It’s Just A State Of Mind

I’ve been listening to the newly re-released Revolver by The Beatles. The album is amazingly richer and fuller than the original. Normally, remasters don’t sound “right” to me. Something is off but it’s nothing I can put my finger on.

Not this one. Whew!

In order to make the album salable about 50 years after it was recorded there are also sorts of outtakes included in the package. A friend of mine couldn’t be bothered to listen. I let Alexa play the record. She played the whole thing.

I’m glad that she did.

I learned about The Beatles recording process, how they built a song from just a few words and chords. I learned that when the blew a take they could laugh their way through it and make up the wrong lyrics as they kept playing.

I learned that Paul played bass like a guitar, producing big fat round notes. I learned that every song begins and ends with the steady beat of Ringo’s drums. I learned that John could write lyrics on the fly. I learned that George might be the most underrated lead guitar player ever.

And, I learned what I always knew. In order to make good art, you must practice and rehearse until you get the it right. The art comes first. Even in rehearsal with a mistake in the song, they were always focused and intense.

I learned something about myself. I’m not much of a singer but I can sing a few songs. I’ve had a couple of good teachers. But, my basic phrasing comes from John Lennon. The way that I shape the words are John’s.

And, now for something entirely different.

We listen to a lot of podcasts. I found a WordPress one about photography. It is very interesting, not only for what they say about photography, but for the little things they let drop about the mechanics of the site.

Here’s one that just scares me to death. They make changes every single day. They don’t say anything until they make a big change. You know what happens when they do. This might explain why I can no longer write captions.

I also learned that we, the little people, have no say about anything, because 65% of the world’s websites run on a WordPress framework. And, I sort of knew this, but they represent some of the world’s heaviest hitters. Even Amazon’s basic platform is here, on WordPress.

Now you know.

I bet you wish that you didn’t.