#sean-ono-lennon

#sean-ono-lennon

Adapted from a stage play by Alfie author Bill Naughton, The Family Way finds its material in the trials of a pair of northern newlyweds who, having been fleeced by a crooked travel agent, end up having to spend their honeymoon at home. What's worse, given their impecuniousness, "home" meant a room in the house of the groom's parents.

I said, 'Yeah, sure.' Then I put the phone down. I thought, Well, what about me? I'm not inducted. Now John's going to go in. The thing about John Lennon and McCartney was we were always equal. But, of course, once John got murdered, he became the martyr - the Buddy Holly, the James Dean character - because of the atrocity. So a revisionism started to go on.

"I'll Follow the Sun" is "a 'Leaving of Liverpool' song," McCartney explained in his 2021 book The Lyrics. "I'm leaving this rainy northern town for someplace where more is happening." Once they did leave, the band's rise to fame was stratospheric.

I don't want to get into the Beatles thing, not coyly, but actually because I think the world hopefully will benefit from knowing as little as possible going into it.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Laurie Spiegel for the site. As preparation for the interview, I spent a lot of time over the last couple of weeks revisiting Spiegel's records, most notably The Expanding Universe, her 1980 masterpiece that blends synth experimentalism with early examples of what would eventually be called ambient music, and algorithmic composition techniques. It's a marvel that sounds both nostalgic and cutting-edge at the same time.

Revolución to Roxy begins long before glam, synthesizers, or LP covers became cultural landmarks. Manzanera's earliest memories are shaped by upheaval: childhood in Cuba during the revolution, displacement, and an upbringing that crossed Venezuela, Colombia, England, and beyond. That instability, he says, produced something lasting-understanding. "If you grow up speaking two languages, you are scientifically proven to be more compassionate," Manzanera says. "You have this kind of duality, and one of those is the power to be empathetic. For a musician, that is such a helpful tool."

There's plenty to enjoy in Amber Martin and Shannon Conley's production of The Carnaby Street Girls regardless of whether you're old enough to remember the British Invasion or just discovering that there was a whole lot of great music that came out of England in the '60s. Playing last weekend at The Cutting Room in Kips Bay, the two powerful singers had a great time, singing together and separately, with a repertoire of fab tunes that were hits for a number of swinging British gals.