ANOTHER KIND OF MIND

SUMMARY

After the new year, John approaches the Beatles with a new outlook and a new idea for the future. The trial separation, John predicts, “will either be a death or a Rebirth.” And John has made his choice!

Episode Three delves into John’s hopes and fears for the fate of Lennon/McCartney in 1970, and then ties in some pertinent quotes from 1980 which show how he processed and framed the breakup in later years and the philosophical outlook he ultimately achieved. 

And of course we continue the unfolding drama of the standoff between the estranged partners in Phase Two of the Trial Separation.

SOURCES

Scene and Heard, BBC (Feb 6, 1970)
“A Hard Day’s Write” by Steve Turner (October 1994)
Audio snippet Interview w/ David Sheff (1980)
“Living Together” St. Regis Interview, Peter McCabe and Robert Schonfeld (1971)
“It’s Difficult to Believe John and Paul Have Fallen Out” by Mike Hennessey, Record Mirror (March 13, 1971)
Scene and Heard, BBC (Feb 6, 1970)
Interview w/ Roy Shipston Disc and Music Echo (Feb 28, 1970)
Many Years from Now by Barry Miles (1997)
“All We Are Saying,”by David Sheff (1980)
Interview snippet about Jealousy (audio) (1971) Gimme Some Truth (2000) by Andrew Solt
John Lennon’s #IMAGINE50 Listening Party on Twitter
Playboy Interview with Paul and Linda McCartney: Interviewed by Joan Goodman Article ©1984 Playboy Press
Man on the Run by Tom Doyle (2013)

PLAYLIST

Instant Karma JOHN LENNON (1970)
Eleanor Rigby, Julia (Transition) THE BEATLES (2006)
Lovely Linda PAUL MCCARTNEY (1970)
Valentine Day PAUL MCCARTNEY (1970)
The Long and Winding Road THE BEATLES (1970)
You Know My Name THE BEATLES (1970)

Listen HERE

Episode two of our series provides a comprehensive examination of Paul’s state of mind in autumn of 1969. We discuss the deluge of problems he faces and consider how this confluence of issues triggers one of the worst episodes of Paul’s life. How might this depression have impacted Paul’s ability to interpret and respond to John’s continuing attempts to communicate through the media?

We dissect four key interviews (and a surprisingly overt personal gesture) from John, identifying and tracking the gradual evolution of his outreach to Paul as the communication gap between the two men grows ever wider and deeper.

PLAYLIST
You Never Give Me Your Money THE BEATLES (1969)
Cold Turkey PLASTIC ONO BAND (1969)
Cold Turkey (live Lyceum Ballroom) PLASTIC ONO BAND (1969)
I’ll Be Home for Christmas THE BEACH BOYS (1964)
Man We Was Lonely PAUL MCCARTNEY (1970)

SOURCES:

John Lennon Interview w/ John Small WKNR-AM (October 22, 1969)
“Paul is Still With Us” Paul McCartney LIFE Interview (Nov 7, 1969)
“The Ex-Beatle Tells His Story” Paul McCartney LIFE Interview (March 1971)
“Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History Of The Band That Shook Youth, Gender and The World” by Steven D. Stark. (2005)
“This is your brain on fatherhood: Dads experience hormonal changes too, research shows” By Alan Boyle NBC News (June 15, 2013)
“Beatles are on the Brink of a Split” (Dec 13, 1969)
George Harrison Interview Howard Smith, WABC-FM New York (April 25/May 1, 1970)
John Lennon & Yoko Ono interview with Marshall McLuhan in Toronto (Dec 21, 1969)
A Private Talk w/ Ritchie Yorke (Dec 23, 1969)
Peter McCabe and Robert Schonfeld, St Regis (Sept 5, 1971)
Tune In, Mark Lewisohn (2013)

Listen HERE

Episode One examines the divorce meeting that triggers the six-month-long standoff between John & Paul. We’ll discuss Paul’s reactions, both in the moment and over the following week. We’ll also dissect some striking statements from John in a revealing interview he gives just days after the divorce meeting.

SOURCES:

Australia Women’s Weekly (May 5 1976)
McCartney LP press release (1970)
Get Back Dir. Peter Jackson (2021)
Heightened Awareness, audio clip (Jan 13, 1969)
“Why The Beatles Broke Up” by Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone (Sept 3, 2009)
The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz (2005)
Many Years From Now by Barry Miles (1997)
The Lyrics Paul McCartney ed. Paul Muldoon (2021)
“Why The Beatles Broke Up; The Story Behind our Cover” by Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone (Aug 18, 2009)
The Beatles Anthology (1995)
John Lennon, interview w/ Barry Miles, (partially) unpublished. (September 23rd, 1969)
Scene and Heard, BBC (Feb 28, 1970)
John Lennon Audio diary clip (Sept 5, 1979)
John Lennon Interview w/ Jean-François Vallée (April 1975)
Lennon Remembers by Jann Wenner, Rolling Stone (1970)

PLAYLIST

You Never Give Me Your Money THE BEATLES (1969)
The End THE BEATLES (1969)
Glasses PAUL MCCARTNEY (1970)
Cold Turkey (demo) JOHN LENNON (1970)
Dizzy Miss Lizzy PLASTIC ONO BAND (1969)
Sun King THE BEATLES (1969)
Don’t Let Me Down 28.45 THE BEATLES (1969)
Kreen-Akrore PAUL MCCARTNEY (1970)
Because THE BEATLES (1969)
Child of Nature THE BEATLES (1968)
Everybody’s Talking NILSSON (1969)
Momma Miss America PAUL MCCARTNEY (1970)

Listen HERE

AKOM’s new series A Mistake in Many Ways covers the Trial Separation period, from Sept 69-April 70. Our first episode of AMIMW provides brief but necessary background for the Divorce Meeting itself and establishes our thesis, then continues throughout September. As you’ll see when you listen, this series is a deep dive into what goes on between John and Paul in the 6-month period leading up to the McCartney announcement.

We don’t consider John’s “I Want a Divorce” statement to be the end of the band; in this series it is actually the beginning of a subsequent yet entirely different stage of negotiations between John & Paul.

Listen HERE

Phoebe speaks to Eggpod about Paul McCartney’s 1983 LP Pipes of Peace

Listen HERE

Phoebe and Thalia talk with Rolling Stone contributing editor and writer Rob Sheffield about “In My Life.”

Topics include: the backstory, inspiration and notable elements of the song; band dynamics of the mid-60s Beatles; Paul McCartney’s influence and impact on In My Life; George Harrison’s 1974 concert tour; John Lennon’s social media presence.

PLAYLIST:
In My Life BEATLES (1965)
My Girl Has Gone SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES (1965)
Girl THE BEATLES (1965)
HELP! (1965)
And Your Bird Can Sing THE BEATLES (1966)
In My Life (live) GEORGE HARRISON Long Beach, CA (Nov 10, 1974) 

SOURCES:
Dreaming the Beatles, Rob Sheffield 2017
‘McCartney 3, 2, 1’: The Beatle, the Producer and Oh, That Magic Feeling by Rob Sheffield July 13, 2021
24 Reasons We’ll Keep Watching the Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ Forever by Rob Sheffield Nov 29, 2021
Morning Joe, MSNBC Nov 30, 2021
Lennon Remembers, by Jann Wenner for Rolling Stone (1970)
Paul McCartney in His Own Words (1976) by Paul Gambaccini
John Lennon to Playboy Magazine, (1980) reprinted in All We Are Saying by David Sheff, 2000
The Beatles Afterword (1985) by Hunter Davies (originally published 1968)
“AI used to solve disputed songwriting credits of Beatles hits” by Alex Matthews-King INDEPENDENT July 6, 2019
George Harrison: Lumbering in the Material World by Ben Fong-Torres Dec 19, 1974
John Lennon Instagram, June 18 2022

Listen HERE

Live on Location in Seattle at Paul McCartney’s Got Back tour: 

Phoebe and Daphne share their joyous experience at this May 2022 show and have a lively discussion about the performance by Paul, Rusty, Brian, Wix and Abe.

Listen HERE

Dr. Allison Bumsted joins Phoebe and Daphne to discuss how rock journalism in the 1970s re-shaped Paul McCartney’s critical reputation for the next three decades (and beyond). 

Also discussed in this episode: authenticity, gatekeeping, rock aesthetics and rhetoric, hyper-masculinity and the inherent inclusivity of pop.

SOURCES

Paul McCartney interviewed on Radio Luxembourg May 12, 1973
Something About the Beatles, “Critiquing the Critics” Episodes 176a and 176b
A Women’s History of the Beatles, Christine Feldman-Barrett (2021)
The Beatles and the Historians, Erin Torkelson-Weber (2016)
Truant Boy: Art, Authenticity and Paul McCartney, Martin Shough (2017)
Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music, Yuval Taylor and Hugh Barker (2007)
“Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste: A Lester Bangs Reader,” Lester Bangs (2003)
“Physical Graffiti” review by Jim Miller, Rolling Stone (March 27, 1975)
John Landau reviews RAM, (July 8, 1971)
Wildlife review by John Mendelssohn, Rolling Stone (Jan 20, 1972)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, written by Allen Evans, NME (May 20, 1967)
“The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound,” Ralph J Gleason (1969)
“Just Two Superstars from Middle Rock,” NY Times (Aug 3, 1975)
“Imagine” review by Ben Gerson (Oct 28, 1971)
“The Former Beatle Gets Personal” Paul Gambincini, Rolling Stone (Jan 31, 1974)
“Records: Paul McCartney and Wings” Band on the Run review by Dave Downing, Let it Rock (1974)
Band on the Run review, Jon Landau (1974)
“Paul and Linda McCartney: Bionic couple serves it your way” Lester Bangs, Creem: 34–39 and 72–73 (1976)
“Yesterday, Today and Paul” Rolling Stone, Ben Fong-Torres (June 17 1976) 
“Paul McCartney & Wings” Rolling Stone page 14; Paul Gambaccini (June 21 1973) 
Life Magazine (November 7, 1969)
“Man of the Year” Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner (February 7, 1970)
“Sound effects: Youth, Leisure, and the Politics of Rock ‘n’ Roll” Simon Frith. New York: Pantheon Books (197.)
“Rod Stewart’s Holiday Turkey: Blondes Have More Fun Review” Rolling Stone, Janet Maslin (Feb 8, 1979)
“Every Picture Tells a Story” Review Rolling Stone, John Mendelsohn (July 8, 1971)

OTHER WRITERS MENTIONED
Pete Wiley, Robert Christgau, Matt Brennan, Holly Tessler, Leonard Feather, Leroy Jones, Barbara Gardner, Nat Hentoff, Simon Frith, Jim DeRogatis 

ALLISON’S LINKS

My social (Inast and Twitter @Allison Bumsted)

Website: www.allisonbumsted.com (I update it with what’s happening)

Book Link: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-85543-7

Chapter Link:: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-85543-7_5 (ask your local library to get a hold of the book!)

PLAYLIST
The Mess (live at the Hague) WINGS
Band on the Run PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS
Wildlife WINGS
Too Many People PAUL & LINDA MCCARTNEY
I Am Your Singer WINGS
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey PAUL & LINDA MCCARTNEY
Mama’s Little Girl PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS
Let Me Roll it PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS
Rockshow WINGS

Listen HERE

The third and final episode in our Get Back analysis is dedicated to Band Dynamics- the working and personal relationships within the Beatles and how all those conflicts, bonds and loyalties interact.

We also take a look at the Get Back deadlines; Were they as crazy as we think?

Join Phoebe, Daphne, Iris and Thalia for this lively, thoughtful and engrossing panel.

SOURCES

The Banality of Genius: Notes on Peter Jackson’s Get Back, Ian Leslie (Jan 26 2022)
Get Back, dir. Peter Jackson (2021)
John Lennon Interview w/ DJ John Small (October 22nd, 1969)
Beatles Anthology, dir. Geoff Wonfor; Bob Smeaton (1995)
Peace and Love, Broken Record podcast w/ Rick Rubin (Sep 21, 2021)
Ringo Interview from: Understanding McCartney/Ep 5, dir breathless345 (2020)
Ringo Starr Interview w/ Howard Stern (2000)
Felix Dennis quote from: You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle for the Soul of the Beatles, Peter Doggett (2009)
Playboy interview w/ Allen Klein (1971)
Solid State, The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles, Ken Womack (2019)
Maureen Starkey interview (published 1998)
Tune In, Mark Lewisohn (2013)
Beatles on the Roof, Tony Barrel (2017)
With a Little Help from My Friends, the Making of Sergeant Pepper, George Martin (1994)
Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin (The Early Years, 1926-1966) Ken Womack (2018)
Philip Norman (?)
Playback: An Illustrated Memoir, George Martin (2002)
Let it Be, dir Michael Lindsay-Hogg (1970)
George Harrison, Guitar World: When We Was Fab. (1992)
THE LYRICS, Paul McCartney and Paul Muldoon (2021)
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles (1997)
Peter Jackson on Stephen Colbert (Nov 25, 2021)

*ADDENDUM- We erroneously state that the Beatles’ contract in September 1969 requires seven Beatles/Solo albums per year until 1976. The Beatles were in fact only required to produce TWO albums per year until 1976. Apologies for this errror.

Listen HERE

AKOM on GET BACK: Brothers, Friends, Bandmates

Episode 2 is all about George, Paul and George & Paul; we take a look into their dynamic as bandmates, friends and surrogate brothers. We also examine George as a Producer for insight into the creative conflicts between Paul and George. 

Other topics include: The Beatles’ Rooftop Performance, Eric Clapton and Scenes that Surprised Us.

SOURCES/REFERENCES

Get Back, dir. Peter Jackson (2021)
“Why the Beatles Broke Up” by Mikael Gilmore for Rolling Stone (2000)
“Paul McCartney: the Musical Genius with Staying Power” The Times UK, Caitlin Moran (Dec 25, 2021)
George Harrison, NME: This Song. (December 11th, 1976)
“The Banality of Genius: Notes on Peter Jackson’s Get Back” Ian Leslie  (Jan 26 2022)
George Harrison, Guitar World: When We Was Fab. (1992)
Paul McCartney on Egypt Station, NME interview w/ Dan Stubbs (2018)
“Beatlesongs,” William J Dowlding (1989)
“Get Back Halftime Report” on Hey Dullblog
Geoff Emerick interview w/ Alan Light for Blender.com (2009)
George Martin interviewed by Richard Buskin (March 3,1987)
“Behind the Locked Door,” Graeme Thomson (2013)
Michael Lindsay Hogg, Interview for Radio New Zealand (Dec 4, 2021)
Paul McCartney interview with Parkinson (1997)