The Beatles: Note By Note

In this Beatles lecture series, we explore the music and lyrics of We Can Work It Out. Paul’s verses frame an argument around seeing things his way, while John’s middle eight questions the value of fighting at all. We consider how these sections might represent a conversation between friends or competing thoughts within one mind. Musically, we explore how the two sections perfectly contrast with each other, and how the argument may be resolved musically by the end.

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
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In this Beatles lecture series, we look at the music and lyrics of Day Tripper. Lennon uses ambiguous language to give overlapping meanings. Musically, the song begins with familiar blues gestures before taking a series of harmonic detours on its way home. The instrumental middle section builds tension by layering a repeating riff, rising guitar and vocal lines, and a sustained bass note over a prolonged dominant chord. Throughout, we trace how a few recurring gestures connect the riff, melody, refrain, and outro, giving the song a strong internal unity even as its harmony moves in unexpected directions.

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of our Beatles podcast, music historian Scott DeVeaux joins Kenyon and Peter to explore the song We Can Work It Out. The song originated from a fight between Paul and Jane Asher, but wasn't considered complete until John came in with a darker middle 8 to complete the composition.

We are just getting into Rubber Soul season, and if the first few songs are any indication, it's going to be a great ride.

We cover:

-Paul McCartney's relationship with Jane Asher, Margaret Asher, and the importance of the Asher family
-The mysterious "Lucy from Littletown" demo and Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
-John Lennon's middle eight and competing interpretations of the song's lyrics
-George Harrison's suggested shift into 3/4 time and the Beatles' evolving use of unusual meters
-The October 1965 recording sessions
-The harmonium and the its place in the emerging Rubber Soul sound
-The three promotional films filmed at Twickenham Studios
-The double-A-side release with Day Tripper

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of our Beatles podcast, we kick off Rubber Soul season with Day Tripper and special guest Aristotle of Aristotle Digs Music. We explore the song’s origins, the interplay between the Beatles’ instruments, and the humor hiding in its lyrics. The storytime digs into the lore of the first time John, Cynthia, George, and Pattie took LSD.

We cover:
- The “Day Tripper” work tape and disputed riff origins
- Bobby Parker's Watch Your Step and I Feel Fine
- Paul’s Rickenbacker 4001S and the guitar riff
- Ringo’s Stax-inspired drums and Al Jackson influence
- Sex, drugs, and weekend hippies
- The October 16, 1965 recording session
- “Day Tripper” at the Beatles’ final Candlestick Park concert
- The first LSD trip of John Lennon, Cynthia Lennon, George Harrison, and Pattie Boyd

Check out Aristotle:
https://www.instagram.com/aristotledreher

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
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Dizzy Miss Lizzy closes Help! by going back to the Beatles’ roots. It was an old stage favorite, a Larry Williams rocker they had known for years, and the last cover they would ever record. For this episode of our Beatles podcast, it also gives us our first official "Beatles last" as we work our way through the catalog.

We talk about why the recording feels so relentless, and how the song comes across differently when they play it live. And this episode storytime is John Lennon’s second book, A Spaniard in the Works.

We cover:

-Larry Williams' version and René Hall’s original guitar riff
-King Size Taylor and the Dominoes and the Beatles’ early stage repertoire
-Capitol’s request for more material and the May 10, 1965 “Larry Williams session”
-George Harrison’s doubled, repeating guitar line and our "axe to grind" theory
-The Beatles’ 1965 Atlanta performance
-The Beatles’ final BBC session, The Beatles Invite You to Take a Ticket to Ride
-The two-night Hollywood Bowl composite and John Lennon’s later Toronto performance with Eric Clapton
-Would another song have been a better closer for Help!
-John Lennon’s second book, A Spaniard in the Works

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.