Podcasts about MacArthur Park

WOW THIS IS LATE HUH. WELL, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER? Join us for our discussion of the best films of 2024! Most Disappointing: Saturday Night Dune Part II Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga Monkey Man Salom's Lot Joker: Jokers a Deux The Watchers The Strangers: Chapter 1: Can You Believe They Already Filmed Two More of These? Mega-”Back to the Cluuuub”- lopolis Strange Darling Abigail Alien Romulus Late Night with the Devil The Exorcism Standout Moment: “There is Still Time” - I Saw The TV Glow “Monstro-Elizasue” - The Substance “Revisting Mom's House/Reveal/Shotgun” - Longlegs “TIME STOP!” - Mega-Poppin' Off-olis “Worms” - Late Night with The Devil “Watching the Videos” - Red Rooms Playing dress up in the courtroom - Red Rooms “Just One of those Days!” - Y2K “Jesse Plemons Jumpscare” - Civil War “Giant Lady” - Love Lies Bleeding “I STAND WITH BANK OF AMERICA” - Problemista “This pool is the best thing to happen this family” - Night Swim End Credits - Sing Sing The Ending - “Challengers” The Rave - Babygirl The Opening of Anora / The wedding in Anora / whenever Greatest Day played - Anora Jesse Plemons faking a leg injury and a lady going “Damn. that's crazy” - Kinds of Kindness Sue is born - The Substance Pump it Up - The Substance A tribute to a freak classic - The First Omen Demon hand reaches out of [redacted] - The First Omen “Let me in now and it will be nice!!' - Longlegs Defying Gravity - Wicked The Wizard and I - Wicked No One Mourns the Wicked - Wicked “What if we go down there? They could have stuff!” - TRAP “On the wings of love” scene- Lisa Frankenstein Santa Art has a gift for all the children- Terrifier 3 MacArthur Park dance sequence - Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Buster gets busted - Maxxxine The entirety of Live and Let Dive - V/H/S Beyond Skye Riley brutally attacks old woman - Smile 2 Best Performance: Mikey Madison IS Anora in Anora Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked Ariana Grande as Glinda in Wicked Miaka Monroe as Lee Harker in Longlegs Nicolas Cage as Longlegs in Longlegs Justice Smith as Owen in I Saw The TV Glow Jack Haven as Maddy in I Saw The TV Glow Demi Moore as Elizabeth in The Substance Margaret Qualley as Sue in The Substance Adam Driver as Francis Ford Coppola's Self Insert OC in Mega-Slop-opolis Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed in Heretic Nell Tiger Free as Sister Margaret in The First Omen Coleman Domingo as Divine G in Sing Sing Juliette Gariépy as Kelly-Anne in Red Rooms Zendaya as Tashi Donaldson in Challangers Naomi Scott as Sky Riley in Smile 2 Harris Dickinson as Samuel in Babygirl Nicole Kidman as Romy in Babygirl Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin in The People's Joker Carolyn Bracken as Danni Timmis / Darcy Odello in Oddity Jesse Plemons as Rober/Daniel in Kinds of Kindness Dakota Johnson as Madame Web/Cassandra Webb in Madame Web Kathryn Newton as Lisa Swallows in Lisa Frankenstein Carla Gugino as Janet in Lisa Frankenstein Julio Torres as Alejandro in Problemista Tilda Swinton as Elizabeth in Problemista Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz in Nosferatu James McAvoy as Passy in Speak No Evil David Howard Thornton as Art the Clown in Terrifier 3 Izaac Wang as Chirs Wang in DiDi Do Not Go In There Award: Night Swim (No Contest) Best Old Movie: Ryan- Goodbye Dragon Inn, Tony Takitani, Body Double Karrie- Lady Vengeance, Inside, The Cell Jurge - The Florida Project, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, To Die For Top 10 Movies of 2024 Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis: A Fable Longlegs I Saw the TV Glow The Substance Red Rooms Wicked Lisa Frankenstien Anora Problemista Challengers Baby Girl Didi Babygirl Sing Sing The First Omen TRAP Red Rooms Love Lies Bleeding Terrifier 3 Nosferatu

And what was the point of taking a victory lap at MacArthur Park?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The things Karen Bass has to do the kiss the ring of the DSA queenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Un mesero en Columbus, Ohio es víctima de xenofobia y mensaje de odio.En Missouri proponen recompensa por migrantes indocumentados.Temor a redadas de ICE afecta negocios en Nueva York.Temor a detención deja secuelas psicológicas en migrantes.Bajo el mandato de Trump las detenciones aumentan un 627%.La drogadicción en Macarthur Park se agudiza en Los Ángeles.Canadá también impondrá aranceles del 25% a EE.UU.El 25% de aranceles a México y Canadá arrancarán mañana.Presidenta Sheinbaum pide "serenidad y paciencia" ante imposición de aranceles.Estado de emergencia en carolinas por incendios.Escucha de lunes a viernes el ‘Noticiero Univision Edición Nocturna' con Elián Zidán.     

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb on how growing up as the child of an Oklahoma preacher opened up a door to music, and inspired his songwriting (R)Jimmy Webb grew up poor in Oklahoma, where his mother encouraged him to play the piano, revealing a prodigious musical talent.After moving to Los Angeles, Jimmy wrote his first hit for the Fifth Dimension: Up, Up And Away.Shortly after, he met Glen Campbell, who had already recorded Jimmy's song By the Time I Get to Phoenix.Glen asked Jimmy to write a song especially for him - Wichita Lineman, which became another huge hit for Campbell.Jimmy's many other famous songs, including MacArthur Park, Adios, and The Highwayman, have been recorded by artists including Frank Sinatra, Isaac Hayes, Barbra Streisand, Art Garfunkel and Donna Summer.While he's best known as a songwriter, Jimmy is a renowned performer in his own right.This episode of Conversations explores music history, rock music, Americana, Hollywood, the recording industry, the Mid-west, middle America, religion, origin stories, personal stories, celebrity culture, country music, rock n roll, songwriting, yacht rock.

Theo tells the story of the Irish actor's 1967 epic pop crooner turn that started a cultural domino effect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are the harm reductionists trying to kill the drug addicts?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eunisses, Hilda and all of the organizations that get funded through harm reduction polices are patting themselves on the back for what a massive drug den Macarthur Park has becomeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gary and Shannon being the second hour of the show with news of a tornado hitting northern California. Gary and Shannon also talk about the tough task of policing at MacArthur Park and go live to a press conference with an update on the shooting at a Christian school at Madison Wisconsin.

**SPOILERS** for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice! (You've been warned!

Imagine falling love with a song when you are 16, the, later in life meeting the guy who sang it and who asks yo uto write his life story! This is a tiny section from the chapter about Macarthur Park, from my book Richard Harris: Raising Hell and Reaching for Heaven.  

A mix of Top 40 hits from November 1978. Artists include The Village People, Bob Seger, Toto, Billy Joel, Foreigner, The Rolling Stones, Donna Summer, Eric Clapton and more! (R)

Gary and Shannon begin the second hour of the show with story of the LAPD looking for more victims after two people were arrested for kidnapping and robbing elderly people in South Los Angeles, Boyle Heights and the MacArthur Park.

Today on The LA Food Podcast… What game is Norm Langer playing by reposting Rick Caruso's scathing video of Mayor Karen Bass' efforts (or lacktherof) to clean up MacArthur Park? Why is Martha Stewart irate over the way she's being portrayed in her brand new Netflix documentary “Martha?” And why is a trip Dan Tana's pretty much obligatory in your near future, dear listener? We're joined today by SF Gate's Karen Palmer to discuss all of the above. She's filling in for Father Sal and, dare I say, Father Sal watch out. If he keeps abusing his PTO days, Karen just made a case for why there might need to be a change in administration. Too soon? In Part 2 we're joined by Richard Pink of Pink's Hot Dogs. The Hollywood icon that is Pink's is celebrating its 85th birthday and is giving out 85 cent hot dogs to celebrate. I caught up with Richard at Pink's to hear about the promotion, but more importantly, to hear his reflections on the little hot dog stand that could.  As always please consider leaving us a rating or a review wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm your host Luca Servodio and without further ado, let's chow down.  Helpful links: Karen Palmer https://www.sfgate.com/author/karen-palmer/ Karen on IG https://www.instagram.com/karenlpalmer/?hl=en Karen's piece on Dan Tana's https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/california-italian-restaurant-dan-tanas-19880183.php Pink's https://www.pinkshollywood.com/ Langer's re-post of Rick Caruso https://www.instagram.com/p/DB7CglYvmzQ/?hl=en New York Times interview with Martha Stewart https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/30/movies/martha-stewart-netflix-documentary.html Eater's stories on Martha https://www.eater.com/search?q=martha+stewart Taste on nonalcoholic martinis https://tastecooking.com/a-good-na-martini-is-possible/ The LA Food Podcast is produced with the help of: Abdo Hajj -- Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! https://thelonelyoyster.com/ – Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/support

Don't leave the cake out in the rain because by The Time You Get To Phoenix or MacArthur Park, you can enjoy this very special musical "Naked Lunch" episode spotlighting one of the greatest songwriters and composers of our times, the legendary Jimmy Webb. Webb discusses writing his classic songs for Glen Campbell (including "Wichita Lineman," "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Galveston") as well his lifetime of fascinating experiences with The 5th Dimension, Frank Sinatra, The Highwaymen, Elvis Presley and many more. Brad Paisley joins as a "Phil-In" host and brings in his own frequent songwriting collaborator Chris DuBois.  All this plus special fan questions for Jimmy from past "Naked Lunch" guests Jimmy Jam and E from The Eels.  To learn more about building community through food and "Somebody Feed the People," visit the Philanthropy page at philrosenthalworld.com.

What's up, dudes? It's a fun, light hearted episode today with special guests Anthony Caruso from ‘Tis the Podcast and CM Chuck from Just Another Friday Night! That's right! We're talking the ghost with the most, Beetlejuice!In the 1988 film, Adam and Barbara Maitland are newly deceased. When their idyllic home is suddenly invaded with artsy yuppies and their gothic daughter, they call on the moldy bio-exorcist. Consequently, Betelgeuse falls for Lydia and after supernatural shenanigans, tries to marry her. Long story short, the good guys win. In the recent sequel, Lydia almost loses her daughter to a homicidal ghost. Reluctantly, she turns to Betelgeuse to save her. Unbeknownst to her, his succubus ex-wife is out for revenge for her murder. Unfortunately, the happy ending comes at the price of Lydia's hand in marriage. Or does it?Black and white striped suit? Check. Scary ghost face? From the rear. Spectral lip sync? Only to Day O (The Banana Boat Song)! Oh, and MacArthur Park! So grab your handbook for the recently deceased, draw a door, and go the Other World with this episode on "Beetlejuice!"'Tis the PodcastFB: @tisthepodcastTwitter: @tisthepodIG: @tisthepodcastFB Group: Tis the Podcast GroupJust Another Friday NightYouTube: @JAFNpodcastFB: @JAFNpodcastTwitter: @JAFNpodcastIG: @jafnpodcastGive us a buzz! Send a text, dudes!Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Totally Rad Christmas Mall & Arcade, Teepublic.com, or TotallyRadChristmas.com! Later, dudes!

We go into a whole song and dance this week over Tim Burton's new BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE,. with Riley Silverman as our special guest. Then we'll remember (and suggest) some movies that made/would make for pretty bizarre Saturday Morning cartoons.What's GoodAlonso - Big Ice Cubes™Drea - Ross Taylor's NYC exhibit, A knowing HistoryRiley - Reading streakIfy - Chris Tucker's protection of his carITIDICa.) Almodovar's Latest Wins the Golden Lionb). Happy Gilmore 2 is “Officially In Production”c). James Earl Jones Passes Away at 93Staff PicksDrea - ROBOT DREAMSAlonso - CLOSE YOUR EYESRiley - ELEMENTALIfy - SCREAM  Follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, Facebook, or InstagramWithDrea ClarkAlonso DuraldeIfy NwadiweProduced by Marissa FlaxbartSr. Producer Laura Swisher

Today on Art of the Cut we are talking about Tim Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with editor Jay Prychidny, CCE.  This is Jay's fourth time on Art of the Cut. He previously joined us to talk about Snowpiercer, Wednesday, Scream VI, and now, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Jay's won a BAFTA and been nominated for and won numerous Canadian Cinema Editor's Awards for his work on Orphan Black, The Alienist, The Amazing Race Canada, and many others. Today we're going to be discussing re-structuring a film to blend disparate elements, trying to create a mashup of MacArthur Park that tells a story while remaining musically cohesive, and turning a simple montage into a nostalgic, emotional journey. 

After the owner of Langer's Deli expressed wanting to close down the legendary restaurant due to safety concerns around MacArthur Park in Los Angeles' Westlake District, owner Norm Langer met with LA Mayor Karen Bass. Langer said he's standing by his ultimatum to the city to clean up the area or he's ready to close his doors for good. "I have no choice. I'm tired of pushing the cart uphill," Langer told FOX 11's Ed Laskos. The threat triggered immediate action from the very top of City Hall. A photo from the sit-down meeting with Bass showed them laying their cards down on the table, with the mayor taking notes.

One of L.A.'s most famous businesses says if the city doesn't clean up the area around MacArthur Park, he's closing up shop. A burglary crew is terrorizing ritzy Westside neighborhoods. A quarter million Californians have downloaded the earthquake early-warning app after the recent SoCal quakes. And what can be done about the soaring cost of home insurance? The L.A. Local is sponsored by the LA Car Guy family of dealerships. 

Welcome to Epsd 71 of the Mike & Ron: Here to Help podcast. In this episode your fearless heros discuss everything from their post DNC feelings, the state of Harris v Trump, RFK Jr being a complete fraud and freak based on the story of the whales head he strapped to the roof of his car, the self hatred and mental health issues that fuels the American Republican Taliban party, to how not all Republicans are weird or racist, that 8.4 million people voted twice for both Obama and Trump, to NIMBY Not in my backyard Liberal Racists fighting low income housing and subways in LA county to Republican vs Democratic party solutions to homelessness and violence, to drug addicts in MacArthur Park, regulations required to approve to build housing, Ron's job at Servpro and repairing housing to Mike's baby pictures and much more! Don't forget to Subscribe to our Podcast here, and follow us at: @mikesasson & @ronbushofficial on Instagram and @mikeandronheretohelp on Youtube.

Will Lee Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Head to head with the DNC, two news junkies didn't walk into a bar but did get lost in conversation and fun. It's easy when one of them is Grammy Winner, crazy talented, lovely, humble human, Will Lee. It's been a few years and a world of changes since last we spoke, this time focusing on the road to sobriety, many moons ago, what led there, the price of using, meeting Paul Schaffer, a relationship that changed his life, the two of them holding the distinction of being on Late Show With David Letterman from day one with The World's Most Dangerous Band, until the final days with the CBS Orchestra, also giving Will the world's record for the longest-running bassist on late-night television. Will talked about the original band of 4, Hiram Bullock, Steve Jordan, how and why it morphed, some standout moments… Warren Zevon's last show, Will's MacArthur Park with Jimmy Webb… his hero, Ringo, making an appearance… Beatlemania, period. Where it all started for Will, The Ed Sullivan Show, the Fab Four, all of whom Will would come to play with, even John in unique fashion. An incredible story about Paul, a Hofner, and a call from “P,” and how his Fab Faux came to be. Will's account of how he conquered Revolution #9 and playing The White Album, heretofore never heard by Beatles sound engineer and producer, Geoff Emerick. Crazily, I was there that night- the story has a bittersweet postscript. We talked about Will's new single, It's All Too Much, and his new video, Hey Shorty, and how that came to be, why he's off to Japan tomorrow and the fame he found there. I've known Will for decades… with each that passes, I adore him more. He's a rare success, who's gotten to play with just about everyone, all of his heroes, night, after night, year after year, for 33 of them, and everyone it seems, without exception, loves and respects him. It's a life well-lived filled with gratitude and appreciation, which makes it all the sweeter. He closed with The Beatles, I Will…how damn fitting, Will! For all things Will www.willlee.com Will Lee Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wednesday, 8/21/24, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET Streamed Live on my Facebook Replay here: https://bit.ly/3SUv19Z

Notes and Links to Jesse Katz's Work      For Episode 249, Pete welcomes Jesse Katz, and the two discuss, among other topics, his childhood love of baseball, formative and transformative books and writers, lessons learned from early writing, LA and MacArthur Park lore, and salient themes and issues in the book like poverty and the punitive nature of powerful interests, grief, and various forms of violence, as well as larger narratives about the immigration system, family units, and traumas and silences.      Jesse Katz is a former Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Magazine writer whose honors include the James Beard Foundation's M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award, PEN Center USA's Literary Journalism Award, a National Magazine Award nomination, and two shared Pulitzer Prizes. As a volunteer with InsideOUT Writers, he has mentored incarcerated teenagers at Central Juvenile Hall and the former California Youth Authority.    Buy The Rent Collectors   Jesse Katz's Website   New York Times Review of The Rent Collectors   At about 2:00, the two discuss Jesse's recent book launch at Skylight Books, which Pete was lucky to attend At about 4:10, Jesse talks about generous feedback, including from those featured in the book At about 6:30, Jesse discusses the experience of recording the audio for his book At about 9:45, Jesse gives background on his relationship with language growing up At about 12:15, The two share memories of reading formative works on Jackie Robinson At about 14:30, Jesse describes takeaways from his adolescent readings of Hemingway, Kerouac, and immersive writers, and college reading that “flipped the switch,” including Joe McGinniss and Hunter Thompson At about 18:15, Jesse talks about his relationship with his alma mater, Bennington College, and Bret Easton Ellis and other standout alumni At about 19:55, Jesse highlights Matthew Desmond and Susan Orlean as contemporary writers (especially Orlean with her The Library Book and Desmond with his Poverty by América, an inspiration for The Rent Collectors) who inspire and thrill At about 22:55, Pete makes a connection between American Psycho and The Rent Collectors, especially with regards to litanies, and Jesse expands on “the cost of being poor” At about 24:50, Pete and Jesse talk about Jesse's book, The Opposite Field, and connections to the great Luis J. Rodriguez At about 27:50, Jesse responds to Pete's questions about how he sees the book now, speaking about The Opposite Field At about 29:00, Pete highlights a generous blurb from hector Tobar, and Jesse outlines how Hector's support propelled Jesse to get to work on realizing the book's finish At about 32:00, Jesse cites Giovanni's (Macedo, the book's protagonist) own healing and his generosity in sharing his story At about 34:00, Pete and Jesse discuss the book's opening, and why Jesse decided to start the book in the middle of the story with Giovanni “rising from the dead” At about 38:50, Jesse gives background on Giovanni's backstory, especially with regard to his father, and not knowing the reason for his father's death At about 42:10, Jesse expands upon the setting of MacArthur Park, the focus of the book's Chapter Two, and its denseness and uniqueness in LA At about 43:30, The two discuss Giovanni's early forays into gang life and some members of the clique featured in the book At about 45:30, Jesse speaks about Reyna, Giovanni's mother, and how she felt powerless in keeping her son from gangs At about 47:40, Jesse speaks to the staying power of gangs and how they “[fill] a void,” and Pete quotes Father Greg Boyle and his thoughts on hopelessness  At about 49:45, Jesse replies to Pete's question about Francisco Clemente, who survived the targeted shooting by Giovanni and how he stood up against the rent collectors At about 51:20, Jesse describes the “older, savvier gang members” who were sought out by Giovanni At about 54:30, Pete and Jesse talk about how he sets the scene in the book for the horrendous events perpetuated by the gang and Giovanni; Jesse also details how he used court transcripts and written correspondence with Giovanni to piece together Giovanni's thoughts before and after the shooting At about 58:30, The backlash and early investigations about the homicide are discussed At about 1:00:45, Pete charts Giovanni's life in the immediate aftermath of the murder, and Jesse responds to a question about his a key decision  At about 1:04:10, Jesse speaks to the naivete of Giovanni's dialogue with Holmes, the investigator  At about 1:05:40, The two discuss sentencing for Giovanni and his reflection on his crimes and aftermath At about 1:07:00, Jesse talks about Daniela, the mother of Luis Angel, and how he tried and failed to find her to speak with for the book, and why it was maybe for the good that she didn't have to relive the trauma At about 1:09:45, Jesse ruminates on Giovanni's future At about 1:11:15, Jesse reflects on how the book may help him with his parole At about 1:13:00, Pete and Jesse trade quotes and meditate on the book's hopeful lessons At about 1:14:50, Jesse gives contact info and book buying information       You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.     I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!       This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 249 with Ben Tanzer. He is an Emmy-award winning coach, creative strategist, podcaster, writer, teacher and social worker who has been helping nonprofits, publishers, authors, small business and career changers tell their stories for 20 plus years.     He produces and hosts This Podcast Will Change Your Life, which was launched in February 2010, focuses on authors and changemakers from around the country and the world, and was named by Elephant Journal as one of "The 10 Best Podcasts to Help you Change your Life.”    His written work includes the short story collection UPSTATE, the science fiction novel Orphans and the essay collections Lost in Space and Be Cool. His most recent novel is The Missing.    The episode will go live on August 27.    Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Notes and Links to Katya Apekina's Work      For Episode 248, Pete welcomes Katya Apekina, and the two discuss, among other topics, her language abilities and her extensive cross-cultural readings; motherhood, the loss of loved ones, and other catalysts for Mother Doll, and salient themes and issues in her collection like intergenerational traumas, women's agency, fatalism, guilt, and redemption.      Katya Apekina is a novelist, screenwriter and translator. Her novel, The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish, was named a Best Book of 2018 by Kirkus, Buzzfeed, LitHub and others, was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and has been translated into Spanish, Catalan, French, German and Italian. She has published stories in various literary magazines and translated poetry and prose for Night Wraps the Sky: Writings by and about Mayakovsky (FSG, 2008), short-listed for the Best Translated Book Award. She co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film New Orleans, Mon Amour, which premiered at SXSW in 2008. She is the recipient of an Elizabeth George grant, an Olin Fellowship, the Alena Wilson prize and a 3rd Year Fiction Fellowship from Washington University in St. Louis where she did her MFA. She has done residencies at VCCA, Playa, Ucross, Art Omi: Writing and Fondation Jan Michalski in Switzerland. Born in Moscow, she grew up in Boston, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter and dog. Buy Mother Doll   “Katya Apekina's ‘Mother Doll' isn't your ordinary ghost story” in The Los Angeles Times   Katya's Website   At about 2:40, Katya talks about her early experiences in being bilingual and how her early language learning has affected her reading and writing and ways of seeing the world  At about 6:05, Katya talks about ways in which Russian writing manifests itself At about 8:00, Katya catalogs formative and informative writers and writing upon which she draws inspiration  At about 9:45, Katya details a Holden Caulfield-esque action she took in high school At about 10:45, The two discuss cool craft techniques of Chekhov At about 11:25, Katya outlines the beginnings of her formal writing life after pivoting from photography, including the power of Charles Simic and Roberto Bolaño  At about 14:45, Katya highlights contemporary writers who inspire and thrill her, including Sasha Vasilyuk and Ruth Madievsky, and Alexandra Tanner At about 17:35, Pete shares the wonderful reviews for the book, including Lauren Groff's At about 18:20, Katya shares seeds for the book, especially with regards to intergenerational traumas  At about 21:45, Katya recounts some plot summary and real-life inspirations and parallels  At about 22:50, Pete quotes the book's first line-a “banger”-and Katya gives background on the book's sequencing  At about 25:25, Pete sets some of the book's exposition and asks Katya about the “chorus” and her visual idea of this chorus At about 27:20, Irina is introduced and the two discuss her wanting to relieve her burdens, and Katya describes what Zhenia might see in Anton/Ben At about 30:10, Katya responds to Pete's questions about why Zhenia decides to help translate for Paul, the medium, regarding her great-grandmother At about 33:00, Katya expands upon Paul's reasons for getting into the medium space, as well as how some people are many “permeable” to messaging from beyond At about 35:10, Pete traces some early flashbacks from Irina and her early leanings towards revolution At about 36:15, Katya responds to Pete's asking about Hanna and other characters and their motivations and possible naivete At about 39:00, Pete and Katya discuss the changing and convoluted factions and connections that characterized the Russian Revolution, and the differing visions of change At about 41:50, Katya talks about how Zhenia thinks of her grandmother's death and funeral At about 43:30, Pete asks about parallels in the book, both on the micro and macro levels; Katya speaks about “iterations” of history At about 46:30, Pete alludes to “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros in asking Katya to speak to the significance of the book's title At about 48:40, The two discuss fatalism as a common theme in Russian diasporic literature in general, and this book in particular At about 51:00, Katya talks about exciting upcoming projects At about 52:00, Katya gives contact info and social media information      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This month's Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Deesha Philyaw, Luis Alberto Urrea, Chris Stuck, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writing and writers that have inspired their own work.       This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 249 with Jesse Katz, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Details, Texas Monthly, Food & Wine, Men's Health, and many other publications. His work has been anthologized in Best American Magazine Writing and Best American Crime Writing; his latest book is the critically-acclaimed The Rent Collectors, about the reverberations of a tragic murder in LA's MacArthur Park area.    The episode airs later today, August 20.    Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Southern California endures another heatwave. We speak with L.A.'s chief heat officer Marta Segura. Disappointing numbers for Hollywood's gender diversity. A history lesson on MacArthur Park. Plus, more.  Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.com.Support the show: https://laist.com

We have the latest diversity report from Hollywood, and it's not looking good for representation by women. The two halves of LA's MacArthur Park will soon be rejoined. We look at why it was separated in the first place.  And a movie theater in Norwalk is the newest cultural hub for the predominantly Latino community. Pus more. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.com.Support the show: https://laist.com

Gary and Shannon star the second hour of the show on whether California power grid will hold up during the latest heat wave. Wilshire Boulevard near MacArthur Park may be closed to try to reunite the area with grassy areas. A Sacramento Target location has reportedly been warned and it could be fined under public nuisance laws by the city because it's making so many calls to police about alleged shoplifting.

And I love you Donna but MacArthur Park is weird!!

Shock in South Pasadena as a woman's grandchildren find her stabbed to death in her home, and the police don't know who might have done it. A body is found floating in the MacArthur Park lake, and the police think it was murder. The state's earthquake warning system gets a big upgrade. How CalTrans is using AI to improve traffic in California. The L.A. Local is sponsored by the LA Car Guy family of dealership

AI vs. The Poets! Can you tell which poem was created by humans from those generated by AI? Join us as two poets face off against chatbots in a battle worthy of the WWF Smackdown! As a performer, Mari Riddle co-founded two music groups. The first, SABIÁ, in 1977 while at Brown University with fellow students. The second was Desborde. She toured North America and recorded four albums. As a performing arts organization professional, she was the Executive Director of the First Traditional Latin American Music Festival in Los Angeles and Executive Director of the Friends of the Levitt Pavilion, MacArthur Park. Paul Garza, Jr. was born in Los Angeles at Queen of the Angels Hospital. He grew in the San Gabriel Valley. He now lives in Ft. Bragg, California to be near his grandchildren. He began writing poetry when he was 13, has published three volumes of poetry and has had several poems published in literary journals. Regrettably, he has not found an audience in the US - his poetry has been published almost exclusively in India. He holds a Masters in Indian Religion and Mythology from CSU Fullerton. Paul has lived in India and Saudi Arabia, and has done consulting in El Salvador, Mexico and Oman. He continues his life time study of spirituality and mythology in Qabalah, Alchemy, Arthurian and Grail Studies, and is deeply fascinating with the wisdom of the ancient world along with a lifetime participation in the Shakti-Shiva traditions of India. He also teaches these regularly. The Quill and the Quantum is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network #authorsontheair #poetry #chatgpt #ClaudeAI

AI vs. The Poets! April is National Poetry Month. Can you tell which poem was created by humans from those generated by AI? Join us as two poets face off against chatbots in a battle worthy of the WWF Smackdown! Mari Riddle is the retired President/CEO of Grand Performances, a nationally recognized 30+ year performing arts organization located in California Plaza, a DTLA office building complex built with an onsite outdoor performing arts venue. Grand Performances mission is to inspire community, celebrate diversity and unite Los Angeles through free access to global performing arts. As a performer Mari co-founded two music groups. The first, SABIÁ, in 1977 while at Brown University with fellow students. The second was Desborde. She toured North America and recorded four albums. As a performing arts organization professional, she was the Executive Director of the First Traditional Latin American Music Festival in Los Angeles and Executive Director of the Friends of the Levitt Pavilion, MacArthur Park. Paul Garza, Jr. was born in Los Angeles at Queen of the Angels Hospital. He grew in the San Gabriel Valley. He now lives in Ft. Bragg, California to be near his grandchildren. He began writing poetry when he was 13, has published three volumes of poetry and has had several poems published in literary journals. Regrettably, he has not found an audience in the US - his poetry has been published almost exclusively in India. He holds a Masters in Indian Religion and Mythology from CSU Fullerton. Paul has lived in India and Saudi Arabia, and has done consulting in El Salvador, Mexico and Oman. He continues his life time study of spirituality and mythology in Qabalah, Alchemy, Arthurian and Grail Studies, and is deeply fascinating with the wisdom of the ancient world along with a lifetime participation in the Shakti-Shiva traditions of India. He also teaches these regularly. The Quill and the Quantum is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network #authorsontheair #poetry #chatgpt

Late-sixties melodrama meets early-nineties blockbuster in today's episode, as we contemplate who left the Barney cake out in the rain while comparing Richard Harris's "MacArthur Park" and Weird Al's "Jurassic Park." Claymation, foiled cantatae, The Odyssey, Godspell, and songs for when the coffee's kickin' in, plus the YouTube-comments bingo card and an "un-preciation" of a popular novel, all factor into our discussion. Listen and enjoy unironically! Our intro is by David Gregory Byrne, and our outro is by the Association. For more information/to become a patron of the show and hear all episodes of this season, visit patreon.com/mastas. SHOW NOTES "What...is this thing?" Start at the beginning! Please to enjoy Richard Harris's ridic sideburns while listening to "MacArthur Park" The "Jurassic Park" video Bless your heart, Delia Owens

We are finally kicking off our Alapalooza coverage with Al's bizarre tribute to Jurassic Park via one of the strangest hit songs of all time MacArthur Park! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is home a place or a feeling? For reporter Tekella Foster and her interviewee, it's a small Mississippi town. Our host talks with producer Laura Gonzalez about challenging stereotypes and recognizing beauty everywhere—from the Gulf States to New York and South Central LA to MacArthur Park. For additional information and full credits go to podcast.nextgenradio.org 

By 1968, Glen Campbell had moved from session musician to a star in his own right. His single "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," written by Jimmy Webb, was a huge hit for him. So when Campbell decided he needed another song, he turned back to Webb and asked him for another song. For whatever reason, he asked Webb to make it a song about a specific location. Webb, at that time, was in the business of writing as many songs as possible about his ex, a woman named Susan Horton. (Coincidentally, Jim Holvay was also spending a lot of time writing songs about a woman named Susan, go figure.) Susan Horton was at the heart of "Phoenix" and "MacArthur Park, which had just been released when Campbell came calling again. So he cranked out yet another song ostensibly about Susan. That song was "Wichita Lineman." Now, Webb wasn't as obvious about Susan as Holvay was, but in all of these songs you can hear some sense of loss and longing, so it's pretty clear that he had it bad for her. And between Webb's nearly-finished work and the production values that Campbell and producer/arranger Al De Lory, before long they had a genuine masterpiece on their hands. And honest to god, why haven't I covered this song back when the show was still in single digits? What else haven't I covered that really needs some attention? Drop me an email  at howgoodpodcast@gmail.com! Click here for a transcript of this episode.  Click here to become a Patron of the show. Patrons get a newsletter about 48 times a year, plus a few other goodies from time to time.

Episode 171 looks at "Hey Jude", the White Album, and the career of the Beatles from August 1967 through November 1968. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a fifty-seven-minute bonus episode available, on "I Love You" by People!. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Errata Not really an error, but at one point I refer to Ornette Coleman as a saxophonist. While he was, he plays trumpet on the track that is excerpted after that. Resources No Mixcloud this week due to the number of songs by the Beatles. I have read literally dozens of books on the Beatles, and used bits of information from many of them. All my Beatles episodes refer to: The Complete Beatles Chronicle by Mark Lewisohn, All The Songs: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Release by Jean-Michel Guesdon, And The Band Begins To Play: The Definitive Guide To The Songs of The Beatles by Steve Lambley, The Beatles By Ear by Kevin Moore, Revolution in the Head by Ian MacDonald, and The Beatles Anthology. For this episode, I also referred to Last Interview by David Sheff, a longform interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono from shortly before Lennon's death; Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, an authorised biography of Paul McCartney; and Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles by Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey. This time I also used Steve Turner's The Beatles: The Stories Behind the Songs 1967-1970. I referred to Philip Norman's biographies of John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney, to Graeme Thomson's biography of George Harrison, Take a Sad Song by James Campion, Yoko Ono: An Artful Life by Donald Brackett, Those Were the Days 2.0 by Stephan Granados, and Sound Pictures by Kenneth Womack. Sadly the only way to get the single mix of “Hey Jude” is on this ludicrously-expensive out-of-print box set, but a remixed stereo mix is easily available on the new reissue of the 1967-70 compilation. The original mixes of the White Album are also, shockingly, out of print, but this 2018 remix is available for the moment. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before I start, a quick note -- this episode deals, among other topics, with child abandonment, spousal neglect, suicide attempts, miscarriage, rape accusations, and heroin addiction. If any of those topics are likely to upset you, you might want to check the transcript rather than listening to this episode. It also, for once, contains a short excerpt of an expletive, but given that that expletive in that context has been regularly played on daytime radio without complaint for over fifty years, I suspect it can be excused. The use of mantra meditation is something that exists across religions, and which appears to have been independently invented multiple times, in multiple cultures. In the Western culture to which most of my listeners belong, it is now best known as an aspect of what is known as "mindfulness", a secularised version of Buddhism which aims to provide adherents with the benefits of the teachings of the Buddha but without the cosmology to which they are attached. But it turns up in almost every religious tradition I know of in one form or another. The idea of mantra meditation is a very simple one, and one that even has some basis in science. There is a mathematical principle in neurology and information science called the free energy principle which says our brains are wired to try to minimise how surprised we are --  our brain is constantly making predictions about the world, and then looking at the results from our senses to see if they match. If they do, that's great, and the brain will happily move on to its next prediction. If they don't, the brain has to update its model of the world to match the new information, make new predictions, and see if those new predictions are a better match. Every person has a different mental model of the world, and none of them match reality, but every brain tries to get as close as possible. This updating of the model to match the new information is called "thinking", and it uses up energy, and our bodies and brains have evolved to conserve energy as much as possible. This means that for many people, most of the time, thinking is unpleasant, and indeed much of the time that people have spent thinking, they've been thinking about how to stop themselves having to do it at all, and when they have managed to stop thinking, however briefly, they've experienced great bliss. Many more or less effective technologies have been created to bring about a more minimal-energy state, including alcohol, heroin, and barbituates, but many of these have unwanted side-effects, such as death, which people also tend to want to avoid, and so people have often turned to another technology. It turns out that for many people, they can avoid thinking by simply thinking about something that is utterly predictable. If they minimise the amount of sensory input, and concentrate on something that they can predict exactly, eventually they can turn off their mind, relax, and float downstream, without dying. One easy way to do this is to close your eyes, so you can't see anything, make your breath as regular as possible, and then concentrate on a sound that repeats over and over.  If you repeat a single phrase or word a few hundred times, that regular repetition eventually causes your mind to stop having to keep track of the world, and experience a peace that is, by all accounts, unlike any other experience. What word or phrase that is can depend very much on the tradition. In Transcendental Meditation, each person has their own individual phrase. In the Catholicism in which George Harrison and Paul McCartney were raised, popular phrases for this are "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" or "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." In some branches of Buddhism, a popular mantra is "_NAMU MYŌHŌ RENGE KYŌ_". In the Hinduism to which George Harrison later converted, you can use "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare", "Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya" or "Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha". Those last two start with the syllable "Om", and indeed some people prefer to just use that syllable, repeating a single syllable over and over again until they reach a state of transcendence. [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hey Jude" ("na na na na na na na")] We don't know much about how the Beatles first discovered Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, except that it was thanks to Pattie Boyd, George Harrison's then-wife. Unfortunately, her memory of how she first became involved in the Maharishi's Spiritual Regeneration Movement, as described in her autobiography, doesn't fully line up with other known facts. She talks about reading about the Maharishi in the paper with her friend Marie-Lise while George was away on tour, but she also places the date that this happened in February 1967, several months after the Beatles had stopped touring forever. We'll be seeing a lot more of these timing discrepancies as this story progresses, and people's memories increasingly don't match the events that happened to them. Either way, it's clear that Pattie became involved in the Spiritual Regeneration Movement a good length of time before her husband did. She got him to go along with her to one of the Maharishi's lectures, after she had already been converted to the practice of Transcendental Meditation, and they brought along John, Paul, and their partners (Ringo's wife Maureen had just given birth, so they didn't come). As we heard back in episode one hundred and fifty, that lecture was impressive enough that the group, plus their wives and girlfriends (with the exception of Maureen Starkey) and Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull, all went on a meditation retreat with the Maharishi at a holiday camp in Bangor, and it was there that they learned that Brian Epstein had been found dead. The death of the man who had guided the group's career could not have come at a worse time for the band's stability.  The group had only recorded one song in the preceding two months -- Paul's "Your Mother Should Know" -- and had basically been running on fumes since completing recording of Sgt Pepper many months earlier. John's drug intake had increased to the point that he was barely functional -- although with the enthusiasm of the newly converted he had decided to swear off LSD at the Maharishi's urging -- and his marriage was falling apart. Similarly, Paul McCartney's relationship with Jane Asher was in a bad state, though both men were trying to repair their damaged relationships, while both George and Ringo were having doubts about the band that had made them famous. In George's case, he was feeling marginalised by John and Paul, his songs ignored or paid cursory attention, and there was less for him to do on the records as the group moved away from making guitar-based rock and roll music into the stranger areas of psychedelia. And Ringo, whose main memory of the recording of Sgt Pepper was of learning to play chess while the others went through the extensive overdubs that characterised that album, was starting to feel like his playing was deteriorating, and that as the only non-writer in the band he was on the outside to an extent. On top of that, the group were in the middle of a major plan to restructure their business. As part of their contract renegotiations with EMI at the beginning of 1967, it had been agreed that they would receive two million pounds -- roughly fifteen million pounds in today's money -- in unpaid royalties as a lump sum. If that had been paid to them as individuals, or through the company they owned, the Beatles Ltd, they would have had to pay the full top rate of tax on it, which as George had complained the previous year was over ninety-five percent. (In fact, he'd been slightly exaggerating the generosity of the UK tax system to the rich, as at that point the top rate of income tax was somewhere around ninety-seven and a half percent). But happily for them, a couple of years earlier the UK had restructured its tax laws and introduced a corporation tax, which meant that the profits of corporations were no longer taxed at the same high rate as income. So a new company had been set up, The Beatles & Co, and all the group's non-songwriting income was paid into the company. Each Beatle owned five percent of the company, and the other eighty percent was owned by a new partnership, a corporation that was soon renamed Apple Corps -- a name inspired by a painting that McCartney had liked by the artist Rene Magritte. In the early stages of Apple, it was very entangled with Nems, the company that was owned by Brian and Clive Epstein, and which was in the process of being sold to Robert Stigwood, though that sale fell through after Brian's death. The first part of Apple, Apple Publishing, had been set up in the summer of 1967, and was run by Terry Doran, a friend of Epstein's who ran a motor dealership -- most of the Apple divisions would be run by friends of the group rather than by people with experience in the industries in question. As Apple was set up during the point that Stigwood was getting involved with NEMS, Apple Publishing's initial offices were in the same building with, and shared staff with, two publishing companies that Stigwood owned, Dratleaf Music, who published Cream's songs, and Abigail Music, the Bee Gees' publishers. And indeed the first two songs published by Apple were copyrights that were gifted to the company by Stigwood -- "Listen to the Sky", a B-side by an obscure band called Sands: [Excerpt: Sands, "Listen to the Sky"] And "Outside Woman Blues", an arrangement by Eric Clapton of an old blues song by Blind Joe Reynolds, which Cream had copyrighted separately and released on Disraeli Gears: [Excerpt: Cream, "Outside Woman Blues"] But Apple soon started signing outside songwriters -- once Mike Berry, a member of Apple Publishing's staff, had sat McCartney down and explained to him what music publishing actually was, something he had never actually understood even though he'd been a songwriter for five years. Those songwriters, given that this was 1967, were often also performers, and as Apple Records had not yet been set up, Apple would try to arrange recording contracts for them with other labels. They started with a group called Focal Point, who got signed by badgering Paul McCartney to listen to their songs until he gave them Doran's phone number to shut them up: [Excerpt: Focal Point, "Sycamore Sid"] But the big early hope for Apple Publishing was a songwriter called George Alexander. Alexander's birth name had been Alexander Young, and he was the brother of George Young, who was a member of the Australian beat group The Easybeats, who'd had a hit with "Friday on My Mind": [Excerpt: The Easybeats, "Friday on My Mind"] His younger brothers Malcolm and Angus would go on to have a few hits themselves, but AC/DC wouldn't be formed for another five years. Terry Doran thought that Alexander should be a member of a band, because bands were more popular than solo artists at the time, and so he was placed with three former members of Tony Rivers and the Castaways, a Beach Boys soundalike group that had had some minor success. John Lennon suggested that the group be named Grapefruit, after a book he was reading by a conceptual artist of his acquaintance named Yoko Ono, and as Doran was making arrangements with Terry Melcher for a reciprocal publishing deal by which Melcher's American company would publish Apple songs in the US while Apple published songs from Melcher's company in the UK, it made sense for Melcher to also produce Grapefruit's first single, "Dear Delilah": [Excerpt: Grapefruit, "Dear Delilah"] That made number twenty-one in the UK when it came out in early 1968, on the back of publicity about Grapefruit's connection with the Beatles, but future singles by the band were much less successful, and like several other acts involved with Apple, they found that they were more hampered by the Beatles connection than helped. A few other people were signed to Apple Publishing early on, of whom the most notable was Jackie Lomax. Lomax had been a member of a minor Merseybeat group, the Undertakers, and after they had split up, he'd been signed by Brian Epstein with a new group, the Lomax Alliance, who had released one single, "Try as You May": [Excerpt: The Lomax Alliance, "Try As You May"] After Epstein's death, Lomax had plans to join another band, being formed by another Merseybeat musician, Chris Curtis, the former drummer of the Searchers. But after going to the Beatles to talk with them about them helping the new group financially, Lomax was persuaded by John Lennon to go solo instead. He may later have regretted that decision, as by early 1968 the people that Curtis had recruited for his new band had ditched him and were making a name for themselves as Deep Purple. Lomax recorded one solo single with funding from Stigwood, a cover version of a song by an obscure singer-songwriter, Jake Holmes, "Genuine Imitation Life": [Excerpt: Jackie Lomax, "Genuine Imitation Life"] But he was also signed to Apple Publishing as a songwriter. The Beatles had only just started laying out plans for Apple when Epstein died, and other than the publishing company one of the few things they'd agreed on was that they were going to have a film company, which was to be run by Denis O'Dell, who had been an associate producer on A Hard Day's Night and on How I Won The War, the Richard Lester film Lennon had recently starred in. A few days after Epstein's death, they had a meeting, in which they agreed that the band needed to move forward quickly if they were going to recover from Epstein's death. They had originally been planning on going to India with the Maharishi to study meditation, but they decided to put that off until the new year, and to press forward with a film project Paul had been talking about, to be titled Magical Mystery Tour. And so, on the fifth of September 1967, they went back into the recording studio and started work on a song of John's that was earmarked for the film, "I am the Walrus": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"] Magical Mystery Tour, the film, has a mixed reputation which we will talk about shortly, but one defence that Paul McCartney has always made of it is that it's the only place where you can see the Beatles performing "I am the Walrus". While the song was eventually relegated to a B-side, it's possibly the finest B-side of the Beatles' career, and one of the best tracks the group ever made. As with many of Lennon's songs from this period, the song was a collage of many different elements pulled from his environment and surroundings, and turned into something that was rather more than the sum of its parts. For its musical inspiration, Lennon pulled from, of all things, a police siren going past his house. (For those who are unfamiliar with what old British police sirens sounded like, as opposed to the ones in use for most of my lifetime or in other countries, here's a recording of one): [Excerpt: British police siren ca 1968] That inspired Lennon to write a snatch of lyric to go with the sound of the siren, starting "Mister city policeman sitting pretty". He had two other song fragments, one about sitting in the garden, and one about sitting on a cornflake, and he told Hunter Davies, who was doing interviews for his authorised biography of the group, “I don't know how it will all end up. Perhaps they'll turn out to be different parts of the same song.” But the final element that made these three disparate sections into a song was a letter that came from Stephen Bayley, a pupil at Lennon's old school Quarry Bank, who told him that the teachers at the school -- who Lennon always thought of as having suppressed his creativity -- were now analysing Beatles lyrics in their lessons. Lennon decided to come up with some nonsense that they couldn't analyse -- though as nonsensical as the finished song is, there's an underlying anger to a lot of it that possibly comes from Lennon thinking of his school experiences. And so Lennon asked his old schoolfriend Pete Shotton to remind him of a disgusting playground chant that kids used to sing in schools in the North West of England (and which they still sang with very minor variations at my own school decades later -- childhood folklore has a remarkably long life). That rhyme went: Yellow matter custard, green snot pie All mixed up with a dead dog's eye Slap it on a butty, nice and thick, And drink it down with a cup of cold sick Lennon combined some parts of this with half-remembered fragments of Lewis Carrol's The Walrus and the Carpenter, and with some punning references to things that were going on in his own life and those of his friends -- though it's difficult to know exactly which of the stories attached to some of the more incomprehensible bits of the lyrics are accurate. The story that the line "I am the eggman" is about a sexual proclivity of Eric Burdon of the Animals seems plausible, while the contention by some that the phrase "semolina pilchard" is a reference to Sgt Pilcher, the corrupt policeman who had arrested three of the Rolling Stones, and would later arrest Lennon, on drugs charges, seems less likely. The track is a masterpiece of production, but the release of the basic take on Anthology 2 in 1996 showed that the underlying performance, before George Martin worked his magic with the overdubs, is still a remarkable piece of work: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus (Anthology 2 version)"] But Martin's arrangement and production turned the track from a merely very good track into a masterpiece. The string arrangement, very much in the same mould as that for "Strawberry Fields Forever" but giving a very different effect with its harsh cello glissandi, is the kind of thing one expects from Martin, but there's also the chanting of the Mike Sammes Singers, who were more normally booked for sessions like Englebert Humperdinck's "The Last Waltz": [Excerpt: Engelbert Humperdinck, "The Last Waltz"] But here were instead asked to imitate the sound of the strings, make grunting noises, and generally go very far out of their normal comfort zone: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"] But the most fascinating piece of production in the entire track is an idea that seems to have been inspired by people like John Cage -- a live feed of a radio being tuned was played into the mono mix from about the halfway point, and whatever was on the radio at the time was captured: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"] This is also why for many decades it was impossible to have a true stereo mix of the track -- the radio part was mixed directly into the mono mix, and it wasn't until the 1990s that someone thought to track down a copy of the original radio broadcasts and recreate the process. In one of those bits of synchronicity that happen more often than you would think when you're creating aleatory art, and which are why that kind of process can be so appealing, one bit of dialogue from the broadcast of King Lear that was on the radio as the mixing was happening was *perfectly* timed: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"] After completing work on the basic track for "I am the Walrus", the group worked on two more songs for the film, George's "Blue Jay Way" and a group-composed twelve-bar blues instrumental called "Flying", before starting production. Magical Mystery Tour, as an idea, was inspired in equal parts by Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, the collective of people we talked about in the episode on the Grateful Dead who travelled across the US extolling the virtues of psychedelic drugs, and by mystery tours, a British working-class tradition that has rather fallen out of fashion in the intervening decades. A mystery tour would generally be put on by a coach-hire company, and would be a day trip to an unannounced location -- though the location would in fact be very predictable, and would be a seaside town within a couple of hours' drive of its starting point. In the case of the ones the Beatles remembered from their own childhoods, this would be to a coastal town in Lancashire or Wales, like Blackpool, Rhyl, or Prestatyn. A coachload of people would pay to be driven to this random location, get very drunk and have a singsong on the bus, and spend a day wherever they were taken. McCartney's plan was simple -- they would gather a group of passengers and replicate this experience over the course of several days, and film whatever went on, but intersperse that with more planned out sketches and musical numbers. For this reason, along with the Beatles and their associates, the cast included some actors found through Spotlight and some of the group's favourite performers, like the comedian Nat Jackley (whose comedy sequence directed by John was cut from the final film) and the surrealist poet/singer/comedian Ivor Cutler: [Excerpt: Ivor Cutler, "I'm Going in a Field"] The film also featured an appearance by a new band who would go on to have great success over the next year, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. They had recorded their first single in Abbey Road at the same time as the Beatles were recording Revolver, but rather than being progressive psychedelic rock, it had been a remake of a 1920s novelty song: [Excerpt: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, "My Brother Makes the Noises For the Talkies"] Their performance in Magical Mystery Tour was very different though -- they played a fifties rock pastiche written by band leaders Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes while a stripper took off her clothes. While several other musical sequences were recorded for the film, including one by the band Traffic and one by Cutler, other than the Beatles tracks only the Bonzos' song made it into the finished film: [Excerpt: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, "Death Cab for Cutie"] That song, thirty years later, would give its name to a prominent American alternative rock band. Incidentally the same night that Magical Mystery Tour was first broadcast was also the night that the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band first appeared on a TV show, Do Not Adjust Your Set, which featured three future members of the Monty Python troupe -- Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones. Over the years the careers of the Bonzos, the Pythons, and the Beatles would become increasingly intertwined, with George Harrison in particular striking up strong friendships and working relationships with Bonzos Neil Innes and "Legs" Larry Smith. The filming of Magical Mystery Tour went about as well as one might expect from a film made by four directors, none of whom had any previous filmmaking experience, and none of whom had any business knowledge. The Beatles were used to just turning up and having things magically done for them by other people, and had no real idea of the infrastructure challenges that making a film, even a low-budget one, actually presents, and ended up causing a great deal of stress to almost everyone involved. The completed film was shown on TV on Boxing Day 1967 to general confusion and bemusement. It didn't help that it was originally broadcast in black and white, and so for example the scene showing shifting landscapes (outtake footage from Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, tinted various psychedelic colours) over the "Flying" music, just looked like grey fuzz. But also, it just wasn't what people were expecting from a Beatles film. This was a ramshackle, plotless, thing more inspired by Andy Warhol's underground films than by the kind of thing the group had previously appeared in, and it was being presented as Christmas entertainment for all the family. And to be honest, it's not even a particularly good example of underground filmmaking -- though it looks like a masterpiece when placed next to something like the Bee Gees' similar effort, Cucumber Castle. But there are enough interesting sequences in there for the project not to be a complete failure -- and the deleted scenes on the DVD release, including the performances by Cutler and Traffic, and the fact that the film was edited down from ten hours to fifty-two minutes, makes one wonder if there's a better film that could be constructed from the original footage. Either way, the reaction to the film was so bad that McCartney actually appeared on David Frost's TV show the next day to defend it and, essentially, apologise. While they were editing the film, the group were also continuing to work in the studio, including on two new McCartney songs, "The Fool on the Hill", which was included in Magical Mystery Tour, and "Hello Goodbye", which wasn't included on the film's soundtrack but was released as the next single, with "I Am the Walrus" as the B-side: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hello Goodbye"] Incidentally, in the UK the soundtrack to Magical Mystery Tour was released as a double-EP rather than as an album (in the US, the group's recent singles and B-sides were added to turn it into a full-length album, which is how it's now generally available). "I Am the Walrus" was on the double-EP as well as being on the single's B-side, and the double-EP got to number two on the singles charts, meaning "I am the Walrus" was on the records at number one and number two at the same time. Before it became obvious that the film, if not the soundtrack, was a disaster, the group held a launch party on the twenty-first of December, 1967. The band members went along in fancy dress, as did many of the cast and crew -- the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band performed at the party. Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys also turned up at the party, and apparently at one point jammed with the Bonzos, and according to some, but not all, reports, a couple of the Beatles joined in as well. Love and Johnston had both just met the Maharishi for the first time a couple of days earlier, and Love had been as impressed as the Beatles were, and it may have been at this party that the group mentioned to Love that they would soon be going on a retreat in India with the guru -- a retreat that was normally meant for training TM instructors, but this time seemed to be more about getting celebrities involved. Love would also end up going with them. That party was also the first time that Cynthia Lennon had an inkling that John might not be as faithful to her as she previously supposed. John had always "joked" about being attracted to George Harrison's wife, Patti, but this time he got a little more blatant about his attraction than he ever had previously, to the point that he made Cynthia cry, and Cynthia's friend, the pop star Lulu, decided to give Lennon a very public dressing-down for his cruelty to his wife, a dressing-down that must have been a sight to behold, as Lennon was dressed as a Teddy boy while Lulu was in a Shirley Temple costume. It's a sign of how bad the Lennons' marriage was at this point that this was the second time in a two-month period where Cynthia had ended up crying because of John at a film launch party and been comforted by a female pop star. In October, Cilla Black had held a party to celebrate the belated release of John's film How I Won the War, and during the party Georgie Fame had come up to Black and said, confused, "Cynthia Lennon is hiding in your wardrobe". Black went and had a look, and Cynthia explained to her “I'm waiting to see how long it is before John misses me and comes looking for me.” Black's response had been “You'd better face it, kid—he's never gonna come.” Also at the Magical Mystery Tour party was Lennon's father, now known as Freddie Lennon, and his new nineteen-year-old fiancee. While Hunter Davis had been researching the Beatles' biography, he'd come across some evidence that the version of Freddie's attitude towards John that his mother's side of the family had always told him -- that Freddie had been a cruel and uncaring husband who had not actually wanted to be around his son -- might not be the whole of the truth, and that the mother who he had thought of as saintly might also have had some part to play in their marriage breaking down and Freddie not seeing his son for twenty years. The two had made some tentative attempts at reconciliation, and indeed Freddie would even come and live with John for a while, though within a couple of years the younger Lennon's heart would fully harden against his father again. Of course, the things that John always resented his father for were pretty much exactly the kind of things that Lennon himself was about to do. It was around this time as well that Derek Taylor gave the Beatles copies of the debut album by a young singer/songwriter named Harry Nilsson. Nilsson will be getting his own episode down the line, but not for a couple of years at my current rates, so it's worth bringing that up here, because that album became a favourite of all the Beatles, and would have a huge influence on their songwriting for the next couple of years, and because one song on the album, "1941", must have resonated particularly deeply with Lennon right at this moment -- an autobiographical song by Nilsson about how his father had left him and his mother when he was a small boy, and about his own fear that, as his first marriage broke down, he was repeating the pattern with his stepson Scott: [Excerpt: Nilsson, "1941"] The other major event of December 1967, rather overshadowed by the Magical Mystery Tour disaster the next day, was that on Christmas Day Paul McCartney and Jane Asher announced their engagement. A few days later, George Harrison flew to India. After John and Paul had had their outside film projects -- John starring in How I Won The War and Paul doing the soundtrack for The Family Way -- the other two Beatles more or less simultaneously did their own side project films, and again one acted while the other did a soundtrack. Both of these projects were in the rather odd subgenre of psychedelic shambolic comedy film that sprang up in the mid sixties, a subgenre that produced a lot of fascinating films, though rather fewer good ones. Indeed, both of them were in the subsubgenre of shambolic psychedelic *sex* comedies. In Ringo's case, he had a small role in the film Candy, which was based on the novel we mentioned in the last episode, co-written by Terry Southern, which was in itself a loose modern rewriting of Voltaire's Candide. Unfortunately, like such other classics of this subgenre as Anthony Newley's Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?, Candy has dated *extremely* badly, and unless you find repeated scenes of sexual assault and rape, ethnic stereotypes, and jokes about deformity and disfigurement to be an absolute laugh riot, it's not a film that's worth seeking out, and Starr's part in it is not a major one. Harrison's film was of the same basic genre -- a film called Wonderwall about a mad scientist who discovers a way to see through the walls of his apartment, and gets to see a photographer taking sexy photographs of a young woman named Penny Lane, played by Jane Birkin: [Excerpt: Some Wonderwall film dialogue ripped from the Blu-Ray] Wonderwall would, of course, later inspire the title of a song by Oasis, and that's what the film is now best known for, but it's a less-unwatchable film than Candy, and while still problematic it's less so. Which is something. Harrison had been the Beatle with least involvement in Magical Mystery Tour -- McCartney had been the de facto director, Starr had been the lead character and the only one with much in the way of any acting to do, and Lennon had written the film's standout scene and its best song, and had done a little voiceover narration. Harrison, by contrast, barely has anything to do in the film apart from the one song he contributed, "Blue Jay Way", and he said of the project “I had no idea what was happening and maybe I didn't pay enough attention because my problem, basically, was that I was in another world, I didn't really belong; I was just an appendage.” He'd expressed his discomfort to his friend Joe Massot, who was about to make his first feature film. Massot had got to know Harrison during the making of his previous film, Reflections on Love, a mostly-silent short which had starred Harrison's sister-in-law Jenny Boyd, and which had been photographed by Robert Freeman, who had been the photographer for the Beatles' album covers from With the Beatles through Rubber Soul, and who had taken most of the photos that Klaus Voorman incorporated into the cover of Revolver (and whose professional association with the Beatles seemed to come to an end around the same time he discovered that Lennon had been having an affair with his wife). Massot asked Harrison to write the music for the film, and told Harrison he would have complete free rein to make whatever music he wanted, so long as it fit the timing of the film, and so Harrison decided to create a mixture of Western rock music and the Indian music he loved. Harrison started recording the music at the tail end of 1967, with sessions with several London-based Indian musicians and John Barham, an orchestrator who had worked with Ravi Shankar on Shankar's collaborations with Western musicians, including the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack we talked about in the "All You Need is Love" episode. For the Western music, he used the Remo Four, a Merseybeat group who had been on the scene even before the Beatles, and which contained a couple of classmates of Paul McCartney, but who had mostly acted as backing musicians for other artists. They'd backed Johnny Sandon, the former singer with the Searchers, on a couple of singles, before becoming the backing band for Tommy Quickly, a NEMS artist who was unsuccessful despite starting his career with a Lennon/McCartney song, "Tip of My Tongue": [Excerpt: Tommy Quickly, "Tip of My Tongue"] The Remo Four would later, after a lineup change, become Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, who would become one-hit wonders in the seventies, and during the Wonderwall sessions they recorded a song that went unreleased at the time, and which would later go on to be rerecorded by Ashton, Gardner, and Dyke. "In the First Place" also features Harrison on backing vocals and possibly guitar, and was not submitted for the film because Harrison didn't believe that Massot wanted any vocal tracks, but the recording was later discovered and used in a revised director's cut of the film in the nineties: [Excerpt: The Remo Four, "In the First Place"] But for the most part the Remo Four were performing instrumentals written by Harrison. They weren't the only Western musicians performing on the sessions though -- Peter Tork of the Monkees dropped by these sessions and recorded several short banjo solos, which were used in the film soundtrack but not in the soundtrack album (presumably because Tork was contracted to another label): [Excerpt: Peter Tork, "Wonderwall banjo solo"] Another musician who was under contract to another label was Eric Clapton, who at the time was playing with The Cream, and who vaguely knew Harrison and so joined in for the track "Ski-ing", playing lead guitar under the cunning, impenetrable, pseudonym "Eddie Clayton", with Harrison on sitar, Starr on drums, and session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan on bass: [Excerpt: George Harrison, "Ski-ing"] But the bulk of the album was recorded in EMI's studios in the city that is now known as Mumbai but at the time was called Bombay. The studio facilities in India had up to that point only had a mono tape recorder, and Bhaskar Menon, one of the top executives at EMI's Indian division and later the head of EMI music worldwide, personally brought the first stereo tape recorder to the studio to aid in Harrison's recording. The music was all composed by Harrison and performed by the Indian musicians, and while Harrison was composing in an Indian mode, the musicians were apparently fascinated by how Western it sounded to them: [Excerpt: George Harrison, "Microbes"] While he was there, Harrison also got the instrumentalists to record another instrumental track, which wasn't to be used for the film: [Excerpt: George Harrison, "The Inner Light (instrumental)"] That track would, instead, become part of what was to be Harrison's first composition to make a side of a Beatles single. After John and George had appeared on the David Frost show talking about the Maharishi, in September 1967, George had met a lecturer in Sanskrit named Juan Mascaró, who wrote to Harrison enclosing a book he'd compiled of translations of religious texts, telling him he'd admired "Within You Without You" and thought it would be interesting if Harrison set something from the Tao Te Ching to music. He suggested a text that, in his translation, read: "Without going out of my door I can know all things on Earth Without looking out of my window I can know the ways of heaven For the farther one travels, the less one knows The sage, therefore Arrives without travelling Sees all without looking Does all without doing" Harrison took that text almost verbatim, though he created a second verse by repeating the first few lines with "you" replacing "I" -- concerned that listeners might think he was just talking about himself, and wouldn't realise it was a more general statement -- and he removed the "the sage, therefore" and turned the last few lines into imperative commands rather than declarative statements: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "The Inner Light"] The song has come in for some criticism over the years as being a little Orientalist, because in critics' eyes it combines Chinese philosophy with Indian music, as if all these things are equally "Eastern" and so all the same really. On the other hand there's a good argument that an English songwriter taking a piece of writing written in Chinese and translated into English by a Spanish man and setting it to music inspired by Indian musical modes is a wonderful example of cultural cross-pollination. As someone who's neither Chinese nor Indian I wouldn't want to take a stance on it, but clearly the other Beatles were impressed by it -- they put it out as the B-side to their next single, even though the only Beatles on it are Harrison and McCartney, with the latter adding a small amount of harmony vocal: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "The Inner Light"] And it wasn't because the group were out of material. They were planning on going to Rishikesh to study with the Maharishi, and wanted to get a single out for release while they were away, and so in one week they completed the vocal overdubs on "The Inner Light" and recorded three other songs, two by John and one by Paul. All three of the group's songwriters brought in songs that were among their best. John's first contribution was a song whose lyrics he later described as possibly the best he ever wrote, "Across the Universe". He said the lyrics were “purely inspirational and were given to me as boom! I don't own it, you know; it came through like that … Such an extraordinary meter and I can never repeat it! It's not a matter of craftsmanship, it wrote itself. It drove me out of bed. I didn't want to write it … It's like being possessed, like a psychic or a medium.” But while Lennon liked the song, he was never happy with the recording of it. They tried all sorts of things to get the sound he heard in his head, including bringing in some fans who were hanging around outside to sing backing vocals. He said of the track "I was singing out of tune and instead of getting a decent choir, we got fans from outside, Apple Scruffs or whatever you call them. They came in and were singing all off-key. Nobody was interested in doing the tune originally.” [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Across the Universe"] The "jai guru deva" chorus there is the first reference to the teachings of the Maharishi in one of the Beatles' records -- Guru Dev was the Maharishi's teacher, and the phrase "Jai guru dev" is a Sanskrit one which I've seen variously translated as "victory to the great teacher", and "hail to the greatness within you". Lennon would say shortly before his death “The Beatles didn't make a good record out of it. I think subconsciously sometimes we – I say ‘we' though I think Paul did it more than the rest of us – Paul would sort of subconsciously try and destroy a great song … Usually we'd spend hours doing little detailed cleaning-ups of Paul's songs, when it came to mine, especially if it was a great song like ‘Strawberry Fields' or ‘Across The Universe', somehow this atmosphere of looseness and casualness and experimentation would creep in … It was a _lousy_ track of a great song and I was so disappointed by it …The guitars are out of tune and I'm singing out of tune because I'm psychologically destroyed and nobody's supporting me or helping me with it, and the song was never done properly.” Of course, this is only Lennon's perception, and it's one that the other participants would disagree with. George Martin, in particular, was always rather hurt by the implication that Lennon's songs had less attention paid to them, and he would always say that the problem was that Lennon in the studio would always say "yes, that's great", and only later complain that it hadn't been what he wanted. No doubt McCartney did put in more effort on his own songs than on Lennon's -- everyone has a bias towards their own work, and McCartney's only human -- but personally I suspect that a lot of the problem comes down to the two men having very different personalities. McCartney had very strong ideas about his own work and would drive the others insane with his nitpicky attention to detail. Lennon had similarly strong ideas, but didn't have the attention span to put the time and effort in to force his vision on others, and didn't have the technical knowledge to express his ideas in words they'd understand. He expected Martin and the other Beatles to work miracles, and they did -- but not the miracles he would have worked. That track was, rather than being chosen for the next single, given to Spike Milligan, who happened to be visiting the studio and was putting together an album for the environmental charity the World Wildlife Fund. The album was titled "No One's Gonna Change Our World": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Across the Universe"] That track is historic in another way -- it would be the last time that George Harrison would play sitar on a Beatles record, and it effectively marks the end of the period of psychedelia and Indian influence that had started with "Norwegian Wood" three years earlier, and which many fans consider their most creative period. Indeed, shortly after the recording, Harrison would give up the sitar altogether and stop playing it. He loved sitar music as much as he ever had, and he still thought that Indian classical music spoke to him in ways he couldn't express, and he continued to be friends with Ravi Shankar for the rest of his life, and would only become more interested in Indian religious thought. But as he spent time with Shankar he realised he would never be as good on the sitar as he hoped. He said later "I thought, 'Well, maybe I'm better off being a pop singer-guitar-player-songwriter – whatever-I'm-supposed-to-be' because I've seen a thousand sitar-players in India who are twice as better as I'll ever be. And only one of them Ravi thought was going to be a good player." We don't have a precise date for when it happened -- I suspect it was in June 1968, so a few months after the "Across the Universe" recording -- but Shankar told Harrison that rather than try to become a master of a music that he hadn't encountered until his twenties, perhaps he should be making the music that was his own background. And as Harrison put it "I realised that was riding my bike down a street in Liverpool and hearing 'Heartbreak Hotel' coming out of someone's house.": [Excerpt: Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel"] In early 1968 a lot of people seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as if Christmas 1967 had been the flick of a switch and instead of whimsy and ornamentation, the thing to do was to make music that was influenced by early rock and roll. In the US the Band and Bob Dylan were making music that was consciously shorn of all studio experimentation, while in the UK there was a revival of fifties rock and roll. In April 1968 both "Peggy Sue" and "Rock Around the Clock" reentered the top forty in the UK, and the Who were regularly including "Summertime Blues" in their sets. Fifties nostalgia, which would make occasional comebacks for at least the next forty years, was in its first height, and so it's not surprising that Paul McCartney's song, "Lady Madonna", which became the A-side of the next single, has more than a little of the fifties about it. Of course, the track isn't *completely* fifties in its origins -- one of the inspirations for the track seems to have been the Rolling Stones' then-recent hit "Let's Spend The Night Together": [Excerpt: The Rolling Stones, "Let's Spend the Night Together"] But the main source for the song's music -- and for the sound of the finished record -- seems to have been Johnny Parker's piano part on Humphrey Lyttleton's "Bad Penny Blues", a hit single engineered by Joe Meek in the fifties: [Excerpt: Humphrey Lyttleton, "Bad Penny Blues"] That song seems to have been on the group's mind for a while, as a working title for "With a Little Help From My Friends" had at one point been "Bad Finger Blues" -- a title that would later give the name to a band on Apple. McCartney took Parker's piano part as his inspiration, and as he later put it “‘Lady Madonna' was me sitting down at the piano trying to write a bluesy boogie-woogie thing. I got my left hand doing an arpeggio thing with the chord, an ascending boogie-woogie left hand, then a descending right hand. I always liked that, the  juxtaposition of a line going down meeting a line going up." [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Lady Madonna"] That idea, incidentally, is an interesting reversal of what McCartney had done on "Hello, Goodbye", where the bass line goes down while the guitar moves up -- the two lines moving away from each other: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hello Goodbye"] Though that isn't to say there's no descending bass in "Lady Madonna" -- the bridge has a wonderful sequence where the bass just *keeps* *descending*: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Lady Madonna"] Lyrically, McCartney was inspired by a photo in National Geographic of a woman in Malaysia, captioned “Mountain Madonna: with one child at her breast and another laughing into her face, sees her quality of life threatened.” But as he put it “The people I was brought up amongst were often Catholic; there are lots of Catholics in Liverpool because of the Irish connection and they are often religious. When they have a baby I think they see a big connection between themselves and the Virgin Mary with her baby. So the original concept was the Virgin Mary but it quickly became symbolic of every woman; the Madonna image but as applied to ordinary working class woman. It's really a tribute to the mother figure, it's a tribute to women.” Musically though, the song was more a tribute to the fifties -- while the inspiration had been a skiffle hit by Humphrey Lyttleton, as soon as McCartney started playing it he'd thought of Fats Domino, and the lyric reflects that to an extent -- just as Domino's "Blue Monday" details the days of the week for a weary working man who only gets to enjoy himself on Saturday night, "Lady Madonna"'s lyrics similarly look at the work a mother has to do every day -- though as McCartney later noted  "I was writing the words out to learn it for an American TV show and I realised I missed out Saturday ... So I figured it must have been a real night out." The vocal was very much McCartney doing a Domino impression -- something that wasn't lost on Fats, who cut his own version of the track later that year: [Excerpt: Fats Domino, "Lady Madonna"] The group were so productive at this point, right before the journey to India, that they actually cut another song *while they were making a video for "Lady Madonna"*. They were booked into Abbey Road to film themselves performing the song so it could be played on Top of the Pops while they were away, but instead they decided to use the time to cut a new song -- John had a partially-written song, "Hey Bullfrog", which was roughly the same tempo as "Lady Madonna", so they could finish that up and then re-edit the footage to match the record. The song was quickly finished and became "Hey Bulldog": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hey Bulldog"] One of Lennon's best songs from this period, "Hey Bulldog" was oddly chosen only to go on the soundtrack of Yellow Submarine. Either the band didn't think much of it because it had come so easily, or it was just assigned to the film because they were planning on being away for several months and didn't have any other projects they were working on. The extent of the group's contribution to the film was minimal – they were not very hands-on, and the film, which was mostly done as an attempt to provide a third feature film for their United Artists contract without them having to do any work, was made by the team that had done the Beatles cartoon on American TV. There's some evidence that they had a small amount of input in the early story stages, but in general they saw the cartoon as an irrelevance to them -- the only things they contributed were the four songs "All Together Now", "It's All Too Much", "Hey Bulldog" and "Only a Northern Song", and a brief filmed appearance for the very end of the film, recorded in January: [Excerpt: Yellow Submarine film end] McCartney also took part in yet another session in early February 1968, one produced by Peter Asher, his fiancee's brother, and former singer with Peter and Gordon. Asher had given up on being a pop star and was trying to get into the business side of music, and he was starting out as a producer, producing a single by Paul Jones, the former lead singer of Manfred Mann. The A-side of the single, "And the Sun Will Shine", was written by the Bee Gees, the band that Robert Stigwood was managing: [Excerpt: Paul Jones, "And the Sun Will Shine"] While the B-side was an original by Jones, "The Dog Presides": [Excerpt: Paul Jones, "The Dog Presides"] Those tracks featured two former members of the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck and Paul Samwell-Smith, on guitar and bass, and Nicky Hopkins on piano. Asher asked McCartney to play drums on both sides of the single, saying later "I always thought he was a great, underrated drummer." McCartney was impressed by Asher's production, and asked him to get involved with the new Apple Records label that would be set up when the group returned from India. Asher eventually became head of A&R for the label. And even before "Lady Madonna" was mixed, the Beatles were off to India. Mal Evans, their roadie, went ahead with all their luggage on the fourteenth of February, so he could sort out transport for them on the other end, and then John and George followed on the fifteenth, with their wives Pattie and Cynthia and Pattie's sister Jenny (John and Cynthia's son Julian had been left with his grandmother while they went -- normally Cynthia wouldn't abandon Julian for an extended period of time, but she saw the trip as a way to repair their strained marriage). Paul and Ringo followed four days later, with Ringo's wife Maureen and Paul's fiancee Jane Asher. The retreat in Rishikesh was to become something of a celebrity affair. Along with the Beatles came their friend the singer-songwriter Donovan, and Donovan's friend and songwriting partner, whose name I'm not going to say here because it's a slur for Romani people, but will be known to any Donovan fans. Donovan at this point was also going through changes. Like the Beatles, he was largely turning away from drug use and towards meditation, and had recently written his hit single "There is a Mountain" based around a saying from Zen Buddhism: [Excerpt: Donovan, "There is a Mountain"] That was from his double-album A Gift From a Flower to a Garden, which had come out in December 1967. But also like John and Paul he was in the middle of the breakdown of a long-term relationship, and while he would remain with his then-partner until 1970, and even have another child with her, he was secretly in love with another woman. In fact he was secretly in love with two other women. One of them, Brian Jones' ex-girlfriend Linda, had moved to LA, become the partner of the singer Gram Parsons, and had appeared in the documentary You Are What You Eat with the Band and Tiny Tim. She had fallen out of touch with Donovan, though she would later become his wife. Incidentally, she had a son to Brian Jones who had been abandoned by his rock-star father -- the son's name is Julian. The other woman with whom Donovan was in love was Jenny Boyd, the sister of George Harrison's wife Pattie.  Jenny at the time was in a relationship with Alexis Mardas, a TV repairman and huckster who presented himself as an electronics genius to the Beatles, who nicknamed him Magic Alex, and so she was unavailable, but Donovan had written a song about her, released as a single just before they all went to Rishikesh: [Excerpt: Donovan, "Jennifer Juniper"] Donovan considered himself and George Harrison to be on similar spiritual paths and called Harrison his "spirit-brother", though Donovan was more interested in Buddhism, which Harrison considered a corruption of the more ancient Hinduism, and Harrison encouraged Donovan to read Autobiography of a Yogi. It's perhaps worth noting that Donovan's father had a different take on the subject though, saying "You're not going to study meditation in India, son, you're following that wee lassie Jenny" Donovan and his friend weren't the only other celebrities to come to Rishikesh. The actor Mia Farrow, who had just been through a painful divorce from Frank Sinatra, and had just made Rosemary's Baby, a horror film directed by Roman Polanski with exteriors shot at the Dakota building in New York, arrived with her sister Prudence. Also on the trip was Paul Horn, a jazz saxophonist who had played with many of the greats of jazz, not least of them Duke Ellington, whose Sweet Thursday Horn had played alto sax on: [Excerpt: Duke Ellington, "Zweet Zursday"] Horn was another musician who had been inspired to investigate Indian spirituality and music simultaneously, and the previous year he had recorded an album, "In India," of adaptations of ragas, with Ravi Shankar and Alauddin Khan: [Excerpt: Paul Horn, "Raga Vibhas"] Horn would go on to become one of the pioneers of what would later be termed "New Age" music, combining jazz with music from various non-Western traditions. Horn had also worked as a session musician, and one of the tracks he'd played on was "I Know There's an Answer" from the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "I Know There's an Answer"] Mike Love, who co-wrote that track and is one of the lead singers on it, was also in Rishikesh. While as we'll see not all of the celebrities on the trip would remain practitioners of Transcendental Meditation, Love would be profoundly affected by the trip, and remains a vocal proponent of TM to this day. Indeed, his whole band at the time were heavily into TM. While Love was in India, the other Beach Boys were working on the Friends album without him -- Love only appears on four tracks on that album -- and one of the tracks they recorded in his absence was titled "Transcendental Meditation": [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "Transcendental Meditation"] But the trip would affect Love's songwriting, as it would affect all of the musicians there. One of the few songs on the Friends album on which Love appears is "Anna Lee, the Healer", a song which is lyrically inspired by the trip in the most literal sense, as it's about a masseuse Love met in Rishikesh: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "Anna Lee, the Healer"] The musicians in the group all influenced and inspired each other as is likely to happen in such circumstances. Sometimes, it would be a matter of trivial joking, as when the Beatles decided to perform an off-the-cuff song about Guru Dev, and did it in the Beach Boys style: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Spiritual Regeneration"] And that turned partway through into a celebration of Love for his birthday: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Spiritual Regeneration"] Decades later, Love would return the favour, writing a song about Harrison and their time together in Rishikesh. Like Donovan, Love seems to have considered Harrison his "spiritual brother", and he titled the song "Pisces Brothers": [Excerpt: Mike Love, "Pisces Brothers"] The musicians on the trip were also often making suggestions to each other about songs that would become famous for them. The musicians had all brought acoustic guitars, apart obviously from Ringo, who got a set of tabla drums when George ordered some Indian instruments to be delivered. George got a sitar, as at this point he hadn't quite given up on the instrument, and he gave Donovan a tamboura. Donovan started playing a melody on the tamboura, which is normally a drone instrument, inspired by the Scottish folk music he had grown up with, and that became his "Hurdy-Gurdy Man": [Excerpt: Donovan, "Hurdy Gurdy Man"] Harrison actually helped him with the song, writing a final verse inspired by the Maharishi's teachings, but in the studio Donovan's producer Mickie Most told him to cut the verse because the song was overlong, which apparently annoyed Harrison. Donovan includes that verse in his live performances of the song though -- usually while doing a fairly terrible impersonation of Harrison: [Excerpt: Donovan, "Hurdy Gurdy Man (live)"] And similarly, while McCartney was working on a song pastiching Chuck Berry and the Beach Boys, but singing about the USSR rather than the USA, Love suggested to him that for a middle-eight he might want to sing about the girls in the various Soviet regions: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Back in the USSR"] As all the guitarists on the retreat only had acoustic instruments, they were very keen to improve their acoustic playing, and they turned to Donovan, who unlike the rest of them was primarily an acoustic player, and one from a folk background. Donovan taught them the rudiments of Travis picking, the guitar style we talked about way back in the episodes on the Everly Brothers, as well as some of the tunings that had been introduced to British folk music by Davey Graham, giving them a basic grounding in the principles of English folk-baroque guitar, a style that had developed over the previous few years. Donovan has said in his autobiography that Lennon picked the technique up quickly (and that Harrison had already learned Travis picking from Chet Atkins records) but that McCartney didn't have the application to learn the style, though he picked up bits. That seems very unlike anything else I've read anywhere about Lennon and McCartney -- no-one has ever accused Lennon of having a surfeit of application -- and reading Donovan's book he seems to dislike McCartney and like Lennon and Harrison, so possibly that enters into it. But also, it may just be that Lennon was more receptive to Donovan's style at the time. According to McCartney, even before going to Rishikesh Lennon had been in a vaguely folk-music and country mode, and the small number of tapes he'd brought with him to Rishikesh included Buddy Holly, Dylan, and the progressive folk band The Incredible String Band, whose music would be a big influence on both Lennon and McCartney for the next year: [Excerpt: The Incredible String Band, "First Girl I Loved"] According to McCartney Lennon also brought "a tape the singer Jake Thackray had done for him... He was one of the people we bumped into at Abbey Road. John liked his stuff, which he'd heard on television. Lots of wordplay and very suggestive, so very much up John's alley. I was fascinated by his unusual guitar style. John did ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun' as a Jake Thackray thing at one point, as I recall.” Thackray was a British chansonnier, who sang sweetly poignant but also often filthy songs about Yorkshire life, and his humour in particular will have appealed to Lennon. There's a story of Lennon meeting Thackray in Abbey Road and singing the whole of Thackray's song "The Statues", about two drunk men fighting a male statue to defend the honour of a female statue, to him: [Excerpt: Jake Thackray, "The Statues"] Given this was the music that Lennon was listening to, it's unsurprising that he was more receptive to Donovan's lessons, and the new guitar style he learned allowed him to expand his songwriting, at precisely the same time he was largely clean of drugs for the first time in several years, and he started writing some of the best songs he would ever write, often using these new styles: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Julia"] That song is about Lennon's dead mother -- the first time he ever addressed her directly in a song, though  it would be far from the last -- but it's also about someone else. That phrase "Ocean child" is a direct translation of the Japanese name "Yoko". We've talked about Yoko Ono a bit in recent episodes, and even briefly in a previous Beatles episode, but it's here that she really enters the story of the Beatles. Unfortunately, exactly *how* her relationship with John Lennon, which was to become one of the great legendary love stories in rock and roll history, actually started is the subject of some debate. Both of them were married when they first got together, and there have also been suggestions that Ono was more interested in McCartney than in Lennon at first -- suggestions which everyone involved has denied, and those denials have the ring of truth about them, but if that was the case it would also explain some of Lennon's more perplexing behaviour over the next year. By all accounts there was a certain amount of finessing of the story th

On this episode of Gavin Wood's Countdown podcast, Gavin catches up with American singer, songwriter and composer - Jimmy Webb. Jimmy Webb achieved success from a young age, aged just 21 when he won his first Grammy Award, winning Song of the Year in 1967, for the song, “Up, Up, and Away”. As well as “Up, Up, and Away”, Jimmy has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacArthur Park", "Wichita Lineman", "Worst That Could Happen", "Galveston" and "All I Know". Throughout his career he collaborated with top tier musicians such as Glen Campbell, Michael Feinstein, Linda Ronstadt, the 5th Dimension, the Supremes, Art Garfunkel and Richard Harris. In 1986 Jimmy was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 1990 he joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. A celebrated artist, Jimmy picked up the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, the Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award in 2003, the ASCAP "Voice of Music" Award in 2006 and the Ivor Novello Special International Award in 2012. Jimmy is the only artist ever to receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics and orchestration, and according to BMI, his song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" was the third most performed song in the 50 years between 1940 and 1990.

Jana starts the show with homemade pumpkin spice coffee and home fried bunelos. After the fall spiced treat, Jana shares the 411 on the song MacArthur Park. What the flock does it mean?? Mark brings more music to the show with "you know that song, but what's the title". And in Paranormal Corner, learn about the Legend of the Hawaiian Night Marchers".

Allegra Padilla is the Executive Director of the Levitt Pavilion, which has hosted concerts at MacArthur Park in the Westlake area for sixteen years. During our chat, we talk about Allegra’s journey from South Pasadena to organizing on the streets of Los Angeles, including for Mumia Abu-Jamal and the South Central Farm; we also discussContinue reading MACARTHUR PARK IS THE PEOPLE’S PARK IN L.A. →

Allegra Padilla is the Executive Director of the Levitt Pavilion, which has hosted concerts at MacArthur Park in the Westlake area for sixteen years. During our chat, we talk about Allegra’s journey from South Pasadena to organizing on the streets of Los Angeles, including for Mumia Abu-Jamal and the South Central Farm; we also discussContinue reading WESTLAKE/MACARTHUR PARK IS THE PEOPLE’S PARK IN L.A. →

An update on the border crisis. More on the fentanyl crisis as MacArthur Park has been overrun by fentanyl sales and use. San Francisco's overdose numbers are on the rise again. The missing fighter jet was found.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Duff Blimp-sized welcome back to the great Merritt K (check out her new Patreon) as we dig into this Lisa-centric episode! After feeling "ugly" thanks to a cartoon, Lisa gets unexpected help from Homer after putting her in the Little Miss Springfield Pageant. And after a strange series of events, Lisa becomes a powerful political figure in this memorable ep. So grab your extra-long version of MacArthur Park and listen now! Support this podcast and get over 150 bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! And please follow the official Twitter, @TalkSimpsonsPod!

Regina talks about her sound, her move from classical to jazz, her experience as a hospice caregiver, and then I ask the MacArthur genius how much she knows about...the song "MacArthur Park."

Carmelo Alvarez is the founder of Youth Break Center, Inc., aka Radiotron in Los Angeles. Alvarez takes us through his early years in the West Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, breaking from gang life, embracing the arts, to taking on City Hall with the support of area youth who found a safe space to express themselves through hip-hop. Alvarez's story and the battle to keep the original Youth Break Center building also inspired cult classic 80s films "Breakin'" and "Breakin' II: Electric Boogaloo."  On June 24th, 2023 - Radiotron will be celebrating it's 40th anniversary with a live dance concert featuring figures from the original Radiotron days to the present at Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, CA. Event info can be found at https://levittlosangeles.org/ PickinnputtinPickinnputtin-Music and golf with guests from both worlds. Weekly podcast featuring...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySponsored by Chain Cohn Clark - Kern County's leading accident, injury, and workers' compensation law firm. Subscribe to Bakotunes at all podcast outlets and follow our socials!Instagram / Twitter / More LinksContact: mattomunoz@gmail.com

11 years ago, sadly we lost LaDonna Adrian Gaines aka Donna Summer, the undisputed Queen of Disco! You may or may not remember I was going to release this Tribute Mix for Pride Month last June, but due to personal reasons, here we are again… And to coincide with the release of her documentary “Love to Love You, Donna Summer” today Saturday the 20th May 2023, it just seems like perrrfect timing. So…Sunset People, Dim All The Lights, because This Time I Know It's For Real: 20+ chronologically mixed Disco Traxx to get your Summer boogie on !!! DONNA: QUEEN OF DISCOMAY 20 / 20 TRAXX LOVE MAGNUSDisco-tracklisting:1. Love To Love You Baby 2. I Feel Love 3. Last Dance 4. MacArthur Park 5. Hot Stuff6. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) 7. On The Radio 8. Sunset People 9. Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) 10. She Works Hard For The Money 11. There Goes My Baby 12. This Time I Know It's For Real 13. I Don't Wanna Get Hurt 14. Love's About to Change my Heart 15. Work That Magic 16. Carry On 17. I Will Go On 18. Mystery Of Love 19. Bad Girls 20. State of Independence

In today's headlines: the city of LA sues a journalist and watchdog group, Metro lowers the music levels at the MacArthur Park station, and outdoor dining to stay in LA.  The play Twilight LA is based on interviews of hundred of people whose lives were directly touched by both the uprising itself, and the events that led up to it. The show returns to the Mark Taper Forum for a new staging 30 years later.  We'll hear from students at Cal State Dominguez Hills who say that a series of incidents related to race this school year has affected their sense of safety on campus. Then, How To LA host Brian De Los Santos learns he's been approved to take what could be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to his homeland of Mexico. As a DACA recipient, there are no guarantees – that he'll get this chance again OR that he'll be let back into the U.S. where he's lived since he was brought here as a small child. His candid conversation with friends, as he prepares to return to Mexico for the first time in 30 years. Support The L.A. Report by donating now at LAist.com/join  Support the show: https://laist.com

Jimmy Webb IS Music History and we are proud to have him on Takin A Walk.His songwriting resume is part of American History.Here are show notes for this Takin A Walk-Music History on Foot episode.Jimmy Webb's Music Journey From Teen Songwriter To LegendMusic is a very important part of our lives. We get married to it. We get buried to it. We dine to it. We jog to it. We meditate to it. We entertain our children with it. We worship to it, and we make love to it. There are very few things we do in life, if any, that are not accompanied by music. Songs and music are what make all the wheels go round In the world of entertainment. Music is the secret ingredient, and our country has a rich music treasury. If you try to make a movie, show, or event without it, you will fail because something is missing.  Join today's walk with Jimmy Webb. Jimmy Webb is a songwriter, composer, and singer known worldwide as a master of his trade. His timeless hits continue to be performed and recorded by the industry's biggest names, and his new compositions span the musical spectrum from classical to pop. Since his first platinum record, “The Worst That Could Happen,” Jimmy has had numerous hits, including “Up, Up and Away,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman, “Galveston,” “Highwayman,” “All I Know” and “MacArthur Park.” He has also become a leader and mentor in the industry as a champion for songwriters.In this episode, Jimmy shares his journey as a songwriter from teenage and young adulthood to where he is today. Jimmy's life story is remarkable and nearly improbable, a time tale of hustle with many seasons of weathering the storm.  Tune in!  Key Highlights from the Show;[00:01] Episode intro and a bit about Jimmy Webb [01:45] Jimmy's first public appearance as a performer in his father's Baptist church [05:20] Jimmy's first job in LA transcribing other people's songs in Motown [09:42] Jimmy's songwriting experience in his teen and early twenties  [11:07] The first time Jimmy heard his music on the radio [16:18] Bill Payne's (from Little Feat Band) first gig with Jimmy[19:06] Jimmy's perspective on the importance of music in our lives[24:14] Jimmy's upcoming performance at City Winery Boston on April 6 [24:51] Ending the show  Notable quotesIn your teens and early 20s, you're like an unexposed film and a blank canvas that has not been utilized.Music has to be important to you for you to do it; it has its ups and downs, hits and misses, and dry spells, which can make you emotionally vulnerable. Music is the secret ingredient to entertainment. We have to take care of songs as an art form. Connect With Jimmy WebbWebsite: https://www.jimmywebb.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa81ziI2LqHiOKmREgkrQGg About the Show *****Thank you so much for listening to the TAKIN' A WALK PODCAST SHOW hosted by Buzz Knight!  Listen to more honest conversations with a compelling mix of guests ranging from musicians, authors, and insiders with their own stories. Get inspired, get motivated, and gain insights from honest conversations every week that can help you with your own journey. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and be part of this blessed family. Please consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with your friends and family!The Art of Songwriting with the Legendary Jimmy Webb: Behind the Music of an American Treasure.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jimmy Webb IS Music History and we are proud to have him on Takin A Walk. His songwriting resume is part of American History. Here are show notes for this Takin A Walk-Music History on Foot episode. Jimmy Webb's Music Journey From Teen Songwriter To Legend Music is a very important part of our lives. We get married to it. We get buried to it. We dine to it. We jog to it. We meditate to it. We entertain our children with it. We worship to it, and we make love to it. There are very few things we do in life, if any, that are not accompanied by music. Songs and music are what make all the wheels go round In the world of entertainment. Music is the secret ingredient, and our country has a rich music treasury. If you try to make a movie, show, or event without it, you will fail because something is missing.    Join today's walk with Jimmy Webb. Jimmy Webb is a songwriter, composer, and singer known worldwide as a master of his trade. His timeless hits continue to be performed and recorded by the industry's biggest names, and his new compositions span the musical spectrum from classical to pop. Since his first platinum record, “The Worst That Could Happen,” Jimmy has had numerous hits, including “Up, Up and Away,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman, “Galveston,” “Highwayman,” “All I Know” and “MacArthur Park.” He has also become a leader and mentor in the industry as a champion for songwriters. In this episode, Jimmy shares his journey as a songwriter from teenage and young adulthood to where he is today. Jimmy's life story is remarkable and nearly improbable, a time tale of hustle with many seasons of weathering the storm.   Tune in!    Key Highlights from the Show; [00:01] Episode intro and a bit about Jimmy Webb  [01:45] Jimmy's first public appearance as a performer in his father's Baptist church  [05:20] Jimmy's first job in LA transcribing other people's songs in Motown  [09:42] Jimmy's songwriting experience in his teen and early twenties   [11:07] The first time Jimmy heard his music on the radio  [16:18] Bill Payne's (from Little Feat Band) first gig with Jimmy [19:06] Jimmy's perspective on the importance of music in our lives [24:14] Jimmy's upcoming performance at City Winery Boston on April 6  [24:51] Ending the show    Notable quotes In your teens and early 20s, you're like an unexposed film and a blank canvas that has not been utilized. Music has to be important to you for you to do it; it has its ups and downs, hits and misses, and dry spells, which can make you emotionally vulnerable.  Music is the secret ingredient to entertainment.  We have to take care of songs as an art form.  Connect With Jimmy Webb Website: https://www.jimmywebb.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa81ziI2LqHiOKmREgkrQGg   About the Show  *****Thank you so much for listening to the TAKIN' A WALK PODCAST SHOW hosted by Buzz Knight!    Listen to more honest conversations with a compelling mix of guests ranging from musicians, authors, and insiders with their own stories. Get inspired, get motivated, and gain insights from honest conversations every week that can help you with your own journey. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and be part of this blessed family.   Please consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with your friends and family! The Art of Songwriting with the Legendary Jimmy Webb: Behind the Music of an American Treasure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bob, Chuk and Mike talk, Lee Ving and the car story, MacArthur Park, teaching and passing it on, Nick Drake, death and antidepressants, kids and trying to be a good dad, Learning from mental health experts, money for pee testing, street level teaching, pass it on 

GGACP celebrates the recent birthday (August 15th) of legendary songwriter and composer Jimmy Webb (“Wichita Lineman,” “Up, Up and Away,” "By the Time I Get to Phoenix'') by revisiting this memorable interview from 2017. In this episode, Jimmy shares an entire career's worth of memories and anecdotes, including meeting Elvis, playing baccarat with Ol' Blue Eyes, turning down 40K a week to play Las Vegas and and sitting in on a recording session of the Beatles' “White Album.” Also, Jimmy parties with Paul Williams, crosses swords with Harry Nilsson, joins John Lennon on his “lost weekend” and pens megahits for longtime friend and collaborator Glen Campbell. PLUS: Father Guido Sarducci! Gilbert sings again! The Nelson Riddle Orchestra! The musical genius of Johnny Rivers! And Jimmy plays “MacArthur Park” in…MacArthur Park!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices