Episodes
Ep. 153 | The Beatles: 1962–1966, a.k.a. THE RED ALBUM (2023 Edition)
November saw a fete of new Beatles releases and re-releases. So this month the Untitled Beatles Podcast begins a fab-four-course feast, guaranteed to be the toppermost of the ploppermost. We hope you like deep dish! A beginning…
1st Course: Amuse-bouche
A Siskel & Ebert review of Peter Jackson’s “Now and Then” music video
2nd Course: Deep Dish
Disc One of the 2023 Edition of the Red Album
3rd Course: Deep Dish
Disc Two of the 2023 Edition of the Red Album
4th Course: Deep Dish
2023 Edition of the Blue Album
On its 50th anniversary, the latest Giles Martin demix-remixes are a sonic revelation for Beatle sniffers of all palettes. And as always, T.J. and Tony offer these questions to fab folk of a certain vintage:
🥁 Yes, the merits of Ringo’s drumming have finally been brought to the fore, but are they Dave Grohl-approved?
🛥️ Why won’t Brian Epstein return my calls about having The Beatles play my private yacht in Dolby Pro-Logic 4.1 surround sound? Dealbreaker: They NEED to stand in a ITU-R BS 775 configuration!
🪘 Was the bongo tickle at the end of “And I Love Her” consensual?
Please pace yourself, there are two courses in this episode. And don’t load up on bread - your fingers will puff up and you won’t be able to properly play “Now and Then” on piano!
EPISODE LINKS
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Ep. 152 | Mind Games (1973) 50th Anniversary Part 2
Let’s keep on playing those Mind Games together, as we delve into the meat (City/Free Monday) of the album, the often overlooked album tracks. Do they deserve their heretofore reputation as merely green Capitol budget label re-issue worthy? Or are there some stone-cold Lennon classics in the mix? And is it cool in 2023 to talk honestly about “sanpaku eyes”? Spoilers: Yes is the answer! But, also:
🏀 Is Marvin Gaye’s cover of “Nutopian International Album”, as performed at the 1984 NBA All-Star game, definitive?
📼 The 1999 film “She’s All That” had a great many classic songs. Is the very best “Kiss Me”, by Six Seconds Of Hiss?
🔧 (Angry Chicago Guy): How come Lennon didn’t write no songs specifically about Schneider, the high-larious handyman on “One Day At A Time”? (With sadness, the Malort is kicking in:) And how come the beautiful Valerie Anne Bertinelli don’t reply to my handwritten letters?
EPISODE LINKS
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Ep. 151 | Mind Games (1973) 50th Anniversary
John Lennon’s solo output presents a sadly small sample size. Paul’s had 347 solo albums and counting, Ringo releases a new EP every hour on the 8’s, but for the most tragic reason imaginable, John’s catalog is comparatively the smallest. So, how do Beatlenerds and your everyday classic rock fans look at “Mind Games” on its’ 50th anniversary? It yielded a massive hit single, one of John’s most beloved. And rumor has it (#Adele) there’ll be a massive multi-disc reissue coming out in 2024. But does the album hold up 50 years later? Do Tony & T.J. agree on this record’s place in John’s recorded history? And will the single version of “Meat City” ever appear on a digital format? Don’t make producer Casey mix his own version, Universal!
There’s a lot of questions in this show, and a whole lot of butt-talk. Speaking of which, just as tight as a (Cleveland) Guardians rope trick, The Tight and Dumb A$$es (sfx: Beavis & Butthead laugh) not only explore the wonders of John’s return to music for the masses, they also find the time to ask:
🫨🎮 Did longtime Foreigner fan John Lennon invent improv when he sang “Yes, and is the answer…and head games is…the cure?”
🫏🤡 If your name is Markwayne, shouldn’t you threaten your own parents for naming you, “Markwayne”? Like, WTF, “Markwayne”?
🐄🐷(Angry Chicago Guy:) HOW COME THE VICTORY AUTO WRECKERS GUY DON’T EAT AT MOO ’N’ OINK?
EPISODE LINKS
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Ep. 150 | Liverpool Drag
What happens when you take the energy of Beatlemania and mix it with a helping of questionably written and performed Beatles-inspired songs? You get Liverpool Drag. Not the Beatles, but an unincredible simulation!
This week, Tony & T.J. examine the early 60's phenomenon of Beatle-inspired cash-in records. Are they good? Awful? Somewhere in between? The answer is, "yes".
Along the way, the Drag Duo ask:
🇺🇸 Since drag shows are unarguably killing our children, is the only solution to ban more books? Because, freedumb?
1️⃣ Who’s idea was it to exclude “Little Miss Margie” from The Manchesters “Not 1” compilation?
🗓️ Come March 2024, should MadTV’s Bobby Lee become eligible for the Untitled Beatles Podcast 7th Beatle Bracket?
Place a mop atop your head, shake it like a mimeograph, and chant “yeah” 3 times, because it’s Liverpool Drag on the UBP! Wooo!!!
EPISODE LINKS
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Ep. 149 | Now and Then (2023) INSTANT REACTION
For the first time since the halcyon days of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "Tha Crossroads", there's a NEW Beatles single! Thursday at 9a CT, Chicago Time, my guy, the Fabs dared to want to change the world one last time. Did they achieve that (Kenny) lofty goal, or merely create yet another gorgeous, emotional song to sit alongside their unparalleled catalogue? And most importantly, from a marketing perspective, should one File The Last Beatles Song Under Rock?
Well this instant reaction (TM) is gonna get you! Gonna look you right in the face, but in audio form, as Tony, T.J., and Producer Casey, a.k.a. The P3Zeatles, share their opinions on "Now And Then"; the newest, and last, Beatles song, Join us as we celebrate this awesome, celebratory moment in Beatles history!
EPISODE LINKS
LISTEN TO NOW AND THEN
WATCH THE SHORT FILM
Read about Carl Perkins and Paul in People Magazine
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Ep. 148 | Yellow Submarine LP (1969) Part 2
Is the original “Yellow Submarine” LP perfect with its’ George Martin score, or is it simply all too much? Well, it’s nice to have the time to take this opportunity…to continue deep dishing on the Beatles’ most underrated core-catalog album this side of Pickwick’s “The Beatles - 1st Live Recordings (Volume Two)”. This week, Tony & T.J. discuss George Martin’s phenomenal orchestral selections, and also the exciting 1999 remix of the “songtrack” with extra songs used in the film; the first Beatles remix since the “Help” and “Rubber Soul” CD’s. Along the journey through the sea of wholes, the boys ask:
🚔 Knowing that Sting ripped off “The Prince Of Denmnark’s March”, can we all agree that it’s finally time to defund The Police?
👴🏻 Is Michael Stipe’s apparent hate-cover of “#9 Dream” better or worse than Granddaddy’s obvious hate-cover of “Revolution’? #AllRiiiiiight
🛏️🔥 If one’s bed is on fire with passionate love, does one stay there and continue to get Laid By James, or does one stop. drop. and roll the f**k outta there?
EPISODE LINKS
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Ep. 147 | Yellow Submarine (1969)
If there’s a better kids movie than “Yellow Submarine”, we’ve yet to see it. (Pipe down, “AirBud”!) So, it would stand that 1969’s original Yellow Submarine soundtrack must be the best kids movie soundtrack of all time, correct? (Pipe down, “Popeye”!) While that may be up for debate, the new and/or newly released Beatles songs on Side 1 are among their most interesting and, in one case, greatest songs.
Our "Yellow Submarine” disc Deep Dish delves deep into the Sea Of Thyme for some spicy discussion on the collection of Side 1 gems, the packaging variations, and more! Along the way, the UBP’s Old Fred and Boob (also a great “Benny Hill” sketch) ask:
🦘 Is New Zealand in Europe? And is that the Auckland Zoo Kangaroo rockin’ the synth on “The Final Countdown”?
🍯 What’s a better addition to a Beatles release? “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” on the “Yellow Submarine” cassette, or “A Taste Of Honey” in the “Abbey Road” medley on 8-track, just after “Polythene Pam”?
💈 (Angry Chicago Guy:) HOW COME THESE UBP BOOMERS (sfx: buzzer) DON’T TALK MORE ABOUT GIOACHINO ROSSINI’S 1816 OPERA CLASSIC, “THE BARBER OF SEVILLE”? (Drunk, sad, rhythmically:) AND HOW COME RON KARKOVICE DON’T HAVE NO STATUE AT NEW COMISKEY?
EPISODE LINKS
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BONUS: Ringo’s “Rewind Forward” EP (2023)
Breaking UBP Bonus Episode! Tony and T.J. waited until midnight at the long-shuttered Tower Records on Clark St, while dreaming of corned beef sammies from the even-longer-shuttered Belden Deli, to be among the first to stream the new Ringo Starr EP “Rewind Forward” in their respective and collective not-so-tidy-whities. And they have one question: was that really worth the run-on sentence? And who do you think you are, Warriners, my guy?
What the Bad Boy-oy-oy-oys discovered is this just might be the best Ringo EP of 2023. There’s peace, and love, and groovy tunes. And Steve Lukather! And Sir Paul McCartney! If you’re not certain that this EP should be among your Private Property, don’t go breaking the law; listen to this special mid-week deep dish of the newest Ringo release, just dropped in your feed like we’re Bono or some s**t! Along the way, the Two Andy’s (White and Frain) also ask:
💰If, like Canada’s please-make-them-stop Barenaked Ladies, you had a million dollars, would you spend it all on 17 copies of the “Rewind Forward” cassette tape?
👀🛞🛞 When listening to Ringo’s “Shadows On The Wall”, don’t you miss the big time now, you’re no longer on the ball?
📼 Is it true that rejected titles of this album include, “Pause Eject”, “Stop Play”, “Record Aux”, “Line In”, “Tuner AM/FM”, “Cr02”, “High Bias”, “Coax [pronounced CO-AX, as in a coaxial cable, not “coax”, as in to convince someone to do something], “Clock Timer”, “Clock Tower”, “Marty, It’s Plutonium”, insert your own joke here?
EPISODE LINKS
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Ep. 146 | Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Live in Chicago
It’s already October, and it’s been quite the merry goo year for The Untitled Beatles Podcast. In August, we recorded live at Beatlefest! And last week, we took a field trip to see Ringo Starr and His All Star Hamms (TM) at the beautiful, historic Chicago Theater; a Chicago landmark owned and operated by Madison Square Garden, just a few blocks from longtime classic Chicago store, Macy’s! (Damn you, NYC…)
Tony and T.J. got to grace an actual Beatle with their presence - together, as a duo - for the very first time, And this week’s episode captures the all the rawdio as the guys pre-game to the rockin’ sounds of Chicago Bears legend Dick Butkus’ death, demand obscure requests from the All Starr Band, and deep dish the entire concert; something TONY ABSOLUTELY WANTED TO DO!
Along the way, they simply must ask:
🐷 Is Warren Ham aware that, per Fox “News”, there’s a War on Ham?
🚽 Is the studio version of “Rosanna” better than the live version because it’s tighter, or because it actually f’ing ends?
🧸(Sad Chicago Guy:) IF THESE TWO CHUCKLEHEADS SITTING BEHIND ME DON'T STOP SHOUTING "PRIVATE PROPERTY" BETWEEN EACH SONG SO HELP ME BUTKUS I WILL SEND THEIR ASSES HOME TO KENOSHA IN GREEN AND GOLD FULL-BODY CASTS.
EPISODE LINKS
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BONUS! Back in the U.S.S.R. from McCartney: A Life in Lyrics
Cue the Salt ’N’ Pepa: Pu-Pu-Pushkin’s real good…at producing podcasts and audiobooks! They’re the force behind the just-dropped “McCartney: A Life in Lyrics” pod, which is off to a delightfully entertaining and insightful start. The dulcet tones of Paul Muldoon had better be the future voice of AI. (We’re talking about practice. Not a game.)
And on this very special episode of the UBP, the Gab Two is proud to present, in partnership with Pushkin, a special airing of “McCartney: A Life in Lyrics” Episode 2. How cool is that?! This one one’s a Double Paul deep-dish on “Back In The U.S.S.R.”, a definitive #FileUnderRock track, though, as the episode sadly fails to acknowledge, was largely unknown until Billy Joel’s live take on “Kohuept” (2 LP’s on 1 CD!).
We’ll be back with our usual chicanery and a whole new episode/world, DON’T YOU DARE CLOSE YOUR EYES, next week. In the meantime, all 3.5 of us at the UBP are absolutely honoured to be associated with anything Macca-related. We hope you will enjoy the show as much as we did. Five Freaking Fabs!
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McCartney: A Life in Lyrics | Back in the U.S.S.R
What’s Paul McCartney, a Liverpudlian, doing writing about the Soviet Union in 1968? Turns out McCartney was doing a little Chuck Berry, a bit of The Beach Boys, some pastiche and a lot of subversion. Opening “The White Album”, “Back in the U.S.S.R.” raised some eyebrows. And because of The Beatles’ evolving position within the former Eastern Bloc the song has over the years taken on a life of its own, following the trajectory of the West’s often fraught relationship with the region.