Carnival of Light

When I read the news on Yahoo today that Sir Paul McCartney was looking at releasing a previously unreleased Beatle’s song. This quickly caught my attention and being a fan of the Fav Four, there was no way I could not blog about the continuing presence and impact of the Beatles into our lives.

But I needed to find out what the “Carnival of Light” really is. I browed around the web and learned that
this piece of Beatle’s music is termed as an experimental piece. And at 14 minutes is much much longer than “Hey Jude.”

"Carnival of Light" was recorded on January 5, 1967. It was recorded after the vocal overdubbing sessions for "Penny Lane". Sir Paul McCartney has said it was around fifteen minutes but in “The Complete Beatles Chronicle” it's listed as lasting 13 minutes and 48 seconds.

According to “The Observer of Britain” in a report pubished last Sunday, McCartney wants to release the “holy grail of Beatles obsessives.” But he would would need the consent of the surviving wives of John Lennon (Yoko Ono), George Harrison (Olivia Harrison) and Ringo Starr to release the track.

The song was recorded in January 1967, after designer David Vaughan painted a psychedelic design on a piano owned by Paul McCartney. David asked Paul if he could contribute a musical piece for the upcoming The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave, which was an art festival organised by Binder, Edwards & Vaughan. The Festival was a showcase for electronic music and light shows

And McCartney said yes.

According to Beatles expert Mark Lewisohn says the song included "distorted, hypnotic drum and organ sounds, a distorted lead guitar and the sound of a church organ.” Mark listened to the song in 1987 while compiling his book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, (published by Harmony Books) various effects (water gargling was one). He also says that Lennon and McCartney are also heard screaming and bawling aloud random phrases like 'Are you alright?'

Another buzz about Sir Paul is that he is “considering” writing the soundtrack for “Shrek 4.” I can imagine Donkey singing already.

Obama and Jon Stewart

One night, after the 2008 elections, we were watching the replay of the joint episode of the election day coverage by Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert. Even as we knew the outcome, we could still laugh at the antics of both comedians.

Like many other Filipinos, Chief and I were tuned in online eagerly awaiting the results of the US elections last Friday, 05 November 2008. Incidentally, that was also a significant day for Chief and myself. We had a dinner date at Le Maison, Greenbelt 5.

According to an Ad Age story by Michael Learmonth, election coverage mattered to viewers who want easy and quick access to the latest news. Who else would provide the latest news than CNN? CNN had 13.1 million viewers on election day.

The top three cable news networks -- Fox News, CNN and MSNBC all had 27.7 million viewers. These is compared with 31.9 million who watched network news, ABC, CBS and NBC. But network audience viewership dropped by 16%, according to the Ad Age story.

Even comedy shows like “Saturday Night Live,” “The Colbert Report” and “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" gained both a bigger audience and advertising revenues from brands like Apple, Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Columbia Sportswear and even Volkswagen.

Even "30 Rock," enjoyed higher ratings.


President-elect Obama’s appearance in the Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" last October 29 had a record of 3.6 million viewers. And that not counting viewers in this part of the world.

I remember when my cousin used to watch "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" at CNN when we were still in Saigon. By the way, Jon Stewart is celebrating his birthday on the 28th of this month. He became the host of “The Daily Show” back in 1999 and won his first Emmy Award in 2001.

Aretha Franklin & McCartney

Who is the greatest singer of all time? Your guess would probably be the same as mine? The Beatles? Or even Elvis Presley? Wait, not so fast.

According to a recent poll done Rolling Stone magazine and a story from Reuters last 11 November 2008, the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin greatest singer in rock era.

Born March 25, 1942, Aretha Louise Franklin is known for her soul music but also has a large repertoire of jazz, rock, blues, pop and gospel. After Alison Krauss, she is the second most honored female singer in Grammy history with 20 Grammy Awards, which includes the Living Legend Grammy and the Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

Photo of Aretha Franklin was taken by Ryan Arrowsmith during a performance at the Nokia Theater in Dallas, Texas, last April 21, 2007.

And just a few nights ago, Chief and I caught her performance on “The View.”

And guess who is number two? Ray Charles. Elvis Presley came in third. Sam Cooke came in 4th while John Lennon was 5th.

Other musicians in the list include Marvin Gaye was No. 6, Dylan at No. 7, Otis Redding No. 8, and Stevie Wonder at No. 9. and James Brown No. 10.

My favorite Sir Paul McCartney came in 11th. Photo of Sir Paul McCartney when he turned 64 last 18th June 2006. Remember the song “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I am 64” which he recorded when he was 24. Wow.

Around 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors, and other music-industry insiders were surveyed by the magazine and the list will be published this week in Rolling Stone Magazine.

The 100-strong list will be published on Friday, when Rolling Stone hits the newsstands with four different covers.

79 million watched

Like many other Filipinos, I was tuned in online eagerly awaiting the results of the US elections last Friday, 05 November 2008. Incidentally, that was also a significant day for Chief and myself.

Like many other Filipinos, I was tuned in online eagerly awaiting the results of the US elections last Friday, 05 November 2008. Incidentally, that was also a significant day for Chief and myself. We had a dinner date at Le Maison, Greenbelt 5.

When I came to work that Friday morning, the TV was tuned in to CNN.

According to Nielsen, in a story by Michael Learmonth
published in Ad Age, cable news led the regular broadcast networks in keeping audience informed about the election. Even both Colbert and Stewart appeared in a joint program on election date (which we caught a reply last night).

Research showed that on that day, CNN had an average of 13.1 million viewers. Those numbers are just slightly ahead of more ABC which had 13.2 million. I wish I had data to share between kapuso and kapamilya.

Nearly 79 million people eagerly awaited the winner between Obama and McCain. According to Nielsen, these numbers are much much higher than four years ago (59 million), when Bush “won” his second term over John Kerry.

Am sure millions more watched Sarah Palin and Tina Fey's presence at "Saturday Night Live." Research shows that both pushed the program's ratings. I won't be surprised if Sarah Palin made her presence felt again on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live" or even, "The Colbert Report" as part of her next political campaign?