Reliving my misspent youth

I am sometimes the walrus. AKA, the adventures of an aging musician/teacher and her attempts to recapture the magical times she spent in the 60s and 70s.

[cellomouse]

Romenesko on Twitter

“Oh no, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel! (August 26, 2017)”

Keep reading. The responses are pure gold.

[harrisonarchive]

George would drive himself, come to the parking lot, walk up to my office, and as per planned, he was going to spend ‘x’ hours on the phone or in person doing interviews. I scheduled the interviews so there was a break. In anticipation of the break, I’d say, You have a lunch break coming up, would you like me to get you something to eat? And he’d say, ‘Yes, a cheese sandwich would be nice.’ That’s it. Didn’t say, ‘Put mustard on it,’ what kind of bread. (Laughs) I’d go to the deli in Burbank and go: Cheese sandwich. Cheddar, Swiss cheese - whatever it was, he never complained. And sometimes he would have one bottle of Heineken. Then some British tabloid guys called me and said, ‘We understand he’s an alcoholic and he’s in treatment.’ I said, I don’t think so. One bottle of Heineken sometimes - I don’t think that qualifies.

Bob Merlis, PR for Cloud Nine, from Mojo, November 2011 issue (via thateventuality)

[dylanofryin-deactivated20131027]

actual picture of actual one direction fans 

[rachol]

it’s like a scene from a zombie movie

[paulmcfruity]

Excuse you but

[george-harrrison]

get on our level

[soundsof71]

[soundsof71]

Joni Mitchell, Blue, the original cover photo by Tim Considine. Released June 22, 1971.

+++

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about this photo, which came from the photographer’s own website, with the caption, “The album cover for Blue - the way it should have been.” Questions include the date, since Joni looks younger here, and indeed, while Blue is from 1971, this photo is from 1968, taken at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.

Other questions include whether the microphone missing from the version featured on the album cover was removed by Tim because he thought it looked better, or added by the label, and whether this was originally a color or black and white photo. When asked about all this a couple of years ago, Tim replied,

It was indeed a black & white photograph originally, shot with an experimental instrument film rated at the then unheard of ASA (ISO) of 6000. And, yes, it had the microphone in it. The truth is, I hated the way it was rendered on the cover, an artistic decision by the art director, who processed it as a daguerreotype, thereby, in my opinion, heightening the contrast enough to remove all the softness and subtlety of the original image. So I made my own versions, both with and without mike for prints that are sold to collectors around the world. The version on this site is without the mike, but one with the mike included is requested just as often.

So there you go. An amazing photo for an amazing album, with thanks to Tim Considine for clearing up the story of its origins!

[harrisonarchive]

Scans - George Harrison with the “stripped to the wood” (to quote George) Fender Stratocaster he used during the Concert for Bangladesh, 1 August 1971

Photo 1 scanned from Living in the Material World; photo 2 from the Let It Roll album booklet

This guitar was most likely one of several guitars obtained by Eric Clapton in 1970, left over and subsequently given to George… who later gave it to Spike Milligan:

“I don’t have a whole lot of Strats. I’ve got a sunburst one, one that Eric gave me quite a few years ago. There was one that was stripped to the wood that I gave to Spike Milligan. He was at my house one day with Peter Sellers - Peter was playing the drums, Spike was playing the piano, and I was playing guitar. Then Spike got off the piano and wanted to play the guitar, so I plugged him in to this Strat through a little Champ amplifier. He said, ‘Oh, I haven’t played for 30 years’, but he just picked it up and it sounded like Django Reinhardt or something. And I thought, well, that’s good. So when he left I put it in the case, and put it and the Champ in Peter Sellers’ boot and told him, ‘When you drop Spike off give him this.’ So he uses it in his show now. It’s the Strat from the concert for Bangladesh.” - George Harrison, The Story of the Fender Stratocaster

[cellomouse]

Partly live, partly instrumentally-synced, this music video directed by Michael Lindsey-Hogg never fails to make me smile because of George turning to Paul and mouthing “John’s mic is shit” about 12 seconds in.

[revisitingleverage]

303: The Inside Job

[cellomouse]

I need to re-watch this show. What a great ensemble.

[fivedollarradio]

Monkees’ ‘Headquarters’ Celebrates 50th Anniversary

‘Headquarters’ happened after Mike Nesmith threatened to punch Monkees musical director Don Kirshner in the face

Headquarters’ happened after Mike Nesmith threatened to punch Monkees musical director Don Kirshner in the face…”

Succinct enough?

(Link via Monkees Live Almanac)

[cellomouse]

The Beatles Hit The Studio And Take Us To Church In Exclusive "Hey Jude" Demo

The White Album Recording Sessions, 1968 The Beatles proved to be every bit as entertaining offstage as they were onstage, letting fans into the studio with them as they crafted some of their most iconic hits and showing the world 4 young men who played as hard as they worked. Make no mistake, thou

[thestarcollectors]

Mike Nesmith in Monkees Monthly, March 1969. [x]

[cellomouse]

That mouth is obscene.

[cellomouse]

Etsy has been feeding my vintage pattern frenzy.

[harrisonarchive]

From Brian May’s Twitter: The bottom image was photographed at the annual Water Rats Ball, Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, 29 November 1992

“I hold George in such reverence and I think he’s so underrated by the guitar community; everyone raves about people who play fast, but if you look at the catalogue of stuff he’s produced, it’s colossal.” - Brian May on George Harrison, imdb.com

“George Harrison was a fabulous, fabulous, fabulous guitarist, and a wonderful example of what a rock star should be. I totally revered him as an innovator. He was always fresh, daring, magnificently melodic, full of spiritual quality, and totally conscious of the chord structure beneath the solo. And he had the courage to play simple. He never took refuge in effects, or tried to impress with speed. I hope he knew how much we all loved and respected him.” - Brian May, Guitar Player, March 2002 [x]

[cellomouse]

You’re just killing me here, Paul.

I was wondering why these images are affecting me the way they are. I’ve come to the conclusion that as my 59th birthday looms large, I’ve begun compiling lists of things I regret or would have handled differently.

It’s also happening amongst my peers. On Facebook, I keep hearing from childhood or high school friends wanting to unburden themselves about something unkind they did to me 40+ years ago. Over half the time, I don’t even remember what they’re talking about.

My favorite, though, is from a boy I had an unrequited crush on for years and years in high school. He didn’t fancy me, and over time he chose to be cuttingly cruel rather than just blowing me off. Some months ago he found me on Facebook and said that now he has teenaged daughters and he can’t begin to say how sorry he is for how he treated me.

Water under bridge. Lather, rinse, repeat.

So, anyway, here’s a gif of Paul singing “Here Today.” Whatever regrets I may have, they can’t hurt as much as his.

(Can’t find the original source for this lovely gif, sorry.)

[cellomouse]

Since I’m on an Astrid Kirchherr kick today, I had to post this painfully beautiful shot. Astrid talks about this picture in “Living in the Material World” (George Harrison bio-pic by Martin Scorsese) and has often said it’s her favorite picture of John and George. It was taken in Hamburg shortly after Stuart Sutcliffe died. John and George paid a condolence call on Astrid and John asked to see the attic where Stuart’s studio had been. First, Astrid photographed John alone in a chair, then asked George to stand beside him, and this was the result. In her own words:

"When you see John's little face, it's so sad. He looks so lost sitting there, and there's this 18-year-old boy standing behind him looking so strong. I always get the feeling George is saying, 'Don't worry John, I'll be there with you.’”

::gross sobbing::

The picture of John alone in the chair, surrounded by his friend’s paintings, is a heartbreaker:

On a happier note: This photo was taken the same day, will always be my favorite portrait of John and George:

[cellomouse]

My favorite Beatles photo, taken by Astrid Kirchherr in 1962.

So much to love in Astrid’s composition: the three “oldest” members of the group overlapping in a left-to-right diagonal with Ringo standing slightly apart, John on a throne/chair and engaging directly with the viewer, Paul sitting at John’s feet but not looking into the camera, George simultaneously turning away from and toward the rest of the band.

There’s another shot from this session with Paul also looking into the camera. It’s a less effective image, IMHO.

[idiotsonfb]

The best part is that he decided to take that quiz in the first place.

[cellomouse]

I miss Ringo on social media. He was like the weird thoughts that go through your head the moment before you fall asleep.

[harrisonarchive]

A signed copy of George Harrison’s Cloud Nine, sold by Record Mecca in 2008. The letter of authenticity:

“This letter is to authenticate an album cover proof of George Harrison’s album CLOUD NINE, signed: ‘To Gabrielle, love from George Harrison.’ While employed as an art director at Warner Bros. Records, I had the pleasure of working with George Harrison, designing a number of pieces for the US release of CLOUD NINE, including the 45 RPM sleeve for ‘Got My Mind Set On You,’ all the ads, in-store merchandising, and the promotional items for the campaign. George always showed his appreciation to all the staff members working on his behalf, by coming to the label frequently to show his support. During one of these visits, George personally brought this signed sleeve to me to show his thanks. When the project was over, he took all of us out to a fabulous lunch and gave each of us a Christmas gift. This show of kindness was rare in the music industry and I will always fondly remember my good fortune to be honored to have worked with him. Sincerely, Gabrielle Raumberger”