“Produced by George Martin” = A must-watch for Beatles fans

Sometimes, just when I think I’ve stumbled across every piece of media in the Beatles universe, I uncover a new gem. Last week, my parents texted me saying that they noticed a Beatles-related documentary on Amazon Prime that they thought I would like: Produced by George Martin. George’s son, Giles, made this in 2011, about five years before Martin passed away. It features extensive footage of the legendary Beatles producer, along with many of his contemporaries like Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Michael Palin.

The opening sequence features Martin chatting with his wife Judy, whom he married in 1966. From there, it details Martin’s early life growing up in England with a relatively modest income in the 1920s and 1930s. It then details Martin’s military service and his subsequent entry into the music world, first as a composition student and then as an employee at Parlophone Records.

Despite having what I thought was an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Beatles, I went into this documentary not knowing much at all about their iconic producer. For example, I was unaware that he had lifelong aspirations to become “the second coming of Rachmaninoff,” though when considering the wonderful classical arrangements he did with the Beatles, this is not that surprising.

I was also not fully aware of how many comedy records he produced before signing the Beatles to a record contract. Martin worked with a multitude of famous British comedians in the 1950s and early 1960s, including Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. In fact, the Beatles themselves knew him only as a comedy producer when they signed on with him at Abbey Road.

Martin mentions a couple of times that he found producing comedy records to be more difficult than producing music, which I found rather astonishing. He explains this by citing the minute detail necessary to produce a comedy script for audio consumption. I suspect that Martin, despite having a remarkable ear for all types of production, may have felt a little more in line with his dream of becoming a classical composer when he was producing the Beatles than when he produced comedy.

Produced by George Martin also made me realize I need to watch more interviews with Martin. He is a fascinating figure, communicating with such care and knowledge about music and giving off a warm, yet utterly distinguished vibe. When I hear him speak, I get the sense that he must know everything there is to know about producing music. What an honor it would have been to hear him lecture in person.

Most Beatles fans know this, but Martin himself composed many of the most famous arrangements in their catalog. I consider his two-minute score for “Eleanor Rigby” to be perhaps the most perfectly composed piece of music in the Beatles’ entire catalog, and maybe in anyone else’s musical catalog. I wrote extensively about Martin’s composition work with the Beatles here in a previous post.

Besides his work with the Beatles, I learned a lot about Martin’s other life work from this documentary. There is a particularly touching clip with Martin stepping through the ruins of his studio in Montserrat, which was destroyed in a hurricane in 1989. Martin then goes on to describe the cultural center in Montserrat that he built in its wake, which has since become integral to the local cultural life in the surrounding community.

I also had no idea that the Police recorded several songs from their 1981 Ghost in the Machine album at Martin’s AIR Studios in Montserrat. At one point, a version of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” plays in the background that seems to shimmer even more than the original song. The song’s official music video also features footage shot at the Montserrat studios.

I have always admired this song for its outstanding production, and thus it was no surprise to learn that Martin was tangentially involved in its recording. It’s a well-written song, of course, but it really just sounds beautiful. The piano part is perfectly clear and crisp, and the drums seem to snap with more life than a usual rock drum part. It’s one of those songs where I would almost be just as content to listen to a fully-instrumental version as I am to listen to the actual song.

Anyway, I digress. Thank you George Martin for also having a hand in the Police’s incredible musical output.

Another memorable sequence in this documentary features Martin demonstrating how to make a proper martini over a backdrop of “Live and Let Die,” the James Bond theme song that McCartney wrote. Until I watched this, I had completely forgotten that Martin had produced this song. I was a little disappointed that Produced by George Martin did not give any airtime to Martin’s work on the fantastic McCartney solo album Tug of War from 1982, but I am glad that his Bond-related work was highlighted.

The documentary is 85 minutes long, and I must have sat there smiling for all 85 minutes. There is nothing like Beatles-related content to instantly remind me of the beauty of life, especially during a pandemic when I often need this reminder.

Beatles fans, I know I don’t have to sell this type of content to you, but I will say that if you are looking for an absolutely delightful hour and a half to brighten your day, Produced by George Martin should do the trick. If you have Amazon Prime, it’s there right now, so take advantage of your membership and watch this wonderful documentary about a true musical legend!

Have you watched any interesting music-related documentaries recently?

The Beatles, performing songs that they rarely sang live!

When searching through YouTube for Beatles live performances, a lot of songs tend to come up again and again. In their first year or so of fame, songs like “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You,” and “Twist and Shout” were nearly always part of their sets. As the Beatles grew even more famous thanks to albums like A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, along with the respective movies, they would frequently perform songs like “Ticket to Ride,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and “Eight Days a Week” in all of their live shows.

However, even within the short confines of a half-hour Beatles concert (yes, that’s how long their shows were back then) or a TV appearance, the Fab Four would find ways to mix it up. Today I wanted to post a few of my favorite videos of the Beatles singing songs live that they didn’t often perform, or at least where there is very little footage of them singing the song live. I’m sure some of these songs, especially the covers, were staples for them back in Hamburg or the Cavern Club, but I can only evaluate their live performances based on the resources I have available to me, aka the internet.

So without further ado, here are some of my favorite “Beatles live rarities”!

Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey

There are just so many things to love about this performance. First, Paul does a great job of connecting with the audience, which as usual is filled with screaming, adoring fans. His vocals, as always, are strong and spot-on. I also feel like George is having more fun than usual with the guitar solo, which is wonderful to see.

This clip is also interesting because it features Paul standing alone on stage left, with George and John together by the mic on stage right, when normally the Beatles performed in the opposite configuration. I am not sure what prompted this switch-up from the usual staging, but it works just as well as their usual setup.

I’m A Loser

This is by far one of the most self-deprecating songs in the Beatles catalog, and certainly has a more somber tone than most of their early songs. “I’m A Loser” almost seems like an early cousin to “Help!” in that it’s John singing an upbeat song that clearly reflects some inner emotional struggles. It’s an interesting choice to be performing on TV back then, but I’m so glad they did. John delivers a wonderful live vocal here that is among my favorites he’s ever done. Paul’s harmonies next to him are another crucial part of the “secret sauce” that makes this song great.

Two more things I love about this performance. One, it’s a rare instance of John playing the harmonica live, which he rarely did for their early songs that included harmonica. Two, Paul singing along to almost the entire song in the background and barely holding back laughs when he starts to sing is absolutely priceless. Judging by the audience’s enthusiastic reaction here, they clearly didn’t agree with John’s assessment of himself as “a loser.”

Money (That’s What I Want)

This song was a cover of a song originally performed by Motown artist Barrett Strong, and it is one of my favorite tracks off of the With The Beatles album. John sings lead on this one and does a fantastic job, though for some reason the cameraman for this video decided to give him exactly zero close-ups.

My favorite part of this performance is how perfect the backing vocals from Paul and George sound. Their voices blended together so well, and I wish there were more Beatles songs that featured Paul and George singing lead together. Obviously the Paul/John vocal combination can’t be beat, but George absolutely held his own as a strong vocal presence on the early Beatles songs.

Things We Said Today

What I like most about this performance is how it gives the song a completely new life. “Things We Said Today” is a really nice mid-tempo, partially acoustic song on the A Hard Day’s Night album, but played live it transforms into an upbeat rocker with an infectious jangly guitar tone. I also love how George steps in here and does the harmony with Paul, whereas the original song features Paul overdubbed and harmonizing with himself on the chorus.

Though this song was originally recorded for the A Hard Day’s Night movie, it was ultimately not included in the film. I think it’s a pretty underrated early Beatles song, as it introduces some more minor chords into their usually upbeat, happy melodies. It’s a shame they didn’t play this song live more often, but I suppose they had so many other great ones to choose from that it didn’t affect the quality of their sets at all.

If I Fell

While looking up songs for this post, I stumbled upon this 1964 live performance of “If I Fell” that I don’t think I’ve ever seen! (and I thought I had fully exhausted the “Beatles live performances” section of YouTube…)

I am sure that pulling off a song sung almost entirely in two-part harmony amidst a crowd of screaming girls could not have been easy, but it seems pretty effortless here. I also love how Ringo kicks the drums up a notch in the final section of the song.

It’s always wonderful to find old performances with Paul and John singing into the same mic, which makes me nostalgic for a time that, yes, I did not live through. Though John sounds good as always, Paul’s voice really shines in this video. Going back and watching these old Beatles performances, I am always so impressed at how flawless he sounded live in every single video. All four Beatles, yes even Ringo, were strong singers, but Paul’s voice always stands out to me as the most essential to their early sound. Nowhere is that better evidenced than in this lovely performance of “If I Fell.”

Nowhere Man

This clip comes from an episode of The Beatles Anthology, and until I watched the whole Anthology series I don’t think I had seen it before. The introduction here from George sets the scene nicely, reminding the audience that the Beatles’ live shows were from an entirely different era than today, with no option to augment their stage setup via pre-recorded backing vocals or instrumental loops.

These limitations allowed the Beatles’ natural talent to fully shine through in their performances. Here, they sing flawless three-part harmony through nearly the entire song, while sticking strong to their individual instrumental parts. It’s nice to see a live video of a song from Rubber Soul, since apart from a few performances of “If I Needed Someone,” these are hard to find. If the Beatles had kept touring, I am sure they would have included a few more cuts from this amazing album in their live shows, but since we can’t rewrite history, I’m satisfied with what is out there.

If I ever discover more rare Beatles live performances, I’ll be sure to do a “part two” to this post! Thanks for reading!

What are some of your favorite videos of the Beatles performing live? What’s a song that you wish they had sung live while they were still touring?

The Cars: Why they’re awesome, and why they remind me of the Beatles

As I wrote my recent post about my favorite non-Beatles artists, I thought to myself, “it would be so like me to publish this and immediately become a huge fan of a new artist that I wish I’d included.” Recently, I stumbled upon some early live performances from the Cars on YouTube. It quickly became clear to me that with 24/7 social distancing and a complete lack of plans, their fun, upbeat songs were, in fact, “just what I needed.”

For about as long as I’ve been listening to music, I’ve loved the Cars’ best known hit, “Just What I Needed.” A few years ago, I uploaded all 40+ songs from their 1995 Greatest Hits anthology onto my phone. Several months ago, I started listening to songs from that album more regularly. Perhaps this was a subconscious response to learning of Ric Ocasek’s passing last September, I’m not 100% sure of the timeline there. So I suppose it was only a matter of time before I thought to explore their discography in more depth.

When doing so, I was struck by how their music actually reminded me a lot of the Beatles. When I listen to my favorite Beatles songs, even if I’ve heard them hundreds of times, I still marvel at how the band captured such incredible positivity and joy in all of their albums. As I listen to more and more songs by the Cars, I’ve come to notice a similarly beautiful synergy of perfection in their music. Their songs all seem to create an uplifting aura of joy and energy. One great example of this is “Tonight She Comes,” which instantly brings a smile to my face when I hear it. That fantastic guitar solo is just the icing on the cake.

I’ve also been marveling at the masterful production and songwriting present throughout the Cars’ catalog. Similar to the Beatles, Cars songs often have many creative vocal parts and instrumental melodies happening simultaneously, even if the song sounds straightforward. This makes for a unique listening experience every time I hear their songs, and showcases the care and complexity with which they treated their music. The Cars were also instrumentally innovative, using synths and elaborate keyboard parts on nearly every one of their songs before this was commonplace.

As an example of this, I think of “Night Spots,” which contains an almost indecipherable amount of interlacing parts. Between the somewhat menacing rhythm guitar sound, the ascending baseline, all of the keyboards, and the way-ahead-of-its-time guitar solo, there’s just so much going on in this song. Yet it all works together to create a stunning listening experience. And these characteristics hold true for so much of the Cars’ catalog, particularly on songs like “Gimme Some Slack,” “Don’t Go To Pieces,” and “Moving In Stereo.”

Though some of their later songs are very poppy, I still love their MTV-era work. There’s something to be said for songs that, while well-written and interesting, are fun for the sake of being fun. The Cars were no stranger to songs in this category, putting out pop gems like “Hello Again,” “Shake It Up,” and “Magic” throughout the mid-80s.

Since I’ve gotten so many Beatley vibes from listening to the Cars so far, I thought it would be fun to choose a few of their songs that most remind me of the Beatles:

1. Since I Held You: The flow of this song, combined with the very Beatley backing vocals and jangly guitar licks, gives me mid-period Beatles vibes. I have always felt that Paul McCartney’s beautiful backing vocals were the “secret sauce” that made a lot of Beatles songs so great, and the Cars do a great job here of replicating that formula.
2. My Best Friend’s Girl: The rockabilly guitar riffs remind me a lot of George Harrison’s many Carl Perkins-inspired riffs on earlier Beatles songs. The call-and-response vocals at the end also have a lot of Beatles spirit to them.
3. I’m In Touch With Your World: This song is one of the more odd songs I’ve heard from the Cars, but I kind of love it. I feel like this could have easily been one of the Beatles’ “weird” songs, kind of like “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite.”
4. It’s All I Can Do: The intro to this song instantly makes me smile, and has that “magical” joyous quality that so many great Beatles songs have. I can really picture Paul McCartney singing this with the Beatles in maybe 1966.

Besides these, I also wanted to make another list of songs by the Cars that I truly think are perfection in every way.

1. Just What I Needed: This is their best-known song for a reason. From the opening guitar, to the easily singable chorus, to the memorable guitar solos and synth parts, this combines everything that’s already great about the Cars and somehow makes it even greater.
2. Bye Bye Love: Despite what I said above, I actually might like this song even better than “Just What I Needed,” or at least as much. “Bye Bye Love” bursts with character and personality across all of the vocal and instrumental parts, all fitting within three perfect minutes.
3. Let’s Go: If there’s one song I want playing while I get ready to go out or have a good time, it’s this one. “Let’s Go” never fails to give me energy and make me smile. It might be the best “hype song” in the Cars’ musical catalog. Also, the promo video is fabulous, trust me.
4. Moving In Stereo: This song sounds completely different than anything else from the Cars, and is truly a fascinating listening experience. Ben Orr delivers some enticing Bowie-esque vocals in the beginning and end of the song, along with one of the most badass bass solos I’ve ever heard.
5. Cruiser: Though this is a slightly lesser-known bop than their very biggest hits, “Cruiser” is still an absolute bop. It’s catchy, infectious, has quirky sound effects, and is ideal for playing while driving somewhere fun or motivating yourself to do things.

As I’ve gained an entirely new appreciation for this awesome band, I’ve also learned a lot about them. One fact I was shocked to learn was that they even had more than one lead singer. I was always under the impression that Ric Ocasek, the main face of the Cars in their music videos and the band’s primary songwriter, sang everything.

So imagine my surprise when I start watching videos and googling their album tracklists, only to find that Ben Orr, who I had never even heard of, co-founded the band and sang many of their best-known songs, like “Just What I Needed,” “Drive,” “Let’s Go,” “Candy-O,” and “Bye Bye Love.” I was even more surprised to scroll through the comments on these videos and realize that so many people commenting had the exact same reaction as me, even people who were around in the ’70s and ’80s!

There seem to be a lot of aspiring conspiracy theorists floating around the Cars’ YouTube videos. Many comment threads and articles paint a picture of how Ric Ocasek slowly assumed more control over the band as the years went on, to the point of starring in all of their music videos while the rest of the band hovered in the background, nearly out of sight. That may have contributed to him becoming the only real “household name” from the Cars that people my age have heard of.

It is fascinating to wonder how such an important member of this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band is not more well known by today’s general public. Sadly, Ben Orr died in 2000 at the age of 53 from pancreatic cancer, and by all accounts I’ve read so far, it seemed like he was an extremely versatile and talented musician, as well as a sweetheart to everyone who knew him. It’s also worth mentioning that he clearly had the best singing voice in the Cars, and frankly looked more like a rock star than the rest of the band put together.

I’m not saying that we need to get Martin Scorcese on the phone ASAP, but Ben definitely could use a little of the “George Harrison treatment,” AKA a documentary-aided 21st century renaissance. George was clearly a much more prolific songwriter than Ben, but Ben I feel was a more charismatic live performer and had a longer overall career of performing live than George did. This could lead to a fascinating documentary covering his early days of performing in his hometown of Cleveland in the ’60s, up through his last live concerts in the late ’90s, which I would certainly be first in line to watch.

Of course, in terms of musically inventive output within a short period of time, the Cars can’t compare to the Beatles, who released 13 groundbreaking studio albums in seven years. However, the bulk of the Cars’ work was only between 1978 and 1987, during which they released six albums that have spawned literally dozens of radio hits.

I’ve already made a point of listening through their entire discography in a pretty short period of time, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. The thrill of “discovering” a new/old band never gets old. Though no one will ever eclipse the Beatles, the Cars have certainly shown the potential to become one of my favorite bands ever, and I can’t wait to see where this fandom takes me.

What are some of your favorite songs by the Cars? 

 

 

 

Beatles songs that should be remixed, “Love”-style

As I write this, it is approximately day 20-something of social distancing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Life is certainly not normal, by any means, but what makes it feel just a little more comforting is knowing that I can lean on music and writing to bring me joy during this very weird time. And so, I’ve decided to finally get going on a blog post idea that I’ve had floating around my iPhone notes for a couple of years.

The Cirque de Soleil show Love premiered in 2006 in Las Vegas, and it’s been running ever since. This fantastical production’s soundtrack features only Beatles music, with the Fab Four’s famous hits cut up and remixed only with other Beatles songs. In fact, George Martin’s orchestra arrangement for the acoustic version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was the only original music composed for the show.

I have had the entire Love album on my phone for several years, and have come to really appreciate many of the interesting remixes of Beatles songs. This one in particular, which combines “Drive My Car,” “What You’re Doing,” and “The Word,” is probably my favorite on the album. It combines the best, catchiest parts of each song into one “super-song” that I often get stuck in my head. Frankly, this track is just a masterpiece that makes me metaphorically tip my cap to George and Giles Martin every time I hear it.

With the prime example of that track in mind, here are a few other potential Beatles song remixes/combinations that are not on the Love album, along with why I think these songs would go well together.

Baby You’re a Rich Man/Hey Bulldog

What I’ve gathered from listening to Love is that in order for two songs to sound good as a mashup, they have to have at least some similar qualities that can blend together. Though their tempos are different, “Baby You’re A Rich Man” and “Hey Bulldog” share a lot of similarities: a sneering, accusatory singing tone from John Lennon, memorable thumping baselines, and vaguely psychedelic production. In my fantasy mashup world, “Baby You’re A Rich Man” would be sped up a bit, with the tempo of “Hey Bulldog” slightly slowed.

Though these two songs came out a few years apart, I believe they would compliment each other well. I am not a music producer, so it’s hard to know exactly how I would splice and dice the two, but in my head I can imagine the chorus of “Baby You’re a Rich Man” going very well with the piano riff from “Hey Bulldog,” and the biting guitar solo from “Hey Bulldog” would definitely have to be included for this to be a truly kick-ass combination.

Sexy Sadie/Here, There, And Everywhere

These are two of the slower songs in the Beatles’ catalog, and I think two of the most beautiful. “Sexy Sadie” is one of my favorite songs on the White Album, with its melancholy tone and gorgeous piano part. “Here, There, And Everywhere” has one of the prettiest backing vocal parts and melodies of any Beatles song. They also have very similar tempos, so the mashup would not be too technically difficult to make sound natural.

These are two different kinds of ballads, with “Here, There, And Everywhere” as a lilting love song and “Sexy Sadie” as a more pointed critique (written about the Maharishi from the Beatles’ 1968 trip to India, not about anyone named “Sadie”). However, in my imaginary “mash-up” world, I almost feel like “Sexy Sadie” herself could be inserted as the subject of “Here, There, And Everywhere,” with some clever vocal splicing. The fact that John is the primary singer for “Sexy Sadie,” with Paul as the main lead on “Here, There, And Everywhere” could also make for a beautiful vocal interplay between the parts of both songs.

And as I write this, I’m re-realizing that both of these songs are absolute masterpieces, with “Sexy Sadie” in particular as one of my favorite Beatles songs. It is constructed so delicately and perfectly, I could listen to it on repeat for hours and not get tired of it. But for now, I’ll move on to another combination of Beatles songs that I would love to hear.

All I’ve Got To Do/I Need You

These two songs came out a couple of years apart, with “All I’ve Got To Do” on the With The Beatles album and “I Need You” as a cut from Help!. I consider both of these to be somewhat underrated Beatles songs, with “All I’ve Got To Do” in particular as a true gem. These songs work well together because they both have a pleading, longing tone, somewhat subtle instrumentation, and gorgeous backing vocals that could easily be spliced into each other’s songs.

More generally, they’re both just lovely in their honesty and vulnerability. It feels like they’re almost two halves of the same song’s story. John delivers a fantastic strong vocal on “All I’ve Got To Do,” with George providing a softer, more tender vocal for “I Need You.” Before writing this, I hadn’t listened to either of these songs in a while, but I’ll certainly be back for another listen after re-discovering them.

Savoy Truffle/Got To Get You Into My Life

Both of these songs are known for their vibrant horn sections, which is part of the reason why I think they’d work so well together. They both have such an upbeat, fun vibe, and I feel like the horn section and guitar solo from “Got To Get You Into My Life” would work really well mashed up with the main verses and chorus of “Savoy Truffle.”

They also work well together because they’re similar thematically, neither about love or relationships. “Savoy Truffle” was written by George about Eric Clapton’s affinity for chocolates, and Paul wrote “Got To Get You Into My Life” about his affinity for marijuana. They’re both so fun, lighthearted, and bouncy, and I think a mashup of the two would highlight these qualities even more.

 

As I was writing this, I enjoyed finding similarities between Beatles songs that were recorded several years apart. While the Beatles were known for continually reinventing themselves, these mashups illustrate that their essential DNA did not really change much over the years. Throughout all Beatles songs, there is a thread of joyous melodies and energetic, memorable instrumental parts that is always present.

I truly hope that one day I can see Love live and experience these magical mashups in person.

What other Beatles songs do you think could be mashed up or spliced together, “Love”-style?

 

 

 

“Yesterday”: Beatles Music is Clearly Here to Stay

As seems to happen with delightful frequency recently, just when I think the world is bereft of new Beatles-related material, another project comes along. This time, it’s a fictional movie called Yesterday and directed by Danny Boyle. Yesterday is essentially a fantasy movie that tells the story of one aspiring English musician who finds out, after a worldwide power outage and accident, that he is the only one on Earth who knows who the Beatles are (aka, my worst nightmare come to life). The movie then tells a charming story about how he uses this knowledge to expand his music career, connect him with loved ones, and bring him closer to the Beatles’ timeless music.

Though you would think that I’ve been all over this movie since it was announced, I actually had not heard much about it until my dad texted me the trailer a few months ago thinking that I would be interested. When scrolling through the comments on the trailer, many of them were from longtime Beatles fans noting they had thought of this idea for a movie years ago, likely centered on what they would do if they lived in a world without the Beatles. I must admit that I have also pondered this question many times and thought that it would be a good idea for a movie or a play, so I am glad to see that at least some version of my vision has come to life.

Without giving the whole plot away, the whole point of the movie seems to be that even in a world without the Beatles themselves, the Beatles’ music has the power to move people and inspire listeners and songwriters alike. All of the songs featured in the movie are sung by the main character Jack Malik, played by Himesh Patel, which almost made me hear them again in a completely new light even though I’ve heard all of them hundreds of times. I was delighted to note that even without the full arrangements or the Beatles’ singing voices, their songs really sounded wonderful in this movie. I was reminded that the Beatles’ entire catalog of music, for the most part, is joyful and uplifting. It was so interesting to see modern-day people reacting to hearing Beatles songs for the first time and loving every one of them, which affirmed my belief that their songs released today would still be incredibly popular and successful.

Yesterday also made me wonder what, exactly, I would do if I were in Jack’s position. If I thought I was the only person on Earth who knew who the Beatles were, and I did not have their original recordings to share with the world, what would I do? I don’t know any musical instruments apart from a little basic piano, but given my desire to share their music with the world, and my past weak attempts at learning their songs on the piano by ear, I suppose that the only way to get the Beatles’ music out there would be to improve my piano skills, learn how to play the guitar, and record the songs myself from memory. The way that Jack approaches his dilemma exemplifies how I feel a lot of modern Beatles fans approach their fandom. To paraphrase a famous line from Elf, “the best way to spread Beatles cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

Ed Sheeran also plays an amusing version of himself in this movie.

 

One of my favorite lines in the movie comes from a fellow Beatles fan that Jack meets along his journey: “A world without the Beatles is a world that’s infinitely worse.” While that is definitely true, for the sake of all those who have yet to discover the Beatles, this statement holds particular meaning for Beatles fans who know what it’s like to love the Beatles and would feel their heart break if they knew that others could never have that same joy. While watching Yesterday, I felt little pangs of sadness whenever someone dismissed Jack’s explanations of who the Beatles are and what they’ve done for popular music. Despite his best efforts to enrich the world with their music, the thought that his audiences had absolutely no context for his songs made me a bit emotional.

There is also a scene in the movie that made me gasp aloud, but for the sake of all reading this who haven’t seen the movie, I won’t spoil it. What I will say is that this scene is slightly incongruous with the rest of the movie, but will certainly strike an emotional chord for all Beatles fans.

With that all said, Yesterday is yet another artistic example of how the Beatles’ music will continue to touch generations of music lovers even after all of the Beatles are gone. Several of their songs re-entered the Billboard rock charts after this movie was released, and their greatest hits compilation “1” is just outside the top 40 albums on the Billboard charts as of this week. While the Beatles have had their fair share of #1 hits and definitely don’t need modern chart numbers to demonstrate their lasting impact, it always makes me smile to see that their music is still appearing on modern music charts alongside albums by Panic! At The Disco and Ariana Grande.

Yesterday has been in theaters for several weeks now, and in that time I’ve seen it twice and would happily see it a third time. This movie is definitely for Beatles fans anxious to consume any new Beatles-related content they can. It is also for anyone who has ever wanted to share their interests and passions with the world. But really, like the Beatles’ music, this movie is for everyone.

Have you seen “Yesterday” in theaters yet? If so, what did you think of it?