A Beatles Magic Spell

[17thBeatle]

Hello everyone. It's been a long time since I've posted, but I've been having a very bad time for the past two years. In any event, I've been thinking a lot about the spiritual forces behind everything Beatles, and I've noticed a few strange things in my life regarding this, even though I was born 3 months after the Beatles officially broke up.

What I keep remembering is the fact that I always seemed to be enchanted by the Beatle Mystique, the music and especially Paul. I can recall being 4 or 5 and sitting alone in my room listening to "Oldies But Goldies" over and over on my father's Toyo portable 8 Track player. All the while, I would stare at the strange album cover as if in a trance (but not really in a trance). Also, I used to stare at the cover of the Rascal's album "See," which is a painting by Magritte called "The Grand Family." It depicts an ocean horizon under dark, threatening skies, but rising from the ocean is a giant form of a bird with WINGS spread, and inside the form of the bird is blue sky and white clouds. On the back of the album is a picture of the Rascals performing. What I always noticed was that the drummer looked A LOT like Paul in that picture.

I can only imagine what you are thinking... a 4 year old sitting alone in his room, listening to the Beatles and staring at album covers... No, there was no LSD in my Pop Tarts... but there was something...

I'm not saying that I think the drummer for the Rascals had anything to do with PID or that Magritte was dropping hints before PID even happened, but I'm just trying to get a feel for any experiences you might have had with the Beatles that seemed enchanting to you... that is, that they affected you on a higher, spiritual level (good or bad) than other bands.

I really hate to admit this (mostly because my wife really hates Faul) but when I got older, I followed Faul's career almost exclusively as opposed to the other Beatles. Again, I seemed to be enchanted by him. I admit, I enjoyed his music (if it's really even his) but there was more to it... some kind of preternatural pull that I can't explain. Now it seems silly to me, of course, but I still wonder... what forces are behind all this? Surely, I'm not the only one who was affected. As we know, the whole world was affected in some way by the Beatles, and let's face it: no one would give Faul the time of day if he wasn't a "Beatle." But there he was, fooling the whole world, a cheap carbon copy with questionable talent, yet I was fascinated by him... granted, the fascination started with Paul... his voice, his personality, his music, but what the hell really happened in the spirit dimension to hold our fascination so tightly and for so long?

OK, I'm going out on a limb here... Please, I want you to understand that I'm a sane, peace-loving person, but I must tell you something that I was engaged in from the age of 8 to about 22: This is a very long story, but I'll be short... I was a very shy and sensitive youngster and I found it very painful just to face the "normal" routine of a child in the United States. In short, I needed a way to get through each day and to have something to look forward to in the future. So what did I do? I developed a sort of pseudo-religion for myself based on 11 Beatles songs.

I know, I know, you're thinking Charles Manson with The White Album, but it really wasn't like that... but it was strange, I'll grant you that. Anyway, each song represented a stage in my life. For example, stage 1 was birth and early childhood and stage 11 was death. As it turned out, I was stuck in stage 5 when I finally abandoned this mindset (I'm still stuck in Stage 5, BTW). But what the hell IS this? Really, I'm not crazy! I understand this isn't normal. I was predicting my own future based on 6 Beatles songs! (Stage 6 through 11). And believe me, these stages were specific... and weird! Only the Beatles could do that to me!

So about three years ago, I came across Uberkinder and Sun King and I saw the light immediately... Paul and Faul are definitely two different people. I am open to any theory as to how this happened, however I'm now well aware that something sinister happened in '66 and because of the GLOBAL impact of the Beatles from '67 to '70, I tend to think that this sinister act had a lot of help from negative forces... or demons, if you will. Incidentally, 10 of the 11 stages were based on songs from AFTER Paul was out of the picture.

Did any of you see the movie "Oh God! You Devil?" In it, a struggling musician (who resembles Faul a little) sells his soul to the devil (George Burns, who played Mr. Kite in Sgt. Pepper movie) to become a huge rock star. The name of the rock star he becomes is Billy Wayne. The struggling musician is basically "inserted" into Billy Wayne. He retains his own consciousness and memory, but he LOOKS like Billy Wayne to everybody else. In the scene where he first plays live in a huge concert, he's afraid to go on stage, because he doesn't know any of the songs. When he's finally coaxed onto the stage by George Burns, they hand him a guitar and... yes, the chords and lyrics magically come to him. As for his voice... nobody knows it's not Billy Wayne. So he hi-jacks Billy's life basically... riding on Lear jets, limousines, helicopters, living in a mansion, sleeping with numerous groupies, e.t.c...

I hope you all are doing well. Til' next time.

[byrdsmaniac]

17thbeatle said:

Also, I used to stare at the cover of the Rascal's album "See," which is a painting by Magritte called "The Grand Family." It depicts an ocean horizon under dark, threatening skies, but rising from the ocean is a giant form of a bird with WINGS spread, and inside the form of the bird is blue sky and white clouds.

Here's the cover of "See"

musicstore.connect.com/album/500/000/000/000/010/067/588/500000000000010067588.html

image of the actual painting here:

www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourImage.cgi?image_id=29099&tour_id=17720

17thBeatle also wrote:
"On the back of the album is a picture of the Rascals performing. What I always noticed was that the drummer looked A LOT like Paul in that picture....
I'm not saying that I think the drummer for the Rascals had anything to do with PID ....."

I certainly hope you've read this, 17th:

60if.proboards21.com/index.cgi?board=Essential&action=display&thread=1134864658&page=1

Btw, what 11 songs did you choose for your Beatle religion?

[Ludwig]

Thanks for sharing that 17th Beatle. I've had very similar experiences, "religious" and otherwise, with their music and Faul's music as well. I too was born shortly after their breakup, and becoming a Beatle fan after they were done was quite different in that we accepted, at first, the 'official" accounts but recognized, even if subconsciously, the differences. I don't feel appalled as much as betrayed. PWR fits in my life-long philosophy that nothing is as it seems and that all official accounts should be challenged and that a select few benefit from the pain and toil that many suffer. BTW, the Oh God! You Devil! reference was great! I never made that connection. I'm going to rent it and pay close attention this time.

[17thBeatle]

Byrdsmaniac, thank you for posting the links for "See" and "The Grand Family." Also, thanks for the Dino Danelli post. I actually did see that before (to my great surprise). The picture of him from the back cover of "See" is on that thread... it's the one (6th picture down) where he is shown behind the drums with a lot of glitter all around. He really looks a lot like Paul in that one.

Ludwig, I totally relate to what you said, and thanks for sharing. I'd like to know specifically, if you wouldn't mind, some of the stranger, spiritual episodes in your life relating to Beatles/Faul, e.t.c.... Also, definitely rent "Oh God! You Devil." It may be hard to find and I don't think it's even on DVD. I also think it came out in '83 or '84. If you watch it through the prism of PWR, you'll definitely get a kick out of it. Some things are pretty eye-opening.

OK, Byrdsmaniac, here are the 11 songs that comprised my "religion." I didn't really pick these songs, they just formed into this list by themselves over a period of years. It started when I was 8 (1978) and by 1986, a name for the whole concept came to me one night. It was called "Neo Memories." OK, here are the songs:

1) Strawberry Fields
2) Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
3) Maxwell's Silver Hammer
4) Oh Darling
5) You Never Give Me Your Money
6) Come Together
7) I want you/She's So Heavy
8) Because
9) Mean Mr. Mustard
10) Got to Get You Into My Life
11) Here Comes the Sun

I remember that there was a lot of personal meaning behind each song based on things I'd already experienced in my life (stage 1 through 5), but the thing that was alarming was the fact that stages 6 through 11 were already pre-determined for me and it wasn't pretty. I mean I'm not going to blame a possible personality flaw on the Beatles, but I'm positive that their music carries a little extra something from the fourth dimension. Byrds, have you ever had any preternatural experiences in your life that were related to Beatles music? I'd love to know.

[Ludwig]

Good morning 17th Beatle. When I was ten, I made my first record album purchase, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I am the youngest of four and all of my siblings were teens during the mid sixties so I had listened to it as a kid, but by that time they were all away at school and had taken their records with them. I NEEDED to have that album. I entered a trance-like state when I listened to it and, to an extent, still do. When I first got it I stared, not at the front cover but at the back and inside and wondered about their odd positioning and expressions. I thought that "Paul's" face and mustache looked really strange but couldn't understand why. My next purchases were the capitol Red and Blue vinyl compilations. It was from the pictures on those albums that I drew a clear distinction between what I then called the "young" Paul and the "old" Paul. He, more than the rest, appeared to have changed drastically. Their music was what drew me in and held me there. It confirmed for me that there was a God, as music as complete and emotionally stirring as that had to have been due, in part, to divine guidance. Throughout my life specific tunes have correlated to specific occurrences and decisions and all the while I've felt that it was more communication with a divine entity rather than coincidence or serendipity. Finding this site and reading all of the material contained has changed my opinions of the Beatles and all that surrounded them but it hasn't changed the effect the music has on me. I now must know why it happened. Why was Paul sacrificed at such a young age? Why would God's allow his own channel to be cut out? As a musician, I feel at times like a "Salieri" type, grateful for what I've experienced and jealous of the talents bestowed upon people like JPM, but rather than secretly wish for their demise, I cry for their suffering. I guess it's not unlike a pilgrimage to figure out what perhaps I'm simply not supposed to know. I'll keep trying though.
BTW, Oh God! You Devil! is proving difficult to find. There's an old mom-n-pop video store a few miles from me, I have a good feeling I'll find it there.

[byrdsmaniac]

17thbeatle said:

I'm positive that their music carries a little extra something from the fourth dimension. Byrds, have you ever had any preternatural experiences in your life that were related to Beatles music? I'd love to know.

Most music "carries a little extra something from the fourth dimension", imo.
Actually the fifth dimension, but the fourth is involved.

I will try to answer your question fairly when i have some time.
Today I'm a little short of that fourth-dimension comm-oddity.

[17thBeatle]

Hi Ludwig! I can relate to your fascination with the back/inside of the Sgt. Pepper cover, however, I have to congratulate you for having the eye to see that something was amiss with "Paul" even at that young age. I have to admit that I was completely bamboozled. I NEVER even saw any discrepancies, not even when I was a huge Wings fan and had access to hundreds of pictures of Faul.

About your confirmation of the existence of God as it relates to the Beatles music... again, I completely understand, even though with me it was a different kind of music that gave me that confirmation (don't laugh--Henry Mancini). Actually, I'm very happy for you that the Beatles music gave that to you. I just wish I could say the same for me. For me, I found their music "complete and emotionally stirring" as well. As a matter of fact, I'll go even further and describe the effect their music had on me as a very young child as: sublime, magical, ethereal, infinite, metaphysically perfect... However, as beautiful this effect was to me, I always felt empty in my pursuit to grasp it. I hope this makes sense. I mean, as beautiful as it was, it always left me feeling odd, empty and with a sense of "unfulfillable longing" (Salieri!) I always even felt a trace of great tragedy and sadness, even before I knew what happened to Paul. With this in mind, I wonder, with music that powerful and life-changing, and considering what we now know about the great fraud and deception of Faul and his keepers--what was the intention of unleashing the Beatles on the world? Was it meant to divert our attention away from something else? Was it meant to anesthetize us or trick us? Or was meant for some people, like you, as a gift from God? I wonder.

Like you, I was the youngest. In my case, it was my father who had all the Beatles albums, however, most were unplayable by the time I was born because my older sister had scratched and written all over them with crayon. So I would listen to "A Collection of Oldies" over and over again on the 8 track-- now that I think about it, my father had A LOT of 8 tracks from the sixties, and the only one I would listen to was "Collection of Oldies"! Anyway, until I was 8, most of what I heard from the Beatles was pre-Pepper. OK, I'm going to admit something terrible again... in the summer of '78 (when I was 8) my sister took me to a movie that blew my mind... that movie was (brace yourself) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I know how terrible it is, but it completely freaked me out (in a good or bad way, I don't know) and remember I was only 8, but the good thing was that I was finally exposed some of the post-Pepper Beatle music. That was it for me. When I got home, I took out my father's scratched Pepper, Abbey Road, Let it Be, e.t.c... and started listening to the real thing (with a lot of clicks and pops). After that, I couldn't get enough, as I'm sure you understand.

In any event, I also understand your "Salieri" thing. I'm not a musician, but I taught myself to play the piano by ear and I have written a few dozen songs over the years. God yes, I feel the music of the spheres in me, but I know I can't reach it... like JPM could just reach out and grab it as if on a platter... and then cut down so quickly... who knows what beauty he would've come up with.

Incidentally, I saw part of the video for Faul's "Say, Say, Say" on TV the other day... It made me wonder... do you think Paul would have ever written a song like that?

OK, one more thing... Have you ever heard of the book "Hostage to the Devil" by Malachi Martin? The reason I ask is that there is a case in the book (the book is a compilation of 5 cases of demonic possession in modern America) that reminds me of my fascination with Beatles music. In the case, a Psychology professor (in the late 60s) was doing heavy experimentation with what they now call astral projection. He was trying to prove it scientifically, even getting some of his top students to help him record the events on tape, film, e.t.c... He would lie on a bed and project himself to some other dimension that was more beautiful than anything on Earth, but always out of reach. With each experiment, he would get farther and farther, seeing new and more beautiful places, but he would describe his feelings as almost in a panic of nothingness, yet he still felt compelled to go further. He would be hooked up to an EEG, e.t.c... and it was even reported that he would levitate during his later attempts. I forgot how he knew this, but somehow he was given the psychic information that he needed to get through three "levels" in order to attain some kind of "cosmic truth." To make a long story short, just before he reached the "third level," his possession erupted into a violent episode and he needed to be exorcised. Sometimes this is how I feel about the sublime beauty I feel with the Beatles music. Please, I'm not saying it's evil, I'm just saying that this is how it feels to me. Anyway, this book is really something else. It will scare the crap out of you, especially if you read it alone. Well, I'd better go. Thanks so much for reading all of this crap.

Goodnight.

[Perplexed]

Rather interesting post, actually. Kudos.

[unrepentant]

just a silly thought as i sit here at 4:35 in the morning listening to "you won't see me" on the headphones....

6-18.... faul announces to the world at a worldwide press conference that he has been impersonating the real JPM all these years. on the same day, the BEATLES CODE movie comes out.....

6-19..... we nuke iran, but the world is too mind-f#cked from the previous day's announcement to feel anything.

it has been my opinion that the powers that be have been saving the faul announcement for the right occassion...as a smokescreen, a distraction, an OFFSETTING for some huge event.

"they" really need the big guns now....the natives are getting restless.

i've just read what i wrote and am not sure if i should even post it....ah what the heck.

[Perplexed]

No, never. It will never be announced. Never. Ever.Nada. Nyet. Nein. Non. Nay. Negatory. Not.
No way, Renée. They wil write the final chapter and we will read it. And the book will end with no such admissions.

[Perplexed]

This is a very interesting thread, Ludwig, 17th, byrds, etc et al..

[Ludwig]

Hello again all and thank you for your kind words and shared memories. Well 17th, it appears I've found a kindred spirit! I too was born in 1970, the youngest of four and apparently have had similar experiences of which the Beatles were a key component. You're not an Aquarius are you? I have heard much about Malachi Martin but have not read any of his work. I shall read "Hostage to the Devil" as soon as I finish "The Holographic Universe". BTW, I highly recommend it if you haven't read it. It offers a fresh perspective that challenges our perception of reality and speaks of a knowledge that George Harrison seemed to be born with. It kind of explains my quote from Yellow Submarine. Unrepentant, I think your post is quite timely given the weird moves our "powers that be" have been making as of late but I have to agree with Perplexed that I don't think "Faul" would ever own up to his role. They would probably march him out for a free concert to help lift spirits after a tragedy. I recently saw an 80's clip of Faul singing "Coming Up" and wondered the same thing 17th. Could Paul have written this? Would he have? That period of Faul's career and songs like "Say, Say, Say" and even "The Girl is Mine" was, IMO, when he perfected being Faul and left the idea of recreating Paul behind. He pretty well convinced the world that he was an updated Paul. What Paul could have been if he had lived. All the while it was like worshiping a false idol. People lined up to see him and still do it to this day but they know not what they are lining up to see. It is a set-up that resembles the real thing, willingly accepts money under the pretense and fosters and affirms allegiance in a grand and glitzy manner. In reality something true and divinely endowed had been sacrificed and forgotten to make it possible. This is the part of the spiritual experience that makes me sad and confused. It also motivates me to pursue PWR and understand the motivations behind it. Perhaps they weren't fell purposes, perhaps they were. Such is spiritual pursuit, I suppose. I'm liking this thread a lot. I'd also love to read of the spiritual experiences as it relates to the Beatles or any music for that matter! I'd never laugh at Henry Mancini BTW.

[Perplexed]

No, Hank Mancini was great, a very great person, as well as a remarkable composer, arranger, and showman. Even if he did refer to "Paul" as "John" on that 1965 TV special.


Mancini went to Hollywood in pursuit of a music career. He worked the mail rooms and the bottom level gopher jobs at the film studio, and while doing so, obtained scores and music out of the back files. He would burn the midnight oil studying this music, night after night, listening to the film, looking at the scores, practicing the techniques he gleaned from the master. Eventually he had a break, and , when he did, he was ready to write in a plethora of styles. He had honed the technical end; he understaood all he had to do technically. He was noted for his ability to conjure musically nearly any comcept presented to him.
Hank was also a gregarious, man, a man of largesse. Generous to a fault, devoted family man; famous for hosting large parties to dinner, esp. Italian cuisines.
He traveled the world touring for two decades. He maintainted a n excellent rapport with session musicians in every quarter. Here's to Hank!

No, William isn't going to become William Tell. And, let me ask you, seriously, would we want him to? This is an open question at this point for feedback.......anyone, feel free to shoot back a post saying "yes" or "no" as to why you feel:

QUESTION:

Should William break the Beatle's spell, and tell the world something surprising? Should he announce that he is McCartney II?

[Ludwig]

"No, William isn't going to become William Tell. And, let me ask you, seriously, would we want him to?

QUESTION:

Should William break the Beatle's spell, and tell the world something surprising? Should he announce that he is McCartney II?"

And that really is THE question posed beautifully and succinctly I might add. I'd like to know but I'm certain that I probably shouldn't. That the world probably shouldn't. When I was in high school we were handed sex-ed pamphlets in gym class that asked the question, with regard to pregnancy, std's etc., "Once you know for sure, what will you do with the information?" A hell of a trip to lay on kids, but it would give any one of us pause if we were to uncover irrefutable "smoking gun" proof that PWR...I think. I would hope that anyone in that position would take a second to think through the possible consequences. Perhaps that's what happened to Sunking...a crisis of conscience not an std.

Am I ready? Are we ready? Is the world ready? Perplexed, your question could be posed to anyone with regard to whom or what they believe in with similar results.

Yes, they were bigger than Jesus and later struggled to establish faith in something bigger than them. What it was, they or anyone else couldn't say. John did caution us not to put our faith in the Beatles. He had his reasons. Perhaps it would worth taking a serious look at what they believed in, Faul included.

[Perplexed]

Well put, Ludwig. I myself, and I am an unconnected person to all this living far rmoved from the center of the storm, I myself have had a crisis or two of conscience!
And that for merely posing the idea to a coworker, or posting an adament, strongly worded screed on behalf of PWR/PID!

It's like, what right has anybody to point a finger at any situation with bold claims and try to make "the people know"? First of all, it requires at least 2 or 3 bona fide, first hand witnesses in any court of opinion (much more, law!) and nobody here, as far as it would seem, is one of those kind of people. I feel safe in asserting that there is no one eligible for that.

Like screaming "thief", or "adulterer", or even "arsonist" in a public place at some erstwhile target. Bad manners (by the one pointing) in the least; defamation of charactor if you don't know what the frack you are talking about. Though slander is no one's intent, that may be the perception of others. Let me make clear that I do not personally ascribe ANY moral negatives whatsoever to the idea of there having been a switch----all I mean is that other people reacting to hearing about it might-----though I actually do not think most would, far from it.

Plus, there is no wisdom in risking detriment to other people's lives. No one knows the ourcome, or how far reaching it would be.Would things be better? Would things be worse? Could this help the world in some way? Who is fit to determine?

I ain't.

But this is in a way, rhetorical. Only William, or William's "posse", whomever, could
really make such an announcement. Anyone else in the world's eyes would be a crackpot.

Perhaps BP has had a change of heart. That would explain Don Knotts.

[Perplexed]

I have just viewed a movie which took me by surprise and has left me with a great deal to think about. I plan to view it at least one more time before returning to the video store.

"Good Night, and Good Luck"--casts it's own spell. Not a "magic" one, more of a thought provoking one.

Kudos to George Clooney for his direction and co-writing this amazing, tightly executed, dead-on re-creation of the CBS newsroom with Ed Murrow circa 1953, during the Senator Joe McCarthy hearings.....

I know they used a lot of Murrow's writing and quotes from the time.
That man's writing style----what a capable pen, a man who inspires me to wish to write a tenth as well---

Anyway, there are certain speeches that Murrow made about truth, and journalism, and reporting, and media, etc, that I found profoundly important today as well as then.

I highly recommend a viewing. It is eye opening and historically informative. Regardless how one feels about CBS's long history of not avoiding controversies, and a courageous (some might say blatant) propensity for editorializing, one must see in this chapter of media history, that it is better, as Murrow said, for television to be used as a tool to educate sometimes (as he was real an educator at heart), otherwise it was "merely lights and wires in a box."

I am bereft for eloquence after hearing the master. Here are some websites with thoughts about him and the movie, if anyone is interested:

www.boingboing.net/2005/10/17/good_night_and_good_.html
www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2005/10/07/edward-r-murrow-god-or-not/

[Perplexed]

A few more links onthis google page.

Hmmmm....we share the same birthday........

[byrdsmaniac]

perplexed said:

And that for merely posing the idea to a coworker, or posting an adament, strongly worded screed on behalf of PWR/PID!

Don't you mean an "Adam Ant" strongly worded screed?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Ant

"He decided on 'The Ants' as insect names like the Beatles did well."

(ApolloGeez! to 17thBeatle[/b] for this temporary diversion.)

[Perplexed]

byrdsmaniac said:

perplexed said:

And that for merely posing the idea to a coworker, or posting an adament, strongly worded screed on behalf of PWR/PID!

Don't you mean an "Adam Ant" strongly worded screed?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Ant

"He decided on 'The Ants' as insect names like the Beatles did well."

(ApolloGeez! to 17thBeatle

[/b] for this temporary diversion.)
[/quote]

Yes! lol

or even, a dumb aunt.

Diversion? Here? On this forum? A diversion? There has never been such a thing. Shake it loose.

[byrdsmaniac]

17thBeatle wrote:

"1) Strawberry Fields
2) Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
3) Maxwell's Silver Hammer
4) Oh Darling
5) You Never Give Me Your Money
6) Come Together
7) I want you/She's So Heavy
8) Because
9) Mean Mr. Mustard
10) Got to Get You Into My Life
11) Here Comes the Sun
I remember that there was a lot of personal meaning behind each song based on things I'd already experienced in my life (stage 1 through 5), but the thing that was alarming was the fact that stages 6 through 11 were already pre-determined for me and it wasn't pretty."(end)

17th, I'd like to get an idea of what each song means to you,
and why you feel it was a blueprint for your life.
Where did that idea come from? [ ]
You say you're stuck in number 5; well aren't we all?
Times are tough for everyone economically, for the most part.
Bush is spending like a drunken sailor, and the dollar would
seem to be about to tank, but I don't necessarily mean to get into a discusssion of that here prematurely.
As a Cancerian (don't want to call you a disease! ;D), you would value security and stability,
and being born on the fourth, you're likely to start achieving some of your goals at about your present age, but
these are not ordinary times, and your life's purpose(s) may well be accomplished in a surprising manner.
Don't presume you can know all that's coming your way.
Live honorably, and you can expect the best, even if you anticipate the worst.
A little birdie tells me you and your family are going to be all right.

("Don't you know it's going to be all right?!
Don't you know it's going to be-eee all right?
Don't you know it's gonna be: all right
All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right
all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right,
ALL RIGHT!!!")

(They said to add that one to your list. ;D )

[17thBeatle]

Hi guys! I just want to say that Ludwig, Perplexed, Byrds and Unrepentant... you guys are all great. I wish there were more people in the world like you. I'm going through a PRETTY BAD time in my life and just being able to vent a little here and read your thoughts makes life a little easier for me. Thank you.

OK, Unrepentant... I really liked your "You Won't See Me" moment about Faul coming out of the closet just before we nuke Iran. Truthfully, it doesn't seem so far-fetched to me. Especially when you consider what's been going on in the world for the past few years. Also, I think that in the past few years the "veil" HAS been getting thinner, for whatever reason, and Faul is definitely quilted into the veil. UFO disclosure, secret preparations for a new world war, whatever, all of it is coming to a head... we all know it and we can feel it. Will Faul ever willingly tell the truth of his own accord? Doubtful, but I do think he will be irreparably challenged in the near future, and it may be part of a big dog-and-pony show distraction from an impending calamity.

Ludwig, it's certainly nice to find a kindred spirit, especially in something as specific as this! (or is it that specific?). But I am a Cancer, as Byrdsmaniac pointed out, so I'm glad you're not. I don't usually get along with other Cancers. Well I will definitely put "The Holographic Universe" on my list. I've been so oppressed lately that I couldn't read a toothpaste box, so it will go on the long list. I do look forward to reading it when my head is clearer. Oh and by the way, it's actually nice to talk to people who even know who Henry Mancini is! And just for the record, it wasn't songs like "Baby Elephant Walk" that led me to a divine experience!

Perplexed... great bio of Hank! You know your stuff. To answer your question about Faul... Yes, I think he should reveal the truth to the world if he values any human decency in himself. As for the repercussions... well, the world has been through worse, but I do think it would embitter and confuse A LOT of people. My only fear is that Faul's keepers would never allow it unless it was part of a mass distraction for something far worse. So if it ever happens... beware! Perplexed and Ludwig, great reflections about PWR/Faul disclosure & Good Night, and Good Luck. Haven't seen it, but it's on my list.

OK Byrdsmaniac, I'm going to try to explain the meaning of the 11 stages. This is going to be weird (even for me) since I haven't really thought about it since '94.

1) Strawberry Fields: This was rudimentary. The psychadelic/lullabye feel of the song places it at my birth to the age of 3. Incidentally, you'll see a pattern of "psychadelic" throughout the stages.

2) Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds: Picks up where SF leaves off. Again, the psychadelic nature of the song bonds it to my experiences from the age of 4 to 7. When I say "experiences" I don't necessarily mean anything traumatic. Most of it was a strange series of psychadelic/paranormal episodes too convoluted to elaborate on here. A lot of them were connected to Beatles music, like the "Collection of Oldies"/The Grand Family thing I talked about before. I want to elaborate: I wouldn't just stare at the cover of The Rascal's "See," I would actually be inserted into the living version of The Grand Family with the Beatles playing all around me. I would be there, on that beach, and the Beatles music would be omnipresent. I would just wallow in this environment for as long as I could, as if drugged or in a trance.

3)Maxwell's Silver Hammer: This song covers the age of 8 to 13. Not much going on here except more psychadelic experiences. This stage began when I saw "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in '78 and started listening to the post-'67 Beatles. I'm really not sure why this particular song is in this stage. That's just how it happened,

4)Oh Darling: This song ushered in the beginning of my experiences with women. The psychadelic stuff is gone now and reality is slapping me in the face. Basically, this song reflects my frustration with consistently being involved with women who prefer to be with boys/men who physically abuse them. Yes, this started when I was 14 and lasted until I was 20.

5)You Never Give me Your Money: Byrds, your evaluation of this stage couldn't be more right! I entered this stage at 21 and I'm STILL in it at 35! Actually, this stage consists of 2 parts, much like the song itself. The beginning of the song reflected my life (obvious), you know, out of college, no job, no money and "that magic feeling." I guess almost everybody can relate to this. However, the song abruptly changes the fortune of the subject (Billy/me) and whisks them away in a limousine... "one sweet dream came true today."...So this is what I was waiting for, to be rescued from my life and thrown into something great and meaningful...something bigger than life... like the Beatles! after all, the psychadelic messages I had received all my life (without the benefit of LSD) led me to believe that the Beatles music was heralding my great future.

As soon as I found out about PWR, I knew instantly that YNGMYM is what happened to Billy. Talk about the greatest change in fortune in history!

Anyway, I didn't know about PWR at the time, but I was somehow expecting to be swept up by the whole Beatles magic carpet. How exactly? I have no idea, but I was writing books, writing my own music, e.t.c... and I just assumed that fate would take care of the rest.

OK, I'm gonna stop here and deal with stages 6 through 11 later. This is way too much for anyone to read!

Byrds, I just want to say that your last post gave me goosebumps. I can't tell you how relevant it is to my life exactly at this time. I don't know if you're psychic, but your insight is dead on! Especially the "Revolution" part. Even though it wasn't one of the stages, that song, and especially the chorus that you wrote, always meant A LOT to me in a very positive way. I have to thank you for reminding me, and I will add it to the list!

[Perplexed]

Hang in there, 17th, it will probably get better in a soon season. We've all had our crappo moments here, I had a sucko time a couple of years back but I've made some needed changes (I need to make bunches more) so it is all getting better for me. Gradually. And h*ll yes it is great to VENT! Blow off steam, air, whatever. Exhaust the engines a little.
One day I can think it's all awash, and the next it can seem like a very fine day. No, I'm not bi-polar. (ADHD maybe...) but I 've never had a mood I couldn't either moderate or frankly pray to make easier.........

And about the "Faul tell it/etc." angle, no, it isn't the best way or the way that mature people handle breaking a news bomb to people. I can't think of one; I can't even think of a precedent for it. But, in a way, it's like a situation like Santa Claus. Parents raise their 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 year olds believing in this red suited bearded chubby gnome in booties. Then they either blow the bubble when they are 6, or the kids figure it out on their own. I figured it out on my own and saved my parents having to sweat the explanations. Like, why should I put them thru it? But, oddly, in a certain way, I believe in Santa Claus today, the spirit, the idea of a Santa Claus today. I don't expect to actually meet him.

Yes, the Santa legend is different. The cycle of kids believing in him and finding out later is a big tradition in the West!

And billy has real substance and has acted in real ways for decades....

Almost, I think, the best way for it to "disseminate", if it were ever going to, is by way of a slow trickle, as it occurs to a few people here, a few people there, who are prepared to realize that it was mostly altruistic, and when viewing the scope of how out of control young people were reacting to the slightest news about the Beatles, any and all, that, from the aggregate of all available wisdom of the day, the alternative was IMPOSSIBLE.

I think it is the kind of news that enters small, somewhat prepared (I hate to use the word "programmed" for all it's current connotations, but the truth is that without having minds that are programmable, we would all be useless to each other and society---we usually call it "training" or "education")----

Again, I think this is the kind of news that does better when it makes small headways in inculcated populations. A little here, a little there. At some point, as news always does, it would vector out geometrically, and it is better that there are pockets of calm-headed, perceptive people that can help soothe the normally high anxieties of the general news-hearing population.

But I think from what I observe, that much care and preparation (and money) has possibly been allocated to assure that such a thing never begins to happen. If the dam develops a small crack, it could break open majorly as the wall weakens. On the other hand, if the army corps of engineers spends money, engineereing talent, and labor hours on making the concrete walls of a dam twice as thick as they were when it was built, then even an earthquake would probably not breach it easily.

It isn't just about Paul/BIll etc., though, that I think the EMI/Apple people wish to "shore up." It's the whole picture of the Beatles, those 10 years (from Hamburg on), and all that music, all those concerts, all those interviews, letters, fans, articles, everything--I mean it is a mother lode! It is a vast collective of noteworthy things! It's Ringo, John, Gerge, Mr Martin, Brian the wives, even Yoko for God's sake, it appears to be LIKE a family thing. I guess there was a lot of love, though it was a business venture--but when it all got to be too much, the problems increased and only the people living in the "neighborhood" could understand what all being a Beatle meant......for 3 somewhat disinherited boys from Liverpool, and a fourth, though older and less traumatized......well never mind, I grow too muish muish.

Thanks, though 17th, well just by seeing with what care the Beatle legacy is overall, protected, I don't think that those who insist upon keeping it are wasting breath or twiddling their thumbs.

I have been reading here and there about the peculiar turn of tide against the Beatles, especially in the South here, and some other places. Quite negative, quite from blindness I think, and quite opportunistic. The KKK. for instance, in their little film clip in the Memphis incident------that is shameful for a man to get up on film and talk that way. And shameful to them for throwing some loud explosive at Lennon--how sick, how pathetic of them. And then there was Manilla, a little burp in Japan, and some other trials.

I could understand a response coming from the Beatles, along the lines of, we are NOT giving up and tucking our tail and quitting. I know they did stop touring, and Paul or no Faul, I now realize, they would have stoppped the tour madness period anyway. But they continued to create music, and in fact,
became the frontline in the world, really, in many innovations.

So, while live touring truly DID become impractical, the answer to haunt the recording studio and doggedly continue creating was fantastic for the world music scene and Beatle fans both.

As far as "Good Night and Good Luck"--I am still blown away by the perfection of tone, economy of direction, and finely crafted performances.
One feels like one is in the studio at CBS, breathing the stale cigarette smoke, feeling the tension and drive among the broadcasters, and living in the tainted but veiled socio-cultural stew brewing in the early American 50's.

However afraid we feel in the US about a external coup, or some kind of new order inflicted on us from seamingly nowhere, we chould be glad that some folks had the courage in the media to play watchdog. Some of the actions depicted in the film may have slowed our decline here in the States into the bureaucratic corporate militacracy many fear is coming......

ABOUT THE SONGS:

Your take on various Beatle songs as applying to phases of one's life--that is a new idea to me. I think some songs affected at sertain phases of my life, and some have been "touchstones" to me, as well as the music of others.
Kind of like, a musical themsong for life, or at least, for the events of that day or week.

I think I always liked Paperback Writer so much because it is driven, manic, and a little bit nervous. Like an ambitious college student full of caffeine and needing a second job to cover board and tuition, pleading, run on sentences, full of self-confidence that he is the man for any job, and, I know it is presented as a letter read aloud, still, it's the young man asserting himself to the world of competition of struggle for survival.


And it has a way cool repeating bass riff.

And Day Tripper for its energy. I always ignored the words--about some freaky chic--and man, I found out. What do I care? It's the musica I like.
Hello GOodbye, Hey Jude, LEt it Be, Yesterday, Help! All great ones.

I love I'm only Sleeping, because in spates I choose to do a lot of just that, to recharge, and I defy anyone to tell me that I shouldn't. (On occassion, not all the time.)

I love Getting Better, because the pulse is infectious, the pedal points in the verses, (all the G's), the hypnotic repeated strikes all the thru on the beat--yet still having a nice, gentle shuffle flavor. Its an uptempo song that is NOT very fast really--it fools you. You only think it is fast.......

And "The Long and Winding Road". We all knew it was over by then. We knew the Beatles were finished and we could NOT believe it. So sad, so unbelievable, so surreal, lilke when they cancel a favorite show on TV, or when Nabsico quits making your favorite cookie, or when your favorite long term movie star dies, or goes to the sanitorium to finish their days with TB.
We knew it would be the last Top Ten hit off THE last album, I guess. Once it quit playing, there would be NO new Beatle songs in heavy rotation on WQXI-AM or whomever else.......

But, it was an uplifting sounding song, a little vague lyric wise to a teenager, but a song that lent a fitting finality to the Beatles exit. One more for the lighters in the stadiums (back in the day when you still could!), one more sing along Beatle song.

The Beatles said goodbye, finally, and made way for the next waves, Bowie, Credence, Chicago, and special to my crowd, Elton John.
Elton seemed to be the continuation to the Beatles, the "pretender" to the throne, although in no way presumptous or lacking. Elton and his tight band were the real deal for us through college and beyond. Anyway, I wax long.....

Take care, 17th!

[Perplexed]

quote:

"Perplexed... great bio of Hank! You know your stuff."

I was fortunate to know and work with this man for about 3 years:

www.cecilwelch.com/meet.asp

He has shared about Mr. Mancini's legacy to many people.

Cecil is also a great musician and human being.

OMG look!

www.cecilwelch.com/cds.asp

Scroll down to "Moonlight Blues"--as a selection, there listed, is "Mull of Kintyre!"

I wonder if Cecil has any idea that Macca plays the trumpet?..........

Well, I'm not gonna tell him. He'll have to figure that one out by himself.

[Ludwig]

17th I'm sorry to hear that you're going through a rough patch but I assure it will get better. It always does. I went through a personal hell exactly ten years ago and music pulled me through, in unexpected ways. One seemingly endless, sleepless winter's night, in the midst of my crisis I played an advance copy of a song sent to me by the artist, a man I have a lot of respect for and, for whatever reasons, it propped me up and literally told me that it was going to be alright. All of it. To this day I don't know why this song made me feel as good as it did, but it just did. Charity of Night by Bruce Cockburn. Not what most, or really anyone, would consider an uplifting tune. It's actually made up of unsettling lyrical vignettes, but the melody poses a musical question that gets resolved so elegantly and softly it offset the wicked little stories he told throughout the song. Good follows bad. Please forgive me for being presumptuous, I'm not suggesting that music is you're cure all or tonic but it can help and I know the light will begin to show itself to you before you know it. I wish I could set up a jam session with y'all. There's a great rehearsal studio in NYC, it's an institution really, and you all have an open invitation should you ever find yourself here and in need. Perplexed, I'll bring a couple of my big name buddies if you bring a couple of yours. ;D

[Perplexed]

ludwig said:

17th I'm sorry to hear that you're going through a rough patch but I assure it will get better. It always does. I went through a personal hell exactly ten years ago and music pulled me through, in unexpected ways. One seemingly endless, sleepless winter's night, in the midst of my crisis I played an advance copy of a song sent to me by the artist, a man I have a lot of respect for and, for whatever reasons, it propped me up and literally told me that it was going to be alright. All of it. To this day I don't know why this song made me feel as good as it did, but it just did. Charity of Night by Bruce Cockburn. Not what most, or really anyone, would consider an uplifting tune. It's actually made up of unsettling lyrical vignettes, but the melody poses a musical question that gets resolved so elegantly and softly it offset the wicked little stories he told throughout the song. Good follows bad. Please forgive me for being presumptuous, I'm not suggesting that music is you're cure all or tonic but it can help and I know the light will begin to show itself to you before you know it. I wish I could set up a jam session with y'all. There's a great rehearsal studio in NYC, it's an institution really, and you all have an open invitation should you ever find yourself here and in need. Perplexed, I'll bring a couple of my big name buddies if you bring a couple of yours. ;D

Must look up that song....

Studio? NYC? YOu mean the one in the Broadway district, the one on like, 46th is it?---With the creaky stairs that lead upward to those rehearsal rooms....ah yes.... I have been there, er, twice.

Or maybe more, if you count the all night Howard Johnson's eatery next door..........


uhm....pancakes in the mornin' with tomato juice and a side of real crispy bacon, decaf, 2 eggs scrambled well........yum......