LIVING IN THE PAST: FORTY YEARS AND A DAY

I'm going through one of those periods when the Beatles were the greatest band ever.

Side one

1. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

So begins the great album of our time.

2. "With a Little Help from My Friends" (mistitled on album label as "A Little Help from My Friends" on early pressings)

Perhaps my favorite Beatles song. How I love Ringo. The line "Do you believe in a love at first sight" reminds me of a girl who I fell in love with at first sight. It didn't work out.

3. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

Definitely about drugs.

4. "Getting Better"

This song was of particular comfort while I was a teenager.

5. "Fixing a Hole" – 2:38

Kind of druggy for McCartney

6. "She's Leaving Home" – 3:37

One of those songs I sometimes forget is even on the album, because it's of such a piece with other McCartney classics like "Michelle" and "Eleanor Rigby."

7. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"

Almost every Beatles album had a shitty song on it, usually written by George Harrison. This is the shitty song on Sgt. Pepper not written by George Harrison.

Side two

1. "Within You Without You"

Ah, now the shitty song written by George Harrison. The cd really does a disservice by having the tracks follow so closely.

2. "When I'm Sixty-Four"

Pretty, fun, all right! I remember the documentary, "It Was twenty Years Ago Today," when some hundred year old music expert explained why this is a brilliant song. Lyndon LaRouche would argue that Queen Elizabeth wrote it.

3. "Lovely Rita"

I've always wanted to fuck a meter maid.

4. "Good Morning Good Morning"

Defeinitely in the bottom tier, although not as bad as some other songs on the album. Three crappy songs was kind of high for a Beatles album up to this point, although the Beatles would spend the rest of their careers ensuring that there was no lack of lousy songs on future records. Still, when I listen to Sgt, Pepper, I listen to all of it.

5. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)"

When I was young and stupider, I thought the drums on this song were inspiration for hip hop.

6. "A Day in the Life"

When I was a teenager, I accidentally bumped the balance on my speakers, so when I played this song, I couldn't hear the words -- just the piano on the left speakers. Wow, that blew my fragile little mind.

Originally written on 6/2/07