The Beatles: Note By Note

In this Beatles podcast episode, Mary Devlin joins us for a songwriter’s conversation about That Means a Lot, one of the more interesting Beatles deep cuts. As usual, there is more here than meets the eye, and we have a sharp discussion about songwriting, social media, and Beauty and the Beast.

We cover:
-How That Means a Lot could be Paul's response to Ticket to Ride
-Is there a number of chords you need to have a good song?
-PJ Proby’s version of the song
-The Beatles’ multiple attempts to record the song, including a Beatles first

Check out Mary's socials: https://hoo.be/beatledirt

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
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On this episode of our Beatles podcast, we take a song Peter barely knew and turn it into one of the most spirited conversations in the series. On Bad Boy, Note by Note brings in Jesse Pollack from All You Need Is Pod to talk about this iconic track, one of the last of its kind.

We cover:
-Larry Williams’ original versus the Beatles version and what changed in the arrangement
-John Lennon’s vocal performance and the debate over where it ranks among Beatles covers
-The emergency Help-era session, Beatles VI, and the rush to get the song to America
-The Hohner Pianet C, the Studer tape machine, and a new recording technique

Check out All You Need Is Pod: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-you-need-is-pod/id1857843520

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
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In this Beatles Lecture Series, “Yes It Is” stops sounding like a simple warning about a color and starts sounding like grief masked as control, with the lecture arguing the real “it” is pride and the performance carries a ghost-like weight. You also get a guided listen through the three-part harmony, why it feels unusually crunchy and a little unstable, how it shifts between tight clusters and barbershop-like movement, and the question of how much George Martin may have shaped what we’re hearing.

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
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This Beatles Lecture Series argues that Ticket to Ride is built on contradictions: the words keep flipping between heartbreak and irritation while the track itself feels bright enough to sound like a shrug. Once you hear how “not caring” can read like a mask instead of confidence, you’ll stop taking the song’s attitude at face value.

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
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On this Beatles podcast, Note by Note goes deep on Yes It Is and why it lands like a private confession. We explore the emotional core, the craft behind the recording, and how this B-side fits into the bigger "cry for help" thread.

We cover:

-Storytime: Peter and Kenyon band history and origin story
-Comparisons: Yes It Is next to This Boy and the A-side Ticket To Ride
-Recording details: how the session evolved, including choices around vocals and takes
-Music theory: harmony and chord movement, with a focus on why the chorus feels so intense
]-Sound and texture: George’s volume pedal and how production shapes the mood

Website: https://www.notebynoteseries.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/NoteByNoteSeries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notebynoteseries
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.