By Steve Newton I just watched the Peter Jackson-directed music video for the “new” Beatles song, “Now and Then”, and it nearly chocked me up. The 4 1/2-minute clip is a beautiful, heart-wrenching glimpse into what made the Fab Four so freakin’ fabulous, and it makes you miss the murdered John Lennon and cancer-killed George … Continue reading The Beatles’ “Now and Then” music video is better than the song itself
collage by the newts By Steve Newton I’ve been a hardcore Beatles fan since the age of six. That’s how old I was when they made their North American TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, but I remember it like it was yesterday. And right around that time I purchased my very first record. … Continue reading The Beatles will release their “last song” next week, but what if it sucks?
collage by the newts By Steve Newton By now you may have already heard “Now and Then”, the much-publicized song released today that is being billed as “the last Beatles song”. In case you aren’t aware of the tune’s backstory, here’s how it is described on the Beatles’ YouTube channel, which–at the time of this … Continue reading “Now and Then” is a pretty little ditty, but “Get Back” will always be “the last Beatles song” to me
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 8, 2021 By Steve Newton There’s a whole lot of guitar heroes in the world. Beck, Page, Van Halen, Vaughan, Hendrix, Slash, Clapton—the list goes on and on. What about violin heroes, though? They’re a lot harder to come by, but Otto Tausk has one. And as he explains on a call from … Continue reading Vancouver Symphony music director Otto Tausk says he’s more Beatles than Stones
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 26, 1989 By Steve Newton Before checking out he Romantics’ show last weekend, I couldn’t remember what their fourth hit single was. I could recall tunes like “Talking in Your Sleep”, “One in a Million”, and “What I Like About You”, but that’s basically it. I remember thumping my dashboard and … Continue reading Old-school Romantics revive the spirit of Cavern Club-era Beatles in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT ON APRIL 14, 2021 By Steve Newton I was born on April 14, 1957, so the Beatles‘ “When I’m Sixty-Four” is my favourite song today. Listening to that tune really takes me back…to a happier time? Maybe so. Not that I’m doin’ too bad right now, having just gotten … Continue reading When you’re 64, that old Beatles tune really means something
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 31, 2002 By Steve Newton If you want to hear simply beautiful—and beautifully simple—pop tunes, look no further than Five Star Motel, the new CD by Toronto singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andy Stochansky. When developing the material for the major-label follow-up to his two indie discs, While You Slept … Continue reading The first album Andy Stochansky ever purchased was The Beatles: 1967-1970
By Steve Newton Now here’s a list that was hard to keep down to 20 songs. Really hard. “All My Loving” (With the Beatles, 1963) “Can’t Buy Me Love” (A Hard Day’s Night, 1964) “I’m Looking Through You” (Rubber Soul, 1965) “I Saw Her Standing There” (Please Please Me, 1963) “Eleanor Rigby” (Revolver, 1966) “Come … Continue reading The Beatles’ 20 best songs, from wicked to freakin’ awesome
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 16, 2000 By Steve Newton Jesse Cook is the first to admit that Celtic music isn’t his forte, but that doesn’t mean he won’t give it a shot. The Toronto flamenco-pop guitarist got the opportunity to sit in with one of the genre’s legendary groups recently when he … Continue reading Jesse Cook thinks the best of Crowded House is right up there with the best of the Beatles
By Steve Newton Universal Music Canada has just announced that One Hand Clapping, a live-in-the-studio recording of Paul McCartney & Wings from 1974, will have its first official release on June 14. The album captures McCartney and his band–which included guitarists Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch, drummer Geoff Britton, and McCartney’s wife Linda on keyboards … Continue reading Paul McCartney to release live-in-the-studio Wings album from 1974 for the first time ever
By Steve Newton I’ve just been watching the TV news, and apparently there’s quite an uproar among Celine Dion fans because she wasn’t included in Rolling Stone‘s new list of “The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Well, here’s another uproar for ya: why the hell isn’t Phil Lynott’s name on the list? You know, … Continue reading Rolling Stone shockingly omits Phil Lynott from its Top 200 singers list. And Paul Rodgers too!
The White Album is deconstructed at VIFF Centre By Steve Newton FRIDAY: eight-piece Vancouver band Zappostrophe’ plays favourites and lesser-known works from Frank Zappa’s eclectic recordings at Frankie’s Jazz Club. FRIDAY: local outlaw country-folk singer-songwriter Jay Gavin performs at the Princeton Pub, with friends the Unbranded, Cat Murphy Band, Rubarb, Sinead X. Sanders, and Leah … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Vancouver this weekend, February 2 to 4
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 22, 2022 By Steve Newton Doing research for an interview with guitarist Stephen Ulrich can be a fun thing–especially if you’re a Beatles fan. Searching around on YouTube, it doesn’t take long to discover a version of the John Lennon-penned “Girl”, off the 1965 Rubber Soul album. The tune, performed by … Continue reading New York guitar ace Stephen Ulrich likes working with a gun to his head
