The British Invasion

Man, this has been some winter (Polar Vortex be damned!). Thankfully, February is also the month of love, and there has been plenty of that to spare... as four wise men once sang, "love is all you need."

This month also marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' arrival on North American shores. Of course there were plenty of tributes and media attention, as there seem to be with every Fab Four milestone. I was thinking I would resist the temptation, but recent reports have actually taught me a thing or two about the four lads that I didn't know, and made me appreciate their influence all the more.

"The Fabs" were the first band I ever loved. Any music I have listened to (since becoming hooked at age ten) has been judged by that melodic template. I always find myself gravitating towards British pop/rock, but was surprised to learn that prior to the winter of 1964, acts from the UK were seen as some kind of novelty.

We attended a great lecture recently, given by Skidmore College Music Professor/Chair Gordon R. Thompson. An ethnomusicologist, Thompson is also a Beatles' scholar--teaching courses on the subject, and authoring such books as Please Please Me: British Pop, Inside Out. His illustrated/musical talk was conducted in various locations around the Capital Region, and we caught it at Schenectady's great public library on February 8 (the weekend that the Beatles made history on The Ed Sullivan Show). 

It was interesting to learn about how the band tried to release successful records here in the States before 1964, but they all flopped (Please Please Me and She Loves You included). It wasn't until American media learned of the phenomenon occurring across Europe-- in particular, 1963's Roayl Command Performance-- and began reporting about "Beatlemania." 

At the same time, as Thompson pointed out, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. A high-profile story on the band was bumped from Walter Cronkite's nightly news, and the nation went into mourning. The lecture theorized that the Beatles music and energy acted as a welcome relief after the devastating news. I did not know that the band refused to visit America until they had a top hit, and that is exactly what they did-- they didn't tour here until "I Want To Hold Your Hand" reversed their fortunes.

Another thing I did not realize was that host Ed Sullivan had to wait on the tarmac of London's Heathrow Airport, while fans reacted to the Beatles' incoming flight arrival. That is what clued him into the band, and booked them on the show. Last summer Sarah and I caught a "Live at Letterman" taping at the former Ed Sullivan Theater, and I remember being amazed at how small the studio seemed-- this is where John, Paul, George, and Ringo were introduced to the U.S. on February 9, 1964.

On the night of this anniversary, they aired a Grammy tribute to the Beatles on CBS-TV. It was alright-- fun to see Paul and Ringo playing together again, but pretty obvious that, for the most part, the modern acts trying to cover their songs really lacked what made the band and their songs so special. Stevie Wonder was there, and did a pretty funky version of "We Can Work It Out"-- I expected as much, as he released a cool cover of that song back in 1970. Sadly, the recent tribute show might serve as a telling example of how much spontaneity, craft, and soul is lost in modern pop/rock. Paul and Ringo just blew everyone else away when they took the stage. 

Looking back, I just discovered another fantastic 1970s cover version of the Beatles: "I Want To Hold Your Hand", recorded by the Reverend Al Green-- I had never heard it before, but it has kept me smiling ever since:

Another idea that I hadn't really thought about was that the Beatles, when they were first starting, were basically giving back their own covers of popular American rock music-- Elvis, Chuck Berry, early Motown-- which they loved. Obviously they put their own Liverpudlian spin on it (I always get a kick out of hearing George Harrison's heavily accented singing in those days). 

Anyway, I thought I wasn't going to get sucked in, but so it goes... once again, eagerly devouring information about the Beatles and their lasting legacy. Beyond their music, it's interesting to learn about the cultural aspects-- a new generation defining their own times. "Mad Men" learning to coexist with the hippies. 1964 was an important year-- my parents got married-- so I can't help but find myself intrigued by the changes that were occurring at the time.

There have been countdowns in the last month, so here's one more: my attempt at a list of my all-time, favorite Beatles songs (with help from the excellent The Beatles: A Hard Day's Write to remember them all):

-"Please Please Me" / "From Me to You"

-"Twist and Shout" / "Misery"

-"I Want To Hold Your Hand"

-"Ticket To Ride"

-"You Can't Do That" 
"Nowhere Man"

-"We Can Work It Out"

-"I'm Looking Through You"

-"Eleanor Rigby"

-"I'm Only Sleeping"

-"A Day in the Life"

-"Lovely Rita" / "Good Morning Good Morning"

"All You Need Is Love"

"Hey Jude"
"All Together Now"

"Happiness Is a Warm Gun" / "I'm So Tired" / "Bungalow Bill"

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

"Across The Universe" rarities version

"Something"

"Here Comes The Sun"

"I Want You" 

It's all good, really. I'm not such a fan of the Let It Be album, but this past month I FINALLY watched the film. It gave me a new appreciation for the band's skill, even as they were disintegrating. The scenes of the four working out songs in the studio confirmed how skilled they were. I have been reading Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, and he mentions the Beatles as having one of the key elements of "genius"-- the idea that it takes about 10,000 hours of practicing to achieve mastery in a field. What I hadn't thought about was the Beatles were already experts by the time they hit our shores-- having played endless hours in the rough pubs of Hamburg, Germany.

It's hard to imagine another band coming along and achieving their lasting impact, but my early love of the Beatles (a generation removed) would manifest itself in a love for 80s and 90s Britpop, and plenty of exciting bands in the time since. 

Ten years ago I had my own "Ed Sullivan" moment, as I managed to land the first televised interview with the UK band, Keane here in the U.S. The band has just released a retrospective of their career (according to Q magazine they are taking a "hiatus," and singer Tom Chaplin is looking at a solo album). To commemorate, I recently posted my original, "uncut" Berkshire Soundstage interview with the lads. I plan to post similar interviews from my "really big shew" (as Sullivan would put it).

"In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make..." The Beatles will no doubt continue to impress generations of fans and musicians to come, so... alright, keep those anniversary tributes coming.

Viewed From a Different Lens

So I think we're making up for all of the snow we failed to receive last winter. In addition to the big storm earlier in the week, it hasn't stopped snowing all day today. That's fine by me... it gave us a chance to stay cosy inside and continue to organize our place. We also took care of preparing a few late holiday gifts... as a result, my new niece can expect a few hand-crafted goodies created by her artistic aunt and uncle.

Last night we did manage to get out of the house to finally check out the movie Argo. The film centered around the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-1981, and the incredible true story of an attempt to rescue several members of the hijacked American embassy, who escaped and were hiding in seclusion at the onset of the crisis. This rescue mission was achieved by way of a cover story created by the CIA, claiming that all of these American citizens were actually Canadians scouting out Iran as the location for a science fiction film... it makes you wonder what other real-life situations are actually stranger than fiction!

The hostage crisis was the first big news story I remember growing up. Really, how could you escape that news? It was an unbelievably tense situation, yet I was only nine years old at the time and knew little about why it all happened. This film opened my eyes to some of the international politics that originally sparked the crisis. I must admit that I'm only just getting my head around the history of Iran− Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis was quite helpful and creative in providing insight about the region's changing culture before and after the Islamic Revolution. 

Argo definitely makes great use of news footage and other images from that time period. I think this is one the film's great triumphs− they definitely recreated the look and feel of the time period. Director Ben Affleck continues his string of interesting projects, yet I am still undecided about his acting− most of the time in this film he runs around looking overly serious... maybe it was the itchy 70s beard. I did love Alan Arkin and John Goodman during the scenes set in Hollywood... but as you see in the trailer, it does make for something of a thematic shift for the movie. I still think the filmmakers achieved a successful, cohesive project− the story was incredibly interesting, and threw several surprises at us during it's brisk two hours. Ultimately, it made me want to learn more about the crisis from the eyes of an adult, knowing the world and international politics the way I do now.

Getting topical... at age nine! "Fun-Book," January 1980.
©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

On a related note, last month during Thanksgiving dinner my mother surprised me by bringing out some old artwork I had created as a kid. As we all had a good laugh looking through my comic books and marveling at my imagination, I was struck by the cover I created for the January 1980 issue of Fun-Book, a comic/activity book I regularly created for my friends. Pictured on the cover amidst various sci-fi characters of the day and my own "Super Babies" creations, I had drawn a pretty impressive caricature of both American President Jimmy Carter and Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini. I have to say that this caught me completely off-guard... not only seeing the artistic ability, but the topical nature of the work. †he Iran hostage crisis did make a big impression on me, but I did not remember creating this... my first political statement as it were. Here you see Hulk Baby about to tackle the Ayatollah, while President Carter literally stands on my head... even back then, current events seemed to weigh heavily on my mind.

Related Links:

"'Argo's' Real People: Individuals Who Inspired Characters Speak Out About Film, Hostage Crisis," Huffington Post, December 28, 2012

Argo official website

It's Not Easy (Being Green)

DCComics.com

I had trouble sleeping last night, so I decided to read some more of an interesting collection of comics I picked up recently. DC recently published a paperback collection of classic tales of its characters Green Lantern and Green Arrow that were created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams back in the early 1970s. I had heard great things about these stories, both in the art and the way they were written, so I thought it was high time I checked them out. 

The series does not disappoint--especially with the art. Adams was the king of dynamic compositions, with characters literally jumping from panel to panel in the comic book format. Alex Ross cites the artist as an influence, and I can see why--he makes great use of dramatic perspectives and details in his work.  There is an intensity alongside the clear graphic lines he uses, and I can see how he revitalized such books at Batman and The Uncanny X-Men around that time. 

The stories are unique in that they deal with many of social, political and cultural issues happening at the time. O'Neil's story arc really starts off in the fashion of the film, Easy Rider, with the two super heroes trekking across the country to learn more about America's conflicted state. This is right around the time of Vietnam, the civil rights era, and the Woodstock generation, so you have plenty of then-topical issues like drugs, racism and trust in authority being addressed in a unique way. Some of the material seems a little heavy-handed at times, but then again... these were comic books. So the approach was something new and daring, and quite possibly taking a cue from Marvel Comics' more timely approach.

Having said that, with all my current comic book research for the exhibition, I just learned of a new book that was to published today called Marvel Comics: The Untold Story.  Apparently it goes into great detail about the ups and downs of one of the biggest comic publishers around (and always my favorite). I read a little about the company's evolution in the 1970s, and way they picked up on everything from drug culture to blaxploitation to kung fu... and there was plenty of weirdness happening behind the scenes with the company's creators! 
I definitely look forward to reading the book at some point.

I am continually fascinated by the 1970s... I was just a toddler in the early part of the decade, but it sounds like so many crazy things were happening, and pop culture was not immune. I have seen plenty of films from that period, and there is a real darkness about them... from the story lines to the way they were produced. It really is interesting... reflections from a country that was doing a lot of soul-searching... and I guess comic books were not immune either... Alex Ross would be proud of me for noticing.  

P.S.- The character Green Arrow is being reintroduced with a new TV series this week on the CW. It's called Arrow... looks somewhat promising... at least the design of the costume... I have always kind of dug archery. Here's a link to the trailer.

Related Links:

www.nealadams.com

www.cwtv.com/shows/arrow

"First Serial: Marvel Comics, The Untold Story," Grantland, October 3, 2012

"Sean How on Stan Lee, Jack Kirby..." CapitalNewYork.com, October 9, 2012

Sound The Call

Union College, May 19, 2012. Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

The day started off with an impromptu radio interview... I literally just got into my office when I received a call from a radio station in Kentucky: "Can you do an interview?" "Sure." "Ok, stand by..."-! Fortunately, I have gotten good at this type of thing, so it worked out just fine. I was also interviewed by a newspaper in the afternoon. My spokesperson duties certainly are getting a workout lately...

This evening we received a call from the photographer that we approached to shoot our wedding, saying that he was free to photograph our big day. Great news, and a bit of a relief as the day is fast approaching! I think he's going to work out well... all of his shots that I have seen really tell a story, including the various persons filling in the background. He has a background in photojournalism, which I think helps... so now I think we're all set with our photographer and videographer... check, check!

Speaking of video, here is a Iittle film I captured on my smartphone this past Saturday. Sarah lives up the street from Union College in Schenectady, and they were presenting a concert and fireworks to honor the 150th anniversary of the military tune, "Taps." The solemn, 24-note bugle call is credited to Daniel Adams Butterfield, who was a Union General in the American Civil War, and Assistant U.S. Treasurer in New York City, who also graduated from Union College in 1849. According to the school's website, "while serving as a general during the Civil War, Butterfield didn’t like the traditional bugle call that marked the day’s end. So with the help of his brigade’s bugler, Butterfield tweaked another call no longer in use. The eloquent and haunting sound quickly spread to other units and became the new standard."

I love living in a pretty area, where you have access to such cultural events. It was a real treat to be able to walk less than a mile down the street on a pleasant spring evening and take this all in. The bugle call, presented by professional trumpeter Steve Weisse, was preceded by a full concert by a brass band in the school's Memorial Chapel to honor Armed Services Day--it was a lovely tribute. 

Just a couple days earlier, I heard a story on NPR that talked about the genesis of "Taps," which has become a national song of remembrance-- I thought it was interesting to learn that it was used by both the Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War! On the eve of Memorial Day, the deceptively simple song seems as relevant as ever...

Related Links:

"Sounding a solemn note: Taps turns 150," Union College website, May 7, 2012

"Union College hosts a milestone for 'Taps'," Albany Times Union, May 18, 2012

150 Years of Taps," NPR, May 18, 2012

"Tapping into Taps," Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2012