6 April 2023 - The Beatles - The Ballad Of John And Yoko

Today, we talk about s a song that tells the story of the chaotic adventures of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. From getting marriedm to dealing with the media's unrelenting scrutiny, the song covers a lot of ground. It's a tale of two people deeply in love, doing whatever it takes to be together. And as a bonus, it's kind of a fun song.

The song starts with John lamenting the fact that he and his beloved Yoko can't seem to catch a break. They're constantly in the public eye, and everyone seems to have an opinion about their relationship. But despite the criticism, John and Yoko remain steadfast in their love for each other.

One of the standout lines in the song is "Christ, you know it ain't easy / You know how hard it can be / The way things are going / They're gonna crucify me." It's a tongue-in-cheek reference, comparing John and Yoko's relationship to that of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The media had a field day with that one.

But despite the scrutiny, John and Yoko remained devoted to each other. They even got married in Gibraltar, much to the surprise of their fans and the media. In the song, John sings about the couple's trip to Paris and their attempts to find a place to stay. "Finally made the plane into Paris / Honeymooning down by the Seine / Peter Brown called to say / 'You can make it okay, you can get married in Gibraltar near Spain.'"  Of course, the line about Peter Brown is a reference to the Beatles' assistant of the same name. Peter helped John and Yoko navigate the logistics of getting married in Gibraltar, and it's clear that John was grateful for his help.

The Ballad of John and Yoko is a song that celebrates love in all its messy, complicated glory. It's a reminder that even when the world seems to be against you, love can conquer all. And it's also a reminder that even the Beatles had their fair share of drama.

It's worth noting that The Ballad of John and Yoko was recorded by only two Beatles: John Lennon and Paul McCartney. George Harrison and Ringo Starr were either on vacation or working on other projects. But John and Paul didn't let that stop them from creating a hit song. It was released as a single on May 30, 1969, and quickly climbed the charts. The song reached number one in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and several other countries. In the United States, it peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

Although the song only featured John and Paul, Ringo and George DO appear with them in the video, playing instruments.  It would be the last single on which all four Beatles would appear together. 

5 April 2023 - Bad Bunny - El Apagón

This is probably the longest single music video we've ever posted here. But it's worth it.  

Bad Bunny is arguably the biggest star to come out of Puerto Rico in a generation, and he's very proud and very defensive of his roots and his home.  HIs reggaeton-infused music has made him an international superstar. He uses his huge platform for good - highlighting issues that are plaguing Puerto Rico.

One of the biggest issues that has plagued Puerto Rico over the last decade has been the weakness of their power grid.  LUMA Energy, the company that primarily controls the grid that took over the grid in 2021 from the government for $115 million, has been under fire for mismanaging exactly that.  A joint venture between Texas company Quanta Services and Alberta company ATCO for the express purpose of managing and improving the grid, it serves the further benefit for those two companies of being a tax shelter, as it was established as a result of Act 22 of 2012, which exempts external investors from taxation on passive income.  LUMA is by far not the only beneficiary of Act 22, as a lot of real estate investors are also injecting their money into the territory and displacing residents.

So, you're thinking, "Well, that paragraph was quite the left turn.  What the hell does that have to do with reggaeton?"

"El Apagón" literally translates to "The Blackout". 53 seconds into this video for his song, you are introduced to a 20-minute documentary on LUMA Energy and Act 22 - and it's really, really well done.  The reporter, Bianca Graulau, is eloquent and well-researched, and passionate about the subject.- she does a LOT more videos on her YouTube channel, on both the power grid and Act 22, as well as other issues that impact Puerto Rico (and, also, interestingly, Hawaii, which has a similar history of United States colonization).

I encourage you to watch this video. If you don't know Spanish, turn captions on - it has English subtitiles.  Also, please go check out Bianca Graulau's other videos, many of them in English, as they give a lot more detail than this video can.

I am going to talk about the music, but talking about that video first was important.  

Lyrically, the song is typically boastful - he talks about how he is a particular fan of the Puerto Rican variety of a particular body part only found on a woman, but in a somewhat vulgar manner ("Me gusta la chocha de Puerto Rico") - but it's also a fun song, incorporating pop and trap sounds in with the reggaeton.  It's a song that expresses pride about Puerto Rico - about being proud of his homeland.  It's NOT the political song you think it is - but he DID use the title and song to suck people into a bigger message. 

Gabriela Berlingeri, his former girlfriend, provides the outro song, which is a pure pop contrast.  She's not a famous musician in her own right (although she has worked on several of Bad Bunny's song, including recording reference vocals for Jennifer Lopez on another song) - and the selection of her as a singer here is by design and not just because Bad Bunny and her had adopted a puppy together - but she, just a citizen, sings passionately about HER homeland.  

And yes.  That's Snoop.

4 April 2023 - Prince ft. Sheena Easton - U Got The Look

If you think Prince sounds a little squeakier than usual, you're right - he's using a sped-up voice on the recording of this song.  You see, Prince recorded an album in 1986 as an artist named Camille - with sped-up vocals feminizing his voice.  It was never released (although it looks like it is getting a release, possibly as part of a Sign O' The Times rerelease), but he still had the technology and used it on this song, which he DID release.

The song went to #2 on the US pop charts and ended up being a worldwide hit, immortalizing the World Series of Love.  By the way, the year this was released, 1987, the World Series came to Minneapolis, Prince's hometown.

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3 April 2023 - City Girls ft. Cardi B - Twerk

OK, Canadian music is done.  

It's time for some real ass shaking.  

Like, best in the world ass shaking. 

City Girls went looking for the best twerker in the world, and at the end of this video, I think you see they found the best twerker in the world. There's a lot of ass shaking that happens before you see the best ass shaker.  

It's also a fun and naughty - not safe for work - song that ended up being a top 30 hit for the duo.

31 March 2023 - Maisy Stella - i’m only seventeen

For at least a year, this blog has practiced Stella Parity.  That means we post as much of each Stella sister as the other.  If we post Lennon, we post Maisy.  When possible.

Thankfully, this is one of those times where it is possible.  

According to the artist, who wrote this, "This is an unreleased song". 1) it's incredible 2) Without Maisy there would be no Billie Eilish, so.....

31 March 2023 - Lennon Stella - Fancy

Since we opened the month with Stellas, it makes sense to end it the same way.   And the pride of Whitby, Ontario is the best way to finish a month of Canadian music.

Lennon Stella didn't end up in the country music landscape like her parents did.  Instead, she went with thought-provoking pop music, with a light, airy feeling.  This particular brand of light and airy comes with horns, but still.  

Lyrically, it's a dreamy, imaginative song, with an apparent lyrical reference to Marcy Playground, although with the French interpretation of the lyrics at spots, it's hard to tell.  

(Editor's note: I love that we can make callouts to things we wrote a decade ago)

I hope you've enjoyed this March as much as we have.  Every year, it's a bigger challenge, but every year, we're discovering new music along with you - music that stays with us.  

30 March 2023 - Rush - YYZ

The largest airport in Canada, and 21st busiest airport in the world, is Toronto Pearson International Airport, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.  

Its IATA code?  YYZ.  (I'll let you debate whether it's Why-Why-Zee or Why-Why-Zed)

I've been to every Tim Hortons at that airport.  It's a great airport.  

In the early days, Canadian airports were identified by two letter codes - and Toronto's main airport was YZ.  This was used for ease of communication between airports.  If an airport was open and not closed due to weather, it was easy to send a Y - for yes - and the two letter code via Morse code, and quickly communicate their status.  

In the 1940s, as more airports were being opened worldwide, all airports were forced to adopt a 3-letter code.  So, every Canadian airport - since they already had the protocol in place - just added the Yes signal to the beginning of all their airport codes.   It's why they are the only country to consistently name all their (commercial passenger) airports with IATA codes all beginning with the same letter.  

You've learned something today.  Maybe.  

Alex Lifeson didn't learn anything today, because he already knew Morse Code - because in addition to being the guitarist for Rush, he's also a commercial pilot.  So, he heard - . - - - . - - - - . . - Y Y Z - quite a bit.  One day, when he was flying the band into Pearson, he introduced the rhythm of that airport code to the band.  

An instrumental classic, written by Neil Peart and Geddy Lee and NOT Alex Lifeson, was born.  You can hear that morse code, that rhythm that stuck with them, from the very beginning of the song - that's the odd-sounding rhythm you hear at the start.  

We couldn't not include a live version of this, eh?  Yes, there is an extended Neil Peart drum solo, and you're welcome.