I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE BEATLES–Let It Be…Naked (2003).

I talked about this once before and mentioned how I was anticipating a huge difference between this version and the original.  But really, most of the changes are quite subtle.  Reading a bit more about it, it seems like McCartney mostly wanted to fix “The Long and Winding Road” and then took the time to tweak little things (he fixes some bum notes for instance).

This seemed like a chance for Paul to take the record back from Phil Spector, although I guess Spector didn’t really do all that much to the album—he really only tweaked four songs: Across The Universe, I Me Mine, Let It Be and The Long And Winding Road.  And so Paul removes Phil’s hand on those–and those are really the most notable changes.  As for the rest of the disc, he took out all the chatting between and silly songs (Dig It and Maggie Mae) and adds “Don’t Le Me Down,” from the rooftop concert.

I assume that if I were a Beatles die hard, I would immediately notice all of the changes on this disc.  But, for a casual listener, here’s what I noticed: “Get Back” is even shorter than the original.  “Dig a Pony” is the same rooftop, although it seems to be mixed better.  “For You Blue” has a bit more acoustic guitar but is otherwise not too different.

“The Long and Winding Road” has the most notable changes.  The strings and chorus are removed.  The dramatic BUH BUH before the chorus is still there–almost more pronounced on the organ.  I like this version more than the original, although I have to say it sounds an awful lot like Wings or McCartney solo in this version.

“Two of Us” doesn’t sound all that different—a little cleaner maybe.  “I’ve Got a Feeling” sounds a bit cleaner too–apparently it is a composite of the two versions from the rooftop concert.  “1 after 909” sounds about the same–a little cleaner and with out the Danny Boy at the end.  This version makes it sounds even more like an “old” song since the rawness of the recording has been removed.

“Don’t Let Me Down” was not on the original.  This version was taken from the rooftop concert.  And it sounds great here.  Strange that it wasn’t included in the first place.  “I Me Mine” removes the chorus and overdubs, and sounds a bit more rocking.  “Across the Universe”–I like this version a lot better.  It’s much cleaner and really lets the music shine, rather than there being so much echo on it.  “Let It Be” is stripped down as well, and the guitar solo sounds a little different.

In general, I like this version better, although I do miss the funny bits a little.  This feels more like a record than a soundtrack to a film.  But again, the changes aren’t that substantial overall.

[READ: January 10, 2015] Smile

I had heard of this book–I’d heard that it was a huge sensation.  Of course it wasn’t really on my radar of books, so I wasn’t really sure what it was about.  I read an interview with Telgemeier recently which made the book sound really interesting so I decided to check it out (and was frankly surprised that there was a copy in the library).

And I really liked the book a lot.  From the little I knew about it, I assumed it was just her life with braces (and from the interview, I gathered that her little sister was really a pain–she apparently is a big presence in the sequel).  Well, the sister is a pain, but that’s mostly in the beginning of the book (the sister is very funny and they tease each other mercilessly).  Yes, the book is about braces, but it ‘s about much more than that.

Oh and it’s also autobiographical, which was pretty obvious.

So, Raina is in 6th grade and she is scheduled to get braces.  She is freaked out about this, of course, because everyone makes fun of people with braces.  (Although they never made fun of me and I understand they don’t anymore, but we’ll see if my kids need them).  Although she has lots of friends, so they should support her.

Then after a girl scout meeting, Raina trips on her sidewalk and knocks out her front teeth (it makes me queasy just to think about this).  When she goes back to the dentist he says he can try to save her teeth but [insert dental complications here].

Since they can’t put the braces on now, she gets some fake front teeth until she can get fitted for different braces which will–get this–move her teeth towards the center of her mouth.  I cannot imagine how much that will hurt!

This is a huge procedure and suffice it to say she has her teeth woes all through middle school and into high school.

But the story is not all about braces.  It’s a lot more about insecurity.  When Raina is in 7th grade, she develops a crush on 6th grader who clearly likes her back.  But once she gets her sights set on a 7th grade basketball player, she feels embarrassed for liking the 6th grader (with a predictably sad outcome).  There’s also the matter of her friends in school.   They are just downright mean to her.  They think they’re being funny, but Raina seems to have become the butt of all their jokes and it really wears thin (especially later in high school when they do something utterly unforgivable to her!)

Indeed, the book goes through high school where she has to decide if high school is going to be just like middle school, or if it is time to make a change–potentially a huge change.

I loved Telgemeier’s drawing style.  It’s a very simple, almost Sunday comics type of style.  It’s gently cartoonish and very sweet–I was engaged immediately by the drawing, which is always a good thing.  And the story itself is really fascinating.  From the unimaginable torment of her teeth to her Worst Friends Ever.  It was nice t o see that she could outgrow the people she used to think were friends, a painful transition, but one that everyone must go through.

I have recently taken out the sequel, and I’m really looking forward to it.