained we were there to pay tribute to John Lennon. He stated that he heard this on a regular basis from visiting fans and then told me that we were welcome to hang out in the archway and corridor, which was precisely where Lennon had been killed. We did this for a spell, in silence, and then we moved on.

The remainder of that Manhattan morning is a blur.

The next memory I can recall of my personally bonding with John Lennon’s life and death was in 1988 when I had my wisdom teeth removed. Upon being admitted to the surgical room, I dutifully fessed up to the fact that I had a cup of coffee earlier that day, which apparently was against the rules if I wanted to have a full-blown anesthesia (I kinda knew this going in but was hoping for a bit of slack). And so, I ended up getting a local anesthesia, which allowed me to listen to all the gory details of my wisdom teeth being drilled to a pulp. Later that day, I sat with my sister, Amy, and we watched Imagine: John Lennon, a newly released documentary (at the time) about John Lennon.

As the film lurched forward, toward its inevitable tragic ending, my local anesthesia and additional pain killers were coincidingly wearing off. The combination of the physical and emotional pain was a bit too much for me to handle. The raw emotions related to John Lennon’s death, apparently locked inside of me to that point, came welling out for the first and only time. In hindsight, I suppose it was therapeutic.

Several year later and newlywed, my wife Nancy and I took a weekend trip to New York City to do some Christmas shopping. While there, we made a side-trek to the Statue of Liberty, our first of several trips to that iconic symbol of freedom and democracy. Upon landing on Liberty Island, we passed on the long line in and up the innards of the statue, and instead walked around the perimeter, along the water’s edge.

Once again, I had a destination in mind; this time a frontal view of the Statue of Liberty, where John Lennon posed in 1974, showing his love for a country whose President at that time was trying to deport him. There, we took some photos ourselves, including one of me doing my best John Lennon impersonation. Nancy and I had that photo on our refrigerator for years, next to a postcard of Lennon in his classic peace pose (both images attached). It was yet another effort to connect with the life of a man who I did not know personally, and yet who I felt a strong kinship with.

Until this year, and particularly this week, that Statue of Liberty visit - and the follow-up refrigerator posting- would be the last time I would put any concerted effort into recognizing John Lennon in any deep sort of way. Interestingly, every one of these events I just reflected on occurred in the winter months: John Lennon’s death, my Berkshire drive, Central Park, wisdom teeth removal, the Statue of Liberty, and now this write up. Unlike my ‘numbers divisible by 10’ observation in the opening sentences of this entry, I think there is something to this. Winter has always been a season of ‘seeking’ for me. It’s when I’ve started every one of my 6 blog series. Its when the music hits me the hardest. It’s when the memories kick back in fast and furious. It’s when I have to seize the moment. Carpe Diem.

A week or so after John Lennon’s death, I purchased Double Fantasy at a record store in downtown North Adams. Four years later, upon release, I would also purchase the follow up; John Lennon’s posthumous Milk and Honey (much of which was recorded during the Double Fantasy sessions).  Milk and Honey would prove to be the last Lennon studio release of original material. These two albums were complimentary and filled with upbeat, energy-inducing tunes, which were in many ways the polar opposite of the mood of John Lennon’s first solo albums (indeed the opening sound effects are harbingers of what’s to come in each case , with “Mother” opening Plastic Ono Band with four ominous bell tolls, and “Starting Over” opening Double Fantasy with the soft percussive sound of three strikes on a triangle).   

For an 18 year old, it was pretty-darn inspiring to hear a song like “Woman” from such a respected musician, which, although primarily about Yoko Ono, translated for me as a healthy admiration for members of the opposite sex in general. Related to this was something quite unique to Double Fantasy as a rock album; a volleyball approach to the tracks, with John Lennon lobbing a song over the proverbial net, and Yoko Ono lobbing one back (some of Yoko’s songs were actually pretty good, including “Kiss Kiss Kiss” and “Give Me Something”, Yoko sounding like she could have been a walk-on with the B52s).

“Starting Over” is John Lennon singing at his confident best. “Watching the Wheels” is a convincing musical narrative about a man (Lennon) who has paid his dues to society…and then some. Same for “Borrowed Time”. “Grow Old With Me” is about as lovely of a love song as I have ever heard.

“Nobody Told Me” sounds like John Lennon is ready to contribute his worldly views to society again (which begs the question, ‘oh what could have been?’) by lamenting cultural ambivalence (Side note: The refrain in the lyrics goes “Nobody told me there’d be days like these”, which my sister Amy – at the time of the songs release, working as a waitress -  would modify to “Nobody told me there’d be trays like these” as she cleared tables; a classic alteration that I harkened back to as I listened this week).

One consolation about December 8th, 1980: John Lennon was in a peaceful place when he died.

I suppose at this stage in the game (40 years on) …. I’ll take it.

Pete