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Today marks the release via iTunes of The Beatles Bootleg
Recordings 1963, a collection of 59 demos, outtakes and live performances by the
group. Among the material are two John Lennon compositions never before released
by the Beatles: Bad to Me, which was a No 1 hit in Britain for Billy J. Kramer
and the Dakotas; and I'm in Love, a modest hit for the Fourmost. Forty-two
tracks were recorded live at the BBC.
The new collection complements the group's 63-track On Air Live at
the BBC, Volume 2, released in November, and Live at the BBC, issued in
1994.
Other highlights include: a live version of Love Me Do that's an
improvement over the rendition that appears on the first Live at the BBC
recorded four months earlier; four tunes credited to Chuck Berry, including a
hot I Got to Find My Baby; three slightly different readings of There's a Place;
and an outtake of One After 909, which didn't appear on an official Beatles
release until Let It Be in 1970.
While a plum for Beatles completists, the album also offers the
copyright-holders additional protection.
EU law protects recordings for 70 years, but only if there has
been an official release.
More information about bygone times appear all the time.
Who could forget the movie "Jurassic Park" when it was first released?
Technology had brought these creatures back to 'life'!
And now here's even more...
By Meaghan
Murphy
Feathered, fluffy dinosaurs?
Dinosaurs are getting a whole new
look in the new 3D film, “Walking With Dinosaurs.” Traditionally portrayed on
screen as covered with scales, the dinos in the new film will be covered with
feathers.
“When you think about those
smaller raptors, like the Troodons – creatures similar to what was seen
in the famous ‘Jurassic Park’ kitchen scene … there’s some fossil evidence
that suggests that there were feathers on those smaller raptors,” Barry Cook,
co-director of the new animated 3D film, told FoxNews.com.
“More recently, a lot of
the paleontologists who do artistic renderings have been playing around with
what they might look like with feathers – and it
looks quite natural, because if you study those raptors, they sort of look like
birds. They’ve got big, muscular legs. Like, if you think of a chicken or a
turkey, they have big legs and small, little wings. The raptors had claws on the
end, but just from a bone structure, they’re very much like non-flying
birds.”
While aiming for accuracy and
realism, Cook had quite a bit of freedom creating the dinosaurs’ appearance.
“Our art director at Animal Logic, Simon Whiteley, and I might get a crazy idea,
run it by the paleontologists, and they would say, ‘Well, you know, this is
possible – I can see how this could work.’ Sometimes they might not agree with a
direction we were going in, but most of the time, they were really open to the
possibilities – of the colors, especially, and the type of plumage and so
forth.”
Modern-day birds inspired the
look of raptors in the film. “One of the small little raptors, the
Hesperonychus, are also known as ‘killer turkeys,’” Cook said. “We
literally took the color palate and the feather pattern from a golden pheasant
and it just looked perfect! The Hesperonychus might not have looked that
way – who knows? – but it works very well in the movie.”
The film’s Troodons
were also rendered with feathers, but – somewhat controversially – Cook and
his team at Animal Logic decided against illustrating the largest predator in
the film with downy fluff.
“The Gorgosaurus, which is
very reminiscent of a T. rex in some ways, was a very fast-hunting
predator,” explained Cook. “We decided that we wouldn’t put feathers on that
one, but we did give that dinosaur iridescent scales.”
The inspiration for the depiction
of the Gorgosaurus in“Walking with Dinosaurs” came from a picture
Cook found of a modern-day lizard. “Its skin was very dark – almost black – with
a very light-colored underbelly, and its scales were an iridescent blue, almost
a turquoise,” said Cook. “We put that on the Gorgosaurus, and it just
looked fantastic. A little flashy, maybe – but I always argue that it’s a movie,
let’s have fun with it. Let’s push it as far as we can, and still make it
realistic.”
The flashy, lizard-like
Gorgosaurus seen in “Walking with Dinosaurs”doesn’t make everyone
happy.National Geographic writer Brian Switek, who was hoping to see a
feathery predator in the film, noted with some disappointment that“scaly
skin certainly has tradition on its side, but tradition is not the arbiter of
accuracy.”
In any case, the scales on the
Gorgosaurus in “Walking with Dinosaurs” are rendered with a proprietary
new system created by Animal Logic. “In the older animation – even five years
ago – if the characters’ muscle would flex or the skin would stretch, the scales
on top would stretch with it, which is not natural,” explained Cook. “To
separate those two elements – the stretchy skin from scales – that’s a really,
really fine detail. When you’re watching the movie, you’re not really cognizant
it’s happening. But it’s more true to life, and it makes the dinosaurs’ skin and
scales look more realistic than ever. It’s a methodology Animal Logic developed
and devised especially for the movie.”
Whether depicted with feathers or
scales, Cook loves making dinosaurs come back through the magic of computer
animation. “You can’t see dinosaurs in real life, but you can see a pretty
realistic version in the movies,” he said. “They’re very strange creatures and
they’re fascinating.”
Country music is bland, conservative music for aging white
fuddy-duddies. Or so its detractors claim. In fact, country has, from its
inception, been musically omnivorous, gulping down blues, jazz, soul, rock, hip
hop and anything else that happened to be sitting nearby on the radio dial. As a
result, there’s lots of country to listen to for folks who don’t like
country.Country music is bland, conservative music for aging white
fuddy-duddies. Or so its detractors claim. In fact, country has, from its
inception, been musically omnivorous, gulping down blues, jazz, soul, rock, hip
hop and anything else that happened to be sitting nearby on the radio dial. As a
result, there’s lots of country to listen to for folks who don’t like
country.Country music is bland, conservative music for aging white
fuddy-duddies. Or so its detractors claim. In fact, country has, from its
inception, been musically omnivorous, gulping down blues, jazz, soul, rock, hip
hop and anything else that happened to be sitting nearby on the radio dial. As a
result, there’s lots of country to listen to for folks who don’t like
country.
Jimmie Rodgers and Louis Armstrong, “Blue Yodel #9,” 1930
Hillbilly music as a genre was originally constructed in opposition to
so-called “race music” — which is to say, it was specifically designed
for white people. Segregated marketing has, painfully and shamefully,
made country music what it is to no small extent. This glorious meeting
between early country superstar Jimmie Rodgers and Louis Armstrong is a
rebuke to that segregation. The lyrics, about police harassment,
deliberately connect the experience of poor whites and blacks, as
Rodgers’ yodeling trades easy phrases with Armstrong’s swinging trumpet,
and Lil Hardin (Armstrong’s wife) plays some New Orleans barrelhouse on
the piano. Rodgers’ collaboration with blues guitarist Clifford Gibson is also great.
Bob Wills, “Barnard Blues,” 1947
Western swing was swing band music played by rural white folks with some
country instrumentation. Bob Wills was the most successful and
influential performer of the genre, and his recordings are a wonder,
veering from straight swing tunes to traditional folk tunes to pop and
everything in between. This number, made for radio transcription, is one
of his deepest blues, featuring the gut-bucket distorted electric
guitar of the amazing Lester “Junior” Barnard. Also taking the spotlight
are Millard Kelso on piano, the great vocalist Tommy Duncan, Joe Holley
on fiddle, Tiny Moore on the electric mandolin, Herb Remington on steel
guitar, and Bob Wills himself, introducing each performer and shouting
out the “aaaahhhhsss.”
Kay Starr, “On a Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor,” 1951
Kay Starr was a pop and jazz singer who frequently worked in the country idiom; she recorded a number of excellent duets with Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Lester Young was a big fan, and Billie Holiday called her “the only
white woman who could sing the blues” — though Starr’s heritage was
actually more Native American than European. Listening to this track you
can see why Young and Holiday were so wowed; if Starr swung much
harder she’d fracture that floor she’s singing about. Her drive and
rhythm seems work a bridge between the hiccupping cool of bebop and the
hiccupping cool of rockabilly; elegantly tough and effortlessly hip.
(Johnny Horton’s version of the song is also worth checking out.)
Bill Monroe, “Scotland,” 1958
Bluegrass is often thought of as traditional music. In fact, though,
it’s a pop music form, which coalesced in the 1940s from elements of old
timey, blues and jazz. Mandolinist Bill Monroe, the most influential
creator of the genre, was a synthesizer and an innovator, and his
catalog is filled with experiments and outright gimmicks — including
his rockabilly uptempo version
of his own song, “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” inspired by Elvis’ massive
hit cover. “Scotland,” from 1958, is another superb novelty; a tribute
to Monroe’s Scottish heritage, with Kenny Baker and Bobby Hicks’ twin
fiddles mimicking the keening of bagpipes. The original doesn’t appear
to be on the Web, but there is this delightful 1991 video of Monroe
dancing to a tune with Emmylou Harris.
Ray Charles, “I’m Movin’ On,” 1959
Ray Charles recorded a lot of country; his 1962 album “Modern Sounds in
Country and Western Music”was the first million-selling country
recording. Alas, though it’s heresy to say it, “Modern Sounds” is tepid,
filled with by-the-numbers pop arrangements and a general air of
deadening reverence. Not so Charles’ first foray into country; his
version of Hank Snow’s “I’m Movin’ On” weds the shoulder-shrugging beat
to call-and-response gospel to create hard-driving, authoritative soul.
Wanda Jackson, “Hard-Headed Woman,” 1960
Elvis had the first hit with this song, but Jackson’s is the definitive
version. Her growl would carry the track by itself — “yeah, yeah” has
never been said with such knowingness. What Adam or Samson wouldn’t be
eager to acquiesce after hearing that? And yet, even so, Jackson’s just
about upstaged by, of all people, Roy Clark, whose unbelievable guitar
solo goes from bluegrass to Chuck Berry and back again. Though I pledge
my love to this version, the live performance on the Smothers Brothers is
also great, with Jackson dancing, some double neck guitar played by Joe
Maphis (I believe?), and, to top it off, a trumpet solo.
Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, “Girl From the North Country,” 1969
Johnny Cash’s late-career collaboration with Rick Rubin, and particularly his version of NIN’s “Hurt,”
is often presented as a mainstream apotheosis. But as this famous track
shows, Cash dabbled in crossovers of one sort or another throughout his
career. The stripped-down backing, with just guitars, nicely highlights
Cash and Dylan’s different but complementary ragged singing
The Flatlanders, “Keeper of the Mountain,” 1972
In California, the Eagles made hippie country soft rock into a
repulsively commercial juggernaut. In Texas at about the same time, the
Flatlanders proved you could make good music from the same elements
while having absolutely nobody listen to you. Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe
Ely, and Butch Hancock’s initial recordings as the Flatlanders
disappeared almost instantly, only to be recovered when the performers
went on to (relative) solo success. Those early tracks are still
perfect, though. “Keeper of the Mountain,” featuring Gilmore’s
delicately wavering vocals, is my favorite: shimmering, soulful and
spaced-out.
Willie Nelson, “September Song,” 1978
Willie Nelson’s eccentric phrasing and rhythmic sense has always had as
much to do with classic pop performers like Bing Crosby and Frank
Sinatra as with country forbearers like Lefty Frizzell. The 1978 megahit
“Stardust,” with production and arrangements by Booker T. Jones,
illustrated that at album length. Every track is wonderful, but
“September Song” remains my favorite. Nelson’s vocals are taken at such a
leisurely pace that they end up more silence than singing. You can feel
the seasons changing between each word; a lovely way to get old.( Clip above)
Dwight Yoakam, “Long White Cadillac,” 1989
There are lots of successful country-guitar rock fusions from the rock side: Georgia Satellites to
Skynyrd and on and on. Dwight Yoakam’s “Long White Cadillac” is maybe
the best crossover from country. The music is solid strutting cock rock,
but what really makes the track is Yoakam’s vocals, half Hank Williams
yodel, half Howlin’ Wolf howl.
Carlene Carter, “Every Little Thing,” 1993 Rockabilly is a resource that country’s largely abandoned over the last
few decades. As a result, Carlene Carter’s jittery swagger feels like it
has as much to do with pop punk’s retro rock as with the music of her
putative peers, be they Garth Brooks, Lyle Lovett or k.d. lang. There
aren’t many pop performers in any genre, though, who have a voice like
Carter’s, with that rough burr lodged in her throat. “Every Little
Thing” is one of her best, especially with the goofy retro-go-go video.
All her music is worth seeking out, though, including her 2008 effort ”Stronger.”
Bubba Sparxxx, “Comin Round,” 2003
Putting country and hip hop together is not necessarily a great idea; Big and Rich’s “Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy,”
for example, is a callow dud. Bubba Sparxxx, though, manages to get the
tricky formula right a surprising percentage of the time, especially on
his second album, “Deliverance.” Sparxxx’s laconic, Southern accented
rapping is part of the reason for the success. Even more credit is due
to the genius that is Timbaland; on “Comin’ Round” the producer samples
The Yonder Mountain String Band, seamlessly integrating the rhythmic
drive of bluegrass with his own idiosyncratic beats.
Emmylou Harris and Low Anthem, “To Ohio,” 2011
Since she began her career with Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris has always
straddled country and the hippie end of folk. The resurgence of folk as a
major indie-pop influence makes this collaboration a natural; it’s
easily the best track on her album “Hard Bargain,” and, indeed, a
highlight of a career with no shortage of them. Her aching singing
nestles up against Ben Knox Miller’s almost too-fey vocals, creating a
sublime ping-pong of bitter and sweet. I wish Harris would do a whole
album of indie-rock collaborations; I can’t be the only person who wants
to hear her duet with Antony and the Johnsons.
Justin Townes Earle, “Look the Other Way,” 2012
Picture credit: EmmyLou Harris: Reuters/Louis
Jackson
Not all videos mentioned in this article are available everywhere,
check the link to Slate below for your location.
