Friday, November 3, 2023

“Now and Then,” the music video

It’s out. This one really got to me, and it made me not miss the song’s middle section, at least for now. Some laughter, many tears.

comments: 5

Anonymous said...

and to me also. lots of tears and laughs with the silliness of how the beatles could act.

and even caught part of Eleanor Rigby/Norwegian Wood.

that is definitely a john song with quite a bit of george thrown in.

in thinking about this song, it also reminds me of a part of my life that i miss at times. i was one of those music absorbed teenagers who followed the beatles -- buying those teen music mags and cutting out photos of the beatles from the magazines. I still even have the beatles poster collage i created. as well as the john and paul book of lyrics that i read in english class as poetry, the official yellow submarine magazine, and the beatles forever illustrated music + lyrics (1970).

kirsten

Michael Leddy said...

In junior high I knew the times of all the tracks on the White Album. Yes, a lot of time studying records.

Michael Leddy said...

Yes, the short, chopping strings are a lot like “Eleanor Rigby.” The swooping. cellos at the very end made me think of “I Am the Walrus” and “Within You Without You.”

Anonymous said...

i don't know if you follow rick beato but he analyzed the song today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PAkVIFUZPQ

kirsten

Michael Leddy said...

Thanks, Kirsten. I don’t know of him, but I have the same reservation about the production — I’d like something sparer. And the unison voices singing “Now and then I miss you” sound very un-Beatle to me.

But I’ve been thinking about the section they took out and realized today that the song has become one about the Beatles themselves. The video makes that clear, and “Now and then I miss you” takes on another meaning when you see Paul and Ringo singing it together. And even Paul’s count-in: “One, two,” with “three” and “four” just whispered. There are just two of them. And George. And then the piano, suggesting John, comes in. I don’t think I’m reading too much into it. But if I am, I’m a retired prof; that’s my job. : )

The more I listen, the more I like it, even if it’s wildly different from the demo. What do you think, Kirsten? Are you liking it more? Less?