December Playlist: Head Over Heels, the Misheard Lyrics

Such a serious band, a humorous video was a big departure for them.

Harmonizing. 

Shoulda been my first clue. 

I am a sucker for a man in jeans and a leather jacket. So hot. Nice 80s mullet too.

Lol.

I had a very nice moment with Pia in the car while leaving the hockey tournament. Unable to get German pop music off YouTube we opted for 80s at 9. Tears for Fears “Head Over Heels” was playing and she and I sang along, much to my amazement. 

Pleased, I decided to play it on YouTube today, and reading the comments, I scroll past the lyrics: it’s hard to be a man with a gun in your hand.

What?

I always thought it was: it’s hard to be a man with a GIRL in your HEAD.

If I were to include this song in my new “just one line” feature, I’d totally have it wrong because that was my favorite line. 

My heart still wants it to be my way, yet I can verify from the Lyrics Genius app that I’m wrong. 

Random love to keyboardist Ian Stanley, wherever you are. So hot. 

Prepping for The Beatles Countdown

Abbey Road as depicted in Legos.

I took a little me time this week and googled Beatles songs and I found an almost compleat list on The Beatles Bible website. There, they did a thorough job of listing almost every song The Beatles touched. 

Almost - I can’t believe they left off the live album Live at the Star Club, as one enterprising club owner spun a reel tape back in the early 60s to capture his live acts, including the Fabs. I’m particularly fond of their rendition of Falling in Love Again. In searching for it, I found a treasure trove of early covers that don’t appear in the Anthologies or the BBC recordings. 

I ended up with a list of 340 songs!

I broke this list down into four categories: first choice, second, third, and NA. Those songs I love got a 1 ranking, songs that are just ok a 2, songs I don’t care for a 3, and songs that don’t apply for whatever reason got an NA. 

I gave 147 songs a 1, so I think further breakdown, perhaps 1a vs. 1b is warranted. There are 32 NAs, 57 threes, and 100 I gave a 2, so I may have to do 2a and 2b as well. 

This may be boring to anyone who is not a Beatles fan, but this blog is more for me than any audience *crickets.* I feel justified to indulge in my passion as I was just subjected to a lively yet boring conversation one table over, an exhausting dissertation on Big 10 football. 

Secret Life of Objects: Jewels from the Mud Hens

A surprise.

Dave had to go to Toledo on business and decided to stop by a Mud Hens game to say hi to a couple of our players, I don’t even remember who. 

Bored with the game, he accepted a program and circled the park to check out the statues and get a beer. That’s when they made the announcement to check your programs for a mascot autograph on a particular jewelry ad; if you had it, you won!

He checked page 12, and there it was.

With time to kill before his morning meeting, he went to the store to see what he could find.  He saw this dainty pendant with diamonds and Will’s birthstone. It was the exact value of the gift card and a surprise just because gift for me.  

Typing Out Loud: Counting Down The Beatles

Selfie with Ringo, he’s a little far away. 

Talking ‘bout boys

I’m listening to the Beatles Channel and have fallen into the habit of thinking “top third, bottom third, middle third” with each song and wondered why I haven’t done my own ranking of each song from last to first.

It's a huge undertaking and I’m sure ever-changing opinions on songs will make them slip up and down my chart. I don’t want to think this opinion is set in stone; the channel does rank songs by listener vote on an annual basis.

I'm pretty stubborn about what I consider proper Beatles albums, so what are my parameters for Beatles songs? And what do I do with the Anthologies, live at the BBC recordings, and alternative takes? What about Now and Then? I know for a fact A2 version of It’s Only Love ranks higher than the Help version, so I count them both? And what about the remixes for the Cirque du Soliel musical Love? 

Simply, if it’s credited to The Beatles, it counts. Including Tony Sheridan, The Quarrymen, and The Silver Beetles. That means I get to give love to Pete and Stu! 

Hearing a version of The Long and Winding Road off Let it Be… Naked changed my mind about ranking all to ranking the best version only. I really don’t want to have to sort out fifteen different versions of Rocky Raccoon. That means I have to pick a version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Basically, my list, my rules. And I will say I don’t think Revolution 9 will be last. But what will be? I’m eyeing you, Yes It Is. Although Christmas Time is Here Again is in right now and… yikes.

Secret Life of Objects: Eu de Melissa

A signature scent!

I didn’t do a SLoO post for November! This should make up for it. 

Back in 2011, my parents wanted Will all to themselves while giving me a birthday weekend. I had a bunch of freebies to redeem, so I reluctantly gave Will over to his grandparents who were ready to go show him off.

I gathered up my birthday coupons and treated myself to free makeup from Sephora and Ulta, ice cream from Baskin Robbin’s, a burger from Steak n Shake. It was the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks so I attended a memorial concert and planted a flag. I even attended the Hispanic Festival and drank pina coladas out of a pineapple.

The most curious giveaway I got that year was a free custom blend perfume from Aveda. All I had to do was find a salon and do a consult. 

What I got was a quick lesson in how to build a fragrance. We discussed top notes and base notes, what my scent personality was. Jasmine! Bitter orange! Ylang-ylang! Vanilla! The consultant was waving around sticks and having as much fun as I was. She blended a bottle for me, threw in a few extras for my birthday, and sent me in my way. 

I made it last as long as I could and when I got down to the last bits, I added alcohol to the oils to make it last. It still smells good just not as strong. I have since picked up more oils from Aveda - lavender, tangerine, stress relief blend - to create another scent. 

Why Art Matters: A Date with Jet Screamer

I was thrilled to see an episode of The Jetsons this weekend I hadn't seen in probably 45 years. The episode, A Date with Jet Screamer, is visually stunning and catchy as hell. 

Judy is a big fan of pop idol Jet Screamer. Dad not so much.

He's hosting a songwriting contest where the winner gets to hang out with him and he will perform the song on his show.  Judy writes a song, and George attempts to sabotage her by sending some secret code she wrote with Elroy instead. However...

Judy wins!

And the name of the song? 

And that means "I love you."

It's a catchy piece of surf music, which was the norm in 1962. I would not be surprised to hear it on Little Steven's Underground Garage.

They meet a funny little man on their date. 

Jet asks you to "come fly with me."

In my next life, I want to be a backup singer with rotating antennas in my hair.

Judy is thrilled by the attention from the paparazzi. 

Play that song on the piano, man. 

A date at the Fun Pad? I'm so there. 

Typing Out Loud: Do you, really?

 

Nice.

I'm struggling to type this as it is NOT MY BUSINESS. 

But.

A certain someone who was once in my life (yes, an ex) got engaged recently. I smirked "Fourth - or is it fifth? - time is the charm," which I admit is not kind. I am honestly pleased for him since he seems to be chasing happiness, but the narcissist in me is smarting from rejection that is nearly 40 years old. 

Then his fiancee/wife posted they found an open slot at the courthouse and went ahead and...

And what? 

Suddenly, she stops posting, her Facebook account goes dark, and he deletes all posts going back before their reunion in August. 

Again? 

This particular ex always had one eye down my shirt and one eye on the door to see if something better had come along. He did break up with me during his senior year in high school so he could play the field unattached. Then broke up with me again once a pretty waitress started at the restaurant, thinking he had a chance. The third strike happened my senior year when he was dissatisfied with the - ahem - progress in our relationship, and I was out. 

When I say the fourth or fifth time is the charm, he's been married, a lot.

He has a pattern of dissatisfaction with the bird in hand. 

My inner girl code is hoping he didn't break her heart at the altar. I don't know her, but she seems sweet.

Then again, maybe they are on their honeymoon. 

Then again, not my business. 

December: That's It, Just One Line - She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

New feature, just one line from a song that just kills it. Tells the tale, sums it up, slam dunk, and out of here. 

"She could steal, but she could not rob..."

Typing Out Loud: Pen Pals

The agency we got pen pal names from - I remember the newsletters! 

In this digital age, it's easy to keep tabs on friends using social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat - and those are just the old people apps, as the kids are using TikTok and lord knows what else to keep in touch. 

But once upon a time, we used pen and paper to forge a connection.

I feel like I've told Nancy's story here before, but it bears repeating. 

I met Nancy at the Holiday Inn Holidome in Sandusky, Ohio when our day at Cedar Point was canceled due to major thunderstorms. I think I was probably about 8 years old. Our parents decided to cash in our tickets for rolls of quarters and all of us kids played video games, putt golf, and swam in the pool while they ordered pizzas and drank beer poolside. Nancy and I forged a deep friendship at that time and promised to write or call. 

And that we did. Faithfully, for years, we would trade letters monthly and be allowed the occasional phone call. Our correspondence died out when I went to college and she was engaged to a guy in the service. I wasn't invited to her wedding, but I invited her to mine, and she sent a picture frame. I called her parents' house once while we were driving through Buffalo, and her brother excitedly said I had just missed her by a day. I left my number with him but I never heard from her again. I looked her up on Facebook again just now and think I found her and extended a friend request. 

Sacha is a little different. I found her through one of those pen pal services they had for grade school kids to forge a better and bigger world in maybe seventh grade, which seems right since that's the kind of thing Mrs. Hanna would have done. IPF was the agency. I want to say I paid fifty cents and got three - a boy from Italy, a girl from France or Brazil (I don't remember), and Sacha from England. 

Sacha and I wrote a little less frequently than Nancy and I, but we bonded over music, (Madonna, Culture Club, Wham!, Def Leppard), boys, school, and learning about each other's families, sports, and activities. We too kept writing up until the end of high school. 

Did I do a pop-in on her? Well, while in England on our honeymoon we traveled through Huddersfield and fate had us turn on her street. Having no way of understanding how to find her house since she didn't have a street number, I stopped at the corner shop to ask. The shop owner knew who I was! Mail was delivered to the post boxes in their shop and Sacha and her sister would walk down to pick the mail up. When she got letters from me, she couldn't wait and would open them up and share pictures and news about me and that is how they recognized me. 

Sadly, her mother had died and since the girls were grown, her father had sold the house and had moved... the week prior. I asked if there was a forwarding address or if I could leave her a note to post, but I never heard from her again. 

A name like Sacha Kelly is fairly common, and chances are she's since married and hasn't been known by the last name Kelly for years. Still, I may trot that box out and see if there are clues - her school maybe? - in tracking her down. I'm suddenly bashful, wondering if I've lived an interesting enough life to track her down to say what's up. 

Why Art Matters: Now and Then

 

Truly Now and Then, digital editing was the only way to create this magic in the video. 

Why the cassette? The demo was recorded in this format on a boom box, with "for Paul" written in John's handwriting on the label. The feels. 

Why the three shadowy triangles? Ah, this goes back to the re-releases of the Beatles' red and blue greatest hits albums and the corners in the stairwell from those covers. Does the single represent the third installment? 

See?

I've seen the triangles turned vertically, with four, which also calls back to the With the Beatles album cover. Am I also seeing something in the pixelation? I think there's more there than meets the eye.

And what's with the clock? Apparently, it was an art piece George owned. Olivia was looking at it in their home when Paul called to say he wanted to start work on the song, with her and Dhani's blessing. Startled, she looked at the phone in one hand and the clock in the other. Her reply was "This has to be George's way of saying yes." 

Beatles fans are having a field day with the new single, both for and against. My take? It's not on par with Here There and Everywhere or While My Guitar Gently Weeps but I love it; of the three post-Lennon singles, it is my favorite. 

Detractors are complaining that it's a John solo, and should have been credited as such. My argument against this lies in the fact it was written, in his handwriting, that it was for Paul. It was given to him by Yoko. The remaining three worked on it back in the 90s with the intention of it being a Beatles record. There was intent by all four. 

Detractors are also complaining that in real life, George hated the song and refused to work on it. In fact, he hated the poor quality of the audio, which is what Peter Jackson fixed. I also think that Olivia, Dhani, and Jeff Lynne, well aware of who George was as a person, would not have been on board with this project if that was the case. 

George's veto is why it is unlikely we will ever see Carnival of Light released under the Beatles name. 

What is my take? It is wistful, melancholy nostalgia. I love how it ends, it's beautiful. The harmony is especially poignant, John's youthful voice frozen in the 70s, accompanied by Paul's aged voice. I wish Paul would have written some of the lyrics, but as I understand it, the song is credited to all four. 

And special grace to Pete Best, who contributes a look back: within the video, as the timeline starts to go backward, he provides the only color footage of the band from their time in Germany. Who would have thought Pete would be a secret weapon in all of this? Makes me wish there was a touch of Klaus, Astrid, and Stu in there too. 

One of the vlogger critics sums it up nicely, saying that it was a classic Beatles collaboration in that Paul is the only one who could take John's sad song and make it better. 

There you go.

For some reason, the song made me reflect on my fandom, which started in the early to mid-70s, making it, sadly, impossible for me to have ever seen John in concert. Fittingly, Peter Jackson was going for that too. What would my timeline look like? 

Sing along children...

1973 - I start watching the Beatles cartoons after school, learning the lyrics from Paul and Ringo singalongs

1977 - buying the red album on 8-track 

1978 - The Bee Gees Sgt Pepper movie musical turning me towards watching Help! and A Hard Days Night. 

1979 - jamming to McCartney and Wings

1980 - a bright snowy morning, learning of the actions of the devil's best friend

1981 - Lennon memorial recordings, listening to Double Fantasy

1985 - First real after-school job, start buying Beatles on cassette

1986 - Singing Spies Like Us with the gang on the way to our Christmas party

1987 - bonding with friend Maria and having Beatles sleepovers that included Let it Be and Yellow Submarine on picture disc and tubes of cookie dough, McCartney's All the Best on cassette

1988 - Revolver on repeat, Travelling Wilburys, scoring the Lennon documentary poster from a video store as a birthday gift from my sister

1989 - Relishing the WRKX Beatles catalog, including a dirty copy of the White Album

1992 - First Beatle live, Paul McCartney at the Silverdome, McCartney on MTV Unplugged

1993 - graduating from college and buying the Beatles box set for myself as a graduation present

1994 - Live at the BBC is released, including rarities recorded live on the program

1995 - Anthology on A-Beatles-C

2001 - Heartbroken, I call in sick to watch VH-1 coverage... IYKYK

2002 - Macca in STL

2003 - Let it Be... Naked is released, and Paul's animosity toward Phil Spector justified

2004 - Ringo and Sheila E at the Fabulous Fox

2005 - "We aren't buying a Blue Ray player until Yellow Submarine comes out"

2007 - Ringo at Soaring Eagle with friends from Norway

2011 - free Fab Four album from iTunes, I skate to My Sweet Lord

2015 to 2018 - I skate to Within You Without You 

2016 - Macca at the Van Andel, up there with the best show ever

2017 to 2019 - I skate to Here There and Everywhere

2018 - Purchase my first remaster box set, the White Album, obsession with the Love soundtrack

2021 - OBSESSED with McCartney's remix of Find My Way and I watched Get Back four times before it was taken off The Disney Channel

2022 - Love at the Mirage for our anniversary, Ringo at Soaring Eagle, Revolver remaster

2023 - Abbey Road remaster, I skate to I'm Only Sleeping, Ringo at DeVos, I'm featured DJ on Sirius/XM Beatles Channel, and contribute to Now and Then making it to #1 

2024? I'm debating skating to Long Long Long or Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight. I've been a fan for 50 years, I think I'm in it for life. 

Typing Out Loud: Dad’s Final Spot

Mom sprung a surprise on me in August. I was going to visit with the intention to sign some legal papers and then she added that we were going to finally bury my dad. 

As it was noted here years ago, he passed in April 2012 and was cremated, but she couldn’t decide on a burial spot. She was dealing with some stuff with his memory and the task lagged. She says she was talking to his urn when my sister showed up to take her to her eye appointment and said "Since I'm early, should we finally go find him a plot?"

Paperwork had to be done before he could be buried, and then finally the time happened. She was just going to drop him off but realized the urn was too heavy. And I don't think just dropping him in the office and calling it a day was what was supposed to happen. 

We made it into a ceremony of sorts, I carried him out to the car, and Will carried him to his plot. It was a beautiful morning, the kind of morning where he would have played a quick nine, gotten a haircut, and had an early lunch. 

Will was three when he died, too young to realize what was going on. Maybe the length of time was meant to be so that he was old enough and mature enough to do what was needed. The above picture was too intimate for me to share on a wider platform, but it means a lot to me; so much so, it's taken me a couple of months to write about it. 

His birthday is August 18, we missed his 81st by two days. It was far overdue.

November Song: Say a Prayer

 

Only Madonna could get away with turning The Act of Contrition into an argument with a hotel desk clerk.

Goal: write a song a month, with the resolve to not self-edit or worry if it’s crap. My thoughts are wandering with this one, and I'm indeed worried it's crap -  I've been working on this last song for about six months and wondering if I should have scrapped it for something easier. 

Does prayer work? Which are the most effective, rote recitation or an honest conversation with a deity? Are we putting good vibes out when we pray, leading to healing on a base level or is there a higher power? Who indeed is doing the healing? And what if He says no, how do we know?

With this post, I will have an even dozen songs under my belt, the great artistic endeavor of 2023. I have new themes planned for 2024.

There's a crisis in our town,

Say a little prayer.

A storm came through, trees came down,

Say a little prayer. 

Say a little prayer.

Kate found a shadow in a picture, 

Did I say a little prayer? 

I put my intentions in a box, 

Care in place of prayer. 

Say a little prayer.

Say a little prayer.

I'm not asking for a bended knee,

Just a bit of intention. 

I don't need any piety, 

Just a thought, a tear, an inflection. 

There's a cause for celebration,

Say a little prayer.

A grace, a gift, a time to rejoice,

Say a little prayer. 

Typing Out Loud: To the End of the World

At least it's not green. 

Had a weird dream that has stuck with me this morning: I dreamed about the end of the world. 

It wasn't because of war, I don't think, but perhaps the aftermath. It wasn't a lack of food, but definitely a resource, like air. 

Groups of people were sequestered into Jetsons-like bubble/pod communities in order to conserve the air and keep us away from vegetation that was feebly trying to keep up with the demand for fresh air, but plants and trees were dying off. 

I was in my pod, in the cafeteria. Cheerleaders from high school were there, and acting as mean girls do. There was no choice for food anymore, you got what you got, and for this meal, I was given a large slice of apple pie and cubed fried potatoes. I didn't want it. 

Jason Brown, the figure skater, was playing an acoustic guitar and singing soothing songs, but I was the only one paying attention to him. 

A minister was preaching, and telling everyone "God has a plan! He has a plan!" and that seemed to calm everyone down. He confided in me there was no plan, his job was to provide hope. 

I noted that no one seemed to be taking any action, it was all as if it were an ordinary Wednesday. And for some reason, Laura Branigan's song Self Control was on a loop somewhere, a noise you could hear but not exactly locate. 

The only colors were black, white, gold, and a shimmery emerald green. 

The light became dimmer and dimmer until the only thing visible was Saturn, but almost a cartoon version of Saturn, a shimmering green globe encircled by gold bands. I wanted nothing more than to see Will and Dave one last time, but I couldn't find them.

And then nothingness. 

The day is going to be weird, with the lingering images floating in my head.

October Secret Life of Objects: My Guitar

A daily reminder of grandma

I have been carrying this guitar around with me since 1977, at least, when it was passed down to me from my grandma, along with her ancient instructional booklets. I'm pinpointing it to 1977, since I know I received a guitar case from "Santa" for Christmas when I was eight, along with a Wendy Walker doll that wore a lavender dress. 

Nick at work, when he talked about working away at some anxiety by playing and tuning his guitar, inspired me to ask him if he would take at look at my instrument. I knew I had something special because it was handed down by my grandma, but he let me know exactly what I had. This is Stella acoustic with a reinforced steel neck from the early 60s. "They don't make 'em like this anymore Mel; it's a sweet instrument, looks like it was before Harmony bought 'em!" he said enthusiastically as he treated it with lemon oil and replaced the strings. 

I have picked it up and put it down several times through the years, but finally began again in earnest  Christmas 2021, inspired by Will's concert performance. I'm still no further than the finger-picking stage, but when I put it on, I take a brief sniff of the wood, and can still feel my grandma's presence. 

October Playlist: Best of the Worst of the Beatles

The Sirs worked on a long-lost Lennon demo track Now and Then from 1979 and added George's rhythm guitar and vocals from 1995. It's set to make its debut here in 2023 any day now. I hope the song doesn't make this list. This Photoshop hatchet job on the above graphic is not promising.

Ringo, DeVos, October 2023 clearly DGAF about vocal nuances because he's here to party.

The reasons for yet another Beatles playlist are: 

• We saw Ringo and the All Star Band last week, as Dave scored last-minute tickets. 
• My Fab Four segment was on The Beatles Channel today!
• I am consistently in disagreement with other fans on social media as to what the worst track is per album - so I will defend a song, if need be. 
• Finally, I know I wrote a blog piece 10 years ago as to what my least favorite Beatles songs are, and I'd be interested to know how my taste changed. 

I'll do it British album by British album, a moot point by the time we hit Sgt. Pepper. 

Please Please Me

Worst: There's a Place - harmonies don't work, they sound garbled. Paul hits a couple bum notes as well.

Defending: Boys - it's an enthusiastic vocal by Ringo, you can feel it in his gut and his throat. Plus, it's uniquely Starr Time, a song he has sung since 1960, "Before The Lads," when he was with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. 

With the Beatles

Worst: All I've Got to Do - sandwiched between It Won't Be Long and All My Loving it's weak in comparison. 

Defending: Don't Bother Me - George's first song sets a moody blueprint for the quiet Beatle, writing about having a cold. I love the shuffle, the guitar, and echo-y vocals that sound like he's shouting into a can. 

A Hard Day's Night

Worst: When I Get Home - weak sauce from Lennon.

Defending: I'll Cry Instead - awesome sauce from Lennon. 

Beatles for Sale

Worst: Words of Love - I get that it's a remake, but I feel like it didn't suit them. John felt stuffed in a sweet box. 

Defending: Mr. Moonlight - I think I'm defending a previously hated, but points to make: John's vocals are on fire, the harmonies are stellar, and Ringo can drum any song into respectability.

Help!

Worst: You Like Me Too Much - sorry George, not this time.

Defending: It's Only Love - I glossed over the version of this song on the album as too slick and coy, but the version on Anthology 2 with simple delivery and acoustic guitar brings out the intimate charm. 

Rubber Soul

Worst: What Goes On - Ringo's turn to get scolded. It's a little too country to be folk, a little too folk to be country, and the delivery is almost as if there's a joke we need to be in on.  

Defending: Run for Your Life - oh lord did I hate this song. Then one day driving in the car, I had some sort of all-female band of superheroes fantasy where this song was an empowering call to action. At one point, I imagined an old lady using knitting needles in some sort of fight to save the world. A mom in a minivan with peeling paint outdriving the bad guys. Figure skates as weapons. 

Revolver

Worst: Nothing. I have no hate for this album.

Defending: Yellow Submarine - I've seen arguments that this song put Ringo firmly in the novelty/kid's song category, but man, go to an All-Star show and see everyone sing along and then come back and complain. I think I've mentioned it before, being in the presence of a bachelor party at a baseball game, drunks belting it out at the top of their lungs - it was a beautiful thing.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Worst: She's Leaving Home - I'm stretching to find something bad to say, so I find the drama of the strings to be a bit much.

Defending: Good Morning, Good Morning - I don't get the hate for this. Ringo's drumming is awesome, the horns are fat, and John is actually cheerful about waking up in the morning. Plus, it's one of the few moments the Beatles let their music be used by someone else, see Great Frodis Caper, the last episode of The Monkees TV series.

Magical Mystery Tour

Worst: Your Mother Should Know - dance hall Paul. Still, they all looked pretty great in their white tuxes.

Defending: Blue Jay Way - first, it is part of the whole psychedelic movement of the time. And it's classic George singing about a moment in time when friends got lost trying to visit him. 

The White Album

Worst: Piggies - I can't STAND this song. Classic George bitching about the establishment. 

Defending: Revolution #9 - Will thinks it's hilarious. If you are stuck in the car and want to examine it closely, there's some cool, weird shit in there. Still, it's not high on my playlist. 

Yellow Submarine

Worst: There's not enough here to warrant a worst. 

Defending: George Martin film score side. I, at one time, contemplated skating a bronze free skate to Sea of Holes. 

Abbey Road

Worst: Her Majesty - you take a deeply profound way to end a record with The End, then you drop this ditty 30 seconds later? Damn you Paul. 

Defending: Sun King - which is one of the online arguments that compelled me to write this in the first place. Those lush vocals! Made up Spanish! Dreamy lyrics about the King of France! Its very inclusion on the epic side two of Abbey Road makes it an essential track - you can't jump from You Never Give Me Your Money to Mean Mr. Mustard, it's just not done. 

Let it Be

Worst: There's some weak material, but nothing that makes me want it banished from the album. I think of this as the Beatles garage band record and watching the Get Back documentary, it was. 

Defending: I've seen plenty of grousing about the short jams Dig It and Maggie Mae, but they serve as transitions from I Me Mine to Let It Be to I've Got a Feeling. Leave them. 

Past Masters Vol. 1

Worst: Yes It Is - I still hate it.

Defending: Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand und Sie Liebt Dich - these are the German versions of She Loves You and I Want to Hold Your Hand. Having now housed two German exchange students, the look of recognition on their faces while playing these tracks is pretty joyful. 

Past Masters Vol. 2

Worst: You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) - I always skip it, although it is a snicker to hear John welcome me to Slaggers. 

Defending: Everything is pretty solid, so nothing to defend here. 

ArtPrize: a Photo Dump

ArtPrize 2023 was disappointing. There wasn't the same level of excitement, joy, or interest as there's been in years past. My favorite, Site:Lab, only did a basic sketch of an installation, promising more next year. And I completely forgot to stop at Monroe Community Church, one of my favorite venues, since road construction took me completely off my usual path. 

Still, there were some things to see: