I had a dream the other night (no, please keep reading) where the Beatles were reunited in the 1980s and John Lennon was still alive. It was an incredibly visceral dream with the four guys aged perfectly for the time. They were recording a track in the studio. John was decked out in a red and black leather jacket with his hair pulled back in a pony tail, rocking his classic black circular sunglasses. Paul was dressed in a large Christmas sweater, holding his Hofner bass and looking very nervous. John was also a bundle of nerves, pacing near the microphone with a grey colored Fender. I don’t remember what George and Ringo looked like but they were there as well. Then, the magic happened. They started playing Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be The Day,” harmonizing beautifully, restarting a few times in the process. The dream felt real and the music sounded live. I was thrilled to experience it.

Anyway, as fate would have it, the Beatle company Apple, released a new music video, “Words of Love,” another Buddy Holly cover, just the a few days ago. The song originally appeared on Beatles For Sale, a criminally underrated Beatle record (if there is such a thing) that got a lot of slack for featuring too many covers and carrying a bit of a depressed vibe. The record was released late in 1964 and reflects the exhausted around the world impact that Beatlemania had on the guys. The songs like “I’m a Loser” and “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” had a sense of world-weariness to them but like any Beatle record, the performances and production are immaculate, creating a warm and intimate listening experience.

The “Words of Love” music video is just gorgeous. Mixing in psychedelic animation, a bit of CGI and sparkly magic to priceless clips of the Beatles running around during the height of Beatlemania. I would be incredible if Apple released a video like this for every song in the catalog. A massive task for sure, but, who cares, the music still holds up so breathing new life into the old songs with gorgeous imagery is a wonderful idea. I always wised that Apple should make a sequel to Yellow Submarine, featuring music of the White Album. The Beatles themselves didn’t voice Yellow Submarine when they were all alive in the first place so a new animated movie wouldn’t be so sacrilegious and would be really awesome. That will probably never happen unless I somehow become president of Apple records one day so in the meantime, enjoy the limitless splendor and charm of this wonderful “Words of Love” music video.

Part 6 of my youtube countdown rolls on, and its a special 2 for Tuesday as I present Liverpool’s second most famous group, The La’s.  The La’s arrived at the forefront of the second British invasion in the early 90s that saw the coming of The Stone Roses, Blur, and Oasis.  The La’s is basically all about Lee Mavers, the lead singer/songwriter.  He possessed an incredibly unique and powerful English voice, an undying passion for 60s rock, and an insatiable heroin habit.  The La’s are your classic one album wonder, producing a wonderful debut with a genuine cult hit single, “There She Goes.”  Then they quickly unraveled, mostly due in part to Lee’s drug abuse, but also in part to Lee’s disgust with the way the record industry was releasing versions of his records that he didn’t approve.

Video 1 is my favorite La’s video, from 1991.  Its from a Canadian music show called Much Music, and it features Mavers and bass player John Power giving a difficult interview, and then performing a beautiful acoustic version of Timeless Melody.  I love how Mavers is mostly silent in the interview, and can barely contain his disgust for the poor interviewer girl.  On a crazier note, I almost feel like Oasis ripped off the Mavers/Power snotty dynamic and used it commercially.  Its a stretch, but part of me wouldn’t be surprised.

Video #2 is the La’s performing the Buddy Holly classic, That’ll Be the Day.  Because The La’s were from Liverpool, it was easy for the press to try and make them as successors to The Beatle legacy, which was kind of unfair and untrue…but for the band to cover Buddy Holly, something the Beatles did a lot, proves that the band shared similar influences with the Fabs.  I LOVE this performance and the coolness it takes for a young modern rock band to play an old hit like this, its just a shame that a video with better quality isn’t available.  Still, this isn’t unwatchable, so enjoy.