While any Beatles fan knows that the Paul McCartney/John Lennon songwriting dynamic was untouchable, it’s important to remember George Harrison’s contributions to The Beatles’ discography. George has been widely praised for his talented guitar work with The Beatles, but he is criminally underrated as a songwriter.
5. “The Inner Light”
Released as a non-album single as the B-side to “Lady Madonna” in March 1968, “The Inner Light” showed the Beatles’ commitment to Transcendental Meditation, which they had been studying in India. The classical Indian influence throughout the song gives it a similar feel to other songs of Harrison’s with the Beatles, such as “Within You Without You,” which appears on “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The lyrics of “The Inner Light” discuss spiritual enlightenment and inner peace; endeavors that were very important to George. “The Inner Light” was the first of George Harrison’s songs with the Beatles to be released as a single. The song’s unique sound sets it apart from the rest of the Beatles’ discography. After George Harrison’s passing in 2001, Jeff Lynne and Anoushka Shankar performed a touching rendition of “The Inner Light” at the Concert for George tribute event in November 2002.
4. “I Me Mine”
George Harrison wrote “I Me Mine” in January of 1969 in Twickenham Film Studios in London. At this time, the Beatles hadn’t toured since 1966 and were considering returning to tour life. Although they had released several widely successful albums while they were off the road, there were many problems at hand and quite a bit of tension between members of the band. “I Me Mine” was the last new track ever recorded by the Beatles before their breakup in 1970. The song was released on “Let it Be,” the Beatles’ twelfth and final studio album and serves as a perfect final recording for the group. In “I Me Mine,” George Harrison highlights the self-centered nature of humankind, something he was openly opposed to as he furthered his knowledge of Hindu texts and practices. The song also serves a jab at his fellow Beatles, as he not-so-subtly sings of their overpowering egos; a serious contribution to their split as a group. “I Me Mine” has a much deeper meaning than meets the eye and is a beautiful farewell song for the Beatles. In addition to its musical legacy, George Harrison became the first Beatle to release a memoir when he released his autobiography titled “I Me Mine” in 1980.
3. “Here Comes the Sun”
One of the Beatles’ most defining releases, “Here Comes the Sun” is a classic feel good tune released on the 1969 album “Abbey Road.” Possibly the most renowned contribution to the Beatles by George Harrison, “Here Comes the Sun” is the most frequently streamed Beatles song on Spotify, with over 600 million plays. If you imagined George Harrison sitting outside in the spring sun with a guitar writing this song, you were absolutely right. In early 1969, George Harrison skipped a meeting with the Beatles’ Apple Corps label to visit friend Eric Clapton at his country house. George sat outside in the grass and wrote the beautiful, soft “Here Comes the Sun” on an early spring day in Ewhurst, England. The song has appeared in countless movies, advertisements and has been covered by many notable artists, including Nina Simone, Sheryl Crow and Paul Simon.
2. “Something”
Released on the Beatles’ 1969 album “Abbey Road” alongside “Here Comes the Sun,” “Something” proved that George Harrison was a talented songwriter, even in the wake of the classic McCartney/Lennon songwriting trope. The song is often regarded as one of George Harrison’s most impressive feats and was subsequently placed as the number two track on side A of the album. It was the first Harrison-composed track to be featured on side A of a Beatles record. Upon release, “Something” reached the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, Australia and Canada and peaked at number four on UK charts. In addition to its beautiful lyrics, the love song features an impressive guitar solo by Harrison that critics often consider to be some of his best playing and Rolling Stone magazine placed “Something” at 6th on its 100 Greatest Beatles Songs of All Time list. Harrison wrote “Something” about his then wife Pattie Boyd, who later married Eric Clapton. The song is considered to be the second most covered Beatles song in history with notable covers by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, falling short only to “Yesterday.” “Something” is a timeless love song that continues its legacy over 50 years after its release.
1. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
This incredible track appears on The Beatles’ self-titled ninth studio album, better known as “The White Album.” Following their return from a Transcendental Meditation retreat in India in 1968, the Beatles were each coming into their own and growing apart. In search of inspiration, Harrison adopted an exercise inspired by his reading of the Chinese “I Ching” (translated as “Book of Changes”). The basic idea he was working with was the Eastern concept that everything that occurs is related to each other (everything happens for a reason), as opposed to occurrences being merely coincidental and meaningless. This concept led Harrison to pick up a book and write a song based on the first word he saw, resting on the thought that his seeing it must be an act of fate. Fortunately, the first phrase he saw was “gently weeps” and the rest is history. Upon hearing the song for the first time, the other members of the band were not in favor of the song making the album; a defining moment of separation between them. Of course, the song did make it on the album by the time of its release and even featured Eric Clapton on guitar, a controversial decision on Harrison’s part. Due to the Beatles’ great success as a unit, they rarely featured any outside help in their music. George’s decision to include Clapton as a lead guitarist on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” showed his bandmates that he was serious about the song and was ultimately the element that helped him place it on “The White Album” officially. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was well received by the public and is ranked at the number 136 spot on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. It continues to prove George Harrison as a talented songwriter and instrumentalist decades after its release.
It’s been quite some time since I’ve updated the “Ringing in Spring” playlist, but don’t fret, it’s finally April. Where February’s installment was indie-rock and March’s was folk-ish but still reliant on big horns and electric guitar, April’s is a more acoustic kind of folk. Think, time spent by a campfire with your friends, the first 75 degree days of the season and swimming in a lake.
Without further ado, here are the final 15 songs of “Ringing in Spring”:
“鬼ヶ島” – Ichiko Aoba
“I’ll Come Running (To Tie Your Shoe)” – Brian Eno
“The Sun Surrounds Me” – Beachwood Sparks
“The Gold” – Manchester Orchestra, Phoebe Bridgers
“Otter Shadows” – Bibio
“Means Something” – Lizzy McAlpine
“A Love of Some Kind” – Adrianne Lenker
“Ships in the Night” – Kate Rhudy
“Phase” – Bloomsday
“Concession Stand Girl” – Naomi Alligator
“Lion’s Jaws” – Neko Case
“California Open Back” – Gregory Alan Isakov
“I Don’t Mind” – The Greeting Committee
“Humming” – Turnover
“The Big Country (Alternate Version)” – Talking Heads
I hope this playlist carries you through this spring and many springs to come. As always, you can find this playlist on Spotify.
Harry Styles is most definitely not a name that commonly shows up on WKNC blogs.
However with this newest lead single from his third and upcoming album “Harry’s Home” perhaps Harry is entering his Indie Pop Era?
I am a casual consumer of Harry Styles’s music and one thing I find fresh about his music is that it’s always a unique and different experience each time. You might be picturing the highly popular pop song “Watermelon Sugar” or “Adore You” when you think of the name, however, many people have said that his single “As It Was” evokes a certain familiarity with songs you might see by popular Indie Pop bands such as The Strokes or Dayglow.
Essentially, if you are a listener of the Indie Pop or Bedroom Indie Pop genre, this song will induce similar feelings of wanting to dance around in your room.
This song is far from the radio pop music that has been produced by this artist recently and this is the result of the prominent instruments heard throughout this song. The electric guitar and the drums. The fast tempo and 80s synth-pop melody combined with heavily deep and melancholy lyrics put the audience in a whole new world of its own. Styles plays an instrument called the tubular bells towards the end of the song in beat with a sound of steel dreams, while his poignant lyrics almost feel like the listener is hearing his inner monologue from a diary entry.
A few lines that hit deep most specifically are from the second verse, “Answer the phone| Harry, you’re no good alone| Why are you sitting on the floor?| What kind of pills are you on?| Ringin’ the bell and nobody is coming to help| Your daddy lives by himself| He just wants to know that you’re well”
Like most traditionally popular songs, Styles commonly writes about relationships and romance, yet something about these introspective lyrics changed my perspective on him. The depth seen in these lyrics is quite personal and is one of the first times we’ve seen Harry Styles in this light since his debut as a soloist.
I know what you must be saying, no way is Harry Styles, a member of a former boy band making Indie music. Especially for you out there that regularly listen to Indie Rock and Alternative Underground music – this must be an unusual thing to read about.
But take my word for it.
Once you listen to “As It Was” you’ll feel like skipping down a sidewalk or frolicking around a field in the Spring.
I recently had the pleasure of watching “Turning Red,” the new Pixar film. I went into the movie pretty blind and thus had no idea what to expect other than the one song I had seen going around TikTok. The plot of the film is that a young Chinese-Canadian teenager discovers a secret her family is hiding and has to find the balance between pleasing her family and having her own personality. A big safe haven for the main character, Meilin Lee, is her friends and their collective love for the boy band 4*Town. The sound I heard going around TikTok was the main song that 4*Town sings in “Turning Red,” “Nobody Like U.”
Sibling duo Finneas O’Connell and Billie Eilish wrote the three songs that 4*Town sings throughout the film: “Nobody Like U,” “1 True Love” and “U Know What’s Up.” They struck pop music gold on “Nobody Like U.” You know that scene in “Easy A” where Emma Stone’s character can’t stop singing “Pocketful of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield all weekend after she got that birthday card? That’s been me with “Nobody Like U” since I watched the movie.
The highly talented Ludwig Göransson was responsible for the film’s score and he did an excellent job at making a Pixar film score (which are always top notch).
The film and its soundtrack really brought me back to my tweenhood of being obsessed with One Direction and feeling like my whole world was ending all of the time (which for Meilin, was somewhat true but that’s neither here nor there).
If you’re looking to reminisce on middle school in a more positive light or if you just want a cute movie to watch, I highly recommend “Turning Red.” Or at the very least let the earworm that is “Nobody Like U” grace your ears.
A lot of new music has come out this week, and in case it’s hard for you to keep up, here’s a list of some of the new releases to listen to in the wide world of indie music. The three releases I’m highlighting this week are folky, but all in vastly different ways.
“That’s Where I Am” by Maggie Rogers
Maggie Rogers made a sweeping return with her single “That’s Where I Am.” It’s the lead single for her new album “Surrender” that she announced is coming out July 29. Produced by Rogers and Kid Harpoon, this single is simultaneously Rogers branching out into new realms whilst staying true to her folk-pop roots. I will definitely have this single on repeat all summer
“Chloë and the Next 20th Century” by Father John Misty
Speaking of folk, “Chloë and the Next 20th Century” is Father John Misty’s brand new album. It’s jazzy, lovely, folky and definitely a contender for my personal album of the year. He announced that he’s going on tour in support of this album (and will be stopping in Asheville and Durham this fall). Father John Misty is insanely talented and did not disappoint with this release.
“five seconds flat” by Lizzy McAlpine
Lizzy McAlpine also released a brand new album, titled “five seconds flat.” This former Berklee student is a talented lyricist and knows how to craft beautiful melodies. The album features collaborations with Jacob Collier, Ben Kessler, Laura Elliott and FINNEAS. It touches on themes of love and loss, and is perfect for those who are big fans of Phoebe Bridgers.
Often regarded as the most influential band of all time, it’s not hard to imagine that The Beatles have had their songs covered by other artists thousands of times. Their timeless repertoire proves its impact again and again each time an artist creates their own rendition of a song. Almost 60 years later, The Beatles’ music continues to be performed, evolved and cherished. While these following three songs are the most frequently covered Beatles songs, nearly all Beatles songs have been covered by other notable artists and I encourage you to listen to them.
“Yesterday”
From their 1965 release “Help!” the Beatles’ “Yesterday” quickly reached number one on US charts and placed in the top 10 in several countries in Europe. Since its release, “Yesterday” has been covered more than 2,200 times and is likely to be the most covered song in history. Notable artists to cover the song include Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and countless others. All of these artists take their own creative liberties with “Yesterday”, providing their own personal touch and adding a new life to the song. While each of these artists does a brilliant job, no cover of “Yesterday” is quite like Aretha Franklin’s. Performed live in 1979, Aretha Franklin delivers a beautiful, soulful rendition of the classic that fans will never forget.
Aretha Franklin performing “Yesterday” live from YouTube
“And I Love Her”
Short and sweet, this Beatles classic from their 1964 release “A Hard Day’s Night” is the perfect love song to be reworked over and over again. Famous covered versions of “And I Love Her” include the renditions of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Sarah Vaughan, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and Bobby Womack. Each of these covers creates an entirely different interpretation of “And I Love Her,” providing the chance for the listener to hear the song from the perspective of several different genres, from jazz to reggae. Although it seems that “And I Love Her” has been manipulated every way possible, an important facet of the song would be missing without Kurt Cobain’s cover. Cobain’s beautiful rendition of “And I Love Her” was released in 2015, years after his passing, and peaked at number two on US charts and number one in the UK. His dark, profound cover is the perfect chilling counterpart to the original light, airy Beatles version.
Written and performed as a solo piece by Paul McCartney, “Blackbird” was released in 1968 as a part of the Beatles’ double self-titled album, known commonly as “The White Album.” The song “Blackbird” peaked at number nine on US charts and was ranked similarly in the UK and other European countries. With hundreds of covers, “Blackbird” continues to be a beloved Beatles song. Notable renditions of the song come from Carly Simon, Zac Brown Band, Phish and Anderson .Paak. In the 53 years since its release, “Blackbird” has been performed as a country song, an R&B ballad and everything in between. A perfect addition to the wide array of “Blackbird” covers is the performance of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Less defiant of the original recording than covers of other genres, Crosby, Stills and Nash perform a simple and touching cover of “Blackbird” with beautiful harmonies.
Crosby, Stills and Nash performing “Blackbird” live from YouTube
