How the Beatles invented pop video and acts we love who always sound the same

Nutritious items on the rock and roll tasting menu this week include … … the curious life of Tom Verlaine, his grocery cart and his 50,000 books.   … was March 9 1984 the worst week ever for the British album charts? … what all great records have in common. … Yesterday’s news today! ‘Soundies’ at the cinema and the Scopitone colour video jukebox. … why A Hard Day’s Night was the greatest advert for the magical qualities of the Beatles and the scene that was the blueprint for the pop promotional clip. … comforting acts with a narrow range – JJ Cale, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, U2 (“like getting into your parents’ car after a school trip”). And what made JJ Cale’s recordings so mesmerising.    … did Johnny Marr ever play a guitar solo? … “I work in advertising but tell my mother I play piano in a brothel”. … the link between JJ Cale’s Call Me The Breeze and Family Affair by Sly & the Family Stone. Mentioned in despatches … Cab Calloway and the Hondells, The Hoodoo Gurus, the Style Council, Jimmy Reed and the Inkspots. Tom Verlaine’s 50,000 books …https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/march/at-the-tom-verlaine-book-sale?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20240306blog&utm_content=20240306blog+CID_6b4a1bd19ed9ca733f5ffca04056ca8b&utm_source=LRB%20email&utm_term=Read%20moreSubscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free - access to all of our content, plus a whole load more!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Mark Ellen and David Hepworth have been talking about and writing about music together and individually for a collective eighty years in magazines like Smash Hits, Mojo and The Word and on radio and TV programmes like "Rock On", "Whistle Test" and VH-1.Over thirteen years ago, when working on the late magazine The Word, they began producing podcasts. Some listeners have been kind enough to say these have been very special to them. When the magazine folded in 2012 they kept the spirit of those podcasts alive in regular Word In Your Ear evenings in which they spoke to musicians and authors in front of an audience. Over these years they've produced hundreds of hours of material. As of the Current Unpleasantness of 2020, they've produced yet hundreds of hours more with a little help from guests kind enough to digitally show them around their attics such as Danny Baker, Andy Partridge, Sir Tim Rice and Mark Lewisohn. For the full span of the Word In Your Ear world, visit wiyelondon.com. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.