Jai Guru Deva Om

No Plugs Tonight.
Hey it's a Holiday!


Happy 4th of July
Rain, New Beford Fireworks were cancelled and rescheduled for Saturday.


So More About Malach at last Saturday's Red Sox Game
Read the blog from a few days ago for more info. I do have a few pics though:
First one is of course Malach the Merciless on the mound at Fenway just before Beckett arrived out of the dugout to meet him, Second is Coach Rick (hence Rick's Ranger); my sister-in-law; Dan, who has Down Syndrome; James who is slight MR, behind Varitek. I got a video, but it is NESN, and MLB property, I am going to transfer it to MPEG format and we will see how long I can keep it up on YouTube before the MLB Police come get me.

You are listening too . . .
Across the Universe and absolute favorite of mine. A version of the song first appeared on the 1968 charity album for the World Wildlife Fund, No One's Gonna Change Our World. A modified and probably better version appeared then on Let It Be.


Lennon was inspired to write the song after listening to his then wife Cynthia speak, and the thought "words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup" came immediatley to his mind. He immediately grabbed a pen and piece of paper, wrote the lyrics, fell asleep and promptly forgot about them. Lennon stumbled upon them the next day, went to his piano, and began to write chords for them. The song is obviously heavily influenced by Lennon's short term interest in Eastern Thought during the time the song was composed. It is also influenced by his interest in Trancendental Meditation, hence the mantra Jai Guru Deva Om which links the verses and the bridge. The phrase roughly tranlates as Salute Teacher Deva, Om, refer to Brahmananda Saraswati aka Guru Dev, and Om being the natural vibration of the universe, and tantrict kind of chant.


The lyrics while straightforward and highly surreal as in much of Lennon's stuff from that 67 - 68 period. They are also hightly image based. Lennon himself stated it was perhaps the most poetic lyrics he ever wrote. The song was initially thought of as a single, but Lennon was not happy with it's direction. They tried a bit of everthing, including a comb harmonica, backing vocals from some Apple Scruffs. The track was put aside and forgotten. They had seriously thought about releasing it with the Yellow Submarine Soundtrack, but Lennon had become disillusioned with Eastern Philosophy by then and did not like the mantra of the song.

The Beatles were convinced after the song was heard by Spike Milligan to be released on the charity album he was putting together. The song was remixed by George Martin, the sonds of birds were added to the beginning and end of the song.


Though never fully satisfied with the recording, Lennon was very attached to the song and played it during the recordings of the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. The Beatles insisted on adding it to the Album, and by the time of the final albums mix, Lennon's contributions were limited anyway, and this was a good way to fill that gap.


The final mix, done by Phil Spector, is slowed several ticks, and full intrementation was added. This is the version most people are familiar with.


The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Gotta love the Devil Rays.


Now this is a real American!
Joey Chestnut!

STEROIDS!
STEROIDS!


Chilean Lakes.
Have a Crack Problem.


Al Gore III
So, when does this kid meet Dubya's two wild girls? And you can get a Prius to go 100 MPH?


Malach's Quote/Video of the Day

I am Malach, and you will read my blog

Malach's Silver Hammer made sure she was dead.

Plugs
Before I give you today's we have a number of them coming up this week, including new stuf from Ben Byrd, Tainted Love's Erotic Stories, and the Poetry of Christopher.

For today we have a new 8 1/2 by Eleven (number 547 ish) and a new Fetus-X (once again something about sexy vampires).

So stay tuned.

An apology.
I forgot to plug C.Rag for pointing out yesterday's video I posted, sorry.

Paul is Dead.
This seems a good time to begin the Paul McCartney is dead urban legend that developed in 1969. I am going to give you a summary and point you to some weird and interesting website who specialize in this.

Basically the legend contends that McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-a-like and sound-a-like. Evidence and clues are found in the various Beatles recordings after 1966, supposedly diliberately placed there, and also hidden in backmasking, and clues are found in the art and album covers (perhaps the most famous in McCartney walking barefoot on the Abbey Road cover).

It has never been clear if this was a joke, or created conspiracy, and how much The Beatles themselves had to do with the initial beginning of it (and how much they propogated it).

The rumor began in earnest on October 12, 1969 when someone phoned radio DJ Russ Gibb indentifying himself as Tom and annouced McCartney was dead. He then asked Gibb to play Revolution 9 backward and supposedly Gibb heard the exclamation "Turn me on dead man".

A couple of University of Michigan students then published a review of Abbey Road and called it: McCartney Dead; New Evidence Brought to Light. In the article the published "clues" based upon Beatles Album covers, and the piece appeared in the Michigan Daily 2 days after the incident with Gibb. Gibb also produced a television documentary appearing about a month later called The Beatle Plot. It was aired on Detroit area television.

The rumor really gained momentum when it was discussed on a New York based top-40 station about October 20th. A powerful WABC station, it signal could be picked up in 38 states, and supposedly could even be heard on the extreme East Coast of Africa. Of course it was then picked up national and internationally by the news, and quickly became a new "Beatle craze".

The most common tale is that on Wednesday, November 9, 1966 at 5 am, McCartney, while working on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, stormed out of a recording session after an argument with the other Beatles and rode off in his Austin-Healey. "He didn't notice that the lights had changed" (A Day in the Life) because he was busy watching the pretty girl on the pavement (Lovely Rita) after narrowly missing her dressed in blue (she's the blur on the back of Abbey Road) jaywalking (Blue Jay Way). He then crashed into a light pole (a car crash sound is heard in Revolution 9). He was pronounced dead on a "Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock as the day begins" (She's Leaving Home), and nobody found out this because the news was withheld: "Wednesday morning papers didn't come" (Lady Madonna). A funeral procession was held days later (as implied in the Abbey Road album cover).

There is no hard evidence for a crash, though McCarney's mini cooper was wrecked by a fried in January of 1967. McCartney himself got into a moped accident the day after X-Mas 1965, which left a noticble scar on his upper lip.

Accodingly, McCartney was replaced by a winner of a look-a-like contest named William Shears Campbell (Billy Shears is the leader of Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club band). Bass Muscians also noted a playing style change in McCartney after 1966, of course the entire music recording of Beatles changed as well.

These rumors, kind of petered out in the mid 70's but have found new life with the advent of the internet. There are a number of supposed clues, and there is good listing about 350 at this site (trust me, you can spend hours at some of these links). You can also go to Iamaphony's youtube account, and he's got a series of about 40 videos about McCartney's death. There is some interesting photo comparisons here, and if you's like a fresh look, go here.

I got Pacman Fever!
It's driving me crazy!

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Still hate Interleague play.

Thank you Issac Newton.
You gave us at least 48 more years long to live than the Mayans did.

Hey Muslims, calm down.
I have read Satanic Verse, very good book by the way, and so what, he poke fun at Muhammed . . he also pokes fun at the Jews and Christians too . . .

Dave Thomas.
Man, you must be rolling in your grave.

Well, uh, Maybe Britney,
You should have not had such an oh so public mental health crisis.

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day
If I were a better artist, I'd be a painter, and if I were a better writer, I'd write books-- --but I'm not, so I draw cartoons! - Charles M. Schulz

I am Malach and I have one this to say . . . TURN ME ON DEAD MAN!

Something about Pattie Boyd

Plugs.
There is a new Fetus-X. More anti-war undead stuff. Check out Malach's latest WoW article and make fun of his taste in music.

You are listening too . . .
Something off of Abbey Road. Something was the only George Harrison composition to appear on as an A-side single and the only one to top the American Charts. Both Lennon and McCartney praised the song and the best ever written by Harrison. It also is the second most covered Beatles song of all time.

Something was developed during the recording of The White Album, and based in part of the James Taylor song, Something in the Way She Moves. Most of the White Album was done by the time Harrison had completed the melody of the song, and during a break of editing, began to write the lyrics.

There is some confusion as to what the song is about, most assuming it is about Harrison's the wife Pattie Boyd, and Harrison had told people the song was actually about Ray Charles (Harrison's dry humor). This is interesting as Pattie Boyd might be the woman who has had the most hit songs written about her. Something, Layla, Bell Bottom Blues, Wonderful Tonight are a just a few. As for Pattie herself, pretty hot no?

The original idea was not for the Beatles to record the song, and the song was given to Joe Cocker who released a version of the song 2 months before the Beatles version who had begun to seriously work on it from Abbey Road. The orignal recording was more than 8 minutes long eventually to cut the point it was released at.

Harrison himself has been pretty dismissive of the song, but Lennon called it the best song on the album. By the time they shot the video (I will post it below), they had broken so far apart, they shot the video of the 4 of them in seperate locales and edited it together.

Some of the diverse covers of the song come from Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Elvis, The O'Jays, James Brown, Tony Bennet, Perry Cuomo, and Smokey Robinson. Sinatra was especially impressed with the song and called it "the greatest love song ever written" and his "all time favorite Lennon-McCartney song" (he even introduced it that way for years).

The Mood of Red Sox Nation
Welcome to Boston Barry Bonds.

There are people you don't mess with . .
and the HOFF is one of them.

Ahh the War.
It will be see where this one heads.

Hey the NBA finals are over.
Anyone actually watch any of this?

They are so weird in Oklahoma.
Of course, they would have buried a horse in Texas.

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day

I am Malach and there is something in the way I move.

That's Shaft I'm Talkin' 'Bout!

Plugs.
Just a new 8 1/2 by Eleven. Number 535. Not really Lucas's best work, but 'tis a set up piece I supposed.

Heroes.
So, Heroes is kind of like a Quentin Tarrantino movie. First they bring back George Takei in a kick ass role, and now, Richard Roundtree. He's a bad motherf- SHUT YOUR MOUTH!. So is Heroes. Nice season ender, with a interesting cliff hanger for Hiro.

Bud Dwyer.
OK, a few of you more morbid types, wanted to know a bit more about the video I posted in yesterday's blog. More specifically about some of the people in the later half of the video: the suicide, and the guy shot in the head while walking by phone booths. The video was a snippet of the Micheal Moore anti-firearms documentary Bowling for Columbine.

The guy blowing his brains out is Bud Dwyer. He was a PA politician, whom after a scandal, basically blew his brains out on live TV after calling a press confernce in 1987. The Filter song Hey Man Nice Shot is based on the incident. You can actually view the entire video at Live Leak (you need to register and present age verification).

The one of the other guy getting shot in front of the phone I remember seeing on TV when I was young. I could not find a ton of info on it and don't remember the names, but the shooter was a father shooting a man who allegedly abused his son.

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Well the pitching matchup wasn't good, and I figured this would be a loss. Only 8th inning down by four, we will see. Pitching matchup ain't too good for the tomorrow either.

So uh Clinton Portis . . .
Thinks it's no big deal if Micheal Vick is involved in dog fight, in fact, let's quote the fantasy bust of last year: "If that's what he wants to do, do it. I think people should mind their business." Well Clinton Portis, you see, dog fighting, and using your property for dog fighting is a felony in Virginia. Dumb ass. So with that logic, I should be able to oh, say, murder you?

YAY!
We set a new record today! What, it wasn't a good record, why doesn't anyone ever tell me this?

Your Heroin Addiction.
Is keeping the Taliban alive. That could be a good t-shirt.

Malach's Quote of the Day
One had been dismissed — and subsequently executed — for a foiled assassination attempt on a higher ranking student, a second had been killed in the practice arena, and the third died in his bunk of natural causes — for a dagger in the heart quite naturally ends one's life. - Drizzt Do'Urden

I am Malach and happiness in a warm bath

LADY MADONNA!

Plugs.
Just a weird 8 1/2 by Eleven today (530). I really don't know what Lucas was smoking with this one. Perhaps he has been enjoying my Beatles blogs.

You are listening too . .
Speaking of the Beatles, Lady Madonna, one of those singles released between Magical Mystery Tour and The White Album.

The song was a number one hit in the US, and kind of indicated a change of direction for the Beatles, away from the more process sounds of the psychedelic era to a more blues, garage rock style. The song owe alot to 50's blues/rock, and McCartney (who mostly wrote the tune) stated he was trying to do a Fats Domino impersonation. Domino would actually cover the song in 1968 and it would be his last hot 100 US hit. Ron Scott provides the sax for the song.

The song is novel mix of music, with a standard semi-blues rock out, and strange nasally harmony (nose horns). Also we see Paul hit his utmost range of vocals to some interesting effects. Personally I love when he goes above his range slightly and belts out these tunes, something he will do with future Beatles albums and his solo career. Vocal track is also doubled up through the song.

The lyrics are pretty interesting.

Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
Who finds the money? When you pay the rent?
Did you think that money was Heaven sent?

Friday night arrives without a suitcase
Sunday morning creep in like a nun
Monday's child has learned to tie his bootlace
See how they run

Lady Madonna, baby at your breast
Wonder how you manage to feed the rest

See how they run

Lady Madonna, lying on the bed
Listen to the music playing in your head
Tuesday afternoon is never ending
Wednesday morning papers didn't come
Thursday night you stockings needed mending
See how they run

Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet

It is a subtle juxtaposition of the familar (Lady Madonna, the references to religion) and the not so subtle (basically about a poor woman who trying to make ends meet).

Some more bad news for Dubya.
His buddy, under some pressure, Tony Blair resigned. And now, Congress has defied his veto threat on the budget. I still wonder where this country would be if Gore was elected.

Just the Good ole' boys.
Is it just me? I really don't picture them Duke boys being all that internet savy.

What has this world come too?
OK, so last night there was a brawl at the Boston Pops Concert. You can see the video here. It gotta be Ben Folds fault . . . Of course it might have be a Yankee vs. Red Sox fan, but there were no Yankees Suck chants after that (you can hear those chant just about anywhere including ballet recitals, wedding, and first communion).

All is not kosher in the Earnhardt family.
Jr. is leaving. Kind of interesting, step mom vs. Dales Sr.'s kids . . .

Steve McNair.
Steve McNair was arrested yesterday for being a passenger in his car that his brother in law was driving drunk. He was immediately singed to a 2 year contract with the Bengals.

Seriouly, who drunk do you think McNair was?

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Wow, up 8 - 0 in the 9th, and Halladay was pitching for the Jays. Amazing. 4 in a row, and a sweep of Toronto. Our Mood: Feeling good!

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day

I am Malach and I met Superman

Learn how to play the game.

We got plugs for you today.
1. Twisted Darkness has a new piece up called Scraps of Poetry. I find this one very interesting as it reminds me of my paintings.
2. Sunshine 36 in now loaded and this one is scary.
3. There is a new Fetus-X, and once again Millikin thinks he is dying.
4. There is a new 8 1/2 by Eleven, strip 529, and for once Nillian's in a good mood.
5. And for those of you who haven't been with this blog since it's inception, I reposted an old blog post on the WoW.

Ouch.
I got this painful hangnail right on my right thumb, right in the place I type.

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Well tonight is 3 in row, and we are click on all cylinders right now. Also Schilling apologized to Barry Bonds today. Malach left him a message linking him to his thoughts on the steroid issue.

AWESOME.
JUST FRIGGIN AWESOME! Gonna have to have Malach's Universe Pic of the Day.

HEY STUPID!
Hurricane Seasons Doesn't begin for another three weeks.

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day:
Guess who's back!

I am Malach and the Bitch is Back.

Seriously, all you need is love

Plugs.
Check out the funny ass video the Angry Piper posted at the WoW. Also, no plugs today for RubberSuit Studios, sorry, I promised some, but I am busy with client work.

Also if you live in the New Bedford area, check out The Furniture Place for furniture. Not your typical low brow New Beige furniture discounter. Some mid range to high quality pieces at very good prices. Right next to Flagship Cinema on King's Highway.

You are listening too . .
One of the most beautiful musical anthems ever made, All You Need is Love. Among the most significant, beloved, and famous songs by the group, it was original played for a 2 hours live television special called Our World. It was specifically written by Lennon, with some McCartney contribution for the special, which aired in over 400 million homes in 1967. It was republished as the closing track on Magical Mystery Tour.

Lennon was asked to come up with simple song, that all nationalities of the world could understand. Lennon worked off a song from Rubber Soul, The Word, which has a similar theme. Many were immediatley amazed by the song, the fact it would not be misunderstood in any culture or language. Lennon also considered it a propoganda song, like many of his later solo works.

Ironically it was the last song recorded and released before Brian Epstein death, and perhaps the high point of the interpersonal relationships between The Beatles.

Because of the international feel of the song, it was given a worldly flavor. Hence the opening of the song with La Marseillaise and several other snippets of song during the long fadeout (2-part Invention #8 in F by Johann Sebastian Bach (transposed to G and played on 2 piccolo trumpets), Greensleeves (played by the strings), Glenn Miller's In The Mood (played on a saxophone), one of the Beatles' seminal hits (particularly in Great Britain), She Loves You (spontaneously ad-libbed by John and Paul), and Jeremiah Clarke's Prince of Denmark's March lilting off at the end).

The songs structure is acutually a bit complex. The background repeatedly sing's "love, love, love" while Lennon's verse are in 7 /4 time, and the chorus in 4/4. It is one of only two songs to every reach the top 20 US in 7/4 time (if you can guess the other one correctly you get a prize). The only difference between the album and live recording is that Lennon rerecorded some of the vocals he was unhappy with.

The song message endures today. All you need is love.

That ends our look back at Magical Mystery Tour. The White Album is next, but because it took so long to record, The Beatles had a number of their most famous hits in between, we will explore those next.

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Still on a roll. Did I tell you how much I love this team. Mood: Love, and in love with the new Josh Beckett.

The Pillow Angel.
Again, I find what this child parents did, pretty disgusting, and I am glad a advocacy group says so.

Hey here's some shocking news.
The majority disagrees with Dubya about his veto of the Iraqi funding bill. How much longer we got with this idiot?

MMMMMMMM
Moldy Cheddar.

Hey Jeffri Chadiha, of ESPN.com
You sir, are a moron, for this article. The Patriots were not about to give in to Deion Branch. Do your research. The Pats were more than willing to sing Branch. Problem was, Branch was already signed to play 2006 with the Pats. He decided he did not want to wait until 2007, when his contract was up, and then go for the money, he wanted it, when he was signed already.

The Pats have never, nor will they ever deal with a players contract when they are already signed. Branch was going to sit out his last year, so the Pats, being the smart team they are, traded a mid range reciever for a 1st round draft pick. They only payed a 4th rounder for Moss. You are stupid, and since you don't list contact info at ESPN, you can follow backlinks here, at least my contact info is right on the page.

So.
How much whiskey was need to accomplish this? Or, how much whiskey to tear it all apart?

MMMMMMM
Steak.

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day

I am Malach and I have moon madness

Goo Goo G'joob

Plugs.
There is a very special Sunshine up. Number 35 features an extra special message of brotherly love and peace starring the great and mighty Cthulhu.

You are listening too . .
I am the Walrus. Very interesting song, lyrics wise. The first real use of stream of concious type lyrics in a pop song. You look at these lyrics now, and you see Beck's inspiration for many of his songs.

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.

See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.

I'm crying.

Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.

Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday.

Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long.

I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.

I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.

Mister City Policeman sitting

Pretty little policemen in a row.

See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky, see how they run.

I'm crying, I'm crying.

I'm crying, I'm crying.

Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye.

Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess,

Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down.

I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.

I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob.

Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun.

If the sun don't come, you get a tan

From standing in the English rain.

I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.

I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob.

Expert textpert choking smokers,

Don't you think the joker laughs at you?

See how they smile like pigs in a sty,

See how they snide.

I'm crying.

Semolina pilchard, climbing up the Eiffel Tower.

Elementary penguin singing Hari Krishna.

Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe.

I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.

I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob.

Goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob g'goo.

It is noted as one The Beatles most experimental and striking songs from the psychedelic period. It is also noted as Lennons most experimental songs for wordplay.

Also weirdly, the song was a B-Side to the number one single Hello/Goodbye. Talk about 2 totally different songs. Lennon readily admits he wrote a bit of the song while tripping on acid. In addition the song combines three originally seperate songs Lennon had been working on at the time. Also as a bit of an inside joke, Lennon added a verse of non-sensical words in the last verse, specifically because he had heard a former teacher of his was analyzing the lyric content of Beatles songs in the classroom. The song also carries some references to Lewis Carrol's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter. Unfortunately, Lennon did not realize the Walrus was the bad guy in the poem, and should of used the Carpenter, which readily admitted in an 1980 interview (Quote Lennon: "It never dawned on me that Lewis Carroll was commenting on the capitalist and social system. I never went into that bit about what he really meant, like people are doing with the Beatles' work. Later, I went back and looked at it and realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, Oh, shit, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, 'I am the carpenter.' But that wouldn't have been the same, would it? [Singing] 'I am the carpenter....'" ).

The song has a pretty rich and well recorded history about many of the lyrics and how they were created. Some is based in real life (ie the police man lyrics, were written while tripping, hearing a siren and singing the lyric along with the siren). There were a number of little song snippets like this, and Lennon began mixing them as one song. Another verse was taken from a nursery ryhme Lennon and his young friends used to sing:

"Yellow matter custard, green slop pie,
All mixed together with a dead dog's eye,
Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick,
Then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick".

Several friends were present when Lennon finished the song, and telling them he was writing it to screw around with people who read into the lyrics is quote as saying: "Let the fuckers work that one out." As for the unsual expression goo goo g'joob, ir has never really been explained by any of The Beatles bu several hypothesis exist. Many feel it is a take off of Simon and Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson (koo koo ka choo), but Lennon would not have heard that until the release of The Graduate, which debut almost a month after I am the Walrus was released. Lennon was also a reader of Joyce, and their is a similar kind of exclamation in his final novel Finnegan's Wake. Again, no one is really sure.

Musically the song is very interesting. The song is done in all major or 7th chords, and all the musical letters of the alphabet are used (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). There is also a sample of a radio broadcast of King Lear buried in the song mix. As for the rest of the music, it is accopanied by an orchestra that included violins, cellos, horns, clarinets, and a 16 piece choir.

The song also became instrumental in the Paul is dead rumors that would begin to spread in 1969. Of course Lennon helped to confuse people by stating on a later song, the "Here's another clue for you all, the walrus was Paul."" and then on a 1970 solo album ""I was the walrus, but now I'm John.".

For the video, another innovative early music video, Lennon was wearing the Walrus costume, but on the cover of the album, McCartney was.

HEY!

It is almost 2010, where is my hydrogen car?

Clemens.

Ok bear with me on this. The Yankees signed Clemens for a 1 year $28 million dollar contract. He is basically going to pitch half a year. He just turned 45, and hasn't pitched in the AL since 2003. This will be interesting, for sure. And to make matters worse, he might not get there until the middle of June, what happens in the Bombers are 11 - 12 games out?

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.

We feel like Schilling, disappointed, I would love to see one of my heros comeback to where he started, but honestly, we don't need him. I would rather have Lester, who will be back in a few weeks.

2 out of 3 in Minnesota, not easy to do, and should have won yesturday. The Mood: Missing the Past, but looking forward to the future.

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day

I am the Malach!

Living is easy with eyes closed

No Plugs Today.
There will be quite a few tomorrow though.

Some more Beatles info.
After the release of Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles were basically exhausted physically and mentally. After a bit of a respite, they began recording for The Beatles (White Album) in May of 1968, 5 months after the release of Magical Mystery Tour. The Beatles was not released until almost exactly one year after Magical Mystery Tour, the longest amount of time ever between recordings. In that time a number of singles were released, but we will get into some of those after exploring Magical Mystery Tour.

During this period between albums several significant events occured. The Beatles went to India and explored Eastern thought, The Apple Boutique opened up as they expanded the Apple name and then promptly closed a year later in finacial ruin, Yellow Submarine the animated movie made it's premiere, Apple Records began releasing other bands music and began having hits, Cynthia Lennon sues John for divorce which he would grant three months later (he was already living with Yoko), Lennon and Ono are arrested for cannibus possession after a raid of their flat, and Hey Jude is released (a song by McCartney about Lennon's divorce).

I will get more into these events and The White Album looms, it's quite a ride.

Lock her up.
Oh Yeah, they will love Paris Hilton in Prison.

Stupid People are so adorable.
Shocking their ceiling didn't collapse.

No freaking way!
Someone wants to ban coolers at NASCAR events . . way to ostracize your longtime fans.

Hey Cash.
Ron Mexico runs a canine brothel. He raises your young for pooch on pooch violence.

Agreement?
Perhaps. What dissappoints me is there seems no commitment to exploring other forms of less polluting energy.

Another reason not to visit Mexico City.
It seems the crocodiles are also on the crime spree.

Spidey Villain Quiz.
Malach got 75%, which means he a geek.

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Man, is Dice-K can get rid of the one bad inning . . won yesterday, tied right now, and Dice-K is out. Mood: Ok.

Malach's Quote of the Day
There are few things in the world as dangerous as sleepwalkers. - Ralph Ellison

I am Malach and I am more dangerous than sleepwalkers.

UGH!

Plugs.
There is a new 8 1/2 by Eleven up, and I must say, there is not enough Theramin comedy in the world . . . most of you might not know what a Theramin is, unless you are a fan of the Beach Boys. Listen for the strange whistling sound.

Also, there a couple on funny posts up at the wow. This one, I am a Marvel . . and I'm a DC is hilarious. Malach also put up some new undercover video of Otis Serungis, and a Top Ten Terms for Defecation list.

UGH!
The Kombucha Mushroom People lost thier first game today. The site is updated mostly. We never play well under the lights, and that is what happened today. And Papelbon just blew his first save . . see it is all interrelated.

Bush Veto.
So Dubya, evidently did not get the message from the last election and vetoed the Iraq Bill. This is going to be a VERY interesting showdown, especially since 70% of the American People want out. If we are going to stay into Iraq, there needs to be some major changes, included the possibility of conscription. Remember how long Japan and Europe were occupied after WWII? What, yeah they still have a US military presence.

Immigration.
There is a huge push to possibly legalize all illegal Americans who have been in this country for 5 years. This is getting closer to reality. Malach works for an organization that does extensive work with illegals and undocumenteds. Here what you need to do to be prepared. Get everything you can find to prove you have been here for 5 years, employment record, land lord letters, etc, and wait. While waiting protest.

The ethics of Deep Space travel . . .
I like the anti-gravity sex part . . that's hot!

Tom Poston.
RIP to Tom Poston, who made bit parts in a number of popular TV shows, cool.

Kent State.
Interesting, you think Lee Harvey Oswald was somehow involved in this too?

"I just wasn't in the right frame of mind that night,"
Wow, lady, that's understatment.

Tom Brady.
Ultimate Team Player.

MMMMMMM
TACOS!

HUGO CHAVEZ!
YOU LIED TO MALACH!

Let me get this straight . . .
Phil Spector's Lawyer is also John Gotti's?

WARNING NUDITY!
You got to love MSNBC headlines . . .. Waterfowl wage genital warfare . . and of course the sub headline . . . . 'Arms race' has resulted in longer phalluses, more elaborate vaginas. Seriously though, is this science, can one go to graduate school and study duck genitalia?

Malach's Quote/Video of the Day
The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. - The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam

I am Malach and I have found Muad'Dib

Happy Birthday Memere

Plugs . . .
There is a new 8 1/2 by Eleven as well as a new Fetus-X. Also you need to read Dr. Murks uproariously funny recent blogs. First read his sports blog on the Randy Moss trade and the state of Boston sports and also read his slang primer of alternative ways to say breasts, add a few of your own.

Also, Malach is a huge fan of Bill Simmons. You need to read his blog on Moss, and the rest of the draft.

Happy Birthday Memere.
We love you, your great grand kids love you, and we hope you have a wonderful year

You are Listening too . . .
Penny Lane, from Magical Mystery Tour, by the Beatles. Actually Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever are both from the Sgt. Pepper recording but were pulled and done as a double sinble, then added to Magical Mystery Tour. Both songs are very interesting, as they are basically the same subject, one from McCartney's point of view, the other from Lennon's. It shows the marked difference and split their music was developing into. It was brilliant to market them together. As a general rule, McCartney was writing very smart pop songs, and Lennon experimenting more. McCartney's songs were generating more hits also. This also created a division among Beatles fans. Malach admits he is more of a Lennon guy, but McCartney was genius too.

First Magical Mystery Tour. A strange album and an even stranger movie (I saw in once in college, but I was a little drunk). The album was a double EP in the UK, and a regular 2 sided studio album in the US (EP did not generally do well in the US). The first side of the album was the soundtrack to the movie, side two contained previously released singles, All You Need is Love, from Our World, and a song for the upcoming Yellow Submarine movie. Much of the music on this album were sessions from earlier albums. It is a strange mix of songs, from things like Hello, Goodbye to I am the Walrus.

The movie itself was a huge disaster one of the only disasters The Beatles had in their career. The hour long movie was specifically created for television, and was a flop. Critic totally panned it, but as time has passed it became a sort of cult classic.

Much of the movie was concieved during an acid trip. There was no script, just a series of handwritten ideas, drawings, and sketches. Much of the movie was stream of concious. The basic plot was a group of people were on a bus tour. During the tour strange things begin to happen at the whim of several magicians (The Beatles and road manager Mal Evans). It is really something you have to see.

While the movie was pretty much destroyed critically in the 60's it has become a bit of a classic, with it's concept, and is a favorite of Stephen Speilbergs.

Penny Lane is a semi-autobiographical song, about a street in Liverpool, where Lennon and McCartney grew up. They would meet as teens at the Penny Lane junction to catch the bus to get to the center of Liverpool. Needless to say, the theft of Penny Lane street signs over the years caused local officials to begin painting it on the side of buildings. The song describes all real and actual places in and around Penny Lane. The song goes through a number of temporal stream of concious moments with McCartney describing sunny weather, rain, Rememberance Day, Summer, and Fall.

Penny Lane's music is very similar to The Beach Boys God Only Knows, which is one of McCartney's favorite all time songs. It is especially notable of the sections of the song, attrubuted to McCartney; the block piano chords, and the rythmn of the base.

Also used was a piccolo trumpet solo, which was the first instance of it's use in a pop song, and that instrument is now pretty common. McCartney was inspired after lackluster solos of other instruments by a Dave Mason performance he heard on the radio. Mason agreed to do a solo for this song. Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields both had extremely influential early"music videos".

Becuase of the song, the real Penny Lane, basically a bus route, became a trendy art and shopping district, which it still is today. In addition in 2006, Liverpool attempted to abolish street names recognizing people of the slave trade, of course Penny Lane was one of them, named after James Penny. Ultimaltely, city elders decided it would be unwise to change the street name.

Penny Lane began setting the groundwork for soft rock, and pop of the 70's. It also begins to show The Beatles slowly moving back to some of their earlier pop garage rock. Magical Mystery Tour is also a very strange transition album from Sgt. Pepper to the White Album.

See what the Yankees do?
They turn people evil. And you know, I don't really see this Steinbrennae press conference as a huge vote of confidence. Hey Joe Torre, if the do fire you, what better way to get some revenge but come work for the Red Sox as a bench coach? Sox are off tonight.

Malach Quote/Video of the Day

I am Malach, and I remeber this video from the early days of MTV.

I'd love to turn you on.

No Plugs.
See I told you it was a day of rest.

Randy Moss.
So, for those of you that did not know, Randy Moss was traded to the Patriots today for a 4th round draft choice in this years draft. Needless to say I am pretty speechless. Many were shocked. But before I begin on my why Randy Moss will fit into this team argument, let me give you two things. 1. Moss restructured his contract to come play here, instead of the $9 million he was owed, he cut that to $3million plus incentives, so does this show a change of attitude, time will tell. 2. Bellichick has NO ISSUES cutting any player, no matter the talent, who does not fit in . . see Jonathan Sullivan, Doug Gabriel, Lawyer Milloy, etc, etc.

The Patriots, who have already had a killer offseason, have added the following players beyond Moss. Adealius Thomas, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelly Washington . . . Remember also, they were 1 first down away from going to, and probably winning another Super Bowl . . they did this with Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson out, Lawrence Maroney hurt, and a 3rd reciever (Reche Caldwell) as their number 1, and 4th reciever (Jabbar Gaffney) as their number 2.

Why will this work and what will it do. Well, Stallworth and Moss now become the best receiving tandem in the Bellichick era, and have the potential to be the best tandem in the league. The Pats have taken plenty of malcontents: Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillion, Brian Cox, and turned them into team players. Dillion is perhaps the best example. Dillion quit on Cincinnati when he was no longer the man, he was sick of losing, and had a bad attitude. That changed with the Patriots. Even now, when he knew he was being replaced by Maroney, he did not put up a whine fest, he just asked to be released. Moss, has quit on teams, he has been on a really bad team in Oakland, and in Minnesota, they couldn't get anywhere deep into the playoffs. One thing about Moss, he wants to win. Imagine to, Moss made Culpepper, Culpepper has not done it without Moss . . . Imagine if Moss can do the same to Brady, already one of the best quarterbacks of all time. The Patriots player police themselves and guys on that team, don't put up with malcontents

Again, here is the Bellichick system. You play hard, you play for the team, if not, you get benched and eventually discarded. Everyone is the same . . the man has even benched Richard Seymour. This is Moss best chance to help cement his hall of fame status.

Only time will tell, but I am damn excited.

Some more Beatles stuff.
We will be moving out of Sgt. Pepper tomorrow. The Beatles get very interesting. They start to break down as a band, and there are many causes for it. They also make some of the most innovative music of all time.

After Espstein died, their business affairs began to unravel. They spent a bit of time healing in India, and upon their return, McCartney and Lennon formed Apple Corps. Dissention began to really develop in the band, and their were many factors: Lennon and McCartney different ideas about the Beatles musical direction, the introduction of Yoko Ono into the band's dynamic, Harrison want more of his own songs, and the division between the band about who should now manage their affairs. We will go more into this later.

Hugo Chavez
Publicist, Castro Administration.

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Best record in the league. Seriously, this a very good team, better than the 2004 version. Mood: Happy

Malach's Quote of the Day.
Thank you to every American who has not sued me so far. - Sacha Baron Cohen

I am Malach and are you ready for some football?

Will YOU still need me, when I'm 64?

Plugs.
A new 8 1/2 By Eleven is up. Strip 524.

Check out Community Autism Resources first podcast! Malach is the producer and consultant for this podcast. Yeah it's fun getting paid for stuff like this.

Also, if you want to keep track of Malach's softball team, go the the Sandlot Softball League website, Malach's team is the Kombucha Mushroom People or KMP. As of this writing, they are having a MySQL database issue, but Tim, who runs the site should have that cleared up ASAP.

The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Wow, do the Yankees look bad. They have a killer offense, but their pitching is atrocious. And Dice-K. This guy is going to be amazing. Look at it this way . . he went from the Japanese league to the American League East. The Japanese is a step above AAA, and he has moved into the toughest division is baseball. As he adjust, he is going to be amazing. The Mood: On Top of the World.

NFL Draft.
Now that's some quality Saturday Morning viewing. Nice to fold laundry too.

I wonder.
Was he that incognito in life too? Also reminded me of a conversation had with Ma and Dad after Uncle Franks funeral about when they die, and cremation and such, and me telling Dad, hey, remember Weekend at Bernies? Yeah, I'll post pictures someday when that happens.

So, I like to scan Wikipedia.
Even though I hate the Wikinazis. A lot of time, I like to start with an article and then link over to a new article. I don't remember what I was looking for, but I ended up on snuff films. That lead me to an entry for the film Snuff. That in turn led me to the Video Nasties. So looking over the list, I have seen: Evil Dead, Faces of Death, I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left, Shogun Assassin, and Xtro. I know have a list of must see movies. And now you know just how cultured Malach is. I have even seen Redneck Zombies. Also surprisingly I have never seen any of the Guinea Pig films . .

Phillip K. Dick?
Yeah, wait until they try and adapt some of his drug addled schizophrenic pieces.

Malach's Quote Video of the Day.

I am Malach and WHERE'S MY MONEY?