Dhani Harrison has recorded one of his father's songs, For You Blue, and released it today on iTunes for charity. From the George Harrison website: "Dhani Harrison’s version of his father’s song “For
You Blue” is available today! Click HERE
to purchase on iTunes. All proceeds go to George Harrison’s Material World Foundation,
which is currently focused on helping create awareness for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and
its mission to cure spinal cord injury. Dhani recorded the new version of “For You Blue”
with fellow musicians Blake Mills, Aaron Embry, and drummer Jim Keltner. The
song was originally recorded in 1969 and then released on The Beatles’ Let it
Be album a year later."
Get ready to meet MIKI ZERO, Japanese fashion model and spy! The creator of Spy Vibe has written a novel called Elevator Girl, inspired by his love of Ian Fleming and based on newly declassified intel from the Cold War. More info at Whiton's website here. Recent Spy Vibe posts: Peter Asher, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute, Ian Fleming memorial, Emma Peel Megaset returns, Bo Diddley here.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address
On the heels of Rolling Stone's release of the digital Beatles Album Guide App last week, iTunes launched Yellow Submarine today. In this new iBook feature, fans can read the story of the classic 1968 animated film about the Beatles' journey to rescue Pepperland from music-hating Blue Meanies. The digital book includes sound files of Beatles songs and George Martin's score, as well as video clips from the film. iTunes currently offers the book for free. Yellow Submarine was released on DVD in 1999 and has since gone out of print. Discs are still available through second-market vendors on Amazon and other on-line shops. But for many fans, this digital book will provide a welcome opportunity to revisit the film. Robert Zemeckis was due to direct a remake of the movie, but the project was docked. The soundtrack was fully remixed in 1999 from the original masters, creating what many believe to be the most dynamic re-release of Beatles music. It was remastered from the original tapes in 2009 as part of the historic project to upgrade the CD catalog with detailed, digital discs.
As fans enjoy their ride on the Yellow Submarine, take a moment to remember John Lennon, who passed away today in 1980. Over fifty of my art students from Drew School contributed to the John Lennon Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, where children's wishes for the world were added to the light between John's birthday, October 9th, and today- in one collective prayer for peace.
In tribute to John Lennon and his 70th Anniversary, I've created a new sound and film collage called Lennon70. Rather than composing a contemporary mash up, the experimental score weaves original music with brief samples of Beatles Christmas messages (mailed to fans in the 1960s on flexi-disc records), and two, one-note phrases by The Beatles and Bauhaus. This art film features original footage from Tokyo and TV broadcast images of John Lennon and The Beatles.
Lennon70 Links: Youtube here, film website here.
I hope Spy Vibers have looked at the new Beatles store on iTunes. The site offers some excellent free video content, including a brief career overview film and a complete concert from their 1964 US tour! Congrats to Apple & Apple for working things out. iTunes accessibility will open up Beatles music (and solo years music) to new fans. I like to imagine young listeners out there discovering The Beatles for the first time, making "mix tapes" (playlists) of their fave songs. Looking at the impact that this music has had across time and cultures, surely The Beatles represent globally one sound-one tribe. By the way, if any Spy Vibers are interested in the remastered CD editions of the classic "Red" and "Blue" compilations, the albums will be half-price in Amazon's lightning deal on November 29th at 1:00pm ($9.99 each).
Lennon70: new experimental sound collage and film tribute to John Lennon by filmmaker/composer Jason Whiton on Youtube. For more information, visit the Jason Whiton website. For more experimental work, explore Yoko Ono & the Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon, and Liverpool Sound Collage by Paul McCartney. Also, check out my recent award-winning film, The Sun is Down, an experimental piece for Yoko Ono that features a song by me, Ono, and the Plastic Ono Band (a winner of the 2009 Sun is Down remix contest).
