Beatlesque #2

So what is "Beatlesque"? Of course, it means sounding like The Beatles--but what does THAT really mean?

Speaking as a huge Beatles fan, I'd say that Beatlesque songs have many of the following traits:

• Uptempo
• Very catchy & melodic tune
• Vocals containing "Ooo"s or "Yeah"s or "La-la"s, harmonies (esp 3 part), &/or voices that sound like John, Paul, George or Ringo
• Lyrics containing British words & idioms (like "never wears a mack" in "Penny Lane")
• Length of 3 mins or less (like almost all early & mid-period Beatles songs) or more than 6 mins (like a few late period Beatles songs--"Hey Jude", "I Want You [She's So Heavy], "It's All Too Much", e.g.)
• Clean, minimal production (guitar/s, bass & drums, maybe harmonica--a la early period Beatles) or a great deal of production, incl non-rock instruments (like Indian instruments, or the piccolo trumpet in "Penny Lane”), orchestral arrangement, filtering, backward tracks, sound effects, fade-out & then fade-in (a la "Strawberry Fields Forever"), etc.
• Subject matter such as love--for a girl (or boy) or for humankind--peace & non-violence, ordinary people (a la "Eleanor Rigby"), mysticism, or that which is psychedelic/surrealistic/dadaistic
• Old song styles--a la Paul's "Granny songs" (as John called them), such as "When I'm 64", "Honey Pie", and "Your Mother Should Know"
• Humor & fun--like "You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)", "Yellow Submarine", "All Together Now"
• Structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, "middle eight", verse, chorus...
• One song containing 2 or more seemingly disparate songs (a la "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End", "Hello Goodbye" with "Hey La, Hey Hello La" ending, etc.)

On Thur Mar 13, I'll be playing the following set of Beatlesque songs on my radio show at KRUU. (The links below are to the songs in iTunes unless stated otherwise.)

Incidentally, if you don't know the sad story of Emitt Rhodes, you should read about it.

1. Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy Of Arts - The Bee Gees
2. Baby I Can't Please You - Sam Phillips
3. That's Not The Way That It's Done - The Minus 5
4. Baby Blue - Badfinger Amazon.com (not available in iTunes)
5. I Know You Well - Fountains Of Wayne
6. Hummingbird - Wilco
7. You Must Have - Emitt Rhodes Amazon.com (not available in iTunes)
8. Mean To Me - Crowded House
9. Earn Enough For Us - XTC
10. The Things We Do For Love - 10cc
11. Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel
12. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
13. Good Company - Queen
14. Feelin' - The La's
15. Surrender - Cheap Trick
16. I Don't Know How To Say Goodbye To You - Sam Phillips
17. Name Of The Game - Badfinger Amazon.com (not available in iTunes)
18. Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft - Klaatu
19. Valotte - Julian Lennon
20. 10538 Overture - Electric Light Orchestra
21. Lullabye - Emitt Rhodes Amazon.com (not available in iTunes)
22. Way Back When - Aimee Mann