Thread by @TheyMayBeParted

Usually I watch Let It Be on Jan 2, but now with #TheBeatlesGetBack in our ears and in our eyes, I'll do what many of us are probably doing & watching the corresponding days in GB. I also hoping the bite-sized pieces is how I get my 9- and 11-year-olds to sit through all 8 hrs.

They're already pretty well versed in the group, as you'd imagine given their lineage.

9yo: "They used to eat on stage in Hamburg"

We skated through the “Everybody Got A Hard-On” part without any questions from the kids. Already better than I expected.

They always complained how big a soundstage it was there, and it’s really amazing when you see it consistently in this series. You never get the sense of that from Let It Be.

And just like that, we're done with Day 1 in Get Back. I still love these guys.

9yo gave me a 👍
11yo said "good"

Everyone's looking forward to watching tomorrow. Success!

Welp, my kids (9, 11) chose tonight to fight about where the milk goes in the refrigerator, setting off a chaotic breakdown of domestic order. So the family Get Back Day 2 recap is delayed a day. But you can still recap January 3, 1969, at Twickenham here! theymaybeparted.com/2013/01/03/tmb…

OK, take two. Kids seem a little less surly tonight so we’re giving another go at the family rewatch of Jan 3/Day 2 of Get Back. Wish us luck.

11yo: If you tweet this today, people will be confused because it’s not January 3 anymore.

Figured the kids would be blown away I have this, but they were totally non-plussed.

11yo: I figured you had this.

9yo: Ringo just got another tea.

He’s all over the important details, @Teatlemania

Just noticed Yoko dancing to Because I Know You Love Me So. Maybe everyone else did already, but I just saw it. May GIF later, idk.

“Put brackets Good Year” needs to become a title for something.

And we’re done with Day 2, a day late. How was it boys?

9yo: (Nodding)

11yo: So we left off with them saying they’re tired and drinking mysterious drinks 🥂

Back for more on Thursday!

🚨 9yo just got off the school bus and asked if it was OK for him to rewatch the first two days in Get Back🚨

“It’s only about 40 minutes”

Needless to say, I didn’t even ask him if he has any homework. We’re going back in!

Here we go! Time for the family rewatch of Get Back. Onto Day 3/January 6.

11yo: And no talking so we can get thru it.

9yo: (Dad) may talk thru it because he’s a Beatles enthusiast

9yo: So Paul at 26 looked more like he was 37. People would say he was older and he’d say, “Dude, I’m 26”

(I disagree, for the record)

As soon as they went into Two of Us, 9yo started singing “you and me, Henry Cooper”

Paul’s walk-around during the I’ll Play Whatever It Is You Want Me To Play” discussion was one of the biggest wow moments for me the first time watching this. Never expected that visual

The argument overall really plays out so much differently in Get Back vs Let It Be with the addition of actual George quitting content (in the coming days). I’m glad there’s so much added context around it now and not just cutting to a different day like there was in LIB.

And just like that, we’re done again. Everyone talked during it, not just me 🤷‍♂️ (but I talked the most). Back for more tomorrow! (And if you want to know more about what happened on Jan 6 - and much more happened than was in GB) read on! theymaybeparted.com/2013/01/06/tmb…

Family Get Back rewatch Jan 7/Day 4. It’s Friday, cheers! 🍺 (Kids having water, we’re out of milk).

Or, if you prefer Paul in focus, and why wouldn’t you. 🍺

11yo: Is this like an early version of Get Back?

(He hasn’t even read about the sequence, disappointingly)

If there were GIFs in 1969, that John one would have been this

Maybe we should have a divorce theymaybeparted.com/2013/12/29/jan…

Like a lunatic, I even wrote about the whistling in Maxwell’s Silver Hammer theymaybeparted.com/2014/08/11/jan…

9yo: it’s cool they did Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

On Across The Universe:

11yo: I like the other language (Jai Guru Deva Om)

9yo: I think that’s the best part

@stovewithahouse: This is one of my least favorite Beatles songs, still

And that’s it. You know, watching this in 18-minute increments is a lot easier than listening to 5 hours of Nagras. But it’s that challenge I savor. 🤷‍♂️ Relive it all here: theymaybeparted.com/2014/01/07/tmb…

Family viewing of Get Back, Jan 8/Day 5. John glass, as he was closest to birthday boy Bowie ⚡️🎂🍺

9yo: I like I Me Mine!

The complete I Me Mine story: theymaybeparted.com/2015/09/10/jan…

As they play I Me Mine again, 9yo says “the Beatles are getting a lot better as they play”

Discussing Around the Beatles: I did a full forensic of it here: theymaybeparted.com/2016/08/31/tmb…

. @stovewithahouse: My favorite moment in these entire 8 hours is when John references Bakelite

Meanwhile, John saying he wants the plastic when the Beatles are done with it.

@stovewithahouse: Maybe he’s a Bakelite collector?

Some of the dialogue about the show that’s in the January 8 episode of Get Back actually happened on January 6 (Tower Ballroom, smoochy nightclub) theymaybeparted.com/2012/11/13/jan…

.@stovewithahouse Why does Michael Lindsay-Hogg feel the need to code name everyone? That’s very weird.

(I get into this sequence here) theymaybeparted.com/2017/09/29/jan…

“I think the idea of a boat is completely insane. It’s very expensive and insane.” - George Harrison theymaybeparted.com/2017/12/31/jan…

So fast. We’re done:

11yo: Good

9yo: That was fast

@stovewithahouse: Bakelite

Left out of the episode, this great sequence on the construction of Let It Be, which happened on January 8: theymaybeparted.com/2017/03/14/jan…

All corners of the January 8 session covered here: theymaybeparted.com/2018/01/08/tmb…

Back at it tomorrow!

It’s Sunday night and time for the January 9/Day 6 of the Get Back rewatch. It’s just Another Day!

9yo: Is that Linda?

Me: Yes! (Heart warming)

The full Another Day story. The performance of eventual solo songs gives so much to the sessions. Spreads the Beatles DNA far into the solo careers, and that matters! theymaybeparted.com/2018/01/09/jan…

And the full Long & Winding Road writing session with Mal. Looking for weather obstacles. theymaybeparted.com/2018/02/12/jan…

9yo: This has been very good so far. The photo of Paul drinking tea with Ringo ☕️

(Me: The Get Back sequences where we see Linda or Ethan taking photos and then the actual photos after are among my favorite things in the series)

9yo: George is really late today.

This post, btw, has the full story on this day’s Golden Slumbers and Carry That Weight performances, too. theymaybeparted.com/2018/02/12/jan…

9yo: Is George late? Or are Paul and Ringo early?

Me: It’s just that John is always late.

For You Blue - The origin story: theymaybeparted.com/2018/05/11/jan…

Making sense of Get Back and No Pakistanis theymaybeparted.com/2019/01/09/jan…

And that continues into Commonwealth. The background matters, even if 9yo says “it’s a funny song” theymaybeparted.com/2019/04/24/jan…

9yo: Yoko likes Commonwealth!

Everything you ever need to know about Suzy Parker (it’s still not enough) theymaybeparted.com/2018/10/08/jan…

And here, the importance of George’s Dylan covers. Only got a taste in Get Back but it went on much longer in reality, and was relevant. There was much more happening in George’s life than we ever knew theymaybeparted.com/2019/11/19/jan…

.@stovewithahouse hoping that is a little piece of chocolate cake next to him lighter and cigarettes

Different angle. @stovewithahouse: Chocolate cake or stapler?

Going back a few min, we heard a taste of Across the Universe. That was IT for the Get Back sessions. More on that: theymaybeparted.com/2019/06/28/jan…

Meanwhile, the stapler cake is important but here’s more on this sequence and the development of Let It Be theymaybeparted.com/2019/09/25/jan…

9yo: How much tea does Paul need? Isn’t he awake yet? ☕️☕️☕️

Best view yet of cake/stapler.

And we’re done already! Still doing forensics on staple cake.

9yo: That was a fun day.

BUT I guess we need to demand Penina for the extended cut. What’s Penina you ask? theymaybeparted.com/2018/10/30/jan…

https://twitter.com/stovewithahouse/status/1480359053297659908

It’s Monday here, but Friday then, and we’re jumping back into the family Get Back rewatch. January 10/Day 7 🍺

9yo: Stop tweeting and let’s watch already 📺

Here’s what this whole Dick James sequence is about theymaybeparted.com/2020/02/28/jan…

And this theymaybeparted.com/2020/04/28/jan…

Kids asked what “Happy soixante-neuf” meant, and this came up (I don’t speak French, but I do now!)

I wrote about this in the first of the Northern Songs posts, but it’s tragically funny how Dick James tells George that the gift glasses he gave him are something “the wife can throw” at him - he certainly didn’t realize Pattie had walked out on him

9yo on Hi Heel Sneakers: Is this one of their old songs?

This is the full story of the Get Back rehearsal on the 10th that brought on the “passé” chord discussion - “some drainies suit different occasions” theymaybeparted.com/2020/06/29/jan…

Thanks to the fact that I’d previously written about “drainies” theymaybeparted.com is No 1 on google when you search for “drainies” 🤷‍♂️ 👖

I thought the sequence in the film where they show a closeness w John and Paul and a distance from George during Two of Us - literally it’s two of them - was well done. Here’s how that whole moment played out in real time: theymaybeparted.com/2020/08/05/jan…

SEE YOU ‘ROUND THE CLUBS 👋 The WHOLE story: theymaybeparted.com/2020/08/27/jan…

9yo: Wait, what does he mean by leaving the band now??

11yo: Wait, why did he leave the group?

@TheyMayBeParted: You should read my blog

11yo (a man of few words) just says “wow” after the diary is shown, saying he quit

On the frantic post-lunch jams: theymaybeparted.com/2020/12/30/jan…

9yo: Yoko is singing? What’s happening?? Now Paul’s on the drums. Paul’s good on the drums.

“What’s the next move?” Full story of the Jan 10 ending here: theymaybeparted.com/2021/02/09/jan… (it’s presented a little out of order in Get Back)

I thought using the solo demo of Isn’t It A Pity was super effective, close enough in time to work.

This isn’t accurate. The meeting was already planned - was an Apple board meeting. They mentioned it explicitly during the Dick James conversation.

What a super interesting day. I really loved researching and writing about it. The kids have questions! They should go here for all the answers (after they do their homework). theymaybeparted.com/2021/04/18/tmb…

9yo just got home from school, got a bag of popcorn and put on the Jan 10 segment of Get Back. This is just what I did when I was his age with my The Compleat Beatles VHS tape 🍿📼

This is as good a time as any to recall that Jan 11, 1969, was a weekend for the Beatles. Still, we know what happened:

https://twitter.com/TheyMayBeParted/status/1480875891018252295

Let’s do this! We’re back for the family Get Back rewatch. I’m drinking from Paul, 9yo is having a popsicle. And then there was 18 (minutes to watch)

9yo: I like Ringo. He comes to work duper-super early.

@TheyMayBeParted: Could be the others just come late.

9yo: Glyn looks so tried. He doesn’t look ready to come back from the weekend

I made this GIF for today’s post but thought it was already long enough without stuffing more in there. But still worth sharing

I DID use this one. From the Build Me Up, Buttercup sequence.

We just had to explain what leaving a phone off the hook means to our 9- and 11-year-olds ☎️

Because Paul said he told Neil about the breakup live show on Sunday, I wrote it here, as part of the Jan 12 coverage theymaybeparted.com/2021/10/22/jan…

And then there were two. theymaybeparted.com/2022/01/13/jan…

And we just realized here that Paul only took his coat off once he found out John was coming in. I missed that on my first few viewings

I may be losing the kids in the lunchroom conversation. And it’s presented in a way that wasn’t completely straight anyway. I’ve written a little bit about it already and still have another post about it to come. Still, it’s an amazing technical achievement to fix that sound 💐

Assuming/hoping @asrivkin enjoyed the Tucson discussion.

And again, already done. These guys remain interesting. My 9yo is as tired as Glyn Johns, but no school tomorrow, at least.

Family Get Back rewatch resumes with January 14/Day 9. Cannot wait to explain John’s masturbation joke to the 9- and 11-year-olds. I skated by “everybody got a hard on” on Jan 2, hoping lightning strikes twice

Can I get Paul as my piano instructor? “Unless you stop yourself there’s no stopping yourself.”

I’m very much the audience for all the little Let It Be moments that live on in Get Back. This was very early on in Let It Be, and I was very surprised the first time I heard the Nagras and realized it was on the last day at Twickenham.

I have a legitimate fear Let It Be is going to die, and exist only in formats like Laserdisc, VHS and some terrible bitrate MP4. I hope I’m wrong.

The credit stuff is interesting to me. McCartney has to be tied to Lennon, clearly. No Harrison, we know he’s gone. All based off the “I Bought A Picasso” by Starkey.

“Woman” by A. Webb or whatever pseudonym it was did NOT retroactively become a Lennon/McCartney

And what is there to say about “Back Seat of My Car.” Such a magnificent piece of work. In reality he plays this and works on it for like 10 minutes.

11yo: Why are trucks always dumping things off there?
(Sparked a brief Magic Christian conversation)

This sequence where Ringo, Paul (and Michael, Glyn, etc) talk about movies they could make is hilarious. Goes on a while on the Nagras, someone should make some short animated featurettes based on it

Kids somewhere between concerned and envious of Paul

Had to take out the dog, and while I was out, the kids were insane enough we had to send them to bed without any more Get Back. I’m sure they’ll be very embarrassed when they see this tweet years from now, and they should be if I’m doing this right

Just means I get to pour a giant glass of wine and laugh out loud at the masturbation joke myself #TGIF

Ok, we got the kids up. Probably a stupid idea, but one in a long line. Let’s pick this back up, right with the cigarettes, drugs, masturbation jokes, etc

The Peter Sellers sequence is every bit as uncomfortable on the Nagras as it is here. Just several minutes longer

“What we need is a schedule. Achieve something every day.”

Get that on a whiteboard in permanent marker 🖊

We get a little more music in realty than we see in the show. Could have used Watching Rainbows for the historic value, but that’s all right 🌈

And so there we go, done again. I think the cliffhanger of planning to meet George on the 15th could have been held til the start of Pt 3, but I’ve never directed a movie - I can’t even control the kids - so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Happy weekend & back to the family Get Back rewatch, with a twist. We’ve only got a minute or so of Jan 15, since OTD in 1969 — 53 years ago — George returned to the Beatles at a meeting at Ringo’s. No tapes or film, little evidence. We mainly just know it happens. But its good!

So today is January 15. George left January 10. For context and feel, that would be like George left on this past Monday. He really wasn’t gone long, but Beatle-time is hard to grasp

Family rewatch on January 16/Day 10. Another short one. Snuck this in during halftime of the Steelers-Chiefs game.

Oh! Darling is lovely to have, but opens a lot of questions, right? If Paul just wanted to rehearse it, he could have done it at home, but he chose instead to go to Twickenham to play for Glyn

Super images of Twickenham closing down

Also nice to see this dude back in action.

Just like when this first aired, I find this footage of London so fresh and exciting, like it was filmed yesterday

One thing on my wishlist has always been film of George Martin checking out Magic Alex’s work for the first time. Jaws dropping, fists clenching, etc. Alas.

Get Back family rewatch January 20/Day 11. Quick, but relevant segment. All the days are special in their own way. Today, in large part - to me, at least - for its Let It Be-ness

Want some context? The Beatles arrival at Savile Row happens around 23 minutes into Let It Be. Here, it’s 198 minutes in (minus the history reel at the start, and whatever credits there are)

So I love, love getting to know the Apple Scruffs we get to see for just that glimpse in the original film. (GIF from original Let It Be)

They’re wonderfully three dimensional figures in Get Back

They legitimately are better prepared for the breakup than anyone else in 1969-70.

An interesting (?) thing to note: In Get Back, they show the Beatles arriving in this order - Ringo, John, George and side-eye Paul

Ye Olde Let It Be shows it as Paul, Ringo, John, George.

Anyway, the Scuffs definitely are pretty level-headed on John and Yoko, too

I do wish Paul could have flashed a bit of a smile here, otherwise it really does come off as pure side-eye at the Scruffs

George cutting around some businessman on Savile Row to get to the front door still makes me laugh, like it did in Let It Be. He left the band for a almost a week, and now he can’t wait like 4 seconds for someone to walk past him to get to the door.

And we close with the roof. Hard to say if that speculative shot was taken January 20 or 30 (or somewhere in between). But effective!

One kid is out camping, the other is totally cooked after a long day. So family Get Back rewatch is delayed a night and we’ll double up on Saturday. That said, my 9yo, before crashing, said he wanted to hear “the plastic yoko band” & started pushing buttons on the car radio

As John Lennon sang - but didn’t write - life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Family Get Back recap delayed again, so three days’ worth to come Sunday. Kids don’t realize today was Billy Preston Day, but maybe we can now make every day Billy Preston Day 🎹🙌

Get Back family rewatch - catching up from the last few days, so for us it’s Days 12-14, January 21-23. (Tweeting this again, now adding to the main thread)

George Martin commanding a room, he has such a strong vibe every time we see him. Not to mention How Mal lifts the mood

R ingo mentions at one point that he had just watched “Around the Beatles” - the special became a bit of a reference point for the band as they figured out their next move. I went very deep into that 1964 TV show here: theymaybeparted.com/2016/08/31/tmb…

With every viewing I’ve been struck by what a period piece Get Back really is. Newspapers, telephones … things that are really now more of the past than present. And that’s just the layman stuff we all can relate to, not getting into musical equipment, etc 📰 ☎️

9yo on Magic Alex’s guitar contraption: That’s something a kid would use.

My take: Something that Get Back helps with is we see how they really didn’t take Alex all *that*seriously, all the laughter and making fun, etc

9yo asks why they’re playing so many songs by other people. I said it’s because the Beatles just love to play together

Paul studying the Daily Sketch story is striking. He’s really parsing that thing in his head.

9yo: “Agog?” What weirdies.

I go incredibly deep - bring a snorkel and a wetsuit - on the events described, or at least accused of - on the day of George’s walkout here: theymaybeparted.com/2020/08/27/jan…

Oh, going back a bit. Pity we didn’t have very much Derek Taylor overall. Such an interesting personality.

And I also forgot to mention just how good John’s “and now the Rolling Tones” bit is. Bears repeating

Get Back family rewatch continues: Day 12/January 22. We’re just one day behind now. (We actually watched a couple hours ago, I’m just tweeting now.)

Kids appropriately unimpressed I have a copy of Mary Hopkin’s postcard. They did pick out, however, how my copy has the artist’s name and the album title in reversed spots from the design in the film, which I suppose was unfinished at the time. 🍏

9yo: Paul is very athletic.

Me: Recalls the interview Paul gave when he said: "[I’m] very unsporting, really. Smoking is a sport." beatlesinterviews.org/db1964.0906.be…

Turns out John was right: Fleetwood Mac IS better than Canned Heat.

I mentioned this on my appearance On @OneSweetDreamDi and I know @ttbrader picked up on it too — One of my favorite things was Ringo hanging his kids’ drawings by his drums. They’re just like us, you know? That’s why these guys are so great.

.@stovewithahouse: “I like that George butt shot”
(I was watching Paul’s hair 🤷‍♂️ )

Something I think Get Back does extremely well is pluck out the origins of random things, even if it doesn’t really play into the overall documentary story. Like this, the moment we get John’s cover shot on Let It Be 📸

Ringo hanging on the control room cables. “Why doesn’t that bother Glyn,” @stovewithahouse asks.

So, Billy Preston. It’s quite awesome we have the actual moment he arrives on film. (It’s also in Anthology). I mentioned this before, too - Disney+ has Luke Skywalker, Iron Man and the biggest hero of all: Billy Preston

One of my favorite moments of anything, but especially Get Back, is Paul’s reaction to Billy inventing the I’ve Got a Feeling organ riff. The trust & appreciation they gave Billy changed everything. It really did bring them to another level, and to their credit, they embraced it

“You’re giving us a lift, Bill!” - John Lennon

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering what Yoko is reading here, it’s this: abebooks.com/Beatles-Comple…

But back to Billy. We’re just marveling at how he just is inventing these iconic riffs on the spot, just watching the others and picking up the vibe

9yo: Cool guy

.@stovewithahouse: “I wish Billy Preston would saunter into our house and get us all to stop fighting. If you can’t love Billy Preston there’s something wrong with you.”

But then we get Peter Brown setting up Klein. Slippery slope. A few decades later, Brown did PR work for Muammar Gaddafi. Seriously! amp.ft.com/content/1fce20…

Get Back family rewatch, Day 14/January 23. Finally caught back up!

When is trash day on Savile Row? Pretty gross, the trash cans, the steps, etc. 🗑

As @asrivkin mentioned previously, why didn’t Billy get a credit on the “freakout”? He was explicitly mentioned as participating. Presumably as musically inventive on the song as Paul on drums, etc.

“To remind you of Maxwell’s Silver Hammer all the time” 🔨🔨

They’re still working out Get Back in many of the same ways as they worked through songs I’m at Twickenham - sort of not really sure how to arrange things - but they’re just so much looser at Savile Row, it’s amazing .

George’s affection of Motown music is very lovable and relatable

I’ve said before one of my favorite things about the tapes of these sessions is that is acts in many ways as the band’s autobiography. Like these little Jimmy Nicol anecdotes, for instance. Also, who knows if Ringo would have ever heard them before.

“I can’t play standing up”

“I can’t either”

Amazing what difference 28 months can make

The joy & mockery they had for their back catalog is great & really amazing when - like in the last tweet - you realize they’re mocking themselves from like 4 years earlier. I dream of being so progressive in my work & creativity that 2018 is something I can literally laugh at

Put it out as a single: great instinct. I bet it does well!

OK, we made it, and caught up. Will get ba .. uh, return to this timeline Monday.

Get Back family rewatch, Day 15/January 24.

9yo: Why’s their breakfast on the ground? At least there are no dogs around, or mice

It’s astonishing the speed they brought Billy Preston into the fold, signing him to Apple and suggesting (some of them) he join the Beatles. Paul’s response is at least consistent with his “the 4 of us” statements of previous week. Billy was talented enough to join, for sure

On Billy:

11yo: He would be the one to make it better, not worse.

9yo: He would come in and dance while he takes off his jacket, give them two thumbs up and make them happy. (My kid didn’t let me post video but it was a terrific approximation of this)

Meanwhile, @stovewithahouse: Michael Lindsay-Hogg becoming incredibly irrelevant, so he climbed up on that scaffold, “look at me”

Much as we all love the Hofner, I quite like seeing the Rickenbacker

Bass: “It’s a bit of a drag” - Paul McCartney

The Everly’s-like “home” harmony from Paul and John in “Two of Us” is such a nice moment, the way they look at each other and find joy in the moment. A highlight for myself and @stovewithahouse

Paul suggesting a thematic link between the songs and John responding - in a sweet, kind way - “It’s like you and me are lovers”. It’s a highlight, right?

“I’m sure you’ll understand my lunacy.”
What a great mysterious letter. Dated January 3 (presumably that’s the 3/1)? Yoko slow to her mail

“It’s lovely”

(I laughed)

On “let’s make a different single for every country” — John would have just loved the Internet age. Imagine the Beatles, when they were active, with the disposal of the Internet?

9yo: Why is Yoko in there (the control room)? Why is she following John around? 😬

More Starkey kid art. No wonder he’s smiling 🖼

This is how I’ve referred to the Get Back sessions, too, one of my first takeaways when I listened through the Nagra tapes.

The future Abbey Road sequence was a nice presentation. And, of course, Teddy Boy. I’ll always be an apologist for it.

Love George Martin loving Maggie Mae. Proud papa watching his kids relive their childhood

I wonder how the Pattie moment plays to a more casual fan. We see all the other wives/girlfriends hours earlier in this show but only now see Pattie. His marital issues aren’t mentioned at all in the show. Here George actively waves her in. She doesn’t seem thrilled to be there

But, a lovely moment 😘

9yo- “Pause it. George saw his wife again.” (He hasn’t read the blog, but I filled him in with a PG version of their problems)

Ringo’s high tech camera is another thing you have to explain to kids 🎥

I’m a big fan of George Harrison’s interest in George Martin’s independent production, and also I can’t get over the idea of rocking out in a room that has that giant wooden door 🚪

And with that the door is indeed closed on January 24, 1969. We’ll get back to it tomorrow!

It’s January 25 already! Time for the Get Back family rewatch, Day 16.

The addition of the India footage is so, so great. Remember, this discussion, in a slightly edited form, was in Let it Be. So Michael Lindsay-Hogg had the right instinct in 69-70 to include it. But having the visual takes it all to another level.

Origin story 🙊

Again, incredible to have this footage, especially after experiencing this in Let it Be

Meanwhile, George asking if they had regrets is so interesting ( as is the response that they did not)

Paul: Didn’t you feel like going out in it?
George: We *were* out in it.

Everyone loved the screwing around during Two of Us.

9yo: They sound like Russians

11yo: It’s like Italian

(I think they’re both wrong but I applaud their effort)

9yo also went into a little bit of brilliant lyric analysis: It’s kind of like Oh! Susanna, singing the opposite. “It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry” is just like “two of us wearing raincoats, standing solo in the sun”

We canvassed our Japanese-speaking friends and this says “spring”

There’s a lot that’s special about the complete non-chalant attitude of George asking if they needed to get the album done by Tuesday (this was Saturday). Of course we know how fast they recorded Please Please Me. Love that the confidence is still there despite the recent issues

George H asked Glyn how to change the sound of the piano, but George Martin is king, takes over & gets right in there 📰🎹

11yo: That could break the piano.
9yo: What about the strings?

Meanwhile, @stovewithahouse gained a new appreciation of For You Blue w/this experience

I first remarked on this in Nov when I first watched. When Glyn said “Good enough for skiffle” I immediately thought of Paul saying nearly the same thing on Unplugged in ‘91. I’ve been saying “close enough to skiffle” since then, never knew it was something anyone else would say

There something almost sad when they nailed For You Blue, and in the control room discussed the “Apple recording.” It could have kept being like this for a long time, the four of them, together, alone, with others, making music in that comfortable space, happy like this. But …

I can’t wait to write at length about it, but there’s so much to the discussion of the show, and the payoff of the show. And how Paul is in this position, on his own. He’s very much an other in this discussion.

Paul shuts down, he doesn’t want to stop the sessions at all. And that makes sense. There’s this one-month burst and that’s it. He needs more. “Light a rocket 🚀 But that’s going a bit overboard i suppose. But that’s me, I always do that.” Self-awareness, a good trait.

When John played I Lost My Little Girl, my 9yo absolutely blew my mind (making the 11yo a little jealous) when he said: “Didn’t Paul write that after his mother died?” 🤯

So the rooftop idea. Glyn & Michael separately took credit for it in their respective memoirs. Paul didn't, saying it was "suggested." But in the Anthology book Paul said, in a beautifully self-aware quote: "It seems like one of my half-baked ideas, but I'm not sure."

In one of @OneSweetDiana’s favorite scenes in Get Back, Michael gets dragged onto the roof like this is a Weekend at Bernie’s prequel.

John and George couldn’t be bothered to go up there, but at least Ringo asked if they could trespass on someone else’s roof.

9yo asked if this was George’s lunch, which is funny and sweet and giving me ideas for lunch

The drunk Let It Be sequence featured the series’ first mention of the lyric “they may be parted” which made me pump my fist, get an acknowledgment from the 9yo and a glare from the 11yo (and @stovewithahouse).

The drinking sequence is very good for celebratory GIFs. Here’s to good friends, tonight is kind of special 🥂

But really, this all was just another great example of how much they really did want to be in each other’s company. It’s lovely

Meanwhile, George Martin.

https://twitter.com/theymaybeparted/status/1464806772082974726

A splendid way to end Part 2 of the series. I thought it was a very fun day at Savile Row, and I’m sure no one had any hangovers whatsoever. We’ll find out tomorrow!

Get Back family rewatch, January 26/Day 27. A little later than usual, we were elsewhere on Disney+, watching the Book of Boba Fett/Mandalorian crossover. This is the way.

The Nagra tapes start with some future George solo songs - Isn’t If A Pity, Let it Down - performed solo, but here we jump right into Octopus Garden, much like it was presented in Let it Be. Nicely expanded a bit, though.

Empty scotch bottles still litter the studio. But this is the simple joy of everyone rallying around Ringo. Another lovely thing we have on film for posterity. (And another song George could have, but didn’t, take a co-credit for)

“It resolves itself” 🐙

I’m also here for the Earth 2 “George, Ringo and George” album

Heather, unassailably adorable. Not even sure that’s a word. Everyone’s a true sport with her around

“You don’t eat them if they have black spots” - John Lennon, with words to live by 🐈

9yo, aware that this was filmed in 1969: Heather is probably as old as Aunt Sue

Incredibly, Heather is even *older* than his Aunt Sue, of whom I can say anything I want since she’s not on Twitter.

Everyone, everywhere loves the interplay and coincidental matchy-matchy of Ringo and Heather. We see this is Let it Be, too, but isn’t it so nice to see the fuller moment and vibrancy of the colors? 🥁

Feel free to weep like I did when my 9yo asked if Linda and Paul were still married, and I told him she died of cancer in 1998, but they had a happy marriage.

“Their life must have been exciting”

9yo on Dig It: It’s a fun song!

One thing I think Get Back does so well is deliver on the origin of what we all know. That is, we get to see the master takes of songs (in this episode, Dig It and Long & Winding Road), origin of certain photos, quotes, etc. It’s very satisfying

The Long and Winding Road is a strange case. It really didn’t belong on this proposed record, right? John playing bass on it is really a funny image too. He only said the day before he’d stand up for the screamers!

But like George Martin said, the song needed more, it wasn’t right. And, to quote, “Paul’s thinking of having strings anyway.” That was, of course, part of the litigation with Klein, Spector’s addition of strings.

From an April 1970 letter to Klein, On Spector’s adornment of Th Long and Winding Road. Underline and circle are mine. Paul did propose strings Jan 69, but he had the right to reconsider, of course. Still, we don’t know when reconsidered

Only 6 years after the letter Paul had his own horn section on The Long and Winding Road. From the Wings over America tour:

Linda with a touch of discipline after Heather tells Glyn “I’m supposed to marry you” 👉🤦‍♀️

Meanwhile, I’m yelling at my kids to settle b/c “Dada is *trying to tweet* about Get Back” & at the same time Heather is violently brushing Paul’s hair - and he’s cool with it & Linda doesn’t care - while he’s talking about the arrangement to freaking The Long and Winding Road.

This one went by fast. More tomorrow (later today!)

Postscript: I closed last night without mentioning Mal’s dance, in specific. One of the best moments of the whole series! (Resending this tweet to get the GIF)

Get Back family rewatch Day 18/January 27. Let’s do this!

I took very few notes when I first watched Get Back over Thanksgiving, both so I could soak it in without distraction and also because it moved so fast. But I did write down “ J&P control room dancing ❤️”

Acknowledging George’s suit. Cannot wait to breathe in its essence at the @rockhall exhibit on March.

There was a legit deference to Billy. George: What’s this chord? E with a C, what’s that? 🎹

9yo: So the Beatles don’t know how to read music and I can? I’m like 77 years younger than Paul and I know it.

(To be fair, he’s actually only 70 years younger)

Paul so into Old Brown Shoe is beautiful. And it shows on the eventual take months later, he’s so out in front. Big fan of the Shoe.

11 yo : They make a lot of songs about random objects. A hammer, an old shoe 🔨👞

George on piano, Billy on guitar, Ringo on organ, Paul on drums. Let’s get weird. Also gives me the excuse to mention Sloan and the mid-show instrument switch-aroo

“Piano’s very difficult” - George Harrison

“I’ll fix you lads, I’ll fix you” 🐐

@stovewithahouse: I love 42-yo grandpa George Martin

That said, it’s fascinating they’re totally aloof with regards to setting up mics in a studio. And how does Glyn, who has a microphone technique named after him, allow this? 🤷‍♂️

Billy Preston playing organ on Oh! Darling - that’s the way God planned it

How does Yoko find out about her divorce from Tony Cox? It comes up very apropos of nothing (in the film & tapes alike). It’s not like she got a text. Maybe a telegram? Phone call off mic? Maybe she knew already & just told John right then? It seemed to be a spontaneous moment

Meanwhile, Savile Row basement studio remains a dump.

So what’s the deal with the John loves Yoko press segment, while Paul played Strawberry Fields (“nothing is real”)? Can’t ever tell on the Nagras what people are reading but whole segment felt odd

Imagine making rock and roll i these boots. Yet here is George Harrison

Billy on Get Back (the song specifically here, but really the whole session overall) is a beautiful thing and we’re all lucky the stars crossed like they did that it ever happened at all

The first time I watched I thought a lot of the control room scenes could get tedious but I warmed up to some of them

Mal Evans: the pro’s pro. Wore a college sweatshirt on Sunday, back in a shirt and tie on a Monday

Yoko completely desperate to get John this piece of gum she got from Ringo.

They really got so locked in by this point. They were ready, they sound so good.

Even better than these guys

And that wraps up January 27, as well it should, given that my calendar says it’s already the 28th. More again, later!

So much more “more again later.” Ended up too late a night for the kids, so we’ll do a two-fer on Saturday, knock out Jan 28 and 29 on the family Get Back rewatch to heighten the drama for Sunday’s IMAX rooftop.

It’s almost January 30 already, but we had the Get Back family rewatch for Jan 28 and 29 earlier tonight, and here we are for the twin-bill tweets. First up, Day 19. Let’s go!

9yo: John’s hair is very bushy, what did he do?

He bathed, kid, please take notes.

On Something:
9yo: George is kind of being like Paul, he’s ordering everyone around

😬

But speaking of Something, it’s worth noting George first asked Paul for advice with the lyrics.

“What could it be, Paul? What attracted me?”

It’s not Paul but John who answers.

Poor Apple Scruffs, by the garbage and in the rain 🍏🗑☂️

9yo: George’s guitar (Rocky) is so . .. vibrant

Klein appears and I recapped the situation.
11yo: And then they made You Never Give Me Your Money

I’ve never had a pipe, but is this a normal way to store them?

Yoko: “[Allen Klein] owns half of MGM,” which absolutely wasn’t quite the case.

The George and Billy show on Old Brown Shoe is magnificent, and it’s nice to know the two would collaborate for years to come.

9yo: it’s a Stylophone! Same model I have!
11yo: I want a Stylophone.

Billy Preston so much better at the Stylophone than my kid (tho he’s pretty good)

@TheyMayBeParted to 9yo: Can you play Old Brown Shoe on the Stylophone ? (He shrugged no. He’s out of the will).

Foreshadowing 👐

Bob Wooler mention, cringy in retrospect

I’ve mentioned the chaos of the surroundings and my amazement of how the Beatles could operate under these conditions. Maybe it’s footage from a different moment, but if not, then here’s Mal pouring a drink during the master take of Don’t Let Me Down

Everyone staring at high Paul is justifiably hilarious. 🌿 🚬

.@stovewithahouse: That’s definitely when Paul writes “Half a Pound of Greasepaint”

Meanwhile, Apple Studios is looking very much like our house, which makes me feel better about our own mess.

Let’s roll right into the Day 20/Jan 29, which is 53 years ago today in some places still. The weather report, we hear, is good.

Let’s start by saying it’s truly amazing that we have the actual origin story of Allen Klein and the Beatles on tape and film. Their initial impressions, their moods, the reactions. This is critical stuff, and it exists.

.@stovewithahouse: Glyn Johns on Klein is my favorite part of the whole 8 hours, where Glyn is appropriately suspicious.

And it’s really true. Glyn’s nervous laughter, the repeated claims of how “strange” Klein is. It goes on a bit longer on the Nagra tapes, but the exact same line of discussion. But I guess if you’re John (and Yoko and the others) it comes down to you hear what you want to hear.

⛽️

Pure class, as always, George Martin is grateful Ringo warned him. 🙏

So the Paul-John (and others) discussion on their entire purpose was very eye-opening. Not because of the content but as a contrast to Let It Be - where a shortened part of this conversation was presented so much differently (just the back of Paul’s head and John’s reaction).

(I’m probably part of a small audience that watches Get Back in relation to Let It Be, but I’m certain Peter Jackson was conscious we exist)

So Paul was on the surly side on the 29th and I’m of the mind it was because of the Klein meeting the night before (from which Paul left earlier than the others). He wasn’t happy, the sessions were ending, and there was a lot to sort out.

Paul mention De Montfort Hall several times during this sequence. Here’s a little bit more about when Beatlemania hit Leicester leicestershirelalala.com/the-beatles-at…

With RS’s film commitment, this is the weird moment where the Beatles had a hard deadline & they’re not really sure if they were hitting it. They can’t agree if they had. But even so, Glyn offered to come back a weeks later to help record more

“Of course” I don’t want to go on the roof

The musical list of songs is a favorite moment of mine. It could have been the radio ad for their album

9yo: Oh, it’s Paul’s brother! LHe doesn’t look like it

When I said it was guy who wrote “Lily the Pink” - which he’s familiar with - he legit went 😳

How much fun must have it been to be with Billy? 🎹 👏

What are the other Paul slide guitar songs?

The Two of Us ventriloquist segment initially drew stares but it grew on the kids, especially the 9yo, who’s look of concern evolved into a smile.

And with that, per the 9yo, “The days of rehearsing are over”

@stovewithahouse: If they can play Two of Us without moving their mouths, they’re ready to play live

And that brings us to today, just about everywhere- January 30 - and the rooftop. More on that later!

Get Back family rewatch Day 21/January 30/The Roof! We enjoyed this sequence at the IMAX showing, but here are some thoughts about the content itself. We all know the rooftop pretty well, to some degree or another. It was a full quarter of the Let It Be film.

Oh, and that reminds me. During the Peter Jackson Q&A prior to the IMAX screening (mentioned in a different thread), he referred more than once to “if” they release Let It Be on DVD/Blu-ray. Not “when.” So my worry continues that they’re going to try to bury the old film

It was brought up in the context of all the interview footage he had of people who were on the rooftop, for his reference but didn’t get used since he didn’t make a talking -head documentary. He suggested Michael Lindsay-Hogg could use as bonus features in a LIB rerelease

But anyway, back to January 30, 1969, 53 years ago today. MLH had 10 cameras but as we see, was almost impossible to capture Billy Preston for reasons beyond me.

Hidden cam, though, was a star

If you’re like me and want to know more about Carlo Gatti and the ice trade, you’ve come to the right place. Learn more here: friendsofim.com/2020/06/12/ref… Pretty good product placement 53 years ago, not so useful now

Wisely noticed by @stovewithahouse: Mal at the ready during soundcheck with his hammer 🔨

9yo literally jumped out of his seat at the theater when they started playing the first song, that’s how terrific the sound was. Just booming, you could feel it.

They were (still) SO animated on stage. Can’t take your eyes off them.

Worst job in rock and roll: having your back turned on the Beatles

There was still the need to connect with the audience, they never forgot that. And considering how big their shows had been for years, this must have been so satisfying for them

Like just looking at the audience

Villain.

Sleepy, comic villain.

11yo liked the woman who was woken up from her sleep and didn’t like it. I think he liked that she was bothered, not that he liked her otherwise

So the music went all the way to Compton Street. Assuming that’s Old Compton Street, which was about half a mile away. Old Compton St was the home of the legendary 2i's Coffee Bar.

You just can’t script this kind of dialogue

🙄

.@stovewithahouse asked me to pause this and zoom in to confirm this was indeed the Church Lady. Now isn’t that special?

We all love Paul’s reaction to the cops coming. Nobody tell him what’s going to happen 11 years later in Japan

9yo was “happy the police didn’t yell out in the middle of songs”

Meanwhile, Ringo keeping an eye on them to be sure.

Then there was this all throughout the rooftop.

https://twitter.com/stovewithahouse/status/1487966855398580227

With the answer here!

https://twitter.com/strangebrewpod/status/1090647811987771392

Then there’s George, turning his amp back on like a boss, and with fury.

Needless to say, the Beatles were #good even if they played the same songs over and over again (to 11yo’s confusion). I didn’t comment here on every song, because I didn’t need to, right? They are so good, words can’t possibly explain it. Not even GIFs!

Was there anyone happier to see the rooftop show than Maureen, probably the longest-tenured Beatles fan there? (Maybe Mal rivaled it?)

More than a year ago on a @SATBshow appearance I suggested this sequence - the post-show control-room discussion - could have ran during the credits of new Let It Be cut. I came close since instead they just abbreviated the Jan 31 session for that purpose

May we all be as happy as Billy Preston listening to the playback of One After 909

And that’s that for January 30, “Day 21” of the Get Back sessions. 21 days - broken up by a couple weekends, a walkout, technical woes and a consistent lack of clear direction. And we end up with the Beatles on the roof, an absolutely magnificent moment in popular music history

Postscript, ICYMI since I tweeted this in the morning. Here's how the local press covered the rooftop performances in the papers the next day

https://twitter.com/TheyMayBeParted/status/1487773842789388292