Hello! The month of August always seems to fly by, doesn’t it? Before I knew it, it was August 20th and I hadn’t blogged since the first day of the month… Cue the guilt. But here I am! Today I figured I’d talk about a few things, Beatley and not, that have been going on in my life and in the world recently.
First, I was very fortunate to see one of my current favorite musicians, Gavin DeGraw, in concert last week with my friend. I’d been looking forward to this for months, and he did not disappoint in the slightest! Gavin was charismatic, funny, and charming, and he sounded amazing! If there’s anyone out there today who will never need autotune, it’s him. He is also a fantastic piano player, and if there’s anyone even close to a modern “piano man” like Elton John or Billy Joel, it’s also him. I love him for constantly restoring my faith in today’s popular music, and I sincerely hope I get to see him live again soon.
Here are a couple of pictures I took at the concert:
We were pretty close to the stage!
I zoomed in, we weren’t actually right in front of him, but it was still really exciting!
The two acts who performed first, Andrew McMahon and Matt Nathanson, were also fantastic. I didn’t know any songs by either of them before the concert, but they are now officially on my musical radar!
And now, for something completely different…
Apparently, Paul McCartney and Kanye West are collaborating. I’m not really sure what to make of this. On one hand, Paul has probably done just about everything on his musical bucket list, so why not collab with Kanye? On the other hand, if this means Paul will be rapping… Well, actually, I’d love to hear that. Who am I kidding? But I hope whatever they come up with will be skewed more towards Paul’s musical senses than Kanye’s.
To quote Forrest Gump, “And that’s all I have to say about that.” 🙂
Paul also made news recently for performing the last-ever gig at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA. I was reading reviews of the concert recently, and while it sounded like an amazing concert, the highway traffic getting there was so bad that thousands of people didn’t even get to the stadium in time for the concert.
If that were me, I would have gotten out of the car and walked. As I’ve said, for Paul, it’s always worth it. If I had to walk from New York to California with the promise of seeing Paul again, I probably would. Just give me a few weeks… 🙂
Finally, the Emmys are coming up, and remember that Beatles special from way back in February? Well, it’s nominated for… Something technical sounding in the TV special category. I think it’s also nominated for writing for a TV special. Anyway, I’m hoping some Beatle-affiliated people will be there solely for this reason. If this special doesn’t win anything, I’ll have to be content hoping that The Big Bang Theory, The Tonight Show, Sherlock, and The Normal Heart (the only other programs nominated that I really care about) win everything. Should be an exciting evening!
Anyway, school unfortunately starts soon for me… 😦 I’m a senior in high school this year. Yikes. Time really does fly. I was a mere sophomore when I started this blog! Though I’m sure it will be a busy year, I promise to continue blogging as often as possible and keep you updated on all things Beatles. After all, if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I am never too busy to listen to the Beatles!
I’m planning on posting a sequel to the “Random songs I’ve been obsessed with recently” post I did a while ago, so be on the lookout for that in the near future. Aside from that, have a fab rest of the week/weekend/summer/year! (depending on how often you read this…)
Beatle Me Do 
Hey again,
Lucky with getting to see Gavin Degraw! The closest I’ve ever been to a large live concert is The White Album Concert. As I’ve said before, Paul hasn’t been Down Under since 1993 (long before I was even born), so c’mon Paul – your Aussie fans are waiting!
Talking of Paul, turns out my Drama teacher has one of the coolest stories about her. Ever. She was five when The Beatles came to Adelaide, and her uncle was one of the Adelaide roadies! She got taken to one of their concerts! But even better…she got taken backstage afterwards, and met John, Paul and George (as you’ll remember, poor Ringo was sick)! But even better again…Paul picked her up and KISSED HER ON THE CHEEK! Yep, you read right. My Drama teacher has been kissed by Paul McCartney. *Begins daydreaming – and that’s coming from a Lennon Lover*
Oh, and congrats on the 497 views! Wow – that is one hell of an audience! (Coincidentally, ‘Lola’ just came on the radio.)
How did you find out about Adelaide? Beatles research? Or are we just generally known in the US?
(On comes ‘She Loves You’!)
Do you read Beatles fanfiction? I read the non-slash (some of the most vulgar stuff I’ve ever seen)/non-romance stuff sometimes? If so, have you got any stuff to recommend?
If you had to choose three favourite tracks on ‘All Things Must Pass’, what would they be? I’d probably go with ‘What Is Life’, ‘Wah-Wah’ and ‘I Dig Love’ (I dig the slide guitar). And what about John’s ‘Imagine’? This is my fave Beatles solo album, but I’d say ‘Jealous Guy’, ‘Oh My Love’ and ‘Oh! Yoko’ – but that could be different if I wrote that tomorrow.
Oh, and what do Americans think of Australians? Kangaroos are strictly kept in the bush (I hadn’t even seen a wild one until last year), no South Australian is of convict descent (that’s for the rest of the states) and I certainly ain’t got no Australian drawl. In fact, my accent’s a bit Scouse… 🙂
Good luck going back to school – final year? I’ve still got a few years to go…In America, does the school year start in August? Here in Australia, it usually starts right at the beginning of February. January is far too hot to even go out, sometimes.
Sorry – quite long, but then, that’s me. Have a lovely Summer/Autumn, and love mee 🙂
Sorry I haven’t replied to this until now! The story about your drama teacher is amazing. I wish one of my teachers had a story like that!
I remember watching a video of the Beatles in Australia, greeting a crowd of thousands, and they mentioned that it was in Adelaide. That’s pretty much all I knew about it, and still know. 🙂
I don’t really read fan fiction to be honest. I have this impression that it’s all sort of alarming and vulgar, even though I’m sure that’s not true. I’d rather not venture into that part of the internet. And I prefer to imagine my own Beatle-related fantasies… 🙂
It’s so hard to choose three favorites on ATMP! It’s such an amazing album from start to finish! But, if I HAD to choose, I’d probably go with What Is Life (my #1 fav George song), Wah Wah, and My Sweet Lord. As for Imagine, I’d say Jealous Guy, How Do You Sleep, and Oh Yoko. Clearly we have similar taste in solo Beatles songs!
I’ve always had the impression that Australians were very cool, friendly, outdoorsy people. Also, I think Australians have the best accent (besides Scouse). I hope I don’t sound too culturally ignorant…
Yeah, I’m going into my final year of high school before college. And in New York, we generally start school in early September, but in other parts of the country they start in August. It really depends on where in the U.S. you live.
Also, if Gavin DeGraw ever makes it to Australia (I don’t think he has yet), try to see him. He’s fantastic!!! Thanks for commenting!
Yeah – my drama teacher’s story is pretty damn cool! I spent the rest of the double lesson – when we were meant to be working on our melodramas – grilling her about everything and anything in Beatleland.
That’s cool that you saw that video! My dad’s parents are somewhere in that crowd. In fact, my grandfather shares a birthday with George (the 25th – thanks to you, I now know he has two birthdays!), and was born in 1940, making him the same age is Ringo and John! Adelaide still looks somewhat similar, but of course some things have changed. If you watched what I think you watched, the place where they are is the Town Hall – still there – and everyone is now standing in what is the mall. I can actually walk to the site of where they played – Centennial Hall – but that’s now the showgrounds. Adelaide’s the fourth-smallest capital city in Australia (we have states like you, except there are much less), and we are really arty! Also, no convicts were ever sent to SA, so accents are posh British. Except mine’s Scouse (hehe)… 🙂
You would be correct with your opinion on fanfiction. It is DISGUSTING. Stay far, far away from Archives Of Our Own. Hell, people were shipping Eleanor Rigby with Dr. Robert! And there is a myriad of the worst stuff I’ve ever read on it – aka slash (i.e. McLennon and Starrison). I agree that your/my fantasies are better, respectively.
Wow – that’s creepy! Same taste, almost (I love My Sweet Lord and How Do You Sleep, too). I’ve been really digging ATMP lately, except I haven’t listened to the Apple Jam yet. I need to.
Nah, you’re way better than I thought most Americans were. I’m not very outdoorsy, but I seriously hope I’m cool and friendly!
Oh, and in Adelaide, we have something called Mad March – which is when all the music festivals are held. And did you know ACDC is South Australian?
Yeah – things in states differ here, too. Though not that much, though – unless you live in Tasmania. We start school in February, ‘cos January’s too hot (it gets to 48 degrees Celsius). I think we should have July off, too, ‘cos it’s generally 10 degreess! Good luck with your final year.
‘Spose I should go. It’s raining – even though it’s Spring – the resident bimbos are squealing over something small – according to them, John is ‘John Lemon’, you can’t like musicians for their music (only for their sexiness), and The Beatles are horribly unnattractive – and class is about to start (I may or may not have started writing this in Science). Happy Beatle-ing, and love from me 🙂
P.S. I’m officially a recording muso! I did a cover of ‘I’m Only Sleeping’, and it’s on Soundcloud. I think I might do ‘Dear Prudence’ next, and then thanks to John, Paul and George, I’m going to have a bash at songwriting. Here’s a link: https://soundcloud.com/sadie-of-kirkcaldy . Hope you like it!