January 2025 - Page 5 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Beatles For Sale begat ’65 and VI

Capitol knew how to churn out the product

Many of us who grew up with the American versions of the Beatles albums were confounded when we discovered that the United Kingdom albums were different. For instance, Beatles For Sale on Parlophone generated the majority of songs for two Capitol albums in the United States, Beatles ’65 and Beatles VI.

“Beatles For Sale was released on 4th December 1964 – just 21 weeks after A Hard Day’s Night. It was The Beatles’ fourth album release in less than two years.” Some fans and critics consider it the band’s least successful collection. It contains six covers, probably because the band was busy with touring and moviemaking; this was the last time the band relied on so many outside songs for their albums. Here are the links.

Beatles ’65 also came out in December ’64, just before Christmas. All are by Lennon/McCartney except when otherwise indicated. If they’re from Beatles for Sale, they’ll be indicated as B4S. Here are the tracks.

Side 1

No Reply – B4S

I’m A Loser – B4S

Baby’s In Black—B4S. Is there a greater string of downer songs in the catalog than these?

Rock and Roll Music (Chuck Berry) – B4S

I’ll Follow The Sun – B4S, written by Paul c. 1958

Mr. Moonlight (Roy Lee Johnson) – B4S. One of the least popular Beatles tracks.

Side 2

Honey Don’t (Carl Perkins) – B4S. The Ringo vocal.

I’ll Be Back – the last song on the UK A Hard Day’s Night album

She’s A Woman – the B-side of the single. Unlike UK albums, which thought of LPs and 45s as separate entities, music producers in the US feared fans wouldn’t buy the album without the single.

I’ll Feel Fine – the A-side of the single.

Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (Perkins) – B4S. George loved Carl Perkins.

An interlude

The next Capitol Record was The Early Beatles (March 1965), which included 11 of the 14 songs on the UK’s Please Me album (March 1963). I Saw Her Standing There showed up on the Capitol album Meet The Beatles! (January 1964). The other two songs, Misery and There’s a Place, never appeared on a Capitol/Apple album until the US version of Rarities in March 1980.

Those 14 songs, 12 at a time, also appeared in one of the iterations of VeeJay’s Introducing…the Beatles, just before and after Meet The Beatles!

The sixth Capitol album, excluding The Beatles Story

Beatles VI was released in June 1965, the first Beatles album I ever purchased. Here are the tracks.

Side 1

Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller/Richard Penniman) – B4S. Note that the latter song was not listed on the album cover.

Eight Days a Week – B4S

You Like Me Too Much – the Harrison track was from Side 2 of the upcoming UK Help! album

Bad Boy (Larry Williams) – The group recorded material especially for the North American market. This song’s first UK release was on A Collection of Beatles Oldies in 1966 and later appeared on the UK Rarities album in 1978.

I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party – B4S

Words of Love (Buddy Holly) – B4S

Side 2

What You’re Doing -B4S

Yes It Is – the B-side to the single Ticket To Ride

Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Williams) – recorded material especially for the North American market. But it showed up on the upcoming UK Help album.

Tell Me What You See – from the upcoming UK Help album

Every Little Thing -B4S

The Story of The Beatles Cartoons & Why They Will Never Be Shown Again

ARA: understand a technology

lost address book

Arthur, who I’ve possibly never mentioned in the blog ever, notes:

I missed this when you posted it—it’s a busy time of year!—but I have questions:

If you could understand a technology you currently feel that you don’t, what would it be and why?

There is not a single technology that I’ve ever come across that I knew instinctively how to operate. The cliche that people had VCRs with the clock flashing 12:00 was true until I bought another machine and stumbled into figuring it out, or somebody else did; I can’t remember.

We have a DVD player in which we can play DVDs, but we still don’t have a current means of playing VHS tapes, so some things never change.

If you could create a technological solution for something, what would it be? What problem are you trying to “fix”?

The “fix” for my technological needs has been found. Unfortunately, it was established in the world of fictional television. For instance, I want a transporter like the one on Star Trek so I can spend less time getting there and more time enjoying myself. I’d also do a lot more international travel.

On the sitcom Bewitched, Samantha Stevens could instantly clean the house. I’m up for that, but I can’t wiggle my nose. Alas! (And, BTW, Darrin was a jerk for “forbidding” Sam from using her magic to do mundane tasks. )

Old school

What was your favourite technology that’s now obsolete?

It’s a word-processing product. It may have been WordPerfect. I could tell what italics, bold, etc., were embedded in the document and fix them. If you’ve ever seen any of my blog posts that have big gaps or, conversely, run together, know that I tried to fix them, but I can’t see why they’re off. It’s a mystery to me, and if my WordPress did the same thing as the WordPerfect I used to use, that would be nice. I don’t know if WordPerfect exists anymore and if it could be used in this mode.

If you could transport back in time for 30 minutes, where/when would you go, and why? Or, would you rather leave the past in the past?

I would avoid most opportunities to go back in time because changing one thing would likely affect several others. But two things come to mind that I’d alter. 1) I commented on a couple of people in a manner I don’t understand. I would undo that, and that would likely not have any grand negative consequences.

2) I was in Greenwich Village in the late 1970s or early 1980s, talking to somebody on a pay phone; I left my address book there and never retrieved it. It had addresses I needed, and I’ve always been a bit sad about that. So, if I could go back and remember to pick the phone address book off the phone booth shelf, I would do that, and it would make me surprisingly happy.

Born January 1955: Simmons, Costner, Roberts

SCOTUS

Among the famous folks turning 70 this month are Rowan Atkinson, who played Mr. Bean (6th) and coach Tom Izzo (30th).

9th – J. K. Simmons, American actor, born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He’s the epitome of the working actor. I’ve seen/heard him in The Cider House Rules (1999); Thank You For Smoking (2005); as the dad in Juno (2007); Up In The Air (2009); voicing Ford Pines in eight episodes of Gravity Falls (2015-2016); voicing the mayor in Zootopia (2016); La La Land (2016); and playing William Frawley in Being the Ricardos (2021), for which he received an Oscar nomination.

But I know him best from about 50 episodes of the various Law & Order shows (1994-2010), playing the shrink Emil Skoda; as J. Jonah Jameson in a half dozen Spider-Man movies (2002-2023); in 109 episodes of The Closer (2005-2012), playing Assistant Police Chief Will Pope; and his Oscar-winning performance as the harsh music instructor in Whiplash (2014).

Also, for several years, he was the guy in the Farmer’s Insurance commercials, such as Sesame Street, lawnmower, and the recent sleigh insurance. Here he is in Guys and Dolls (1992).

KC

19th – Kevin Costner, Jan 18, American actor, born in Los Angeles, California. Of the movies of his I’ve seen, he starred in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991); JFK (1991), McFarland, USA (2015), and Message In A Bottle (2016). He’s also significant in Hidden Figures (2016).

He won Best Director and Picture and was nominated for Best Actor in Dances With Wolves (1990).

But it’s two baseball movies, released in consecutive years, for which I think of him the most. Bull Durham (1988) is a great movie about the minor leagues. But Field of Dreams (1989) is a bit of hokum that makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME, not always in the same place.

One other film he was in: The Big Chill (1983). “‘We shot this whole flashback … in Atlanta, and we shot it first, when we’re all together in our college days,’ [Jeff] Goldblum said… ‘Then we saw the movie, and for one reason or another, they decided not to use it,’ Goldblum said. ‘But [Costner] was wonderful.'”

CJ

Jan 27 J- John G Roberts, 17th Chief Justice of the United States, born in Buffalo, New York. From here: He “is expressing concerns about the growing disregard for the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of major rulings expected in 2025. In his year-end report, Roberts emphasized the importance of maintaining judicial independence, urging that court decisions be honored regardless of their political implications.

“‘Within the past few years, however, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings,’ Roberts wrote. ‘These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected. Judicial independence is worth preserving.'”

I agree with that last sentence. But many of the rulings of the Roberts Court, starting with Shelby County v. Holder (2013), in which Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was ruled “unconstitutional, and its formula can no longer be used as a basis for subjecting jurisdictions to preclearance. “

Then, in Trump v. United States (2024), “Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.” But “unofficial acts” is so vague as to be meaningless.

Both of the cases, BTW, were written by the Chief Justice. I’d love to see some “judicial independence.”

Movie review: Wicked

Ozian authoritarianism

For my wife’s and my Tuesday date night in mid-December, we went to the Spectrum Theatre in Albany to see the movie Wicked. I had seen the touring show of the Broadway play a dozen years earlier and liked it quite a bit. I also read the book and was not as enthusiastic about it.

However, the novel is important as it creates a reimagining of the L. Frank Baum books, with a certain amount of homage to the 1939 movie. The character we knew as the Wicked Witch of the West has been named Elphaba, a direct homage to Baum’s initials. That the protagonist is not inherently evil is an interesting concept.

The movie leans into both the book and the Broadway show. As described by Alex Mell-Taylor here: “The book chronicles her life as she struggles against the authoritarian Wizard of Oz, a fascistic figure who scapegoats entire classes of people to stay in power, including, eventually, Elphaba herself.

“It’s ultimately a tragic tale about how the winners of history can turn fighters for justice into villains.

“The musical never abandoned this theme, but it does become less prominent, with the emotional core switching to Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship and the rise of Ozian authoritarianism becoming more of a B-plot. While Maguire’s original retelling had some flashy, risque elements, it’s undoubtedly more substantive than the musical. A large part of the book is about Elphaba’s activism — something the musical only briefly touches upon.

This AND That

“The movie is a hybrid of these two visions. It follows the structure of the musical but uses visuals to heighten the authoritarian (arguably fascist) aesthetic that first came from the book. We are aware of Ozian’s discriminatory nature throughout the film in a way that feels much more consequential than a simple B-plot.”

This explains, if not necessarily justifies, the movie’s length—or, more correctly, the movies. Wicked: For Good will be released in November 2025.

I liked the first movie well enough. As enemies turned friends, Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande-Butera (Galinda) gave strong performances. Jeff Goldblum, as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Michelle Yeoh, as Madame Morrible, and Jonathan Bailey, as the eye candy Fiyero, were also very good.

Still, the movie’s length wore me down. Somebody (Roger Ebert?) suggested that a movie could be too long at 90 minutes and too short at 4 hours. This movie, which was about 2:45, had many elements that I enjoyed, including most of the music, but somehow, I was a little disappointed.

The movie received an 88% positive critics’ rating and 95% from audiences. As Keith Garlingrton noted: “’Wicked’ doesn’t quite dazzle the way it wants to. It’s an uneven and unwieldy production.” It felt like an oversized truck careening down a narrow highway when you worry that the payload will tip over.

Then there’s the “you have to see the next episode” aspect. I experienced this with Marvel movies, so I and many others were not rushing to see the later outings after Avengers: Endgame. I will probably see Wicked For Good, but it will make me cranky.

A few articles

‘Wicked’ and Hollywood’s Bumpy Road to Oz. Jon M. Chu’s musical… is defying gravity at the box office — but it was a winding yellow-brick road of Hollywood adaptations to get here from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)

‘Wicked’ Easter Eggs for Your Second (or Third) Watch. Two of the elements were obvious to me. “The title card for Wicked also uses the same font as the title card for The Wizard of Oz... Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, in the Wicked Broadway stage musical,” have a number.

Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) and Jon M. Chu (Wicked) — Directors on Directors

Cynthia Erivo Reveals She Co-Wrote an Original Song for Elphaba in ‘Wicked: For Good.’ ‘Wicked: For Good’: Here’s What We Know About Part 2.

James Earl Carter, Jr (1924-2004)

I was surprised by my real sadness over the passing of James Earl Carter, Jr. Back in October, I wrote a post about him in honor of his 100th birthday, which I felt could serve as his obituary.

Yet, I needed to share this NY Times piece. I suspect there is a compare and contrast element. 45/47, “who often denigrated Mr. Carter and, in recent days, spoke of unraveling one of his signature accomplishments, the transfer of the Panama Canal to Panama, issued a gracious statement.” It was rather perfunctory, I thought.

But Russell Moore wrote in the Atlantic [paywall], “Jimmy Carter told me to stop worrying about Donald Trump.”

“When Carter invited me to meet with him in his Atlanta office, just a few weeks after the world-shocking 2016 U.S. presidential election, I assumed the topic would be Donald Trump. After all, I was a vocal evangelical-Christian critic of Trump, and now the religious right was gathering steam for revenge. Some Trump-supporting evangelicals wanted me to be fired or the religious organization I was working for at the time to be defunded. I was rattled by what a Trump presidency would mean for American democracy and, more important, for the witness of the Church after white evangelicals proved to be Trump’s most loyal base. Carter was unfazed.

“’These things have happened before,’ he said. ‘Everything has a way of coming back around. What seems unstoppable and inevitable never is.’”

“I thought to myself, Well, he should know. Carter had experienced himself how quickly political realities change.”

Radical faith

“Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, evaluates Carter’s signature, even radical emphasis on human rights. She attributes much of his approach to his deeply held evangelical faith and his ’empathy for individuals who had suffered human rights abuse,’ at home and abroad.”

Anna Marks, NYT Opinion Staff Editor: “I encountered a man who chose to pursue the betterment of the human condition over his own aggrandizement, enrichment, or legacy. Americans love to imagine themselves as noble leaders deeply committed to generosity, tolerance, and the greater good… Carter was the rare one of us who actually met that image’s challenge to the benefit of the world.”

Kelly Sedinger: “They say a good man can’t get elected President. I don’t believe that. Do you?”

Borowitz Report: “When Americans elected Carter in 1976, they chose a man who pledged never to lie to them. He was a refreshing response to the cesspool of Republican lying typified by Watergate. By electing Reagan in 1980, Americans returned to the cesspool.

“Forty-four years later, we find ourselves back in that cesspool yet again—and looking for an honest person like Jimmy Carter to lead us someplace better.”

Books by about Jimmy Carter from Barnes and Noble.

The THR piece.

I imagine I will watch at least part of the memorial service for Jimmy Carter, although I probably won’t watch the inauguration of 47, who is fuming over flags being at half-staff on Jan 20.