Hello, wonderful and amazing readers. Ready for your evening groove, a chance to chill out for at least a little bit, regardless of what time of the day it may be on your side of the world? I am. So let's jump in a see what is up for tonight. It's time for...
I wasn't planning on doing another rock song this time, nor another Beatles song, nor another song from Sgt Pepper, but as I was scrolling Steemit I came across a post which was titled "Another day in the life". The post wasn't about the song, but it instantly started the song playing in my head. Rather than fight against my run amok monkey mind, I went with it. Because it is a great song.
I suggest you do too. So here it is, A Day in the Life, by the Beatles, credited to John and Paul, as most were, but mostly a John song. It is one of their drug songs, reportedly strongly influenced by John's acid trips. Another influence was Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys.
The line "I'd love to turn you on" is a direct reference to Tim Leary's classic acid phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out". The line got the song banned by the BBC.
John always credited Paul with that line, by the way.
Anyway, without further ado, here is the song. I suggest closing your eyes, laying back, and playing loud enough to lose yourself in the music.
The single best way to hear this song is on the 50th anniversary released of Sgt Pepper. The entire album was remixed giving it an incredibly modern sound, letting us hear things that we have never been able to before. Even if you have heard Sgt Pepper hundreds of times before, this 50s anniversary release will blow you away and make it sound like you are hearing it for the first time.
Pick it up here.
Bonus
Such a famous song has of course been covered a number of different times. Ok, hundreds of times. Here is one of my favorite covers, by Jeff Beck.
Do you know what mash-ups are? They are when two songs are combined into one. It can result is some pretty wild tunes. Here is a mash-up of Day in the Life and Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here
To “turn on” is to realize all of your potential via a psychedelic or other mystical experience. Here is Tim Leary.
One more.
As mentioned above, Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys, had an influence on A Day in the Life. Really, it had an influence on everything, and is generally considered one of the greatest singles of all time. It was composed by Brian Wilson with words by Mike Love. Actually I prefer a variation of the song that Wilson later released on his solo version of Smile, with words by Tony Asher, but at any rate, here is the original Wilson/Love version.
Enjoy!
David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More? |