Shocktober: Terrifying Tunes

What’s a horror movie without a bone chilling score? Something to set the mood or heighten the suspense. I don’t have a lot of soundtracks on my ipod but out of what I do have, I don’t think you’d be surprised to hear that they’re primarily on the creepy side. From the classical scores of the golden age to the experimental synths of the 70s and 80s, there’s loads of great scores to choose from. Though I’ll only list films I’ve seen, I’ve certainly heard some compelling cuts from some other freaky flicks. So before I begin how about I briefly acknowledge a few of them.

– The Beyond (1981) by Fabio Frizzi
– Deep Red (1975) by Goblin
– Rosemary’s Baby (1967) by Krzysztof Komeda
– Carrie (1976 by) Pino Donaggio
– The Shining (1980) by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind

And now on to my terrifying ten.

10. Poltergeist (1982)
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Not a big fan of the movie but I love the effects and veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith’s score. This melancholy tune with a nursery rhyme like chorus (much in the sam vain as the theme from Rosemary’s Baby) gives Poltergeist that moody and unsettling feel.

9. Zombi 2 (1979)
Composer: Fabio Frizzi
Italy’s answer to Dawn of the Dead may be kind of a shlocky production but it makes up for it’s shortcomings with some great effects and an excellent 70s synth score from Fabio Frizzi. Full of eerie old school synths and beat machines (basically the kind of stuff AJ likes) it’s my opinion that the soundtrack makes this movie. I love listening to it this time of the season.. but not watching the movie, once was enough.

8. Suspiria (1977)
Composer: Goblin and Dario Argento
Though this atmospheric film makes absolutely no sense, it’s shot magnificently and it’s score by progressive rock band Goblin is terrifyingly awesome. Goblin (known for providing lots of spook-tacular scores back in the day) makes use of primarily more organic instruments for this flick about black magic. Mandolins, glockenspiel and all sorts of inventive percussion, not to mention some disturbing whispery like vocals on the main theme almost make this movie worth watching.

7. The Exorcist (1973)
Composer: Jack Nitzsche, Mike Oldfield
Ahh “Tubular Bells” a theme I love so much I used a crappy midi version in my “Slaughter Man” trailer. “Christplotation” films are always well complimented by classical scores and this one is an excellent entry. Sends chills down my spine just thinking about it.

6. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Composer: Goblin
A surprisingly upbeat score (aside from your usual horror flared hook) from Goblin, Dawn of the Dead is probably the group’s most defining and memorable score. I mean if it was never composed, what would Paul listen to when he played x-box?

5. The Thing (1982)
Composer: Ennio Morricone
Bleak, simplistic and brooding, it’s a weird thinking of famed western composer Ennio Morricone working with synthesizers but by god he does it. This is one of my favorite all time movies but if it didn’t have this score? Hmm, I don’t know it really sets the mood.

4. The Omen (1976)
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Out of a whole career of classic scores who would of thought that The Omen would give Jerry Goldsmith his only oscar. Though I’m not surprised considering the epic, brooding quality of this Devilish latin infused chant. I mean this really does sound like the kind of music Satan would listen to. The song’s refrain “Sanguis bibimus, corpus edimus, tolle corpus Satani” literally translates to “We drink the blood, we eat the flesh, raise the body of Satan”. I mean that’s bad ass, that’s like some Nick Erwin shit there.

3. Halloween (1978)
Composer: John Carpenter
Filmmaker John Carpenter (the son of musicians) has done a lot of scores in his career. Some good, some bad but I don”t think anyone will disagree with the genius that is Halloween’s score. Dark and choppy piano’s perfectly set the mood for this suburban thriller and really give it that unsettling tone.

2. Jaws (1975)
Composer: John Williams
I’m always on the fence whether or not Jaws is a horror film but one thing is for sure… That is one hell of a scary score. Perhaps the most talented film composer of all time, John Williams’ music more or less was the film’s antagonist. Can you imagine what this would of been like without that “Duh duh, duh duh” as we watch from under the water. This score made this film.

1. Psycho (1960)
Composer: Bernard Hermann
Legendary for it’s intenseness and sharp piercing sound. This is not only one of the best horror scores, it’s one of the best movie scores period. I don’t know what else to say, it scares the shit out of me.

Shocktober: Re-animated

Remakes are as rampant and numerous as ever in this day and age of Hollywood. Most of the time I’m against the idea but every once in awhile I think there’s a completely logical reason to remake a film. You can improve upon technical aspects or expand upon certain ideas but it’s not something that should be taken carelessly, which unfortunately it often is. So I thought it might be good for a laugh to do a list of the five best and worst remakes along with five freaky flicks that I believe should be remade.

Five Best Horror Remakes

5. The Ring (2003)
I’ve never seen the original Japanese version but I’ve always enjoyed it’s overseas counterpart. From it’s gloomy Washington setting to some good scares all wrapped up in a good story, The Ring is probably the only good horror movie from that brief period where the U.S. became obsessed with remaking Japanese horror films.

4. Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979)
A film that doesn’t stray to far from the original idea, Werner Herzog’s late seventies homage to F.W. Murnau is creepy, atmospheric and well acted thanks to the legendary eccentric actor Klaus Kinski. Interestingly enough the characters here now have the same names as the character’s from Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel. You see F.W. Murnau couldn’t obtain the rights back in the 20s but by the 70s Dracula had entered the public domain, neat stuff.

3. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
The original is a sci-fi/horror classic but I think this is one of those rare cases where I like the remake even more. Where the original came out during the peak of cold ward paranoia this version reflects the zeitgeist of the 70s. Moving the setting from a suburban California town to a bustling San Francisco this film is very well made and quite disturbing. Plus, how can you go wrong when you have Donal Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy all in the same film?

2. The Fly (1986)
Aside from the premise this gory 80s re-visioning is an entirely different film. David Cronenberg takes “body horror” to new heights as Jeff Goldblum gradually mutates from man to fly after an experiment. Disgusting makeup effects by Chris Walas and clever visual effects make this creature feature one to be reckoned with.

1. The Thing (1982)
A more faithful adaptation of John W. Campbell’s short story, The Thing is radically different from The Thing From Another World. Yes it still keeps the chilling arctic setting and the themes of isolation and paranoia but visually it truly breaks the mold. Rob Bottin’s nightmarish special effects are stunning and still hold up battling a talented cast of characters. Ennio Morricone’s score is simple yet chilling and only adds to the film’s bleak nature… But god I hope they don’t remake this again.

Five Worst Horror Remakes
There’s been a lot but really I can only discuss the one’s I’ve seen. Luckily, it was enough to fill this out.

5. The Hitcher (2007)
The original isn’t a great movie but at least it was suspenseful. Aside from Sean Bean this has absolutely nothing going in it’s favor. People will just remake anything I guess.

4. House on Haunted Hill (1999)
No more than a loose re-imagining of the original. It’s like they just took the title and made up some incredibly bad and cliche ghost story to go along with it. Oh yeah and it’s got Chris Kattan, nuff said.

3. The Omen (2006)
One of the worst effects a remake can have is tainting the legacy of the original film. This one really pisses me off as it seems every time I mention “The Omen” everyone thinks I’m talking about this piece of shit. Where the original was a dark, gruesome and well acted delving into the “christploitation” genre, this film was no more than a cheap cash in. Very few changes are made but that’s just a highlight of it’s lack of inventiveness… I banish this film to burn in hell.

2. House of Wax (2005)
I haven’t seen all of it but I think I’ve seen enough to declare this god awful. Did anyone really think that a movie that starred Chad Michael Murray and Paris Hilton would be good? Aside from the fact that there’s a bunch of dead people in wax this has absolutely nothing to do with the original version.

1. Halloween
I think I’ve talked enough about my hatred for this movie on the internet. I don’t know what else is to be said. Bad characters, writing, acting, everything. This is beyond bad!

Five Horror Movies I’d Like to See Remade

5. The Legend of Hell House (1973)
I hear Richard Matheson’s novel version is a lot darker and more brutal. I always feel like this film lacked something and would love to see it tackled once more.

4. Salem’s Lot (1979)
Tobe Hooper’s 70s miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s classic is fine but I’d love to see this spooky vampire story updated. Plus I think you could get a better star than the guy who played Hutch on the original Starsky and Hutch.

3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
I have no beef with silent film’s being remade and I think this today could be a real trip. Maybe expand upon the idea and add some great new effects. Sounds like a good Tim Burton project… Or maybe a bad one. He’s real hit or miss these days.

2. London After Midnight (1927)
Directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney, London After Midnight is perhaps the most infamous lost film ever made. It sounds like a lot of people know the basic story behind this eerie murder story, so why doesn’t someone take a crack at it? I’ve always felt like I’m missing out (seeing as the last copy of the film was destroyed in a fire in 1965) so maybe this would ease the pain.

1. The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Aside from the great creature design, I’ve never really been a fan of the film but have always loved the idea. I’ve heard this has been attempted many times (though no more than a few screenplays floating around) so hopefully this monster/adventure film will get a reboot someday.

T3: Guilty Pleasures

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything substantial, and I don’t really feel like doing an album review, it seems we haven’t had a whole lot more than reviews lately, so I thought I’d dust off an old favorite, the T3. Anyways, lately I’ve been reading the book High Fidelity, so I keep having the urge to make a bunch of lists that display my musical credibility. So instead I thought I’d do the opposite and indulge in what are most commonly referred to as “guilty pleasures”. These are the musical artists that really don’t have a whole lot of artistic credibility, but are nonetheless the kind of music you find yourself singing along to despite hating yourself for it. I’m sure we all have those certain artists that we hate to love, but these are the ones that make me feel the guiltiest.

10. Abba

Not gonna lie, I have the sudden urge to dance everytime “Dancing Queen” comes on the radio at Red Apple, I’m sure that’s among gayest things you’ve ever heard, but it’s true. Add that to other classics like “Fernando”, “Waterloo”, and “Mamma Mia” and you’ve got the greatest thing to ever come out of Sweden ever.

9. Foreigner

Foreigner is just one of those bands that rocked, in a sort of cheesy way, mostly due to their lyrics and combination of heavy riffs and synths. Of course like most hard rock artists of the ’70s, they eventually became just straight-up whimpy in the ’80s with songs like “I Wanna Know What Love Is”, and “Waiting For A Girl Like You”. But they’ll always have rockin’ hits like “Cold As Ice”, “Hot Blooded”, and “Double Vision” for their never-ending reunion tours.

8. Journey

Definitely a perennial favorite as far as guilty pleasures go, they’d probably be higher if it wasn’t for all those lame people that think they’re funny or something ’cause they know the first verse of “Don’t Stop Believin'”. However, it’s hard to deny the sheer awesomeness of Steve Perry’s vocal wailing on songs like “Anyway you Want It” and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'”. Also, I have a hard time admitting it, but “Lights” might be my favorite song about San Francisco.

7. Bon Jovi

I know Bon Jovi’s sort of played by now, but c’mon, “Livin’ On A Prayer” is pretty much the definition of cheesy ’80s anthem. And you gotta respect a band that’s still able to crank out guilty pleasure songs like “It’s My Life” or “Have A Nice Day” two decades after releasing Slippery When Wet.

6. The Monkees

Though they’re sort of different from the other artists on the list I still think they belong. Sure they were really gimmicky, and about as harmless as a rock band could get, and didn’t write or play on most of their songs, but it’s still hard to deny how good some of their songs were. I mean “I’m A Believer”, “Last Train To Clarksville”, and “Daydream Believer”, are all excellent examples of what a great ’60s pop single sounds like.

5. Boston

There was a time in my life when I would’ve said there’s nothing wrong with liking Boston, now I know that I was a little confused. I’m not saying Boston’s bad or anything, but they certainly didn’t create music that was daring, original, or really anything more than really catchy pop with a bit of a “hard rock edge”, but that hasn’t stopped me from continuing to listen to their seminal debut.

4. Meat Loaf

Sometimes you just want to listen to something that rocks really really really hard, and is also really epic and almost operatic in a way, and also has some tenderness to it. The solution to that kind of instance is putting on Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf.

3. Hall & Oates

I’m sure most people wouldn’t rate this pop duo as highly as far as guilty pleasures go, but I have to admit I’m a pretty big closet Hall & Oates fan. I probably would know well over half of the songs on any Hall & Oates greatest hits CD despite never listening to any of their albums, I think some of it has to do with the fact that Red Apple always played hella Hall & Oates. Plus, they just have a shitload of catchy songs, “You Make My Dreams Come True”, “Private Eyes”, “She’s Gone”, “Rich Girl”, “Maneater”, “Kiss On My List”, the list goes on and on and on.

2. Rush

Nancy would probably be a little pissed off at me putting Canada’s ultimate power trio on this list, but face it, they’re not the easiest band to take seriously. I think this is mostly due to Neil Peart’s overly philosophical lyrics, but that’s perfectly alright when so many of their songs rock so hard, and the fact they’re all among the most gifted rock musicians doesn’t hurt either. Also, I’m not sure what to make of the fact that I never really embraced Rush until I played a bunch of their songs in Rock Band.

1. Kiss

To quote Kenneth Adkins III, “How can anyone possibly like Kiss?”, well the best answer I can come up with is because I guess we all need a reason to rock and roll all night and party every day. The make-up, the merchandise, the pyrotechnic live shows, it’s all ridiculous, but it’s all awesome. Their songs have little to no artistic merit, but sometimes the world just needs songs containing big heavy riffs and metaphors that allude to the male reproductive organ.

Sean’s Top Tens of 2005

Once again all the little boys and girls have returned to school and all is seemingly right with the universe, albeit a little less fun. Actually, I’ve been down here for more than a month now, but who’s counting? I am. But I can only count to ten. Three times.

Top 10 Films of 2005

10. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Edging out superior films like King Kong and The Aristocrats is the best of the Prequel Trilogy. Sure, it’s not like it’s even close to as good as A New Hope or Empire, but I bet if there was room for a fourth prequel it’d be around Return of the Jedi quality. Plus, sweet lightsaber fights.

9. Crash
This movie is overrated. And depressing. But it got people talking about important issues, so, you know, that’s cool.

8. Brokeback Mountain
A lot of people are scared to see this movie because of the infamous sex scene. I think that thought can ride alone.

7. Good Night, and Good Luck.
Why did so many people at LW hate this movie? Is George Clooney not cool now? Is he the next Ben Affleck? Cause I’ll tell you, I still support ol’ Ben too.

6. The Squid and the Whale
This movie’s kind of gross and weird. But it’s also pretty funny. In a real funny kind of way.

5. Cinderella Man
Who doesn’t love the underdog boxer film? Russel Crowe goes through a lot of hard shit on his rise to the top, and it feels oh so sweet when he makes it.

4. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
This movie is good. Not as funny as later Apatow works, but how were we supposed to know that in 2005?

3. A History of Violence
A brutal, thrilling little story about a dude who just wants to run a diner in some shitty little town. Remember the part with that guy’s nose? Intense!

2. Batman Begins
Totally reinvented the Batman on film and invalidated its predecessors, only to be surpassed by its sequel.

1. Serenity
My cousin Brian told me to go see this movie and I did. And it was awesome. And then I got the show DVDs and watched the whole show. And then I was sad it was cancelled so early. And now I have to carry that burden my whole life. That intense feeling of dissatisfaction that the show got cut so short I could never fully shed. Thanks a lot, Brian.

Top 10 Albums of 2005

10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Just barely edging out the excellent In Your Honor from Foo Fighters is an album I’m sure much less people would enjoy from a band with a very divisive lead singer. But, you know, I’m just not really trying to listen to Foo Fighters these days. They’re more of a Rock Band band for me.

9. Kaiser Chiefs – Employment
Fuckin’ sweet. Next.

8. Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better
I think both John and my favorite track is “Walk Away.” I love the sound of that song.

7. Spoon – Gimme Fiction
Spoon, huh? Gimme a spork. I was going for a pun on the expression “gimme a break,” playing on the title of the album and the band’s name. Not sure if it came through. If you did get it and were amused, I’m sure I’ve ruined that now.

6. Gorillaz – Demon Days
If you haven’t at least heard the “Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head,” you should check that out. Dennis Hopper.

5. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
One of those diminishing returns bands, this album rocks my socks off, but the latter two hardly untie my shoes.

4. Coldplay – X & Y
Oh God isn’t everybody sick of Coldplay at this point?

3. Beck – Guero
It’s Beck, but a little more accessible while still being really good. Nice.

2. My Morning Jacket – Z
MMJ goes a little more out there, still awesome.

1. Sigur Rós – Takk…
This is just beautiful. Brian’s getting into these guys finally, so that’s another number one spot I can share with him. I wonder if I can come up with something for whatever my favorite 2005 video game is for the hat trick.

Beatlemania: Nancy’s Fav Beatles Songs

This was ridiculously hard and extremely fun. When you can say the ones that just barely missed the cut were…well…the rest of the damn songs, you’ve got a pretty good band on your hands.

Probably the hardest part of this next to picking the songs was putting them in order. And while typing these I had the catalog on shuffle which was probably a bad idea because I was frequently thinking ‘Oh I forgot about that one-OOO! This ones great!” etc. Bad idea.

“Ah man, there goes John rippin’ me off again.”
-George Harrison

10. Do You Want To Know A Secret
I feel like George always took a lot of shit in the early years and I’m glad they threw him a bone every once in a while.

9. Penny Lane
I always loved the orchestration of Penny Lane. Lyrically it’s one of my favorite songs because it puts you literally right on the street. I always liked to picture there’s this really annoying orchestra that is always playing. I mean its cool if your just visiting but these guys are probably always playing.

8. She’s Leaving Home
As of late I’d probably have to say Sgt. Peppers is my least favorite album, but saying that is like saying reduced fat is my least favorite kind of Wheat Thins. I’m a sucker for strings and this song has plenty of it.

7. Dig A Pony
Let it Be was the last Beatles album I attained and I never really got into it until very recently. I’ve been listening to it a lot lately and this song is just really fun to listen to. I learned it on guitar the other day and I just can’t stop listening to it.

6. In My Life
This was one of the first Beatles songs I learned on Drums and I was like “wtf is up with this beat man?” and my teacher was like “yo yo Ringo’s left handed, but he plays a right handed set.”
Now I know. And some of the stuff Colin said.

5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
George is the man. I was kind of disappointed when a first learned that it was Clapton playing lead on this song, I don’t know why. I still don’t and I don’t think I ever will. I just wish it was George.

4. If I Fell
Definitely my favorite song of the early stuff. I’ve always been blown away by how easily these guys harmonize. It blows my mind. Maybe I’m just easily impressed by vocal harmony. The way the Beatles do it is different to me though. It’s like I get lost listening to one of the parts and then the second time I listen to it I hear the other part and its like a whole new song. I wish I could do that.

3. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
I originally wanted to just put “second side of abbey road” but thought that might be cheating. I guess I narrowed it down to this song. I don’t particularly have any reasons. I really like the guitar part and John’s “lookout!” at the beginning. I imagine that’s what I would say to someone if some one suddenly came in through the bathroom window. I don’t know why I’m in the bathroom with somebody though.

2. The Long and Winding Road (Spectrofied version)
Ya know Paul McCartney has just been straight up pissin me off lately. First off, I dunno why everybody’s hatin’ on Phil Spector. He straight up murders some chick and now everyone’s trying to take his stamp off their music. What’s the deal? Secondly, I saw the Let it Be movie and I did not see what the big deal is. There’s one scene where it gets kind of tense. So what, people argue, Ringo’s wasted, and there’s a lot of great music. If anything Paul doesn’t want it to come out because he just looks like a douche the whole time. Stupid beard.

1. And Your Bird Can Sing
Surprise, surprise.

And now I will conform to the Corporate F**K and say my favorite album. I always bounced around between Abbey Road and Revolver. I’m gonna have to say Abbey Road because its just got so many sweet songs including my all time favorite “Something”. Oh wait, DAMNIT!

So that was really fun. I’m happy to gain a little credibility on the blog with this post of my favorite band. And with that I’ll leave you In My Yard, I Don’t Care.

Beatlemania: Colin’s Fav Beatles Songs

Compiling a list of just 10 of my favorite Beatles songs seemed like a pretty daunting task, but it actually took me shorter than I expected. I guess there are just some of their songs that I’ve always gravitated towards and have kept me coming back. The songs that barely missed the cut were “Norwegian Wood”, “She’s Leaving Home”, and “Happiness Is A Warm Gun”, I also felt like “Hey Jude” should’ve been somewhere on the list but took it off at the last minute.

10. Please Please Me

The Beatles’ first big hit in the UK and it already shows their ability to write a perfect 2-minute pop single. Too bad The Defenestrators could never do it justice when we attempted to cover it.

9. I Feel Fine

Besides being able to come up with really catchy vocal melodies, The Beatles were also great at coming up with awesome guitar riffs. This song has both, plus it’s supposedly the first recording to feature feedback.

8. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Just a really beautiful, moody song with some great guest guitar work by Eric Clapton. It’s seems that by this point George had pretty much reached the same level of songwriter as John and Paul, and this song demonstrates it fabulously.

7. Tomorrow Never Knows

Without a doubt the most radical song The Beatles had recorded up to this point. All those crazy tape loops combined with that constant drum pattern and John’s heavy philosophical lyrics make for a real trip.

6. Ticket To Ride

This song definitely has grown on me more over the years, at first I kind of lumped it in with the rest of their mid-60s singles. However, there’s just something about that chiming guitar and Ringo’s drum pattern, as well as that world-weary vocal delivery.

5. Let It Be

Another gorgeous ballad from McCartney that has that great anthemic quality with a bit of a gospel sound to it. Billy Preston’s work on organ doesn’t hurt either.

4. In My Life

This song definitely showed The Beatles starting to grow lyrically as well as musically. A great song for when you’re in a sentimental mood.

3. For No One

A simple but really beautiful song with a little bit more mature take on the love song. Also, I absolutely love that french horn solo.

2. A Day In The Life

Truly one of the most mind-blowingly unique songs I’ve ever heard. A great finale to an unprecedented album, and it really shows how fearless The Beatles were in their exploration of taking their music into uncharted areas.

1. Strawberry Fields Forever

This song certainly showed that The Beatles had already come a long way from their early pop records in a matter of years. And besides that, I just love the sound of this song; the driving strings, the distant horns, the pounding drums, the extensive use of the mellotron, all topped off by Lennon’s surreal lyrics.

As for the albums, Revolver has always been my favorite with either Abbey Road or Sgt. Pepper coming second, but you’ll get to see my opinion on those later, since it seems I’ve been chosen to do the album retrospecticus. As for now, it’s been a hard day’s night, and I should be sleeping like a log.

Beatlemania: Sean’s Fav Beatles Songs

Oh man, with the Beatles catalog I would have trouble doing a top 25. But a top 10? Forget about it. There are so many songs I love that just missed the list, from rockers like “Paperback Writer” to the greatness that is Ringo’s “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Surely the moment after I post this I’ll realize I’ve done it all wrong. I’ll probably regret it later, but here’s my top 10.

10. “Eight Days a Week”
I find it funny that the Fab Four didn’t really like this song that much. I don’t understand why, it’s really good.

9. “Here Comes the Sun”
George was responsible for a number of killer tunes with the band; it’s hard to beat that brilliant solo in “Something” or the sheer beauty of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” This song does. Everything works, the gentle guitar, that awesome synthesizer, the joyous vocals. Wonderful.

8. “In My Life”
John and Paul were just a little older than me when they authored this gem. That really makes me respect the almost profound observations they make about life and love. On top of that the guitar part and the piano solo are really good.

7. “Come Together”
What I love about this song is that you might not even think it was a Beatles song if you hadn’t heard it before. It’s dark, it’s groovy, it’s my number eight.

6. “Let It Be”
I am, and probably will always be, a sucker for the ballads, and this is one of the best. It’s always a joy to hear this song build from that lone piano at the beginning all the way to its triumphant finish.

5. “Can’t Buy Me Love”
But you can buy me a spot on this list.

4. “Getting Better”
This is the earliest Beatles song I can remember loving, something that has always stuck with me. There’s some great McCartney/Lennon juxtaposition here, with Paul singing, “it’s getting better all the time,” to which John answers, “it can’t get no worse.” Also, does Paul say he used to beat his woman? That’s messed up.

3. “Don’t Let Me Down”
A damn good love song. Lennon brings such a power to the tune that I can’t help but be drawn in.

2. “Hey Jude”
Remember what I said about ballads before? I meant it. This is simply one of the greatest songs ever, with a simple message about getting over your fears and embracing love. Probably the best singalong of all time.

1. “I’ve Got a Feeling”
This song is so cool. John and Paul both wrote separate songs and then the combined them into this one nifty masterwork. Once again, Paul brings the optimism, while John “had a hard year.” I love it.

Picking a favorite album is even harder. I guess, song-for-song, it might come out ahead for Abbey Road and Let It Be, but I kind of feel bad for liking the band most when they were falling apart. At different times I’ve said my favorite was The White Album and Rubber Soul too. Honestly, besides maybe Yellow Submarine, I could justify any of them as my favorite. In my life, I’ve loved them all.